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August 14th, 13th Sunday after Pentecost
A Learning Experience for Jesus

It is great to be back from several weeks of vacation, holiday, time off time away from life as it is predominately lived here in Weston Connecticut. It was a great time away, note I said away not off. Because as long as we are living and breathing, we can never be OFF.

Our vacation time was spent with in North Carolina, on the beach, with my family, for much of it with all 23 of them, men women and children.

We often see vacation as a time to stop the world. Yet life keeps going, and close to the ocean one gets a wonderful experience of the constantly moving and constantly changing nature of life. We have been going to the beach for years yet this year as we began teaching a whole new generation of the fun, yes joy, but also allowing them to understand the power and dangers of the ocean. It was wonderful to see young children get new confidence as they experienced the ocean and its constantly changing character. It was also great to be with sons and daughters as we experienced together the constant changes of life as we were tossed about by the waves.

But it was also a time of engagement a chance to talk a chance to reconnect, a chance to discuss, a chance to argue and disagree but it was also a chance to learn and grow. In many ways this time of respite our vacation can easily become a time when we work the hardest but we also grow the most.

If we take a look at this morningís Gospel Jesus had a very similar experience.   As we here it in Matthew (this same story is also told in Mark) We discover that after a period of intense teaching and ministry, Jesus and his disciples in fact leave Palestine and enter the district of Tyre and Sidon both shore towns on the Mediterranean. He had hoped to get away for some rest, relaxation and yes recuperation.

But, as he and his disciples quickly discovered, his reputation preceded him even outside his borders and it was going to be a working and learning vacation.

He was immediately accosted by a Canaanite woman from the region who, in her concern for a sick daughter, sought any means of relief. This included presenting herself to a situation that she knew was against all the social and cultural mores of the time. Yet her daughter was sick and she needed to do something.

At first she is simply ignored yet she persists, the disciples tell Jesus to send her away which he does by noting his, to this point, exclusive commitment to his mission t o the Jews. ìI was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israelî.

But as we quickly discover she quickly continues her pleas and Jesus responds in a very human way, in fact very harshly as he say, ìIt is not fair to take the childrenís food and throw it to the dogsî   .   What a horrible thing to say to this woman in pain, to call here a dog, (some commentators not that the Greek indicates the Greed word used is for the diminutive or small dog yet it is dog nonetheless and a very harsh epithet, and very human.

Yet, in spite of the intense rejection, the woman goes on, noting that even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters tableî

As described by Matthew and Mark also, Jesus is suddenly aware of the truth she is describing and becomes aware of the culture limitation that he has been working within.   He has learned, he has through this interaction , this very human interaction seen a vision of godís call to a more universal vision of Godís activities, not just activities within the Jewish community. And Jesus, as we will see in the future and as described by Paul in the Romans passage read this morning, welcomes the gentiles into this ministry.

This story is certainly one where we get a wonderful and sometimes troubling picture of a very human Jesus.   Yet this is the Jesus whom we follow, very human and yet divine.

So, even vacations are time for leaning and for seeing God and Godís presence in new lights. Hopefully in reflection your vacations will be as Jesus was and as I think mine was, a time for rest and relaxation but also a time, and at a different place one experiences anew and learns more about Godís actions in the world, Godís actions in our lives.

July 24th, 10 Sunday after Pentecost
A Christian Job Description -
Response not Judgement

The portion from the Gospel this morning that I just read, put in front of us five different parables, the mustard seed, the leaven, the hidden treasure, the pearl and finally the fishing net or to be very specific about the kind of net we could call it the drag net. A lot of material and not a lot of context.   We donít in this passage get much of what television sports casters call the story line.

Perhaps this is like so much of life today in which we are constantly bombarded with morning news an incredible amount of information. Items of another terrorist attack, another tragedy, and we simply get very little time to reflect upon the context of it all. The response becomes a game. We worry so much about catching the perpetrators and fail to see the forest for the streets. Just yesterday it was noted that person they thought was a potential bomber was an innocent man who could not understand the policeís directions.

Let us try to put some context on this religious overload.

What are these parables about? First the there are two sets of double parables, the mustard seed and the parable of the leaven go together. Then the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl echo another common theme and they are encircled by the parable of the drag net. . .

Let us then briefly look at the two, two and on.

First, the seed and the leven.   These are said to reflect where God is in life.   In essence what is unseen becomes seen what is tiny becomes large. Somehow Godís presence becomes part of the reality in which we are living. As always, these stories about Gods presence are more difficult for our western analytical mind than they were for the Palestinian culture. Yet all of us have had a sense that we have seen God in action if not in strange ways but at strange times that have put us in places and situation s where we have what might be called a religious experience, a sense of Godís presence.

But Jesus and the gospelor Matthew goes on. He tells the parable of the hidden treasure and then the pearl. The idea of hidden treasure that seems a little foreign to us, although how many of us buy lottery tickets, but in the Palestinian culture putting money and other things in the ground was the ultimate place of safety thus these discovery stories would not seem unusual to the Jesusí listeners.

The point of these was that those who found the treasure changed their lives.   They refocused upon that which was most important, that which was nowa the essence of their existence.   Here again back to the first two parables, as we have found or gotten a sense of God in our lives, do we not follow that treasure?

So our task is, having found God, how do we follow that God?

As we talked last week when we have seen the treasure and begun working at making that presence of God real in our lives, there is a tendency to make this treasure, everyone elseís. And to begin a judgmental course that tries to bring everyone else on board. Perhaps this is the problem in our world today in which people believe that God is calling them to be judges, not evangelists and it is this stain of judgment that is causing so many issues of conflict in our world today.

Again the final parable in this set alludes to what our creator may be about. As was done with the wheat and tares.

Let them coexist. . And Iíll deal with it.

And here is how. . . a dragnet, he brings in all the fish and the throws out the bad.

So again what is our task?

To see God.

To refocus our lives around that vision.

And let God worry about judgment. . .

July 3rd, 7th Sunday after Pentecost
Christianity as Yoking

When we read scriptures we often come face to face with words that are uncommon, not used in todayís society and culture and describe something that is obsolete in our modern culture. Such is the word Yoke that we find in todayís gospel. .

"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

What is this thing called a Yoke.

Interestingly the first definition one finds on a google search is

And it isnít until the third or fourth proposed definition that we begin to find the reality encompassed by the metaphor that Jesus used to try to encourage people to follow him.

Jesus, in this teaching that follows a tale of the failure of the people of Capernaum to respond to his ministry, in the context of a prayer, seems to suggest a way to get together with Jesus in a way that can help us understand the mission and be working together.

The ministry of Jesus is not a lone ranger activity.   It is, if we are to capture the sense of the metaphor that Jesus puts in front of us today, always a team effort. The yoke, the discipline, Jesus teaching holds us together and it is this working together that makes all possible.
Most importantly it is through this that we experience Godís Presence, Emmanuel in our lives and in our actions.
Last week Fr. Jamie Calloway was here to participate in the baptism of his great niece. It allowed me to hark back to a time when I worked together with another priest and provided an opportunity to in a symbolic way share ministry. We concelebrated the sacrament,   carried the yoke together, which hopefully modeled what we might all do in our ministry.
I have spoken often of our fair in that it is a activity in which we take on the yoke of the fair, agree to work together so that we at Emmanuel might enhance and expand our outreaching activities. And even though the work is hard, in the end the burden is light, because we have shared the burden of the day. . . the yoke retrospectively was easy, the burden is light.

So we are call ed by Jesus to walk with him in ministry.   To become yoked with him as we walk on this earth.   In our yoking, he sometimes takes us or brings us to places we would prefer not to go. Places where we are called upon to call for justice, call for peace, or simple to visit the lonely.   Yet in this ministry we are in yoke, together with Jesus, his prayerful, thoughtful and yes sacramental support of our ministry, his yoke is always present . . Through this community we call the church, specifically today Emmanuel church.
Pray that we will be given the strength and vision to carry this yoke that we may be Godís people in this place.

June 12th, 4th Sunday after Pentecost
Managing our Household

Today we arbitrarily designate as the day, within the rhythm of our life, that we end a phase of our community life, Church School ends.   This ending matches our cultures end of the school year and the desire to slow down the pace for the warm summer season.

When we do these kinds of things it is appropriate that we also take stock, evaluate, and also honor those who have given so much in this effort and today we do that.

Before we begin though, it is good to go back to the basics, the Gospel which has called us together and gives us our marching orders.   Todayís Gospel passage from Matthew says it all   It speaks of Jesus, having discovered the magnitude of needs in the community for his work of healing and compassion, notes the necessity to get more help.   The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few, Jesus says. And so he brings on his twelve disciples and empowers them to go out and proclaim the good news.

And so are we called and empowered by our baptism to proclaim the good news. But what does that mean. . .   This is a great big picture view of the problem, or as Jesus sees it, a wonderful opportunity for ministry, but as always the devil is in the details.

The collect for this morning really focuses on the meaning of that effort in the context of the worshiping community.

It speaks of keeping Godís Household (the church) steadfast in faith and love. To do this it suggests two principle goals. . .proclaim truth and minister justice.   Hopefully that is what our educational enterprise is about,   discovering the truth and learning about justice and compassion.

Although we would love to see both of these things in absolute terms, the nature of life is that truth and justice are moving targets that require our constant attention and effort. That is what we are about as a community.

And so we gather today to take stock.   Yet, because we have been incredibly blessed by participation and the gifts of so many in this effort our primary emphasis is to give thanks, recognize and honor those who have given so much and who have in fact yielded a marvelous harvest which is multiplying.

One needs only to take a look at our recognition pamphlet which lists the names of all of the young people in our parish over 130 to give you a range.   And each of them has been given an opportunity to participate in our program which we hope gives each young person a chance to discover the truth of the Christian faith and life and to learn how to minister justice with compassion in their own lives.

But not only do they do this but as we have also see, in there regular appearances among us they lead all of us, through their presence.   Whether it is by presenting the Christmas story to us in a way that it becomes real again or by their challenging us to give to the souper bowl to feed the hungry or helping out as we clean our church grounds, these young persons have shown us that they understand what Jesus was about, they have demonstrated what it means to minis ter in the world.

And so today we gather in celebration of the end of a season. And in that evaluation, we certainly raise the question, are there things we might have done better, surely.. And hopefully we will work to improve and do better.

But, can we give thanks to God who has given us a wonderful harvest and some wonderful workers for that harvest? Absolutely.

That is our task this morning. To praise God and say thank you to all who have engaged the process of keeping the Emmanuel Household in steadfast faith and love Ö so that we as a community can proclaim gods truth with boldness and minister godís justice with compassion.

Christianity a Way, not a Destination

As I was thinking about this morningís sermon, one of descriptions of Jesus and his ministry that I read suggested that Christianity is a way, not a destination.

As people living in a tremendously goal oriented society and culture the idea of belonging to a community that sees itself as a process and not an absolute goal is sometimes not comforting to the results oriented person.

So this morning we see in each of the lessons an examples of persons who, having caught a glimpse of what we will see as the way. . . forsook absolutes but began to walk along the path that they sensed God was calling them.

First from the Prophet Hosea we get a sense of Emmanuel, God with us as he say, ìYour love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early. . . for I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offeringsî

We then hear from Paul as he describes Godís actions through the life of Abraham. . . We recall that Abraham, as we heard in scriptures, did not begin the development of the Jewish nation until he was old often pegged at 75. And he did not do this as a result of the law which had become so ubiquitous. He heard and followed Godís call to him , He saw faith as the essence of the following of God.

And then of course we see the experience of Matthew. Matthew was a tax collector and even if he was the most honest of tax collectors the role was enough to instill distrust, dislike and perhaps even hate among people. Yet here was Jesus calling on Matthew to follow him.

Just a word about tax collectors. Actually, things had come along way. In earlier times they auctioned off the right to collect taxes to the highest bidder and rates were not even set by the state. By this time the Romans had set the rates and appointed tax collectors or perhaps people volunteered for the task. Nonetheless there was considerable room for less than honorable dealings and the role of tax collector had a consistently bad reputation.

Hence it was no surprise when Jesus called a tax collector to be a follower and then sat down to dinner with him and others of disrepute, he was not universally acclaimed.

But as Jesus pointed out, those who are well have no need of a physical, but those who are sick. . .

Jesusí actions are always demonstrative. He demonstrates, practices what he preaches. He shows people, he invites people to the way. He taught in parables. He ate with sinners.   He demonstrated what the Christian community is called to be.

And that is our task as a community. As so today we gather to celebrate the sacrament of the Lordís Supper, a supper to which we invite all.   We are a Eucharistic Community . . . a family that breaks bread together. And when we are at our best, we exemplify the process, the way of Jesus

This week another year was completed at the Emmanuel Nursery School and because is goes on during the week we perhaps seldom see that program as part of our life. Yet I think nothing demonstrates to the community what we believe is the way, better than this program.

In an age when many wish that a nursery school program would provide direct access to the highest level of educational success, the Emmanuel program has for many years had as it the ideal of loving and caring program that exemplifies the values that Jesus was about.   Love, care and respect for ones neighbor. It is a nurturing program. A demonstration of the way . . . it is not a destination

So the question for us in the light of this is, how can we, as a community be a people who show the way?

Perhaps we might simply say that we should ìLet our light shineî. Bring others into our fellowship.   That is what Emmanuel Nursery
School does for us.

We are, this morning, beginning to crank up our efforts for the 99th Emmanuel Country Fair.   The fair is another example of our light shining, a community at work, seeking to find ways to serve use. We are trying to practice the ways of Jesus.

And so as we gather here this morning hearing Godís word, expressing our prayers, making our offerings and receiving the strengthening gifts of the Eucharist.   We pray that we may be an example here in Weston of a way,   not a destination. God will take care of that.

May 29th, 2nd Sunday after Pentecost
Built on a Rock

Over the course of my life I have spent a fair amount of time working around and in construction, laboring, building, planning and developing buildings.   When I was a teenager and a college and seminary student I worked as a laborer. Later on I moved up the chain, having opportunities to plan, develop and build some rather large projects.   However all of these projects came down what I would call this morning foundational issues, what are we building on.

During seminary I worked at a construction site at the Bethlehem Steel. In order to build a huge structure that would hold the oxygen furnace. Huge holes had to be dug and filled with concrete to form caissons, sort of pillars in the ground to insure that the foundation would be on a rock.

Later on as a developer I became acquainted with other foundational issues, they are called building codes.   Even here in our local are we are sometimes exasperated by our town planning and zoning officers, some of whom are our friends, as they call into question foundational issues relating to the construction and safety in our buildings. Although they donít sometimes seem all that important, building codes are foundational in that they reflect knowledge and experience over many years and are put in place, not to harass us but to guide us in a way to go that will help insure the safety and longevity of buildings that we construct.

Even last year, our friend, the fire marshal came and had us insure safe exits in case of a fire. We are increasingly guided by water safety experts.

But what has this to do with Jesus, the gospel and what about its relationship with memorial day that we celebrate tomorrow..

In the Gospel from Matthew this morning, Jesus is nearing the end of the Sermon on the mound and he is making his concluding remarks. He has spent a great deal of time beginning with the beatitudes. . the blessed attitudes that we are charge with keeping and elucidating his teaching with examples but describing the life that has its foundation on loving God and loving ones neighbor. It is to these foundational ideals that Jesus speaks as he essential closes wi th a rather strong suggestion that his followers walk the walk.

He goes on by suggesting that to walk the walk requires the building of a life around the strong foundation rooted in the beatitudes and similar teachings that suggest that we be selfless people,    loving our neighbors as ourselves.

These are our foundational ideals, the core values of this community that is gathered here this morning.   Our Gatherings are centered around hearing again the foundational words from our scriptures, hearing those words interpreted, offering our prayers that God will help us and finally offering our gifts at the altar and being fed by our lord.    The purpose of all this is that we can be a supportive community, a community that shares in the discovering and defining of these values or call as we live our lives from day to day and week to week.

Hopefully this is the foundation around which we build our lives and it is a foundation not buildt on sand but on the rock of Jesus.

This weekend is also a time when we look at some of the foundational issues of our national life. We look at the ideals of political and person al freedom which in fact pave the way and give us the opportunity to worship here this morning unimpeded by censorship and other guidance. Yes the code officer makes sure our building is safe but he or she does not review our beliefs or efforts.

For this to have become a reality many, many persons have given their lives, particularly those in our armed forces and it is on this weekend that we remember those who in the many conflicts in which this country has engaged . . . and as we know some of them are quite controversial . . . all the lives given were given . . .self sacrificially in the cause of freedom and it is this sacrifice that we honor this weekend.

So, foundational values, core values, are more that just a list.   They are what we live by. They guide our actions moment to moment.   We are Christians and American and sometimes these things overlap. Yet hopefully our base faith at our personal core has a clarity, not founded in human kind and the foibles surrounding human kind. But around God. The god that we worship today, the God who through Jesus has given us the values we try to live by. The goal of loving god and truly loving our neighbor.

May 22nd, 1st Sunday after Pentecost
Confirmation ñ A New Order of Life

Last Sunday we celebrated the Feast of the Pentecost.   The celebration of the coming of the spirit. As it is described in the writings of Luke in the Acts of the apostles, it must have been a very chaotic occasion, people speaking in tongues. People suddenly finding the ability to communicate with many others who normally spoke different languages.   Most of the events of our church are centered around the life and actions of Jesus and God in our world and have a certain unclarity about them, it is not quite clear what happened yet something life changing began at the moment described. Christmas, Easter, Pentecost are these three great holy days in our community.

Then we come to the day we celebrate today, a day which celebrates what we might describe as points of order.   We remember to the the Trinity ñ this theological concept that God has been among us as Father or Creator, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our lessons this morning touch on each of those issues, in the old testament we hear one of our faith stories of creation, we hear of the trinity in the Gospel of Matthew as we are charged with Baptizing in the name of the father son and holy spirit and from Paul we are charged with putting things in order. . .

And so the Christian community has tried in its 2000 year of existence to put things in order. To come up with an agreed upon description of how God has acted in the world.   And Although we celebrate the trinity as fact accomplished, there continue to be discussions of its content and its descriptions.   As I was thinking about this sermon, one of the articles written in fact by a Rabbi suggests that ìthree is not enoughî.   And our discussions of the order of our common life go on, sometimes quite painfully, as we have recently seen in our conflict in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.

Today though, I want to talk about disorder and order in terms of our own lives as people of faith. Because just as the church is in constant flux over its relationship to God and Godís actions in life so are we as individuals constantly struggling to define and redefine our relationship with God. That is why we gather here this morning.   Sometimes it is an orderly struggle and sometimes it takes on the character of the Pentecost experience.

This morning (at the 10 o clock service) four persons for whom we have been praying, Kenneth Brooks, Sarah Cage, Catherine Campbell and James Deberedine will be welcomed as Confirmed members of our community.   Over the past 8 months they have been engaged in trying to bring some order into their lives as baptized Christians and then yesterday making their own special affirmation of their Baptismal vows and having those vows sealed with the sacrament of laying on of hands by a Bishop.

What began at their baptism and was supported by a chaotic blend of parental guidance, church school, worship and fellowship activities has now been given some order in their lives.   Hopefully a new picture of what the life of faith might be has been explored and they embarked yesterday in an official, ordered way on that new phase of their lives.

Unfortunately when we do these large sacramental occasions, just as graduations and commencements, they appear to be endings.   Yet confirmation, as important as it is in helping these persons refocus their lives as Christians, it is but another new beginning of which we have many in our lives.

Sometimes these are mundane, a weekly cleanup of our desk, the semi-annual cleanup of the church grounds.   Yet often they are life changing or life rearranging events; Clean-ups - or what we might call times of reordering and refocus; Career change, renewal of marriage vows.

At Emmanuel Church, we take the opportunity presented by the sacrament of confirmation very seriously. We have over the years evolved a program that hopefully truly provides a meaningful experience of the practice and order of the Christian life. Each of the confirmands selected a shepherd to walk with them on this journey. Additionally we had a three person team of leaders who guided the Sunday morning efforts. As we honor an welcome the new confirmands we also need to express our sincere thanks to Dede Anderson, Nancy Odden, Micheal Otworth, Louise Truax a Kathleen Mufson and Nick Albertson for their untiring efforts. More importantly they have been willing to share their faith with these persons. That is a significant gift.

This morning these persons will share briefly, experiences of the time that were significant to them.

Last Thursday, we gathered the confirmands, shepherd and leaders together to review our efforts and to look to the future. We presented to the confirmands the suggestion that this was a new beginning and our hopes for them. My hope for them is that they do find in the life of Christ meaning and support.   I also encouraged them to be a part of our community.

I noted that one of the unique things about Christianity is that we donít seg ment the market; we donít just deal with those 25 to 40. We have to deal with all ages and stages.   And I invited them to be representative and spokespersons. Raising issues and questions and when we are ignoring them or not including them, to let us know.

As we welcome these young persons as newly confirmed members of the Emmanuel Community, May our welcome and joy be for them a new beginning of participation in our community of love.

I hope each of you will take the time this morning a coffee hour to shake their hand in welcome and in the days ahead get to know them better as fellow travelers in the life of Christ.

May 15th, Pentecost
Breaking the Retention Cycle

Today we celebrate Pentecost.   Literally as Bill Loader one of the commentators we use for our Wednesday bible studies relates:

ëPentecostí is the anglicized form of the Greek word for 50th and refers to the 50th day after Passover. Pentecost is the Jewish festival called, ëThe feast of Weeksí, originally marking the end of the grain harvest. It also acquired links with the giving the Law on Sinai. It is a very appropriate time to celebrate the Spiritís coming to the early church. Luke has given a symbolic structure to the first weeks after Easter. The risen Jesus makes special appearances for 40 days after which he ascended. The Spirit comes on the 50th day: Pentecost.

Pentecost is also described as the Birthday of the church.   The day when the Disciples moved from behind closed doors out into the world. .   Carrying forth the spirit.

We get several pictures of the Pentecost event in todayís lessons.   First from the book of acts and Luke we hear of the fascinating event of people speaking in tongues. A description of people understanding one another, in spite of speaking in different languages.   What a wonderful vision of our world.

The Gospel of John as always presents another picture of the coming of the spirit. The disciples were in the so called upper room and Jesus appeared among them. He shares his greeting. . The peace.   And he then goes on and says, receive the holy spirit. Then he makes a very interesting connection between the spirit and sin,   our failure to follow Gods call.   He says that ìIf you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them, if you retain the sins of any they are retained.î

If we look at this in one sense it appears that Jesus is calling us to be judges making assessments as to the human failures of other.

As I looked at this in preparation, it dawned on me that this retention of sin is much more to the point of our own failures to repent ourselves and to forgive others.

As I thought about retention I began to think of our society and how we as a society get ourselves into what we might call a retention cycle.

If we take a look at all the many conflicts in the world, it is first of all very appalling that so many are traced to religious basis. People didnít think the same as other. Ireland, the Middle East, the Balkans, and we can go on and on describing conflicts that are the result of a single disagreement of issue that could not be resolved.   It entered the retention cycle and stayed there

We have seen this in our own lives. In the holding of grudges, of the hanging on to old ideas, of the retention of the way it always was.

How do we break the retention cycle. .   How do we stop hanging on to bitterness and move, as the young church did, out of the bitterness and anguish over Jesus death in to the next phase of their life.   A life filled with a spirit. The Holy spirit, the coming of which we celebrate on this day of Pentecost.

We break the retention cycle by following our baptismal covenant.   On of whose what I call acts of connection is - will you persevere in resisting evil and whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the lord.î

Will you be open to a new spirit, looking at an issue, a conflict in a new way, outside of the retention cycle.

We at Emmanuel during this last 24 hours have opened ourselves to the spirit. You may as how. .

First last evening we gathered in fellowship, we broke bread together buts we didnít choose who we would gather with. We let ourselves open to the spirit.

This morning we bill bring you Wednesday Maria Smetak to this altar and she will be baptized, she will, we believe though her baptism become a part of this spirit filled family.

Later following church we will have the opportunity to share our gifts, talents and ministries,   and as we share thses, there will not be anyone who doesnít see something new whose eyes are note opened.

So Pentecost is the day of the spirit . May it also be a day when we break the retention cycle?

May 8th, Seventh Sunday of Easter
Christianity ñ Whose responsibility is it?

There is a commercial that has played recently. It is set on a golf course and it shows a professional golfer missing an easy putt. After the missed putt he muses operatically saying that it was not his fault but it was the caddies fault,   who evidently misread the green. But then the caddy also disclaims responsibility by claiming that it was the greens keepers fault who then claimed it was the sponsorís fault..

How the sponsor, who happened to be Barclayís bank could be responsible for the missed put is beyond me but it speaks to a way in which the so called buck is passed in todays world.

Itís not my fault. I shouldnít be accountable. And so we watch the parade of executives who apparently walk off with millions of dollars of stockholder (i.e. peoples values) claiming they didnít know anything.   They are not accountable and certainly not responsible.

In this context it is interesting to read in the Gospel of John from Chapter 17, the beginnings of Jesus final report. His telling god what he had done and what his hope was for the future. We may recall that during this after Easter season and in fact throughout Lent in our Lectionary we have been led through the gospel of John.   Itís book of signs, that described Godís work of healing and ministry in the world. The last several weeks in which Jesus is saying goodbye to his disciples and trying to pull together as he meets with his disciples the loose ends. Today we find him in prayer. A prayer that takes athe form of a report to God, Jesus noting his accountability and responsibilities, setting the standard and then outlining to God how he had accomplished those tasks that were his.. . .

"I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent meî

Would it only be so. . .   Certainly Jesus did his best. But we can recall throughout the book of signs that the Pharisees and yes the disciples themselves simply did not get it. They did not understand what he was about. They did not understand that their job was not self aggrandizement, the way of the world but it was to be self sacrificial giving of themselves to others, The example of Jesus.

Je sus evidently has some sense that the disciples would need some continuing support that that it would not be so easy. He follows his report with a prayer of intercession to god. .

.î I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. "
The goal is that we are to be like Jesus, Which is what the standard of performance is, that is what our life, having been called to follow Jesus is about.

So what do we do when we fail, blame the caddy or the greens or the sponsor?

It is we who are accountable and responsible to our God.   The God we worship here this morning.

And Jesus does not leave us alone.   He brought us together and he provided some guidance in keeping us together. That is what the baptismal covenant is about and it call to worship prayer, and action. I think it is most significant that Jesus never calls us to doctrinal purity. But he constantly calls and demonstrates and active outreaching attitude.

We are to be one with Jesus and hence one with God, doing the work God has called us to do. A work to which we witness by being hear this morning and by gathering at the Lordís table to be fed with his life giving.

Finally, in the lesson from the book of acts we get another clue to further help in which Jesus talks of the coming of the Spirit.   Next weekís story.

So we have the commitment the understanding, the support and as we have discovered and continue to discover, we have the spirit with us. We can be responsible Christians only in this context. Pray that we may be Godís people, people of the spirit.

May 1st, Sixth Sunday of Easter
The Lone Ranger ñ a Christian example?

How many of you remember the Lone Ranger?   The Lone Ranger was a cowboy during the wild west. I think he started as a radio character in 1933. He became a television character and throughout my youth we watched weekly episodes of the Lone Ranger and heard his cry
As it was described.
ìA fiery horse with the speed of light! A cloud of dust and a hearty ëHi-Yo, Silver!í The Lone Ranger!î

Fighting for justice in the Wild West.

He was called the Lone Ranger and he looked like a lone ranger but as we soon discovered behind that lone ranger was a faithful companion ñ Tonto who invariably helped The Lone Ranger and without whom nothing would have gotten don.

In todayís America of big ego personalities, it is easy to see the so called celebrities of our society from the rich a famous entrepreneurs a Bill Gates, a Warren Buffet , or movie stars and politicians as self made and lone rangers but we quickly find that they are absolutely dependent upon many other people and processes.

But what does this have to do with todayís gospel. . .

This morning we once again hear from the Gospel of John. This, the last of the written, canonical Gospels.   The Gospel that is most theological in character, more symbolic and descriptive and less a telling of stories.   Certainly this mornings vignette fits into that picture. In one sense it is a very clear and simple explanation of the production of good grapes. But on the other hand it is a very profound description of what Jesus suggested might be the true vision of the community of faith - the church - Succinctly put the church (the community of faith) was to become a branch on the vine ñ Jesus being that vine. And as branches, our task is not to look pretty but to bear fruit.

But bearing fruit is not that simple.

I have read many descriptions this week of the efforts that go into tending a vineyard; many of these alluded to in this brief passage from John.   The need to constantly prune, beginning with a young plant and simply not allowing it to fruit for several years and then even after the vine has developed pruning it radically each year. Pruning what seem to be good healthy branches with the ultimate goal being to produce good fruit abundantly.

If we, the Christian community, Emmanuel church, as a branch of the vine are to be regularly pruned, if we are to bear good fruit abundantly, what does this mean?   In one sense this is a scary thought. Do we cull our rolls and throw out those who have, to our human judgment been less faithful or do we go back to our pruning principles and discover what it is that allows us to be a strong branch.

Of the Christian community.

We are, I believe, a strong branch when we keep in front of us our baptismal promises. We might even call these promises our pruning principles.

Skilled vinedressers know what to prune.

We are asked.   To continue in the apostlesí teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers . . . we are asked to regularly worship. .

We are asked to persevere in resisting evil, and when we fall into sine, repent and return to the Lord. . . .We do try but we do fail so here is an act of reconnection. . .

We are asked will you proclaim by work and example the Good news of God in Christ. . . .Do we let others know of our experience and joy in this community, in the spirit?

We are asked to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves? Do we have an attitude of giving, of sharing of seeing Jesus in the faces of others?

We are asked to strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being. . . Do we stand up, as Jesus did, for those who can be helped by our willingness to be the people Jesus called us to be.
These are pruning principles of our community. . when we worship, resist evil and repent, when we proclaim the good news, when seek the Christ in other and when we strive for justice and peace. We are refocusing our live . . We are remembering what it is to walk the walk ñ produce fruit rather than talk the talk and produce superfluous branches.

Perhaps the most important element in this is that we are not and cannot be the Lone ranger.   The essence of Christianity is community.   We are in community, through our baptism, with Jesus.   The branch does not go very far without the roots and the vine itself.   Jesus is the vine we are the branches.

We cannot be the Lone Ranger. . .and as a fact neither could the Lone Ranger. . . he always had in back of him , his faithful companion Tonto.

We as Christian people, following the pruning principles, are supported by our friend our model our constant guide and support Jesus Christ.   Who, as we have discovered, showed us and is the way the truth and the life.

April 17th, Fourth Sunday of Easter
Recognizing Godís Voice

The traditional theme for this Sunday as expressed in the collect for this morning is the Good Shepherd.   This imagery of sheep/shepherd / sheep/ flock had long been used as a metaphor to describe the relationship between God and Godís people. And now Jesus picks up this traditional image to try to help his disciples ìget itî

Th e context of this early passage of the Good Shepherd story in John is immediately following Jesus healing of the blind beggar. Perhaps you recall hearing that story during lent when I shared with you the story of the blind man Milton Seymour who went to the salvation army to church and was healed by JC Josephson, much to the chagrin of his own church who passed a number of resolutions to make sure it didnít happen again.

It was into this milieu of opposition that Jesus tried again and again to describe what he was about.   Now, returning to the old testament imagery. . he describes himself as the good shepherd.

We at Emmanuel Church use this imagery to describe an important component of our confirmation program. We ask each potential Confirmand to select an adult to be there shepherd for the confirmation process. The person will become for them a mentor for this part of their journey in the faith. The evolved thinking about this process is that it becomes a unique opportunity for the young person to learn from and experience someone other than their parent as a source of information and understanding of the relationship with Jesus. It also hopefully is the beginning of a long standing friendship between these persons in the context of the church. It has been great to hear stories of how shepherds have maintained lifetime friendships (attending graduations, weddings). In keeping with this goal, we have been trying to develop reunion events to facilitate and nurture the ongoing character of these Christian friendships.

Letís go back for a moment to the Gospel portion from John that I just read to explore a little further this sheep / shepherd relationship. In many ways Jesus was way ahead of his time.   As we read this vignette it appears that Jesus is talking about Voice recognition technology. Listen.

The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers."

On an almost daily basis we are faced with voice recognition technology. We make phone calls which are answered if not by a person in India by a voice recognition device which tries to send us to the correct place to deal with our issued.    Maybe ñ if the software recognizes our voice.

Even more pertinently, all of us who have one of the more recent cell phones, carry this technology in our pockets. But what is interesting about it is that we have to train it.   We have to establish a relationship with our phone, our phone must know us, if it is to respond to us. And someone elseís effort to make our phone work through this means with surely fail.

But what has this to do with our Christian endeavor our attempt to hear and respond to God and Godís call in our life.   The connection the voice recognition has to be established.   We have to recognize Godís voice in our lives and at the same time hopefully we get a sense that God recognizes our voice.

Our hope for our sheep/shepherd program with Confirmand is that the Confirmand will get some sense of God and Godís work through their experience of this mentoring relationship.

Our regular worship is part of the effort to develop our recognition of Godís voice in our lives.

Sometimes, we simply do not hear the good shepherd.   And it at this point that we sometimes have to make special efforts to reestablish communication. This is what lent and its disciplines of prayer, fasting and alms giving are about.

In the Episcopal Church today and I suppose most particularly in our own diocese we apparently have a breakdown of the voice recognition software with the resulting conflict over issues that seem irreconcilable.   One would hope that both sides would hear the good shepherdís voice in a common way and certainly that needs to be our prayer.

Unfortunately, God does not necessarily work on our schedule and sometimes misunderstanding and conflict in the church take years, if not centuries to resolve. It took the better part of 120 year for the early church to decide about the contents of the creed and during this period, the stories of bishops coming and going from their seas depending upon the political climate are myriad.

It is as this time we need to remember our roots and our call to worship together, to try from our hearing gods work, from praying to god from coming to the Lordís table that we get some send of recognition of God in our life. Hear the voice and respond to the call the call not to have purity of doctrine, but to love and serve our neighbor.

April 10th, Third Sunday of Easter
Teaching, Fellowship, Breaking Bread and Prayers ñ The Essence of the Church

The lessons today paint a picture of the early church and some picture it is.   And   I will be gin chronologically as described First from Luke we get the famous road to Emmaus experience in which retrospectively, the resurrected Jesus walks on the road with these two disciples. It becomes evening and they invite him to stay. Suddenly in the context of the meal it becomes obvious who this person is.   It is Jesus who becomes know in the ìbreaking of the breadî.

A wonderful story and a model for the conditions needed for us in our active search for the risen Lord.

Then we see the disgraced leader of the crew, Peter the one who denied Jesus during his trial, suddenly he has been in modern parlance, rehabilitated. He has come back; he is the chief spokesperson for this burgeoning community.

In Acts we get this picture of the multitude to which he is preaching and we hear that he baptized three thousand persons. Truly a great evangelistic effort.

But then we get a picture of what we might call the principles of the early church..   As Luke the writer of Acts notes. . ìthey devoted themselves to the apostlesí teaching, and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And he goes on the describing their communal life and their sharing one with another. . . And the community grew.

This week we got a picture of a major portion of the Church of Christ as we watched the great outpouring of feelings around the death of the Pope.   No matter what our personal feelings are about the human Karol Woltya, and he was a descendent of Peter in all his foibles and inconsistencies as we all are. But, he was certainly a man of prayer, a man who tried to be a person of God and who, if we look at the largest picture, tried from his position to unite Christendom and general religious life in a way unseen in the papacy for hundreds if not a thousand years.. As that church gathered for his funeral. joined by persons and religious leaders of all stripes, and hundreds of thousands of people who gathered both in Rome and throughout the world, they tried, as they gathered to ìdevote themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and the prayers.   And the hope in the celebration of this life, so huge but yet so peaceful, was that the resurrected lord would be with them in the breaking of the bread.

So what do these pictures of the church have to say to us.

I think that they show us the conditions for us to catch a glimpse of the resurrection . . .   because it would s eem if these conditions are not present; it is less likely that we will see the risen Lord. Teaching, fellowship, breaking of the bread, prayers.

So how do we in our community, Emmanuel Church, if we are to be intentional and proactive in our faith, how can we be sensitive to the conditions described to the early church. Teaching, fellowship, breaking of the bread, prayers.
Clearly our weekly gathering does both symbolically and in a disciplined way. . Teach us, bring us together in fellowship, we break bread together and we pray in worship.

But there is more. We have events that are strictly fellowship.   We have events that are strictly teaching.   We pray many times. And we try to break bread together.

All of these things we do, yes because we like to do them but also because we sometimes catch a glimpse of Godís spirit among us. . yes the risen lord in our midst.

When people talk about Emmanuel church they often mention the fair as very memorable part of their Emmanuel (god with us) experience.   Isnít the fair just a fund raiser?

Last fall I cam to realize that even if we did not want to or need to raise money, we should have a fair or something like it. Because the much more important element in the activity is that it builds community, it is a time of fellowship, a time of breaking bread, yes we even learn from one another. . good and bad. Yet the result is that we are brought together around the potential to see the Lord.   The spirit of God in our midst.

Today. We will again work together. Sure it is important to help maintain our property. . But this working together is also just as important as a community building activity, and activity which puts in front of us the possibility of seeing Emmanuel , God with us.

So we as a community, sinners as we are and in need of the same rehabilitation as Peter gather today. Following the teaching of the church. . Executing the four elements of community . . Teaching, fellowship, breaking of the bread, prayers. Not with expectation of an appearance of the risen Lord but certainly with that hope.

We give thanks today then for the opportunity to be together. . .to learn, to be in fellowship, to pray and to break bread.   May it be a time of Godís presence (yes the risen Lord) among us.

March 27th, Easter
Signs Signs Everywhere thereís Signs

In the early 70ís clearly some years ago, a rock and roll group the Five Man Electrical Band recorded the following song whose chorus went something like this

Signs Signs
Everywhere there's signs
Blocking up the scenery
Breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that
Can't you read the sign

And there sure are signs everywhere.   On our highways, on our television screens, in our stadiums, on our computers ñ( the ubiquitous pop up) , yes even on our clothes. . . logos. . .signs.

Many of you saw, if not in person, photos of the gates in central park. One commentator noted that perhaps the most incredible thing about the gates was that there were over 7000 (double that to 14,000 if you in clued both sides) flat surfaces and not a logo or sign to be seen.   Contrast that to a NASCAR driverís suit.

In any event what do signs have to do with Easter.

This song stuck in my head because during lent this year we have been regularly reading from the Gospel of John.   A gospel some interpreters see as a book of signs.   These signs being examples Godís work in our world, signs executed by the person known as Jesus.   These signs were demonstration of something that we increasingly skeptical people think is impossible. . . change in someoneís life direction, change in the world

Yet in John we heard about the Pharisee Nicodemus,   the woman at the well who had had 5 husbands, the blind beggar who was healed and finally the story of the a raising of the dead man Lazarus.   An incredible set of changes described.   Yet all pointing to something beyond what was immediately apparent.   It wasnít the human Jesusí magic, it was God at work in the world.

Today we hear of ultimate sign. . a sign pointed to in the resurrection of Lazarus but now embodied in Jesus himself.   - We hear today of Jesusí resurrection. The two Maryís go to the grave, in the midst of an earthquake they experience an angel, find the tomb empty and are encouraged to move on , go to Galilee when suddenly they see Jesus and having experienced the resurrected Lord, move on. with a mixture of fear and joy

Thus the beginnings of the Easter message. . .Jesus lives.    But how. . .

O how we wish we could orchestrate and appearance of Jesus.   It would clearly be a sold out event.   But since the cessation of those bodily appearances. . We catch only glimpses . . . we see, to this day, I believe, the signs.

And although they are not everywhere.   There are signs.

As a pastor, one of my responsibilities is to be with families in which death has occurred. No matter when death occurs even in the death of a very elderly person, there is sorrow, there is loss. And certainly, in untimely deaths, the death of a younger person, the pain of the sorrow, and loss is magnified.

Yet in all of these experiences, even the most sorrowful ones, signs of the resurrection appear.   Often they are simple actions in the persons lives that become much more clear in death.

Only two weeks ago I had a service for Sarah Sykes . . an incredibly untimely death.   Yet as we gathered, filling this place, there was a sense surely of intense sorrow but there was also a sense of a life well lived that gave off the signs ñ yes of resurrection ñ yes of new life which extends beyond the grave.

This week, I received a note from the Chris, Eleanor, Lydia, Hugo and yes Sarah Sykes. . . It was a quote from the French existentialist Albert Camus. . . .but it was the expression of something much greater. . .

. . . In the midst of winter, I found there was within me, an invincible summerî..   this and from whence it came is truly an expression of Jesusí resurrection. He is risen . . .he is risen indeed.

Finally I want to end this morning with a poem. . from Dubie Morris. . .

Springtime Resurrection

Sparkling, the river ripples through the trees these April days,
Glinting the setting sunlight on the budding leaves of Spring.
The once-bare branches weave black patterns through the pastel haze
Of pinks and greens, foreshadowing the brilliance May will shortly bring.

And should you doubt that dusty grays and browns can come to life,
Look down those paths along the pond below the greening hills
And see godís work, abetted by my ever-faithful wife;
And let your faith be lifted by those clumps of glowing daffodils.

March 13th, Fifth Sunday in Lent
Seeing Godís Glory

The collect this morning talks of bringing into order - unruly wills and affections of sinners. . .

I suppose in terms of our faith journey what we are seeking is a clear picture of God in life.    Where are you God? .   What are you doing? .

So the bringing to order means ñ change the prescriptions on my glasses. .   Give me a changed attitude. .

We have been walking through lent through the eyes of gospel of John.   Although we began with Matthew and his telling of Jesusí temptation and the ash Wednesday challenge to give alms, pray and change our attitudinal course,

We have on the 2nd through 5th Sundayís in lent been hearing from the Gospel of John. And Its book of signs.

And we have seen these signs.    People being changed. . .The sign of Nicodemus the pharasee being born again.   Of the woman at the well with 5 husbands changing her life.

People being healed. the Blind Mans sight is restored much to the chagrin of the religious authorities

And today in one of the final signs. . .the dead are raised.. .   It is very difficult for us to get into this story in that it seems so unreal.   Sure we can point to experiences of people who have been severely injured, in deep comas even as recently as last week I think there was a child who was run over by a car survived.   An apparent return from the dead.

But on the whole we would view this story as unbelievable.

What then is John trying to do with the telling of this story.

I read the whole story so that you would get the flavor of the teaching elements of the Johanine gospel before we see the intense interaction between Jesus and Mary and Martha. An interaction in which we see Jesus himself experiencing the depth of emotion. . . He wept.

Yet the key to this story to my mind lines in a single line.   ì did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of Godî    he does not say. . if you believe, your family will be returned to the way it was..   you will see the glory of God.

But how?   . . . and when?    How do we see life in death?   particularly if death is untimely and unexpected.   Where is the resurrection in that?

In Wednesday bible study we have been reading together a book called Mere Christianity by CS Lewis.   In our list week we read a chapter in which he talks about life as one, a continuum.   Not a physical life followed by a resurrected life but as one.

In think there is a soap opera called ìOne Life to Liveî.      CS Lewis thinking about resurrection is that we have one life to live . . . it will perhaps be in phases. . But it is one.    And I think his sense is that we simply do not see clearly the essence of that life. .    We are as Nicodemus, Women at the well, the Pharisees seeing the blind man healed, and now seeing Lazarus dead Ö people simply did not see the Glory of God.

I wish I could create the glory of God.   To some degree that is what the great cathedrals, magnificent organs, and music are about.   Yet as we look out the windows of Emmanuel churchÖ in a much simpler way,   and we see the words of the psalmist   written on our walls. . . donít we see the glory of God.

And when we see this glory..   is not death some how diminished in its power over us.. .

That is what Jesus was trying to say.   That is what John was trying to relate.

That is what we seek as we gather to be Godís people. We seek to catch a glimpse of life eternal. .   But more often than not we cannot see the forest. . . We can only see the treesÖ.. Which blind us. Evil is the fact that we see the trees and miss the forest. . .   Lord, deliver us from Evil

Hence our need for the discipline of Lent which can help call us back to a renewed vision of God in our lives.

We are called to be Godís people. To be reborn, to be changed, to be healed, to see beyond the impending demise of our own physical existence ñ our own death.

To see Godís glory in our life. . our one life.

March 6th, Fourth Sunday in Lent
Amazing Grace

Most of us have at one time or another heard or sung the following hymn. . written by an Anglican priest, John Newton whose early life as a navy deserter and slave trader are clearly reflected in the words. . . .

As always, poetry says incredibly profound things in an incredibly small number of words.   This four line verse expresses the nature of salvation, the nature or our Christian enterprise.

We are the recipients of Grace ñ this gift, undeserved that we receive from God..   and it does some amazing things.. .    those receiving that grace were lost. . . and have been found.   Were blind and now amazingly enough, see.

And we gathered here this morning have, however imperfectly, caught some glimpse of this ìamazing grac eî and have some sense of lostness from which we have been found and from some sense of blindness that we now can see if only dimly.

It is through these eyes that I propose we look at the Gospel this morning. Again from John, and as always with John , providing thought far beyond the story. This morning dealing with the man born blind.

And as he himself said . . in the words picked up by John Newton. . .was blind but now I see.

On the surface this looks like a pretty simple miracle story. Jesus comes upon a blind man (on the Sabbath) uses an unorthodox method (with his spittle he created a mud pack which constituted work on the Sabbath) tells the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam, and the man is healed. Then the real teaching begins. . .

Because as we note this could not have happened for all sorts of reasons, it was absolutely discounted by those in religious authority. The gospel passage ends with the following. . .îyou were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?. . And they drove him out.

This week on this internet study group posted a story that takes it cue from this gospel story. Briefly it is about a blind man Named Milton Seymour who was typically brought to an Episcopal church. In any event on one Sunday they could not get a volunteer to pick Milt up so he was picked up by a neighbor and taken to services at the Salvation Army. As things would happen they had a guest preacher, JC Josephson - who in the course of the service called out Milton put a paste on his eyes, send him to a local creek and lo an behold he could see.

Well when people saw that he could see this put his church in to a turmoil, this simply could not happen. So they had a meeting at which the following resolution was passed:

   THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
   a. The healing of Milton Seymour be declared null and void within the bounds of the United Church of Canada;
   b. Milton Seymourís name be retained on the Historic Roll under the Non-sighted Resident Members category irrespective of his claim to the contrary;
   c. Milton Seymour and his family be instructed to very clearly dissociate themselves from the Salvation Army and J.C. Josephson;
    d. A letter of concern be sent to the Board of the Salvation Army advising them never to inflict such healing or other blessing upon any known members of denominations other than their own who may have been carted in by concerned neighbours;
    e. The Salvation Army be strongly encouraged to institute a policy similar to that of the United Church on the prevention of germ transfer by possible contact with anotherís bodily secretions during worship (including, but not limited to saliva and sweat); and
    f. In light of all he had done, the Official Board recommend to Presbytery and Conference that J.C. Josephson be declared a ìwillfully negligent violatorî (a.k.a. sinner in some church circles).

Of course this raises the question who is blind?   . .is it the person who was healed or those around him who simply would not recognize Godís action, godís grace in the world.

My suspicion is that we are all blind or certainly have our blind spots. My wife will tell you appropriately so, that she can send me to get something and I will not be able to find the item in the closet or in a store. .   So charges me with selective blindness. By the way I also have hearing loses.

But our blindness doesnít just come out when we are asked to find something we legitimately canít see or wonít see. It also comes out when we ourselves bring forth ideas and ideals that we believe are absolutely correct and true.

How often in the absoluted surety of our position, our idea, our thought, we discover a huge hole in our thinking, an error in our judgement or simply another way, totally different that our present thinking to look at something.

How embarrassed we are, yes how blind we are in so many ways and at so many times.

What leads us from blindness..    or as we have been talking in this Lenten period, in which we are focusin on being ìdelivered from evilî.   What leads us from what we might call the evil of blindness?

Amazing grace.

When we are able to see and present our ideas without a sense of arrogance but in a sense of humility, we leave a place for God to work. For Godís grace to permeate, for Godís grace to open our eyes.   For our blindness to be taken away.

No we by an large are not afflicted with the physical handicap of blindness. But we are all afflicted by a blindness in our vision of God. We like the pharasees and the members of Mitonís church donít see God at work, as we described in the healing of Milton . Nor do we see God at work in our lives.

Lent is the time when we try, through a discipline of daily prayer, alms giving and attempted attitude adjustments, try to open ourselves to Gods Grace so that we too may see and express as John Milton did, the following words. .

Amazing grace-how sweet the sound,
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found,
was blind but now I see.

February 27th, Third Sunday in Lent
Living Water?

We are already on our third Sunday of the 6 Sunday - 40 day Lenten period. This week we hear again from John as we did last week. The story is a continuation and further amplification of the ideas around new beginnings and change.   Last week we heard of Nicodemus, the Jewish leader and his midnight meeting with Jesus. . Nicodemus was challenged to be born anew ñ to see his life in a new way focused on the teachings and experience of Jesus.

This week we hear of an interchange with a woman at a well in Sychar   As we begin our exploration of this story and its implication s for us, Let us remember that our Lenten them is . . the final phrase from the Lordís Prayer . . lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. . deliver us from evil. . . remembering that our working definition of evil is this. . . evil are those things that we do in absence of guidance from God. Actions that take no or limited account of the call to love our God and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

So in our Lenten devotions as we read our daily prayers, give alms, and generally seek to adjust our attitudes to Godís call. . We continually ask. . .deliver us from evil.

As the Samaritan woman came to the well(a key issue since the Jews and Samaritans did not speak in public let alone a male Jew and female Samaritan) as she came to the well and Jesus strikes up a conversation with her I am not sure that was the purpose of her visit to the well.   It was a much more practical one.

First some history. The Jews and the Samaritans had a long history of enmity. Dating back nearly six hundred year when the Jews in the area were defeated in battle and many were exiled. This caused new cultural patterns to develop and certainly racial purity had been disrupted. Later on , some 200 years later, they sought and accommodation but it did not work out and the Samaritans even established their own worship shrine in Gerazim rather than Jerusalem.   This, was as we still see today in that area of the world, a long standing feud.

It is into this history that Jesus begins the interchange with the Samaritan woman. What appears to be an interchange bases around a real human need for water on both of their parts, shifts into a teaching moment for Jesus.

The woman at first simply ignores or misunderstands Jesusí emphasis on a spiritual ìliving waterî until Jesus points out her checkered past.   5 husbands! !   Although commentatorís are all over the map in terms of the discussion of this some see it symbolically, some see it in terms of here simply having bad luck be cause 5 brothers died which many see this as a sign that she was a particularly loose woman. The point was that Jesus was trying through this interchange to point here in a new direction.   A direction not fraught with the exigencies of getting to the well every day but based on a new well of spirit. A new community based on the Messiah. . the one sent from God.

So the question for us as we are trying to engage ourselves in new disciplines that might perhaps open and interchange with God. Perhaps we are in much the same place that the Samaritan woman was as Jesus opened the interchange.

There are many times when we hear Jesus call to love our neighbor, to do what is right, we are simply overwhelmed and as the women say. . What are you talking about . . .living water. . ? Jesus what do you mean love my neighbor. This person has been mean to me, has behaved illegally, and has mistreated his employees.   How can see this relationship in a new light?

Where do we find the living water, how are we delivered from evil.

First we do this individually through our opening of ourselves to Godís action in our live. As we engage our Lenten disciplines of prayer and alms giving, we open ourselves to the life giving water, to Godís spirit entering our actions and our lives.

We also do this through our action as a community. We gather this morning, opening ourselves to hearing Godís words, to offering our prayers for ourselves and others, offering our gifts, asking Godís blessing on those gifts and then sharing those blessed gifts as we eat the Lordís Supper together. We are as a community opening ourselves to Godís presences, the living waters.

So as we gather this morning and participate in our discipline of worship we ask that we will be given th e gift of those waters, that we will be delivered from evi.

February 20th, Second Sunday in Lent
Born Again?

Last week as Lent began I suggested that one of the principal themes of lent for us might be the phrase from the Lordís Prayer, ìLead us not into temptation (do not bring us to the test) but deliver us from evilî.

This actually is the final phrase in the Lordís prayer as it is rendered in scripture, the final portion ìfor thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever ..   a community addition not used if one goes to a Roman Catholic church.

And as is customary, we see lent as a time of personal renewal. A time when we take a look at ourselves and through added or new spiritual disciplines we open the channels for God to work in our lives.

Hence last week in accordance with the Ash Wednesday call for a lent in which we give alms, renew our prayer live and adjust our attitudes we distributed (and they are still available) mite boxes and daily prayer guides for everyone for use during the Lenten season.

Today we just heard the retelling of the first interchange between Nicodemus, an evidently famous and prominent Pharisee and Jesus. I say first because he later appears in the Gospel of John as a defender of Jesus at early discussions on what to do about Jesus and then as a participant in the burial of Jesus. Clearly this interchange impacted his life and perhaps it is an example for us as we approach lent, 2005. with our theme of deliverance from evil.

Our working definition of evil is this. . . evil are those things that we do in absence of guidance from God. Actions that take no or limited account of the call to love our God and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Todayís Gospel begins with the introduction of Nicodemus a ìleader of the Jewsî seeking a nighttime, off hours appointment.   Clearly there can be many reasons for this, secrecy, or as the commentator William Barclay suggested that Rabbiís and teachers frequently worked at night as the best time to study the law.

The beginning dialogue indicates that Jesus had made an impact on him through his words and deed and he acknowledges this to Jesus. And Jesus begins by suggesting that to truly experience Godís actions that Jesus was beating witness to, one needed to be born anew   -

Let me add here that the Greek word that is translated born from above has three different meanings - born anew ñ from the beginning, completely radically ;   born again for the second time; ( which by the way is the way the King James Version of the Bible has translated the Greek word used here)   and finally born from above ñ from God)

And the dialogue begins in which Nicodemus introduces several questions and feelings of astonishment as Jesus describes how God is working in the world. In my observation he is inviting John into a discovery process in which hopefully he will begin to see clearly the transforming element ñ the spirit in his life.

As we know this dialogue along with some of the Pauline passages and Paulís Damascus road experience have put Born Again into the Christian community as one of the key events on the road to salvation.   And so there perhaps is not one of us who has not faced the question from an evangelical Christian have you been born again

Certainly many have had a life changing experience of the spirit and can label this experience being born again, and I do not want to denigrate these expediencies.   But it is also important that we affirm the Nicodemus experience in which he clearly began to engage the issue of his life and spirituality. It was apparently a process in which he grew as evidenced by his words at the councils and the Jewish authorities sought to stop Jesus.   And later his participation in the burial of one who had clearly become a friend.

But what does that mean for us in this Lenten period in which we are seeking deliverance from evil. Trying to get closer to God.    That is the essence of the born from above, born anew, born again experience.   We catch a glimpse of God in action, god with us in our life.   And this happens as we are able to give alms, to pray, to love our neighbor.   We personally grow in the spirit.

But the spirit is also a component of our community life our life together, our life here this morning.    At our Vestry retreat last week one of our main themes was evangelism. How do we as Episcopalians in Weston share something about our community and our faith so that others may experience what we have experienced?

So the call for us during this Lenten period is be as Nicodemus was, a seeker of the spirit that he had perceived in his engagement with Jesus. He was born anew.

We are called to be reborn, in essence to ìget on the trainî,   engage the process of growth of our life in the spirit. We do this as we give alms, pray more diligently and begin to see clearly, not the evil, but God and Godís call to love our neighbor. Nicodemus discovered what it was to be delivered from evil, may we experience that also.

February 13th, First Sunday in Lent
Deliver us from evil. . . .

In a very short time we will say together the most familiar of prayers. the Lordís prayer. It is the one of the few prayers that we know by heart, it is the one which,   for whatever reason, we continue to use the traditional language. It is the one prayer that captures the totality of our concerns in one extremely meaningful statement of our faith. . It attempts to summarize our theology - our understanding of and our relationship with God.

One of the key clauses in that prayer is this ìlead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. .

Newer translations of the Lords prayer which we note in our prayer book just beside the familiar words, use a slightly different construction . . . do not bring us to the test. . . .but deliver us from evil.   According to most Greek scholars, this is in fact a truer rendering of the Greek word.

Nonetheless the prayer gets us back to the key them of lent . . . a focus on delivering ourselves from evil. . . .

What is evil.   As we have seen in scriptures read this morning, the familiar explanation of evil in the story of Adam and Eve in the garden, Paulís furtive attempt to put evil into the context of Jesus.   And the simple story of Jesus time in the wilderness when he came face to face with evil. In the person of the devil who challenges him to get out of character. Jesus made a personal discovery of the reality of and the content of evil.

The temptations were a paradigm, an exemplification of the constant tests that Jesus and we experience in our lives.

It is fascinating to look up on the internet the definitions for evil . Listening to some religious leaders and politician on evil would thing that it is a pretty easy thing to define.   Usually, when I use this mechanism there may be three or 4 definitions. In this case there were sixteen. And most of them were rather circuitous.

morally objectionable behavior
that which causes harm or destruction or misfortune; "the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones"- Shakespeare
the quality of being morally wrong in principle or practice; "attempts to explain the origin of evil in the world"
morally bad or wrong; "evil purposes"; "an evil influence"; "evil deeds"
depraved: having the nature of vice
tending to cause great harm
malefic: having or exerting a malignant influence; "malevolent stars"; "a malefic force"
Anything which impedes evolutionary development.

An aspect of alignment that focuses on bringing harm, oppression, or death to other beings. Also, the opposite of good. Evil creatures generally act out of a general lack of compassion, for sport, or out of duty to some evil deity or master. Also, a spell domain composed of nine divine spells and a granted power embodying the principles of evil. Also a spell descriptor denoting spells usable by evil and some neutral beings.

A belief in a presence and power other than God. A misconception of what is.

That which lacks purpose, does harm and is inseparable from pleasure and pain; malevolent and inhumane behavior marked by aggression; nescience, miserableness. Evil is the antonym of Good. Compare Hubris.

Genus: Characteristic of an action Differentia: Opposes a moral standard of value
an organization of immortals which was headquartered in Hell. The group was unofficially led by Michael "Warlock" Ferier, and was responsible for the so-called Apocalypse. Other members include Ryan "Plasman" Hunter, Scott "Bloodstreak" Ferier, Daniel
"Ballistic Boy" Shephard, Thranade mo "Demonik" Nika'thraga, and James "Elemental" Rayne.

Scott Peck defines evil as that which kills, the body as well as the spirit.

Things that are not of God.

Another religious supersition. Say: "When will we get beyond good and evil?"

So when someone tells us something is evil . . . we are not necessarily on the same sheet of music, and certainly when we see community agreement about the nature and content of evil.   I saw a recent poll of what were the seven deadly sins.

The traditional list written by Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century, are:

1.    Pride
2.    Envy
3.    Anger
4.    Sloth
5.    Greed
6.    Gluttony
7.    Lust

The suggested new list, based on the survey results, is as follows:

1.    Cruelty
2.    Adultery
3.    Bigotry
4.    Dishonesty
5.    Hypocrisy
6.    Greed
7.    Selfishness

We have as a community entered a communial penitential season, at time when we together yet alone seed to root out evil.

What is the definition of evil that we are working against.. .

I see our Lenten evil in a very personal sense . . . evil is what I do when I ignore and avoid God and Gods call and direction in my in my life. . .

So what we are doing in lent is to reengage god in our lives - seeking instead to engage god in the processes of our lives. On Ash Wednesday we were called by the gospel of Matthew to renew our lives through alms giving, renewed prayer and examining our general attitude toward life. So we have even issued some tools to help us. Mite boxes, daily devotional pieces, and we are charged with trying to look at life differently.

So I would suggest that our Lenten theme be

Lead us not into temptation   / do not bring us to the test. And

Deliver us from evil. .

February 6th, Last Sunday after Epiphany
Special Sermon by Sandra Swan
I have suffered the loss of all things...
Philippians 3:8

Six weeks ago most of us couldnít spellÖ tsunami. Most of us had never heard of Banda Aceh, or the Nicobar Island. How many of us could find these places quickly on a map of the world?

But now we can. And imagine how those affected must feel.   And imagine how those devastated by the tsunami hear the words from the lesson from Philippians today:

I have suffered the loss of all thingsÖ..

Imagine what that means to those in South Asia. Those who have lost everything. Their husband or wife, their children, their brothers and sisters. Their homes. Their fishing boats. Worst of all, their sense of security when the mother sea turned lethal.

Imagine how they must feel, or imagine even that they are beyond feeling

In reality, I know that I canít truly imagine the loss of all things. But that doesnít stop me, and you, and thousands of Episcopalians across the country from reaching out to help. While the reports that Episcopal Relief and Development has gotten from our partners in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia are just horrific, the donations from Episcopalians throughou t the United States has been astoundingly generous.

Immediately after hearing the news of the tsunami, our staff at Episcopal Relief and Development got in touch with our Anglican partners in South Asia. We immediately sent money to buy water, and food, and medicine. When the bishop of Colombo, in Sri Lanka, was concerned about shelter for the displaced, we immediately flew in 1,000 large tents ñ 30 by 45 feet. These tents are blue plasticized fabric, impregnated with insecticide (they are called ZeroFly).

One of our tents was pictured on the front page of the Science Times on Jan. 18, so we know they were already sheltering homeless families.

Now that the initial emergency situation has stabilized, we are ready to begin the rebuilding work. So we have a team already in South Asia, to assess the best way to respond to long-term needs. The problems and conditions are complex and it will take years to rebuild.

It is easy to give boats and nets to people whoíve lost their livelihood, but ERD prefers to strengthen communities from within. Thatís what makes our work sustainable. We work at the community level to help people find their own solutions.

This is how Episcopal Relief and Development always works. We work with the structures that are already there and which will remain. The Church is one: Episcopal Relief and Development partners first with the local church wherever possible. Local church leaders know their people and their neighborhood. They already have the respect and trust of the community. And, most importantly, they aren't going anywhere. They will remain, and so will we.

And we have partners right here in the United States. Episcopalians know that Episcopal Relief and Development, formerly called The Presiding Bishopís Fund for World Relief, is their own way to help. In the first two and a half weeks following the tsunamis, Episcopalians sent us $2.1 million for our work in South Asia, and donations continue to come in daily.

Such generosity in the wake of this disaster is wonderful ñ fabulous. But it also raises vexing questions that we need to consider.

When disasters such as this happen, we rush to respond. But what about the ongoing disasters around the world ñ dreadful day in and day out conditions that annually exceed the tsunami death toll.   Homelessness that every day sees more people without shelter than have been left homeless by the tsunami. Illness and malnutrition, and illiteracy.

There is no wall of water pounding down on the AIDS orphan in Zambia. There is no giant surf engulfing those starving in Sudanese refugee camp. There is no flood water sweeping over the illiterate girl in Pakistan. Or the peasant in Central America trying to scratch out a living on a worn out farm.

These people, too, have suffered the loss of all things. Members of their families. Their livelihood. Their homes. Their meager possessions. Their hope.

As the death toll from the earthquake and tsunami moves over 250,000 people, letís look at what else that number represents:

250,000 is the number of women who die in childbirth every six months worldwide, most of whom are in the developing world. About half a million women die each year from pregnancy-related causes ñ 99% of them in the developing world. A woman in Sierra Leone is 100 times more likely to die in childbirth than a woman in Europe.

or

250,000 is the number of children under five who die every week worldwide, most of whom live in the developing world, most of whom die of treatable or preventable causes. Twelve million children die year, and over half of them are due to malnourishment.

or

250,000 is the number of people who die every six days as a result of poor water quality and waterborne diseases. Worldwide, approximately 1.1 billion people do not have clean water to drink. We Americans canít imagine not having clean water to drink. Most of the people in the developing world canít imagine having clean water at all!

I could go on and on. Wars that leave land mines, educational systems that deprive millions of even a rudimentary education. Easily prevented childhood diseases that cause thousands of deaths every year.

What are we doing every day to help those who are suffering every day ñ not from a sudden catastrophic event, but from daily grinding poverty and despair?

What are we to do?

There is, I think, a simple answer. Do whatever we can do to help whenever a disaster strikes. Help those devastated by tsunamis, or hurricanes, or floods, or famine. When we are moved to help by seeing tragedy unfold, be generous. Dig a little deeper. Reach out a little further. Open both arms to hug the hurt and help the homeless.

But while responding to the crisis of the moment, donít forget the ongoing needs of people around the world. Children need nutritious food. They need clean water. They need the freedom to go to school and play.

Women need economic and social opportunity, so often denied them by culture or poverty. And fathers need to be able to care for their families, to provide shelter and food and a chance to live a better life.

Let me tell you about one father in El Salvador, a country still devastated from 10 years of civil war violence, followed by the terrible earthquakes of 2001.

According to our ERD staff there, one ex-combatant had been extremely depressed ñ sullen and uncooperative ñ ignoring the needs of his family, which was sinking into poverty.

Somehow they got him interested in our poultry project. Now, raising chickens in El Salvador is difficult ñ they have to be penned, to protect them from predators, vaccinated twice a year to prevent avian cholera, and fed a special diet. But poultry are also excellent and inexpensive sources of protein, generally lacking in the typical Salvadoran diet. So we have a major program in El Salvador to teach rural people in remote regions how to raise chickens.

The staff convinced him that this program would work for him, so he received ten hens and two roosters, along with training in their care and feeding.

When I visited him, his ten hens and two roosters had multiplied like the loaves and fishes. He had built a three story condominium for his 50 or 60 laying hens out of bamboo and chicken wire. Behind the condo, a penned area held what must have been another 50 or 60 small chickens, on their way to either the laying condo or the cooking pot!

But then he recognized the potential from all that poultry manure. So he cleared an area of about an acre behind his house. He tilled the soil, worked the fertilizer into it, and installed a drip irrigation system fed by a hand cranked wheel attached to his open well.

On that acre, he was growing the most beautiful tomatoes and peppers. He sold them, and the surplus eggs and chickens, in the local markets.

We talked with him and his wife and two daughters. With tears in his eyes, he shook our hands and told us that this is the first time he has ever had hope for his family. He and his family had recovered their dignity and their future. They now had new lives, free of poverty and famine.

He was lucky. But what about those less fortunate? Who can they turn to? Who will help them? Will we help them? Shouldnít we help them?

One of the big cathedrals in England was severely bombed in the Second World War. The roof was destroyed, the windows smashed, the walls heavily damaged. Miraculously, however, the statue of Jesus with his arms outstretched suffered no damage except that the hands were knocked off.

When reconstruction got underway, people wanted to replace the hands. ìNo,î the dean said. ìWe wonít replace the hands. They serve as a wonderful reminder that in this world, Christ has no hands but ours.î

Christ has no hands but ours, to comfort those devastated by sudden overwhelming disaster, and to build better lives for those struggling with day to day despair. Together, we can change the world. Together, we can bring Christís peace and promise to all who suffer.

January 30th, 4th Sunday after Epiphany
Do Justice, Love Kindness, Walk Humbly with your God. .
I just read the beginning portion of Matthewís rendition of the Sermon of the Mount. And these first 12 verses are know as the Beatitudes.    I have sometimes refered to them as the blessed attitudes,   Attitudes that if we could adopt them we are assured Godís blessing.

A little context. As we have wended our way through Matthew in this, the beginnings of jesus ministry, Jesus has just recruited his disciples and now is beginning their training. One could liken this so called sermon as there ìordina tion addressî. At the ordination of a clergy person the person who preaches at one point asks the person to be ordained to stand up and speaks directly to that person.   So did Jesus with the beatitudes.

You are blessed. . .when you become poor in spirit, when you mourn, when you are meek, when you thirst for righteousness, when you are merciful, when you are pure in heart, whe you are making peace, when you are persecuted and reviled.

As many commentators have noted this set of teachings is probably a compilation completed by Matthew and not necessarily given to them all at once. One can imagine a fairly nervous group if they heard all of this from the get go.

In this same vein, one of my sermon preparation compatriots on the internet not that Kurt Vonnegut once raised the question as to why we did have people and judges fighting to seek to have the Beatitudes, this truly Christian set of standards on our courthouse buildings, instead seeking to put on them the ten commandments.

As I was looking at the beatitudes this week it becomes clear that the beatitudes are very situational. The relate to life realities and as I noted earlier our attitudinal approach to them.
We are not always mourning, or poor in sp irit, or need to make peace or persecuted, . . but when we are. . .our attitude in these situations, in that we can be in tune with Gods call and w ill for us, I that we will be blessed. That is the promise that Jesus makes.

In many ways this seems like a relatively reactive program, and Jesus clearly must have been more than reactive in his approach to teaching. We have seen again and again how the parable, broke through accept standards .The Good Samaritan, The Prodigal son, the rich young man.

But what was Jesus promulgating. Was he putting forth the ten commandments as the highest and best action or was he holding out love God and love your neighbor as the gold standard.

What was his proactive approach? In many ways his approach is tied stated most effectively in a piece of scripture from the Old Testament prophet Micah. Micah is not the place where we typically find legal pronouncements, ten commandments and other Jewish legalism. But in many ways the words found in the 8th verse of the 6th chapter are, if we hold it up against Jesusí actins during his ministry, are the - actions of a God seeking person.

As the prophet Micah said. . What does the Lord require of you. . . . but to do justice,   to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.

As an aside many temples including the one in the community that I lived for 25 years had this on its facade. .

Do justice . . .    love kindness (sometimes translated mercy) and walk humbly with your God.

Not bad advice as an action plan for those of us trying to be followers of Jesus because as we look at his ministry, it was not one of seeking retribution for failed adherence to the commandments, it was more often a reaching out in mercy to a human being who had been isolated by the society, and bringing them back into the fold (doing justice) and in his reactions being cognizant of his role . . of walking humbly with his father God.

So how do we do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.

Justice ñ we could probably argue for weeks as to what that means. And here in this state we faced with an important justice question. . the death penalty. . is that justice or not?   But justice can also mean fairness. . I remember a architect that I worked for many years ago and I always admired his ability to negotiate, Not because he got the last nickel out of his client, but because he had a marvelous sense of fairness. As Kenny Rogers,&nb sp; knew when to hold them and knew when to fold them in a very positive and just way.

We pray today for what is hopefully a justice promoting activity in Irag. An elections in which we pray and hope will bring a more peaceful and just society in a very conflicted part of our world.

Mercy and kindness are also part of our behavior expectation. We are called to be merciful . . . to forgive. . to proactively love our neighbor to go to the other side of the road.

Finally, we are to walk humbly with our God. What is a good example of walking humbly with God?

In many ways our ability to be humble with God is played out in our relations with our neighbors.   As we respectful and have a sense of humility in our person and corporate interactions.

This week Johnny Carson died, and I am not sure whether he was a man of faith or not. And it is hard to conceive of a man with that kind of star power as having any humility. Yet his interviewing style an never sought to embarrass any of his guests, he always treated them with respect. If any one was to be embarrassed it would be him, yes he would turn it into a look, a joke but the laugh was on him. . . Blessed are the meek. In one of the interv iew that was played, and I guess there were very few, he said that if a guest asked him not to ask a questions he didnít. He didnít want to embarrass a person or make them feel uncomfortable.   Perhaps that what led to his longevity in the business.   And what does that say about todayís ìin your faceî approach.

We are to walk humbly and as we are people of faith we walk humbly in the sight and with the support of God.

We are blessed people. Jesus has assured us of that and when we in our actions can in some small ways follow the beatitudes. But we are also challenged by Jesus following of the prophet Micah who said do justice, love kindness and walked humbly with God.   May we be Godís people and follow in Jesus footsteps.

January 23rd, 3rd Sunday after Epiphany
Godís Call ñ Our response. .

As we continue in our lectionary journey through Matthewís telling of the Jesus story, he continues his regular relating back to Old Testament and the messianic themes

In todayís vignette, Jesus, having just undergone the temptations, begins his ministry.

He starts by changi ng locations.    Upon hearing of Johnís arrest, he strategically moves from Nazareth to Capernaum, near the Sea of Galilee, a place referenced in the Prophet Isaiah. Jesusí meanderings somewhat parallel those of Moses, and later his father Joseph, in avoiding potentially threatening authorities.

He then recruits some assistants, four fishermen, who in a rather unrealistic scene, are recruited by Jesus and they ìimmediatelyî drop their nets and follow Jesus. This sets up fishing as a potential metaphor for the evangelistic approach to ministry is seen even today on bumper stickers.

Finally, we get a one verse synopsis of Jesus early ministry,   he went about teaching, proclaiming good news and healing the sick.

We are hearing the facts. . . or at least Matthewís interpretation of the facts and they follow Mark almost to the letter. Lukeís approach and story is somewhat different as is Johnís whom we learned about last week.

But what do these facts have to say to us. . .

How does this relate to our call. . . our sense of God with us. . .

First our call. .    One of the visions that we get from stories of conversion particularly in the New Testament are what I would call road to Damascus experiences. Sudden revelation, angels appear, peoples lives change overnight.   Television evangelists present a similar picture. Strong preaching, sudden conversion, altar calls. Clearly the example of immediate conversion is a powerful one and continues to be experienced by some people.

My own observation is that this experience is the exception rather than the rule.   More often than not, a spiritual experiences, although it may be quite powerful, often is followed by considerable periods of discernment.

As I read weekly the psalms I get a slightly different picture of personal spiritual awakening. As we read this morning . .

LORD, you have searched me out and known me; *
you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.

You trace my journeys and my resting-places *
and are acquainted with all my ways.

Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, *
but you, O LORD, know it altogether.

You press upon me behind and before *
and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; *
it is so high that I cannot attain to it.

Where can I go then from your Spirit? *
where can I flee from your presence?

Godís call is a powerful one. . . yet more than likely we are not sure. . and the temptation is go in the other direction. .

As the psalmist says. .

You press upon me behind and before *
and lay your hand upon me.

So we are called and it is a powe r ful call. To these fisherman described by Matthew, it meant becoming part of an itinerant preaching group.

What about us?   What does our call mean to us? Clearly this is an individual, and very personal sensing by if we are to look at the generalities, I think we can say that with a call comes responsibility.   A responsibility to share that which has been discovered, and using the gifts that we have for Godís purposes.

To the fishermen called Jesus, they were to keep being fisherman. . but they were to be fishers of men. .

If we look at godís call and the subsequent expectation embodied in that call. .   God is not necessarily calling us to change where we do business, but how we do business.

We are charged as we respond to godís call to us and our baptismal promises which call us to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves.

It is for us to work at and discover What this means . .where we are now. . .every day. . .

And why? . . .because .. we are called. . . and I repeat the words of the psalmist.

You press upon me behind and before *
and lay your hand upon me.

God in the call to us has pressed upon us. . and we struggle with that call. That is why we gather week in and week out. . to find knowledge and support , and to support one another , all of whom are on the same journey.

May we, as the collect asks, have the grace to answer readily the call or our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the good news of his salvation.

Amen

January 16th, 2nd Sunday after Epiphany
Come and See

Even though in lectionary A we typically read from the Gospel of Matthew, there are also some special Sundays when we read from the Gospel of John. When we do we are often faced with the juxtaposition of very high theology and philosophical thought and some very practical and every day experience.

And today as Johní is the appointed Gospel, it is no different. We hear Johnís version of the Baptism of Jesus in which we hear of John the Baptism proclaiming Jesus as the Lamb of God. . .   This symbol which means much in Jewish religious thought and proactice which at this time still contained the daily sacrifice of the lamb. It was also a time that remember the Maccabean liberators of Judaism who used a lamb as their symbol.

But on a more practi cal level we also see this interchange between Johnís followers and Jesus. Strangely and really uncharacteristically for a charismatic religious leader that John clearly was, he tells two of his key followers to leave him and follow Jesus. Can you imagine President Bush telling Karl Rove to leave him and follow John Kerry.

And this is an interchange between Jesus and these two disciples   It becomes an important teaching point for the disciples or soon to be disciples of Jesus and for us.

Note, they call him teacher.   He is not a person who automatically inculcates them with faith and knowledge. It is the process of teaching that will bring them to the true knowledge and faitha that they are seeking. A true understanding of thelamb of God.

Jesus response is interesting. He does not respond with any particulars.   He simple says ìcome and seeî. Join the process of the journey.

As we think about our own faith journey, this quest in which we are all engaged. We too come seeking in the Christian community a teaching. We seek help to interpret our own religious experience or our own spiritual awakening.

The community, particularly the Episcopal Church comm unity does make the invitation on the basis of existing belief. In other words, when you believe as we believe then please come.

It phrases the welcome in come and see terms, come and engage in worship. Come and see what we are about. Come and see how the Lord has mad a difference in our lives and in the lives of this community   That is what ìcome and seeî means.

Today we do something that is to some degree a spiritual anomaly.

We talk at our annual meeting about very practical things of our life together, budgets, finances, buildings.

Yet these too are part of the spiritual journey .

Attention to these things puts us in better position to respond and to lead rather than to react and decline.

At Christmas we were asked to respond to community needs through our giving tree and other opportunities. The response was nearly $8,00.   Right after Christmas the Tsunami in southern Asia and you responded with gifts of over $3000 to Episcopa l Relief and Development.   This is response and leadership, it is not reaction and response.

Had we as an institution been in survival mode, December would have been a month of seeking t o balance and survive. This year we have thrived and as a result, we were able to challenge ourselves to give to others, to reach out in service.

So today we do the necessary housekeeping that keeps us an institution and the tools of the institution in order. This is an important spiritual task. We are preparing ourselves and our institution to be in a strong position to make the invitation ì come and seeî. As we do our housekeeping effectively we will become even more effective evangelists.   We will ask our neighbors and friends to come and see and they will be touched by a giving and outreaching community.. This is our prayer.

January 9th, 1st Sunday after Epiphany
The Tsunamiís / The waters of Baptism - Where is God?

This morning as we move past Christmas and its 12 days as we celebrate on January 5th, the feast of the Epiphany, the coming of the light.   In some traditions this is the Christmas celebration.   Immediately in its wake we begin to deal with the adult Jesus and the scene that we open with is his baptism.

Baptism, this event involving water. Water the element that more than anything provides the symbolic sense of Godís presence in the world.

Water, as we know only to well, is ubiquitous. It is everywhere.

We all have experienced the calming waters of a quiet lake, the calming rolling of tiny ripples on the Long Island Sound.

We have also experienced the ubiquitiousness of water. It is everywhere and you cannot stop it. I am a handyman type and of all of the home repairs, there is nothing so exasperating as plumbing. . . leaks are tough to fix. . .

Water has its ugly side, it rises up and goes in places we cannot believe it can go.   I was in the area and served a church in Wilkes-Barre flooded in the 1972 Agnes disaster. The destruction was incredible.     Even in this valley, with its winding small river, a 500 year flood would go places we could not believe. And the Tsunami is a phenomenal example of what water can do.

A lot has been written in the past several weeks about God and where is God in this terrible disaster. Although, as someone has pointed out, it is not the only disaster going on in the world with Aids killing 7000 persons per day in Africa.

Yet the relationship to God and water is an important part of the Jesus story. So this morning he is baptized, immersed, taken under the water and he comes out a person changed a person with a mission a person wh o is God with us Emmanuel.

The water of the tsunamis baptized a lot of people and nations in ways that we cannot even comprehend. Last night I watched a video clip that for the first time gave me the sense of the speed and power that was inherent in this wall of water. This wall of water that suddenly inundated untold numbers of lives.

The archbishop of Canterbury noted

It is not our reaction in intellectualization and interpretation of the tsunami that is important, but the peopleís response to the waters destruction.

Does it destroy or does it empower?

What is the response.. . .We are seeing in the Tsunami affected countries, people working together,   people sharing in ways that they had not in years. . . . Even in countries where there was tremendous conflict, they seem to be working together.

I recall that after the flood in 1972 in Wilkes Barre, . . people became a community again. . . the still small voice of the lord was heard. .

But what is that to all of us. . . As Christians, we have been baptized and we are charged, not with interpretation but response. . .

What is our response to the waters of baptism.

Do we come out of them renewed enthused, ready to love.

Or do we come out of the waters . . bitter, angry and downtrodden. . .

Do we, affirm the still small voice.   Or do we struggle with its reality. . . this is what faith and our gathering here is about.

We have heard the voice. . .but we are not nearly as clear as Jesus was in his response.

We are called to reaffirm, not in surety and absolute clarity but in hope. A holy hope that God is with us. That God will be with us. That we may be people of the spirit. Self giving servants, in the spirit of Jesus.

The Joseph Response

If you noticed in the Gospel appointed for today, there is an interruption in the verses . . .there is a skip from 15 to 19. You may wonder what is in those verses.   Why were they edited out of the reading.

Let me read them .. and then talk a bit about that.

ìWhen Herod realized that the visitors from the East had tricked him, he was f urious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighborhood who were two years old and younger ñ this was done in accordance with what he had learned from the visitors about the time when the star had appeared. In this way what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true; A sound is heard in Ramah, the sound of bitter weeping. Rachel is crying for her children; she refuses to be comforted, for they are dead.î

We may wonder why this was edited out and there are many reasons not the least of which is that it is hard stuff and it is apparently not historically correct. Also the mixing of Rachelís weeping with the story is the connection of two different tragedies from two different times.

However, my sense is that on a morning like this in a week like this, as we have watched daily the mounting numbers of persons who have died in the tragic earthquake and the resulting tsunamis , is that this is a biblical thought true or not that we need to hear because it speaks to human response. . Not affixing blame. . .

And again Joseph comes to the fore.   We recall that earlier in advent we noted that at least by Matthewís account that Joseph was really a stand up guy and this story continues that thought.

In th e story Joseph continued to be protecting of the child Jesus by responding to God, as he perceived God through angels, dreams and the like. I might add that his responses are also following in the Matthew's efforts to create connections between the Old Testament Jewish experience and Jesus.   Going to Egypt. . . How often we hear this was done to fulfill what the prophet had said.

So Joseph was faced with a disaster and I am sure there were many impediments to his response. He had no money for the trip, he didnít know anyone in Egypt, and the list could go on. . . But Joseph responded. . He protected and cared for the young Jesus and his mother.

All of this brings us to what we as a world should do in the face of this disaster. . .

I use that term appropriately because clearly the present disaster is a world size catastrophe.    If we only look at the map in your bulletin insert, the scope of the areas affected is almost impossible to believe.   If we were to draw a circle around the area, I su re it would be significant percentage. .

Perhaps Joseph. . .as he did before provides us of a model of response. . . Stand up and get it done. . .not by assessing blame and the like. . just respond to the call .

Well how do we respond in the light of such an incredibly large disaster? .   We do it with others. In an immediate sense, put our funds with others so that they weíll be able to deliver real help effectively and efficiently. And there can be no underestimation of what is needed so whatever we can do, will be helpful.

Another thing that we can do is to respond, not only with our money but with our time and thought.
In the recent days one of the most touching things has been the number of people who have called or talked with me about what can we do. . certainly encouraging collections of money but other thoughts also.
I have often said to other s that in this congregation are many impact players. People whoís live and decisions go far beyond this small family of Christians in Weston. Within this body there are many good and creative thoughts about what needs to be done, not only today but in the long haul. Perhaps volunteer efforts, perhaps planning and strategy. I simply do not know but I have faith that God calls on each of us, just as God called on Joseph to respond. . looking at the big picture, not just the immediate.

I pray that God will give us first the vision and then the strength to follow in love , to give to others to give the world, in love and in peace.

We as a world are faced with some real challenges. And we at Emmanuel are not a big cog in the wheel but we have something to give. I pray that we may, as Joseph did, be attuned to Godís call to us.   In the face of life and particularly in the face of this world class disaster.