Transfiguration 2007
(The Last Sunday of Epiphany)
Exodus 34:29-35, Psalm 99, 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2, Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a)
Yesterday at the cathedral I overheard some retreat leaders practicing the
traditional sendoff for the end of the weekend, a warning:
It will be different when you get down off the mountain. It will be different
when you get home and this peak experience becomes a memory. How will you carry
it with you?
On the Sunday of Labor Day weekend in 1977, three men from an office in San
Francisco set out to climb Mount Darwin, on the crest of the High Sierra. We
came close. We climbed the peak just south of it, a mountain 12,125 feet high
that went unnamed in Starr's guidebook: we called it Three Musketeers Peak.
We musketeers had toiled all day to climb that mountain. We hugged boulders,
climbed talus slopes. Just short of the top, which proved to be one last too-big
boulder, we paused. An eagle alighted on a rock just above my head.
Jim said, look. I turned, and the eagle exploded into motion. Three images
burned into my brain (well, four, if you count Jim): the eagle at rest, the
eagle all pinfeathers and wings bursting into the air wheeling at once, and the
bird soaring in the air suddenly far above the ground.
We began to trudge back down the mountain. Then, listen: a flute. Looking up to
the left, to the side ridge sloping eastward away from the summit and the crest,
we saw a hippie (this was 1977) strolling along below the ridge top, in shorts
and boots, playing a flute and enjoying the summery day.
Doggone it! This was our mountain! And don't you realize this is supposed to be
WORK?
Well, it was a fine summery day after all, just before the fall. So you couldn't
really blame the guy. You could just - enjoy him.
We clambered on down and found our way to camp alongside Hungry Packer Lake.
You cannot stay on the peak forever. It gets cold up there. Imagine it now,
today, in the middle of February. Maybe with Alpine expedition gear you could
stay up there for a few hours; with Sherpas to re-supply you, maybe for a few
days. But no, you cannot live up there for long.
No point in building three booths, Peter. We have to come down off the mountain.
Go back to work. Up betimes and to the office. Or, in Jesus' case, back to
healing, and on to Jerusalem, where the real hard cold mountain climb awaits.
Jesus warns the disciples, the son of man will be put in the hands of sinners,
but they don't get it. They do follow him, but they just don't get it. Not yet.
Perhaps that is why they said nothing at the time about what they saw on the
mountain. There is Jesus, on the mountain, transfigured - with two other figures
shining just as bright, whom they somehow know to be his kin in prophet-hood.
They recognize Moses and Elijah, each of whom made his own way out of the
familiar human condition into God's own country.
Jesus is to follow them there: he is preparing to make, to accomplish, his own
departure. And yet, he is greater than these: "This is my Son, my Chosen one,"
the voice from within the cloud proclaims: "Listen to his voice."
As Herbert O'Driscoll has pointed out, Andrew must have seen something in his
brother's face when Peter came down from that mountain. That is often how we
perceive the holy: God's light reflected in another's face.
Paul reminds us we see now the glory of the Lord reflected as in a mirror - and
that we, in turn, are changed into that same likeness, the living icons of the
glory of God.
It may be that we are not the ones on the mountaintop - like Andrew, brother of
Peter, we may see the light shining in another's face.
* * * * *
Where do you experience the presence, and the glory, of God?
Where do you find the mountain? Where do you hear the voice?
Do you see the shining face of Our Lord in a moment of conversion, a sacramental
moment?
Do you recognize him in an unexpected moment, person, or event?
Have you seen the glory of God reflected in another's face, in familiar,
ordinary people, and even, unexpectedly, in ordinary things?
Has someone surprised you with kindness, kindness shown to another that you
could not yourself have shown such kindness?
Have you seen his grace reflected in forgiveness, in a moment of reconciliation-
and found yourself changed?
The encounter with God really changes you!
In this coming season, this Lent, seek the Lord where he wills to be found:
-- Seek Christ in others, in sacraments, in ordinary days and ordinary ways.
(Perhaps my Lenten discipline this year will be as simple as the ordinary acts
of ordinary days - but with a difference... a difference in how I approach these
ordinary acts: to see in them an opportunity to see God reflected.)
-- Seek Christ in mountains, too. If we look at you funny, don't be surprised.
John Leech+
Saint James of Jerusalem, Yuba City
February 18, 2007.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Thomas Bray
Thomas Bray
Priest and Missionary, 1730
February 15
Isaiah 52:7-10, Luke 10:1-9, Psalm 102:15-22 or Psalm 85:8-13
O God of compassion, you opened the eyes of your servant Thomas Bray to see the
needs of the Church in the New World, and led him to found societies to meet
those needs: Make the Church in this land diligent at all times to propagate the
Gospel among those who have not received it, and to promote the spread of
Christian knowledge; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Appointed missionary visitor [Commissary] to the Maryland colony, Bray visited
it once, for two-and-a-half months, around 1699. During that visit, he founded
lending libraries and schools, providing for the instruction of children and the
advancement of education. He was concerned for native and African Americans –
the latter Black slaves. Returning to England, he encouraged English clergy to
go to serve in America. He was an early founder of voluntary associations – that
characteristically American social institution later described by another
visitor to these shores, Alexis de Tocqueville – notably the SPCK and SPG both
of which are still going strong. Learning of the plight of prisoners in English
jails he instituted "Beef and Beer" dinners on Sundays in prisons. His proposals
for prison reform included the initial suggestion to Gen. Oglethorpe to
establish a colony for the relief of "honest debtors" – which resulted in the
foundation of Georgia. He seems to have seen missions as a partnership – his
compassionate, pragmatical, and immediate response to human need – what do we
have on hand? – as well as his vocation as evangelist and idea man, prompt for
us the question, how can we respond to the needs of the world in our own day?
Priest and Missionary, 1730
February 15
Isaiah 52:7-10, Luke 10:1-9, Psalm 102:15-22 or Psalm 85:8-13
O God of compassion, you opened the eyes of your servant Thomas Bray to see the
needs of the Church in the New World, and led him to found societies to meet
those needs: Make the Church in this land diligent at all times to propagate the
Gospel among those who have not received it, and to promote the spread of
Christian knowledge; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Appointed missionary visitor [Commissary] to the Maryland colony, Bray visited
it once, for two-and-a-half months, around 1699. During that visit, he founded
lending libraries and schools, providing for the instruction of children and the
advancement of education. He was concerned for native and African Americans –
the latter Black slaves. Returning to England, he encouraged English clergy to
go to serve in America. He was an early founder of voluntary associations – that
characteristically American social institution later described by another
visitor to these shores, Alexis de Tocqueville – notably the SPCK and SPG both
of which are still going strong. Learning of the plight of prisoners in English
jails he instituted "Beef and Beer" dinners on Sundays in prisons. His proposals
for prison reform included the initial suggestion to Gen. Oglethorpe to
establish a colony for the relief of "honest debtors" – which resulted in the
foundation of Georgia. He seems to have seen missions as a partnership – his
compassionate, pragmatical, and immediate response to human need – what do we
have on hand? – as well as his vocation as evangelist and idea man, prompt for
us the question, how can we respond to the needs of the world in our own day?
Sunday, February 4, 2007
guystuff
guystuff - notes for a sermon
Judges 6:11-24a
The angel greets Gideon, "The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior!"
He replies, "WHO, ME?"
"Go in this might of yours," the angel says, "I hereby commission you!"
Gideon protests: "But I am the last and least of my little people."
"But I will be with you," says the Lord.
"SHOW ME A SIGN!" Gideon pleads. And boy does he get one.
"Help me, Lord!" he cries. "For I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face."
And the Lord says, "Peace. Do not fear." The Lord is peace.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
In Paul's letter to the Corinthians, he tells of the tradition he has passed
down to them - and thence to us, the good news that, in accordance with the
Scriptures, Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he was raised on the
third day. Now Paul puts himself into the story - as the last of those who saw
the resurrected Jesus, and the least of his messengers. Yet God used him, by the
grace of God, to bring the message, the good news. God's grace we proclaim; you
have come to believe in God's grace, and to put your faith in the Messiah.
Luke 5:1-11
Peter shows us an early example of that faith at work, as he goes ahead, taking
Jesus at his word, into his boat, out a little ways, then farther into deep
water. And then, on land, he embarks on a riskier journey yet - taking on a new
way of living, of being. No longer is he the captain of his fate, the pilot of
his own boat: he has turned the helm over to Jesus.
And now - he will follow him; From now on - he will be catching people:
And the nets he will haul in - or others for him - will be full of joy.
What we experience when we take on the new way of being, the new life in Christ,
is no less radical. It may come to us in familiar, gentle, ways, in the course
of our daily livelihood - and we pass it on others there as well - but it takes
us on a new adventure, like fishermen out of water.
At the office where I worked, one Friday I asked a co-worker,
--Hey Walter, what are you going to do this weekend?
--Oh, you know, go to a bar, have a few brews, watch the game. You know,
guystuff.
A couple of weeks later, I asked again,
--Walter, what are you going to do this weekend?
--Oh, you know, pick up my kid, take him to the park, play with him. You know,
guystuff.
Walter taught me a new word - guystuff - and he taught me what it meant: stuff
guys like to do... and he taught me what that really means: not just stuff guys
like to do like watch the Super Bowl, hang out with their buddies, swap lies,
drink beer, smoke cigars... but other stuff guys like to do too, like be a
father, be a responsible, caring parent, spend time with their children, show
them some love, enjoy them. Guystuff - the stuff guys like to do - is a human
thing: like fishing all night with your friends, and turning up empty in the
morning, pulling in your nets. It's also taking a preacher out in your boat, a
little way from shore, so the people on the banks of the inlet can hear him
clearly. And, it turns out, it can also mean a bit more. It's a human thing,
guystuff - and it can be a God thing. What Jesus had in mind, to proclaim the
word of God, to let the crowd hear the good news, and let some of the good news
be caught by those on the boat as well, then to put out into the deep waters, --
requires a real act of courage, trust, faith on Peter's part - and put down the
nets once again. Something quite ordinary is no longer so ordinary after all.
God fills the boat - our lives - to over-abundance, the measure of devotion like
an ephod of grain shaken down and spilling over. God's grace comes aboard.
What will we do with it? Will we, like Peter, respond with joy, with awe, with
acceptance, dedication, a new purpose in life? Will we know when it is time to
pull the boat up onto the beach, to leave what we were doing and come follow
him? What would this look like - for you today?
If you are going to do guystuff this afternoon - drink a few brews, watch the
game, play with your kid, catch a few fish - [or] will you be ready, when the
call comes, to drop everything, become fishers catching people from now on? In
abundance, beyond promise, without measure? Are you perhaps already doing it?
Maybe unconsciously, you have begun to venture out a little farther, into the
deeper water, using the tools you have been given, the ordinary tools of your
life, to begin something extraordinary. God took the ordinary stuff of regular
guys - a bunch of guys who had been out fishing together, no less - and
transformed the ordinary stuff of their lives, showing them what was behind it -
God's hand at work - revealing to them the Messiah, present, right there, on the
lakeshore with them.
Gideon, the last and least of his people, God greets as a mighty warrior.
Knowing him better than he knew himself, God told him, "Don't be afraid."
Paul passes on the good news, that Christ died for our sins, he was buried and
he was raised on the third day. He protests that "I AM THE LEAST and last of the
Apostles," but by the grace of God, he says, "I AM WHAT I AM." It is by God's
grace that he serves, and his grace is not in vain. "Grace we proclaim; Grace
you have come to believe."
The people come to hear the WORD of GOD. Jesus coaxes Peter, "Put out a little
way...Put out into the deep..." When he sees what is going on, Peter pleads, "Go
away! I AM A SINFUL MAN." But the Lord says, again, "Do not be afraid. From now
on you will be catching people."
Right here with us, on an ordinary day, God is taking what we bring, bread and
wine and water and oil -- and ourselves, as God made us - and turning them
somehow into extraordinary stuff: the food and drink of everlasting life, the
present reality of God with us.
St. John's, Chico, California
February 4, 2007.
CEpiphany5 BCP
Judges 6:11-24a, Psalm 85 or 85:7-13, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11
Judges 6:11-24a
The angel greets Gideon, "The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior!"
He replies, "WHO, ME?"
"Go in this might of yours," the angel says, "I hereby commission you!"
Gideon protests: "But I am the last and least of my little people."
"But I will be with you," says the Lord.
"SHOW ME A SIGN!" Gideon pleads. And boy does he get one.
"Help me, Lord!" he cries. "For I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face."
And the Lord says, "Peace. Do not fear." The Lord is peace.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
In Paul's letter to the Corinthians, he tells of the tradition he has passed
down to them - and thence to us, the good news that, in accordance with the
Scriptures, Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he was raised on the
third day. Now Paul puts himself into the story - as the last of those who saw
the resurrected Jesus, and the least of his messengers. Yet God used him, by the
grace of God, to bring the message, the good news. God's grace we proclaim; you
have come to believe in God's grace, and to put your faith in the Messiah.
Luke 5:1-11
Peter shows us an early example of that faith at work, as he goes ahead, taking
Jesus at his word, into his boat, out a little ways, then farther into deep
water. And then, on land, he embarks on a riskier journey yet - taking on a new
way of living, of being. No longer is he the captain of his fate, the pilot of
his own boat: he has turned the helm over to Jesus.
And now - he will follow him; From now on - he will be catching people:
And the nets he will haul in - or others for him - will be full of joy.
What we experience when we take on the new way of being, the new life in Christ,
is no less radical. It may come to us in familiar, gentle, ways, in the course
of our daily livelihood - and we pass it on others there as well - but it takes
us on a new adventure, like fishermen out of water.
At the office where I worked, one Friday I asked a co-worker,
--Hey Walter, what are you going to do this weekend?
--Oh, you know, go to a bar, have a few brews, watch the game. You know,
guystuff.
A couple of weeks later, I asked again,
--Walter, what are you going to do this weekend?
--Oh, you know, pick up my kid, take him to the park, play with him. You know,
guystuff.
Walter taught me a new word - guystuff - and he taught me what it meant: stuff
guys like to do... and he taught me what that really means: not just stuff guys
like to do like watch the Super Bowl, hang out with their buddies, swap lies,
drink beer, smoke cigars... but other stuff guys like to do too, like be a
father, be a responsible, caring parent, spend time with their children, show
them some love, enjoy them. Guystuff - the stuff guys like to do - is a human
thing: like fishing all night with your friends, and turning up empty in the
morning, pulling in your nets. It's also taking a preacher out in your boat, a
little way from shore, so the people on the banks of the inlet can hear him
clearly. And, it turns out, it can also mean a bit more. It's a human thing,
guystuff - and it can be a God thing. What Jesus had in mind, to proclaim the
word of God, to let the crowd hear the good news, and let some of the good news
be caught by those on the boat as well, then to put out into the deep waters, --
requires a real act of courage, trust, faith on Peter's part - and put down the
nets once again. Something quite ordinary is no longer so ordinary after all.
God fills the boat - our lives - to over-abundance, the measure of devotion like
an ephod of grain shaken down and spilling over. God's grace comes aboard.
What will we do with it? Will we, like Peter, respond with joy, with awe, with
acceptance, dedication, a new purpose in life? Will we know when it is time to
pull the boat up onto the beach, to leave what we were doing and come follow
him? What would this look like - for you today?
If you are going to do guystuff this afternoon - drink a few brews, watch the
game, play with your kid, catch a few fish - [or] will you be ready, when the
call comes, to drop everything, become fishers catching people from now on? In
abundance, beyond promise, without measure? Are you perhaps already doing it?
Maybe unconsciously, you have begun to venture out a little farther, into the
deeper water, using the tools you have been given, the ordinary tools of your
life, to begin something extraordinary. God took the ordinary stuff of regular
guys - a bunch of guys who had been out fishing together, no less - and
transformed the ordinary stuff of their lives, showing them what was behind it -
God's hand at work - revealing to them the Messiah, present, right there, on the
lakeshore with them.
Gideon, the last and least of his people, God greets as a mighty warrior.
Knowing him better than he knew himself, God told him, "Don't be afraid."
Paul passes on the good news, that Christ died for our sins, he was buried and
he was raised on the third day. He protests that "I AM THE LEAST and last of the
Apostles," but by the grace of God, he says, "I AM WHAT I AM." It is by God's
grace that he serves, and his grace is not in vain. "Grace we proclaim; Grace
you have come to believe."
The people come to hear the WORD of GOD. Jesus coaxes Peter, "Put out a little
way...Put out into the deep..." When he sees what is going on, Peter pleads, "Go
away! I AM A SINFUL MAN." But the Lord says, again, "Do not be afraid. From now
on you will be catching people."
Right here with us, on an ordinary day, God is taking what we bring, bread and
wine and water and oil -- and ourselves, as God made us - and turning them
somehow into extraordinary stuff: the food and drink of everlasting life, the
present reality of God with us.
St. John's, Chico, California
February 4, 2007.
CEpiphany5 BCP
Judges 6:11-24a, Psalm 85 or 85:7-13, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Brigid
Notes for a homily
Brigid
February 1
1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Matthew 6:25-33, Psalm 138 or Psalm 1
Everliving God, we rejoice today in the fellowship of your blessed servant
Brigid, and give you thanks for her life of devoted service. Inspire us with
life and light, and give us perseverance to serve you all our days; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
This is the feast of Brigid, abbess of Kildare, patroness [matron saint] of
Ireland, of poets and healers [liaigh, leech], dairymaids and blacksmiths. She
was of humble, or noble, birth. Baptised by Patrick, she founded the first Irish
religious community for women. It was a double monastery, with men too. As
abbess her authority was extraordinary, and not confined by Episcopal orders.
Baptised, as missionaries in the Roman Empire had done, was the local custom of
holding February 1st as a festival: sacred fire, god of spring, or of valor,
poetry, draftsmanship.
A compassionate healer, Brigid was generous to a fault (cf. poem "The Giveaway" by Phyllis Mcginley, 1957).
Providence, faith (Matthew 6:32-33)
Brigid
February 1
1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Matthew 6:25-33, Psalm 138 or Psalm 1
Everliving God, we rejoice today in the fellowship of your blessed servant
Brigid, and give you thanks for her life of devoted service. Inspire us with
life and light, and give us perseverance to serve you all our days; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
This is the feast of Brigid, abbess of Kildare, patroness [matron saint] of
Ireland, of poets and healers [liaigh, leech], dairymaids and blacksmiths. She
was of humble, or noble, birth. Baptised by Patrick, she founded the first Irish
religious community for women. It was a double monastery, with men too. As
abbess her authority was extraordinary, and not confined by Episcopal orders.
Baptised, as missionaries in the Roman Empire had done, was the local custom of
holding February 1st as a festival: sacred fire, god of spring, or of valor,
poetry, draftsmanship.
A compassionate healer, Brigid was generous to a fault (cf. poem "The Giveaway" by Phyllis Mcginley, 1957).
Providence, faith (Matthew 6:32-33)
Saturday, January 20, 2007
emancipation
Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and
proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole
world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your
sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
Psalm 19:14
For the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10
The day of the Lord, the day he renews his covenant, is a day of feasting and of
celebration. In Christ we can lift our heads up and be glad. God has established
his reign in the proclaiming of the good news. It has begun! These are early
days, yes, but the bud is there, the flower to follow, and the ripened fruit
will surely come. What God has put in train with this inaugural proclamation he
will see through to perfection.
When Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, most of its
beneficiaries heard of it only slowly. Its effects were not immediately felt -
or were they? As word spread, rejoicing spread, and the dawn of a new
consciousness: you are no longer subject to the powers that be, the domination
system of the old world order you knew. Something new has come: and you can
start living as part of it. Live into the kingdom as if it were already here,
because in a sense, it is! It is on its way.
Over the months that followed the Emancipation Proclamation, thousands of freed
slaves made their way to Union lines, and regiment after regiment was formed of
volunteers ready for the campaign to bring freedom to the land and to their
people. It was not easy; it is not yet over; but it has begun, and it has
already gone far beyond the words of the initial proclamation that got things
started.
Even so, Jesus laid out his program, turning water into wine, proclaiming
release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom to the
oppressed, and for everyone the year of Jubilee, the year of celebration, of
restoration of right relationships, between people and between God and the
people of God. Justice and peace join hands.
This is the acceptable year of the Lord.
And so today, in this present moment, you and I are confronted with a challenge,
the call indeed to radical obedience, because in this present moment is our
freedom. We receive the call to act, to declare ourselves true servants of the
reign of God.
What form this action will take varies for each of us. Each of us is called to a
different task, for each of us is given a different gift. The Spirit portions
out from the royal treasury - the royal armory - what God chooses for each of
us, giving to one the gift - and duty - of prophetic, instructional speech, to
another organizing, and another the doing of helpful deeds, to further the
kingdom of God. Some gifts are more prominent than others.
But perhaps we honor most those we least like to see, as God calls us again
through prophets, like Abraham Lincoln and like Martin Luther King, again to
renew our commitment to God's kingdom, and renew our joy, and in the joy of the
Lord renew our strength.
We may not always feel much like being together. As they wandered through the
desert, from Egypt to the Promised Land, the people of Israel surely did not all
get along. Some of us feel like leaving when things are not going well or we do
not feel recognized; when there is a mountain between us and the promised land,
or if we have run out of manna for the day, or if the other guy is getting honor
we want to deserve; we may feel it is time to cut and run.
But on this campaign we are all called, we are all on God's mission. It is his
mighty hand that renews us. He himself has taken the hard road, to lead us and
show us the way. Before us, behind us, around us, within us, shines the Spirit
of the Lord, and he will never leave us until we are home in God's Kingdom, the
kingdom of peace and justice forever. It is for each of us to act, now, as
members of that kingdom, to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance that
manifest its presence, its reality, in our world today. It is for each of us, in
our own way, with our own gifts in the Spirit, gifts given us not as rewards,
perhaps as surprises, certainly to equip us, to work together, campaign
together, for the common god and the glory of God.
Our Savior declared the good news to us,
Filled with the power of the Spirit.
It is the holy breath, the ruach, the wind of the Lord,
overwhelming, irresistible, implacable, empowering;
like a tide in the affairs of men.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
TODAY, in the present moment - the moment of FREEDOM,
This Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.
"Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Today this Scripture is fulfilled in our hearing: in the words of our mouths,
the meditation of our hearts, and the actions of our lives. Amen.
JRL+
CEpiphany3 BCP JRL
Nehemiah 8:2-10
1 Corinthians 12:12-27
Luke 4:14-21
Psalm 113
January 20, 2007, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Willows California.
proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole
world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your
sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
Psalm 19:14
For the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10
The day of the Lord, the day he renews his covenant, is a day of feasting and of
celebration. In Christ we can lift our heads up and be glad. God has established
his reign in the proclaiming of the good news. It has begun! These are early
days, yes, but the bud is there, the flower to follow, and the ripened fruit
will surely come. What God has put in train with this inaugural proclamation he
will see through to perfection.
When Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, most of its
beneficiaries heard of it only slowly. Its effects were not immediately felt -
or were they? As word spread, rejoicing spread, and the dawn of a new
consciousness: you are no longer subject to the powers that be, the domination
system of the old world order you knew. Something new has come: and you can
start living as part of it. Live into the kingdom as if it were already here,
because in a sense, it is! It is on its way.
Over the months that followed the Emancipation Proclamation, thousands of freed
slaves made their way to Union lines, and regiment after regiment was formed of
volunteers ready for the campaign to bring freedom to the land and to their
people. It was not easy; it is not yet over; but it has begun, and it has
already gone far beyond the words of the initial proclamation that got things
started.
Even so, Jesus laid out his program, turning water into wine, proclaiming
release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom to the
oppressed, and for everyone the year of Jubilee, the year of celebration, of
restoration of right relationships, between people and between God and the
people of God. Justice and peace join hands.
This is the acceptable year of the Lord.
And so today, in this present moment, you and I are confronted with a challenge,
the call indeed to radical obedience, because in this present moment is our
freedom. We receive the call to act, to declare ourselves true servants of the
reign of God.
What form this action will take varies for each of us. Each of us is called to a
different task, for each of us is given a different gift. The Spirit portions
out from the royal treasury - the royal armory - what God chooses for each of
us, giving to one the gift - and duty - of prophetic, instructional speech, to
another organizing, and another the doing of helpful deeds, to further the
kingdom of God. Some gifts are more prominent than others.
But perhaps we honor most those we least like to see, as God calls us again
through prophets, like Abraham Lincoln and like Martin Luther King, again to
renew our commitment to God's kingdom, and renew our joy, and in the joy of the
Lord renew our strength.
We may not always feel much like being together. As they wandered through the
desert, from Egypt to the Promised Land, the people of Israel surely did not all
get along. Some of us feel like leaving when things are not going well or we do
not feel recognized; when there is a mountain between us and the promised land,
or if we have run out of manna for the day, or if the other guy is getting honor
we want to deserve; we may feel it is time to cut and run.
But on this campaign we are all called, we are all on God's mission. It is his
mighty hand that renews us. He himself has taken the hard road, to lead us and
show us the way. Before us, behind us, around us, within us, shines the Spirit
of the Lord, and he will never leave us until we are home in God's Kingdom, the
kingdom of peace and justice forever. It is for each of us to act, now, as
members of that kingdom, to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance that
manifest its presence, its reality, in our world today. It is for each of us, in
our own way, with our own gifts in the Spirit, gifts given us not as rewards,
perhaps as surprises, certainly to equip us, to work together, campaign
together, for the common god and the glory of God.
Our Savior declared the good news to us,
Filled with the power of the Spirit.
It is the holy breath, the ruach, the wind of the Lord,
overwhelming, irresistible, implacable, empowering;
like a tide in the affairs of men.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
TODAY, in the present moment - the moment of FREEDOM,
This Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.
"Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Today this Scripture is fulfilled in our hearing: in the words of our mouths,
the meditation of our hearts, and the actions of our lives. Amen.
JRL+
CEpiphany3 BCP JRL
Nehemiah 8:2-10
1 Corinthians 12:12-27
Luke 4:14-21
Psalm 113
January 20, 2007, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Willows California.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
gifts at Cana
First, I'd like to apologize for my wife's absence this morning; second, I'd
like to take advantage of it. Sarah could not be with us this morning because
she has duties at the cathedral today, in children's chapel and in Sunday
School. The advantage for me is that I can talk about her a little bit. We just
got married a year and a half ago, and we are still learning a lot of new things
about each other, and how to get along, every day.
Last night, for example, I was pondering over how spiritual gifts and wedding
gifts relate to each other. What do the gifts of the Spirit that Paul talks
about have to do with the wedding feast at Cana, and Jesus' miraculous
provision? So we took a break from sermon writing, and Sarah unwrapped the last
of the Christmas presents. They were a lot like our wedding gifts.
They were gifts of - and for - hospitality. There were two chafing dishes to
keep things warm, with matching Pyrex for the baking. There was an oven rack
gizmo for potlucks, and some other kitchen gadget. All of these were gifts Sarah
applauded, and was glad to have. And all of them she will use in exercising her
own gifts, of hospitality and care.
Later this week we hope to attend a special reception for Paul Kennel, the
president of World Concern, the relief agency that Sarah works for, saying
farewell and thanks after twenty-five years of service. Sarah has the gift of
showing up for these things - honoring watershed occasions in people's lives.
Indeed, that is how we met: under the eaves of St Paul's parish hall in
Healdsburg, attending the ordination of mutual friends (Roger and Libbie Weber).
So there is a connection after all between spiritual gifts and weddings.
The words from the book of the prophet Isaiah, our OT reading for this morning,
proudly proclaim that God's vindication of his holy city of Jerusalem will be
like a wedding: that the Lord will show forth his love for the city of his
kingdom, and it will be called My Delight is in Her, and its land Married. Your
God, the prophet says, will rejoice over you.
The psalm gives our response: to proclaim the good news of his salvation from
day to day, to declare his glory among the nations and his wonders among all
peoples -- for great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. Let the heavens
rejoice and the earth be glad.
Paul in writing to the church at Corinth tells them how they can all come
together as a family, bringing their various gifts to the table - to the feast
that is the church's celebration of God's. None of these gifts may make much
sense by itself; together, they build up the body of Christ.
And, as one pastor pointed out in The Christian Century, the gifts of the Spirit
and the fruits of the Spirit that we enjoy in fellowship are a lot like the
gifts we enjoy in marriage - listening to one another, interpreting what each
other is saying, hospitality, thoughtfulness - as well as particular functional
gifts, like teaching or administration. Each of our practical contributions to
the work of the people is of value. Eventually, as Paul reminds us, all will
fall away except LOVE.
And love is what Jesus is all about. He and his friends, new or old, have
arrived at a party back in his home place - and the host is running out of wine.
Big embarrassment. Didn't Jesus bring any with him? Could he take a run to the
store and bring more?
Mary puts him on the spot. He does not want to tip his hand - he doesn't think
this is the time or the place - but, just like the man in the parable who opened
his door to persistent knocking, he does respond to the request, and provides
what is needed for hospitality. He does a little more than this.
Presumably he could have gathered the lads together and gone off to buy more
wine. Or he could have made a simple, quiet effort. Instead, he takes the
occasion - and begins to shine forth, revealing who he is, and who God is.
There stand the jars for purification. It only takes a cupful of water, we are
told by William Willimon, to purify a hundred. But Jesus has the servants fill
six stone jars - with over a hundred gallons of water in total - enough to
purify the whole world. Enough to purify the whole world. And he doesn't then
recommend tee-totaling. How about some nice water instead? Nope. He provides an
overabundance of wine that is hilarious. Jesus provides enough wine, we would
think, to host a party that will last until the end of time.
And that is exactly what he is up to.
God sent the prophets, over the centuries, to his people Israel. But he saved
the best for last. The crown of the prophets, his own Son, was Jesus. Jesus, who
shows, even more than any who came before, that the steadfast love [hesed]
between God and humankind, and the love between a man and a woman in marriage,
are the same steadfast love. God is like a bridegroom, loyal and rejoicing in
his beloved, as he contemplates his people.
We his people are like a family. We are called together, to stick together,
through good times and bad. ... Even when somebody stinks up the family car with
cigar smoke, or takes out the trash a day too late. Even when somebody tells us
the truth about themselves, and makes us realize that real love involves
accepting them as they really are.
Even when we are angry with each other. We are to stay together, loving each
other, using the gifts God has given us, and most of all, rejoicing in the
celebration that began that day at Cana, and will extend into eternity. The
feast of God's presence of among us.
JRL+
CEpiphany2 BCP
January 14, 2007
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Willows, California
Isaiah 62:1-5
Psalm 96 or 96:1-10
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
John 2:1-11
___________________
Lawrence Wood, "Living by the Word: Wedding Gifts", The Christian Century,
January 9, 2007, page 16.
Lawrence Wood, "Living by the Word: Wedding Gifts", The Christian Century,
January 9, 2007, page 16.
William Willimon, "Some Saw Glory", sermon on John 2:1-11 preached 1/18/1998 at
Duke University Chapel.
http://www.chapel.duke.edu/worship/sunday/viewsermon.aspx?id=93
John R. Donahue, S.J., "A Different Kind of Inauguration 1", America, Vol. 184
No. 1, January 8, 2001.
http://www.americamagazine.org/SundayScripture.cfm?articletypeid=40&textID=959&i
ssueID=312
like to take advantage of it. Sarah could not be with us this morning because
she has duties at the cathedral today, in children's chapel and in Sunday
School. The advantage for me is that I can talk about her a little bit. We just
got married a year and a half ago, and we are still learning a lot of new things
about each other, and how to get along, every day.
Last night, for example, I was pondering over how spiritual gifts and wedding
gifts relate to each other. What do the gifts of the Spirit that Paul talks
about have to do with the wedding feast at Cana, and Jesus' miraculous
provision? So we took a break from sermon writing, and Sarah unwrapped the last
of the Christmas presents. They were a lot like our wedding gifts.
They were gifts of - and for - hospitality. There were two chafing dishes to
keep things warm, with matching Pyrex for the baking. There was an oven rack
gizmo for potlucks, and some other kitchen gadget. All of these were gifts Sarah
applauded, and was glad to have. And all of them she will use in exercising her
own gifts, of hospitality and care.
Later this week we hope to attend a special reception for Paul Kennel, the
president of World Concern, the relief agency that Sarah works for, saying
farewell and thanks after twenty-five years of service. Sarah has the gift of
showing up for these things - honoring watershed occasions in people's lives.
Indeed, that is how we met: under the eaves of St Paul's parish hall in
Healdsburg, attending the ordination of mutual friends (Roger and Libbie Weber).
So there is a connection after all between spiritual gifts and weddings.
The words from the book of the prophet Isaiah, our OT reading for this morning,
proudly proclaim that God's vindication of his holy city of Jerusalem will be
like a wedding: that the Lord will show forth his love for the city of his
kingdom, and it will be called My Delight is in Her, and its land Married. Your
God, the prophet says, will rejoice over you.
The psalm gives our response: to proclaim the good news of his salvation from
day to day, to declare his glory among the nations and his wonders among all
peoples -- for great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. Let the heavens
rejoice and the earth be glad.
Paul in writing to the church at Corinth tells them how they can all come
together as a family, bringing their various gifts to the table - to the feast
that is the church's celebration of God's. None of these gifts may make much
sense by itself; together, they build up the body of Christ.
And, as one pastor pointed out in The Christian Century, the gifts of the Spirit
and the fruits of the Spirit that we enjoy in fellowship are a lot like the
gifts we enjoy in marriage - listening to one another, interpreting what each
other is saying, hospitality, thoughtfulness - as well as particular functional
gifts, like teaching or administration. Each of our practical contributions to
the work of the people is of value. Eventually, as Paul reminds us, all will
fall away except LOVE.
And love is what Jesus is all about. He and his friends, new or old, have
arrived at a party back in his home place - and the host is running out of wine.
Big embarrassment. Didn't Jesus bring any with him? Could he take a run to the
store and bring more?
Mary puts him on the spot. He does not want to tip his hand - he doesn't think
this is the time or the place - but, just like the man in the parable who opened
his door to persistent knocking, he does respond to the request, and provides
what is needed for hospitality. He does a little more than this.
Presumably he could have gathered the lads together and gone off to buy more
wine. Or he could have made a simple, quiet effort. Instead, he takes the
occasion - and begins to shine forth, revealing who he is, and who God is.
There stand the jars for purification. It only takes a cupful of water, we are
told by William Willimon, to purify a hundred. But Jesus has the servants fill
six stone jars - with over a hundred gallons of water in total - enough to
purify the whole world. Enough to purify the whole world. And he doesn't then
recommend tee-totaling. How about some nice water instead? Nope. He provides an
overabundance of wine that is hilarious. Jesus provides enough wine, we would
think, to host a party that will last until the end of time.
And that is exactly what he is up to.
God sent the prophets, over the centuries, to his people Israel. But he saved
the best for last. The crown of the prophets, his own Son, was Jesus. Jesus, who
shows, even more than any who came before, that the steadfast love [hesed]
between God and humankind, and the love between a man and a woman in marriage,
are the same steadfast love. God is like a bridegroom, loyal and rejoicing in
his beloved, as he contemplates his people.
We his people are like a family. We are called together, to stick together,
through good times and bad. ... Even when somebody stinks up the family car with
cigar smoke, or takes out the trash a day too late. Even when somebody tells us
the truth about themselves, and makes us realize that real love involves
accepting them as they really are.
Even when we are angry with each other. We are to stay together, loving each
other, using the gifts God has given us, and most of all, rejoicing in the
celebration that began that day at Cana, and will extend into eternity. The
feast of God's presence of among us.
JRL+
CEpiphany2 BCP
January 14, 2007
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Willows, California
Isaiah 62:1-5
Psalm 96 or 96:1-10
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
John 2:1-11
___________________
Lawrence Wood, "Living by the Word: Wedding Gifts", The Christian Century,
January 9, 2007, page 16.
Lawrence Wood, "Living by the Word: Wedding Gifts", The Christian Century,
January 9, 2007, page 16.
William Willimon, "Some Saw Glory", sermon on John 2:1-11 preached 1/18/1998 at
Duke University Chapel.
http://www.chapel.duke.edu/worship/sunday/viewsermon.aspx?id=93
John R. Donahue, S.J., "A Different Kind of Inauguration 1", America, Vol. 184
No. 1, January 8, 2001.
http://www.americamagazine.org/SundayScripture.cfm?articletypeid=40&textID=959&i
ssueID=312
Sunday, January 7, 2007
You are my Son, my Beloved, my Delight
In the name of God, father of mercy, compassionate Son, spirit of wisdom.
I was baptized twice: the second time during college at the beach off the Santa Cruz Boardwalk – because I did not remember my first baptism, and it seemed to me to have been only a family obligation. I’ve never met my godparents, from my first baptism as an infant – though I saw their writing only last year, on a letter to my mother. Also, I thought baptism was about me – and my decision for Christ. What I’ve learned since, and been reminded of in the lessons for today – and their interpretation by Barbara Crafton, John Stendahl, Barbara Lundblad, and others – is that baptism is not about me, that my life begins and ends in a community greater than any I could see – perhaps larger than any of us understood on that cold February beach, or at the backyard family gathering in southern California when my great grandfather Harvey Leech baptized me all those years before.
In southern California, in Long Beach, in front of the high school that my mother and grandmother, and Deacon Campbell’s sisters, attended, is an archway bearing the motto, “Enter to learn, go forth to serve.” We have a similar admonition at the end of our service bulletin: “Now that the worship is over, our Christian service to the world begins.”
This is the cycle, the daily or weekly round, of Christian life, for so many of us – a weeklong striving in the world followed by refreshment in prayer and sacrament, retooling in word and worship, on Sunday. But all this takes place within a larger cycle, the cycle of life that begins with Baptism and ends when we meet our savior face to face.
(Indeed, this all takes place within a larger circle yet, the circle that will not be broken, of saint past and present and future, all in a round dance around the Deity.)
At baptism the waters close over our faces like death to the world – and we emerge to new life in the Son and Breath given by God. Before baptism is a calling – to a mission or vocation or a specific work – it is a Naming. While he was praying, Jesus heard the voice of God: “You are my Son, my Beloved, my Delight”—my Joy.
This joy of God in us remains in us throughout our lives, as we ride round those weekly wheels of work and worship—those yearly cycles of Easter and Pentecost and Christmas, till at the end all worldly toil drops away and we become once more only what we always were to God: my Joy, my Beloved, my Delight.
JRL+
7 January 2007
Sacramento: Trinity Cathedral
I was baptized twice: the second time during college at the beach off the Santa Cruz Boardwalk – because I did not remember my first baptism, and it seemed to me to have been only a family obligation. I’ve never met my godparents, from my first baptism as an infant – though I saw their writing only last year, on a letter to my mother. Also, I thought baptism was about me – and my decision for Christ. What I’ve learned since, and been reminded of in the lessons for today – and their interpretation by Barbara Crafton, John Stendahl, Barbara Lundblad, and others – is that baptism is not about me, that my life begins and ends in a community greater than any I could see – perhaps larger than any of us understood on that cold February beach, or at the backyard family gathering in southern California when my great grandfather Harvey Leech baptized me all those years before.
In southern California, in Long Beach, in front of the high school that my mother and grandmother, and Deacon Campbell’s sisters, attended, is an archway bearing the motto, “Enter to learn, go forth to serve.” We have a similar admonition at the end of our service bulletin: “Now that the worship is over, our Christian service to the world begins.”
This is the cycle, the daily or weekly round, of Christian life, for so many of us – a weeklong striving in the world followed by refreshment in prayer and sacrament, retooling in word and worship, on Sunday. But all this takes place within a larger cycle, the cycle of life that begins with Baptism and ends when we meet our savior face to face.
(Indeed, this all takes place within a larger circle yet, the circle that will not be broken, of saint past and present and future, all in a round dance around the Deity.)
At baptism the waters close over our faces like death to the world – and we emerge to new life in the Son and Breath given by God. Before baptism is a calling – to a mission or vocation or a specific work – it is a Naming. While he was praying, Jesus heard the voice of God: “You are my Son, my Beloved, my Delight”—my Joy.
This joy of God in us remains in us throughout our lives, as we ride round those weekly wheels of work and worship—those yearly cycles of Easter and Pentecost and Christmas, till at the end all worldly toil drops away and we become once more only what we always were to God: my Joy, my Beloved, my Delight.
JRL+
7 January 2007
Sacramento: Trinity Cathedral
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