How we manifest #LoveIsTheWay

Last Sunday we joyfully celebrated the Feast of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit first descended upon the members of the body of Christ on earth, filling them – and now and us - with power and authority to proclaim to the whole world the Good News that in Jesus #LoveIsTheWay. To make manifest this divine commission, we remember and consider our Baptismal Covenant (BCP, 304)

In our Baptismal Covenant we affirm our righteousness, that is, who God is and who we are in relationship to God. We state our belief in God who is Trinity in Unity and commit to living deeply into that relationship by the means of fellowship, gathering for Holy Communion, and corporate prayer. We pledge to work to see, without defense or self-protection, the reality of sadness and harm that exists in the world, to own our contributions toward that worldly state, and to change our direction (or thoughts, or habits) in order to restore righteousness, that is, right relationship with God and one another.

Then come our “action” promises. We promise to proclaim by our words and our lives the Good News of God in Christ. To actively seek out persons to serve in Christ’s name, that is, in the way Christ did, being Christ to them. We promise to love and respect the dignity of all people, committing to follow the path that will inevitably lead us onto a path of sacrificial, justice-seeking, life-transforming love.

Our response to each of these vows affirms for us our righteousness (right relationship) once again: “I will, with God’s help.” God and us working as one until the whole world manifests the fullest expression of #LoveIsTheWay.

This was the ministry Jesus claimed and his ministry was characterized by humility and hospitality, mercy and forgiveness, and reconciliation of the least, the lost, the exiled, the reviled. Boldly proclaiming a new revelation that #LoveIsTheWay, Jesus (who is God, who is Love) set people free from the bondage of their sins and from the bondage of those who sinned against them and set the whole world free to love and respect each other in the unity and presence of God.

This is the ministry we are called to claim today, fully aware that living out this covenantal call will, at times, cause us discomfort, insecurity, even fear, about what we should do next. What ministry, what program, what way of worshipping does God seek from us now?

Remembering our faithfulness to our covenant with God, we resist the temptation to determine how things ought to go, and instead, make space in our own lives and in our life in community for the Spirit of God to descend upon us so that we can be transformed by God’s love and radiate that love into our world according to God’s will. We know that we discover God’s will for us by gathering together to pray and share the strengthening, holy food of Communion, then patiently and humbly listening as one body, one spirit for inspiration (the breath) from God which sends us into the world, to make manifest just a little bit more, in our time and place on God’s earth, the reality that #LoveIsTheWay.

Pentecost, 2018: Languages of love

Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:25-35, 37; Romans 8:22-27; John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15



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E el nombre del Dios: Padre, Hijo, y Espiritu Santo. Amen.

Note: Below are sermon notes, not full text as the Spirit wanted some freedom from this praeacher today. ;)

From our reading from Acts: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.”

As we read that, we consider the languages present that day such as those spoken by the people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pamphylia, Egypt. We may also now consider the languages we heard as some among us read the Gospel in Spanish, German, French, Latin, etc.

But there’s another language to consider: the language that happens when the Holy Spirit of God acts upon us and within us.

God, who is Love, awakens love in us, as William Countryman says, and it takes the form of many languages. This love goes beyond words and becomes for us a state of being; a way of living; a disposition to be less preoccupied by ourselves, and alert and open instead to the needs, state of being, and comfort of the other, and this leads to miraculous outcomes.

STORY: Pentecost ears

Some of the many languages of love are familiar to us. There is the language of touch which was evident this week in the videos of the people at Santa Fe High School coping with (God help us) yet another deadly school shooting.

These people communicated love to one another in their grief and few words were used. Mostly they hugged and cried together in the comfort of one another’s arms.

There is the language of expression – an example being the over-examined expressions on the faces of Harry and Megan as they exchanged their wedding vows yesterday.

Expressions tell us what words may or may not. I remember being a child and knowing that if my dad’s upper lip disappeared, I should clear out because he was angry. I remember the joy that lit up my dying father-in-law’s face every time Steve walked into his room.

One of my favorites is the language of divine whispering an interior experience of God’s wisdom given to us as we actively listen to another as happens most often for me in spiritual direction or pastoral meetings. In this language, ideas and words come that may make no sense to the listener but make surprisingly perfect sense to the speaker sometimes welcomed, sometimes not.

And finally, for today anyway, there’s the language of action, what we do. We can say, preach, proclaim whatever we want, but people will know us by what we do. As Jesus said, “’By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’” (Jn 13:35)

This, I think, is what ++Michael Curry was referring to when he talked about the power that is love, and I could hear in Bp. Curry’s words, echoes of the speech MLK, Jr gave to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1967 where he said, “Power at its best is love… implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.” (186)

This is the power that came upon those gathered at that first Pentecost and it is the same power that comes upon us today. Filled with the liberating power of love, Peter preached to the people from “every nation under heaven” gathered there in Jerusalem that they were witnessing the fulfillment of God’s promise given through the prophet Joel where God declares, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.” Not just male flesh, or Jewish flesh, but all flesh.

Look around you, Peter is telling them. The Holy Spirit is alighting upon all of us: Jew, Gentile, male, female, slave, free – and it’s happening now. On this Pentecost I declare to you that God is still pouring God’s Spirit into all flesh. Not just white flesh, or straight flesh, but all flesh: black, brown, gay, lesbian... all flesh.

As with verbal language, we become more adept with practice. And that is the point of this community, the parish we call St. David’s: to learn and practice the many languages of love.

When we gather to sing and pray together and to share the holy food of Communion, we are inviting the Spirit of God to awaken love in us, to liberate us from a preoccupation with ourselves that we might see and respond to the needs of the people around us.

This is part of our Anglican identity. BCP, 8576Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral – still our current position on ecumenism, that is, promoting Christian unity among the nations of the world. (read)

To paraphrase our Presiding Bishop: imagine what might happen if we all remembered this about ourselves. This kind of humble, sacrificial, transforming love would truly change the world, not to mention the experience of every single church in transition

So how do we do it? How do we speak this king of love speak into the world today? In the gospel reading from John, Jesus gave us three hints about this.

1) We believe in him. Sin is separation. In Jesus are we reconciled to one another and to God.

2) We remember that Jesus reconciled us to God by returning to God, lifting humanity up into his divinity and establishing for evermore what our righteousness is: We truly are, all of us, one body, one spirit in Christ.

3) We remember that God’s judgment for the world was redemption through Jesus the Christ. No other judgment, no matter the source, has power. The only power for us to be concerned about is the power of love and how to use that power for the benefit of all.

Discovering that is discovering our divine purpose.And that is our purpose together during this transitional time. God’s spirit is in us, within us, liberating us and motivating us to use the power of love to change the world.

Let us go forth in the spirit of love and humility and change the world! Amen.

Feast of the Ascension B, 2018: The extraordinary, transforming love of God in us

Lectionary: Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47;; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53



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En el nombre del Dios, Padre, Hijo, y Espiritu Santo. Amen.

All of our Scripture readings today speak to us of power - the power of God given to those who believe. In the story from Acts we hear Luke’s account of Jesus’ last words on earth:"… But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul speaks of “the immeasurable greatness of God’s power for us who believe.”

In the Gospel from Luke, as Jesus was ascending into glory, he blessed his followers, and they “returned to Jerusalem with great joy…” (it might help to know that the Greek word “chara,” translated as ‘joy,’ also means great gift, extraordinary power).

So, this power they are speaking about is a great gift, an extraordinary power and it manifests as joy. Is this something we followers of Christ have today? The answer is simple: Yes, if we choose it.

When Jesus ascended into heaven, he handed over the continuing work of reconciliation to us – the church, the body of Christ in the world. Knowing full well the cost of love, Jesus gave us the power of his love; a love which demands we pray for those who persecute us, forgive those who harm us, and love those who hate us…a love that never gives up on the other, but stands loyally with them, bearing the light of Christ into their darkness.

This love is more powerful than anything else in creation. It is the source of all life, the answer to all sin/separation, and the hope of the world. This love that we have been given can transform lives, heal bodies, move mountains, and renew the face of the earth.

Upon our baptism, the greatness of God’s love becomes like clothing for us, as the gospel of Luke describes it. This divine love is what people see when they see us.

God is not only dwelling within us but also all over us, visible for all to see, including us… and I think that may be what scares us. If we recognize the presence of God in ourselves, we might have to change some things we think about ourselves and others, and how we act or react in the world.

It is as author Marianne Williamson famously said: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.”

So where is the evidence of this extraordinary, powerful love in us today? Where are the miracles? Remember, after Christ ascended, it was the disciples who went about preaching, and teaching, healing the sick and restoring the lost.

We, who are believers now… we who are witnesses of this powerful love in the world today, are called not just to receive the gift of this love, but to use it. We have a responsibility to manifest this love as Christ did while he was on the earth, as the disciples did after Jesus’ ascension.

So I ask you, people of St, David’s, in what ways is this powerful love, being manifest in and through us today? Are we models of forgiveness in a sin-filled world? Are we icons of hope to the hopeless? Light to those trapped in darkness? Comfort to the suffering? Welcomers of the exiled, the reviled, the hated?

It’s so easy for the church to get distracted from our mission, but the mission is simple: Be the extraordinary, powerful, transforming love of God in the world. Make known this amazing Love to those who don’t know it, or have forgotten it, or had it stolen from them by “good Christian folk” who had it all wrong.

Be love in the face of hate and ridicule. Stand humbly in the presence of earthly power and watch as the Source of true power acts through the weak, the least, the last – us. Detach from anger, from being right, and from the rewards of this world and seek only the love that makes no sense, the love that forgives all, welcomes all, and judges none.

When the generations to come look back on our part of this ongoing narrative, what will be the story they tell about us? Will they marvel at how the power of God’s love manifested in the people of St. David’s transformed Cullowhee, WNC – even the world?

The greatest, most powerful thing in the whole world is the same now as it was when creation was being spoken into being: love. And this love has been given to us as a gift from the Creator of the universe. More amazingly, it dwells in us, all around us, and emanates from us.

We have heard throughout this season of Easter that Christ abides in us, and we in him -individually and as a community of faith. Jesus also told us that, as amazing as his ministry was, we would do greater things in ours.

On this Feast of the Ascension, we are being challenged to own the extraordinary, powerful, love already in us and use it to heal the world around us, to reconcile that world back to God. In this moment in St. David’s history, as we live into this transitional time, new life is waiting to begin in us. Like a newborn baby, we are, at this moment, new and unlimited in our potential. Each person here has within them the extraordinary power of God’s love and the community being gathered within these walls has been chosen by God in this time and place to do the work God has for us to do.

So, let’s do it. Let’s be the extraordinary, powerful, transforming love of Godin Christ. And let’s enjoy the heck out of the time we’ve been given to be together as witnesses to the world of that Love. Amen.

Easter 6B, 2018: Upside down, inside out love

Lectionary: Acts 10:44-48; Psalm 98; 1 John 5:1-6; John 15:9-17



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En el nombre del Dios: Padre, Hijo, y Espiritu Santo. Amen.

The theme of abiding in God who abides in us through Christ continues in today’s readings from Scripture. What this particular lectionary offers us is the conditional to that: “IF you keep my commandments, THEN you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”

Jesus is saying, if you watch carefully you will observe that you are being given opportunity after opportunity to love as I have loved. When you respond to those opportunities and love as I have shown you how to do, then you will abide in my love.

And the disciples knew full well that the way Jesus was loving others was making his church angry, his government angry, and eventually cost him his life. They knew the fullness of this command from Jesus to love as he loved. So must we.

Jesus expands this teaching knowing how hard it will be at times to keep it, by assuring them that it is by loving as he loves that they will produce fruit that lasts. And the way you’ll know you’re there, Jesus says, the sign that you’re abiding in my love is - is joy – complete joy – which has nothing to do with what’s happening in the world, and everything to do with what’s happening within you and those around you. Abide in my love.

Remember this, Jesus tells his disciples, because the whenever those opportunities come up for you - and they will, as they will for us - you are to love each other as I have loved you despite what the world says your response should be.

Our reading from Acts today is the conclusion to one of the first attempts by Jesus’ disciples to keep this commandment to love. It’s a story takes pace in Caesarea. Cornelius, a Roman Centurion, a mercenary for the Roman occupiers, has a dream and hears a voice tell him send to Joppa, a nearby city, for a man named Peter, and to bring him to his home.

Meanwhile in Joppa, this man named Peter, who is Jesus’ disciple, has a vision. The Scripture actually says he “fell into a trance” which means to stand outside of one’s usual mind, to be awake but fixed on divine things. In this state, Peter hears a voice tell him to kill and eat food that is forbidden according to Jewish law, turning upside-down and inside-out everything Peter understood about how the world and God work. “What God has made clean, [the voice admonishes him] you must not call profane.”

So Peter, the rock upon whom Jesus built the church, and Cornelius, the Roman mercenary soldier, are led into one another’s presence. Sounds just like church, doesn’t it? People who are worlds apart in their understanding of how the world works and how God works, are brought together into the same time and place – and God has a purpose for it.

Back to the story: Cornelius, sensing the presence of God who abides in Peter, falls at Peter’s feet when they meet. Peter, probably unaware of how powerfully the presence of God within him is felt by others, lifts Cornelius up and in that moment, understands God’s message to him. “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” Not just food, but ALL God has made is sacred – even this man who represents everything Peter would be justified in hating.

Cornelius discerns the reason God called them together and invites Peter to speak to his household. Peter’s sermon to this gathering was our reading from Acts last Sunday– the one where Peter begins with what I think is one of the wisest and bravest statements in the Bible: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”

Remember, Peter is saying this to Cornelius’ Roman household, probably 200 people or more, plus the Jews who had accompanied Peter… Note: I need to remind you that Peter and Paul, at this point, had been fighting over whether or not someone could become a Christian until they had become a Jew… remember they had to be circumcised. So this is Peter saying, “I understand God shows no partiality” and everyone who believes in him is acceptable to him.

Then Peter goes on proclaiming that Jesus of Nazareth, whom they just executed, is Lord of all, and Peter testifies to them that “everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” This is where our reading from Acts today picks up. While Peter was still saying this, testifying in this way, “the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word…” A mini-Pentecost. In that moment all those present, and us who read this today, understand that what had been divided on earth had been made one by heaven on earth.

Reconciliation was made manifest. God in Christ worked through wonderfully imperfect Peter and Cornelius who saw the opportunity to love as Jesus has loved and did so! Even as we re-read this story, our joy like the joy of those in the story from Acts, is made complete. We know that God, who is love, can and does reconcile those who hate each other, or are different from one another, or who understand the world and God differently from each other.

This story from Acts verifies for us what John is saying in his epistle: that what conquers the world, that is, what successfully overcomes problems or weakness, what gains respect and admiration, is our faith, our trust in God whose plan of redemption is activated in us who believe.

It is God who acts. God uses us, in all our imperfection, to reconcile those who are divided by anything into one family, one spirit in Christ. That is the God’s purpose; and it is the fruit that lasts.

So when we find our Christian virtue challenged (as I say it) by someone we’d prefer not to love, or by someone we’re totally justified not loving, Jesus teaches us to choose to love anyway, especially then, so that we can be participants with God in the fulfillment of God’s purpose – reconciliation.

You will often hear me say that I believe each church, each parish, in every denomination is an intentional action of the Holy Spirit - whatever it’s condition, or status, or even its state of health and vitality. Every church is an intentional action of the Holy Spirit. The church is the physical location for the work of God which was described in the story from Acts.

God is doing for us today what God did for Peter and for Cornelius: bringing us and our diverse neighbors into the presence of one another, turning everything we know about God and the world inside out and upside down, in order to make room for the reconciling love of God to transform earthly divisions into divine unity.

Remember, Peter was as astonished as anyone else that day by what God was doing. But he was watchful for the opportunity and responded faithfully when it presented itself. He probably would not have wanted to hang out with Cornelius before that dream, or baptize him. When I read that Peter offered baptism to all those upon whom the Spirit had fallen, I rejoice and also hear the voice of the liturgy police, planted into my brain in seminary, gasp with disapproval that this sacrament would be given without the proper preparation. Yet, there it is…

Baptism isn’t a membership ritual we hold until we think someone’s ready. It is not membership into our club. It is a sacrament of inclusion, making manifest for all to see, the sacredness and chosen-ness of all whom God has made.

In the end, it is Love who chooses us, activates us, reconciles us, and finally, transforms the world through us. How sweet it is when our faith makes space for God to act. This is our victory. This is the fruit that lasts.

Amen.

Easter 5B, 2018: Unifying fire

Acts 8:26-40; Psalm 22:24-30; 1 John 4:7-21; John 15:1-8



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En el nombre del Dios: Padrej, Hijo, y Espiritu Santo. Amen.

I had a conversation the other day with a friend who was processing the Scripture for their sermon for today and they asked me: What does “abide” mean to you?

It was a good question, so I’d like to ask it of you and offer a portion of this sermon time for a holy conversation on what it means that we abide in God AND that God abides in us.

…HOLY CONVERSATION…

Years ago I burned my arm from here (wrist) to here (near shoulder). First, second, and third degree burns. The pain was indescribably awful, and as I read today’s gospel I wonder…who could love a God like that? I couldn’t.

So what about that last bit of the gospel where the branches that bear no fruit are thrown into the fire and burned? Many, many people hear that as a threat: If you’re bad child, God will punish you in a torturous way.

Doesn’t our epistle from John say that there is no fear in love? That perfect love casts out fear?

Is it possible to love and not fear a God who threatens to burn you up if you don’t produce? So how do we understand Jesus’ words about the branches being thrown into the fire?

The answer is found in the lager narrative of our love story with God. Where else in the Bible do we hear about fire?

• Exodus 3:1-6 – (Story of the burning bush) Moses saw that the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed…. Then God called to Moses out of the bush saying: ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’

• Exodus 13: 21 – (God’s guidance of the Israelites in exile) The LORD went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.

• Exodus 24:17 – (Story of God giving Moses the 10 commandments) Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.

• Deut 5:24 - And you said, “The LORD our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire.

• Luke 3:16 - John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

• Acts 2:3 – (the story of Pentecost) They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

Fire, in Bible-speak then, is the presence of God, who our epistle from John teaches us, is love. And the narrative of our love story with God, that is, our Scriptures, illustrates for us that God’s love surrounds us when we are afraid, guides us when we are lost, and transforms us when we need renewal, giving us new life, like the legendary phoenix who is consumed by fire only to rise again.

Sharing in the presence and passion of God results in our knowing that we are connected, to God, and to one another, bound by the eternal love of God. Knowing that truth means we will no longer be able to separate ourselves into groups of ‘us’ and ‘them,’ or even us and God. We will live in the unity of the abiding love that is God. When we live according to that truth no one will have to tell us to be honest, or gentle, or humble in our dealings with one another.

We will bear this fruit because we will know that the root we spring from is God and our words, choices, and actions will demonstrate the character and nature of God who abides in us.

Living in this way, we don’t fear for our lives. Instead, like Jesus we surrender ourselves to God knowing that God’s plan of salvation is for the whole world.

Like Mary, Jesus’ mother, Peter, John, and all who call themselves disciples of Jesus, the Christ, we give up our expectations for what our lives might be and give ourselves fully to God whose plan, we know, is so much more than we can ask or imagine.

And we walk steadfastly in the path God sets before us knowing it leads to eternal life that is, life in the eternal presence of God, trusting as that plan is revealed to us over time, and remembering that though there were awful, devastating moments along the way for Jesus, Mary, Peter, John, and the other disciples - and that there will be for us too -the Good News in our Scripture today is that God abides in us and we in him, so all will truly be well as Dame Julian of Norwich famously said.

When we are experiencing the pain of divine pruning (which in a church setting often means letting go “what we’ve always done,” or relinquishing our perceptions about people in our past or present) we rejoice and cooperate with the divine Love at work in us, preparing us to produce more fruit.

When we see our withered branches (which in a church setting may be in the form of favored ministries or events, or even persons who for whatever reason can’t move into the new life God is leading the church) when we see them being thrown into the fire we rejoice and cooperate with the divine Love who is doing its transforming work, so that like the phoenix, they and we will rise again into new life.

The Good news of our salvation in Jesus Christ is that resurrection is always God’s response to death - every kind of death –including: the death of a ministry, a habit, a friend, an idea, a self or other-perception, or control…

New life is God’s response to all death and healing is God’s response to all wounds. We can, therefore, offer ourselves and our lives fully to God, not out of fear, but anticipating the new life God is waiting to give us.

So rejoice, beloved ones. Be joyful. There is no nothing to fear, no one or no thing to avoid – only new life to embrace. Amen.

Easter 4B, 2018: Abiding with our Shepherd

Lectionary: Acts 4:5-12; Psalm 23; 1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-1



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En el nombre del Dios: Padre, Hijo, y Espiritu Santo. Amen.

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 or all encompassing, just meant to make a point: I am the Good Shepherd – those others who have been leading you (meaning the Jewish leaders and religious authorities) are thieves and bandits, stealing your trust and robbing you of the abundant life offered by God.

The Good Shepherd is a favorite and enduring image of our Redeemer’s relationship with us (pictorial images of Jesus carrying a lamb over his shoulders) even though most of us today don’t have much real experience with sheep or shepherds.

But it was a familiar experience in Jesus’ time. 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 and from running off and getting lost.

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 meant the shepherd was left 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.

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 can’t come in. The gate will be closed to you.

But Jesus makes clear, “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 listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

The Good Shepherd continues to call sheep into the fold today. We are not yet all one flock, and it’s up to us right now to do our part to get closer to that goal.

We must, therefore, continually ask ourselves, how freely our gate is opened to those whom God calls to join us? And in what ways do allow Jesus to speak through us today – out there? Remember, Jesus went out to the cities and villages to heal the sick, welcome the stranger and set people free from the power of sin in their lives.

As one of my 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.”

Likewise, we must go out and enter into relationship with those who are lost or suffering, who are crying for safety, for nourishment or comfort, or just companionship. We must go to them and share the good news that God is always there with us, showing us the way to healing and restoration and protecting us from whatever threatens to harm us.

When the chaos of life swirls without and within us there is our Shepherd, always nearby, ready to show us the way to the verdant pasture beside the still waters where a feast has been prepared for us.

Picture it with me, using the 23rd Psalm as our narrative. We’re tired. We need to rest and let the world turn without us for a while. Or we’re breaking under a burden that has become too heavy to bear. Or we’ve never really believed we were of any value to anyone, including God. Or we’re lonely, isolated, or exiled by those most important to us. Our hearts and our heads are heavy. We are weary.

Then we hear the voice of our Shepherd inviting us to come – to nourish our bodies, rest our minds, and fill our souls. We look up and see tables set out on a flat area in the grass. A babbling creek runs along one side emptying into a pool as smooth as glass. A great green pasture spreads out in the other direction.

The tables are covered in fresh, white cloths. The flames of the candles on the tables dance in the soft breeze but never go out; and the tables are decorated with vases of fragrant flowers and herbs.

The sumptuous food is laid in the center of each table; and there are goblets of water and wine, already full, at every seat – and there are lots of seats – because eating a feast in the realm of God means being in community.

It’s a family meal where no one is lonely, no one is left out of the conversation, and everyone has plenty to eat. Our cups are running over, and joy abounds.

Then, to prove just how much we matter God anoints our heads with oil -something usually reserved for kings and queens. At that moment, when the oil touches our foreheads, we feel the power of God’s love enter us and course through our bodies like light breaking into darkness.

As the peace of God fills us, we close our eyes, lift our faces heavenward, open our arms and our hearts, and receive the grace God is lavishing upon us.Then we understand… We understand that the goodness and mercy of God will accompany us, every moment of every day of our lives. We understand because God abides in us and we in God, for ever and for ever more. We understand that we have nothing to fear and everything to gain by living lives of love; not just in word or speech, but in truth and action.

Let us, therefore, ask boldly for what we and our neighbors need, then faithfully receive all that God is ready and waiting to lavish upon us, and put to use all we are given for the glory of God and the welfare of God’s people.

As we prepare to share our Holy Communion, our earthly version of the feast described in Psalm 23, we open our hearts and minds to hear the voice of our Shepherd calling us by name, bidding us to eat and drink as we’re made into one body, one Spirit in Christ. For it is only in the realm of God that can we be totally and uniquely who we are, and at the same time, one with all that is, all that was, and all that ever will be.

Let us pray…Grant us, O God, to follow where you lead, remembering that we can lack nothing and have nothing to fear, because we abide with you forever. Amen.

Easter 3B, 2018: Chidren's sermon - Jesus' peace

Our sermon for Easter 3B at St. David's was a children's sermon called: Jesus' peace.

It was conversational as well as a teaching so there is no text. A couple of pictures were referenced and those are attached, along with a pic of the Jesus' peace pendants each one received.

The children's "homework" was to give a pendant to someone this week and tell them the good news of Jesus' peace. Thanks to the children - who were awesome - and the parents for caring about the Christian formation of your childrren!