Fear and Facing Evil with the Power of Love

It's not normal for me to preach on all of the Scripture readings. That's just too much and can get way too messy trying to pull things together. But for some reason this week...it felt right to touch on all of them.

We're entering into what is called "Ordinary Time" meaning that we're simply keeping time, or the weeks, of After Pentecost. From a liturgical standpoint, that means we'll be mostly reading from one or two books of the Old Testament while the Epistle and the Gospel will be more likely to be intentionally chosen. And this is Year C in our Episcopal calendar, so the Gospel lessons will be coming from Luke. 

Even though this is called "ordinary time"...there ain't nothing "ordinary" or "normal" at this time in the life of the United States of America. In fact, as I am typing this, we are apparently dropping bombs on targets in Iran. 

God help us...I mean it.

This sermon will post on Sunday evening...about 24 hours from now. We'll see where we're at by then.

Meanwhile...here's the sermon. See what you think.

Texts: 1 Kings 19:1-15a; Psalms 42 and 43; Galatians 3: 23-29; and Luke 8:26-39

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O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving­-kindness…

These words from our opening collect this morning have been sticking with me especially as I reviewed and thought about our readings from First Kings…both of the Psalms…Paul’s Letter to the Galatians and that wild story of suicidal pigs in the Gospel of Luke.

Quite the collection to sort through and ponder!

I thought about where we’ve been in the lectionary these past couple of weeks.

We’ve had the powerful Spirit-filled moment of Pentecost and the unifying Wisdom of last week’s lessons for Trinity Sunday.

Both of those were really positive and life-affirming lessons to carry us into the week.

And now…today…it seems as if we’re dealing with matters of fear and trouble…division…and standing up to an evil that can’t be chained or locked away.

Tougher lessons to work with for sure.

And unfortunately…none of us has the privilege to live in a world…somewhere over the rainbow… where our troubles melt like lemon drops… right?

The angst…and the frustrations in our readings might feel like an echo coming back to us from across time.

Elijah…having gotten on the wrong side of a corrupted King Ahab and his vengeful Queen Jezebel…thinks he can run away and hide.

Paul is not happy with what’s been happening to the Galatian church.  

Some unnamed character has been trying to tell the new converts that they have to adopt a bunch of rules…including circumcision…in order to be right with God.

And then there is Jesus coming face-to-face with a demonic power that has been tormenting this poor man in Gerasene…leaving him naked and howling…and very alone.

While all these stories are tales told of our biblical ancestors….that sense of the enormity of the opposition to Love may feel fresh against our modern-day backdrop of things happening both here and abroad.

The cry of the Psalmist…”Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul, and why are you so disquieted within me?” might be the best and the most real response to the nightly news these days.

That restlessness is our soulful response to things that are not right in the world.

Yet even in the middle of what might seem like an endless tide of doom and gloom…there is hope.

There is still that promise of the God who does not fail us…if we can keep our hearts and minds fixed on that much greater power of Love.

The story in Luke of the Gerasene demoniac is a great example of the ultimate strength of Love…and Love’s ability to overcome even a Legion of evil.

There’s a reason this demon calls itself “Legion.”

A “legion”… for the original audience of this Gospel…was representative of a unit of five thousand Roman soldiers…part of the Imperial force of the day…deployed throughout the Empire and hated by the Jewish followers of Jesus…and not loved by the Gentiles in Gerasene either.

The occupation of Legion in this man is causing him to have fits of rage…busting chains…and behaving in ways that have made him an outcast.

Legion recognized the power of Jesus…calling him, “The Son of the Most High God.”

Just as a point of reference: Legion knows who Jesus is…while those following him were still scratching their heads.

Just a few verses before this story in the Gospel…Jesus calms the raging waters while he and the disciples are sailing across the lake to Gerasene…leaving his friends wondering, “Who is this guy who commands the winds and the waters to obey him?” (Luke 8:25).

Jesus not only confronts and casts out the demonic Legion from this man…he further asserts Love’s superiority to the Roman Empire by sending the Legion into pigs who then run off a cliff and drown.

Pigs…and swineherds…were an important and a vital part of the Roman agricultural economy.

Pigs were also often used in some of the sacrifices to Roman gods.

So not only had Love gotten rid of a bunch of demons from this one man…it had greatly disrupted the institutions of the Empire…and proved…again…that the God who is Love will win…and prove that Love is a better way.

In this act of exorcising Legion…Jesus has asserted that Love will stand as a bulwark against the evils of the Empire…and will be with those who are seeking justice…mercy…and compassion.

This sentiment is crucial for us to remember in our times.

We don’t face demons of possession in the same way that the Gerasene man did.

But there are other insidious forces that want to disrupt and break the spirits of the people of God.

There are those who want us to turn on each other… and be suspicious of each other because of our race…gender…country of origin… orientation… or identity.

The sin of “othering” people is probably one of our most pervasive wrongs that continues to plague humanity.

And it has been leading to deadly consequences in society…as we have seen in Minnesota….and in less violent ways through the denial of healthcare to trans people and the shutting down of suicide hotlines.

“Othering” is what ends diplomacy and starts wars.

When we “other” people…when we start ranking some creatures of God as being more superior…we are not following Christ or even the Scriptures.

But we are drifting away from God and into the dystopia of a George Orwell novel.

It is the othering…the dividing and deciding who is in and who is out…that led Saint Paul to pen his angry letter to the Galatians…reminding them in no uncertain terms that in Christ Jesus…there are no “others.”

In that same way…we are called upon to stand in firm in Love.

Our Baptismal Covenant makes it clear…that our constant task is to resist those forces of evil that seek to turn us against one another…and when we do fall into that sin…to realize we’re wrong…turn around and go back to the God who made us out of Love and to love.

Love for ourselves as the wonderfully and beautifully made creatures of God.

From that centered and grounded place…we can extend love and give respect and dignity to every human being as we strive to make this world a place where all can live in peace.

Our scriptures today remind us that none of the work of living into our call as Christian witnesses is easy.

But as the psalmist reminds us…put your trust in God…keep calm…keep close to that source of love…because that love is more powerful.

 And THAT love will get us through to the other side of our troubles.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

 

 

 

 

Wisdom and the Trinity

 

No Kings demonstration at the Florida Capitol June 14, 2025. Photo by Bob O'Lary

This was the sermon that finally came to me...knowing that I would be preaching the day after the country had...once again...been in a position of having to choose sides. Were we going to celebrate the birthday of our current Commander-in-Chief who decided to make a celebration of the Army's 250th year all about him...even though he has never served in any branch of the military and avoided Vietnam by getting a medical excuse (he said he had bone spurs).

Or were we going to see more people turn out in protest of this leader who has had the audacity to put out images of himself as King Donald?

All this while his regime has stepped up arrests and harassments of Latinas/os going to their jobs at Home Depot and such in Los Angeles. Against the wishes of the Governor of California and the mayor of LA, the president has federalized the CA National Guard and sent thousands of troops to this major metropolitan city to do what? They're not really sure except to stand guard outside a federal building. His Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, actually had the gall to say that they were there to "liberate" LA from "socialism." And when CA U.S. Senator Alex Padilla attempted to ask her a question at her press conference, ICE officers grabbed him, shoved him out the door into the hallway, forced him to his knees and handcuffed him. 

All for attempting to ask a question while not wearing a suit.

We're in horrifying times.

And we need Wisdom to come...and come quickly. 

Texts: Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Rom. 5:1-5

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I want us to hear these words again…

Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice?

On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand;

beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries out:

"To you, O people, I call,and my cry is to all that live.”—(Proverbs 8:1-4)

 

We call this day “Trinity Sunday”….a time to rejoice and celebrate those three ways in which we understand and experience the Holy One: God the Father…God the Son…God the Holy Spirit.

In the New Zealand Prayer Book…the Trinity is described as “Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, and Life-giver.”

Our former presiding bishop…Michael Curry…often invoked the “loving, liberating, and life-giving God.”

All of these are accurate ways in which we find words to express our understanding of God that was put together by fourth-century theologians as they grappled with how to talk about the experience of God…and the way God shows up in our lives.

God as the nurturing Father.

God as the Son who lived and died as one of us.

God as the Holy Spirit that keeps us moving forward in that Love that comes from the Father and through the example of the Son.

But there is that special element that makes these three truly One.

It’s that common thread…knitting and weaving them all together.

And that is Sophia: Wisdom.

We heard in our passage today from Proverbs that this Wisdom has been with our Trinity from the very outset of all time…manner…and place.

She was at play…working alongside the Creator…rejoicing in all that was being formed out of the depths of the oceans and the rocks of the mountains.

She took great pleasure in being part of the breath of creation that brought forth the human race.

She is the drumbeat…the bass note…to everything we seek when we turn to God for blessing and assurance as we make our way through this world.

Wisdom…we often pray…will be the guide for anyone who takes on the mantle of leadership…whether its in the church…or in secular society.

Because Wisdom has a way of keeping us balanced without malice or a need for dominance…and cool under the pressures that always seem to come at us.

Our biblical ancestor Solomon…who is credited with many of the sayings in the Book of Proverbs…prayed for wisdom when he became the king upon the death of his father David.

Indeed…he needed Wisdom when he had to settle the dispute between two women warring over who was the true mother of a baby (1 Kings 3:16-28).

Wisdom was there with Jesus in every moment that he faced tests of his ministry…and attempts to trap him into betraying his mission of bringing people back into closer relationship with the God and Father of Love.

And Wisdom was with the apostles as they began their journeys to take the Gospel out…beyond Jerusalem…building this movement that would then become the fire in the belly of so many others throughout the centuries. She was that element…that Spirit of Truth… that Jesus says will guide his followers into all truth (John 16:13).

She is the very essence of God the Holy Spirit…our sustainer in the midst of the challenges we face.

Wisdom is still with us today….making herself a presence in our lives in subtle ways…from the heights…to the crossroads…and at the borders of our lives.

The professor and theologian Robert Alter looked at this passage about Wisdom and remarked…”this is a celebration of her powers: her gift of plain and accessible discourse, the preciousness of her words, her indispensability as a guide to all who govern and the material benefits she conveys to her followers.”

Thanks be to God for that Wisdom…that basic necessity…as one of the cornerstones of our faith!

We need her presence now as much as the early followers of Jesus needed her in their time of social upheaval and uncertainty.

That brings me to the reading we heard this morning from Paul’s Letter to the Romans.

The reading we have as translated by the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible talks about us “boasting in our sufferings” and that through our “sufferings” we gain endurance.

The Common English Bible translates the Greek a little differently.

Instead of “boasting in our suffering”…the C-E-B talks of us taking “pride in our problems.”

And this isn’t “pride” in that sense of feeling “good” or even “joyful” about having problems.

Instead…what Paul is telling this new church in Rome…a church in the heart of the very Empire that is attempting to crush the Jesus movement…is to see their oppressor…and this resistance to love for the reality that it is.

Yes…the Empire is against you.

Yes…the Empire is denying you the dignity and respect that you deserve.

But Paul wanted the church to then dig deeper…and realize that for every attempt the Empire makes to disrupt and destroy this Jesus movement…they will rise.

The spirit of truth…which is the spirit of Love…poured into their hearts…beating with that Wisdom…will be with them…lighting their way through the fog that wants to frighten them into silence.

The trouble created by those who oppose the work of Love will not win.

It won’t win because Love does not give up or surrender.

No bullies or tyrants can defeat them as long as they remain fueled by the Wisdom of Love.

What a message for us to be hearing now in the 21^st century America!

These words of Paul are still true today.

The troubles we are facing in this country are real…fueled by those who desire to keep us divided when God’s call is for us to be united. 

But even as we see this reality…these efforts to make us afraid…we can tap into our faith because “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Romans 5:4-5).

That is the alternative reality and the promise made to us through God the Father…the Son…and the Holy Spirit.

That is the Wisdom that runs through all our being as we look for ways to continue serving our neighbors here in Lowndes County and throughout this region.

Carry that hope…that love…into this week.

Stay the course… and meet the challenges before us with wisdom and love.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get Out There! A Sermon for Pentecost with Holy Baptisms

 

What a fantastic way to celebrate Pentecost. We had not one, not two...but six baptisms! Both of which were family affairs. A mom and her two toddlers; two moms and their teenage daughter. All of them came to us through our modest outreach efforts on Ash Wednesday offering "Ashes-to-Go" in the parking lot of the church. 

Don't ever let anyone say that the Holy Spirit is dead.

She's alive...and is still making beautiful mischief while the world feasts on mayhem.

Text: Acts 2:1-21

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What a scene that must’ve been in the upper room that day…the day that the Holy Spirit swept in like a great mighty wind.

All these people…from different regions of the world as they knew it at that time…are in Jerusalem.

The disciples are huddled together…not quite knowing what to do with themselves.

They’d been moved by the words of Jesus.

They’d given up their careers and left their homes to follow Jesus.

They’d just been on an emotional rollercoaster…having seen him killed by the Roman authorities…and then he reappeared to them…resurrected from the dead.

He continued to encourage them…and then left them again to ascend into heaven.

So there they are…sitting there…looking at each other…trying to figure out what they’re supposed to be doing with themselves now.

Suddenly…a great gust of wind throws open the doors and the windows of that room.

The Holy Spirit lights their hearts and minds…and most importantly their mouths…on fire.

They start telling the story of God’s love with such a passion in languages they’d never spoken before.

But others are hearing them.

They understand them.

And what they’re hearing are words that express a universal truth about their true selves:

They are all beloved children of God.

It had to be an incredible moment!

It reminds me of the time when my wife and I were visiting Lourdes in France.  

The grotto of Bernadette is a Roman Catholic pilgrimage site…which isn’t far from where Isabelle grew up.

People from all over the world come to this place…many seeking healing.

When you walk through the plaza as you approach the grotto…it’s like the United Nations of languages.

People are speaking French…Italian…German…Spanish…just lots of other languages all around you.

There’s often a religious service taking place in the grotto…which can also be in whatever is the native tongue of the priest.

We were there in the afternoon…and so the priest was leading people in reciting the rosary…with the Hail Mary and Our Father prayers.

Groups were filing through the grotto as the people prayed.

They were touching the stones of this cave where Bernadette reportedly had had a vision of the Virgin Mary in the 19^th century.

But then…as the service was ending…the priest began chanting the Ave Maria.

And the whole place…in the grotto…and out in the large plaza…people stopped.

And in one voice…they all join in singing the chorus together.

It didn’t matter what nationality they were…or even whether they were Roman Catholic or not…in that moment…we were all made one…in the Holy Spirit…united in this song of praise.

That sense of being swept up in a single a voice and singing in joyful praise of God is how I imagine what it must have been like to be in that upper room at that moment.

Filled with the Holy Spirit…these followers of Jesus have something like a new life breathed into them.

Look at Peter.

I think many of us can relate to Peter as that disciple who wants to follow Jesus…and gets it right sometimes and falls short in so many other ways.

Peter raises his voice …and begins a soliloquy about Jesus.

The Spirit is stirring him up…and he’s speaking with that level of confidence and eloquence like he’d never had before.

If we remember way back into Advent…we heard how John the Baptizer had promised that while he was baptizing with water…the one that was coming would baptize the people with fire.

Well…here it is…just as he had promised!

And with this baptism…it’s time for those who had been worried and afraid…those who had been wondering what to do…to put aside any doubt or fear…and get out there.

Their hesitations…are literally and figuratively burned up and blown away.

They’re free…and liberated to proclaim proudly…who they are and whose they are.

It’s out of the Upper Room and into the streets…and beyond!

Thomas went to India.

John went to Turkey and Greece.

Peter went to Rome.

Matthew to Syria.

This fledgling ragtag movement of love…compassion…healing and mercy that Jesus had been leading has taken off…and the church has come into being. Hallelujah and Happy Birthday to the Church!

And just like any birthday…this is not a one-and-done event.

Birthdays keep coming.

The Spirit keeps lighting up more people…bringing more and more into this practice of love.

Think about all those we’ve seen throughout time who have shown courage and strength despite whatever obstacles get thrown in their way.

We can see the fruits of the spirit at work through religious leaders like Howard Thurman…and Martin Luther King, Jr….and even the Philadelphia Eleven.

We can witness how the Spirit gave courage to leaders in civil rights like Rosa Parks and Marsha P. Johnson.

We know the presence of the Holy Spirit when we look to those people who fill us with hope…the people who gives us encouragement…the people who remind us that when God surveyed all of creation… God called it all good.

This is the work of the Holy Spirit…to keep us moving…stretching…and embracing the good that is in us and confirmed through the waters of baptism.

Today…we are blessed to be baptizing Anna, Brandi, Madison, Aureila, Ridley and Brittany.

Through these waters of baptism we are both welcoming you into the Body of Christ…that big…amazing…and very diverse Christian family.

And we are confirming what has been true about each of you all along: you are beloved children of God…valued and precious in God’s sight.

Each one of us who has been made part of the Christian church…no matter what denomination or orthodoxy…are made one through baptism…all singing that same song of praise to God…who is Love everlasting.

And that’s the message that needs to leave here and be taken out into the world.

The Holy Spirit is that person of the Trinity that keeps nudging us toward living lives that reflect Christ’s love….and Christ’s mission to care not just for ourselves but others.

And—I need to warn y’all—the Spirit is pretty relentless in the pursuit of us and getting us to get out there.

As one of my spiritual directors here in the diocese used to tell me, “The Holy Spirit has got some mighty sharp elbows, and she doesn’t mind sticking you in the ribs when it’s necessary!”

Let’s go! Let the Spirit be the guide! And let’s make God’s love be the core of our beings.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unity in Troubled Times

 Hello again!

If you're wondering what happened to me...I have been away. Far away...across the Atlantic enjoying a break from my every day to spend time visitng friends and family in France. It was nice to be removed from regularly being exposed to the horrors happening in the country, but I wasn't sealed off in a bubble. I did still have access to the internet. And that means I saw stories from home getting posted on Facebook.

The worst one was the report about the 50 Florida Highway Patrol cruisers along with several unmarked cars and a massive police force of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents descended upon a construction site in Tallahassee between the two major universities the day before we were coming back. The purpose was to terrorize the Latino/a population of the city, but the practical effect meant that construction workers all over the city went home out of fear that they would be the next arrests. 

Out of 100 or so arrests, only four got booked into the Leon County jail. Many were eventually released. And still others can't be found. Thanks to Secretary of State Marco Rubio (a Floridian who might as well be called an "anchor baby" since his own parents immigrated to the USA from Cuba before Castro's revolution), thousands of men and women have had their temporary worker permits and other documentation cancelled because.......

Well....because....we're now going to ciminalize being brown and a foreigner.

Seeing this news made me want to stay in France. Never come back to the USA...until we get rid of this regime once and for all. 

But I knew that wasn't possible.

And God seems to have a purpose for me here. Maybe to deliver sermons to a small Congregation in Southwest Georgia.  See what you think.

Text: John 17: 20-26

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 My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that, if I do this, You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone. Amen.

 

That prayer by the American monk and theologian Thomas Merton is called “A Prayer of Unknowing.”

I’ve used it before…and find that I go back to it from time to time.

And it seemed like the perfect prayer for this particular Sunday…in which we are in this liminal space not only in our church time…and also where we are in our current moment in this country.

The church calendar tells us that we’re in this suspended moment between the Day of the Ascension…the day that Jesus makes his final ascent to sit at the right hand of God…and the celebration of Pentecost next Sunday…which is when the Holy Spirit…that third person of the Trinity…will make a dramatic entrance and serve in that role as that guiding conscience…and spirit of truth and courage for those who are believers in Christ.

In our Gospel reading from John this Sunday…what we’ve heard is the final portion of a very long prayer that Jesus offered to the disciples right before his crucifixion.

This final farewell in John’s Gospel stretches over about three and half chapters. It serves as Jesus’s last pep talk to his followers…reminding them that to love one another as he has loved.

To remember the source of that love that he has shown them is none other than the love that comes from God the Father.

He wants them to hold it in their hearts that the greatest love they can show is that love that isn’t self-serving and selfish…but reaches out and gives comfort and support…especially to those who find themselves down and despondent.

These words…that John has Jesus speaking…were not just meant for disciples of Jesus gathered with him in the Upper Room in Jerusalem.

This was an important and necessary speech for the followers of Jesus that made up John’s community in 100 CE…about 70 years after the crucifixion.

These were the very early Christians…both Jews and Gentiles…the ones who were beginning to be identified as Christians…who were living at a time where they felt their world was crashing down around them.

At the time that John was writing this Gospel…the early followers of Jesus were in a very difficult spot.

They’d been hoping that Jesus would have ushered in a new Messianic age.

Instead…they had endured and survived a brual war with the Roman Empire which ended with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

And they found themselves unwelcomed in the synagogues of the Jewish population which didn’t accept Jesus as Messiah.

So they were a minority within an already persecuted minority.

We can imagine that some people might have been falling away from the faith at that point.

So this long prayer of Jesus in John’s Gospel is there not just to get his disciples in the right frame of mind for what was coming with the crucifixion.

John wanted his own community to buck up…be brave…and don’t give into hopelessness…and to continue to live into the way…the truth and the life that Jesus had shown to those who believe.

That message was meaningful then…and it is clearly meant for us now.

Take a look at the way this passage begins. We hear Jesus pray:

 "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one.” (John 17:20)

If the disciples had let their fear of the Roman Empire shut them up…if they had let their anxieties over what the authorities might do to them get in their way of acting…we would never have known the story of Jesus.

If Peter had just curled up into a ball of shame and guilt…and if Paul had never had his amazing conversion experience on the way to Damascus…this Jesus movement might’ve lasted only for a few years.

If John’s followers had allowed their depression and their dread to dominate their thoughts and made them go silent in face of oppression…the Gospel of Jesus would never have spread beyond Palestine.

This prayer shows us that it’s through the followers…those who are committed believers in Jesus…people who’ve been moved and touched by the Christian story…it is through them that God’s love becomes really real to the greater population.

And it is through our participation…in hearing this prayer…that God’s love links us to our ancestral heritage of all the faithful who have come to believe in God through Jesus Christ.

So this is a prayer about unity.

Not only unity with the ancestors and the saints that have gone before us.

This is about bringing ourselves…our souls…into communion with God.

Feeding our hearts on the love that is “the Alpha and Omega…the beginning and the end” of all things (Rev.22:13) and unifying us individually and collectively with the holy.

It also serves as a prayer of unity right now…in our present moment…bonding us in mutual aid and affection for one another.

And—boy—do we need that unity now!

Because there are those forces that want to divide us and make us fear and hate one another.

They want us to see our differences—whatever they are—racial…political…gender identity…orientation…ethnicity…as reasons to pull away from one another.

I was deeply hurt and angered by a recent raid on a construction site this past week in my city of Tallahassee.

More than 100 people in safety vests and neon colored shirts and jeans were arrested and put onto a bus with no air conditioning…because they were undocumented.

By the end of the day…only four people were booked into the Leon County jail.

Many others were released.

And still others were sent off…even though they are not criminals.

These were people who were working and contribuiting to society as their asylum claims were getting processed.

This was an action that was an overkill of police force…an apparent attempt to cause the maxium amount of fear in the city…especially among the Latinos and Latinas in the area.

But of course such things never just touch one segement of the population.

We’re all interconnected.

What happens to one group will have ripple effects that touches everyone.

Lots of people…white people in Tallahassee…and not all of one political camp or the other…were shaken.

All of the construction projects in Tallahassee screeched to a halt…and now no one feels safe going to work.

Wives are missing their husbands.

Children don’t know what’s happened to their dads.

Again…we see these words of Jesus in John’s Gospel:

"Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them." (John 17:25-26)

There will always be those who will attempt to get us to turn on one another…to break our bonds of unity.

There will always be efforts to touch those dark corners of our hearts that make us see the “other”…however we define that “other” for ourselves…as a person or a group of people to fear.

Don’t give into that temptation.

Remember the promises we make at our baptism…to seek and serve Christ in each other…loving our neighbors as ourselves…striving for justice and peace among all people…and respecting the dignity of every human being.

This prayer that Jesus offers…one that is particularly geared toward people who are living in a time of confusion and uncertainty…is the constant reminder that we have so much more in common with one another…so much more that unifies us…to each other in the Body of Christ…and brings our true selves into deeper relationship with God.

This prayer reminds us that even when we’re uncertain about things going on in our lives…to keep walking in love…and bringing that love out into the world.

The love that Jesus demonstrates again and again…a love that knows no “others” and has no black out dates or exceptions.

That love is OUR superpower.

Use it.

Live it.

Share it.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be Ready to Change

It doesn't often happen that I am given two pieces of scripture to work with that have both been personally important to me in my journey. 

Today was one of those days. Paul's conversion recalls some of my own attitude toward the church. I wasn't exactly a "friend" to anyone who called themselves Christian because of my own pain and suffering as a queer person at the hands of those who self-identified as Christian.

The scene on the beach in John's Gospel...with Jesus warning Peter about what was going to happen to him...was the verse that finally pushed me to seek out a spiritual director as I wrestled with God over my call to the priesthood.

I don't talk about either of those things here.

Instead...I am hoping that people will spend time with the Scriptures...and weigh them against their own experiences.

See what you think.

Texts: Acts 9:1-20; John 21: 1-19

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Y’know the phrase: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Well…when one encounters Jesus…things will change…and nothing will be the same after that.

That’s clearly the message in both our first reading from the Book of Acts and the Gospel lesson from John.

We hear about Saul…he’s still Saul he hasn’t had that name conversion yet to Paul.

He’s on the prowl to find the followers of Jesus…both men and women.

He’s breathing threats.

He’s the great bounty hunter…looking for these outsiders…these people who are disrupting things in Jewish circles with their confession of Jesus as the Messiah.

He held the coats of those who killed the apostle Stephen…the first deacon and martyr of the emerging church (Acts 7:58).

Saul was an enemy of the followers of Jesus.

That is…until he meets the risen Jesus…in the most dramatic fashion…as a flash of light and a disembodied voice…putting him on the spot:

“Saul, Saul: Why are you persecuting me?”

He’s brought to his knees.

 Not by weapons, but by words.

A question that cut his conscience to the quick.

What is possessing him to seek out and intimidate and terrorize people?

Now blind and unable to see for himself…Saul gets led into Damascus by his traveling companions…

Meanwhile…Jesus goes to work on one of his devoted followers of the Way…Ananias.

In a dream…he comes to him and tells him to go find Saul and lay hands on him to help him regain his sight.

We can understand why Ananias wasn’t too keen on this idea.

As I said…Saul was an enemy.

Saul was going to Damascus to find people like Ananias…to drag him back to Jerusalem… throw him into a prison never to be heard from again… because Ananias professed a faith in Jesus as the Messiah.

But Jesus had a plan…and Jesus knew that Saul was integral to that plan.

And he knew Ananias was the one to have the courage to help Saul see that his hatred would not overcome the Love that would be right before his eyes.

Two enemies brought together…and in Jesus…they become allies.

I think this is one of the greatest stories in the Book of Acts.

It demonstrates the power of conversion.

Paul…as we know…would become one of the most prolific writers of the New Testament canon…and an unwavering advocate for following Jesus.

It’s also a portrait in courage and how Jesus can build a bridge between bitter enemies…for the greater good…and to God’s glory.

With his sight restored…the first person before him one of those he was going to torture.

Instead…he received the Holy Spirit…was baptized…and became a believer.

And that phrase we remember that the angel Gabriel said to Mary…”For nothing will be impossible with God”… takes on even more meaning in this moment.

The Book of Acts could also be called, “The Gospel of Luke: Part II.”

It’s a continuation of Luke and his giving of an orderly account of not only what he knows of Jesus… but what the apostles did after the resurrection.

So…in a way…we have two Gospel lessons this morning. And they share a common thread of conversion and call through Jesus that will be instrumental for the spread of what would become Christianity.

Lessons that we can look to in our own lives and others around us.

John’s Gospel account has the apostles still seemingly in a daze about what they are to do.

They’ve seen the resurrected Jesus…yet they still don’t understand what that means.

That makes sense. Even though Jesus has been resurrected…the Roman Empire is still in charge and still persecuting them.

So they go fishing.

They go back to their old lives…their old ways.

Now…Jesus shows them that if they keep “fishing” as they always have done…they aren’t going to get very far.

Things have changed…and nothing is going to stay the same.

Jesus tells them…drop the net off the other side of the boat.

And then—oh my goodness—that’s a whole lotta fish!!

Cool right?

But then there’s Peter.

Peter’s soul is heavy with remorse for having betrayed his friend.

He let his teacher down by pretending he didn’t know him.

Jesus takes Peter aside and gives him the opportunity to undo his denials…by asking him three times “Do you love me?”

With each affirmation…it’s met with “Feed my lambs…tend my flock…feed my lambs.”

Like with Saul…Jesus has a plan.

Jesus is confirming Peter for his new role…to be the point person in the leadership of this emerging movement that will become the church.

A church that will be gaining more followers.

The further and wider they cast their nets…going into figurative waters in places that they might not have gone before…they will indeed fish for people.

Which is where we again meet up with the account of Paul’s conversion in Damascus.

Between Peter and Paul…the message of love and the importance of servant leadership will begin to spread.

Centurions…those commanders of Roman army unit’s and their families…will convert.

An Ethiopian eunuch will seek to be baptized when he learns the story of Jesus as Philip interprets scripture for him.

Through encounters with those who have found their faith in their own experiences of the risen Christ…others will come to also believe in a God who could take the horror of a Roman crucifixion and transform it into a powerful force of Love for the whole world.

This all sounds amazing, and it is fantastic.

But Jesus has one more thing for Peter to hear…and for us to also take into consideration as we get touched and changed.

Taking the message of Love to other people and places…feeding and tending the sheep… comes with a cost.

Not a financial one…but a personal one.

After Peter has confirmed his love for Jesus…and hears that he has a new responsibility...Jesus reminds Peter that this work that is before him is not easy.

“When you were younger you used to fasten your own belt and go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your arms and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not want to go.” (John 21:18)

A lot of commentators like to draw the analogy of this being like one of those gait belts that are used with the elderly when they can’t walk on their own.

But this is about the trouble Peter will face…the opposition that remains out there to love…and that ultimately…Peter will also die by crucifixion.

It’s also a reminder that when God enters our lives… when we become serious about following a path of mercy…love…compassion…and justice for the world…and find ourselves changed…our changed self will not always be accepted.

The things we used to do…the way we lived our lives…will be disrupted.

And not everyone is going to be happy with that.

We might not even be happy with that.

But the good news is that God is a relationship builder….not a destroyer.

God looks to strengthen those bonds that are life-giving and affirming.

And the changes that come with deepening our relationship with God are ones that are meant for good…and bringing us to becoming better versions of ourselves.

As we evolve and change and grow with God… we become freer to live into the Love of God that is always around us.

We can begin to see as Paul did…to realize that we don’t need to bully others…and to understand what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said…that it is better to stick to love because hate is too great a burden to carry.

We might even begin to gain the wisdom and the courage of Peter…letting our light shine in ways that help lead others into finding their true selves.

Again…take these readings home.

Spend some time with these lessons this week.

Think about those times when you’ve experienced the presence of the Holy in your life… and maybe how it changed you and allowed you to be more of who God made you to be.

And give thanks for those who supported you along the way.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

Doubt and Faith

 

We've all heard about "doubting Thomas" right? Well, I'm sick of that description. And in the world in which we're living at the moment, so much has been thrown into doubt that we all should accept that we are doubters.

And that's why faith is so important. 

Huh?

Keep reading and see what you think. 

Text: John 20:19-31

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There’s a story I like to tell about a friend of mine who is a photographer in Tallahassee.

We would occasionally take care of her dog….named Sammy…whenever she went out of town on a shoot somewhere in Florida.

Well…one weekend…during the big election meltdown in 2000…my wife and I were taking care of Sammy.

We decided to walk to the Borders Bookstore which was about a mile and a half from our house.

They had a coffee shop and this would be a way to walk the dog…get in some exercise…and get a coffee on my day off from covering the election chaos as it rolled along.

As we sat at an outside table…one of the many out-of-town photographers was also enjoying some time away from the state Capitol building.

He noticed Sammy…who was an adorable and friendly brindle dog...and asked if he could take her photograph.

Isabelle and I were like, “Yeah, sure.” So he pulled out his camera and clicked away.

We talked some about how crazy everything was with all the protestors that had been bused into town…the international media attention…that he was affiliated with one of the news services and normally was based out of New York.

And of course…we talked about how cute Sammy was.

About a week later…we again were going to this same coffee shop with Sammy. Only this time…Sammy’s mom had joined us.

Sitting at one of the outdoor tables was this photographer. Isabelle and I had gone inside to order our drinks when this guy said to our friend from across the patio:

“Hey! I know this dog!”

Our friend was taken aback and became a little bit defensive. She insisted that he must have been mistaken.

He…naturally…kept saying that he knew Sammy…and had even taken her photograph.

Our friend….being a photographer herself…was then even more certain this man was off his rocker.

“I assure you,” she said, “that you do not know my dog!”

That’s when the guy pulled out the 8x10 print he’d made of the photograph to prove that he had seen her dog…knew Sammy…and had even taken her picture.

With this evidence in hand…our friend had to acknowledge that her dog clearly was living a secret and glamorous life at the local coffee shop away from her mama.

Worse…she later admitted…it was an excellent photo.

Sometimes seeing something really is believing.

It’s hard for us to accept things without some kind of proof, isn’t it?

We’re all a little bit skeptical…and that’s not necessarily a bag thing.

We’re living in a world where we’re seeing how photos can be manipulated… and artificial intelligence is smart enough to make fake videos.

We have to give extra scrutiny to those memes that are so easy to share on our social media.

Having doubts could simply mean we want to discern the situation more carefully…and deliberately.

I have a soft spot in my heart for the apostle Thomas.

Besides having been raised up by the congregation of St. Thomas in Thomasville…I feel that for too long…preachers have given this man a bum rap for his demand of the apostles that he must see Jesus’ wounds for himself to believe that their Lord has really risen from the dead.

Remember: these folks…all of them…saw what had happened to their teacher and friend.

And in their minds…and their understanding of how things work in the world…Jesus was dead…and clearly the women who said his tomb was empty were confused.

Maybe they were overcome with grief.

Thomas wasn’t in the room when Jesus made his sudden and otherworldly appearance…showing up in the flesh and blood in front of the apostles.

We’re not sure where he was…but he wasn’t there at that moment.

Thomas was truly committed to the living Jesus.

He had so wanted to be courageous… declaring to the other disciples that they should all go together…like a band of brothers…with Jesus to Lazarus’ grave…even if it meant certain death (John 11:16).  

And…just like the others…when the real trouble arrived at their doorstep…Thomas was frightened into hiding.

We can imagine that he’s still dealing with his guilt…that he ran away…and his grief and confusion about this news that Jesus is alive.

Thomas wanted to believe…but this all sounds like lunacy to him.

His desire is there…but his belief is shaky.

That’s not bad.

That’s not wrong.

That’s just like us.

When things in the world around us are becoming less safe…and we can’t be sure of what’s coming next…our faith is often put to the test.

There have been plenty of times in my life where I have found myself turning to God in the face of a difficult and seemingly impossible situation and asking God, “How long, O Lord, how long?”

If there is one book in the Bible that I recommend that people look at…it’s the psalms.

They are a great collection of prayers for the human condition…both rejoicing when things feel right and good and just…and lamenting when that is the appropriate response to things broken and wrong in the world.

I appreciate Thomas raising the questions to his fellow apostles.

To me…his doubts…in a way…indicate that Thomas’s faith was probably stronger than we normally give him credit for having.

There’s something admirable about being willing to say out loud, “I have doubts” rather than to just go along because everyone else says it’s so.

The Episcopal Church encourages its members to ask questions… seek out the truth… discern and test rather than just accept what is said.

Because to have faith…real faith…you can’t necessarily have certainty.

Faith requires a suspension of concrete absolute proof.

And what happens when Jesus does appear…does show himself to Thomas…says to him to “go ahead: put your finger in my wounds!”?

Thomas’ response is “My Lord and my God!”

In this moment in John’s Gospel…we learn a couple of lessons from our friend Thomas.

The first one is that seeing is believing.

If we think about it…Thomas really was no different than any of the others.

They all needed to “see” Jesus in order to accept this new reality that Love had actually won victory over the attempts to kill it.

The other is that no matter how many locks and bolts and gated communities we might put ourselves behind thinking that we’re safe…Jesus is going to show up…and declare “Peace be with you!”

In the midst of our fears…and our doubts…that peace of Christ is still there and always available and will not be denied.

In fact…it’s when we are at our most fearful and doubtful that our faith may be that one lifeline that can pull us through

As Jesus tells Thomas…and the others too…it is possible to believe…to have faith…even if we don’t see Jesus in the flesh and blood.

Because in our times…we experience Jesus when we encounter those who act from a place of compassion…mercy…and justice.

We…in this place…receive Jesus not just in the body and blood at our Eucharist…but through the ways in which we live into the words of our Baptismal Covenant.

When we take seriously the message of Jesus that his peace is with us…we can begin to unlock the doors of our hearts…and share that love and peace and joy with others.

Not just at Easter…but always.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.