Jamie Parsley's Blog, page 14

12 Pentecost

 

August 20, 2023

 

Matthew15.10-28

 

 

+ Please don’t be shocked by this.

 

I know some of you will.

 

But…. I may, on one or two occasion, got myself into a bit oftrouble with my mouth.

 

I sometimes say things I maybe shouldn’t say, especially when I amriled up.

 

Let’s face it, sometimes, I do not have much of a filter.

 

I sometimes find myself speaking out on things and then, maybe,possibly, regretting something I have said.

 

And, in those moments, there’s no one to blame but myself.

 

And I know I’m not alone here.

 

So, are some of you.

 

In f act, we as a congregation are people who speak out, who usewords well to convey our convictions and beliefs.

 

And as a result we have, and continue to be, a thorn in the sideof the establishment.

 

As we should.

 

This is why many of you are here at St. Stephen’s.

 

We are definitely NOT a cookie cutter congregation.

 

Sadly, though, for me anyway, as I look back in my life at thosetimes when I’ve been “in trouble” it was almost always because of something Isaid.

 

There have been times when, even as the words are coming out of mymouth, I wish I could just grab them in the air and swallow them before theyget too far.

 

I have no filter, sometimes.

 

And it’s been a long-time “growing edge” for me to work on.

 

I’m better than I used to be.

 

That’s what happens when you get older.

 

We realize very clearly that the words spoken really do haveripple effects.

 

If we think, when we say something either on the offense ordefense, that those words will not have consequences in the long-run, wedeceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

 

Jesus tells his followers—and us—in this morning in our Gospelreading—

 

“it is notwhat goes into the mouth that defiles; it is what comes out of the mouth thatdefiles. ”

 

As a vegan, I may have to disagree with that a bit.

 

But yes, these are words that hit home for me, and no doubt, formany of us.

 

We were all raised reciting that little verse:

 

Sticks andstone may break my bones

But words willnever hurt me.

 

Guess what?

 

Words actually DO hurt.

 

In fact words do more than hurt.

 

They do more than just create a ripple effect.

 

Words can destroy.

 

Words can tear down.

 

And sometimes the words don’t even have to be directed at someoneor something.

 

Words spoken behind people’s backs, that we think won’t hurt themif they never hear them, hurt and destroy too.

 

Words are oftentimes much more painful and hurtful than sticks andstones.

 

And when it comes to our relationship with God, the words we saycarry much weight.

 

In today’s Gospel we find Jesus making very clear statements:

 

“…what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart and this iswhat defiles. For out of the mouth comes” all kind of evil intentions.

 

“These are what defile a person…” he says.

 

Jesus is clear here about what makes one unclean.

 

The words that come out of our mouth are really only the endresult of what’s in our hearts.

 

The words that come out of our mouths are really only little mirrorsof what is dwelling within us.

 

When we say dumb things, we are harboring dumb things in ourhearts.

 

When we say hurtful, mean things, we are carrying hurt andmeanness in our hearts.

 

And what’s in our hearts truly does make all the difference.

 

If our hearts are dark—if our hearts are over-run with negativethings—then our words are going to reflect that.

 

When we talk about something like “sin,” we find ourselvesthinking instantly of the things we do.

 

We think immediately of all those uncharitable, unsavory thingswe’ve done in our lives.

 

And when we realize that sin, essentially, is anything we chose todo that separates us from God and from each other, it is always easy to instantlytake stock of all the bad things we’ve done.

 

But it’s not always what we “do.”

 

Sometimes, we can truly “sin” by what we say as well.

 

The words that come out of our mouths can separate us from God andfrom each other because they are really coming from our hearts—from that placein which there should really only be love for God and for each other.

 

We have all known Christians who are quick to profess their faithwith their mouths, but who certainly do not believe that faith in their hearts.

 

And, I think, we have also known people who have kept quiet abouttheir faith, who have not professed much with their mouths, but who havequietly been consistent in their faith.

 

If we profess our faith with our mouths, but not in our hearts, wereally are guilty to some extent.

 

Probably few things drive us away faster from church than thoseself-righteous people who shake their fingers at us and spout their faith atus, but who, in turn, don’t show love, compassion and acceptance to others.

 

The name we encounter in the Gospels for those people who do notpractice what they preach is “hypocrite.”

 

And throughout the Gospels, we find that Jesus isn’t ever condemningthe ones we think he should condemn.

 

He doesn’t condemn the prostitute, the tax collector, any of thosepeople who have been ostracized and condemned by society and the religiousorganizations of their times.

 

The ones Jesus, over and over again, condemns, are thehypocrites—those supposedly “religious” people who are quick to speak theirfaith with words, who are quick to strut around and act religiously, but who donot hold any real faith in their hearts.

 

The Pharisees that Jesus is having trouble with in today’s Gospel,are not at all concerned about what is in their hearts.

 

Their faith has nothing to do with their hearts.

 

They are more concerned about purification rites.

 

They are more concerned about making sure that the food one eatsis clean and pure—that it hasn’t been touched by those who are unclean.

 

They are concerned that they are the clean ones and they areconcerned that there is a separation from those that are unclean.

 

They are more concerned with the words of the Law, rather than theheart of the Law.

 

They are more concerned with the letter of the Law, rather thanthe spirit of the Law.

 

We, as followers of Jesus, must avoid being those hypocrites.

 

With everything in us, we must avoid being those people.

 

Yes, I know: it’s just easier to stick to the letter of the Law.

 

It’s easy to follow the religious rules without bothering to thinkabout why we are following them.

 

It’s just so much easier to go through the motions without havingto feel anything.

 

Because to feel means to actually make one’s self vulnerable.

 

To feel means one has to love—and, as we know—as we see in theworld right now—love is dangerous.

 

Love makes us step out into uncomfortable areas and douncomfortable things.

 

But the message of Jesus is all about the fact that to be afollower of Jesus means not being a hypocrite.

 

That is ESSENTIAL.

 

The message of Jesus is that to be a follower of Jesus meansbelieving fully with one’s heart.

 

We at St. Stephen’s are saying, again and again, not just by ourwords, but by our actions, that we are a people of a God who is love—we are apeople here at St. Stephen’s who believe all people are loved and accepted,fully and completely by that God.

 

And how do we do that? How do we show that and preach that?

 

We do that by loving and accepting all people.

 

Even when that is hard!

 

We do that even when people take advantage of our inclusiveness,when people take advantage of our kindness, when people take advantage of us.

 

We do that by knowing in our hearts that God loves and accepts usall, no matter who or what we are.

 

To proclaim the Good News, we need to do so by both word andexample.

 

It is to truly practice what we preach.

 

It is to go out into the world beyond these walls and say, “thisis a place—and we are a people—wherein love dwells.

 

We are a people who strive to embody that radical,all-encompassing love of a God of love.

 

So, let us take to heart what Jesus is saying to us in today’sGospel.

 

Let us take his words and plant them deeply in our hearts.

 

Let the words of his mouth be the words of our mouth.

 

Let the Word—capital W—by our word.

 

And let that Word find its home, its source, its basis in ourhearts.

 

When it does, our words will truly speak the Word that is in ourhearts.

 

Let us allow no darkness, no negativity to exist within ourhearts.

 

Let us not be hypocritical Pharisees to those around us.

 

But let us be true followers of Jesus, with love burning withinand overflowing us.

 

As followers of Jesus, let love be the word that speaks to others.

 

Let our hearts be so filled with love that nothing else can existin it but love.

 

And if we do—if we do just that—we will find that love pouringforth from our mouth and bringing joy and gladness and love and full acceptanceto others.

 

Even to ourselves.

 

 

 

11 Pentecost

 

August 13, 2023

 

1 King 19.9-18; Matthew 14.22-33

 

+ Being a poet sometimes is evenweirder than being a priest.

 

As you know, many years ago, I wrote abook about a tornado.

 

A tornado that has become truly legendaryin our Fargo community.

 

I gotta say, that book has done fairlywell for a book of poems.

 

I am amazed sometimes when I gosomewhere and people say, “Hey! You wrote that book about the tornado. I readit. It’s the only book of poetry I’ve ever read.”

 

But the weird aspect of this is whenpeople think, because I wrote a book about a tornado, that I’m some sort of meteorologist.

 

People think I know a lot about theweather.

 

I know a little bit about the weather.

 

But not as much as what some people expectof me because I wrote this book.

 

But occasionally, I will get someonewho will say something like this to me: “You know, when I read your book, Irealized that I think there’s more to that tornado than just a tornado. I thinkthat tornado symbolizes something.”

 

Now, I like it when someone sayssomething like that.

 

They really understood my book.

 

Well, today, in our reading from 1Kings and from our Gospel reading, we get storms.

 

We find, in our reading from FirstKings, that the prophet Elijah is being confronted with several naturaldisasters actually.

 

First there is a storm, then anearthquake and then a fire.

 

And in each of them, he finds that,despite their magnificence, despite the fact that they are more powerful thanElijah himself, God is not in any of them.

 

He does not hear the Word of God comingto him out of these instances.

 

But rather, God speaks to him in the“sheer silence” after the storm.

 

Our Gospel reading is similar in manyways.

 

There too is a storm.

 

And this one is just as frightening.

 

The disciples in the boat arebuffeting, they are trying to make their way back to shore and cannot becausethe storm’s wind is against them, and they are clearly afraid.

 

A word we keep experiencing in our Gospelreading for today is “fear.”

 

The disciples see Jesus, think he’s aghost and they cry out in fear.

 

And Jesus says to them,

 

“Take heart, it is I; do not beafraid.”

 

Peter, audacious as he is, then getsout of the boat and starts walking on the water to Jesus.

 

But when he notices the storm ragingaround him, he becomes frightened and begins to sink.

 

And Jesus reaches out his hands and liftshim from the water and stills the storm.

 

Again, I think these storms actuallyhave deeper meaning for us than we initially think.

 

They seem to be also symbols for ourown storms in our lives.

 

In the storms of our own lives, weoften find ourselves at a loss.

 

We too often do unpredictable things inthose storms like Peter.

 

We do the equivalent of getting out ofa boat and attempting to walk on water.

 

We find ourselves venturing into areaswe maybe shouldn’t be venturing.

 

We find ourselves doing naivelyaudacious things.

 

And while doing those things, wesometimes lose heart, we become afraid, and we begin sinking.

 

This is what storms do to us.

 

They sap us of our energy, of our joy,of our bravery and they leave us vulnerable to them.

 

This is also what fear does to us.

 

It causes us to lose heart.

 

It causes us to lose our joy and ourgladness and our happiness.

 

It saps our life and our energy fromus.

 

And that is why, during those storms,during those moments of false courage, during those times of raging fear, weneed to strain into the storm and we need to hear that calm voice speaking tous with familiar words:

 

“Take heart, it is I; do not beafraid.”

 

In the storms of our lives, in theraging tempests of fear, these are the only words we can cling to.

 

You’ve heard say this a million timesin my sermons but, the most often repeated commandment we hear throughout theentire Bible is “do not be afraid.”

 

“Do not be afraid.”

 

Both in the Hebrew scriptures and inthe New Testament, this is one of the most repeated statements we find from God,which Jesus very often echoes.

 

And this commandment still holds truefor us today.

 

Fear is one of those things we all livewith in one form or the other.

 

We live with a fear of the unstableworld around us.

 

We live with a fear of all the terribleand bad things that life can throw in our way.

 

We live with a fear of the future, andall the uncertainties it holds.

 

And we all live with a fear of death—ofall the uncertainty that awaits us when this life is done.

 

But God, again and again, says to us,“Do not be afraid.”

 

Do not be afraid of the things thisworld can throw at us.

 

Do not be afraid of things you cannotchange.

 

Do not be afraid of the actual naturalstorms of this life, because we have faith in the God who is more powerful thanany storm that can come upon us.

 

Do not be afraid of the storms of thislife that come from within—the storms of anxiety and fear and depression and uncertainty,because we have faith in the God who is in control of our lives as well.

 

Do not be afraid of even death, becauseGod promises us that God is not a God of death, but of life and if we trust inGod and have faith in God, God will give us life that will never end.

 

For those of us who live in faith, wehave no reason to fear.

 

Faith means trust.

 

Faith means being able to look to God,in those storms of our lives, and know that although frightening things mayrage about us, with God, we can find the calm center of our lives.

 

As we venture out on to the choppywaters of our lives and, there, we find ourselves sinking into the storm, as weare overwhelmed by the storms of our lives, as we despair over the storm, weneed to look up and realize that God is with us, even then.

 

This reminds of the greatest part ofthe Gospel reading for today.

 

In the midst of that storm, as Petersinks into the waters, Jesus doesn’t simply stay put and raise Petermiraculously from the waters from a distance.

 

Rather, Jesus actually comes to Peterwhere he is in that storm and lifts him out of those waters.

 

And that is the image we can take awaywith us as well.

 

Our job as followers of Jesus meansthat sometimes we also have to follow Jesus out onto the stormy waters of thesea.

 

It is not enough for us to simply sinkand cry out to God and expect God to save us.

 

It is not enough that we are simplypassive in our relationship with God.

 

We also have to listen for others whoare also sinking into the dark waters of their own lives.

 

And we, like Jesus, need to get up,step out onto the uncertain surface of a stormy sea, and help those people whoare struggling in their own storms.

 

It’s not just always about us.

 

It’s also about helping out others.

 

So, in those moments in which we findourselves sinking, in the storms of our lives when you feel as though are lostand can never be found again, remember what these scriptures readings aboutstorms are really about.

 

Yes, God will come to us in the stormsof our lives.

 

But we also need to go out in the stormourselves and help others.

 

And just as God leads us back to aplace of quietness and safety, we also need to help others back into quiet andsafe places.

 

It is there, where, in that silence, wetoo can hear the soothing, comforting words of God speaking to us.

 

Sometimes the storms of our own livesare stilled when we help still the storms in the lives of others.

 

Sometimes God stills the storms ofanxiety and depression and frustration and all the other emotions fear bringsto us.

 

At other times, God compels us to helpstill storms of anxiety and depression and frustration and fear in others

 

There is a wonderful prayer from theBook of Common Prayer of the Anglican Church in New Zealand that I often praywith people I visit in the hospital or who are suffering from any anxiety orfear.

 

I know some of you know this prayersbecause you mention it to me often.

 

The prayer begins,

 

O God of the present moment,
O God,who in Jesus stills the storm and soothes the frantic heart,
bringhope and courage to those who trust in you.

 

This should be our prayer as well.

 

We also should pray that the God, whoin Jesus stills the storms of our lives and soothes our frantic hearts, trulydoes bring hope and courage to us, who trust in God.

 

So, let allow God to still the stormsof our life and sooth our hearts when they become frantic.

 

Let us allow God to come to us where weare, out here in the midst of the storms of our lives,  to bring us to safety.

 

And let us be ready to get up andventure into the storm to help those who  call to us to help in the storms of their own lives.

 

And when we do, we will find anabundance of hope and courage in our lives so that we can live our lives fullyand completely—and without any fear—as God wants us to.

 

Let us pray.

 

 

O God of the present moment,
O God, who in Jesus stills thestorm and soothes the frantic heart,
bring hope and courage to us—

us, who lives here, at times in fear in the midst of storm—

for we trust in you.

 

Amen.

 

 

 

Transfiguration

 

Kreg Yingst


August 6, 2023

+Today is an important anniversary.

Ifany of you have seen the film Oppenheimer you know what happened on this day.

Itwas on this day in 1945 that the Atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

Now,not a lot of people know this, but I actually know a fair amount aboutHiroshima, because I actually wrote a book about it.

Iknow. None of you have read this one.

Notmany people have.

Mylittle-know third book, Cloud, published way back in 1997, is a long (166 page), two-act poem (verse play) aboutHiroshima and its after-effects in the lives of five people.

Itwas based in Japanese Noh drama.

Andthe five main characters were the ghosts of five people killed at Hiroshima,each dressed in the clothes they were wearing at the time of the blast.

Andbecause it is a Noh drama, they also wear masks.

Ithink three people read the book.

It’snow  out-of-print.

Isaw once that a copy of it was for sale on Amazon for $49.99.

(Trustme, I never saw that 50 bucks!)

Thetheme of that book is the light of the bomb, and how that light illumined morethan just the event of that day.

We,in a sense, are still living in the afterglow of the Light of that event.

Itchanged all of us and transformed us in ways we could never imagine.

Inthat white light, a violence like we have never known was unleashed upon theworld.

Todayin our Gospel reading we also get light—a very different Light—and hear thestory of Jesus’ being transformed on the mountain top. 

Actually,we more than just hear it.

Weget to see it.

It’sa very vivid description of what happened.

Andit’s truly one of those incredible moments in scripture.

It’sincredible because, for one holy moment, the veil between our world and God’sworld is pushed aside.

Onthat mountain top, Jesus seems for a moment to have one foot in each world—onein this world, in which he is a human being just like the rest of us, and onefoot in the next world in which he is much more than just another human being.

Thatwould have been, in and of itself, enough.

ButJesus is also seen standing between Moses and Elijah—a sign obviously that whatthey foresaw in their prophecies of the Messiah, the Chosen One of God, intheir visions of what was to come, is fulfilled in Jesus who stands between them.

Jesusis the fulfillment of what those great prophets foretold.

Thisis a visual sign from God to those who witnessed it that Jesus is the Messiah,the Son of God present among them.

Thepresence of Moses and Elijah shows us that—in a sense—their mission iscomplete.

Here,in this glorified person they flank, all that they foretold—all that theylooked forward to—has found its completion.

Everyonewho witnesses this vision is affected by it.

TheApostles who witness it—Peter, James and John, that inner sanctum among theApostles—don’t quite know what to make of it.

Theyhave been roused from their tired state by this incredible experience.

Theyare obviously baffled by what they saw.

Andin doing so, they do the only thing they can do—they offer to build threesanctuaries there—to worship what they see as divine.

Finally,they seem to come down from the mountain in what I’m sure was a dazed state.

Butwhy is any of this important to us?

Whyis this story that seems so strange and so exotic—so much like a technicolorscene from a 1950s Biblical epic—so important to us—in this day and age?

Wehave a hard time wrapping our minds around these images of dazzling white lightand booming voices from clouds.

Wedon’t experience God like this in our lives.

Isuppose the question could be: why not?

Certainly,we are longing and searching for God in our lives, aren’t we?

Wehear about it all the time.

Wehear of people searching for God.

But,to search for God means that, somewhere along the way, we seem to think God gotlost.

But…weknow better than that.

Wedon’t worship a lost God.

Andwe don’t come to church on a Sunday morning to search for God.  

Wecome to church because we long for God—we long for an experience similar to theexperience those apostles encountered on the mountaintop.

Sothen, what is this story of the Transfiguration saying to us?

Dowe too need to be crawling around on top of hills to find a place in which theveil between this world and God’s world is lifted?

Well,to some extent, that is exactly what we do every Sunday.

Ina sense, when we come together today, here at this altar, we too are coming toa place every much like the mountain top experience we heard about in thismorning’s Gospel.

Inthe scriptures we have just heard, we have heard God’s voice, speaking to us.

Here,we get to hear God say to us, just as God said to Jesus, that we too are God’sbeloved, we too are chosen ones of God.

Wetoo get to be reminded that God planned for us from the very the beginning.

Andhere we too get to be infused with the Light of God, and show that Light toothers.

Andwe too get to experience God in each other—in all of us who are gathered heretogether.

ButI think the interesting thing we need to remind ourselves of is this: it’s allright to seek out these experiences of God’s presence in our lives.

Butwhy our searching and longing for God is different than others is that, in ourcase, as followers of Jesus, our God is not evasive or elusive.

Godis not playing hide-and-seek-with us.

Godis here.

Godis with us.

Rightnow.

Allwe have to do is ask.

Allwe have to is look.

Allwe have to do is seek.

Andwe will find.

Wehave never lost our God.

Godhas come to us as dazzling Light, yes.

Godhas spoken to us—at least through the scriptures.

Godis no further from us than right here, in our midst, when we gather together toworship, to hear the scriptures and to break the sacrificial  bread.

Andlike those disciples, we must, when we’re done, go from here.

Wemust leave the mountaintop experience and go back down, to share ourexperience, to live out what we have learned and seen and felt here.

Weare compelled to live out that experience out in the world.

Wedo that be by being, honest, humble, authentic followers of Jesus.

Beingan authentic follower of Jesus means being loving and compassionate andaccepting people.

Itmeans walking in love.

Ofcourse, we will fail in that.

Ifail in walking in love—in being compassionate and loving—all the time.

Iget angry at the guy who cuts me off in traffic or at the injustices in theworld around me.

Icomplain.

Igrumble.

Ican tell you, I am not always a walking talking billboard for the Christiansfaith.

Buthopefully, our experience here—our encounter with God in this place on thisday—can make enough of a difference in our lives that we will be able to carryit with us throughout our week and into our very day-to-day lives.

Hopefully,we can go from here glowing with the experience we have here.

Thatglow might not be a visible glow, but hopefully it is one we can feel withinus.

Thatglow—that aftereffect of our experience of God—is what we can carry with us andcherish within us long after we leave here.

Ourexperience on the mountain-top—like all life-altering experiences—will fadefrom us eventually.

Itdid for those apostles who accompanied Jesus there.

Allof them—Jesus, Peter, James and John—would experience much sorrow in the weeksand years ahead of them.

Theexperience of the mountaintop cannot be preserved.

Wecannot build “booths” to preserve the experience.

Likeall the wonderful moments in our lives, they can only be cherished.

Andthey can be shared.

Butwe have the continued opportunity to come back here to the Eucharist and toparticipate in it again and again.

Godis here.

Godis present among us—God’s people.

Godis longing too.

Godis longing for us—to know us and to have us experience God.

So,let us go from here—let us go back down the mountain, into the valley below,with our experience of God glowing brilliantly on our faces.

Letus cherish this experience we have of God.

Andmost, importantly, let us live out this experience in our life, as we walk inlove.  

 

 

9 Pentecost

 

July 30, 2023

 

1 Kings 3.5-12; Romans 8.26-39; Matthew 13.31-33, 44-52

 

+ Yesterday was an important anniversary in theEpiscopal Church.

 

49 years ago, on July 29, 1974, eleven women were ordainedto the Priesthood in the Church of Advocate in Philadelphia.

 

Now, hearing that now, in this day and age, itdoesn’t seem like a big deal.

 

But in 1974, they were the first women ordained tothe Priesthood in the Episcopal Church.

 

And it was a BIG deal!

 

Those eleven women, known as the Philadelphia 11,changed everything.

 

 Merrill Bittner, Alla Bozarth-Campbell, Alison Cheek, Emily Hewitt, Carter Heyward, Suzanne Hiatt, Marie Moorefield, JeannettePiccard (who was from Minnesota, where she would serve until herdeath in 1981), BettyBone Schiess, Katrina Swanson, and Nancy Wittig broke the barriers of the EpiscopalChurch.

 

It changed everything.

 

Some of you here today remember well when those women became priests.

 

Some in the Church cheered.

 

Some definitely did not.

 

And for Episcopalians in the 1970s, when society was being unended, whenPrayer Book revisions were being introduced, women in leadership roles in theChurch were at the forefront.

 

Let’s look at our Mary & Martha Window.

 

Look at those dates.

 

Our first female Lay reader was in 1970.

 

Our first female Senior Warden was in 1971

 

Our first female acolyte was in 1972.

 

And by the way, July 29 is an important day liturgically int eh church.

 

It is the feast of. . . Sts. Mary and Martha.

 

Now, for us, here, now, almost 50 years later, we celebrate this event.

 

We rejoice in it.

 

You have heard me say how many times? What would our church be withoutwomen like the Philadelphia 11.

 

They have saved the Church.

 

They opened the door for generations of women’s leadership in the EpiscopalChurch.

 

Just for a moment, imagine what the Episcopal Church would be like rightnow if women hadn’t been ordained.

 

It’s awful even to ponder.

 

But all of this was not without a price.

 

That day in Philadelphia, as joyful as it was, was also a day of fear.

 

There death threats made against those women.

 

There was a bomb threat in the church.

 

People were furious over it all.

 

Those women feared for their lives for what they did.

 

And yet they went there that day knowing full-well what doing so mightdo to them.

 

They did what they did bravely, but with fear in their hearts.

 

Because they did what they did, because they faced theirfears, because they listened to the prophetic Voice of God in their lives andin the life of the Church, we as a Church have been not only enriched, but  revitalized.

 

Their lesson to us, 49 years later is a clear one.

 

Under no circumstances should we let fear win out.

 

We know fear.

 

Politically, religiously, personally, there’s a lotfear at work in our lives right now.

 

Real fear.

 

But what is most shocking to me is how so muchfear, so much anxiety, so much darkness, can come forth from some seeminglysmall, other-wise  insignificant actions.

 

We all don’t have to face death threats and bombthreats to fear real fear in our lives.

 

Sometimes—more often than not—it is the smallthings that affect us most.

 

In our Gospel for this morning, we heard the Kingdomof God being compared to several small things: mustard, yeast, treasure, pearlsand a net to catch fish.

 

The gist of these parables is that something smallcan make a difference.

 

Something small can actually be worth much.

 

As I pondered this these last few days, I realizedthat Jesus really is, as always, VERY right on with this.

 

When we do a bit of good—like planting a littlebitty mustard seed—a lot of good can come forth.

 

But, we also realize that a little bit of bad canalso do much bad.

 

A little bit of fear can grow into something out ofcontrol.

 

And I’m not just talking about the news and thegovernment.

 

Or a former President

 

We all live with various forms of fear.

 

Fear of the future.

 

Fear of change.

 

Fear of things that are different, or strange, orthat don’t fit into our confining understanding of things.

 

Our fear of these kind of things can be crippling.

 

We sow the small seeds of fear that grow intolarger ugly plants of fear when we when wallow in that fear, when we let feargrow and flourish into a huge, overwhelming weed.

 

When we let fear reign, when we let itrun roughshod through our lives, we see

bitterness and anger following.

 

We become bitter, complaining, nitpickypeople who by doing so, expose our own fear and privilege.

 

Our reading from the Hebrew scripturesis a great example of how we should respond to issues of fear.

 

In our reading from the 1 Kings, wefind God telling King Solomon that anything he asks will be granted.

 

This would be something most of usreally would want God to say to us as well.

 

If God spoke to you and told you thatanything you prayed for would be granted, what would you ask for?

 

I know a few things I would ask for.

 

And most of those things we ask wouldbe normal.

 

But Solomon doesn’t ask for the normalthings, if you notice.

 

Solomon asks God for the gift ofunderstanding.

 

And that is the gift God grantsSolomon.

 

And to us too!

 

When we ask for the gift ofunderstanding, God usually seems to give it.

 

As long as we are open to the gift.

 

The fact is, most of us aren’t open tounderstanding.

 

We are too set in our ways, intobelieving we know what is right or what is wrong.

 

But when we ask, when we open ourselvesto this gift, God gives us the Holy Spirit. 

 

And how do we know when the Holy Spiritis given to us?

 

We know the work of the Holy Spirit, bythe Spirit’s fruits.

 

Those fruits blossom into real,tangible signs.

 

But when we resist the Spirit, when weresist the movement of God, we find ourselves trapped—in fear, in bitterness,in anger.

 

But it is not an option for us asChristians to be stuck and trapped in fear. 

 

How can we fear when we hear Paul sayto us in his letter to the Romans:

 

“if God is for us, who is against us.”

 

We cannot let fear rule our lives.

 

After all, who will separate us fromthe love of God?

 

Will any of the hardships of life beable to defeat us or separate us from the love of God?

 

“No, in all these things we areconquerors through him who loved us.”

 

Nothing—not “death, nor life, norangels, nor rulers, nor things present, not things to come, not powers, notheight, not depth, not anything else in all creation will be able to separateus from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

(By the way, I am convinced that thismight be the most powerful scripture we have as Christians!)

 

After all, when we get stuck in fear,when we let ourselves be separated from the love of God in our lives, that iswhen we hinder the Kingdom.

 

It prevents the harvest from happening.

 

It prevents growth from happening.

 

It makes the Church—and us—not a vital,living place proclaiming God’s loving and living and accepting Presence.

 

Our job is to banish fear so theKingdom can flourish.

 

The flourishing of the kingdom can befrightening.

 

Like the mustard seed, it can beoverwhelming.

 

Because when the Kingdom of God flourishes,it flourishes beyond our control.

 

We can’t control that flourishing.

 

All we can do is plant the seeds andtend the growth as best we can.

 

Rooting our endeavors in God’s love isa sure guarantee that what is planted will flourish.

 

Because rooting our endeavors in God’slove means we are rooting our endeavors in a living, vital Presence.

 

We are rooting them in a wild God whoknows no bounds, who knows no limits and who cannot be controlled by us.

 

Rooting our endeavors in God’s lovemeans that our job is simply to go with God and the growth that God bringsabout wherever and however that growth may happen.

 

When we do, God banishes our fears.

 

So, let us help God’s Kingdom flourish!

 

To be righteous does not mean beinggood and sweet and nice and right all the time.

 

To be righteous one simply needs tofurther the harvest of the Kingdom by doing what those of us who follow Jesusdo.

 

It means seeking understanding fromGod.

 

It means planting good, small seeds.

 

And in those instances when we fail, wemust allow the mustard seed of the Kingdom to flourish.

 

And when we do strive to do good and tofurther the kingdom of God, then we be doing what Jesus commands us to do.

 

The Kingdom will flourish.

 

And we can take some joy in knowingthat we helped, working with God, to make it flourish.

 

And, in that wonderful, holy moment, wewill know the fruits of our efforts.

 

And we—like the kingdom of which we arecitizens—we will also truly flourish!

 

Let us pray.

Holy and loving God, plant in us the seeds of your love sothat your love will flourish within us and in all whom we encounter in thisworld; we ask this in the holy name of Jesus. Amen.

Homily for the 20th Anniversary of my Ordination to the Diaconate

 

July 26,2023

 

+ So, why, you may be wondering, would I celebrate my diaconal ordinationanniversary?

Well, I’ll be honest.

I never stopped being a deacon.

When I was ordained to the Priesthood on June 11, 2004, I didn’tmagically stop being a Deacon.

I am still very much a deacon.

I see my diaconal ministry as a basis for my priestlyministry.

Now, there are some in the Episcopal Church who have been advocatingwhat is called “direct ordination.”

Direct ordination means that one who is called to the Priesthoodshould be ordained directly to the Priesthood, without Diaconal ordination.

The thinking here is that by doing so, it upholds the dignity ofDiaconal ministry for those whoa re called to being vocational Deacons.

(I can’t help but wonder if there will then be “direct ordination”to the Episcopate, just because someone is “called” to be a Bishop.)

As you can imagine, I am opposed to such a view as direct ordination.

On one hand, it has been a foundation aspect of ordained ministrythroughout most of our history.

And to change it will essentially break our Catholictradition.  

But, I see my Diaconal ministry as vital to who I am as apriest.

Yes, I might not have been called to be a Deacon.

But I am grateful that diaconal ministry is the foundation on whichmy priestly ministry is based.

And my diaconal ministry is as much a part of my life as beinga priest.

20 years is a long time.

I have seen clergy come and I have seen clergy go.

Ordained ministry is a difficult vocation.

When it’s bad, it’s really bad.

It doesn’t help when one loves the people one serves.

Their pain becomes my pain.

But when it’s good, it’s amazing!

Those are the moments I live for.

I am so very grateful to God for these 20 years.

I am thankful for every one who has walked with me so far.

I am thankful for those who have defended me when I neededdefending.

And I am especially grateful for those who have cared for andloved me during this time.

I am going to close this evening, with the prayer I adaptedand had printed my ordination bulletin 20 years this evening.

 

On my Ordination to the Diaconate

 

(after John Henry Newman)

 

 

Holy and Loving God, help me to spread the fragranceof  your presence

wherever I go. Let my soul overflow with your all-consumingspirit and life.

Let your brilliance radiate through my entire being.

 

Let your presence flow through me so that everyone I know

may, in turn, know the comforting rain-like gentleness ofyour presence.

When they look at me, let them not see me, but you.

Let them know you as I know you.

 

Shine through me and let me be a beacon for others—

for it will be your light shining in me, O God, not mine.

Let my pale reflection of your light be like a song ofpraise to your ears.

 

Let me preach you without preaching—

not with words, but by example,

by the fire that rages within me,

by all the good I do,

and by the reflected image of your love I carry

branded deep within my expectant heart. Amen.

 

                                                         

 

 

20th anniversary of ordination to the Diaconate

 20 years ago today, on the Feast ofSt. James the Greater, I was ordained a deacon. I am sometimes asked why Icelebrate this event since I’m a priest. I always explain that I didn’t stopbeing a deacon when I was ordained a priest almost a year later. My diaconalministry—very much a servant ministry—has most definitely fed and tempered myministry as a priest. It is as much a part of my life as my being a priest.

 

20 years of ordained ministry is along time. In that time I have seen many other clergy leave ministry or simplysome to a point in which they can no longer continue. It is a difficultvocation that affects every aspect of one’s life. And when it’s bad, it’sreally bad. It doesn’t help when one actually loves the people they servebecause when bad things happen in their lives, it happens in the clergyperson’slife as well. But when it’s good, it’s amazing! And it is those moments I livefor. The rewards have definitely outnumbered the pains.

 

I am truly thankful to God for these20 years of ordained ministry. Thank you to everyone who has walked with mealong the way, for everyone who has supported me or defended me or simply justcared for me along this journey. Without all of you, I could never have made itto this point in my life.

 

8 Pentecost

 

July 23, 2023

Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13.24-30;36-43

 

Once a long time ago, someone—aparishioner who is no longer with us, who is now in the nearer Presence of God—confessedsomething to me that truly shocked me.

 

And I am going to share it with you.

 

Don’t worry. I’m not a horrible prieststanding before you.

 

I am not breaking the seal ofconfession about this.

 

This parishioner, for some bizarrereason I will never understand, confessed me to me that she---*sigh*—did not“get” my poetry.

 

Did not “get” my poetry!

 

She actually said, “It’s so… Zen!”

 

What does that mean?!?

 

Is Zen a bad thing?

 

Ok, yes, it might be a bit esoteric,shall we say?

 

But, if this parishioner thought I wasbeing esoteric, I wonder what she thought of Jesus’s parables.

 

Let’s talk about esoteric.

 

That word esoteric mean belonging to aninner circle

 

In other words, it means that onlya  small number of people get it.

 

Because, in our Gospel readings at thistime of the year, we’re getting a good many parables.

 

Oh no, you’re probably thinking toyourself.

 

More  parables from Jesus!

 

Some of us really enjoy the parables.

 

I enjoy the parables!  (It’s my job)

 

But, let’s face it, most people feel acertain level of frustration when they come across them.

 

After all, we, as a society, aren’tcomfortable with such things.

 

Yes, we love our “typical” stories.

 

We love to hear a good story thatreally captures our imagination—a story we can retell to others.

 

But, for the most part, we like themfor purely entertainment reasons.

 

We like stories that arestraightforward.

 

A story with a beginning, a middle andan end.

 

We don’t want to think too deeply aboutthese stories.

 

We want something simple and clear.

 

As some of you know I’ve been going onand on lately about Wes Anderson’s new

film, Asteroid City.

 

I love Asteroid City!

 

But it too, like all of Wes Anderson’sfilms, is. . .well. . . esoteric.

 

Visually stunning.

 

Perhaps a bit historically incorrect—ittakes place in 1955 but two fo the songs featured in it were actually recordedin 1957

 

And, I think, it was also kind of aparable.

“Why couldn’t Jesus just tell us whathe was thinking?” we might say to ourselves. “Why did he have to tell us thesedifficult riddles that don’t have anything to do with us?”

 

Of course, even by saying that we  miss the point completely.

 

The fact is, when we start talkingabout God and God’s work among us, we are dealing with issues that are neversimple or clear.

 

 To put it bluntly, there is no simple and clearway to convey the truth of the  message andmystery of God.

 

That is why Jesus spoke in Parables.

 

And parables were a common device used byrabbis in Jesus’s day.

 

The word parable comes from the word“parabola,” which can be defined as “comparison” or “reflection.”

 

“Relationship” is probably the betterdefinition of the word.

 

When we look at Jesus’ parables withthat definition—reflection, comparison, relationship—they start to make evenmore sense to us.

 

These stories Jesus told then—and whichwe hear now—are all about comparison.

 

For example, the Kingdom of God.

 

This Kingdom is difficult for us towrap our minds around—are we talking about heaven, some otherworldly place? orare we talking about the kingdom of God in our midst?

 

(Jesus talks about both actually)

 

The parables help explain all of that ina way those first hearers could understand.

 

Jesus spoke in parables simply becausethe people he was speaking to would not have understood any type deeptheological explanations.

 

Jesus used the images they would haveknown.

 

He met the people where they were, andaccepted them for who they were.

 

He didn’t try to change them.

 

He didn’t force them to adopt somethingthey couldn’t comprehend.

 

He just met them where they were andspoke to them in ways they would understand.

 

When he talked that day of a mustardseed, for example, and what it grows into, when he talks of yeast being mixedinto dough, when he speaks of a treasure hidden in a field or of a merchantlooking for fine pearls, those people understood these images.

 

They could actually wrap their mindsaround the fact that something as massive as a bush of mustard can come fromsuch a small seed.

 

They understood that something assimple as a small amount of yeast worked into dough will make something largeand substantial.

 

Yes, they could say, even with the smallestamount of faith in our lives, glorious thing can happen.

 

That is the message they were able totake away from Jesus that day.

 

So, these parables worked for thosepeople who were listening to Jesus, but—we need to ask ourselves—does it workfor us, here and now?

 

Does this comparison of the kingdom ofheaven being like someone sowing good seed in a field  seed make sense to us?

 

Do we fully appreciate these images?

 

First of all, we need to establish whatis the kingdom of God?

 

Is it that place that is awaiting us inthe next world?

 

Is it heaven?

 

Is it the place we will go to when wedie?

 

Or is it something right here, rightnow.

 

Certainly, Jesus believed it was all ofthose things and certainly believed it was something we could actuallyexperience here and now.

 

Or, at least, we experience a glimpseof it here and now.

 

Over and over again, Jesus tells usthat the kingdom of God can be found within each of us.

 

We carry inside us the capability tobring God’s kingdom into being.

 

We do it through what we do and what wesay.

 

We do it planting good seed, as we hearin today’s Gospel.

 

We can bring the kingdom about when westrive to do good, to act justly, to bring God into the world in some smallway.

 

The kingdom of God is here—alive andpresent among us—when we love God and love our neighbor as ourselves.

 

Yes, the good seed represents ourfaith, but it also represents in some way, those small actions we make tofurther the Kingdom.

 

Those little things we do in our lives DOmake all the difference.

 

 Even the smallest action on our part can bringforth the kingdom of God in our lives and in the lives of those we know.

 

But those small actions—those littleseeds that we sow in our lives—can also bring about not only God’s kingdom butthe exact opposite of God’s Kingdom.

 

Our smallest bad actions, can destroythe kingdom in our midst and drive us further away from God and each other.

 

See, bad seeds.

 

I think we all have experienced whatbad seeds do to people and to the Church and to our world.  

 

When we act arrogantly orpresumptuously, when we act in a conceited manner, or even when we intend to behelpful and end up riding roughshod over others also trying to do good, we showbad seeds.

 

When we are racist or when we promotefear or division we are bad seeds.

 

What grows from a small seed like thisis a flowering tree of hurt and despair and anger and bitterness and division.

 

So, it is true.

 

Those seeds we sow do make a hugedifference in the world.

 

We get to make the choice.

 

We can sow seeds of goodness andgraciousness—seeds of the Gospel.

 

We can sow the seeds of God’s kingdom.

 

Or we can sow the seeds of discontent.

 

We can, through our actions, sow theweeds and thistles that will kill off the harvest.

 

We forget about how important the smallthings in life are.

 

Or more importantly we forget howimportant the small things in life are to God.

 

God does take notice of the smallthings.

 

We have often heard the term “the devilis in the details.”

 

But I can’t help but believe that it istruly God who is in the details.

 

God works just as mightily through thesmall things of life as through the large.

 

And in that way WE become the goodseeds, that Jesus is talking about in today’s Gospel.

 

We may not seem like much.

 

But when we do good, we do much good,and when we do bad, we do much bad.

 

This is what Jesus is telling us in theparable of the good and bad seeds.

 

So let us take notice of the smallthings.

 

It is there we will find our faith—itis there we will find God—a God who is, like Paul says in out reading fromRomans truly is our “Abba,” our Father, our Parent..

 

And when we do, we will truly shinelike the sun in the kingdom of our God. 

 

It is in those small places that God’skingdom flourishes in our lives.

 

So, let us be mindful of those smallestseeds we sow in our lives.

 

Let us remind ourselves that sometimeswhat we produce can either be a wonderful and glorious tree or a painful,hurtful weed.

 

Let us sow God’s love from the smallestounce of faith.

 

Let us further the kingdom of God’s lovein whatever seemingly small way we can.

 

And then let it flower and flourish andbecome a great treasure in our life before God.

 

Let us pray.

Holy and loving God, you are the giver of life and you sustainus throughout all our days; we ask you to let us sow the seeds of goodness andrighteous—the seeds of your holy kingdom—in this world, through all we do andsay, and as we do, let us find you, the living God; we ask this in the name ofJesus our Lord. Amen.

 

7 Pentecost

July 16, 2023

 

Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23

 

+ Any of you who know me well know I have a deep interest in the EasternOrthodox Church.

 

Well, one of my favorite traditions tradition in the RussianOrthodox Church is one that has both fascinated and perplexed me.

 

Many years ago I read a wonderful book on the subject, God’sFools by Bishop Varlaam Novakshonoff

 

That book really struck me on a deep level.

 

The tradition is that of the so-called “Holy Fool.”

 

So, what is a “Holy Fool?”

 

This is a pretty good summary from Wikipedia of what Holy Foolswere.

 

Foolishness for Christ refersto behavior such as … deliberate flouting society's conventions to serve areligious purpose–particularly of Christianity. Such individuals were known asboth "holy fools" and "blessed fools". The term"fool" connotes what is perceived as feeblemindedness,and "blessed"or "holy" refers to innocence in the eyes of God.

The term fools for Christ derives from the writings of  SaintPaul . 

Inthe words of the  Apostle Paul  in  1 Corinthians 4:10 , he famously says:

"Weare fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we areweak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised." ( KJV ).

Fools for Christ often employ shockingand unconventional behavior to challenge accepted norms, deliver prophecies, orto mask their piety.

 

A Holy Fool is one who acts intentionally foolish in the eyes of [all]. The

termimplies behaviour "which is caused neither by mistake nor byfeeble-mindedness, but is deliberate, irritating, even provocative."

The "holy fool" is a term for aperson who "feigns insanity, pretends to be silly, or who provokes shockor outrage by his deliberate unruliness."    Suchconduct qualifies as holy foolery only if the audience believes that theindividual is sane, moral, and pious. The Eastern Orthodox Church holds thatholy fools voluntarily take up the guise of insanity in order to conceal theirperfection from the world, and thus avoid praise.

Some characteristics that were commonlyseen in holy fools were going around half-naked, being  homeless ,speaking in  riddles , being believed to be  clairvoyant   anda  prophet , and occasionally being disruptive andchallenging to the point of seeming  immoral   (thoughalways to make a point).

 

 

There is a very good modern Russian film which sort of deals withHoly Fools called The Island, which takes place on an isolated Orthodox monasteryin Russia during the 1980s.

 

In other words, the Holy Fool is one who challenges, who disruptsone’s previously held views.

 

It’s a topsy-turvy ministry.

 

It is a ministry that, in a very shocking way, jars one out oftheir complacency.

 

The Holy Fools challenge again and again everything we thought weknew about our faith.

 

They challenge us on an intellectual and social level.

 

And they challenge all out preconceived notions of what it meansto be a Christian.

 

I’ve always loved the tradition of the Holy Fool.

 

Because they remind us that Jesus is not calling any of us toperfection.

 

There are so many Christians who strive for some kind of weirdperfection in Christianity.

 

We must do this or do that so that we may be “right.”

 

There are people who feel: I figured this out.

 

I know how the Church runs. Why shouldn’t I have been going tochurch all of my life, right?

 

I have read all the right books and taken all the right classesand I know all the right people and so I know what it all means.

 

With such thinking comes a kind of moral and intellectualsuperiority.

 

You have often heard me caution against “intellectual snobbery.”

 

But there is also a kind of “ecclesiastical snobbery” as well.

 

We have all seen done or done it ourselves.

 

We think we know more than others on these subjects because weread all the right books,  or took allthe right classes and have attained the right degrees from the rightinstitutions.

 

If any of us come from a more Evangelical background, we may haveheard this version of “Biblical snobbery:”

 

“I don’t need to study Hebrew or Greek or Aramaic. All I need isthe Bible.”

 

And to some extent, that is very true.

 

You don’t need to study to Hebrew or Greek or Aramaic to study theBible.

 

But, you do need others who HAVE studied those languages.

 

Without them, you wouldn’t even have a Bible.

 

 

 

The Holy Fools challenge all of that.

 

For them, our job as Christians is not to be perfect Christians oreven “successful” Christians.

 

And let me tell you, nowhere does the “intellectual orecclesiastical snob” fit into Jesus’ vision of the Kingdom of GOd!

 

Our job as followers of Jesus is to follow—to follow in ourimperfection, as fractured, imperfect human beings. Not the best, but theleast.

 

Now, I know that even hearing that creates frustration in many ofus.

 

We like the idea of working toward the goal of perfection.

 

And often we maybe even feel we have gained a kind of “success” asa Christian.

 

We’ve got it figured out.

 

And I’ve heard people say it, even.

 

I’ve heard people say to me, “Well, that’s not a very Christianthing to do, Father.”

 

And I’ve done it too.

 

I’ve said that.

 

So, the Holy Fools, in the face of that exalted view, challengeus, and frustrate us.

 

But, the fact is, nowhere in scriptures does God or Jesus expectus to be successful in our faith, nor are we expected to be perfect.

 

Now, today’s Gospel, at first glance you would think would not bea reminder to us of this fact.

 

But…but…it actually is.

 

Deep down inside this Gospel reading, we find exactly what thoseHoly Fools were getting at in their bizarre and eccentric ministry.

 

If you notice at the beginning of our Gospel reading, as Jesussits in the boat from which he preaches sort of like from a pulpit, we are toldthat there is a large crowd coming forward to listen to him.

 

To this large crowd, Jesus then proceeds to preach about seed thatfails and seed that flourishes.

 

And for this moment, it seems as though the seed of the Gospel asit comes from Jesus’ mouth is truly falling on the good soil.

 

But…. when we look at it from the wider perspective of the storyof Jesus, what we realize is that what he is preaching is, in fact, falling onrocky ground and among thorns.

 

Let’s face it: on the surface, from a completely objectiveviewpoint, Jesus’ ministry is ultimately a failure (or seems to be anyway).

 

Let’s look very hard at just this instant in Jesus’ ministry.

 

On this particular day, he is surrounded by twelve men—people hehimself chose—who just, let’s face it, just don’t get what he’s saying.

 

And they won’t for a very long time.

 

In fact, they won’t get it until after he’s dead—after he’s abandonedby them and murdered on a cross.

 

These men will, eventually, turn away from him and abandon himwhen he needed them the most.

 

One of them, will betray him in a particularly cruel way: one ofthem will betray him to people he knows will murder Jesus.

 

By the time Jesus is nailed to the cross, it’s as thougheverything Jesus said or did up to that point had been for nothing.

 

Not one of the people Jesus helped, not one of the people he gavesight to, helped to walk, healed of illness, came forward to defend him.

 

Not even one person he raised from the dead came forward to helphim in his time of need.

 

And certainly, not one person from this large crowd of people thatwe encounter in today’s Gospel, comes forth to defend him, to vouch for him oreven to comfort him as he is tortured and murdered.

 

Everyone left him except his mother and a few of his femalefriends.

 

And maybe his dear apostle John.

 

As far as his life of ministry was concerned, it seemed very muchlike a failure.

 

It seems, in that moment, as though the seed he sowed had all beensown on rocky ground and among thorns.

 

It seemed as though the seed he sowed had died.

 

For any of us, frustration would be an understatement for what wewould be feeling at that moment.

 

And if this was the end of the story, if it ended there, on thatcross, on that Friday afternoon, then it would be truly one of the greatestfailures.

 

But this is one of the cunning, remarkable things about God andChristianity as a whole—one of the things that has baffled people for thousandsof years.

 

And this is what the Holy Fools embody in their lives andministries. 

 

In the midst of this failure, in the midst of this frustration,God somehow works.

 

In that place of broken dreams, of shattered ambitions, Godsomehow uses them and turns them toward good.

 

Somehow, in a moment of abject loneliness, of excruciatingphysical pain, of an agonizing murder upon a cross, God somehow brings forthhope and joy and life unending.

 

And what seems to be sown on rocky ground and among thorns does,in fact, flourish and produces a crop that we are still reaping this morning.

 

God truly can use our flawed and fractured selves for good andturn our failures and our frustrations into something meaningful.

 

What we can take away from our Gospel reading today is that ourjob is not always to worry about where or how we are sowing the seed.

 

Our job is to simply do the sowing.

 

And to let God produce the crop.

 

It is not our job to produce the crop.

 

What I have realized in my 20 years of ordained ministry is that Isimply need to let God do what God is going to do.

 

Our job, as followers of Jesus, is simply to sow.

 

And God will bring forth the yield.

 

And when God does, then we will find crops flourishing even inrocky soil and amidst thorns.

 

So, all you who have ears, listen.

 

We will all feel moments of frustration in this life, but forthose of us who hope in God and who sow the seed of God’s Word in this world,we  simply cannot allow frustration totriumph.

 

Frustration and despair are the thorns and rocky soil of ourlives.

 

Rather, let us heed the message of the Holy Fools for Christ.

 

Let us be Holy Fools forChrist.

 

God loves us our weirdness, our eccentricity.

 

God loves us when we are the misfits, the fools.

 

God uses and works through our imperfections.

 

And in our weirdness, in our imperfection, we become the rich soilin which that seed flourishes.

 

When we do that, the crops God brings forth in us and through uswill truly be one hundred times more than whatever we sowed.

 

 

Let us pray.

 

Loving God, in your goodness, you somehow are able to bringabundant fruit even in the midst of thorns; help us to sow the seeds of yourKingdom so that your Word may flourish and you may triumph. We ask this in theName of Jesus. Amen.

 

6 Pentecost

July 9, 2023

 

Matthew 11.16-19, 25-30

 

+A lot of people seem to think there are secrets to the Priesthood.

 

Ithink people think it’s a secret society, like the Masons or something.

 

Theythink there are secrets prayers and rituals, etc.

 

Iam occasionally asked what those “secrets” are.

 

AndI guess I don’t help the situation, because my usual response is: “they’rebetween God and me.”

 

Actually,there aren’t many secrets to a priests’ life.

 

Butthere are things you might not know about.

 

Forexample, what most of you might not know is that all these vestments…well, eachone is put on with a prayer.

 

Eachof these vestments a priest wears has a prayer that goes along with it.

 

Asthe priest puts on each articles of clothing, she or he can say a prayer toremind them that each article of clothing has symbolic meaning.

 

Ifyou go into the undercroft, you’ll see on the wall there by the vestments thevesting prayers on the wall.

 

AndI don’t know if  Deacon Suzanne or DeaconJohn pray some of these prayers when their vesting as well when they vest in theirDeacon’s vestments.

 

Theprayers are actually good things for someone like me.

 

Ineed such things in my life to help me get centered.

 

Ilike the fact that I am essentially being clothed in prayer when I pray thoseprayers while vesting.

 

AndI really do love the symbolism of them.

 

Theprayers are interesting in and of themselves.

 

Forexample, when I put on the alb, which is the white robe under these vestments,I pray,

 

“Makeme clean as snow, O Lord, and cleanse my heart; that being made clean in theblood of the Lamb I may deserve an eternal reward.”

 

WhenI put on the stole, the scarf-like vestment I wear around my neck, I pray:

 

“Restoreunto me, O Lord, the stole of immortality which I lost through the sins of myfirst parents and, although, unworthy to approach Thy sacred Mystery, may Inevertheless attain to joy eternal.”

 

Andwhen I put on this chasuble, this green vestment I wear over it all, I pray aprayer that directly quotes our Gospel reading for today.

 

Theprayer I pray when I put on the chasuble is,

 

“OLord, who hast said, ‘My yoke is sweet and my burden light,’ grant that I maycarry it to merit Thy grace.”

 

Thechasuble, in this sense, really is symbolic of the yoke.

 

Nowthe word of the day today is a strange one.

 

Yoke.

 

It’sone we  really don’t want to have toponder, because, let’s face it, no one wants a yoke.

 

Whenwe think of a yoke, we no doubt think of something that weighs heavily upon us.

 

Wethink of something a beast of burden carries on their backs.

 

Wecan’t imagine anything worse for us.

 

Whywould we want an extra burden in our lives?

 

Wehave enough burdens as it is.

 

Weare all truly “weary and carrying heavy burdens.”

 

Andsometimes these heavy burdens truly affect our bodies.

 

Assome of you know, I have very terrible back issues.

 

Thesecame from fractured bones I received in car accidents over the years.

 

Ican’t stand for long periods.

 

Orsit on a hard surface for prolonged periods.

 

Everytime I go to my chiropractor about these issues, they say things to me like, “Father,you’ve been carrying some heavy burdens on your back, haven’t you?”

 

Well,we all do, don’t we?

 

Weare all carrying around things we probably should have allowed ourselves to getrid of some time ago.

 

So,the last thing we want at this time in our lives is to take on another burden.

 

Andnot just a burden.

 

Buta burden that is put on us to essentially control us.

 

Ithink, most of us, even us Christians, still bristle when we describe our faithand many of those standards that go along with our faith as a yoke.

 

Ayoke on our backs confines us.

 

Itdoes not allow us freedom.

 

Andwe, as humans, and especially as Americans, love our freedom.

 

(Rememberwhat holiday we just observed last Tuesday?)

 

Welove “elbow room.”

 

Wedon’t like anyone telling us what to do and forcing us to go places we don’twant to go.

 

Butthe fact is, when we take our yoke from Jesus, we find all our notions ofpersonal freedom and independence gone from us.

 

Nolonger do we have our own personal freedom

 

Nolonger do we have our own personal independence.

 

Whatwe have is independence as a follower of Jesus.

 

Whatwe have is freedom as a follower of Jesus.

 

Ourlives are not our own.

 

Ourjob as followers of Jesus is to go to the places Jesus leads us to  and do the things a follower of Jesus is expectedto do.

 

Itis to live in certain ways that show we are not like everyone else in theworld.  

 

Itis our duty to be a “beast of burden” as followers of Jesus.

 

NowI say all of this to you as though I am fine with all of this.

 

Isay this to you as though I have completely surrendered myself as his beast ofburden.

 

But,I’ll be brutally honest with you.

 

Ifind much of this very difficult to bear as well.

 

Ihave always been one of those independently-minded people myself. I know that’snot a surprise to any of you.  

 

Ihave never liked being told what to do or what to say by anyone.

 

Ihave always preferred doing things on my own.

 

Andfor years I struggled with this scripture in my own life.

 

Idid not want to surrender my personal independence and my personal sense offreedom.

 

Whichis why that prayer I pray when I put on my chasuble is not always a prayer Iwant to pray.

 

Certainly,in many ways this prayer defines for me what ministry is all about.

 

WhenI put on this garment, symbolic of my ministry as a priest, I am reminded ofthe yoke, of the burden, I carry every day.

 

Ina sense, as a priest, my life is not my own.

 

I’mnot complaining about that.

 

Iknew the rules of the game when I entered the priesthood.

 

Butthe reality is that my life is fully and completely God’s.

 

Asa priest, I don’t always get to do what I want, or go where I always want togo.

 

Thereare standards.

 

Thereare boundaries.

 

It’snot a free-for-all. 

 

Andfor those clergy who think it is—well, they’re the ones, we all know, who getin trouble.

 

Istrive to do what God wants and I strive to go where God leads me as a followerof Jesus.

 

Thekey word there is “strive.”

 

Itry to do what God wants and try to go where God leads.

 

Moreoften than not, my own arrogance gets in the way, my own fears and anxieties causeme to shrug off this yoke, and my own selfishness leads me to do only what Iwant to do.

 

Allministry is a yoke.

 

Andministry, as we all know, doesn’t just happen out of the blue.

 

 Our ministry that we do stems directly from ourbaptism.

 

Itis a response to the promises that were made for us when we were baptized andwhich we re-affirm on a regular basis.

 

So,when I talk about my life not being my own, it is not confined to just me as anordained priest in the Church.

 

Rather,through baptism, we are all called to ministry.

 

Wehave all, through our baptism, taken on this yoke.

 

Because,through baptism, we realize we are God’s beloved child, and we have been givena yoke that we cannot shrug off.

 

Ourlives are not our own.

 

Throughbaptism, we are children of God—and our lives belong completely and fully to God.

 

Nowall of this might seem difficult to accept, but Jesus says, in no uncertainterms, that his yoke is not quite like the yoke put on a beast.

 

Whilethat yoke is heavy and unwieldy—it is a tedious weight to bear for theanimal—for us, he tells us, his yoke is light and the burden easy.

 

Itis a burden that we should gladly take on because it leads us to a place of joyand gladness.

 

Itis a yoke that directs us to a place to which we, without it, would not be ableto find on our own.

 

We,in our arrogance, in our self-centeredness, in our selfishness, cannot find theKingdom of God on our own.

 

Onlyin following Jesus can we be truly led there.

 

Theyoke is, in an outward sense, a simple one to bear.

 

Theyoke consists of loving God and loving our neighbor as our selves.

 

Itis these two commandments that have been laid on our backs and by allowingourselves to be led by  them, they arewhat will bring us and those whom we encounter in this life to that place ofjoy.

 

So,let us gladly embrace the yoke laid upon us at baptism.

 

Fortaking on these burdens will not be just another burden to bear.

 

Itwon’t cause us any real pain.

 

Itwon’t give us aches and pains that will settle in our backs and necks, like theothers burdens we carry around with us in this life.

 

Butrather, the yoke is what frees us in a way we cannot even begin to understand.

 

Itis a freedom that we find in following Jesus.

 

“Takemy yoke upon you,” Jesus says to us, “and you will find rest for your souls.”

 

Letus take this yoke upon ourselves with graciousness, and, when we do, we toowill find that rest for our souls as well.

 

Letus pray.

 

Holyand loving God, give us strength to bear what we must bear, and to go where wemust go, so that in doing so, we may follow your Son, Jesus; in whose name wepray. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Nuptial Mass for Amy Morrow and Josh Stalboerger

 July8, 2023

+ There are twothings we Episcopalians do well.

(Well, we dolots of things well, but we do two things exceptionally well)

We do funerals  well, and we do weddings well.

Well, there’s nofunerals today.

Today, we arepulling out all the stops for Amy and Josh.

Way back inJanuary when we first started talking about this service, Amy was veryenthusiastic about the fact we were pulling out the stops.

And Josh’sreaction to all of this?

It was: “sure.Whatever.”

And so, today wehave this glorious day.

 

And it is aglorious day!

 

I am so happyand grateful that we are celebrating  Amyand Josh and the love they have for each today.

 

I am also verygrateful for their presence in my life and in the life of St. Stephen’s—that radical,crazy, liberal, “Island of Misfit Toys” parish in North Fargo.

 

As you mightknow, I have known Amy for many, many years.

 

At least 15years.

 

She and herfamily have been very active members at St. Stephen’s—a fact of which we areall so grateful.

 

And when Amyfirst brought Josh to church, everyone at St. Stephen’s immediately loved Josh.

 

Amy and Josh aresuch integral parts of our parish, for which we are all so grateful.

 

Today, we celebratethem and their love with this beautiful service, with the stops pulled out.

 

Now both Amy andJosh know that one of my standard themes in wedding sermons is my view ofgrace.

 

I always saythat weddings and marriages are wonderful examples of grace in our midst.

 

Now, mydefinition of grace is this: it is a gift from God we receive that we did notask for.

 

It is a gift we cannotgive ourselves.

 

We cannotcontrol grace.

 

We cannotmanipulate it or make it do what we want it to do.

 

Grace happens.

 

God grants gracein its own time.

 

In its ownplace.

 

And we mustsimply be open to it, and be thankful for it, and just… let it happen in ourlives.

 

And be very,very thankful to God when it does.

Amy. Josh. Whatwe celebrate today is truly a grace.

 

 I am so thankful for this grace you have beengiven by God.

 

And here you aretoday!

 

And it’s allgood.

 

And it’s allbeautiful.

 

You both deservetoday.

 

You both deservethis love, this surrounding by people who love you, this grace in yourlife.

 

You deserve the verybest in your lives.

 

In a fewmoments, after the hymn, Josh and Amy will stand before me and I am going totake my stole—this scarf-like vestment, and wrap it around their hands.

 

That wrapping ofthe stole is a wonderful action in the Anglican tradition.

 

And it isliterally where the term “tying the knot” comes from.

 

But it’s morethan that.

 

A knot isbeautiful symbol.

 

It is a reminderthat things can truly be bound up so tightly that they cannot be unbound.

 

That two thingscan become one solid, strong thing.

 

All of that iswhat we celebrate today.

 

Amy and Josh, thatis what we give joy for today.

 

Now, I’m notpromising that the future is going to be hunky dory and sweet all the time.

 

If any priestevery promises you that, sue them!

 

And you bothknow that it isn’t always going to be like that.

 

I’m notpromising that all the dark clouds have passed away for good.

 

But right now,right here, none of that matters.

 

I am so happy,Josh and Amy, for this day.

 

I am so thankfulto God that you have found each other again.

 

I am so happyfor you and for all that you have and will have.

 

It really iswonderful!

 

So, with that…afterthe hymn, I think it’s time to get you both married.