Rev. Valerie's Reveille

The American tradition of Halloween finds its origins in the Christian tradition of All Saint’s (those people that are considered holy, or hallowed) Day, which is on November 1 st .   Since many religious celebrations begin at sundown the night before, on the eve of the day, October 31 st became All Hallow’s Eve. During the time when this tradition started (as early as the 4 th century), superstition was much more prevalent than science. Many people feared talking about the dead because many thought the dead would come back as ghosts and haunt those who talked of them.   It didn’t take much to prove people’s fears, especially during a time of year when it is dark and cold in the northern hemisphere. The Irish  brought the tradition of carving pumpkins into Jack O'Lantern to America. But, the  original  Jack O'Lantern was not a pumpkin. Pumpkins did not exist in Ireland.  Ancient  Celtic cultures in Ireland carved turnips on All Hallow's Ev...

It is probably not a surprise that I don’t listen to rap or hip-hop music.  (Of course, I also don’t listen to country or punk music, so don’t judge my musical tastes to harshly.)  Because of my limited knowledge and exposure to hip-hop, I don’t know much about the artists and musicians of the genre, expect for some big names like Will Smith, Run-D.M.C., & TLC.  I am sure I heard the name Tupac Shakur, but I couldn’t tell you any songs he sang.  However, I recently found out he was 2 years older than I and was killed 2 days after my birthday in 1996 at the age of 25.  I don’t recall if I heard much about Tupac’s death when it happened.   I realize now what a tragic loss his death was, mostly after reading Angie Thomas’ novel The Hate U Give . In the book, the character Khalil explains that Tupac’s motto “THUG LIFE” is an acronym meaning, “the hate you give little infants f**ks everyone.”   Yes, the language is crude, but the message is pain...

The title of this blog is probably familiar even if you haven’t read the Bible recently.  With so many medical dramas on TV, this quote gets used at least once a season! This is the King James Version of Luke 4:23. Jesus has returned to Nazareth after his time of temptation to begin his ministry.  He goes to the temple and reads from the prophet Isaiah, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ (61:1) After he finishes reading and proclaims that the words of the prophet have been fulfilled, and those around him, who think they know him best, believe he is delusional. I find it interesting that Jesus then quotes a Greek proverb from an ancient play by Aeschylus entitled Prometheus Bound . Translated into English, the line is: Like some...

I am grateful for the resources of The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) and their resources as we focus attention on our stewardship practices.  This year the TENS theme is “Transforming Generosity,” which is an intriguing idea. Our relationship with Jesus invites us into a new way of life where we are transformed – changed from living for ourselves to being for God. In the chapter entitled “What Would Jesus Have Me Do?” in Peter Gomes’ book   The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus , he writes:   Our situation would be easier if Jesus were less clear about the priorities he sets for us. At the heart of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” “All these things” refers to such things as food, clothing and other fundamental necessities of life, plus security, safety and moral clarity. The priority that Jesus asks us to seek is God’s kingdom, G...

This blog post is a continuation of the reflections I started last week after attending a conference called “Racial reconciliation and discipleship in the missionary church.” As disciples of Jesus Christ, we promise to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves.   Our cultural context has fallen quite short of tenet.   My England ancestors established a strict understanding of social standing from royalty to the commoner, with the royals holding all the prestige and privilege.   Those standards were exported with English expansion around the world and imposed on people and places that had much different world views or approaches to living. Whether by force, coercion or subterfuge, the European standards for social standing became the standard in many places, including the United States. As a result of this influence, those who were forcibly brought to the United States as indentured servants and slaves were treated as less worthy than their fellow inhabitant...