July newsletter article by: The Rev. Dr. Valori Mulvey Sherer, Rector
“The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great kindness. The LORD is loving to everyone and his compassion is over all his works.” (Exaltabo te, Deu, Ps 145:8-9)
Over and over again, in the Old and New Testaments, we hear of the graciousness of God, the lavishness of God’s love, the fullness of God’s compassion, and the inclusiveness of God’s mercy. As Christians in the Episcopal tradition, we believe the nature of God is love, and that the redemption won for us by our Savior is for the whole world. (BCP, 849).
So my question is: so what? Actually, I have to give credit to my Theology professor, Dr. Bob Hughes, for this question. Whenever we engaged in discussion about God, our relationship to God and one another, or the doctrines of the Church, my professor would ask “the So What” question. His purpose was to help us to see that knowing what we believe is important work, but it’s only part of our purpose as followers of Christ. At some point we have to get beyond our need to establish a community of agreement and get about the risky business of being a community that acts on our beliefs. In other words, it is as important to know the love of God in Jesus Christ as it is to obey his commands which call us to put that love into action.
Our church is a community of followers of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world. Our mission is to “restore all people to unity with God and one another in Christ.” (BCP, 855). We are a community called to love as God loves – to be gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and loving to everyone – even those we don’t like, don’t approve of, or don’t agree with.
We are a community that is called to model the Christian friendship shown to us first by our founders, Saints Peter and Paul – icons of Christian unity in diversity. Peter, the poor fisherman, chief apostle - the rock upon whom the church was built, and Paul, the wealthy Pharisee, Roman citizen, and apostle to the Gentiles, disagreed vehemently with one another about whom the Church should welcome and how, yet maintained their friendship until God showed them how to go forward together through what had seemed to them an impasse.
Waiting on God’s will to be revealed is always difficult, but Peter and Paul showed us that 1) it can be done; and 2) the fruits of that kind of faithfulness are beyond our ability to imagine or comprehend. I wonder if Peter thought Paul’s desire to open the Church to the Gentiles would prove to be the ruination of the church. I wonder how many faithful followers initially “left the church” once the Gentiles were allowed in? I wonder how many withheld their tithes in disapproval?
The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Shelby, NC is God’s church, called to do the reconciling work of God in Christ. The people called by God to be part of that work, whether as ministers/members or recipients of the ministries, are all beloved of God. The diversity among us is meant to be there. As God builds and rebuilds our church, our faithfulness to God and God’s command to us to love will yield fruit we can neither imagine nor comprehend now.
Our duty is not to determine our own path, but to discern and follow the one given to us by God. Our duty is “to follow Christ; to come together week by week for corporate worship; and to work, pray, and give for the spread of the kingdom of God.” (BCP, 856)
As we enter the time of year our culture sets aside for vacations and restoration and begin the second half of 2011 together, I offer this prayer for our parish family: “Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for this parish family. Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent. Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 817).
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Trinity 2011A: We are the crossroads
Lectionary:
En el nombre del Dios - Padre, Hijo y Espiritu Santo. Amen.
As we begin our contemplation of the Trinity, I offer you this prayer:
“God of delight,
your Wisdom sings your Word
at the crossroads where humanity and divinity meet.
Invite us into your joyful being
where you know and are known
in each beginning,
in all sustenance,
in every redemption,
that we may manifest your unity
in the diverse ministries you entrust to us,
truly reflecting your triune majesty
in the faith that acts,
in the hope that does not disappoint,
and in the love that endures. Amen.”
(Source: http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/prayers.php?id=142)
The mystery of the Trinity is fun to think about but its power to transform us happens only when we enter it, dwell in it, and let it dwell in us. Entering the mystery of the triune God means being powerless and vulnerable, which isn’t very appealing. But in the hands of our God who is Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, we are safe to be both. In fact, we are called to be both – to trust and submit to the loving care of the Almighty.
When we immerse ourselves in the mystery of the Trinity, we discover that the truth of the Trinity is easy to find. It’s so nearby it’s hard to imagine we didn’t see it sooner. That’s because the truth of the mystery of the Trinity can be found right here in our incarnate bodies and right here in our faith community.
In Genesis we hear that we are made in the image of God. Over the last few weeks, we’ve heard in our Gospel readings that we (the church) are also the dwelling places of God. Think about that - God chooses to be present in us. The first person of the Trinity, the progenitor and birther of all that is, chooses to dwell in us – in our bodies and in our community.
Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, made the love and presence of God manifest in real and tangible ways on the earth, and showed us how we can do the same. Inviting people who were exiled from the communities of earth into a heavenly community, Jesus commanded us to keep doing this work – baptizing ALL people in the name of the Triune God, making them family, and teaching them to love as Jesus loved.
And the Holy Spirit of God, the advocate the world can’t perceive, but we can because we believe, is the very presence of God that dwells in us. Jesus meant it when he said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” The Spirit of the Triune God is in us and makes us holy, that is, set apart for a purpose. The Spirit of God is in us and compels us uncover and set free the holiness of God in everyone we meet. When someone looks at us, do they see the love of God looking back? They can – if we choose to let the Spirit of God that dwells in us greet the Spirit of God that dwells in them.
This is not magic or a spiritual trick – it’s an act of faith. Have you ever walked around just smiling at everyone you meet? How do people react? They don’t trust it. They look at you like your crazy… or dangerous.
But we’re not crazy or dangerous. We are the crossroads where humanity and divinity meet because the Spirit of God dwells in us. When we look at someone, we invite them into our personal space and, therefore, into the presence of God. For a moment, we may feel vulnerable, but trusting God who dwells in us and in them, we welcome them and greet them like family does – with a holy kiss. This isn’t necessarily an actual kiss (though it can be). A holy kiss is a gentle invitation to come into contact with the divine who dwells in us. No Bible thumping, no coercion – just a holy kiss.
Since its Trinity Sunday, I’ll incorporate today’s Anglo-fact into my sermon. In the Episcopal Church, membership and full incorporation happen at Baptism. There are no covenants to sign, and only two dogmas, that is, two things you HAVE to believe: 1) that God is Trinity in Unity, and 2) that our salvation is in Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, who is fully human and fully divine.
These two dogmas are found in our Prayer Book in the text of the Quicunque Vult (also known as the Athanasian Creed) in the Historical Documents section on page 864. The Trinitarian dogma is found beginning at the fourth line down: And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. What follows then is a comprehensive explanation of what that means concluding with the dogmatic statement: He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity.
The second dogmatic statement follows the short break in the text and begins with: Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the rest of the prayer explains what that means.
We have lots of other doctrines (that is, teachings), but only these two dogmas are held as necessary for salvation. As my seminary professor of Theology used to say: “You can be dogmatic about dogma, but not about anything else.” That leaves us free to listen faithfully to the living God who continues to reveal God’s self to the church.
Theologian John Baxter sums it up like this:
In essentials, unity;
in non-essentials, liberty
in all things, charity.
Our readings today, in the context of a Holy Eucharist, offer us the opportunity to open ourselves to this revelation. The Genesis reading recounts the story of God who creates. The Gospel clarifies the authority of the Incarnate One who first created the crossroads of humanity and divinity. And the Epistle outlines for the Christian community its holy purpose: Live in peace… Live in the grace of Jesus Christ…, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit. That is our holy purpose. Let everyone know that we are family, who in our diversity, can live in unity. Let God who dwells in us greet God who dwells in everyone we meet.
I close with a prayer to the Trinity:
God, whose fingers sculpt sun and moon
and curl the baby's ear;
Spirit, brooding over chaos
before the naming of day;
Savior, sending us to earth's ends
with water and words:
startle us with the grace, love, and communion
of your unity in diversity,
that we may live to the praise of your majestic name. Amen.
Source: http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/prayers.php?id=142
Footnotes:
1. Rev. Robert D. Hughes, III., Class notes, Introduction to Christian Doctrine, January 27, 2004.
2. Robert Backhouse, A Feast of Anglican Spirituality (The Canterbury Press, Norwich, 1998), 98.
En el nombre del Dios - Padre, Hijo y Espiritu Santo. Amen.
As we begin our contemplation of the Trinity, I offer you this prayer:
“God of delight,
your Wisdom sings your Word
at the crossroads where humanity and divinity meet.
Invite us into your joyful being
where you know and are known
in each beginning,
in all sustenance,
in every redemption,
that we may manifest your unity
in the diverse ministries you entrust to us,
truly reflecting your triune majesty
in the faith that acts,
in the hope that does not disappoint,
and in the love that endures. Amen.”
(Source: http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/prayers.php?id=142)
The mystery of the Trinity is fun to think about but its power to transform us happens only when we enter it, dwell in it, and let it dwell in us. Entering the mystery of the triune God means being powerless and vulnerable, which isn’t very appealing. But in the hands of our God who is Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, we are safe to be both. In fact, we are called to be both – to trust and submit to the loving care of the Almighty.
When we immerse ourselves in the mystery of the Trinity, we discover that the truth of the Trinity is easy to find. It’s so nearby it’s hard to imagine we didn’t see it sooner. That’s because the truth of the mystery of the Trinity can be found right here in our incarnate bodies and right here in our faith community.
In Genesis we hear that we are made in the image of God. Over the last few weeks, we’ve heard in our Gospel readings that we (the church) are also the dwelling places of God. Think about that - God chooses to be present in us. The first person of the Trinity, the progenitor and birther of all that is, chooses to dwell in us – in our bodies and in our community.
Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, made the love and presence of God manifest in real and tangible ways on the earth, and showed us how we can do the same. Inviting people who were exiled from the communities of earth into a heavenly community, Jesus commanded us to keep doing this work – baptizing ALL people in the name of the Triune God, making them family, and teaching them to love as Jesus loved.
And the Holy Spirit of God, the advocate the world can’t perceive, but we can because we believe, is the very presence of God that dwells in us. Jesus meant it when he said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” The Spirit of the Triune God is in us and makes us holy, that is, set apart for a purpose. The Spirit of God is in us and compels us uncover and set free the holiness of God in everyone we meet. When someone looks at us, do they see the love of God looking back? They can – if we choose to let the Spirit of God that dwells in us greet the Spirit of God that dwells in them.
This is not magic or a spiritual trick – it’s an act of faith. Have you ever walked around just smiling at everyone you meet? How do people react? They don’t trust it. They look at you like your crazy… or dangerous.
But we’re not crazy or dangerous. We are the crossroads where humanity and divinity meet because the Spirit of God dwells in us. When we look at someone, we invite them into our personal space and, therefore, into the presence of God. For a moment, we may feel vulnerable, but trusting God who dwells in us and in them, we welcome them and greet them like family does – with a holy kiss. This isn’t necessarily an actual kiss (though it can be). A holy kiss is a gentle invitation to come into contact with the divine who dwells in us. No Bible thumping, no coercion – just a holy kiss.
Since its Trinity Sunday, I’ll incorporate today’s Anglo-fact into my sermon. In the Episcopal Church, membership and full incorporation happen at Baptism. There are no covenants to sign, and only two dogmas, that is, two things you HAVE to believe: 1) that God is Trinity in Unity, and 2) that our salvation is in Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, who is fully human and fully divine.
These two dogmas are found in our Prayer Book in the text of the Quicunque Vult (also known as the Athanasian Creed) in the Historical Documents section on page 864. The Trinitarian dogma is found beginning at the fourth line down: And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. What follows then is a comprehensive explanation of what that means concluding with the dogmatic statement: He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity.
The second dogmatic statement follows the short break in the text and begins with: Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the rest of the prayer explains what that means.
We have lots of other doctrines (that is, teachings), but only these two dogmas are held as necessary for salvation. As my seminary professor of Theology used to say: “You can be dogmatic about dogma, but not about anything else.” That leaves us free to listen faithfully to the living God who continues to reveal God’s self to the church.
Theologian John Baxter sums it up like this:
In essentials, unity;
in non-essentials, liberty
in all things, charity.
Our readings today, in the context of a Holy Eucharist, offer us the opportunity to open ourselves to this revelation. The Genesis reading recounts the story of God who creates. The Gospel clarifies the authority of the Incarnate One who first created the crossroads of humanity and divinity. And the Epistle outlines for the Christian community its holy purpose: Live in peace… Live in the grace of Jesus Christ…, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit. That is our holy purpose. Let everyone know that we are family, who in our diversity, can live in unity. Let God who dwells in us greet God who dwells in everyone we meet.
I close with a prayer to the Trinity:
God, whose fingers sculpt sun and moon
and curl the baby's ear;
Spirit, brooding over chaos
before the naming of day;
Savior, sending us to earth's ends
with water and words:
startle us with the grace, love, and communion
of your unity in diversity,
that we may live to the praise of your majestic name. Amen.
Source: http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/prayers.php?id=142
Footnotes:
1. Rev. Robert D. Hughes, III., Class notes, Introduction to Christian Doctrine, January 27, 2004.
2. Robert Backhouse, A Feast of Anglican Spirituality (The Canterbury Press, Norwich, 1998), 98.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Pentecost & Holy Baptism, 2011-A: Receiving new family of God
Lectionary: Numbers 11:24-30; Psalm 104:25-35, 37; Acts 2:1-21; John 7:37-39.
Note: The sermon text follows the video.
As many of you know, years ago I was a chaplain on the oncology unit of a regional hospital in GA. One day I sat at the bedside of an elderly man who was dying of cancer. He had no teeth and spoke with a very thick southern accent that I found nearly impossible to understand.
I heard enough to know he was telling me his life story – he had a 3rd grade education, something about his sisters and his grandmother… and the death of his parents when he was very young. So there I was, knowing how important it was for me to hear what this man was saying, wishing I could enjoy the stories he was already well into sharing, yet feeling helpless and frustrated because I just couldn’t understand him.
“Lord, give me Pentecost ears” I cried silently in prayer. “Open my ears to hear and understand him. Give me Pentecost ears, Lord – and hurry!” (This is a true story, y’all.) Just as I finished praying, my ears were opened. I literally heard what sounded like a rush of wind. My ears felt like they popped, the way they do when you’re in an airplane and they adjust to the change in pressure.
And suddenly, the man’s voice was as clear as a bell. He was talking about meeting the woman who became his wife just before he shipped off to Europe in WWII. As I listened to the rest of his story, mental pictures were forming in my mind, like a movie that was created as he spoke. He told me about his wife, his children, how his heart broke when his son went to prison, the joy his grand-children and great-grandchildren were in his life.
Here and there I would marvel that I actually could understand him – knowing that I was experiencing a miraculous moment, a moment full of the power of the Holy Spirit. God heard my prayer and answered it – for real! I had been given the gift of Pentecost ears!
The story of the man’s life was long and beautiful. When he was finished, I felt like he was family. This toothless old man, whose great-grandparents were slaves, now felt in my heart like family. And though he died only 6 hours after I’d met him, I will always cherish his memory, our experience of kinship, and the power of the Pentecost experience I shared with him.
When we read the story of Pentecost, we hear about the power of God’s Holy Spirit, the power of love, uniting people who live in a divided world and making them feel like family. Wind and fire, symbols of the presence of God, come among the disciples who know they are in the midst of a miraculous moment, a moment full of the Holy Spirit of God. God has made it clear as a bell for them.
Then filled to overflowing with the powerful love of God’s Holy Spirit, the disciples’ fear vanishes and the Good News starts erupting from their mouths. The sound of this Good News is like a trumpet call and it causes people to draw near.
But the people are confused at first, because everyone knows that Jews don’t speak to Gentiles, so they begin to wonder… how is it possible that they’re including us – and how is it possible that we can understand them as if they are speaking our language? In response to their confusion, Peter begins to teach and prophesy, so that everyone might come to know the powerful love of God more deeply, more completely.
That first Pentecost was a powerful moment of heavenly inclusion, a building of relationships where earthly divisions had been. All nations, all people, all languages were being made one body, one family.
Hear me, people of God, when I say that the Holy Spirit of God continues to work just as powerfully in and through us today. If we seek and claim the power of Pentecost, then we too will erupt with the Good News. It will issue forth from our mouths and our lives like rushing water, satisfying those who hunger and thirst for a Love that can include them too.
Do you dream dreams? Do you have visions? …prophesy? Why not? (Really – why not?) All we need to do is claim the power of Pentecost.
In all we do and say as church, we are called to intentionally claim and communally nurture the gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit and use them for the common good – building the family of God here on earth. And today we share an abundance of these gifts in the new members we are about to Baptize into our family – the body of Christ.
Each of these young ones brings gifts to be discovered and nurtured by us. The parents and Godparents pledge to help them grow in their Christian faith and life by their prayers and witness. And we, their new community, their new family, also pray that God will teach them to love in the power of the Spirit and send them into the world in witness to that love, and we pledge to do all in our power to support them in their life in Christ.
These are no small promises! So please don’t make them unless you plan to keep them.
By the Baptisms we are about to share we will expanded our boundaries of love here at Redeemer. And we’ll remember that a faith community once prayed for us too, that we might live a new life of grace and have inquiring and discerning hearts... hearts that seek out and serve those who hunger and thirst for a place to love and be loved in the name of Christ. By the renewal of our own Baptism vows, we also remember that we are all marked as Christ’s own forever and called to love as he loved us.
I now invite the candidates, their Godparents and families, to come to the font for the Sacrament of Holy Baptism.
Note: The sermon text follows the video.
As many of you know, years ago I was a chaplain on the oncology unit of a regional hospital in GA. One day I sat at the bedside of an elderly man who was dying of cancer. He had no teeth and spoke with a very thick southern accent that I found nearly impossible to understand.
I heard enough to know he was telling me his life story – he had a 3rd grade education, something about his sisters and his grandmother… and the death of his parents when he was very young. So there I was, knowing how important it was for me to hear what this man was saying, wishing I could enjoy the stories he was already well into sharing, yet feeling helpless and frustrated because I just couldn’t understand him.
“Lord, give me Pentecost ears” I cried silently in prayer. “Open my ears to hear and understand him. Give me Pentecost ears, Lord – and hurry!” (This is a true story, y’all.) Just as I finished praying, my ears were opened. I literally heard what sounded like a rush of wind. My ears felt like they popped, the way they do when you’re in an airplane and they adjust to the change in pressure.
And suddenly, the man’s voice was as clear as a bell. He was talking about meeting the woman who became his wife just before he shipped off to Europe in WWII. As I listened to the rest of his story, mental pictures were forming in my mind, like a movie that was created as he spoke. He told me about his wife, his children, how his heart broke when his son went to prison, the joy his grand-children and great-grandchildren were in his life.
Here and there I would marvel that I actually could understand him – knowing that I was experiencing a miraculous moment, a moment full of the power of the Holy Spirit. God heard my prayer and answered it – for real! I had been given the gift of Pentecost ears!
The story of the man’s life was long and beautiful. When he was finished, I felt like he was family. This toothless old man, whose great-grandparents were slaves, now felt in my heart like family. And though he died only 6 hours after I’d met him, I will always cherish his memory, our experience of kinship, and the power of the Pentecost experience I shared with him.
When we read the story of Pentecost, we hear about the power of God’s Holy Spirit, the power of love, uniting people who live in a divided world and making them feel like family. Wind and fire, symbols of the presence of God, come among the disciples who know they are in the midst of a miraculous moment, a moment full of the Holy Spirit of God. God has made it clear as a bell for them.
Then filled to overflowing with the powerful love of God’s Holy Spirit, the disciples’ fear vanishes and the Good News starts erupting from their mouths. The sound of this Good News is like a trumpet call and it causes people to draw near.
But the people are confused at first, because everyone knows that Jews don’t speak to Gentiles, so they begin to wonder… how is it possible that they’re including us – and how is it possible that we can understand them as if they are speaking our language? In response to their confusion, Peter begins to teach and prophesy, so that everyone might come to know the powerful love of God more deeply, more completely.
That first Pentecost was a powerful moment of heavenly inclusion, a building of relationships where earthly divisions had been. All nations, all people, all languages were being made one body, one family.
Hear me, people of God, when I say that the Holy Spirit of God continues to work just as powerfully in and through us today. If we seek and claim the power of Pentecost, then we too will erupt with the Good News. It will issue forth from our mouths and our lives like rushing water, satisfying those who hunger and thirst for a Love that can include them too.
Do you dream dreams? Do you have visions? …prophesy? Why not? (Really – why not?) All we need to do is claim the power of Pentecost.
In all we do and say as church, we are called to intentionally claim and communally nurture the gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit and use them for the common good – building the family of God here on earth. And today we share an abundance of these gifts in the new members we are about to Baptize into our family – the body of Christ.
Each of these young ones brings gifts to be discovered and nurtured by us. The parents and Godparents pledge to help them grow in their Christian faith and life by their prayers and witness. And we, their new community, their new family, also pray that God will teach them to love in the power of the Spirit and send them into the world in witness to that love, and we pledge to do all in our power to support them in their life in Christ.
These are no small promises! So please don’t make them unless you plan to keep them.
By the Baptisms we are about to share we will expanded our boundaries of love here at Redeemer. And we’ll remember that a faith community once prayed for us too, that we might live a new life of grace and have inquiring and discerning hearts... hearts that seek out and serve those who hunger and thirst for a place to love and be loved in the name of Christ. By the renewal of our own Baptism vows, we also remember that we are all marked as Christ’s own forever and called to love as he loved us.
I now invite the candidates, their Godparents and families, to come to the font for the Sacrament of Holy Baptism.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Easter 6A: Holy drips
Lectionary: Acts 17:22-31; Psalm 66:7-18; 1 Peter 3:13-22; John 14:15-21
The sermon was extemporaneous, so there is no text today. Here is the audio recording.
The sermon was extemporaneous, so there is no text today. Here is the audio recording.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Summer, 2011 at Redeemer
“Finally, brothers and sisters… Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. (2 Cor 13:11)
As Church, we know that rest from the rigors of work is Biblical. In the story of creation found in Genesis, God rested on the seventh day and called that rest “holy.” The thing about Sabbath-rest is that it is multi-faceted. It includes rest (time doing nothing at all – a holy enterprise), time spent with loved ones, time on fun-filled or creative adventures, and time restoring order to our lives and homes (catching up on bill-paying, cleaning, painting/decorating our homes, etc.).
Taking time for Sabbath rest honors God and ourselves, so this summer at Redeemer, we will be intentional about how we do this together. Vacation means there will be times the office has no one to answer the phones. Thanks in advance to our volunteers who will help out.
We will also be creative this Summer-Sabbath, trying out a couple of new things. If we like them, we may continue them into the following program year:
• Taizé Services: RoseAnn Evan has agreed use her gift for liturgy and offer these lay-led, meditative services monthly. If you love them and want more, just let RoseAnn or me know.
• Movie Night: We will gather monthly to watch movies that inspire discussion of our Christian values and call to mission. There are so many movie options: The Power of One, The Apostle, Chocolat, Spanglish, The Tolkein trilogy, the Harry Potter series. Popcorn and cokes provided.
• Liturgical Music Committee: Led by our Music Director, this committee will choose the hymns and plan the adult and children’s choir presentations for the coming season (three months ahead), and – here’s the new and creative part - plan special musical events, inviting our own musicians to offer their gifts (cello, violin, flute, etc.), inviting guest artists or choirs to come and perform here - maybe to raise funds for the Shepherd's Table or mission work.
VBS, July 10 -14, provides us opportunity to spend quality time with our loved ones, both here at Redeemer and with our new friends in Christ at Ross Grove Baptist Church. Come help or just come! Contact Jennifer Niblack and let her know how you can help.
Our Deanery is providing our youth (grades 6-12) and adults an opportunity for adventure in the mission fields of tornado-stricken Alabama July 24-30. After working to restore order to the lives of our sisters and brothers in Alabama, providing manual labor and Vacation Bible School for the children there, the missioners will enjoy a day of fun-filled play at an amusement park on their way home. To be a part of this adventure, please contact the church office.
Finally, this summer, we will set aside time to put our communal life in order. I‘m asking the leadership of our various ministries to gather your people together and plan for the coming year: Christian Formation for all ages, Children/Youth, Altar Guild, Choir, Episcopal Church Men, Episcopal Church Women, Finance, Liturgical Ministries, Outreach, Pastoral Care, Parish Life, Parish Net, Prayer Shawl, Rosary, Stewardship, Ushers, Welcome, Worship, etc.
May our Summer Sabbath honor God and ourselves and be the time of restoration and creative enterprise that builds us and our future together as Church.
As Church, we know that rest from the rigors of work is Biblical. In the story of creation found in Genesis, God rested on the seventh day and called that rest “holy.” The thing about Sabbath-rest is that it is multi-faceted. It includes rest (time doing nothing at all – a holy enterprise), time spent with loved ones, time on fun-filled or creative adventures, and time restoring order to our lives and homes (catching up on bill-paying, cleaning, painting/decorating our homes, etc.).
Taking time for Sabbath rest honors God and ourselves, so this summer at Redeemer, we will be intentional about how we do this together. Vacation means there will be times the office has no one to answer the phones. Thanks in advance to our volunteers who will help out.
We will also be creative this Summer-Sabbath, trying out a couple of new things. If we like them, we may continue them into the following program year:
• Taizé Services: RoseAnn Evan has agreed use her gift for liturgy and offer these lay-led, meditative services monthly. If you love them and want more, just let RoseAnn or me know.
• Movie Night: We will gather monthly to watch movies that inspire discussion of our Christian values and call to mission. There are so many movie options: The Power of One, The Apostle, Chocolat, Spanglish, The Tolkein trilogy, the Harry Potter series. Popcorn and cokes provided.
• Liturgical Music Committee: Led by our Music Director, this committee will choose the hymns and plan the adult and children’s choir presentations for the coming season (three months ahead), and – here’s the new and creative part - plan special musical events, inviting our own musicians to offer their gifts (cello, violin, flute, etc.), inviting guest artists or choirs to come and perform here - maybe to raise funds for the Shepherd's Table or mission work.
VBS, July 10 -14, provides us opportunity to spend quality time with our loved ones, both here at Redeemer and with our new friends in Christ at Ross Grove Baptist Church. Come help or just come! Contact Jennifer Niblack and let her know how you can help.
Our Deanery is providing our youth (grades 6-12) and adults an opportunity for adventure in the mission fields of tornado-stricken Alabama July 24-30. After working to restore order to the lives of our sisters and brothers in Alabama, providing manual labor and Vacation Bible School for the children there, the missioners will enjoy a day of fun-filled play at an amusement park on their way home. To be a part of this adventure, please contact the church office.
Finally, this summer, we will set aside time to put our communal life in order. I‘m asking the leadership of our various ministries to gather your people together and plan for the coming year: Christian Formation for all ages, Children/Youth, Altar Guild, Choir, Episcopal Church Men, Episcopal Church Women, Finance, Liturgical Ministries, Outreach, Pastoral Care, Parish Life, Parish Net, Prayer Shawl, Rosary, Stewardship, Ushers, Welcome, Worship, etc.
May our Summer Sabbath honor God and ourselves and be the time of restoration and creative enterprise that builds us and our future together as Church.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Easter 5A: Our destination - the broken places
Lectionary: Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14
So, it’s good to see y’all! Those of us not carried away yesterday in a rapturous exultation are called, like Noah and his family, to do God’s work in the world until the reconciling work begun by our Savior is completed. And for the record, no one (no one!) can know or figure out when that will be. (See MT 24:36)
So, on we go, doing the work Jesus prepared us to do. The world is still broken. The work is still hard. And we are still struggling to know what the next steps should be and how we’ll get through them. That makes us an awful lot like the disciples in today’s Gospel story.
Our reading today is the beginning of the Farewell Discourse in John. John is the only Gospel writer who devotes so much space (two long chapters) to this teaching in which Jesus is trying to prepare the disciples for the fulfillment of God’s plan through him, realizing that everyone will be shocked and frightened by what is about to happen.
Jesus has been telling the disciples that he will die and be raised from the dead, but the reality of this just isn’t sinking in. Now, as they gather together at their Last Supper, Jesus spends time teaching them comforting them, and preparing them for the difficult time to come.
Peter, in his beautiful way, has just promised Jesus that he would lay down his life for him! ‘I appreciate the thought, Peter, but – no you won’t. You’ll deny me three times. You’ll be afraid and ashamed.’
The nervousness of the disciples escalates - understandably. Jesus senses their discomfort and tries to calm them. ‘Don’t be disturbed,’ he says. The word-picture for this would be a pool of water being stirred up. ‘Don’t be stirred up,’ Jesus says. Trust God, and trust me.
But Philip is worried. ‘If Peter isn’t strong enough, how will the rest of us get through this?’ So he asks Jesus to reveal God to them right now, so that they can be made strong (a better translation than ‘satisfied’).
You can almost hear Jesus sigh as he responds to Philip: ‘After all this time, you still don’t get it. You have seen God. You are seeing God. I have told you before and I am telling you now – God dwells in me and I in God… Trust God. And trust me. I know this is hard right now, so if you can’t trust me, than look at what has already been accomplished, and trust that, remembering that all of that was accomplished by God who dwells in me and works through me.’
Then Jesus speaks comfort and challenge to them: “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” When we hear this, most of us picture little rooms or houses in the great mansion of God in heaven that we will go to when we die. I think our imagination has long been influenced by the beautiful writings of one of my favorite mystics, St. Theresa of Avila, and her description of the journey to Christian maturity found in her book, Interior Castles – a book, by the way, that I highly recommend.
But the big-picture of Jesus’ teachings, the one we hear over and over again in John’s Gospel, is that God dwells in Jesus and Jesus dwells in God. And Jesus dwells in us, and through him, God dwells in us and we in God.
So Jesus is saying… if you see me go (knowing they will see him die), know that I am going to prepare a place for you. I will come again (knowing they will see him in the resurrection) and will receive you into myself, so that where I am, you all (that word is plural) will also be. Y’all will dwell in me and I will dwell in y’all.’
Jesus isn’t talking about rooms or houses in heaven – he’s talking about us – “the chosen race, the royal priesthood,” the Church “who were not a people, but now are a people” because Jesus dwells in us and we in him.
Having established that, Jesus says, ‘you know the place I’m going and you know the way.’ But Thomas declares, ‘No we don’t. We don’t know where you’re going, so how can we know the way?’
And Jesus answers him with that most comforting of phrases: ‘I am the way (your access to God), and the truth (the revealed reality of God), and the life (the breath of God).’ In this moment, Jesus is making unmistakably clear his identity as God Incarnate, the one who was with God and was God… in the beginning. (See John 1:1) In him, in the Incarnate God, the whole world is reconciled to God – brought into perfect, harmonious unity with God.
Having said that, Jesus reminds the disciples (and us) that all the strength we need is in him: those who trust me “will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” The word ‘works,’ as it is used here, is often understood to mean the things we do, the individual acts we accomplish.
But Jesus is talking about his life’s work, and promises that if we trust him, our life’s work will be like his, and will be added to his work, so that there will be more (not necessarily better) work accomplished that will glorify God.
And all of this can happen because Jesus, who is fully human and fully divine, is about to pass from this place to the next, ushering in the new age, uniting what was divided, making the new reality one that is perfect, harmonious, …a holy union.
The brokenness of the world isn’t something we need to fear or avoid. If we trust that Jesus dwells in us and we in him, then we won’t get stirred up when the brokenness of the world is revealed to us in natural disasters or wars or poverty or disease.
If we trust that we are the dwelling places of God, then we might come to see these broken places as our destination – places we must go carrying light of Christ’s reconciling love.
Then our life’s work, the life’s work of our community, will be truly great.
So, it’s good to see y’all! Those of us not carried away yesterday in a rapturous exultation are called, like Noah and his family, to do God’s work in the world until the reconciling work begun by our Savior is completed. And for the record, no one (no one!) can know or figure out when that will be. (See MT 24:36)
So, on we go, doing the work Jesus prepared us to do. The world is still broken. The work is still hard. And we are still struggling to know what the next steps should be and how we’ll get through them. That makes us an awful lot like the disciples in today’s Gospel story.
Our reading today is the beginning of the Farewell Discourse in John. John is the only Gospel writer who devotes so much space (two long chapters) to this teaching in which Jesus is trying to prepare the disciples for the fulfillment of God’s plan through him, realizing that everyone will be shocked and frightened by what is about to happen.
Jesus has been telling the disciples that he will die and be raised from the dead, but the reality of this just isn’t sinking in. Now, as they gather together at their Last Supper, Jesus spends time teaching them comforting them, and preparing them for the difficult time to come.
Peter, in his beautiful way, has just promised Jesus that he would lay down his life for him! ‘I appreciate the thought, Peter, but – no you won’t. You’ll deny me three times. You’ll be afraid and ashamed.’
The nervousness of the disciples escalates - understandably. Jesus senses their discomfort and tries to calm them. ‘Don’t be disturbed,’ he says. The word-picture for this would be a pool of water being stirred up. ‘Don’t be stirred up,’ Jesus says. Trust God, and trust me.
But Philip is worried. ‘If Peter isn’t strong enough, how will the rest of us get through this?’ So he asks Jesus to reveal God to them right now, so that they can be made strong (a better translation than ‘satisfied’).
You can almost hear Jesus sigh as he responds to Philip: ‘After all this time, you still don’t get it. You have seen God. You are seeing God. I have told you before and I am telling you now – God dwells in me and I in God… Trust God. And trust me. I know this is hard right now, so if you can’t trust me, than look at what has already been accomplished, and trust that, remembering that all of that was accomplished by God who dwells in me and works through me.’
Then Jesus speaks comfort and challenge to them: “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” When we hear this, most of us picture little rooms or houses in the great mansion of God in heaven that we will go to when we die. I think our imagination has long been influenced by the beautiful writings of one of my favorite mystics, St. Theresa of Avila, and her description of the journey to Christian maturity found in her book, Interior Castles – a book, by the way, that I highly recommend.
But the big-picture of Jesus’ teachings, the one we hear over and over again in John’s Gospel, is that God dwells in Jesus and Jesus dwells in God. And Jesus dwells in us, and through him, God dwells in us and we in God.
So Jesus is saying… if you see me go (knowing they will see him die), know that I am going to prepare a place for you. I will come again (knowing they will see him in the resurrection) and will receive you into myself, so that where I am, you all (that word is plural) will also be. Y’all will dwell in me and I will dwell in y’all.’
Jesus isn’t talking about rooms or houses in heaven – he’s talking about us – “the chosen race, the royal priesthood,” the Church “who were not a people, but now are a people” because Jesus dwells in us and we in him.
Having established that, Jesus says, ‘you know the place I’m going and you know the way.’ But Thomas declares, ‘No we don’t. We don’t know where you’re going, so how can we know the way?’
And Jesus answers him with that most comforting of phrases: ‘I am the way (your access to God), and the truth (the revealed reality of God), and the life (the breath of God).’ In this moment, Jesus is making unmistakably clear his identity as God Incarnate, the one who was with God and was God… in the beginning. (See John 1:1) In him, in the Incarnate God, the whole world is reconciled to God – brought into perfect, harmonious unity with God.
Having said that, Jesus reminds the disciples (and us) that all the strength we need is in him: those who trust me “will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” The word ‘works,’ as it is used here, is often understood to mean the things we do, the individual acts we accomplish.
But Jesus is talking about his life’s work, and promises that if we trust him, our life’s work will be like his, and will be added to his work, so that there will be more (not necessarily better) work accomplished that will glorify God.
And all of this can happen because Jesus, who is fully human and fully divine, is about to pass from this place to the next, ushering in the new age, uniting what was divided, making the new reality one that is perfect, harmonious, …a holy union.
The brokenness of the world isn’t something we need to fear or avoid. If we trust that Jesus dwells in us and we in him, then we won’t get stirred up when the brokenness of the world is revealed to us in natural disasters or wars or poverty or disease.
If we trust that we are the dwelling places of God, then we might come to see these broken places as our destination – places we must go carrying light of Christ’s reconciling love.
Then our life’s work, the life’s work of our community, will be truly great.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Easter 4A: Being sheep and shepherds
Lectionary: Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10
When my daughter was little I was the Brownie troop leader. As an expert in the field of abuse prevention, I was called upon each year to help teach the children how to stay safe. I used to begin by telling those little ones that there are some grown-ups who want to trick them and do them harm, and because they are grown-ups they can trick them.
Then I would do this demonstration. (If you get it – don’t say anything until I explain the trick) Tosses a coin. Call it! Heads I win, tails you lose. (Continues until the little ones begin to understand the trick)
The good news though is that these Brownies have a community of family and friends who can help them stay safe. The good grown-ups in their community know the tricks these bad grown-ups use. The good grown-ups can and want to protect their children.
In the Gospel story from John, Jesus claims himself as the Good Shepherd. He does this using a familiar figure of speech not meant to be complete and all encompassing, just meant to make a point: I am the Good Shepherd – these others who have been leading you (the Jewish religious authorities) are thieves and bandits, stealing your trust and robbing you of the abundant life offered by God.
Listen to MY voice, Jesus says. I know my own, and my own know me – they know my voice and they trust it because my voice leads them to safe, green pastures and refreshing, still waters.
The Good Shepherd is a favorite and enduring image of our Redeemer’s relationship with us, even though most of us today don’t have much real experience with sheep or shepherds. But it was a familiar experience in ancient times. Back then, sheep roamed freely during the day, but at night the shepherd found a place to enclose the sheep to protect them from predators.
Most shepherds put planks across the gate to keep the sheep from walking back out during the night. But the truly devoted shepherd would lay himself down across the gate and sleep there. That way no sheep could leave and no predator enter without his knowing.
Of course, lying across that gate leaves the gatekeeper vulnerable to whatever predators might show up. Jesus was claiming to be THAT sort of shepherd –the one who is willing to lay his life down for his sheep.
But not only is Jesus claiming to be the good shepherd, he is claiming to be the gate as well. This makes sense if we remember who Jesus is. As our Gospel writer tells us in the first chapter, Jesus is the Word of God, who was with God in the beginning, and who was God.
Well, of course Jesus is the gate then. How could it be otherwise? Jesus is the one who links heaven and earth. Though him all things were made. Through him all things are reconciled to God. And because he is the Word made flesh, Jesus is both sheep and shepherd and he shows us how to be the same.
Incredibly, many Christians have taken this beautiful passage which is filled with comfort and loving assurance and turned it into something coercive and exclusive: If you don’t believe in Jesus that way I believe in Jesus, you won’t be saved. One problem with that is, this story isn’t about the flock, it’s about the shepherd - the Good Shepherd, who is the true voice of God.
Also, in Jesus’ story there is freedom – those who follow his voice are free to come in and go out. That’s quite different from the way other shepherds then and now have presented it. Some earthly shepherds aren’t fond of freedom – it’s much easier to build a church and control people who don’t know they have the freedom to come in and go out, isn’t it?
But Jesus makes clear in this same speech (later on in verse 16): “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.” You are in my flock. They are outside of it, but they are mine too. I will call to them and they will come because “they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
The voice of the Good Shepherd continues to call sheep into the fold today. And while we are the sheep, we are also the shepherds now. Being a shepherd who is also part of the flock is hard work. How freely do we open our doors to those whom God calls to us? How exactly do we go out and find the sheep who are lost or suffering, who are crying for safety, for nourishment or comfort.
As one of our favorite theologians, Winnie the Pooh says, “You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”
As shepherds, we have to guard the gate – not to keep the flock in… the flock has the freedom to come in and go out as it follows the voice of the Good Shepherd. We don’t guard the gate in order to keep unworthy sheep out. Only the Lamb of God himself, was worthy.
We guard the gate to make sure it opens every time a sheep is ready to enter the fold, having heard and followed the voice of God. We guard it to protect the sheep from those who intend to harm them or lead them astray.
The key in this story, for the sheep and the shepherds of the sheep, is listening – knowing how to hear the voice of God, our Good Shepherd. But how do we learn this?
Peter tells us in the story from Acts, that the early church “spent much time together in the temple.” The psalmist, in response to the graciousness of God, promises to dwell (that is to worship) in the house of the Lord (church) for the rest of his life.
We are called to do the same. The reason is, we discern the voice of God individually and in community. Listening for the voice of God is something we must choose to learn and practice, and we do that by maintaining our commitment to ongoing Christian formation and to corporate prayer in Church.
So, I have a question for you – do you hear the voice of God? Do you hear the Redeemer calling you by name? If not, why not? The voice of God speaks to us in many ways: in our bodies, in our dreams, as a sudden insight in our prayers, in the reading of Scripture, in the voice of a friend, in the smile of a child, in the beauty of a sunset.
God speaks to us all the time in many ways – all we need to do is learn how to hear it. And we don’t need to worry about recognizing God’s voice – Jesus promises that we will know it.
It’s true, we are all vulnerable to being tricked, but having been marked as Christ’s own forever in our Baptism, we know that we can never (never, never!) be tricked out of God’s loving protection. Even if we walk away from God or the Church, mad about something, or disapproving of another thing, we are still one family, one flock, being constantly gathered back into the fold by our Good Shepherd.
As we continue to journey on together, our task is to learn and grow in our ability to listen and heed the voice of our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ so that we can be good shepherds too. We know that along the way, we will share difficult moments, confusing moments, exciting moments, and moments where we see the beauty God longs to show us.
And we know this for sure: that every moment will be one we share with the “guardian of our souls,” our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
When my daughter was little I was the Brownie troop leader. As an expert in the field of abuse prevention, I was called upon each year to help teach the children how to stay safe. I used to begin by telling those little ones that there are some grown-ups who want to trick them and do them harm, and because they are grown-ups they can trick them.
Then I would do this demonstration. (If you get it – don’t say anything until I explain the trick) Tosses a coin. Call it! Heads I win, tails you lose. (Continues until the little ones begin to understand the trick)
The good news though is that these Brownies have a community of family and friends who can help them stay safe. The good grown-ups in their community know the tricks these bad grown-ups use. The good grown-ups can and want to protect their children.
In the Gospel story from John, Jesus claims himself as the Good Shepherd. He does this using a familiar figure of speech not meant to be complete and all encompassing, just meant to make a point: I am the Good Shepherd – these others who have been leading you (the Jewish religious authorities) are thieves and bandits, stealing your trust and robbing you of the abundant life offered by God.
Listen to MY voice, Jesus says. I know my own, and my own know me – they know my voice and they trust it because my voice leads them to safe, green pastures and refreshing, still waters.
The Good Shepherd is a favorite and enduring image of our Redeemer’s relationship with us, even though most of us today don’t have much real experience with sheep or shepherds. But it was a familiar experience in ancient times. Back then, sheep roamed freely during the day, but at night the shepherd found a place to enclose the sheep to protect them from predators.
Most shepherds put planks across the gate to keep the sheep from walking back out during the night. But the truly devoted shepherd would lay himself down across the gate and sleep there. That way no sheep could leave and no predator enter without his knowing.
Of course, lying across that gate leaves the gatekeeper vulnerable to whatever predators might show up. Jesus was claiming to be THAT sort of shepherd –the one who is willing to lay his life down for his sheep.
But not only is Jesus claiming to be the good shepherd, he is claiming to be the gate as well. This makes sense if we remember who Jesus is. As our Gospel writer tells us in the first chapter, Jesus is the Word of God, who was with God in the beginning, and who was God.
Well, of course Jesus is the gate then. How could it be otherwise? Jesus is the one who links heaven and earth. Though him all things were made. Through him all things are reconciled to God. And because he is the Word made flesh, Jesus is both sheep and shepherd and he shows us how to be the same.
Incredibly, many Christians have taken this beautiful passage which is filled with comfort and loving assurance and turned it into something coercive and exclusive: If you don’t believe in Jesus that way I believe in Jesus, you won’t be saved. One problem with that is, this story isn’t about the flock, it’s about the shepherd - the Good Shepherd, who is the true voice of God.
Also, in Jesus’ story there is freedom – those who follow his voice are free to come in and go out. That’s quite different from the way other shepherds then and now have presented it. Some earthly shepherds aren’t fond of freedom – it’s much easier to build a church and control people who don’t know they have the freedom to come in and go out, isn’t it?
But Jesus makes clear in this same speech (later on in verse 16): “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.” You are in my flock. They are outside of it, but they are mine too. I will call to them and they will come because “they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
The voice of the Good Shepherd continues to call sheep into the fold today. And while we are the sheep, we are also the shepherds now. Being a shepherd who is also part of the flock is hard work. How freely do we open our doors to those whom God calls to us? How exactly do we go out and find the sheep who are lost or suffering, who are crying for safety, for nourishment or comfort.
As one of our favorite theologians, Winnie the Pooh says, “You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”
As shepherds, we have to guard the gate – not to keep the flock in… the flock has the freedom to come in and go out as it follows the voice of the Good Shepherd. We don’t guard the gate in order to keep unworthy sheep out. Only the Lamb of God himself, was worthy.
We guard the gate to make sure it opens every time a sheep is ready to enter the fold, having heard and followed the voice of God. We guard it to protect the sheep from those who intend to harm them or lead them astray.
The key in this story, for the sheep and the shepherds of the sheep, is listening – knowing how to hear the voice of God, our Good Shepherd. But how do we learn this?
Peter tells us in the story from Acts, that the early church “spent much time together in the temple.” The psalmist, in response to the graciousness of God, promises to dwell (that is to worship) in the house of the Lord (church) for the rest of his life.
We are called to do the same. The reason is, we discern the voice of God individually and in community. Listening for the voice of God is something we must choose to learn and practice, and we do that by maintaining our commitment to ongoing Christian formation and to corporate prayer in Church.
So, I have a question for you – do you hear the voice of God? Do you hear the Redeemer calling you by name? If not, why not? The voice of God speaks to us in many ways: in our bodies, in our dreams, as a sudden insight in our prayers, in the reading of Scripture, in the voice of a friend, in the smile of a child, in the beauty of a sunset.
God speaks to us all the time in many ways – all we need to do is learn how to hear it. And we don’t need to worry about recognizing God’s voice – Jesus promises that we will know it.
It’s true, we are all vulnerable to being tricked, but having been marked as Christ’s own forever in our Baptism, we know that we can never (never, never!) be tricked out of God’s loving protection. Even if we walk away from God or the Church, mad about something, or disapproving of another thing, we are still one family, one flock, being constantly gathered back into the fold by our Good Shepherd.
As we continue to journey on together, our task is to learn and grow in our ability to listen and heed the voice of our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ so that we can be good shepherds too. We know that along the way, we will share difficult moments, confusing moments, exciting moments, and moments where we see the beauty God longs to show us.
And we know this for sure: that every moment will be one we share with the “guardian of our souls,” our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
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