Rev. Valerie's Reveille

A couple of weeks ago, our Minister of Music, Thomas Williams, chose the song “Give me oil in my lamp” for the Gradual song before the Gospel Reading Luke 12:32-40, where Jesus mentions bridesmaids and their lamps.  It was a fun song that I don’t remember singing before, but it seemed that several people at church did. Well, this week we are supporting the Jesus Way Day Camp from Crossroads being held at our longtime partners in ministry, Christ the King Lutheran Church. Lo and behold – what song do they sing? “Give me oil in my lamp!”  However, like any good Christian camp song, it has a couple of extra verses in it that are a bit different from what we sang during worship. “Give me wax for my board to keep me surfin’ for the Lord. Cowabunga!” “Give me gas for my Ford to keep me truckin’ for the Lord. Honk Honk!” As you might imagine, the kids love the silliness of these verses (and hand motions, of course), but more importantly, they are learning about the j...

I am always impressed by Christians who are willing to witness to Jesus at work in their lives whenever and wherever.  This happened recently at the Olympic Games during an interview with David Boudia and Steele Johnson, who had just won a Silver Medal in Men’s 10M Synchronized Diving. The reporter asked the pair how they had prepared for this event that has been dominated by the Chinese, who set an Olympic Record Score in the event to win Gold.  In his response, Boudia said something about Jesus, but it was so quick, I wasn’t sure I heard him correctly, something about, “because I know Jesus, it would all be OK, no matter what happened.”  In that moment of heightened emotion, I was impressed he thought about Jesus, but it seemed like a side comment. Then Johnson responded, and while I cannot quote him directly, he essentially said that, like David, because he knows Jesus, the result of the competition would not change who he was, but it was a blessing and honor win ...

“N ow faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen .” Hebrews 11:1 Several years ago, on some road trip, I remember seeing a license plate from Missouri with the inscription, “The Show-Me State.”  Since I was born and raised in New Jersey, I had little to no idea about what Missouri was like or why it would require tangible evidence.  I would later learn that this adage came from U.S. Congressman Willard Vandiver in an 1899 speech, where he said, “I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.” From the point of view where “actions speak louder than words,” this requirement seems less of a demand than a reasonable request.  None of us want to be taken as a fool or considered gullible.  Promises are great, but until we have hard evidence that the promise is being kept, we will remind skeptical. The above ...

Charles Allen Gilbert’s drawing “All is Vanity” is an eerie optical illusion of a woman sitting in front of a mirror which also looks like a human skull, seen here .  The title of this work is taken from the beginning of the Hebrew Scripture book Koheleth (sometimes spelled Qoheleth), or in most Christian Bibles, the book of Ecclesiastes.  This book is part of the Wisdom literature, such as Proverbs and Job, but it rather unique in its dreary outlook on the human experience. Whereas Job eventually receives restoration of his life and faith in God, Ecclesiastes offers no final redemption, only understanding that God is present in the journey and focusing on an ultimate goal denies the importance of seeking God in the first place. Gilbert’s drawing captures the fleeting pursuit of beauty while summarizing one of Ecclesiastes’ conclusions. Death is inevitable.  No amount of toil trying to avoid it or deny it will make it disappear.  And yet the point is not death, ...

As technology becomes more accessible and user friendly, it is important for us in the Church not to eschew it out-of-hand, but engage with it in appropriate and helpful ways.  Indeed, we have been doing that at St. Barnabas over the past month or so, using our projector to show images relating to the Scripture readings and saving paper by projecting the prayers of the people. The Episcopal Church (that international entity that we are local outlet of) has also embraced a new age of sharing our stories by producing some excellent videos of ministries of the Episcopal Church.  I invite you to take a few minutes and view some of them for yourself and see the creative ways faithful people are engaging in the world today, sharing Christ’s love and hope with all. The videos can be found here. I mentioned reading Bryan Stevenson’s book Just Mercy a couple weeks ago.  You might be interested in a conversation our State Senator, Corey Booker had with him a couple of wee...

Unfortunately, I did not see the video from our Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Michael Curry, before worship this past Sunday morning so I was not aware of his request that we offer prayers for our country and ourselves.  While we did pray, it was not quite as elegant as the one suggested by PB Michael.  Granted, God does not judge prayer on style, but because it is so fitting, I’ve reprinted it here for your edification and use: O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP p. 815) It has been an emotional week, first with the initial traumas a...

Christians are no strangers to sacred feasts – in fact we celebrate one every time we gather around the altar for Eucharist.   It is a transcendent time of being in communion with God, with the holy, while grounding our faith in the tangible. Our most sacred feast, Easter, is proceeded by 40 days of fasting, which we call Lent.  It is a period of self-reflection and devotion, usually expressed through a “fast” of some sort.  Many talk about what they “give up” for Lent, such as chocolate or swearing.  Such actions are to help us remember what we are doing, but are only as helpful as we allow them to be . You might be asking why I’m writing about Lent in the middle of summer, when we are in the midst of “Ordinary Time” and Lent does start until March 1, 2017 (mark your calendars now!). I am drawing a connection to our season of Lent and the Muslim tradition of Ramadan, the month of fasting offered in commemoration of the Qur’an being revealed to the prophet M...