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Sermon: Lent 2 RCL C – “Covenant”

“When society collapses, I shall rule as the Pudding King!”

Sitting around reading the fine print while you eat your frozen dinner can sometimes prove to be quite profitable.

In 1999, David Phillips was reading the fine print on his Healthy Choice frozen dinner when he came across a promotion. It seems that every ten barcodes you sent in from a Healthy Choice product would earn you 1,000 frequent flyer miles for a particular airline.

Not having much to do that morning, Mr. Phillips did a bit of math and discovered that 10 barcodes of Healthy Choice meals was far cheaper than a 1,000 miles. In particular, he discovered that 10 Healthy Choice puddings, compared to 1,000 miles was a steal, so he ran around town and bought every pudding he could lay his hands on – all 12,150 cups. To avoid suspicion, he told the store managers he was stocking up for Y2K (that now mythical end of the technological world). Hence, “When society collapses, I shall rule as the Pudding King!”

In exchange for the pudding – because, after all, who can eat 12,150 cups of pudding – he enlisted the help of the Salvation Army to help him peel off the barcode labels. They got the pudding and he got the miles, plus an $800 tax deduction for his donation.

In the end, it cost Mr. Phillips about $2,000 for 1.25 million frequent flyer miles. Depending on the carrier, that’s around 50 to 60 roundtrip tickets or about $40 a trip for reading the fine print.

Today we have one of those very curious readings from the Old Testament that makes you want to double-check that you didn’t pick up a Stephen King novel when you thought you were reading the Bible.

The Lord is making His covenant with Abram, telling Abram of the land and descendants He will give to him, but Abram asked the Lord how he was to know that this was really going to happen. The Lord said, “’Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.’ He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.” Later, after Abram had fallen into a deep sleep, “A smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.’”

What has happened? For us, this may sound quite bizarre, but for Abram, it would have been familiar. The Lord has made a blood covenant with Abram.

At that time, when a treaty was agreed to, the two parties would slaughter the animals and lay one half on either side of a trench where – sorry if this gives you a queasy stomach – but in the trench the blood from the animals would collect, then the two parties would walk through the trench, the act clearly stating, “May this – this carnage and blood – happen to me if I break my treaty with you” (for you Harry Potter fans, think of Severus Snape’s Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy).

Abram saw the fire pot and flaming torch – the Lord – passing through the trench that he had made. Abram saw God sealing the covenant in blood. Through these actions, the Lord is saying to Abram, “I will spill my own blood before I break my covenant with you. You will forever be my people and I will forever be your God.” However, for a covenant to remain intact, both parties must keep their end of the deal, which makes God’s actions even more remarkable, for God is also saying, “I will also be responsible for you. I will pay the price if you fail to keep your end of our agreement. I will shed my blood if you fail.”

On the night before he was crucified, Jesus and his disciples gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem. Jesus washed their feet and they shared a meal. “Then Jesus took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’  And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’”

By our sin it is impossible for us to keep the covenant with God; and Jesus said, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.” God fulfilled the covenant he made with Abram by the shedding of His Own Precious Blood.

In the world today, like the Pudding King, most are looking for the small print and loopholes. They look for ways to get a piece of the good deals and ways to finagle out of that bad ones. They will work the system to get what they want, and if they cant’ figure it out for themselves, they’ll hire a lawyer to work on their behalf.

Our God is not interested in loopholes or finagling, but he does have a “want,” a desire that He is willing to gain at any cost: He “desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Because of His great love for us, through Jesus, God satisfied this desire and obtained for us our salvation by fulfilling the blood covenant He made with Abram.

Some 400 years after Abram, Moses said to the people, “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” He kept His covenant then and He keeps it today with us. He is our God and we are His people.

Let us pray: Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of this redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Sermon: Temptations vs. Sin

If I was to have a favorite televangelist it would be Jesse Duplantis. I think his theology is a bit off, but the stories he tells are brilliant.

On one occasion he told of a priest who received a phone call at 2:00 a.m. from a highly agitated parishioner. The problem was temptation. The priest pointed out the time and asked if they might be able to set a meeting for bit later in the day, but the parishioner was insistent. After a few more attempts, the priest agreed to meet the man down at his office. It was about 3:00 a.m. by the time they both arrived and the man immediately began complaining about all the temptation in his life.

“Father, it is always out there. I pass by a bar and I want to go in and have drink. I’m married, but every time I pass by a pretty girly I want to stop and ask her name. All those flashing neon lights at the casinos just make me crazy!” On and on he went.

So after over an hour of this, the priest asked, “So what is it you would like me to do for you?”

“Father, I want you to pray that all the temptation be removed from life.”

“That’s just not possible,” the priest responded.

The man insisted that it was and by the time he finished complaining, the priest was feeling far less than charitable.

Finally having enough of it, the priest said, “Ok. I’m going to lay my hands on you and pray that the Lord will take away all your temptations.”

“Thank you, Father,” the man blubbered.

The priest stood, placed his hands on the man’s head and began by invoking the Holy Spirit and the blessed angels to assist him and then prayed, “Lord, kill this man.”

The problem in our lives is sin, not temptation. As we read today, even Jesus was tempted, and as St. Bernard said, “He that tempted Christ will not be expected to spare men.” However, a mistake that we can make that may cause a certain spiritual anxiety is to equate those temptations to sin and to feel that we have failed simply because we were tempted. That is not the case. And, although we fight to overcome the temptations and pray that we should not be lead into evil, the temptations can serve the purpose of making us stronger, provided we fight against them.

A story from the Desert Fathers: Abbot John prayed to the Lord that all passion be taken from him. His prayer was granted. He became impassible [he didn’t experience the suffering of temptation]. In this condition he went to one of the elders and said: “You see before you a man who is completely at rest and has no more temptations.” The elder surprised him. Instead of praising him, the elder said: “Go and pray to the Lord to command some struggle to be stirred up in you, for the soul is matured only in battles.” Abbot John did this, and when the temptations started up again, he did not pray that the struggle be taken away from him. Instead he prayed: “Lord, give me strength to get through the fight.”

Remember St. Paul’s words to the Corinthians, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” Therefore, when you are tempted, don’t see yourself as defeated. The battle is only just beginning. So, pray that short prayer, “Lord, give me strength to get through the fight,” then stand and fight.

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Sermon: Epiphany Last RCL C – “Transfigured”

During the 1948-49 war between the Arabs and Israelis the Arabs captured half of the city of Jerusalem. It wasn’t until the 1967 Six Day War that the Israelis were able to once again reunite the city. As I know you are all probably aware, trying to keep track of all the wars in this region of the world is almost an impossibility. At one time or another, I’m sure that everyone involved or watching has lost hope and wondered if these two peoples will ever accomplish peace. Yet, occasionally, there are glimmers of hope.

When the Old and New Cities of Jerusalem were reunited in 1967, a recently widowed Arab woman, who had been living in Old Jerusalem since 1948, wanted to see once more the house in which she formerly lived. Now that the city was one, she searched for and found her old home. She knocked on the door of the apartment, and a Jewish widow came to the door and greeted her. The Arab woman explained that she had lived there until 1948 and wanted to look around. She was invited in and offered coffee.

The Arab woman said, “When I lived here, I hid some valuables. If they are still here, I will share them with you half and half.”

The Jewish woman refused. “If they belonged to you and are still here, they are yours.” After much discussion back and forth, they entered the bathroom, loosened the floor planks, and found a hoard of gold coins. The Jewish woman said, “I shall ask the government to let you keep them.” She did and permission was granted.

The two widows visited each other again and again, and one day the Arab woman told her, “You know, in the 1948 fighting here, my husband and I were so frightened that we ran away to escape. We grabbed our belongings, took the children, and each fled separately. We had a three-month-old son. I thought my husband had taken him, and he thought I had. Imagine our grief when we were reunited in Old Jerusalem only to find that neither of us had taken the child,”

The Jewish woman turned pale, and asked the exact date. The Arab woman named the date and the hour, and the Jewish widow told her: “My husband was one of the Israeli troops that entered Jerusalem. He came into this house and found a baby on the floor. He asked if he could keep the house and the baby, too. Permission was granted.”

At that moment, a twenty-year-old Israeli soldier in uniform walked into the room, and the Jewish woman broke down in tears. “This is your son,” she cried.

This is one of those incredible tales of hope we hear. What followed? The two women liked each other so much that the Jewish widow asked the Arab mother: “Look, we are both widows living alone. Our children are grown up. This house has brought you luck. You have found your son, or our son. Why don’t we live together?” And so they did.

In the midst of bombed out buildings and flying bullets, these two women managed to accomplish what has eluded the region since day one. They found peace and this peace was a glimmer of hope. A revealing of a distant future.

In the Book of Exodus, we learn that when Moses came down off of Mt. Sinai, his face was radiant with the glory of Lord. So much so, that it frightened the people, so afterwards, Moses would go around with a veil over his face. Today, in our reading from Corinthians, St. Paul references that veil, but now it is a veil that hides the mind. For those that do not yet believe, it hides the mind from the glory that is revealed in the Son of God – in Jesus. And I believe, for those who believe, it can also hide the glory of Jesus that is in them. That is in you.

Paul says, “All of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” Yet for many, we stand before that mirror and there we see all of our imperfections, our sins, prejudices. We see all those ungodly parts of our souls. However, somewhere in that distorted view, is the very image of God!

On the day that Peter, James and John ascended Mt. Tabor with Jesus, I’m certain they felt the same way that we do. As they sat at a short distance watching Jesus pray, they asked themselves, “Who am I compared to this Jesus? He raises the dead, calms the storms, feeds the multitudes, heals the lame, but who am I?” The veil that hid their minds revealed only their imperfections.

Then suddenly, as the disciples sat watching Jesus, they were aware of a great brightness. They looked toward Jesus. Without thought they rose to their feet in silent reverence. Jesus was transfigured before them. His face shone with an unearthly brilliance. His garments were whiter than snow. Standing beside Him were Moses and Elijah, the representatives of the Law and Prophets who foretold His coming. The Apostles could hardly contain themselves, and then from above a bright cloud overshadowed them, like the cloud that signified God’s presence to the Israelites as they wandered in the desert for forty years. It was then, from the cloud, came the very voice of the Creator. God the Father said, ”This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”

Like the peace between the Arab and Jewish widows, this transfiguration of Jesus was a glimmer of hope, a revealing of a distant future. Jesus did not change from one physical form to another, instead he was making known his true self in all glory and majesty.

What did the that glimmer of hope look like for these apostles? What was this distant future? It was a time when they would stand before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again would they hunger; never again would they thirst. It revealed a time when the sun would not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne would be their shepherd and would lead them to springs of living water. It revealed a time when God would wipe away every tear from their eyes.

The transfiguration pointed them toward that distant future and it was the voice of God that told them the way, “This Jesus is my Son. My chosen. Listen to him. Learn from him. Follow him, so that you too may be my son, my daughter, my child.”

Like the Apostles and everyone else who genuinely looks into St. Paul’s mirror with that veil that covers our minds, I don’t like what I see. In that dim image my sins appear like scars, crisscrossing one on top of the other. My clouded eyes are a sign of my poor choices. My weakened muscles are the result of spiritual apathy, and the excess weight is the effect of my lust for the things of this world and not the things of God. At times like this, the despair and self-loathing pummel me to the ground, but then… but then suddenly I become aware of a great brightness and I look toward Jesus. Almost without thought I rise to my feet in silent reverence. Jesus is transfigured before me. The veil is removed from my mind and Jesus’ face shines with an unearthly brilliance. His garments are whiter than snow. And that same glory shines from within me.

For us all, the glory of the Transfiguration burns through the veil and we are given a glimpse of that distant future where there are no longer those imperfections, the cloudiness, or scars. Instead, perhaps for only a moment, we see the road that leads to our salvation and we become aware of who we truly are in Christ.

This isn’t anything weird, but close your eyes for a moment and look into St. Paul’s mirror through that veil. What do you see? You don’t have to name it aloud, but in this moment, name it to yourself. What is there that you don’t like? That you are ashamed of? What is the ungodly that you see? Now, allow the light of the transfiguration, the true light of Christ that has come into the world shine upon you. With this light shining upon you, what you now see is your hope. Your future. It is your salvation and it is who you truly are in Christ Jesus.

Let us pray: Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

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Sermon: Epiphany 4 RCL C – “Truth Telling”

Little Johnny watched, fascinated, as his mother smoothed cold cream on her face. “Why do you do that, mommy?” he asked. “To make myself beautiful,” she said. After another minute she began removing the cream with a tissue. Johnny looked a bit perplexed as she went about it, then asked, “Why are you giving up so soon?”

Jesus tells us in John’s gospel that the “truth will set us free,” and yes, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. The truth is our shield. God is truth. But what I’ve discovered is that for the most part, we don’t want to hear the truth about ourselves and many times we can’t handle it. Our gospel reading is a perfect example about not liking the truth.

To understand it we must remember that the Jews of Jesus’ time were expecting a messiah, but the messiah they expected was something along the lines of a military king. One who would release them from the captivity of the Romans or in a more derogatory sense, one who would release them from those unclean, uncouth, uneverything gentiles, which was everyone but the Jews. These were the Jews in Nazareth that Jesus was speaking to in our gospel.

You see, Nazareth was primarily a Jewish community, where as Capernaum where Jesus lived and where he had already performed many miracles was primarily a gentile community. In fact, there was a large Roman garrison in Capernaum consisting of some 3,000 Roman troops; so when the Jewish people in Nazareth call out to Jesus saying, “perform the same miracles here in Nazareth that you performed in Capernaum,” they are in a sense saying, “perform for us – the Jewish people, God’s chosen, the “It” crowd – the same miracles and even more than those you performed for those unclean, uncouth, uneverything gentiles.” And It is here that Jesus begins speaking the truth that these Nazarites are not going to want to hear.

He begins with that famous line, “no prophet is welcome in his home town,” but then Jesus tells this Jewish crowd about two separate incidents. First, “there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, but, Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon”  This story that Jesus is referring to is from First Kings and it would be a familiar one to the crowd. In the midst of a life-threatening drought, God sent Elijah to Zarephath to ask a poor widow for water and bread. When he did, she protested that she had just enough for one loaf for herself and her son, and then they were going to die.  Elijah asked her to obey in faith and promised, “The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.” The widow responded as requested, and was duly rewarded.  Later her son died, and Elijah prayed successfully that his life might be restored.  When Jesus reminded the crowd of this lovely story, they would see only one major problem: the widow at Zarephath was not Jewish. She was one of those unclean, uncouth, uneverthing gentiles.

Jesus then reminds them of the second incident: “There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”  This incident is from Second Kings and would have been equally familiar to the crowd in Nazareth, but the same major problem exists, Naaman was also an unclean, uncouth, uneverything gentile.  Not only that, but Naaman was the commander of the Syrian army and at that time, it was the Syrians and not the Romans that were oppressing the Jewish people. Jesus just reminded the crowd that not only did God through the prophet Elisha save a gentile, but he saved a gentile who was their greatest enemy.

During the time of Elijah and Elisha, the Lord had turned his hand against the Israelites because they were doing so much evil in his sight, and so when the Lord acted, it wasn’t to save the Israelites, but the gentiles in the land instead.

The Jews in Nazareth asked Jesus to “perform for us – the “It” crowd – the same miracles and even more than those you performed for those unclean, uncouth, uneverything gentiles,” and Jesus response, “You are acting no better than the Jews did in the time of Elijah and Elisha and therefore God has turned his hand against you and is once again reaching out to the gentiles instead.”

Now don’t misunderstand, this isn’t a slam against the Jewish people. Jesus was a Jew and there were many Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah. For starters, all twelve apostles were Jewish and for many years after the death of Jesus, Christianity itself was a sect within Judaism, but as a people most of them rejected Jesus and in the end called for his crucifixion. This incident in Nazareth was part of the beginning of that final rejection and it came about because Jesus spoke the truth. Yet, as the saying goes, To hear truth and not accept it, does not nullify truth. And as we know, many times we don’t want to hear the truth and we can’t handle the truth. Let me give you a modern day example.

In 2003, about 200 mourners gathered in the sanctuary of St. Patrick Catholic Church in a small town in New Mexico for the funeral of one Ben Martinez who died at age 80. Chances are, these mourners expected to hear the priest, Rev. Scott Mansfield, eulogize Martinez as a lifelong Catholic who served his community as a town councilman. Instead, according to members of the Martinez family, Fr. Mansfield stamped their recently departed loved one’s passport to hell. Once they got over their shock, the Martinez family did what millions of Americans of many faiths would do in this day and age, they sued. They claim Fr. Mansfield described Martinez as “lukewarm in his faith” and “living in sin.” Most graphically, the priest reportedly added that, “The Lord vomited people like Ben Martinez out of his mouth and into hell.” The case was dismissed under the 1st Amendment – freedom of speech – and perhaps Fr. Mansfield needs to retake some classes in how to properly care for people (if not completely reconsider his vocation all together) but pretty much everything he said about Ben Martinez was the truth, but folks didn’t want to hear it and they couldn’t handle it.

So the question is, what about you? How do you respond when the Lord speaks the truth to you? Like the Nazarites, do you want to throw him off a cliff in order to shut him up or do you prefer the more modern methods such as suing? I think most of us are much more subtle and employ the tactic of selective listening, only hearing what suits you, the rest of the time, “La la la la! I can’t heeaar youuu.” We all have our tricks; however, to hear truth and not accept it or to pretend to not hear it, does not nullify truth. The proverb is correct, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.”

Therefore, is there a truth that God is trying to speak to you, that you refuse to hear? Could it be that he is asking you to use those gifts that he has blessed you with, but instead, you can’t be bothered? Don’t have the time? Etc. Etc. Etc. Could it be that he is convicting you on some aspect of your life, but instead of confessing you choose to ignore his promptings? Or perhaps its something much simpler. Perhaps all he is asking you to do is apologize for a wrong you committed, but your pride stands in the way of reconciliation?

I don’t know what it might be, but you do, so the question is, when the Lord reveals these truths to you, do you respond appropriately? As we’ve seen, there are numerous ways we can respond, but there is only one correct answer and that is to humbly bow our heads and accept what he teaches.

In Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, he tells us not to forget the exhortation that addresses us as God’s beloved children. He writes, “My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him, for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves and chastises every child whom he accepts. Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children and he disciplines us for our good in order that we may share his holiness.”

Let us pray: God, my Father, may I love You in all things and above all things. May I reach the joy which You have prepared for me in Heaven. Nothing is good that is against Your Will, and all that is good comes from Your Hand. Place in my heart a desire to please You and fill my mind with thoughts of Your Love, so that I may grow in Your Wisdom and enjoy Your Peace. Amen.

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Sermon: Fabian

“When all the people were being baptized [by John the Baptist], Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’”

In the year 236 the Pope had died. The people had gathered in the catacombs below the city of Rome in order to elect a new one. In the crowd was a young man (about 36 years old) from the country, Fabian. He had been visiting the city and when he heard that they were electing a new Pope, he decided to go and watch.

As the proceedings began, the historian Eusebius reports that a dove flew into the catacombs, circled Fabian, and then landed on his shoulder. The people must have immediately recalled the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus in the form of a dove, for they immediately cried out, “He is worthy! He is worthy!” And this unknown, non-clergyman was elected as Pope. Following his ordinations as deacon and then priest, he was installed as the twenty-first Bishop of Rome and Pope. (The next time the Roman Catholic Church prepares to elect a new Pope, I may be taking a trip!) Fabian would reign for seventeen years.

During his reign and in the early years of the Church, the Roman Empire were generally tolerant of other religions and simply incorporated them into the existing system of pagan gods. However, the the Jews presented a difficult problem: they had the One True God and the commandments forbid them from building any graven image of their God, so the Romans made an exception for them. For a time, the Christians were able to “hide” in the Jewish synagogue, but when it was discovered what they were doing and their beliefs, they were persecuted.

For example, it was believed that Christians practiced incest, because their scriptures instructed them to give the kiss of peace to their brothers and sisters. In addition, they were thought to practice cannibalism because they fed on the Body of Christ. These issues and others led to persecutions. Sometimes they were more localized, but occasionally would spread across the entire empire. The first of these empire wide persecutions occurred in 257 under Emperor Décius and Fabian was one of the first to be martyred. He was beheaded.

Our collect for Fabian – that prayer we read near the beginning of the service – requested: “O God… Grant that those whom you call in any ministry in the Church may be obedient to your call in all humility, and be enabled to carry out their tasks with diligence and faithfulness.” Now that may sound like a nice prayer, because you all can think, “Well, Fr. John, get out there and be humble and obedient in carrying out your task.” And you say that because you think the collect has nothing to do with you. Well, allow me to correct you. From the catechism (which I know you all have read) “Q: Who are the ministers of the Church? A: The ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons.” That means we are all called to be humble and obedient in the ministry that God calls us each to.

That may sound scary at times, but the beauty of God’s action in the world is that just as He enabled His Son and those like Fabian to accomplish the ministry he gave to them through the descending of the dove, the giving of the Holy Spirit, he has also given to you, for do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, through the power of that same Spirit, be faithful and obedient in the ministry Christ has called you to accomplish.

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Sermon: Octave of the Epiphany

Today we celebrate an unofficial and even suppressed feast day: the Octave of the Epiphany.

Octave means eight and this is the eighth day after the Epiphany. The octave was originally established by the church because certain events in the life of Christ and the church were believed to be of such significance that one day was not enough to celebrate. Feast days that grew to include octaves were Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, and even local celebrations for local or patron saints. The symbolism behind the octave is a bit cloudy, but is likely tied closely with our rebirth in Christ (it is the same reason that baptismal fonts often have eight sides, as the eighth day of creation is considered the day we are created new through our baptism).

Along with these other feast days, the Feast of the Epiphany was given an octave. As you many know, the Epiphany is the day we celebrate the Magi coming and bringing gifts to Jesus. The importance of this event is that the Magi were gentiles, so in visiting and worshiping Jesus, God is revealed to the Gentiles. That revealing is what an epiphany is. A manifestation of God.

The Octave of the Epiphany was a celebration of this great event, but would be formally removed in 1955 from the Roman Catholic calendar. How and when if fell out of favor in the Anglican Church I am not certain. So why are we celebrating it today if it’s not official?

There is a chance that you and I may have come to worship the God of Israel, but it is likely – without the revelation to the Gentiles – that you and I would be worshiping dumb idols (if anything) instead of the One True God. Therefore, it seems to me that such a great event is worth celebrating for more than just one day. In that event it is made evident that this child in the manger is bringing us and not just the Jews our salvation. As Paul said to the Galatians, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The God of Israel has been revealed as the God of all.

That being true, then, what next? Jesus has been revealed to the world, so what now?

In our Gospel reading today, John the Baptist’s disciples saw Jesus passing by. After a brief conversation with John, they began to follow Jesus.

Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

Following the Epiphany of Jesus, His revealing to all humankind, we ask, “What’s next?” Jesus response, “Come and you will see.” It is an invitation to follow Jesus. To take to the road and begin a great journey. A journey of salvation, redemption, ministry, hope… life. There is no limit to the depth of this journey. The only question remaining for you is, “How far are you prepared to go?”

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Sermon: Baptism of Our Lord

This 85 year old couple, having been married almost 60 years, had died in a car accident. They had been in good health the last ten years mainly due to her interest in health food, and exercise. When they reached the pearly gates, St. Peter took them to their mansion which was decked out with a beautiful kitchen and master bath suite and Jacuzzi. As they “oohed and aahed” the old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost. “It’s free,” Peter replied, “this is Heaven.” Next they went out back to survey the championship golf course that the home backed up to. They would have golfing privileges everyday and each week the course changed to a new one representing the great golf courses on earth. The old man asked, “What are the green fees?” Peter’s reply, “This is heaven, you play for free.” Next they went to the club house and saw the lavish buffet lunch with the cuisines of the world laid out. “How much to eat?” asked the old man. “Don’t you understand yet? This is heaven, it is free,” Peter replied with some exasperation. “Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol tables?” the old man asked timidly. Peter lectured, “That’s the best part, you can eat as much as you like of whatever you like and you never get fat and you never get sick. This is Heaven.” With that the old man went into a fit of anger, throwing down his hat and stomping on it, and shrieking wildly. Peter and his wife both tried to calm him down, asking him what was wrong. The old man looked at his wife and said, “This is all your fault. If it weren’t for your blasted bran muffins and uncountable laps around the mall, I could have been here ten years ago!”

So, how are all those New Year’s resolutions working out for you? Mine seems to be getting more difficult, because instead of losing weight, I’ve already gained an extra few pounds!

Of the top five resolutions, you will almost always find: eating healthier, quit smoking, and getting healthier. I suppose we all want to look better and live healthier, but I would also suggest to you that behind all of these efforts is one single fear. The fear of death. But I’ve got news for you, you can run a hundred miles a day, but you will not outrun death. It will catch you. (Thank you Fr. John for depressing us all this morning! Not my intent, though.)

In the opening chapters of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Mr. Brocklehurst comes to collect Jane from her aunt and uncle’s home and take her to a school for girls. Jane’s aunt, Mrs. Reed, has described Jane to Mr. Brocklehurst as a child with a “tendency for deceit.”

Mr. Brocklehurst, a rather unpleasant man says to Jane, “No sight so sad as that of a naughty child, especially a naughty little girl. Do you know where the wicked go after death?”

“They go to hell,” was Jane’s ready and orthodox answer.

“And what is hell? Can you tell me that?”

“A pit full of fire.”

“And should you like to fall into that pit, and to be burning there for ever?”

“No, sir.”

“What must you do to avoid it?”

Jane deliberated a moment: her answer, when it did come was objectionable: “I must keep in good health and not die.”

I must keep in good health and not die. Even though it is inevitable, like jane, we would like to avoid it, but what Benjamin Franklin said is true, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Therefore, somewhere in our minds, we accept the inevitability of death and then begin to console ourselves by saying things like, “Dying is just a part of living” and “Death is natural.” But what if I told you that these are just lies? What if I told you that you were not created to die?

Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, “Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” God did not create death. You were not created to die. It was through our sin that death came into the world. We say with Jane Eyre, “I must keep in good health and not die,” and then make our resolutions to lose weight, quit smoking and all the rest in an attempt to avoid death, because death is not natural. Dying is the most un-natural thing we will ever do, so we fight against it. We may accept it and be reconciled to the fact that it will happen, but every cell of our bodies will reject death’s claim over our lives. And fortunately for us, so does God. God has rejected death’s claim over you and through Christ has restored what was taken through sin.

Again, to the Romans, Paul wrote, “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

That ancient serpent holds out his sinful fruit to each of us, and just as Adam and Eve took and ate, so do we. The moment that fateful fruit touches our lips we are dead, but God in His infinite goodness extends to us the one thing that can overcome this sting of death. He extends to us His Son, and through our baptism we are united to Jesus in His death and into His resurrection. Therefore, for us, death is not an end or a destination, it is only something we pass through.

Hear again the words we read earlier that the Lord spoke through the Prophet Isaiah:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.

Jesus’ baptism shows us how we might follow him, and his death provides a way for us to pass through the waters and the fire without being overwhelmed or consumed. One of the great theologians, Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote, “The Church does not dispense the sacrament of baptism in order to acquire for herself an increase in membership but in order to consecrate a human being to God and to communicate to that person the divine gift of birth from God.”

Luke wrote in our Gospel, Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” As we rise from the waters of our own baptism, the voice of God is also heard: “You are my son, my daughter, my beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Your only real death occurs here—in the waters of baptism—but you do not remain, for through the One born in a manger, the One who was worshipped by shepherds and kings, the one who conquered death once and for all, raises you to new life, consecrating you as sons and daughters of God Most High.

Let us pray: Father in Heaven, when the Spirit came down upon Jesus at His Baptism in the Jordan, You revealed Him as Your own Beloved Son. Keep us, Your children, born of water and the Spirit, faithful to our calling. May we, who share in Your Life as Your children through Baptism, follow in Christ’s path of service to all people. Let us become one in His Sacrifice and hear His Word with faith. May we live as Your children, following the example of Jesus. Amen.

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Sermon: Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket and King Henry II were close friends. Even though a deacon in the church, Becket enjoyed a rather worldly life, often going out carousing with the young king. Given there close relationship, Henry believed that he could take a firm grip on the church by appointing his friend as Archbishop of Canterbury; therefore, on June, 2, 1162, Thomas was ordained a priest, in the morning on June 3 he was consecrated a bishop, and that afternoon he was installed as the Archbishop of Canterbury.

However, it was soon clear that Becket’s loyalties had shifted away from Henry to the church and the relationship between the two became strained. This became most evident in an incident where a priest had been accused of murder. At the time, clergy were tried by the church, but Henry wanted such authority under the crown. When the priest was acquitted under the church, Henry was furious and changed the law. From there things deteriorated much more, leading Becket to flee to France in fear for his life.

Eventually Thomas and the king would be somewhat reconciled; however, while Thomas was in exile in France he had excommunicated two bishops in England for giving into the king’s demands, but when he returned to England he refused to lift the excommunication order, which once again infuriated the king. Henry is then reported to have said to four of his knights, “What sluggards, what cowards have I brought up in my court, who care nothing for their allegiance to their lord. Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest.”

The four took these words as a command to go and execute Thomas. They found him at Canterbury Cathedral where they confronted him at the altar of the church. A witness to the events, a monk, Edward Grim wrote, ”The murderers followed him; ‘Absolve’, they cried, ‘and restore to communion those whom you have excommunicated, and restore their powers to those whom you have suspended.’

“He answered, ‘There has been no satisfaction, and I will not absolve them.’

‘Then you shall die,’ they cried, ‘and receive what you deserve.’

‘I am ready,’ he replied, ‘to die for my Lord, that in my blood the Church may obtain liberty and peace. But in the name of Almighty God, I forbid you to hurt my people whether clerk or lay.’

“Then they lay sacrilegious hands on him, pulling and dragging him that they may kill him outside the church, or carry him away a prisoner, as they afterwards confessed. But when he could not be forced away from the pillar, one of them pressed on him and clung to him more closely. Him he pushed off calling him ‘pander’, and saying, ‘Touch me not, Reginald; you owe me fealty and subjection; you and your accomplices act like madmen.’

“The knight, fired with a terrible rage at this severe repulse, waved his sword over the sacred head. ‘No faith’, he cried, ‘nor subjection do I owe you against my fealty to my lord the King.’

And there, inside Canterbury Cathedral, they murdered Thomas. His final words, ‘For the Name of Jesus and the protection of the Church I am ready to embrace death.’

Jesus said, “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Harry Potter character for you muggles) said, “There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to our friends.”

There will be times when we must make a decision between the demands of the world and the demands of God. Thomas Becket shows us how to stand even when the demands of the world are made by our friends. It will not be easy, but through Christ Jesus, we can hold to the faith that is within us and stand firm.

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Sermon: Christmas Eve

Little Johnny is told by his mother that he has been very bad this year. Thus, he would probably not get anything for Christmas.

“What? Nothing for Christmas?” cried Johnny.

“Well,” said mom, “maybe if you write a letter to baby Jesus and tell him how sorry you are, Santa will bring you some presents.”

Little Johnny returned to his room and began his letter. With each attempt at writing he would first apologize and then promise to be good for a certain amount of time. Each letter he crumpled-up, and then started again, making the “be good” time shorter with each letter.

Just as he was about to give up in frustration, he was suddenly struck by a bolt of inspiration! Running to the living room he carefully removed the little Virgin Mary figurine from the family’s manger scene, carefully wrapped it in a sock, and placed it in his top dresser drawer. Returning to his desk, he took out a clean piece of paper and began to write: “Dear Baby Jesus, if you ever want to see your Mother again….”

There was a very interesting article that came out in the December issue of National Geographic (I was actually quite amazed to see it!): “How the Virgin Mary Became the World’s Most Powerful Woman.” She fell out of favor with the more protestant leaning churches following the Reformation in the 16th century, but she holds a special place in the hearts of literally billions of people. She is seen as a point of access to God and a means to grace.

At the Annunciation the Angel of the Lord came to her and said, “And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.” Mary’s response set the stage for the turning point in our relationship with Our Heavenly Father. She said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

Soon afterwards, Mary would go and visit her cousin Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, and upon her arrival, Elizabeth declared, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Today, we find Mary in the manger giving birth to the Son of God. The star was shining, the angels were rejoicing, the shepherds came worshiping and told what they had heard from the angels, and Mary, we are told, “treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” That means she took all that she knew from the time before the Annunciation, to the words the angel spoke to her then, to the declaration her cousin Elizabeth had made, to what the shepherds had shared with her that night, and tried to understand what it all meant.

So my question for you this evening is this: Have you? All of these events, combined with what we know from Holy Scripture about the life of Jesus—his teachings, the miracles, his death and resurrection—provide a basis for our faith. So, like Mary, have you treasured and pondered these words and events in your heart?

And everybody responds, “Well, Fr. John, we wouldn’t be here if we hadn’t!” But the reason I ask is because of something Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: “For those who are great and powerful in this world, there are two places where their courage fails them, which terrify them to the very depths of their souls, and which they dearly avoid, these are the manger and the cross of Jesus Christ.” Why? Because in these two place, more than any other place in time, things happen.

Speaking specifically of the manger and the text we read tonight, Bonhoeffer wrote, “This text speaks of the birth of a child not the revolutionary deed of a strong man or the breath-taking discovery of a sage or the pious deed of a saint. It truly boggles the mind: the birth of a child is to bring about the great transformation of all things, is to bring salvation, and redemption to all of humanity. As if to shame the most powerful human efforts and achievements a child is placed in the center of world history, a child born of humans, a son given by God. This is the mystery of the redemption of the world, all that is past and all that is to come is encompassed here.”

I ask you if, like Mary, you have treasured and pondered these words and events in your heart, because many are afraid to do so. Why? Because one of two things will happen in your life when you do. One, you will reject it and remain as you are. Or, two, you will treasure and ponder these words and events in your heart and be transformed.

Mary is the Mother of God, but it was Meister Eckhart, a German theologian and mystic, who said, “We are all meant to be mothers of God, for God is always needing to be born.” To be transformed by the Word of God is to have God born in you and for some that that can be a terrifying prospect. One of the greatest understatements in all of Holy Scripture is when the Apostle Paul wrote, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” because God will not leave you unchanged. He declares, “Behold, I am making all things new,” and what He desires to make new more than anything else is you.

So when that fear of transformation, of being made new, sets in, then hear the words of the angel, Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people: to you is born this day in – your very soul – a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

Allow the Star of the Christ Child to rise above you. Allow your heart to be set as His manger. Allow the Son of God to be born in you. And allow Him to transform you into His image and His glory.

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