Christmas Evangelism 2010

CHRISTMAS DAY SERVICE
December 25, 2010
Luke 2:1-20


This is the very same passage from Luke that I used for my sermon last Christmas Eve at St. Martin’s in Pahrump. When I first realized that I would be preaching on this same piece if scripture once again, I looked back with interest at my thoughts of last year. I was amazed at how differently I perceived the passage this year

Last year my sermon focused on how lucky we are to have Christ in our lives, and what a waste of time it is to feel sorry for ourselves when we don’t get the gifts that we had hoped for.

This year, I am not even thinking about gifts.

This year, I am thinking of our many, many brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world who are suffering, oppressed, and exposed to illness and brutality.

I am thinking of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who this year have become financially destitute, homeless, and who do not have much hope for a brighter future.

I am thinking of the many natural disasters that have occurred this year, and the toll that these events have taken on both our environment and our economy.

I am thinking, we need to try our very hardest to bring Luke’s birth story and all that it means to those who either have not yet heard it, or to those who need desperately to hear it again.

This year, I am thinking that we, who are lucky enough to remain, as yet, untouched by disaster, are called by Christ, more fervently than ever, to be his disciples – to seek and serve Christ in all people and to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.



This year, in composing my sermon, I prayed that I could summon the creative juices that might, in some small way, take this birth story and breathe energy into Christ’s evangelism call to all of us here at Grace in the Desert. I prayed that I might compose a sermon that would help us all hear the angel of the Lord loud and clear when he says:
“Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
When I become passionate about something, I hear what I am trying to say musically in my head. So, I decided that, today, I would use verses from hymns that we sing each year at this time to highlight Luke’s story and to inspire us in our role as God’s messengers.

Hymn #101; verse 1

Away in a manger, no crib for his bed
the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
the little Lord Jesus asleep in the hay.

Mary and Joseph had travelled from Nazareth to Galilee to register for a census. The purpose of the census was to ensure that everyone was accounted for and taxed appropriately. Their journey was a long one – about 90 miles each way. Whether on foot or by donkey, it must have been a very difficult and unpleasant journey for Mary who was pregnant.

Once in Nazareth, exhausted and knowing that Mary might be about to deliver her child, the couple stopped at an inn seeking lodging. All the rooms were taken. Mary and Joseph were offered an alternative place to stay – the manger, a space normally reserved as a shelter for animals. It was in this very humble space that the birth of Christ took place.

The baby Jesus - God incarnate; Son of God; our Savior and our Redeemer - was born not in the comfort of a fancy palace or temple. His parents were given no special consideration. The innkeeper did not move an existing guest and give them a real room instead of a dirty animal shed. No grand and glorious welcome befitting a king here. No, Christ was born in the most humble of settings among the poor, the needy, and the vulnerable – among those whom he would serve, teach, and encourage to become his followers, his disciples. Ordinary people just like you and me.

Hymn #94, verses 1 & 2

While shepherds watched their flocks by night all seated on the ground,
the angel of the Lord came down, and glory shone around.

“Fear not,” said he, for mighty dread has seized their troubled mind;
“Glad tidings of great joy I bring to you and all mankind.”

Shepherds were not rich. Shepherds were not educated. Shepherds had little, if any, social standing. Yet, God chose them to be the first to learn of Christ’s birth. God revealed himself and the birth of His Son to the most ordinary of men – not to kings or emperors.

Imagine these tired and dirty men out in a dark field, perhaps cold and hungry, minding their own business and tending their sheep when all of a sudden an angel appears before them – an angel in a cloud of glory! They were terrified!

But the angel said, “Fear not.” And then, miraculously, “The glory of the Lord shone around them.”

Somehow the shepherds understood the grace that had befallen them. They heard God. They listened intently and in awe as the angel said, “This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”







Hymn #83, verse 1

O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him, born the King of Angels;
O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him,
O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

The sheep were forgotten. The shepherds knew in their hearts that they had to see for themselves this miraculous “Thing that had taken place.” They dropped everything, including their livelihood – the sheep – and hurried off to Bethlehem.

These shepherds foreshadowed all those men and women who in the coming years would lay down their worldly goods and gifts to follow Christ – the fishermen, the tax collector, and all the saints who have given their lives to proclaim the Good News of Christ.

As Jesus said to the man who was asking what he must do to inherit eternal life, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21)

Once we have seen the glory of the Lord, there is no hesitation, no concern for what others may think or what the consequences of our commitment to Christ might be - no hesitation at all - we simply love, or adore, him with all our hearts, and all our minds, and all our souls.

Hymn #88, verse 1

Sing, o sing, this blessed morn, unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given, God himself comes down from heaven.
Sing, O sing, this blessed morn, Jesus Christ today is born.

The shepherds were amazed at what they had been told, and what they saw when they finally arrived at the manger scene in Bethlehem. These very ordinary people served as witnesses to the Incarnation, just as other very ordinary people would later become witnesses to the resurrection.



Other than the angels, the shepherds were the first to proclaim the Good News of Jesus’ birth. Not CNN or Fox News, not the New York Times, not Newsweek or Time Magazine – just ordinary folks like you and me, singing praises from door-to-door.

Today, it is very ordinary people like you and me who have, once again, witnessed the birth of Christ.

As we consider in awe, just as the shepherds did over 2000 years ago, the profundity of this miracle of the birth of Jesus Christ, let us open our hearts and our minds to the wondrous gift of God made man

Let us pray that we may be so blessed that our hearts and our minds, guided by the Light of Christ, will be used as his instruments in the healing of this troubled world.

Hymn #101; verse 3

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay
close by me forever, and love me I pray.
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
and fit us for heaven to live with thee there.

We Are The Prophets of 2011

“…an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins…When Joseph awoke from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took her as his wife...and he named him Jesus.” (Matt 1:20-21; 24-25)

During these final days of Advent, we are anxiously awaiting the birth of the baby Jesus. In our hearts and in our minds we hear the prophet Isaiah's words:

“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel, 'which means 'God is with us.”
We also hear the refrain from the well-known hymn O come! O come! Emmanuel.

O come O come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel. (TH #56)

O come! O come! Emmanuel. A plea for the predictions of the prophets to be realized. A plea for God to be with us. A plea for Jesus to be born. A plea for God to save us.

Throughout Advent, as we await the birth of Jesus, we are encouraged through prayer, meditation, discussion, and communal worship to prepare – to be ready for Jesus' coming anew into our lives.

We are also encouraged - sometimes in great detail – to refrain from falling into the commercialism of the season. For instance, how many times have you heard the phrase, “Christmas has lost its meaning – it just all about buy, buy, buy these days.”

We are encouraged to prepare, and we are instructed how not to prepare, but are we guided in what we are preparing for? Do we think seriously about what Christmas – the birth of Jesus - means for us, right here in Nevada, in the year 2010?

I don’t think we do.

Of course, we all think of Christmas as the time of Jesus' birth – his coming into the world to save us. However, I am not at all certain that we consider the fact that Jesus has already come. That Jesus' first coming – his actual birth - occurred over two thousand years ago.

During our Advent preparations, how often do we think about the fact that through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus so many years ago, we have already been given the grace of redemption? How often do we remember that the longed for Emmanuel has already come? The blessing of God's grace is already with us. God is with us - now.

These days, as we prepare for the birth of Jesus, we are not the ancient people of Israel awaiting the prophesy of Isaiah, or Hosea, or Joel to be fulfilled. We are not Joseph being told by the angel of the Lord to await a child who shall be named Jesus and who will save his people. We are not a bewildered young man acting on faith and obediently taking Mary for his wife.

Unlike Joseph in today's Gospel reading, we are not awaiting and preparing for the unknown.

Rather, this Advent season we are awaiting and preparing for the arrival of the known - the wonder of the gift of the Christ child.

This Christmas eve, we will, once again, witness the arrival of God incarnate - God made man – the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. This Christmas, we will, once again, begin our journey – a journey we know all too well - to Jerusalem as we follow the Son of God through his ministry.

Finally, next spring, we will, once again, in grief, stand by as our Savior is betrayed, tried, and crucified. Finally, on Easter morning, we will, once again, proclaim the glory of Christ's resurrection as we sing together:

“He is risen! He is risen!
Tell it out with joyful voice:
He has burst His three days' prison;
Let the whole wide earth rejoice:
Death is conquered, we are free,
Christ has won the victory.”



This Advent season our preparations should be centered not on waiting for the unknown - for the prophesy of Isaiah to be fulfilled. Rather, we should be centered on the known – the gift of Christ in our lives.

We should be considering our role as prophets – the Isaiahs of 2011 – as we, once again, receive the gift of Christ, and continue to spread the Good News that Christ is with us; death is conquered; we are free.

This coming year as we journey beside Jesus from his birth to his resurrection, it is we who have a responsibility to proclaim the message of redemption though our lives and through our words. Prophets do still exist – we are those prophets.

In today’s Gospel, Joseph is told to how to prepare for the birth of Mary's child by an angel. God sent the angel to prepare Joseph by instructing him to go ahead and take Mary as his wife, despite the fact that she was pregnant and no one knew by whom. And, God’s messenger instructed Joseph to name the child, Jesus.

Later in Luke's story, the angel will instruct Joseph to take Mary and the baby Jesus to Egypt to escape King Herod's wrath.

Finally, the angel will inform Joseph that Herod has died and he must return to Israel.

In all cases, Joseph obeyed the angel. Joseph was silently obedient. Joseph ensured the safe arrival of the Christ child; Joseph named him Jesus; Joseph kept him safe.

Joseph obeyed God's commands without question and without hesitation.

I believe that the same is expected of us. As we prepare, yet again, for the birth of the baby Jesus on Christmas Eve, the preparations that we must make are similar to those made by Joseph so many years ago. We must prepare ourselves to obey Christ's commands without question and without hesitation.

This Advent season, we hear not an angel of the Lord, but Jesus himself.

We remember him as Luke describes him: “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51)


We hear him when he said to his followers:

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. (Luke 9:23-24)

We hear him as he spoke his final words to us:

And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:17-20)

This Advent season we should be preparing to receive the gift of the Christ child
with joy and the commitment to set our face to Jerusalem as we take up our cross
and go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and remembering that Christ is with us
always.

Amen.

I Am The Bread of Life

SERMON
Thanksgiving Day - 2010
The Bread of Life (John 6:24-35)
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”(John 6:35)
A week or so ago, I left work a bit early with the intention of buying my husband, Devin, a birthday present. As usual, I had waited until the very last moment; time had definitely run out – his birthday was the following day.
All in all, it had been a good day at work. No crises, no bad news, no staff problems – no stress. The weather was beautiful, the store not crowded, and I found exactly what I was looking for. Perfect! Devin would have a happy birthday; complete with the present that I knew he had been hoping for.
I distinctly remember walking out to my car and thinking, “Wow, I feel so good – this has been a really peaceful and productive day.”
I got into my car and started to drive out of the parking lot. On the curb, between the parking lot and the road that I was about to enter, stood a man a – a man who looked as if he might have recently become homeless. His clothes were clearly of a good quality; he was healthy looking; but, it appeared to me that he was now sleeping without a permanent roof over his head.
As I stopped at the curb, before entering the street, he looked directly at me and waved, his eyes conveyed a sense of peace; he had a smile on his face. He was holding a cardboard, hand-painted sign that said, “God Bless You.”
In that one moment, and through that momentary single glance that we shared, I was left with a rush of thoughts and emotions that had nothing to do with Devin’s birthday; nothing to do with a good day at work, or with my own sense of well-being; nothing at all to do with me or my own little, not so important, world.
In that one moment, as I have in several other moments in my life, I saw Christ. I saw Christ, and I felt so very intensely the impact of the message that we hear from Jesus in today’s gospel reading, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
The background of today’s reading is the Feeding of the Five Thousand. The story in which Jesus takes five loaves of bread and two fish and uses them to feed five thousand people – with baskets of food left over – a miracle indeed.
After that miracle, a large crowd began to follow Jesus – and Jesus accused them of following him only because he gave them food to eat. He said to them,
“Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the father has set his seal.”
Instead of seeing the feeding of the five thousand as a sign of Jesus’ power and divinity, the crowds saw this incredible meal only as a way to fill their stomachs. The crowd that was pursuing Jesus was focused, as are so many crowds, and so many people, on satisfaction of their earthly needs; needs of the moment. They were not considering their less tangible needs such as salvation and the peace of eternal life that will be found in God’s Kingdom. They were not considering how these far more important needs would be met.
The crowd on the shores of Capernaum also missed a second significant message from Jesus when they asked him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”
The works they were referring to were, of course, their lifelong commitment to Jewish Law, and a lifestyle that was based on obeying the Law. Laws brought down by Moses from the mountain; laws outlined in the Torah; laws which could not be broken if one expected to remain in good standing with God.
The crowd asked Jesus to identify what work they must do in order to fulfill these Holy Laws, and Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” In other words, “don’t worry about works or good deeds, just have faith in me. Your faith in me will show you the way.”
Still, the crowd did not “get it.” Completely ignoring the fact that Jesus had just turned a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish into enough food to feed five thousand people, and that he appeared to have walked on water, they asked him,

“What sign are you going to give us…?” Jesus replied, “…The bread of God comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
“I am the Bread of Life.”
What, then, is the lesson for us today, 2000 years later, living in a different world and a different culture?
Are we frequently, not unlike the crowd that followed Jesus to the shores of Capernaum, so focused on our needs of the moment that we have a hard time seeing signs of the spiritual – the Christ in our midst? In our technologically frenzied world do we fail to see wonderful things happen in our presence every day; or, being “too busy” do we choose to ignore these wonderful things – let them pass us by without looking them in the eye; without letting them enter our hearts. How many times a day do we even think about faith – or, Christ – the Bread of Life?
Martin Luther put it well when said,
“God’s wonderful works which happen daily are lightly esteemed, not because they are of no import but because they happen so constantly and without interruption. Man is used to the miracle that God rules the world and upholds all creation, and because things daily run their course, it seems insignificant, and no man thinks it worth his while to meditate upon it and to regard it as God’s wonderful work, and yet it is a greater wonder than that Christ fed five thousand men with five loaves and made wine from water.”
How many of us are guilty of taking notice only when we miss a meal, or when things go wrong? How many of us pray for “signs” that Christ really cares for us, saying, “if only you could help me with this or with that?” How many of us recognize that the bread that we pray for regularly as we recite the Lord’s Prayer is the bread of heaven; the bread that gives eternal life?
The bread of the Lord’s Prayer is not the bread in the basket on the table; it is not tomorrow’s dinner; and, it is not a favor in return for being good. It is the Bread of Life. It is Jesus; it is Christ. It is our salvation.
How many of us, despite hard times, take the time to “stop and smell the roses?” How many of us truly see and feel the many, many gifts that God, not our family, or society, has given us? How many of us are truly content to let those gifts fill our spiritual coffers – like the man who waved to me from the curb - so that when we go “without,” we are still full?
John is the Gospel in which Jesus repeatedly and clearly revealed himself to be the son of God; God incarnate; the Christ, who through his death and resurrection was the Savior of our souls. John is the Gospel of the seven powerful “I am” statements.
1. I AM the bread of life.
o John 6:35: Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
2. I AM the light of the world.
o John 8:12: When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
3. I AM the door.
o John 10:7: Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep."
4. I AM the good shepherd.
o John 10:11-14: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me...."
5. I AM the resurrection and the life.
o John 11:25: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies."
6. I AM the way, the truth and the life.
o John 14:6: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
7. I AM the true vine.
o John 15:1, 5: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
As we sit around the Thanksgiving dinner table in just a little while, will we be thinking of how good or bad the meal is; how difficult some of those unwelcome but necessary family members who we see only for Thanksgiving dinner are; how much money we have to spend tomorrow at the Black Friday sales; how big our Christmas bonus will be and will it cover all those credit cards bills – or, will be thinking of the bread of the world; the light of the world; the good shepherd; the resurrection and the life; the way the truth and the life; the true vine.
When we walk away from the Thanksgiving dinner table later this afternoon, will we have eaten the Bread of Life; will we be filled with the Holy Spirit?
Let us pray:
O Lord, we thank you for your presence in our lives; for the bread of life. Stay with us always: Give us the strength to see you and live our lives as your humble servants, now and forever. Amen

My New Spiritual Home - Grace in the Desert

My journey to Grace in the Desert Episcopal Church has left me, once again, in awe of the many blessings with which God has graced my life. Each Sunday, whether I serve at the altar or sit in the pews, I am continually reminded of just how powerful God’s love can be when it is openly received from Him in community and then returned to that community through acts of kindness, compassion, and stewardship. As we work together each day – the entire congregation, all us ordained and lay – to celebrate our Lord and Savior in the study of Scripture, prayer, music, and celebration of the Holy Eucharist, I am reminded of Mary’s words in Luke 1:46-49:
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”
God has truly done great things for all of us here at Grace in the Desert. He has bestowed on us many gifts; some that we may take for granted, like printed programs, music, and flowers, and others that are hard to miss, like Fr. Dale’s and Wayne’s dedicated and blessed leadership, and the astounding number of ministries that the congregation has embarked upon.
However, I do not believe that any of these gifts would exist without the ability to first receive them from God. That’s what makes Grace in the Desert so special. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, has opened their heart to Christ, and has allowed the Holy Spirit to enter their soul. Our collective souls, so filled with the Spirit, then bring a life and a light to our Church that is, perhaps, the biggest gift of all.
As we approach the Advent season; as we prepare, yet again, for the coming of Christ in our lives and our souls, I pray that we will all remember that God’s gifts are for giving, and that in giving we receive the greatest gift of all – God’s love, and a peace that passes all understanding.

Our Lives as God's Stewards

Sermon
Luke 16:1-13
Our Lives as God’s Stewards
9.19.2010



Today's Gospel passage from Luke is indeed complex. So complex that scholars have debated its meaning for years upon years, and continue to do so today. While several main themes have been identified, no real conclusions that pinpoint a single interpretation have been reached.
Is Jesus complimenting the dishonest steward in his self-serving scheme to reduce the debtors' burden in order to save his own skin when we read, “And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly?”
Is Jesus as saying, it’s important to be shrewd and make the most of a situation – take advantage of mistakes - make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, so to speak, when we hear, “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes?”
Or, do we pay attention to only the end of the passage and focus on Jesus' concluding words, “If you cannot be a good steward, a faithful steward, a just steward, you have failed to serve the Kingdom of God.”
There are so many nuances in this passage. There are also shifts in who is speaking and who is saying what.
It is not terribly clear at what point we cross over from the master commending the steward for his shrewd, but basically dishonest and unfaithful behavior to Jesus’ comments that end with, “No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Just where in this passage do we transition from, “it’s cool to take advantage of a situation and end up on top,” to “I will love my neighbor as myself and the Lord with all my heart, and with all my strength – I will have no other God before me?'
Well, as I said just a moment ago, there are no easy answers here. Luke leaves our collective heads spinning and wondering what it all means.
We do know, however, that in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus has a great deal to say about the dangers associated with worldly goods and money. They compete with God for our affection. Throughout Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that wrong attitudes about money can bring about spiritual ruin.
In all of these parables, Jesus concludes by showing us how to use our worldly gifts in Christ-like ways. Time and again we hear Jesus tell us that God gives us gifts not only to provide for our needs, but also as a way of testing us to see if we are willing to live by kingdom values.
With this in mind, I would like to suggest that for today we take what I am calling a “tri-focal” approach. Let's look at this passage from three points of view. Three points of view that progressively bring us to Jesus' concluding statement, “You cannot serve God and wealth.”
By using our tri-focals, the passage might lose its blurriness – its obscurity. By using our three lenses, we might see a theme emerge that is very relevant to our lives as Christians and as Episcopalians today: The theme of our lives as God's stewards.
First of all, the dishonest manager understands his failings and the consequences of these failings. In his brief dialogue with himself, he says, “What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.”
The manager is clear; he has made mistakes – he has mismanaged his master’s money. His future is ruined unless he can come up with some clever scheme to protect his income and his lifestyle.
We might simply look at this as going into survival mode. Perhaps we can't be re-employed at that high level executive position with all its perks, but the job of the boss’s secretary is still available and pays enough to cover our living costs. Something is better than nothing.
Secondly, the steward develops a clever scheme. He decides to call in the debtors, and renegotiate their deals and payment plans. The debtors will owe less; the steward will earn less – but, he will also gain in popularity with them, and keep some of his money coming in. He will continue to have people on whom he can rely for favors and assistance.
Through these two lenses it seems clear that the steward has decided that if something is not working, reassess the situation and get it going in the right direction.
This might be a good philosophy, in general. For instance, if our outreach program to attract new members isn't working, let's re-assess and get it going in the right direction.
Through the third lens, Jesus enters into the narrative and we hear him say,
“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own?”
With these words – through this third lens - Jesus brings this complex parable into focus. If you are not able to recognize your preoccupation with self and worldly things, and put them in a perspective that focuses on others and their needs, you are not a faithful steward of God’s Kingdom.
Our tri-focal approach takes us from acknowledging our human failures, to considering a new path for our lives, to identifying a more Christ-like way of life for ourselves - A way of life that helps, protects, and serves both self and others.
This new way of life is eloquently described by Johannes Eckhart, a German theologian, philosopher and mystic who was born in the late 1200’s, who said,
“We must learn always to find and procure the advantage of God. For God does not give gifts, nor did he ever give one, so that we might keep it and take satisfaction in it; but all were given - all he ever gave on earth or in heaven - that he might give this one more: himself. Therefore I say that we must learn to look through every gift and every event to God and never be content with the thing itself. There is no stopping place in this life - no, nor was there ever one, no matter how far away a person had gone. This above all, then, be ready at all times for the gifts of God and always for new ones.”
“Be ready for the gifts of God and always the new ones.”
God gives us gifts every day of our lives –some of them are big; some small. Some of them are wonderful to receive; some frightening; some very challenging. However, they are all gifts and they all require care – care that involves a commitment and giving of self in every way and at every level.
To sum up…
We all need to be the dishonest manager rethinking his, or her, approach to our way of living.
We all need to be Mary, listening at Christ’s feet, hearing his message, committing ourselves to our journey with him to Jerusalem and beyond.
We all need to be the Good Samaritan, loving our neighbors as ourselves, especially when no one else will offer that love to them.
We all need to accept God’s will for us to join in His passion in loving and bringing peace and justice to all; each in our own way; each through our own gifts.
Our Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, said in one of her recent homilies”
"God has given us a mission to care for our neighbors and all of creation. To do so, we must put aside our narrow self-interest to heal the hurting, fill the hungry, set the captives free, and bind up the wounds of creation. I invite you to join in that mission..."
We are God’s stewards – all of us – each and every hour of each and every day.

Our Lives as Christians

Sermon
Luke 12: 49-56
Our Lives as Christians
8.15.2010
Several of my friends who are preaching today commented on the fact that today’s Gospel reading is one of their least favorites. In fact, one friend decided to ignore it altogether. Instead he will focus on the more compelling issues related to the upcoming return to school, the opening session of Church School, and parental responsibility in supporting their children both educationally and spiritually.
I wondered, “Should I also just ignore this passage and simply bring the congregation up to date on my recent trip to Haiti, my thoughts regarding the many months that I have been privileged to worship and teach at St. Martin’s, and my untold thanks for the support that all of you gave me as I journeyed through my ordination process?”
I concluded that although difficult and somewhat obscure, Jesus’ teaching in this passage has a great deal to do with everything that God has placed before me at this point in time. The central theme of the passage tells us that as Christians we should not expect our lives to be smooth sailing. Life is tough. It is a bumpy, unknown road, filled with potholes, some of which cannot be detected when recent rains have filled those potholes with water.
Life for a Christian, for an Episcopalian, is a life built on faith – a faith that Jesus has given us the ultimate gifts of salvation and eternal peace – a faith that, despite the ongoing challenges we face, allows us to believe Jesus’ words found in the Gospel of John, “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33)
“You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”
These are tough words to hear. They can be interpreted to mean that we are far more interested in assessing our personal surroundings - economic cues; political stances; the effect of the weather on our Holiday weekend – than we are about understanding and involving ourselves in the spiritual issues of the day. Like the people in Jesus’ time, all too often we are only able “to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but do not know how to interpret the present time.”
I believe that “the present time,” is of critical importance. Whether the subject is the recent disaster in Haiti, the Gulf Oil Spill, the Judicial Killings in the Philippines, Immigration Policies, or any other of a number of compelling and urgent social justice issues, we need to understand their scope and become involved. Not with all, certainly, but we need to be involved with at least one project that we take on as something other than just being involved with ourselves, and our own world.
We, ordained and laity alike, as Episcopalians, are called to further the mission and the missionary work of the Episcopal Church not only in our own community, but throughout the world.
Involvement in any one of the many social justice issues brings a journey along a bumpy road, both literally and figuratively. When we journey into the land of mission and social justice, we journey into the unknown, we go forward in faith, we follow in Christ’s brief but difficult journey to the cross.
Let me tell you about several people whom I met this past week in Haiti – people who have most assuredly left their comfort zone and wandered into the wilderness of the unknown as they seek to bring the Good News, compassion, peace, and social justice to those who know only poverty, hunger, separation from their families, disaster, and hopelessness.
There was Mary, a young emergency room physician from Seattle, Washington, who had come to Haiti immediately after the earthquake to care for the injured. She was back in Haiti this past week to follow up on thirteen families who now live in tent cities throughout southern Haiti. She spent four days in the 100 degree heat searching through massive and very muddy tent cities just to find these 13 families and minister to them.
From Michigan, there was Susan, a family practice physician, and her husband Joe, a kindergarten teacher. This was their fourth trip to Haiti since the earthquake. Susan is teaching young mothers to care for themselves during their pregnancy and helping in the delivery of babies who need special care.
There was Mitch, a young family man from Colorado, who had just returned from Bombay, India where his organization rescues young girls who have been trafficked into the sex trade and orphans who are being neglected. He and his group spent two days in one of the poorest, dirtiest, most flooded sections of southern Haiti teaching the orphanage’s caregivers how to nurture traumatized children and arranging for ongoing food and water to be delivered to the orphanage.
There were several Haitians who had been trapped beneath the rubble for one or two days. They are now living in tents, but have returned to work, professionally dressed and productive at their job so that they can help re-build their homeland.

I am sure that you get the point – these are all people who are attempting “to interpret the present time.” Perhaps Mitch put it best when he said during a late night conversation, “Either God is in you or He isn’t. If He is in you, you are working for peace and social justice, you are not afraid. If He isn’t, you probably aren’t.”
As I sat in the airport waiting to board my flight out of Haiti, I was astounded by the number of Christian relief workers who would share my fight. Their tee-shirts identified their organizations, and I could see that they came from all over the United States. I was overcome with awe that I was among these incredible souls. I asked myself, “How could God have so blessed me that I have been given the opportunity to be among this massive and historical relief effort – so filled with compassion; so filled with open hearts; so filled with faith?”
Faith is everywhere in this destroyed country; prayer is ongoing; joyful singing praising God can be heard everywhere and every day. The massive destruction is overwhelming, but God is everywhere.
I am also amazed at the opportunity that God has graced me with in coming to Nevada and to St. Martin’s in the Desert. I see my time here as a journey into the wilderness; a wilderness in which I was called by God to ordained ministry in His church. I view you all as my friends and supporters who have accompanied me on my journey to ordination.
Now, I move on in faith – I don’t know what is around the corner, but I hear God speaking to me. He is calling me to move on to another wilderness. It is, at times, frightening, but I have faith – passionate faith – and God is in me.
Let us pray.
O gracious and loving God, you work everywhere reconciling, loving, and healing your people and your creation. In your Son and through the power of your Holy Spirit, you invite each of us to join you in your work. We, young and old, lay and ordained, ask you to form us more and more in your image and likeness, through our prayer and worship of you and through the study of your scripture, that our eyes will be fully opened to your mission in the world. Then, God, into our communities, our nation, and the world, send us to serve with Christ, taking risks to give life and hope to all people and all of your creation. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Passionate Discernment

Sermon
Luke 10:38-42
Passionate Discernment
7.18.2010

Last week in the story of the Good Samaritan, we heard Jesus say to the questioning lawyers “Go and do likewise.” He was referring, of course, to the actions taken by the Good Samaritan on behalf of the beggar who had been beaten and left to suffer on the side of the mountain going down from Jerusalem.
In saying, “Go and do likewise,” Jesus was telling the lawyers that it is not good enough to simply know and quote the law” (You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself); one must also adopt the law as a way of life. Knowledge of what is right, without actually doing what is right, is useless.
In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus was saying, “Actions speak louder than words when it comes to loving God with all your soul, strength, and mind and loving your neighbor as yourself.”
Today we hear a different message from Jesus who tells Martha, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need for only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” In this passage, Jesus is saying, “Martha, stop doing and sit down and listen.”
Today, we hear Jesus giving priority to listening; to hearing the words that come from God’s messenger – Jesus Christ. The story of Mary and Martha does not teach us to “do,” it teaches us to listen; to discern; to seek the better thing- the miraculous ways that God speaks to us.
The stories of the Good Samaritan and Mary and Martha teach us that there is a time to take action; “to do,” and there is a time “to listen”; to reflect and discern. Knowing which course of action to take requires spiritual discernment. I believe that it also requires passion.
Passion is a very powerful test for determining authenticity. Our passion, or authenticity, has tremendous power and potential as mind, body and spirit work together to create, develop and express our feelings and ideas.
Passion is a critical component in our lives as Christians. Without passion, listening, reflecting, discerning, and doing are fairly, if not very, ineffective.

Marcus J. Borg in his recent novel “Putting Away Childish Things,” says:
“…the goal of Christian life is participating in the passion of God, as disclosed in the Bible and Jesus. God’s passion is that we center more deeply in God (‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength’) and the world – a world of justice and peace. These are the inner and outer dimensions of the Christian life and of Christian mysticism-union with God’s passion.”
I see passion for us Episcopalians as the glue that connects the listening process to the doing process. In listening we learn; in doing we carry out what we have learned. As Christians, if we do not listen and do with passion, we are not authentic. We fail to participate in the passion of God and His desire that we continue His work of reconciliation and redemption of the world – with passion.
Clearly, we do not live in Jesus’ time, and we will never meet him as we travel along the road. We will never have the opportunity to sit at his feet and listen to his stories as we entertain him as our dinner guest. We will never gain our passion by feeling the touch of his hand, or hearing the tone of his voice.
So then, what do we as residents of today’s chaotic world listen to? How do we listen? How do we understand what we have heard? How do we know what to do with what we have heard? And perhaps most important, where do we find our passion?
Let’s begin with the premise that everyone has gifts – gifts that are useful and absolutely necessary to the work of God in and through our Church. If our Church is to survive – if God is to be known in the world – we need to determine our gifts and put them to work. That is the mission that Jesus gave us.
The second premise is that the gifts we have are not the same gifts. Each of us has something different that we can offer. No one gift is better than any other gift. All gifts are precious. All gifts are needed in the life and ministry of the church.
Paul writes extensively about gifts and listening in First Corinthians:
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ..... And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues.”
Many ordained clergy discern their gifts through spiritual direction. Spiritual Direction is a ministry and an art, is an ancient practice in the Christian tradition. A Spiritual Director is one who with a deep personal faith life, relevant education and training, experiences a call to companion others on their soul journey. Knowing that the Holy Spirit is the true guide, a Spiritual Director does not direct, but acts as a listening, supportive companion. The purpose of spiritual direction is to recognize and respond to the presence and action of God in one’s daily life.
You all met my spiritual director at my ordination. The Rev. Chip Stokes gave the sermon and the charge. His gift to me of spiritual direction on a regular basis is priceless.
The majority of the laity discern their gifts through the Christian Education and Christian Formation activities provided by each parish and its clergy. Formation classes, especially, those that focus on centering prayer, learning to listen, and recognizing and responding to God’s call are essential exercises for all Christians.
Whether ordained or laity, members of all congregations base their mission in Christ – their listening and their doing - in their continual journey of education, formation, prayer, discernment, and ministry.
And what about passion, where does that come from?
Johannes Eckhart, a German theologian, philosopher and mystic who was born in the late 1200’s said,
“We must learn always to find and procure the advantage of God. For God does not give gifts, nor did he ever give one, so that we might keep it and take satisfaction in it; but all were given - all he ever gave on earth or in heaven - that he might give this one more: himself. Therefore I say that we must learn to look through every gift and every event to God and never be content with the thing itself. There is no stopping place in this life - no, nor was there ever one, no matter how far away a person had gone. This above all, then, be ready at all times for the gifts of God and always for new ones.”


“This above all, then, be ready at all times for the gifts of God and always for new ones.”
We all need to be Mary, listening at Christ’s feet, hearing his message, committing ourselves to our journey with him to Jerusalem and beyond.
We all need to be the Good Samaritan, loving our neighbors as ourselves, especially when no one else will offer that love to them.
We all need to accept God’s will for us to join in His passion in loving and bringing peace and justice to all; each in our own way; each through our own gifts.
A Wayne Schwab, the first evangelism staff officer for the Episcopal Church in the United States says,
“In today’s world, the laity are, potentially, the most effective agents of God’s mission. They are in the places where the decisions that shape our common life are made – from the home to the hourly workplace to the board room to the legislature. Hence, our vision: a church where all the members see themselves as agents of Jesus’ mission to make every part of their daily lives more loving and more just; and their congregations guiding them and empowering them for mission through their common life and worship.”
Let us pray:
O gracious and loving God, you work everywhere reconciling, loving, and healing your people and your creation. In your Son and through the power of your Holy Spirit, you invite each of us to join you in your work. We, young and old, lay and ordained, ask you to form us more and more in your image and likeness, through our prayer and worship of you and through the study of your scripture, that our eyes will be fully opened to your mission in the world. Then, God, into our communities, our nation, and the world, send us to serve with Christ, taking risks to give life and hope to all people and all of your creation. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Theological Dilemma

Sermon
Luke 9:51-62
A Theological Dilemma
6.27.2010

To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Today's Gospel reading is filled with bits and pieces. Jesus on a journey, his face set to go to Jerusalem; his entry into a village of the Samaritans who would not receive him; his moving on to another village that would receive him; and, then a series of requests from several who expressed a desire to follow him. Requests that were rebuffed with impatient and puzzling responses.

It would seem, however, that the essence of what Jesus is saying to his potential followers in these puzzling responses is that, “My journey and the kingdom of God come before all else. Forget your dying parents; forget your family; forget your fields, your animals, and your livelihood. Nothing in your life is as important as your commitment to follow me on my journey to Jerusalem.”

“We need to keep moving on. If you cannot drop everything in your life now, right now, and follow me, you are not “fit for the kingdom of God.”

Pretty strong words – drop everything in your life now, right now, and follow me on my journey or you are not fit for the kingdom of God.

How are we to interpret these demands that fly in the face of prudence, responsibility, accountability, and just plain old common sense?

For many of us, the demands made by Jesus in this passage from Luke create a very real theological dilemma. They leave us wondering, “How can I justify leaving all responsibility behind, and still believe that I am living a Christian life? What does Jesus mean when he says I am not fit for God's Kingdom unless I abandon my family, my work, and the life that I have created for myself in order to follow him?”

The theological dilemma that Jesus presented to his followers, is not unlike many dilemmas created by the events and demands that we encounter in today's world. Events and demands that pose a deep incongruity between what we believe and what we are being asked to do. Events and demands that are frequently, for those of us who take scripture and our baptismal covenant to heart, almost impossible to resolve with true peace of mind.

Theological dilemmas – situations that cause stress and anxiety. Situations that cause us to re-examine our belief system and the comfort of the world that we have built for ourselves within that belief system. Theological dilemmas – situations that can literally make or break us.

This morning – I am going to focus on theological dilemmas; how we handle them, and how we learn from them.

What is a theological dilemma anyway?

St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, a philosopher and theologian, defined the Latin equivalent of theological, theologica, as “reasoning or discussion concerning the deity.” Richard Hooker, an Anglican priest and theologian, defined theology as “the science of things divine.” Essentially, theology is the use of various forms of analysis and discussion to help understand, explain, defend and/or promote various religious beliefs and/or topics.

As Episcopalians, we develop, perhaps without knowing it, our own personal theologies. These theologies help us understand our religious tradition; they help us understand other religious traditions; and, they help us understand our religion in comparison to others. They provide the foundation for a unique and individual code of ethics that guides us in dealing with relationships and current life situations. They provide a framework for our understanding and interpretation of world situations.

Put another way, our personal theology, based on our interpretation of scripture, the traditions of our Church, and the culture in which we live, is the framework for our religious beliefs and our way of being in the world. It is the tool that we use each and every day to understand the world, and what is going on around us in the world – both environmentally and physically.

Whether we know it or not, we all have a personal theology that shapes our attitudes and behaviors, helps us negotiate life's situations, and provides us with some small understanding of what our life, and life in general, is all about.

A theological dilemma is a situation that seriously challenges our personal theology. Our personal comfort zone of the hows and whys of life is quite suddenly in direct opposition to what is being asked of us, or what is going on around us. This incongruity forces us to ask ourselves, “Are my beliefs valid, or have I been wandering down the wrong path.”

A theological dilemma frequently causes confusion, anxiety, anger, and not infrequently, a feeling of being lost and alone. The outcome of dealing with a theological dilemma can frequently cause discomfort and a disruption in a life that previously had felt calm and settled.

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus causes a big theological dilemma for those who ask to follow him on his journey to Jerusalem. Jesus says to them, “Follow me and leave everything else behind.”

I am sure that you can see the dilemma that Jesus posed for both of the men who offered to follow him on his journey to Jerusalem. In Jesus' culture, children -- especially sons -- were the only social security. If you had sons, they (and their wives and children) were expected to stick around to take care of you until you died, and then to make sure you get a proper burial. According to tradition, the very least that you could do to "honor your father and mother" (Exodus 20:12) is to take care of them when they grow old and are dying.

But in today's passage, Jesus says, in effect, “you have absolutely no obligation toward an earthly father; your only obligation is to your heavenly Father.” Wow – Jesus said that?

He did. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus called people to drop their nets and their plows, leave their families and their villages, and follow him.

This demand creates a theological dilemma – how do you honor your father and mother, and do your duty toward family, neighbor, and work according to Christian tradition; and, at the same time, drop everything and follow Jesus. What does this mean? How is it to be implemented?

All of us experience theological dilemmas, in one way or another, on a daily basis. Some are quite minor and easily resolved. Others are far more difficult to negotiate. These are the situations that force us to examine our personal theologies and to spend significant time, in conversation, reflection, and prayer in our attempt to make decisions about how to proceed in resolving the dilemma.

An example might be trying to decide whether or not, after years of turmoil, to deliver a “tough love” ultimatum to an alcoholic or drug addicted child or spouse by saying, “No more. I want you out of this house immediately, and do not expect any financial bailouts from this moment forward.” This tough love move is in direct opposition to our daily efforts to follow Jesus by “seeking the Christ in all persons and loving our neighbors as ourselves.”

In making a “tough love” decision we may be forcing someone onto the streets and possibly into jail. Is this a Christian thing to do? What would God have to say about this? What would Jesus do if he were in our shoes?

Of course, there are no answers to these questions. They are just that – questions; important questions.

There are no rights or wrongs in solving our theological dilemmas. We simply do the best we can, making every effort to “follow Jesus, while tending to our personal lives as responsibly and realistically as possible.

The theologian Marcus J. Borg says,
“...questioning also serves a necessary religious function: it prevents us from thinking that there can ever be a final formulation of “the way things are.” Our words and concepts, no matter how sacred or scientific, can only point to a stupendous and wondrous Mystery beyond all language. That is their function: they are pointers, and some point better than others. Sometimes language can even mediate the Mystery, the sacred.
But none of our “tenets or traditions” can be the last word, the final word. They are creatures, creations. To think of them as absolute is to give them a status that belongs to God alone.”

Borg does not believe that the Bible can be taken literally if it is to be taken seriously. He views the Bible as a lens through which we can view the Divine. The lens helps us to see God. The Bible, therefore, becomes our mediator - a means, not an end in the formation of our personal theologies, and the way in which we live them out in our day-to-day lives.

To question; to use the Bible as a lens through which we can see the Divine; to become engaged in the practice identifying our personal theology; to grow continually and endlessly through struggling with theological dilemmas both large and small, is to hear Jesus saying, “Follow me.”

Our theological dilemmas are simply a starting point. Other questions must follow – “Where am I to follow you?” - “How am I to follow you?” - “What does following you really mean in this particular situation?”

The questions are many; the conversations with God endless; the prayers for guidance, strength, courage, and compassion unceasing. But, the goal is always the same. The goal is to be on the road, our face set to Jerusalem, following Jesus.

Justified by Faith - Trinity Sunday 2010

Sermon
Justified by Faith John 16:12-15
May 30, 2010

Nine weeks ago on Easter Day, Christians across the world were proclaiming, Alleluia, the Lord is Risen. He is Risen indeed. Alleluia.

The disciples were amazed and relieved. We were amazed and relieved. The one we thought had died was risen; he was with us once again. We were not alone.

And now, today, just a few short weeks later, the Risen Christ tells his disciples that he will leave them once again. This time, he will go to heaven to be with his Father, leaving the disciples with his final gift – the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Can you imagine how confused and desolate the disciples must have been? How would you have felt? Angry, resentful, abandoned? I know that I would probably have felt overwhelmed.

One minute our teacher and leader was dead and buried in a tomb; within a few short hours, vanished from that very same tomb; soon after only to be alive again and present with us; and, then, once again, gone.

To quote a friend of mine, “who would have believed???”

And, yet Jesus is asking his disciples, and us, to do exactly that – to believe.

Jesus knew his final departure would be hard for the disciples. He knew that they were very dependent on him; that they had not yet fully understood who he was, or what his message was. After all his teaching, all his good works, and despite his resurrection – the disciples still did not get it – they did not understand that he was the Son of God; their savior; their salvation. Jesus knew this.

Jesus said to his disciples, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear to hear them now,” fully understanding that this final departure would leave the disciples frightened and confused, wondering, “What will we do now?”

But, Jesus also knew that when he departed, the Holy Spirit would come into the lives of those who had followed him, breathing life into the message of grace and salvation that had been his mission to bring to us as the Son of God; God incarnate.

Jesus tells the disciples that the Holy Spirit, “… will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

Jesus came to us as the incarnation, the embodiment in flesh, of God. He will now rise to “sit at the right hand of God” – to be one with God. He will be replaced by the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of God.

Jesus was “begotten” by the Father, and the Holy Spirit will “proceed” from the Father and from the Son. The three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are One – the Holy Trinity – Holy, Holy, Holy.

That is what we are celebrating today, Trinity Sunday – the solemn day of commemoration of the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Jesus was God’s gift to us. Through his crucifixion, death and resurrection, Jesus gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Christ knew God’s mission for him, and through the Holy Spirit, we are told by Christ, that we will know God’s mission for us.

Christ had faith in God, his Father. This faith called him to his ministry and gave him the courage and strength to face his death on the cross.

Christ is asking us to have faith, and to allow this faith to open our hearts to the gift of the Holy Spirit; to allow our lives to be nurtured and guided by the breath of the Holy Spirit.

Just as God breathed on Adam and gave him the breath of life, Jesus breathed on his disciples and said to them, “Peace to you! As the Father sent me, I also send you…and when he said this he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ ”

The gift of the Holy Spirit– will we have the courage to recognize it and to allow it to nurture our faith and guide us through these challenging times?

This weekend we are also celebrating Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, the day of Remembrance, for those who have died in our nation’s service. Remembrance Day officially goes back to World War I. Since that time, many wars have been fought and many lives lost. One hundred sixteen, six hundred and six lives were lost in World War I; 405,399 in World War II; 33,686 in the Korean War; 58,209 in the Vietnam War; 1,083 in Afghanistan; and, 4,403 in Iraq. A total of 36,230 men and women have been either killed or wounded in the Iraq War.

These men and women went into battle with courage, perseverance, and faith. Many have written extensively about the presence of God in their lives in the most terrifying of moments in the battle field.

"In Flanders Fields" is one of the most memorable of these written accounts. It is a poem written by Canadian physician and Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae written just after he witnessed the death of his friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer who was only 22 years old. The poppies referred to in the poem grew in profusion in Flanders in the disturbed earth of the battlefields and cemeteries where war casualties were buried. That is how they became a symbol of Remembrance Day.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

In a verbal tribute to our military, General Douglas MacArthur in his farewell address at the West Point commencement ceremonies on May 12, 1962 said,

“In twenty campaigns, on a hundred battlefields, around a thousand campfires, I have witnessed that enduring fortitude, that patriotic self-abnegation, and that invincible determination which have carved the soldier’s statue in the hearts of his people

From one end of the world to the other, he has drained deep the chalice of courage. As I listened to those songs of the glee club, in memory's eye I could see those staggering columns of the First World War, bending under soggy packs on many a weary march, from dripping dusk to drizzling dawn, slogging ankle deep through mire of shell-pocked roads; to form grimly for the attack, blue-lipped, covered with sludge and mud, chilled by the wind and rain, driving home to their objective, and for many, to the judgment seat of God.

I do not know the dignity of their birth, but I do know the glory of their death. They died unquestioning, uncomplaining, with faith in their hearts, and on their lips the hope that we would go on to victory. Always for them: Duty, Honor, Country. Always their blood, and sweat, and tears, as they saw the way and the light.

And twenty years after, on the other side of the globe, against the filth of dirty foxholes, the stench of ghostly trenches, the slime of dripping dugouts, those boiling suns of the relentless heat, those torrential rains of devastating storms, the loneliness and utter desolation of jungle trails, the bitterness of long separation of those they loved and cherished, the deadly pestilence of tropic disease, the horror of stricken areas of war.

Their resolute and determined defense, their swift and sure attack, their indomitable purpose, their complete and decisive victory--always victory, always through the bloody haze of their last reverberating shot, the vision of the gaunt, ghastly men, reverently following the password of Duty, Honor, Country................

Today marks my final roll call with you. But I want you to know that when I cross the river, my last conscious thoughts will be of the Corps, and the Corps, and the Corps”
“If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.”


“They died unquestioning, uncomplaining, with faith in their hearts, and on their lips the hope that we would go on to victory.”

“Peace to you! As the Father sent me, I also send you…and when he said this he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ ”

AMEN

Ordination of Clelia Garrity to the Diaconate

St. Martin’s Church, Pahrump, NV
Ordination to the Sacred Order of Deacons - Clelia Garrity
Jeremiah 1:4-9; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6; Luke 12:35-38 (Propers for the Ordination of a Deacon)
Preacher; The Reverend William H. Stokes

How privileged I feel to be here and to be your preacher on this extraordinary occasion, when, in a short while, by God’s grace and with your consent, Clelia Garrity will be ordained a deacon in Christ’s one holy catholic and apostolic church. I think this day has been a long time coming. I know Clelia feels that way too.
I’ve known Clelia for nearly fifteen years and have been her spiritual director throughout this process. I can assure you she has been waiting for this moment, longing for it. For her, it is a time of fulfillment, a time for her to fulfill that which she feels to the depths of her soul. Clelia is a deacon through and through and through. She has a deacon’s heart!
Today we are giving outward expression to an inward reality which is already present; which God has planted with the soul of Clelia Garrity. That’s what a sacrament is: giving outward and visible expression to an inward invisible reality. Ordination is a sacrament.
God has given Clelia a heart of compassion. Not the kind of compassion that feels only and then doesn’t act, that is “enabling” rather than “empowering.” Oh, no, Clelia Garrity’s compassion is active compassion. Clelia sees, and Clelia does.
Clelia has served, and continues to serve, people most in need and in most desperate circumstances: the poor, the battered and the abused, and especially battered and abused children, the most vulnerable ones. She has been performing this kind of service most of her adult her....Yes, God has given Clelia the heart of a servant...God has given Clelia the heart of a Deacon.
Today, we have a holy and sacred responsibility: With our consent, by our prayers, and with Bishop Dan’s actions of laying his hands on Clelia and petitioning the Holy Spirit, by the power of that same Spirit, the outward expression will meet with the inward reality and the deed will be accomplished. We will have a new Deacon – Deacon Clelia Garrity.
Prior to responding to my own call to the priesthood (and it needs to be noted that all priests are first ordained as deacons, although there is a healthy conversation going on in the church today about whether or not we should continue this), I worked for many years in restaurants both as a bartender and a waiter. I started doing this because my wife and I had married young, very young; when I was a freshman in college. Working in restaurants allowed me to work at night and go to school during the day. I kept that up for two years. Then restaurants took over and I dropped out of college and started running restaurants. I did pretty well, running some pretty big places, mostly in New York.
After eight years of that, I got restless. I was working 6 and 7 days a week, often from 9 or 10 in the morning until 2 0r 3 the next morning. I’d go home, sleep for a few hours, get up and do it again. I had a family, including small children....What’s this about? I began to wonder to myself. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the Spirit was stirring in me. I began to sense a call to the priesthood.
Eventually I responded to that call and went back and finished college and then went to seminary. I stopped running restaurants, but I still had to work, I had children to support. I started waiting tables again. I waited tables through the first year and a half of seminary.
In 1987, during my first year at General Seminary, where one of my classmates was Bishop Dan Edwards, we were required to take a course in church history called Patristics....Patristics studies the earliest history of the church; from the time immediately following the Resurrection of Jesus and the church of the first Apostles to about the 6th century. One of the first lectures of the course was on the early development of the church’s ordained ministry, the order of deacons. “The word deacon,” Professor Bob Wright said in class that day, “comes from the Greek word DIACONOS which means ‘servant’ or more specifically `humble table servant’ or ‘waiter.’”
I cannot describe to you, how overwhelmed I was at hearing that in that classroom...As I indicated, at the time, I was still waiting tables in a restaurant in New York... “The word deacon,” Professor Bob Wright said, “comes from the Greek word DIACONOS which means `servant’ `humble table servant’ or ‘waiter.’”
Yes, it was overwhelming to hear that. I was at a totally new place in my life and in my understanding...I was in a totally new place in my relationship with God but, I had come full circle. I knew what those words meant. I was entering a new servanthood, a new form of humble table service. Tears came to my eyes and I could barely hear the rest of the lecture. It was as if God had spoken to me; had affirmed my call.
Today we are gathered to ordain another person into the ranks of God’s humble table servants, God’s waiters....Another person, Clelia Garrity, has by the grace of God in her own distinct way come full circle in her life. She, too, has felt the stirring of the Spirit, which made her restless, unsettled her....And she has, in response the Spirit’s urging, presented herself to the Church; jumped through all its hoops and been found worthy to enter its servant ranks. So we rejoice in that and give thanks for it, even as we recognize the solemnity of the occasion and grapple with its implications.
In one of his Epistles, St. Clement of Rome, an early Church Father (who dates to about. 95 AD), states that the institution of deacons along with that of bishops “is the work of the Apostles themselves.”1 Therefore, the ordination which takes place today, and the ministry which we celebrate, reaches back to the very earliest life of the church. Wow!
In its earliest expressions the diaconate was clear and well-defined. There were seven deacons in Rome and in each of the large cities of the church. In a thorough treatment of the subject, the Catholic Encyclopedia tells us that deacons were responsible for oversight of church funds and for the distribution of alms to the poor, the widows and the orphans....Deacons were responsible for seeking out the sick and the needy and reporting to the bishop and representing to the bishop both their condition and their necessities...They were responsible for inviting the elderly women of the church community to the Agape meal. 2
Deacons were “the guardians of order in the church.” 3 They saw that the faithful occupied their proper places, that “none gossiped or slept...They were to welcome the poor and aged and to take care that they were not at a disadvantage as to their position in the church.”4...As St. Chrysostom says in general terms: “if anyone misbehave let the deacon be summoned.” 5 I like that!
Besides all this, Deacons, “.were largely employed in the direct ministry of the altar, preparing the sacred vessels and bringing water for the ablutions....”6 Deacons read the Gospel, led the prayers of the people, and dismissed them into the world at the end of the mass...7
There are a number of other qualities of this ministry from early days, and, although they had receded into the background for many hundreds of years, the ministry of the deacon has re-surged, both in the Roman Church, and particularly in the Episcopal Church...
The Book of Common Prayer captures the essentials of this ministry, its implications and its tensions in the Examination which we shall soon hear. The Bishop will state to Clelia, “As a deacon....You are to make Christ and his redemptive love known, by your word and example, to those among whom you live, and work, and worship. You are to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world. You are to assist the bishops and priests in public worship and in the ministration of God’s Word and Sacraments, and you are to carry out other duties assigned to you from time to time. At, all times, your life and teaching are to show Christ’s people that in serving the helpless, they are serving Christ himself....” 8 Servanthood is that the heart of the diaconal ministry....In fact, servanthood is at the core of all Christian ministry.
Were you paying attention to the Gospel reading when it was read? Did it shock you? It should have. It certainly would have shocked those who heard it when Jesus spoke those words...

Jesus is speaking to a crowd....He had already been engaged in a somewhat hostile exchange with scribes and Pharisees who are lying in wait, ready to pounce on anything he says which might give them an excuse to have him arrested (cf. Luke 11:53).
Those scribes and Pharisees knew about power and privilege....They were the cream of their society....They kept the law and observed every propriety....They also knew who was who in their society. They were at the top of the social rung; everybody else, well, they should be kept in their place.....
Jesus addresses the crowd and urges them to be ready for the time when the master of the House will come (Luke 12:26) Apparently, in this short teaching, the master has been attending a wedding banquet, it’s an image for the messianic banquet, the consummation of time, when the righteous will be judged favorably and enter into the master’s heaven and when the wicked will be judged negatively and cast into the place of eternal separation from God....
“Be dressed, “ Jesus says to his listeners... “Be dressed and ready for action. Have your lamps lit....Be like those who are waiting for the Master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks” (Luke 12:35 - 36).
Now listen to this. Listen carefully! Listen to what Jesus says next, “Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves! (Luke 12:37-38). The master of the house will come and fasten his belt, and then have them sit down to eat, and HE will serve them?! It’s unbelievable! It’s absurd!
But that’s what the ministry and Gospel message of Jesus is: unbelievable, outrageous, absurd! It turns the world upside down....It turns the world’s calculus and power structures upside down. The rich are poor and the poor are rich....The blind receive their sight and the lame are healed....The captives are set free, the oppressed are limited....And masters wait tables and serve the servants....
In his book Living Jesus, Luke Timothy Johnson writes, “The claim to be learning Jesus is superficial if not grounded in specific practices that embody such learning. The pattern of faithful obedience and loving service is not something to be memorized as though it were a mental image. Rather, it is a pattern that must be spelled out in the practices of living faith within a community...The pattern by which we were imprinted by baptism – the pattern of a dying and rising Lord Jesus....We need to translate this pattern into consistent habits of behavior that express the mind of Christ.” 9
Johnson continues, “We shall not be able to learn Jesus in the sick and imprisoned unless we visit those who are sick and imprisoned. We shall not find Jesus in the hungry and thirsty unless we go to those who are hungry with food and to those who are thirsty with drink. We shall not meet Jesus in the stranger unless we provide the stranger with hospitality...”10
Johnson is right and his description addresses what should be the ministry of all the baptized. But his words and images point with special particularity, I believe, to the ministry of the deacon as that ministry is understood in the Book of Common Prayer and as that ministry has been handed down to us through th ages in the church: a ministry, a radical ministry, to which Clelia is now called and into which she is now to be ordained...She has the heart for it....She has a deacons heart through and through....

Charge to Clelia
Clelia, God has led you on an extraordinary journey and now calls you into an extraordinary ministry of service...I know you...I know you well....I give thanks for this day and for God’s call to you...I think it has been a long time coming....I am thankful for the privilege of sharing with you in this call....You know about power and privilege and celebrity and the all the superficialities and artificial categories of value that mark the world in which we live....You have lived among them....
You have also recognized the needs of the world and dedicated yourself as a layperson and social worker to responding to those needs....Christ now calls you into deeper servanthood and deeper love....On behalf of God’s people, I now charge you to continue to grow in Christ’s love and service and to grow in your servant ministry as a deacon....Continue to break boundaries, to journey to places of discomfort and pain, to journey to places which challenge your own comfort level and perhaps even threaten your own self-understanding...Go to those places...Go to those places because you are needed there...Go to those places because Christ is needed there...Let those who see you, see, experience Christ, through you and in you...Let his words resound through your ministry, “I am among you as one who serves.”

Charge to the People

It is customary for the preacher at an ordination service to charge the ordinand and I have just done this...But it is important that we all be charged....Clelia is about to be ordained to the servant ministry of Deacon, but we should recognize that her particular ministry is a specific expression of the servant ministry we all share by virtue of our baptism...We have promised that we will seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves...In this promise, we indicate our share in the diaconate. I charge you all therefore, not only to support Clelia in her diaconal ministry, but to remember that we you are all called to represent the reconciling love of Christ and his church wherever you may: in the home, at work, in school, at play, in service. The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ....May Christ give you strength and grace to be willing and obedient servants in that restoration work...May God bless and keep you always in his heart and love...Amen

Feed My Sheep...Follow me.

Sermon
Feed My Sheep…Follow Me
April 18, 2010

“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him “Feed my sheep.”…After this he said to him, “Follow me.” John 21:15-19

“Feed my lambs;” Tend my sheep;” “Feed my sheep;” “Follow me.” These are Jesus’ words to Peter, today. They are words that form commands; words that confer responsibility; words that imply trust; words foundational to the Christian Church.

They are commands that charge one to go forth in love and faith, both following Jesus and caring for the Christian community at the very same time.

Most certainly, these are commands that would normally be saved for only the most trusted friend or family member.

Yet, wait a minute…wasn’t Peter the disciple who just a few days earlier, during Jesus’ arrest and trial in Jerusalem, denied him twice by saying, “No, I am not one if his disciples,” and then a third time by saying, “No, I was not in the garden with him.”

Wasn’t Peter the disciple who could have come forward and defended Jesus, but didn’t, instead choosing to lurk in the shadows and escape responsibility? Wasn’t Peter the disciple who avoided offering the support that should have been given by one of Jesus’ followers; one of his trusted disciples?

Can it be that Peter – the Peter who denied; the Peter who avoided responsibility; the Peter who lost his way - who has now been chosen by Jesus to lead in his place; to, “Tend my sheep, and follow me?”
How are we to interpret this sudden and complete trust in someone who has just performed cowardly acts of betrayal and untrustworthiness? Someone who had just demonstrated blatant acts unfaithfulness?

We might wonder why Jesus didn’t instead choose John for this role of leadership. At first glance, John seems to be the perfect choice. He was, after all, Jesus’ favorite apostle.
It was John, not Peter, who stood by the foot of the cross as Jesus died, ignoring the danger of being arrested and put to death by the Romans. It was John, not Peter, whom Jesus chose to act as guardian of his mother Mary. It was John, not Peter, who had been the perfect disciple; the ever faithful friend; the dependable one. It seems impossible to imagine a more appropriate choice than John for Jesus to choose to lead his Church.
So why did Jesus choose Peter and not John? Did Jesus know something we do not? I think so – I think that while John was the “perfect” disciple; the disciple who did everything right with unfailing loyalty, Jesus knew that we are all Peter. We are not perfect. We all have moments of weakness; times of doubt; periods of our lives that are not so pretty perfect. We all lose our way – every single one of us. No one of us is perfect. And therefore, because no one could live up to John’s example of perfection, Jesus chose Peter.
Jesus does not expect us to be perfect.
Jesus knew that Peter would rebound from his fall and become the strong, natural leader he was. Jesus knew that by choosing Peter, he gave hope to the thousands of generations that would follow…. It’s as if Jesus is telling us, “I do not call you to be perfect. Do not fear falling, or failing, follow me and you will rebound. All I ask is that you have faith and follow me.”
In today’s passage, Jesus also tells Peter, “When you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.”
Here, Jesus is warning Peter that his newly assigned task of leading the infant Christian Church will be not be an easy one. It will require courage, endurance, and the strength to face a painful death for the sake of the Church; for Jesus’ sake.
Having been given his charge by Jesus, Peter initially worked to establish the early Church by preaching to the scattered Jews and Hebrew Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. Several years later, Peter went to Rome where he quickly became the leader of the Christian movement, and a favorite of the Emperor Nero.
However, Peter, and the tenacity with which he carried forth his mission to follow Jesus by spreading the Good News and creating a Christian community, soon became a threat to the powerful Roman ruler. Nero decided that he needed to eliminate Peter, and the Christian Church, as well.
Church history says that Peter probably died by crucifixion, with his head to the ground and his arms outstretched, shortly after the Great Fire of Rome in the year 64. A fire that Nero himself set in an effort to discredit the Christians.
Margherita Guarducci, who between 1963 and 1968 led the last stages of the research leading to the rediscovery of Peter’s tomb, concludes that Peter died on October 13 A.D. 64 on the occasion of the 10th dies imperii (coronation day anniversary) of Emperor Nero. The dies imperii was always accompanied by much bloodshed – gladiators, chariot rides – all of the Charlton Heston blood and gore that we’ve seen in movies like The Ten Commandments and Ben Hur.
It was on this bloody 10th anniversary day that Roman authorities sentenced Peter to death by crucifixion amidst all the rest of the bloodshed that was occurring around him. Peter’s burial place is thought to be where the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome was later built, directly beneath the Basilica's high altar.
Today, we hear that Jesus charged Peter. Jesus charged Peter to feed his sheep and to follow him. Jesus charged Peter with the task of taking the Good News into the world fearlessly, with love, courage, and faith, knowing that his Lord would always be there to guide, support, and forgive him.
Is Jesus’ charge for Peter only? No – Jesus charges us all. He charges us through our Baptismal Covenant; he charges us through the various “calls” that we receive in his name; he charges us in and through the ministry of the lay and the ordained to feed his sheep and to follow him.
Just last Saturday, I was charged by Bishop Dan to “study the Holy Scriptures, to seek nourishment from them, and to model [my] life upon them”. I was charged “to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world.” I was charged “to serve all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely.”
Several years ago when Julie was ordained, she was charged “to proclaim by word and deed the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” She was charged “to preach, to declare God’s forgiveness to penitent sinners, to pronounce God’s blessing, to share in the administration of Holy Baptism and in the mysteries of Christ’s Body and Blood, and to perform the other ministrations entrusted to [her].”
When Bishop Dan was ordained, he was charged “to guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church; to celebrate and to provide for the administration of the sacraments of the New Covenant; to ordain priests and deacons and to join in ordaining bishops; and to be in all things a faithful pastor and wholesome example for the entire flock of Christ.”
You, the laity, are charged “to represent Christ and his church; to bear witness to him wherever you may be; and according to the gift given to you, to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world; and to take your place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church.”
Jesus has charged us all – laity, deacon, priest, and bishop. We have all been assigned a job and clearly instructed as to how to carry out that job. We have all been charged to feed Christ’s sheep and to follow him. Like Peter, we will deny, we will avoid responsibility, we will become lost. Jesus knew that would happen; but, he trusted that, as with Peter, and like lost sheep, we would, with the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us, once again find our way.
Last week, after my consecration as a deacon in the Episcopal Church, Bishop Dan, as is customary, presented me with a bible. His inscription in this bible reads, “May the Lord who has given you the will to do these things, give you the grace and power to perform them.”
This was Jesus’ wish for Peter; it is Jesus’ wish for you; it is my prayer for you.

A Letter from The Rev. Lauren Stanley

Dear Friends in Christ:

In Haiti's epicenter, anywhere you walk, you are walking in death.

Everywhere you step in earthquake-devastated epicenter of Port au Prince and Leogane and the surrounding areas, your feet get dirty. There are few open spaces left, and what once was open is now filled with tents and tent cities. There is little sanitation. Garbage is picked up some days, but piles up most others. The rains sweep everything down the streets and sidewalks: raw sewage, mud from the crumbled buildings, the decaying remains of those who died and who have still not been found, still not been uncovered in the rubble.

If any one group of people need their feet washed, especially on Maundy Thursday, it is the Haitians, for they walk in death every single day.

But foot-washing -- a part of the Christian tradition that comes from the Evangelist John's description of the Last Supper, in which Jesus washed the feet of his disciples -- is not a tradition in the Episcopal Church here. I'm not certain why it isn't, I simply know that when I asked, "Do we wash the people's feet here?" I was told, "No."

I wish that were not so, because right now, Haitians need that foot-washing.

Not just because they are walking in death.

But because I think that most Haitians - those living in tents and tent cities, and those who are in their own homes - need the rest of the world to bathe them in the same love in which Jesus bathed his disciples' feet.

The standard explanation of the foot-washing scene in John's Gospel is that Jesus wanted to show how far he was willing to go to be a servant to his disciples, to set an example for them, so that they in turn might be servants as well.

But I have always believed that there is so much more to the story than simply example-setting. I believe that Jesus got on his knees and washed his disciples dirty, smelly, probably ugly feet -- that terribly despised portion of the body that most people really don't want to have washed in public -- I believe Jesus did this as an act of pure love. I believe Jesus took each foot and caressed it, rubbed it, washed it clean, and gently rubbed it dry out of pure love.

And if anyone needs to experience that kind of gentle love, it is the Haitians. They have suffered so much for so long, and then have been torn asunder physically, emotionally and psychologically by this earthquake. Now, the very ground on which they walk is filled with death. What would it be like, I asked the small congregation gathered for Maundy Thursday services at St. James the Just, if we were to have OUR feet washed, and then were to go across the street to the Tent City where approximately 6,000 people are encamped, and wash THEIR feet? What would happen if we were to show to all those in such great need the same absolute, tender love that Jesus showed to his disciples?

We don't do foot-washing in Haiti -- at least, not yet. Pere David Cesar and I talked about possibly introducing the service next year.

But right now, I said, I think it's something that Haiti desperately needs: Gentle, tender, pure love. Each of us, I said, needs to take the love of Christ that we feel -- however big or small -- and share it, gently and tenderly -- with those who need it so much more.

When Jesus got down on his knees, I said, he did it out of love. And that very act alone changed the world.

We, too, I said, can do this. We can get on OUR knees, figuratively and literally, and in doing so change not just Haiti, but the world.

I don't want to walk in death any more. The Haitians don't want to walk in death any more. What they want -- what they NEED, right now -- is to walk in love.

What better way to show that love than to have our dirty, smelly, ugly feet washed, and then to wash the dirty, smelly, ugly feet of others?

That kind of love, that kind of willingness to lessen ourselves so that others may be loved and may find life -- THAT kind of love changed the world once, and it can change the world again.

I really wanted to wash some feet tonight, and I wanted my own feet washed, in the pure, tender, gentle love of Jesus. We did so figuratively. Hopefully soon, we'll do so literally as well.

Blessings and peace in this Holy Week,
Lauren


The Rev. Lauren R. Stanley
TEC Appointed Missionary in Haiti
Assistant to Bishop Duracin,
Partnership Program and Development
Diocese of Haiti
US mobile: 703-678-3892
Haitian mobile: 011 509 3865 8329
MereLaurenS@gmail.com
http://GoIntoTheWorld.net