Rev. Valerie's Reveille

It is my sincere hope that this week, more than any other time of the year, we take a moment to faithfully and honestly consider how our faith matters, how it impacts our lives and (God willing) compels us to live in a certain way – the Way of the Cross.  During this Holy Week, we are confronted with the painful truth that there is a cost, a high cost, to following God.  We bear witness to how Jesus of Nazareth, an itinerant teacher, preacher and healer, was brutally murdered by the ruling state, in collusion with the religious authorities, because he dared challenge a system that was corrupt and contemptible, worried only about its self-preservation rather than for those to whom it was called to serve. As disciples of Jesus, we, are also called to offer ourselves in service to God’s will, to love as we are loved, especially when it is difficult, hard and against our better judgement.  Many in our society may not even be aware that this is Holy Week, although some ma...

I still find it ironic that in a culture obsessed with death, most humans go to great lengths to avoid thinking or talking about our own mortality and the reality that at some point we will die (not “kick the bucket”, “pass on”, “look at the wrong side of dirt”, or any other euphemism – die!). As our Lenten journey begins to come to a close, it is incumbent on me to, once again, remind us all that, as faithful Christians, we should not be afraid of death AND we should be prepared for it. Because death is the ultimate unknown (although I have a firm belief in what is next!), many attempt to quell a sense of fear by making fun of death (you can’t take it with you!), on the one hand, or glorifying it (practically every horror movie ever made), on the other. My personal preference is to be realistic.  Someday I will die.  I don’t know when, but I hope it is many, many years from now.  In the meantime, I will live my life to the fullest and do my part to be as healthy as ...

You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me . John 12:8 Jesus’ provocative statement to Judas Iscariot following Mary’s anointing culminates our Gospel lesson this week.  It is a rebuke against Judas, who is self-righteous in accusing Mary’s extravagant use of expensive nard yet heedless of his own corrupt nature.  While Judas is reprimanded, he will go on to betray Jesus into the hands of the Roman overlords. We can read these poignant words of Jesus in a disconnected way, seeing them only as a directive toward Judas, but the allegory of the narrative, inviting us into the story and making it our own, denies us that easy out.  We cannot read and/or hear these words without being stirred by the depth of this statement.  What does it mean to be poor? For most of us, the word invokes in us a state of economic well-being, but we know it also means more than that. As it says in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is...

This Sunday is the forth Sunday of Lent, also known in liturgical circles as “Laetare Sunday.”  The Latin term “laetare” means “rejoice,” specifically when translated from the Latin Vulgate text of Isaiah 66:10 “Laetare Jerusalem” (“O be joyful, Jerusalem”), which was part of the lectionary for the day.  Sadly, this text is not part of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), but fear not, we can rejoice in the Psalm appointed for the day, “Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the Lord; shout for joy, all who are true of heart.” Psalm 32:12 In the tradition of the Church, this Sunday marks the half-way mark of the season of Lent.  Someone in the Church hierarchy decided it would be a good idea to give the faithful penitents a break from their Lenten fast at this point, and Laetare Sunday was created.  In order to signify that this Sunday was different, the powers that be also changed the color of the altar appointments and vestments from purple to pink. ...