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Sermon: Advent 2 RCL B – “Procrastination”

The Preaching of St John the Baptist
c. 1690

Once upon a time, the devil decided to destroy humankind. He called in all his little devils to make the plans. Anger came first and asked to be allowed to do the job by setting brother against brother. He would make people angry with each other, and they would destroy themselves.

Lust also offered to go. He would defile minds and turn people into beasts by making love disappear. Next, Greed spoke and offered to destroy humankind with the most destructive of passions: uncontrolled desires. Idleness, Hate, Jealousy, and Envy each claimed in turn that they could do the job. But the devil was not satisfied with any of them.

Finally, the last assistant came forward. He said, “I will talk with people persuasively about all that God wants them to be. I shall tell them how fine their plans are, to be honest, clean, and brave. I shall encourage them in good purposes of life!”

The devil was shocked at such talk. But then the assistant continued, “I shall tell them there is no hurry. They can do all of these things tomorrow. I shall advise them to wait until the conditions become more favorable before they start!” The devil replied, “You are the one who shall go to earth to destroy humans!” The assistant’s name was Procrastination.

According to Merriam-Webster, procrastination is defined as “to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done.” That much we understand, but there is a bit of science as to why we put things off.

Within the brain, there are various areas. Two small areas, one on each side of the brain, are called the amygdala. They are about the size of almonds. It is the area of the brain that processes emotions and informs our minds about what things might be beneficial or harmful. When the amygdala is happy, it assists in giving your brain a nice shot of the happy chemical—dopamine. What’s something that can make you happy? For me, cat videos. Cat videos make me happy. So, I watch cat videos, even though I have a sermon to write. It is not that I don’t like writing sermons, but it takes a lot more work, but the dopamine happiness kicks in at the end of the task, whereas the cat video gives me that quick fix.

Another part of the brain, the pre-frontal cortex, helps us think, plan, and sort through future projects and needs. It’s what says, “You’ll need to sit down Thursday morning and write the sermon for Sunday; otherwise, you’ll have to write it over the weekend.”

The issue is that where the amygdala works on its own, the pre-frontal cortex requires a conscious decision to get moving. So, if my brain is happy—receiving dopamine—from cat videos, it has little motivation to switch gears and go to work on the sermon, so it procrastinates. “Let’s just sit here, sip coffee, and be happy.” (Source)

It is probably a bit more complicated than all that, but that’s the big picture. Miss Scarlett knew it well, “I can’t think about that right now. If I do, I’ll go crazy. I’ll think about that tomorrow.” (Gone with the Wind) To do what is required means you must consciously decide to get up off your backside and go to it.

Last week, in our Gospel reading, Jesus spoke about the end of days and concluded by saying, “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.” (Mark 13:32) 

In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist said, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me,” and those two thoughts are what got me to thinking: no one knows when the end of days will be except for God, but what if we did? What if John the Baptist had said, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me, and He’ll be here on December 11, 2023 (that’s tomorrow) at noon.” Question: if you knew that for certain, what would you start to do differently in your life than you are doing now? What would you change?

Some of you may remember the little story I told you a few years ago. The church administrator bursts into the priest’s office and says that Jesus has returned and that He was on His way to their church at that very moment. She then asks the priest, “What should we do?” The priest quickly turns back to his computer and blurts out, “Look busy!”

Perhaps not intentionally or even consciously, but for many, that is their plan. The pre-frontal cortex tells them there will be a day when the Lord will return. It knows that Jesus has told us to stay alert and to watch, but those two little almonds deep down in your brain keep being satisfied with cat videos. I want to be happy now. I want immediate gratification. Yes, yes, I know that the day will come when the Lord returns and that I will be judged, but “I’ll think about that tomorrow.” Today, we choose to procrastinate. We have time to make those changes in our lives. We can align our lives with God’s calling a little later.

To escape that place of procrastination, we must consciously decide to follow God. Not just once, but daily. Joshua told the people, “Choose you this day whom you will serve.” That is not only a one-and-done choice we make for the general direction of our lives, but it should be a guiding principle for each of our days and all of our actions.

St. Peter said in our second lesson, “The day of the Lord will come like a thief… Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God… Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish.” 

If the Lord were to return tomorrow, what would you do differently? I would like to pray more that I might enter into a deeper relationship with God. Do that today. I would like to know more about Holy Scripture. Instead of opening up some social media and watching cat videos, open up God’s Holy Word. I would like to serve those around me. I would like to serve my church. Then, don’t procrastinate. Make that conscious decision and do it.

A king had a court Jester who entertained him marvelously. One day, he told the jester, “O, court jester, you are the biggest fool I know.” He extended to him his royal scepter. He said, “Court Jester, you are the biggest fool I know. Keep it until you find a bigger one.” For years, the court jester kept the royal scepter of the king. Then, the day came when the king knew he would die. He found himself upon his deathbed, never again to arise. He called for his court jester to come in and said, “O, court jester, I am going on a long journey, never again to return.” The court jester said, “O, sir, what preparations have you made for this long journey?” The king shook his head and said, “Alas, I’ve made none.” At that moment, the jester returned the scepter to the king and said, “Here, sir, you are a bigger fool than I. I have jested about things in this life; you have procrastinated about things in the next life.”

St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “We appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, ‘In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:1b-2)

Our procrastinating in our walk of faith robs us of time with God and one another. Now is the time. “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” Not just at some random tomorrow in the future, but today, for now, is the day of the Lord’s salvation.

Let us pray:
Lord, for tomorrow and its needs,
We do not pray;
Keep us, dear God, from stain of sin
Just for today.

Let us both diligently work,
And duly pray.
Let us be kind in word and deed,
Just for today.

Let us be slow to do our will,
Prompt to obey;
Help us to sacrifice ourselves
Just for today.

And if today our tide of life
Should ebb away,
Give us thy Sacraments divine,
Sweet Lord, today.

So for tomorrow and its needs
We do not pray,
But keep us, guide us, love us, Lord,
Just for today.

Amen.

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Sermon: Heritage Sunday / Feast of St. Matthew

Photo by Kevin Jackson on Unsplash

An Arab chief tells the story of a spy who was captured and sentenced to death by a general in the Persian army. This general had the strange custom of giving condemned criminals a choice between the firing squad and the big black door. As the moment for execution drew near, the spy was brought to the Persian general, who asked, “What will it be: the firing squad or the big black door?” The spy hesitated for a long time. It was a difficult decision. He chose the firing squad. Moments later, shots rang out, confirming his execution. The general turned to his aide and said, “They always prefer the known way to the unknown. It is characteristic of people to be afraid of the unknown. Yet, we gave him a choice.” The aide said, “What lies beyond the big black door?” “Freedom,” replied the general.

Nicholas Winton’s parents immigrated from Germany to London in 1907, and Nicholas was born in 1909. He attended Stowe School, a boarding school, and then studied banking in France and Germany. He would then go on to become a stockbroker in London. It’s not a bad life if you can live it, but rather ordinary. However, what Nicholas did in his spare time made him extraordinary.

In 1938, the Nazis began their occupation of Czechoslovakia and, which included setting up camps filled with Jews and political prisoners. Learning of this, a friend came to Nicholas and asked if he could help save some. Nicholas was very eager because although he was Christian in name and practice, he was Jewish by blood. Hoping to integrate more smoothly into society, his parents, before Nicholas’ birth, had changed their name from Wertheim to Winton and converted to Christianity.

At the first opportunity, Nicholas traveled to Prague to investigate ways of getting at-risk individuals out. In the process, it was learned that many were working to get the adults out. Still, few were working with the children, so Nicholas and those with him established offices in Prague and London; then, they began rescuing the children by smuggling them out of Czechoslovakia and into England and finding them homes and other resources. Stockbroker by day, superhero by night. After the war, Nicholas took his notes and all and, put them in a box and told no one, saying that what he did was nothing more than a “wartime gesture.” His story would have gone untold if his wife hadn’t stumbled across that box.

That’s Life! was a British TV show that started in 1973 and ran for twenty-one years. The show, with its studio audience, reported on various stories of interest. One episode in 1988 featured Nicholas Winton, who was in the studio audience. He sat and listened to the reporters tell of his “wartime gesture.” When the reporters were done, the camera panned to Nicholas and the woman sitting next to him. Her name was Vera Gissing. The host of the show, Esther Rantzen, said to Vera, “I should tell you that you are actually sitting next to Nicholas Winton.” Nicholas met one of the children he saved. Then the host said, “May I ask, is there anyone in our audience tonight who owes their life to Nicholas Winton? If so, could you stand up, please?” Some twenty to thirty stood. All told, through his efforts, 669 children were saved. They are known as Nicky’s Children. 

Sir Nicholas Winton died in 2015. He was 106.

We all share common experiences. The one I’m thinking of occurs when you find yourself in a room with several people, with all sorts of conversations taking place and many topics being covered, but your mind is off in its own little world. You might even imagine yourself in a different place with a new life. I love what I do, but even I can wonder, “What if?” But what if your life was just OK? Not bad, only average. So you imagine wanting more—not more stuff, but to be needed. To want to make a difference in the world around you. I’ve no way of knowing, but I can imagine Matthew in just such a place and mindset. 

Matthew, not alone, sitting in the tax booth. He’s got some other workers there with him; maybe a friend or two is hanging around, passing some gossip, other tax collectors also, shooting the breeze and conspiring on more ways to take advantage of the taxpayers. All these people around and all these conversations, yet Matthew, in his mind, is a long way off, fantasizing about a life that might be.

“I sit here and deal with taxes all day. It’s good work. Pays the bills, and the family has what they need, but isn’t there more to life? I would like for my life to be more. I would like for my life to have value. To mean something.” Then, looking up from his thoughts, Matthew says to himself, “Now, who is this fella?”

That fella walks up to the tax booth, points at Matthew, and says, “Follow me.” In that instant, Matthew somehow knew that this man, this Jesus, was the fulfillment his life sought—the very life he had been fantasizing about. He didn’t know what it would be like, but he knew, so he got up, and he followed.

“Matthew? Matthew!” His friends called after him. “Where are you going? You can’t just walk away! You’ve got responsibilities here.” But Matthew keeps walking.

Later that day, after spending time with Jesus, Matthew returns to the tax booth. His friends begin to rib him, “Finally came to your senses, did you? You’re lucky we’re the ones that were here to keep an eye on your cash. Anybody else would have run off with it.” But instead of thanking them, Matthew waves off the money and says, “Hey, would you all like to come to dinner tonight? My treat, my place. I’ve got somebody I would like for you to meet.” Later that night, when they are all gathered at Matthew’s, listening to Jesus, Matthew notices some who had been with Jesus earlier in the day, and they are visiting with the religious leaders. He overhears a snippet of the conversation, as one of the Pharisees said to those other followers, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Matthew quickly looks over to see if his guest, Jesus, has overheard this rudeness. He had, but instead of getting angry, Jesus leaned back from the table and said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” Matthew then smiles as Jesus returns to visit with the other tax collectors and sinners, the religious leaders quickly forgotten.

Nicholas Winton was sitting in his stock broker’s office when Jesus said, “Follow me. Help me save these Czechoslovakian children.” Matthew was sitting in the tax collector booth when Jesus said, “Follow me and help me bring salvation to these children of God.” 

The general turned to his aide and said, “They always prefer the known way to the unknown. It is characteristic of people to be afraid of the unknown. Yet, we gave him a choice.” The aide said, “What lies beyond the big black door?” “Freedom,” replied the general.

Both Matthew and Nicholas had the option of choosing. They could have kept it safe and stuck with what they knew. Probably nobody would have blamed them. They were secure in their positions and had all they needed. Yet, if you will, they chose the big black door. They knew the basic trajectory of their lives, but they chose—not the unknown—they chose Jesus, and Jesus gave them freedom. 

St. Paul wrote to the Galatians, “You were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 15:13-14)

If our Patron Saint, Matthew, were standing here today, I believe firmly he would say, “Choose the big black door. Above everything you think you know, choose Jesus. It may appear to be the unknown, but it is the life you were created for, the life you sit around fantasizing about, and in living it, you are given freedom. Use this freedom that is a gift from God to love others and love yourself.”

Personally, I can assure you that there is no way of knowing the path that Jesus will lead you down, but wherever it leads, you will never want to be anywhere different. Choose the big black door.

Let us pray: St. Matthew, you became one of Jesus’ closest friends and followers. You continued on the path of holy service to God throughout the rest of your life. Pray for us that we may always be ready and willing to follow Christ wherever He calls us. Pray that we may seek to serve God wholeheartedly each day of our lives. We pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen

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Sermon: Holy Saturday – “The Ancient Homily”

Christ Breaking Down the Gates of Hell
by Imitator of Hieronymus Bosch

An Ancient Holy Saturday Sermon – author is unknown

“What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled.

Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam’s son.

The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: ‘My Lord be with you all.’ And Christ in reply says to Adam: ‘And with your spirit.’ And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.

‘I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise.

‘I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person.

‘For you, I your God became your son; for you, I the Master took on your form; that of slave; for you, I who am above the heavens came on earth and under the earth; for you, man, I became as a man without help, free among the dead; for you, who left a garden, I was handed over to Jews from a garden and crucified in a garden.

‘Look at the spittle on my face, which I received because of you, in order to restore you to that first divine inbreathing at creation. See the blows on my cheeks, which I accepted in order to refashion your distorted form to my own image.

‘See the scourging of my back, which I accepted in order to disperse the load of your sins which was laid upon your back. See my hands nailed to the tree for a good purpose, for you, who stretched out your hand to the tree for an evil one.

`I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side, for you, who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side healed the pain of your side; my sleep will release you from your sleep in Hades; my sword has checked the sword which was turned against you.

‘But arise, let us go hence. The enemy brought you out of the land of paradise; I will reinstate you, no longer in paradise, but on the throne of heaven. I denied you the tree of life, which was a figure, but now I myself am united to you, I who am life. I posted the cherubim to guard you as they would slaves; now I make the cherubim worship you as they would God.

“The cherubim throne has been prepared, the bearers are ready and waiting, the bridal chamber is in order, the food is provided, the everlasting houses and rooms are in readiness; the treasures of good things have been opened; the kingdom of heaven has been prepared before the ages.”

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Ubuntu Church

Beautiful insights. Niel has a remarkable way of seeing things.

nielknoblauch's avatarthe barefoot ascent

Today I’d like us to take three steps back, tilt our heads slightly to the side and have a look at the church in the West. I think something’s off. Let’s explore together.

The ‘I’ in church

When I look at the church of Jesus today (mainly, but not limited to the West), I see groups of individuals who happen to associate themselves with a particular movement, society or social club. Individual disciples of Jesus, their nuclear families and other people who, for a period of time, gather with other like-minded individuals. The church of Jesus in the West is (at large) an expression of the individualistic West. Which is to say: the individual is the point, the whole serves the individual, and the individual is part of the whole for so long and as long as (s)he gets more out of it than they need to give or put…

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Travel: Portugal (Day Eight)

Today was tour day, and it was a grand time

I walked about fifteen minutes to the Barrio Alto Hotel where I met my guide and travel companions. There were eight of us in all—myself, an Armenian couple now living in Las Angeles, a Chinese couple now living in Michigan, and a family of three from Buenos Aries, Brazil (the history of Portugal and Brazil is closely knit together.)

From there, we drove north (our driver averaged 95 mph in the Mercedes van) to Fatima (about an hour). Along the way, the guide explained to us (first in English, then in Portuguese) the significance of the site, the apparitions, the three shepherd children, and all. It is fascinating to hear, even if you are familiar with the story.

When going to Fatima, it is not about the buildings. It is about the location and the events that occurred there. The buildings came much later. The first picture below shows the actual location of the apparitions and the original place of worship that the Virgin Mary asked to be built. The second, the church, was built later as the site grew in importance and more pilgrims arrived. There is now a third church, which is more like an auditorium, that will hold 8,000. I was glad that the Pilgrim’s Mass was held in the first church.

The Vatican has not yet revealed all the messages that were given but have officially declared the apparitions to be valid; this is primarily due to the fifth apparition: the Virgin Mary asked that six individuals be brought on that day so that they could be healed. When the day arrived, there were at least 40,000 in attendance and 500 to 1,000 were healed and… all reported that the sun danced in the sky. I encourage you to read more about this miraculous event.

From Fatima, we travelled to Batalha (means battle) the site of a great battle and the location of the Monastery of Saint Mary of the Victory. Construction began in 1386 in thanksgiving for the victory at the battle of Aljubarrota between the Spanish and the Portuguese (these people still don’t like one another, and our guide tells us that anyone who says differently is lying.) There are some fantastic circumstances regarding the battle, but in the end, 6,000 Portuguese defeated 36,000 Spanish in about forty-five minutes. I would probably have built a church myself. At the far right side of the church you see columns that appear to be incomplete… they are. After 129 years of construction, the government said, “Enough,” and put the resources elsewhere.

A note on paying your artist: the one who crafted the horse and rider (general who led the battle) was never paid properly, so the artist made a few “mistakes” in creating the horse. 1) both left feet of the horse are off the ground. Guess what happens when both the left/right feet of a horse are off the ground. 2) It is a male horse that has three of what it should only have two and none of what it should have one. I’ll let you sort that all out.

Moving indoors…

It is as though they were attempting to enclose heaven itself in such a dramatic space. The acoustics are incredible as the sound bounces off the ceiling (106 feet) and around the columns.

Other images…

On each stone, you will see certain marks. These are the marks of the stonecutter. No mark = no pay. When a stone has two marks, it means that it was cut by an apprentice under the tutelage of a master.

I shared lunch with this delightful Armenian couple who insisted on paying for mine. I protested, but he gave me a look that informed me I would not “win” the argument, so I said, “Thank you.”

Nazaré was next. It is known for its waves and the last three world records surfing have been attained here. Most tourists come for the huge waves, but as our guide explained, it is only about five days out of the year that the massive ones (120+ feet) come in. It was still spectacular.

If you think that the name, Nazaré, sounds remarkably close to Nazareth (my Armenian friend pointed this out), then you would be correct. A wonderful legend. You can find it here.

And then we were off to Óbidos (I’ll never get the hang of the language, but it doesn’t sound like it reads.) It is a well preserved example of early life in the region and is surrounded by the castle walls. It became a part of the queen’s dowry, so she would dictate the color that all the houses must be painted, which was white, but the owners had the option of color for “framing” the house.

You are allowed to walk along the top of the wall and you do so at your own risk (definitely not OSHA approved!) By this time of the day, I was pooped out, so I did not take my chances in going all the way around, but the view…

The van was quiet for the ride home. All of us, including our guide, had a very full day. When I returned to the apartment, I had a couple of boiled eggs and a piece of bread, then put my feet up.

Two more days remaining = two more adventures.

I’m off!

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Journal: September 11, 2022

The Queen was always a big help while I was writing. Full of inspiration and love bites to keep we awake. Crazy Cat!

I typed the date and realized that I should probably be journaling about the events of this day twenty-one years ago, but no… there’s been so much of that. Time to find peace even in the horror of it all. Instead, I checked back and saw that it was June 3, 2022, of my last journal entry, and I needed to catch up. (I’ll be off and on with this, so don’t expect one all the time.)

What’ve I been up to? Writing. Writing. Writing. I have finished the third draft of The Marble Finger: a Father Anthony Savel Mystery. What a remarkable process writing a book can be. It seems that every waking moment and available thinking space in the mind can be consumed with something entirely fictitious. I wrapped it up on Saturday, but all those characters are still chatting away in my head, wanting to go off on some new adventure–which, by the way, I’m already plotting… Salt Lake City. A long way from Wisconsin, but… no. No. No. That will have to wait for another time. Must finish up the Finger first. It is presently in the hands of five beta readers. Once they blow holes in it and I attempt to patch them up with bubble gum and ostrich feathers, I’ll get it out. The original deadline was December 1st, but I believe I will be several weeks ahead. Keep you posted–of course, I will! I want to sell a few copies! But… back to that bit where they want to keep chatting.

I’ve been so involved with it for so many weeks now that I’m finding it hard to let go and not want to go back and fiddle with it a bit, to be involved with them and have them fill the mind. That is one of the great aspects of writing: they take over. They do their things and say what they’ve got to say, and you are at their mercy. OH! That does remind me of a movie: Magic. I don’t know that I ever saw it, but I remember it. The movie poster! Such great rhymes 🙄…

Abracadabra,
I sit on his knee.

Presto chango,
and now he is me.

Hocus pocus,
we take her to bed.

Magic is fun;
we’re dead.

I promise you it is certainly not all that bad! It is just that the process is very consuming, regardless of whether or not the end result is any good. Anyhow…

I’ll be working on the grammar of The Golden Fistula and reissuing it a few weeks before the Finger comes out. Of the criticism that I received on Fistula via Amazon, it was the grammar. I’ve no idea what to do with any of it, but now I’ve got people who do. haha. I’ve also got new cover art coming for Fistula. The same artist will be doing Finger and the label for the new wine that is currently fermenting: Isabella. Can you say, “Some fava beans and a nice Chianti.”

Preach the Gospel. Write books. Make wine. Hmmm… I haven’t painted for a while.

Recipes to try: Pull-Apart Rosemary Garlic Bread. This one looks delicious, and I will definitely be trying it out.

What I’ve learned: If you try, you may surprise others, but you’ll definitely surprise yourself. You have a great mind. Apply it.

Thought for the day: Rejoice with me! I preached it this morning, and it is a good thought.

That’s it for now. Time for sleep and dreams…

Ay, there’s the rub!
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil…

… and Shakespeare now sleeps.
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Travel: Italy (Travel Day One and it was close to 48 hours long!)

Travel and travel and travel… I almost missed only one flight when I messed up the time zones. Fortunately I was sitting next to the gate when I realized it was boarding, otherwise, I would have only made it as far as New York / JFK.

Any way you slice it, it is a long trip. The backside gets sore, there are NO comfortable sitting positions for an 8.5 hour flight, and the boredom sets in to the point where you’re simply watching the miles click off, but then you hear the engines begin to slow and your ears begin to pop as the altitude decreases and suddenly, those 8.5 hours are a distant memory.

Following the flights, we took a 1/2 hour train to Rome. Between the graffitied walls and towering apartment buildings, you may catch a glimpse of something far more ancient but mostly it will be the orange poppies that grow all long the tracks that will draw your eye.

The 1/2 hour trip (and a WILD taxi ride through the narrow streets of Rome—made Enid drivers look like Mario Andretti) and we arrived at the Roma Termini, which is the main train terminal in Rome. I kept expecting a NY subway but…

It’s an airport on wheels and a zoo but once you figure out the system you will get to where you want to go, which in our case was Florence.

The ride includes a series of tunnels and each tunnel is like a small jump further and further into the country and farmlands. Hay, other crops, and vineyards (we’ll have more of those later this week) and with a train that clicks along at about 120 mph, you cover the 200 miles rather quickly.

We did do some touristy things but for the most part were a bit pooped out, so we walked the streets and just enjoyed being in Italy. What is so remarkable is when you take into consideration how long these places have been around. For example, I decided to take a picture of a beautiful statue of Christ crucified high on a pillar. Near the base was a plaque. The statue was erected in the year 1338.

In addition, throughout the old city there are small niches, mostly at corners, with images of the Blessed Virgin Mary and/or Jesus. These are two of the images that worked out:

What an amazing day and perhaps the most moving bit occurred as Heidi, Scott, and I were sitting at the Cafe’ Cibreo enjoying a light snack and a beverage (they were having a white wine and I was enjoying an iced coffee). Heidi stopped in mid-sentence and said, “We’re in Italy!”

Yep. That about sums the day up. We’re in Italy and… yeah.

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Contemporary Koinonia

For about the last year, my friend and colleague, The Rev. Sean Ekberg and I have been working on a journal for The Episcopal Church and today it went live. It includes interviews with Bishops in the church, a seminary dean, ministry stories, and more. If you would like to know the bright side of The Episcopal Church, then you’re going to want to take some time reading through the articles. It is not a quick read, but it is well worth the time. There is much that is good happening. If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been spending my extra time… here you go. I believe, if you click the image below, it will take you to the Issuu edition.

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Sermon: Holy Saturday RCL B

Photo by Jongsun Lee on Unsplash

At the death of Jesus, we are told of many unnatural occurrences in the natural world, for even the earth and heavens rebelled and reacted to the death of Jesus: the sun went dark, the earth shook in a violent earthquake, and the curtain of the Temple was torn into. A great upheaval… then the murmuring of the people returned. The crowd dispersing, What to do with the bodies, finding a tomb, something to anoint Jesus with, but then… the silence came over it all and all of creation held its collective breath as Jesus lay in the tomb.

N.T. Wright wrote a poem about this day and that silence (The Seventh Day):

On the seventh day God rested
in the darkness of the tomb;
Having finished on the sixth day
all his work of joy and doom.

Now the word had fallen silent,
and the water had run dry,
The bread had all been scattered,
and the light had left the sky.

The flock had lost its shepherd,
and the seed was sadly sown,
The courtiers had betrayed their king,
and nailed him to his throne.

O Sabbath rest by Calvary,
O calm of tomb below;
Where the grave-clothes and the spices
cradle him we did not know!

Rest you well, beloved Jesus,
Caesar’s Lord and Israel’s King,
In the brooding of the Spirit,
in the darkness of the spring.

Source: N. T. Wright, The Challenge of Easter, pp. 33-34.

Jesus rested and we wait.

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