Tag: Jesus Christ

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Sermon: Epiphany Last RCL B – “Saturated Phenomenon”

Raphael’s Transfiguration

At 55, Ol’ Boudreaux hadn’t been feeling all that well, so he made an appointment with Dr. Pierre. After undergoing a few basic tests and some questioning about how he lives his life, Boudreaux says, “Well, doc, what do you think?”

“From what I can see from your test results, Bou,” replies Dr. Pierre, “and from the answers you gave to my questions, you definitely need to make some significant changes to your lifestyle.”

“Like what?” asks Boudreaux, looking a bit worried.

Doc Pierre replies, “Like giving up drinking all those glasses of wine and whiskey, reducing all that fried food you have most nights of the week, and giving up smoking. Doing all this is the best way for you to improve your health and life expectancy. It’s your best course of action. So, what do you say?”

After taking some time to think about what he’s just heard, Boudreaux replies, “What would be the second best course of action?”

Have you ever played the game of chess? It is not a terribly difficult game to learn how to play, but that’s only the beginning. From there, it can become hugely complicated. 

I’m not very good at it. I’m lucky to be able to see all the options of one move and usually lose because of some stupid option that I missed. However, it is reported that some chess masters can see some 20 moves ahead—moves and countermoves—and then select the best option. How complicated is that? Consider this. White always moves first, and with that first move, there are 20 options. (16 pawn moves and four knight moves). After black makes its first move, there are 400 distinct options for white. From there, it gets crazy. In seeing ahead, after only three moves per player, there are 120,921,506 total options. All told, “In a usual board [of chess], there are 30⁶⁰ possible pathways. This is greater than the number of atomic particles that exist in the known universe.” The rules of chess are easy enough to learn, but the game of chess is more complicated than any human mind (or computer) can fully grasp or master. (Source)

Jean-Luc Marion, a philosopher and Roman Catholic theologian, defines circumstances and events such as this as “‘saturated phenomena.’ According to Marion, some phenomena are filled with meaning and intuition to the point of exceeding any concepts or limiting horizons that one can impose on them. They are… saturated with relevance and thus inexhaustible, always undetermined.” (Source)

The game of chess, when viewed as a whole, is far too complicated for us to comprehend. It is a saturated phenomenon. Yet, even children can play it, not by seeing every available option, but by seeing a very limited spectrum of the available options.

“Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured… his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them… [Peter] did not know what to say, for they were terrified… a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’” 

When we read this, we believe that the Transfiguration is being described to us, but what is actually being described is a saturated phenomenon—an event far beyond understanding and description. Clothes so white that the white is beyond description. A fear, an awe-inspiring emotion so great that Peter is essentially babbling. A cloud appears that is real but also indicates the disciples’ inability to comprehend what they are seeing. And a voice that speaks that only provides a very limited understanding of it all—“This is My Son. This is God. Understand all that He says to you.”

Like a child who can play the highly complicated game of chess even though they cannot possibly comprehend all the options, Peter, James, and John were able to witness the Transfiguration but only grasp a very limited spectrum of understanding. They were not going to understand all the implications of the Transfiguration, so God the Father said to them, “Listen to what Jesus says and do what He does. In that way, you will begin to understand, and in doing and understanding, you will begin to be like Him—as He is…transfigured.”

And everyone says, “Thank you, Father John, for the academic exercise, but what has this got to do with me? What does it mean?”

It means that Jesus, by allowing us to witness His Transfiguration—showing us His true self as best we can comprehend—is saying to us, “Follow me. Be transfigured. I want you also to become a saturated phenomenon—someone so saturated in the holiness of God that your life is essentially beyond understanding to the dark world around you. So shine your light into the dark that it has no option but to see and understand something of God, if only a little.” How do we do this?

I came across a poem this week—Small Kindnesses by Danusha Laméris. I liked it so much that I wanted to share it with you, so, even though I don’t know her, I wrote Danusha and asked for permission to share it with you. She responded, “Poems should go where they are useful… So—a big yes!!!” 

I’ve been thinking about the way, when you walk
down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs
to let you by. Or how strangers still say “bless you”
when someone sneezes, a leftover
from the Bubonic plague. “Don’t die,” we are saying.
And sometimes, when you spill lemons
from your grocery bag, someone else will help you
pick them up. Mostly, we don’t want to harm each other.
We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot,
and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile
at them and for them to smile back. For the waitress
to call us honey when she sets down the bowl of clam chowder,
and for the driver in the red pick-up truck to let us pass.
We have so little of each other, now. So far
from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange.
What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these
fleeting temples we make together when we say, “Here,
have my seat,” “Go ahead—you first,” “I like your hat.”

(Used with permission of the poet)

How do we shine in the darkness? It begins with recognizing those brief moments of loving connection with others—even the stranger in our midst—are, in fact, holy moments. They are moments of the brightest white because, in them, we truly see the other, and we set ourselves aside and not only desire but work toward the good of the other. A person who lives in such a way has not only witnessed the Transfiguration of Jesus but is also beginning to understand it and put that understanding into action.

A quote from a person named Anonymous: “Someone once told me the definition of hell: on your last day on earth, the person you could have become will meet the person you became.” The person you become depends upon hearing and responding to Jesus’ call to follow Him and be transfigured. That is the best course of action. Don’t be like ol’ Boudreaux and ask about the second-best course of action. There’s not one. Be transfigured and enter into those holy temples of great and small kindnesses. Become that saturated phenomenon of God’s love and let the world around you encounter God in a way it has never experienced before.

Let us pray:
Eternal God,
you revealed to the disciples
the everlasting glory of Your Son, Jesus.
Grant us, who have not seen and yet believe,
the gift of your Holy Spirit,
that we may boldly live the Gospel
and shine with your transforming glory,
as people changed and changing
through the redeeming presence of our Savior. Amen.

And for the record… I like your hat.

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Sermon: Moses the Black

I wouldn’t even consider doing it today, but back in his prime, if someone told me that I was going to have to step into the boxing ring with Mike Tyson, I would have submitted my obituary to the newspaper and made all the necessary prearrangements with the funeral home.  I would not have survived unless I could have somehow outrun him.  I remember going to some friend’s house who had done a pay-for-view of one of Tyson’s fights.  I don’t know how many seconds it lasted, but it was over before I got in from the kitchen.  He was a beast when it came to boxing and apparently not such a great person out of the ring, having spent three years in jail for rape—a seemingly massive brutal, angry man.

John Saraceno interviewed Tyson for the USAToday Newspaper in 2005.  Saraceno writes, “Almost 39, he is anything but at peace. Confused and humiliated after a decadent lifestyle left him with broken relationships, shattered finances, and a reputation in ruin, the fighter cannot hide his insecurities, stacked as high as his legendary knockouts….

“’I’ll never be happy,’ he says. ‘I believe I’ll die alone. I would want it that way. I’ve been a loner all my life with my secrets and my pain. I’m really lost, but I’m trying to find myself. I’m really a sad, pathetic case.’” (Source)

If you understand that ruthless but dejected temperament, you could also very easily be describing Moses the Black or Moses the Ethiopian, one of the Desert Fathers who lived during the 4th century in the deserts of northern Egypt.

Moses began his life as a slave, then became a murderer, an outlaw, and the leader of a vicious gang of some seventy other outlaws; however, after many years, he began to have a change of heart.  

It is reported that he would look up at the sun and say, “O Sun!! if you are God, let me know it.” Then he would say, “And you, O God whom I do not know, let me know you.” On one occasion, he had a response.  A voice said to him, “The monks of Wadi El-Natroun [of northern Egypt] know the real God. Go to them, and they will tell you.”   

He went, but because the monks knew of him and his reputation, they were at first terrified but soon allowed him access to the teachings of the church.  He became one of them, along with several of his former gang, but his battle with his demons continued and was equal to the battles he had fought in real life.  In the end, he had seventy-five followers who, like him, bravely battled against the devil.

One day, it was reported to him that some of the same outlaws that he had run with were coming and that he would surely be killed.  His followers urged him to flee with them, but he responded, “For many years now, I have awaited the time when the words which my Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, should be fulfilled: ‘All who take up the sword, shall perish by the sword.’” (Matthew 26:52)  He died that day, a brutal sinner, redeemed by a loving God.

The good thief that had been crucified along with Jesus said to the other, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”  Moses the Ethiopian would have agreed fully with this statement; even so, he found true hope in what was said next between Jesus and that good thief.  “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

The Kingdom of God was open to Moses the Black and remains so to all, even the hardest and most brutal, who will bend the knee to the King of Kings and seek to follow Him.

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Sermon: Epiphany 5 RCL B – “Secret”

Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash

Charlie Brown heads up to the plate to bat. It is not pretty. “Strike one. Strike Two. STRIKE THREE,” calls the umpire. Chuck has struck out again and slumps over to the bench. 

Plopping down on the bench, he says, “Rats! I’ll never be a big-league player. I just don’t have it! All my life I’ve dreamed of playing in the big leagues, but I know I’ll never make it.” 

Lucy turns to console him. “Charlie Brown, you’re thinking too far ahead. What you need to do is set yourself more immediate goals.” 

He looks up. “Immediate goals?” 

Lucy says, “Yes. Start with this next inning when you go out to pitch. See if you can walk out on the mound without falling down!”

That little episode can teach us a couple of things. It is good to keep your friends around to offer support, but be sure to pick the right friends. It is also good to have goals in your life; just don’t tell anyone. The first one makes sense, but the second one seems a little questionable. Why wouldn’t you want to share your goals?

Many years back, I was a smoker. Picked it up casually in college and got stuck. Years later, I wanted to quit, so when I was ready, I announced—“I’m going to quit smoking.” Everyone was thrilled. They told me how great it was—talked about the money I would save, the health benefits, and all that jazz. I received a wealth of congratulations, support, and advice. All that was left to do was for me to quit smoking.

Problems: the simple announcement got me all the “atta boys” my mind needed. I hadn’t done anything, but I was the hero. Yay, me and I hadn’t done a thing. That night, I had the ritualistic last smoke and flushed the rest. The following morning, I woke up and asked, “What in the blue blazes were you thinking?” I had to go to work, and the pressure was on. Now, not only was I trying to do this for myself, but I had all these folks watching, which added pressure. Pressure of failure. Pressure of esteem. Pressure of doing the work. Pressure of pressure. When attempting to achieve a goal, added pressure is not what you need. And then, when I was having a good day, not even thinking about a smoke, someone would inevitably come up to me and ask, “How’s the no smoking thing going?” “Well,” I would say, at least in my mind, “it was going great UNTIL YOU BROUGHT IT UP!”

The bottom line is don’t tell people your goals. Just go to work. Then, one day, someone will ask you, “Didn’t you used to smoke?” “Have you lost weight?” “You wrote a book?” “When did you start your own business?” You’ve done the work, and now you can celebrate that work. Be selective in who you tell your business; remember, not everyone needs to know everything. Just do the work.

Last week, in our Gospel lesson, we read about Jesus healing the man possessed by the demon. Upon seeing Jesus, the demon cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” A similar incident occurred in our Gospel reading today. Jesus “cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.” Jesus did not allow the demons to say who He was, but the demons were not the only ones—those whom He heals will also be told to keep silent.

A leper came to Jesus and asked to be healed. Jesus does, but then “sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.’” (Mark 1:43-45) 

Demons, and those who were healed, are told to keep silent, but then Jesus also tells the Apostles not to speak of His true identity. Remember when He asked the Apostles, “Who do people say that I am?” They had several answers, but finally, Peter got the gold star, “You are the Christ.” Yet, instead of allowing Peter and the gang to spread the word, Jesus “strictly charged them to tell no one about him.” (Mark 8:27, 29b-30) 

Throughout his Gospel, Mark silences those who truly know who Jesus is. This is called the Markan or Messianic Secret, but why? If His purpose was to share the Good News of God, then why did Jesus want to keep it a secret?

Regarding our goals, we should be selective in who we tell our business, and remember, only some people need to know everything. We just need to do the work.

We have discussed that the Israelites were looking for a Messiah, but the Messiah they were looking for was a King like David—a warrior king—one who would vanquish their enemies and rule the land with righteousness. What no one was expecting was a Messiah like Jesus, who, in the end, would be crucified. They weren’t expecting that kind of Messiah, so they certainly wouldn’t accept it without some proof. Also, imagine the Roman military hearing about some wandering rabbi telling everyone He was the Messiah—the long-awaited King of the Jews. How long do you think they would’ve allowed Him to live? Jesus was selective in who knew the truth about Him, but He tried to keep others from finding out so that they would not interfere until He had met the objective.

Why silence the demons? They, of all creatures, could testify to the truth of who Jesus was. Then again, when’s the last time you heard of a demon telling the truth? To this day, the evil spirits lie about the person of Jesus so that many will not come to know that salvation is available to all.

Jesus also wanted His secret kept because the goal had yet to be met. He might be seen as a good teacher and a miracle worker, but until He died and rose again, He could not be seen as one who could save others from death. 

Instead of broadcasting His true nature, Jesus tried to keep it a secret so that He could do the work without these external pressures interfering or detracting. But then, Jesus breathed His last breath upon the Cross, and it all changed. “When the centurion, who stood facing [Jesus on His cross], saw that in this way he breathed his last, [the centurion said], ‘Truly this man was the Son of God.’” (Mark 15:39) And there was no one there to tell the centurion to keep quiet. A few days later, Jesus “appeared to the eleven…And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.’” It is finished. The work is done. Now, you have everything you need to demonstrate and tell the world who I am. Go and tell the world of all the great things God has done. Proclaim the message of the Good News and eternal life. 

So, the question I have for you this morning is this: the fact that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the World, is no longer a secret, so why do we treat it as such? Jesus asked us to proclaim His secret, the Gospel, to all the world, but when given the opportunity, we are often silent. Why is that? You know the power of God working in your life and in the lives of others. Not the word of a few witnesses from 2,000 years ago, but things you’ve seen with your very eyes. Why is it so difficult to share?

When we hear Jesus command, “Go, and tell the world…,” we often translate that into missionary work—an intentional “going”/trip to proclaim. However, “Go” is also translated “as you are going.” As you are going about your life, tell the world—proclaim the Good News. Our lives are to be a proclamation of the Kingdom of God, but as we live our day-to-day lives, we are to proclaim with our lives and our mouths the Good News of Jesus.  

Tell the secret. Let the cat out of the bag. Bring to light. Spill the beans. Go public. Divulge… break out the thesaurus. However you would like to phrase it, share the Good News, and if you’re not comfortable in doing it just yet, then invite them to church—I think St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church is one of the best-kept secrets in Enid, Oklahoma (don’t tell anyone!) Please. Invite others, and we’ll do our best to help you proclaim the Good News to those you bring. It is the primary reason we are here. The Messianic Secret is out. Be one who tells it.

Let us pray: Glorious St. Mark, through the grace of God our Father, you became a great Evangelist, preaching the Good News of Christ. May you help us to know Him well so that we may faithfully live our lives as followers of Christ and, like you, proclaim the Good News of God in Christ. Amen.

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Sermon: The Presentation of Our Lord

Luke does not tell us how old the Prophet Simeon was when he encountered the Holy Family, but there are several indicators that he was quite old.  The Prophetess Anna was eighty-four, and it would be fair to say that Simeon was at least as old or older.

So, let’s do a bit of math. Most scholars believe that Jesus was born around 4 BC.  If we place Simeon and Anna at nearly the same age, we can agree that they were born in approximately 88 BC.  Who ruled Israel at that time?  The Maccabees/Hasmoneans.  Anna, for sure, and most likely Simeon, were both born in an era when Israel was free from foreign rule.  Under the Hasmoneans, Jerusalem grew from a city of 5,000 to 25-30,000.  It was prosperous and vital.  Therefore, Simeon and Anna had seen a time in Israel when God reigned—when God was King. However, in 63 BC, the pendulum swung, and the Romans took control of Jerusalem. Anna and Simeon had seen the prosperity of Jerusalem, but now, for the last sixty years, they had been witness to the suffering of the people brought about by the occupying forces of Rome. Yet, instead of simply giving in, crying defeat, and lamenting the past and the current state of their lives, Simeon and Anna did the one thing that would actually make a difference—they prayed.  Simeon “was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.”  Anna “never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day… looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

Like so many others, they could have given themselves over to despair. Still, instead, they chose to have hope, always looking forward to the consolation, the comforting after the defeat, the redemption, and the saving of Israel by the hand of God. Not only did they believe that the Lord would save, but they knew the Lord would save. So, with hope, they patiently waited on the dawning of God’s light:

“A light for revelation to the Gentiles
  and for glory to your people Israel.”

Today, our lives may not always be rosy and beautiful, but for all of us, just like with Anna and Simeon, the pendulum will swing. It may be for a short while, a season, or much longer, but that swinging is not a matter of if. It is a matter of when.  So, the question is: how will we respond?  How do we wait for God in the dark days?

Henri Nouwen wrote a beautiful little daily devotional, Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith.  For November 20th he wrote, “How do we wait for God? We wait with patience. But patience does not mean passivity. Waiting patiently is not like waiting for the bus to come, the rain to stop, or the sun to rise. It is an active waiting in which we live the present moment to the full in order to find there the signs of the One we are waiting for.

“The word patience comes from the Latin verb patior which means ‘to suffer.’ Waiting patiently is suffering through the present moment, tasting it to the full, and letting the seeds that are sown in the ground on which we stand grow into strong plants. Waiting patiently always means paying attention to what is happening right before our eyes and seeing there the first rays of God’s glorious coming.”

Like Simeon and Anna, we must learn how to wait patiently, being confident in our faith that the Lord hears the cries of His people and will deliver them, even when all seems lost.

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Sermon: Epiphany 4 RCL B – “Be Silent!”

One of the great comedians was Red Skelton. He could bring down the house without a single foul word, but his wife tended to be the topic of more than a few one-liners.

“Two times a week, we go to a nice restaurant, have a little beverage, good food, and companionship. She goes on Tuesdays, I go on Fridays.

We also sleep in separate beds. Hers is in California, and mine is in
Texas.

I take my wife everywhere….but she keeps finding her way back.

I asked my wife where she wanted to go for our anniversary. ‘Somewhere I
haven’t been in a long time!’ she said. So I suggested the kitchen.”

He does concede that he is also to blame. He said, “The last fight was my fault, though. My wife asked, ‘What’s on the TV?’ He said, ‘Dust!’”

Like all married couples, they had their ups and downs, but there are those special few that seem to transcend the norms. Marriages where there are differences, but the love shared between the two is far greater than all those differences combined. Take a young couple from the Netherlands as an example.

As their names are Dutch, I don’t have a chance of pronouncing them correctly, so we’ll describe them as the Colonel and the Lady. During their lifetimes in the Netherlands, the separation between Protestants and Catholics was severe. Separate schools, hospitals, neighborhoods, and even sections of the cemetery were divided by an eight-foot wall. All of these rules of separation were strictly enforced. 

The Colonel was born and raised Protestant, and the Lady was Catholic. They shouldn’t have gotten along at all, so it created a great controversy when they decided to get married. Their love was greater, and despite the obstacles and objections, in 1842, they wed, living happily ever after for thirty-eight years until the Colonel’s death in 1880. Because he was born and raised Protestant, he was buried in the Protestant section of the cemetery. Eight years later, when the Lady died, she was to be buried in the family plot on the Catholic side, but she had other ideas. She had no intention of being separated from her husband, so she made arrangements to be buried next to the wall that separated the Protestant and Catholic sections of the cemetery. She then had their tombstones constructed tall enough so that a pair of hands could be joined over the top of the eight-foot dividing wall. (A picture is on the front of your bulletin.)

Remember a few weeks back when we talked about signs—as in signs and wonders? I would suggest that these joined tombstones are a sign. Something that is pointing to something even greater. They are a sign that demonstrates how, within the human soul, the love between two people can overcome many obstacles, which then points to how this same love can overcome the barriers between peoples. This love reaches over walls to meet the other and to bring healing to individuals, cultures, and nations. It is a sign that points outward—to something greater than one couple—but it is also a sign that points inward to the soul of each of us. That’s the direction I would like to focus on today—the healing of the soul—because within… it is almost like two people are living in each of us (No. I’m not schizophrenic.) 

This pointing inward relates to what St. Paul says in his letter to the Romans, “We know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (Romans 7:14-15) Within is a side that knows what God calls us to, and within—on the other side of the wall—there is a side that does whatever the heck it pleases. A life with God and a life in the world—both working independently and often having very different desires. However, our goal as a Christian people is to have those two operating together. Not so that our worldly side can drag down our faith but so that our faith and our life with God can cooperate and inform our life in the world. Within, we need to join hands over the wall so that our life in the world and our life of faith are in concert with one another.

For example, working in the world is necessary. We have jobs to do and responsibilities to our families and communities. Working in the world is not a bad thing; it is actually very good and beneficial, but while there, we don’t always act in a manner that reflects what we profess on Sunday morning. In the world, we may gossip, become angry, cheat, be uncharitable toward others, and so on. In our Baptismal Creed, we say we will “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves.” On Sunday, we love our neighbor. Monday through Saturday, all bets are off. That wall, a very solid division between our Sunday selves and our Monday through Saturday selves, keeps those two selves within us separated. What is curious—almost humorous, but not in a funny way—is that when our God side tries to reign in our world side, the world side gets a little bent out of shape.

Think about our Gospel reading. The man with the unclean spirit. What did the unclean spirit say when it encountered Jesus? “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” When our God side attempts to reign in our world side, our world side can sometimes say the same thing. “What have you got to do with us, Jesus? Your day is Sunday! This is a Thursday. Get back on your side of the wall!” That’s not how it is supposed to work. 

Jesus said, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19) We must live in the world, but we are from God, so our life in the world must reflect our life in God. Our life in the world and our life in God must reach over that wall and take hands so that they both follow the way that leads to eternal life in Jesus.

Jesus responded to the unclean spirit: “Be silent, and come out of him!” That must also be our response when the world part of us attempts to reign over God within us. “Be silent! You are not the one who rules over my life.” In doing so, we begin to bring healing to our souls. Repairing the brokenness within.

Have you noticed that some people cross themselves during the Lord’s Prayer when we pray, “Deliver us from evil?” Ever wonder why? 

The Lord’s Prayer is given to us in Matthew 6:9-13. The second part of verse 13 is “deliver us from evil,” but looking at the footnotes in most Bibles, you will see that this can be translated in two ways. The first is what we pray it. In that context, evil is very general, and we can take it to mean those bad things or people that come against us. However, the second way of translating the verse is “deliver us from the evil one.” (This is how the Eastern Orthodox churches pray it.) In this case, evil is not general. Instead, evil is very specific and personified. We cross ourselves as a means of blessing and protection from this evil one. Sometimes, as I pray that line, I take a little liberty with it and pray, “And lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from the evil one that is within me.” It is a way for me to say, “Be silent!” to the side of me that wants to rule over the ways of God. It is a way for God to reach over the internal wall and take the hand of the side of me that must be in the world and show it the way.

When you sense any voice attempting to lead you from the voice of God, speak to it clearly and boldly, “Be silent!” Then pray, “Deliver me from the evil one,” join hands with Jesus, and live out your faith in every aspect and every day—Monday through Sunday—of your life.

Let us pray: Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.  Amen.

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Sermon: Conversion of St. Paul (A Passion for Souls)

The sixth chapter of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah begins: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple.”  He goes on to describe the angels in attendance who were singing:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

However, because he had seen the Lord (no one can see the Lord and live), he cried out: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”  Then he reports, “One of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.  The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’  Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’  And he said, ‘Go….’”  And Isaiah went to the Israelites as the Lord commanded him.

Although Paul’s encounter with the Lord was different, it was also very similar.  The great light and glory of the Lord appeared around him, and he fell to the ground in fear.  However, unlike the message that Isaiah was given, Paul was told to go to the Gentiles and proclaim the Good News “to  open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”  In a very real way, the Lord said to Paul the same words as he spoke to Isaiah: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And Isaiah said, and Paul said, and so many others have said, “Here am I; send me!”

From the beginning, God has been calling all people back into relationship and making that relationship possible and eternal through Jesus, the only begotten Son.  This is a message that you have all heard and responded to.  The Lord called, and you responded, but there is more, for Jesus also said to us, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  Jesus is asking… he is asking us, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”  For various reasons, that can be a scary question to answer because we do not know where it will lead or who it will lead us to.  And to my knowledge, there is really only one way to overcome the reasons and the fears: to have a passion for souls.  Without any judgment, to look at them, to love them, and to desire eternal life for them.  This passion for souls is constantly seeking ways to reveal God to those who are lost, broken, or unaware of his great love for them.  It is a passion that must burn brightly and, therefore, must always be tended and nourished with the Word of God, prayer, and the blessed sacrament of the Eucharist.  Build up this passion for souls within yourself, and when the Lord asks, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”  Say with Isaiah and Paul, “Here am I, send me!”

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Sermon: Epiphany 3 RCL B – “Worth”

Photo by Francisco Fernandes on Unsplash

A legend from India tells about a mouse who was terrified of cats until a magician agreed to transform him into a cat. That resolved his fear … until he met a dog, so the magician changed him into a dog. The mouse-turned-cat-turned-dog was content until he met a tiger—so, once again, the magician changed him into what he feared. But when the tiger came complaining that he had met a hunter, the magician refused to help. “I will make you into a mouse again, for though you have the body of a tiger, you still have the heart of a mouse.”

In our society, we’ve become very accustomed to going out and purchasing the things we need. Need a new watch. Go and buy it. Need a new car? You can drive one off the lot today. From the highest tech item to the lowly turnip, if you need it, you can find somewhere to buy it. But what if, instead of being able to buy it, you had to make it or grow it? In the end, you would have a lot less, and there are a good many people who wouldn’t survive. 

I forget where I read it, but the speaker gave the example of a fork. He held it up and asked, “Who could make it?” In the end, everyone realized that no one person could. You need someone to mine the ore, smelt the ore, form the iron… down to working with the iron to make the fork. Very few possess the skills or knowledge to accomplish the task. Therefore, we need one another to live and survive. Each must play their part. That’s where the discernment process comes in—identifying who has what skills and what knowledge and where they are best suited. Once discerned, society will put them to work. Therefore, in many cases, it is the society that determines a person’s worth—their value. 

If society deems you this quality of person, then you can do this. If they deem you this, then you can do that. Aldus Huxley, in Brave New World, wrote, “A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced because they love their servitude.” Perhaps we don’t live in a totalitarian state, but we can fall into the trap of allowing society to define our value and worth. Once there, it is difficult to become more.

Not only does this play out in the secular world, but it is also true in our life in the Church and with God. Others observe our lives, actions, words, etc.—our entire being—and based on those observations, we are categorized: saint, sinner, backslider, pious, and so on. If you follow all the rules in the book, then you may fall in the saint category, but go out and get a tattoo and drink a little whiskey; well, you might as well be writing your own ticket to hell. In the process of assigning our category, we are also assigned a value in the Christian community. And, as with the secular world, we can fall into a trap—this is what everyone thinks I’m worth, so this must be it. This is as good as I’ll get. 

Using the illustration of iron, if you mine and smelt some iron and end up with 1,000 grams (about 2.25 pounds) of steel, you’ll have a steel bar valued at about $100. If you take that 1000 grams and turn it into horseshoes, you will have increased its value to $250. If you took the same amount of steel and turned it into sewing needles, you would have increased its value to $70,000. Turn it into gears and springs for watches—$6M. Use those same 1,000 grams of steel for precision electronics and computers, and you’ll have increased the value of your $100 hunk of metal to $15M. 

The world says you and your 1,000 grams of flesh are worth a few horseshoes, and you believe it. And not only do you believe it, you live it. When the same idea is applied to your life with God, you live that too. “I guess if I’m writing a ticket to hell, I might as well write a good one!” Once that frame of mind is set, it tends to stick. The world has defined that person, and that person fulfills the world’s expectations. 

St. Paul would refer to the spirit that lives in such a person as the “old man.” In Ephesians, he says that those who live such a life “have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” (Ephesians 4:19) We can fall into the trap of the “old man,” and it sticks. Not only does it stick, like those living in Aldus Huxley’s totalitarian state, but even though we may want something different, we love where we are. It is what we know, and it is comfortable.

My friend, Thomas Merton, writes, “For the ‘old man,’ everything is old: he has seen everything or thinks he has. He has lost hope in anything new. What pleases him is the ‘old’ he clings to, fearing to lose it, but he is certainly not happy with it. And so he keeps himself ‘old’ and cannot change: he is not open to any newness. His life is stagnant and futile. And yet, there may be much movement, but change that leads to no change. The more it changes, the more it’s the same…. The old man lives without life. He lives in death.” (March 22)

That is the trap of allowing the world around us to determine our value, and it is a tricky trap to get out of, but what if we dismissed the world’s assessment and allowed Jesus to determine our value? What if we said, “I’m no longer going to be the person that the world wants and expects me to be.” What if we even said, “I’m not going to be limited to the value my friends and family place on me.” What if we said, “I’m going to allow my value to be determined by God. God and only God will decide what this 1,000-gram hunk of flesh is worth.” How, then, would you begin to see yourself? How, then, would you begin to reevaluate your value in light of the fact that Jesus has already determined you are of infinite worth? You can disagree with that if you want. You can say, “I’m not of infinite worth to God.” And I will argue with you, and my first move in that argument will be to point to you Christ on the Cross. I’ll wait for your rebuttal. You are of infinite worth to God… so, there.

The Apostles Simon and Andrew grew up in Bethsaida, which was on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Bethsaida means House of the Fisherman, so given its location and name, it is safe to assume it was a fishing village. Given the nature of that society, it was expected that Simon and Andrew would grow up to be fishermen. The world defined them, determined their value, and they lived into it. It doesn’t mean it was bad; it just was; however, “As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’”

The world had assigned them a value, and then Jesus came along and said, “No. You are of greater value—infinite worth. Follow me, and I will take what little you and everyone else think you are and show you all how wrong you are. Follow me, and I will take the ‘old man’ and transform him into something new.” Jesus said, “The mouse-turned-cat-turned-dog-turned-tiger was returned to its original form because it was a tiger with the heart of a mouse, but I see your true worth; you are a mouse with the heart of a tiger. Follow me and begin to see in yourself what I see in you. Live into it.” What did the disciples do? “Immediately left everything and followed Him.” They left the “old man” behind.

Jesus points to you—each of you—and says, “Follow me.” Step outside of the opinions and value that others have placed on you, allow Jesus to define your worth, and follow Him. In doing so, you’ll discover your infinite worth in the eyes of God, and you will become the person He created you to be.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, You call us to follow You. Help us to drop our nets and abide in You. We are your disciples, committed to finding the ways that You strengthen our lives. Touch our hearts, enlighten our minds, stir our spirits. Teach us to share the fruits of our faith. Keep us by your side in faith, Lord Jesus. Amen.

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Sermon: Antony of Egypt

I have many heroes of the faith, one of which is undoubtedly St. Antony of Egypt. 

Antony was one of the earliest Desert Fathers, dying in 356 A.D. His life is memorialized in Life of Antony, written by St. Athanasius. It is a short document and definitely worth your time. Parts of it tell of Antony’s great battles against Satan and his minion. One such event tells how Antony goes to the tombs to pray and is viciously attacked by the demons. The brothers found him the following day and mended his wounds, but he insisted on returning to the tombs the following evening. Athanasius continues the encounter.

He was carried, therefore, by the man, and as he was wont, when the door was shut, he was within alone. And he could not stand up on account of the blows, but he prayed as he lay. And after he had prayed, he said with a shout, Here am I, Antony; I flee not from your stripes, for even if you inflict more, nothing shall separate me from the love of Christ. And then he sang, ‘Though a camp be set against me, my heart shall not be afraid.’ These were the thoughts and words of this ascetic. But the enemy, who hates good, marveling that after the blows he dared to return, called together his hounds and burst forth, ‘You see,’ said he, ‘that neither by the spirit of lust nor by blows did we stay the man, but that he braves us, let us attack him in another fashion.’ But changes of form for evil are easy for the devil, so in the night, they made such a din that the whole of that place seemed to be shaken by an earthquake, and the demons, as if breaking the four walls of the dwelling, seemed to enter through them, coming in the likeness of beasts and creeping things. And the place was, on a sudden, filled with the forms of lions, bears, leopards, bulls, serpents, asps, scorpions, and wolves, and each of them was moving according to his nature. The lion was roaring, wishing to attack, the bull seeming to toss with its horns, the serpent writhing but unable to approach, and the wolf as it rushed on was restrained; altogether, the noises of the apparitions, with their angry ragings, were dreadful. But Antony, stricken and goaded by them, felt bodily pains severer still. He lay watching, however, with unshaken soul, groaning from bodily anguish; but his mind was clear, and as in mockery, he said, ‘If there had been any power in you, it would have sufficed had one of you come, but since the Lord has made you weak, you attempt to terrify me by numbers: and a proof of your weakness is that you take the shapes of brute beasts.’ And again, with boldness, he said, ‘If you are able, and have received power against me, delay not to attack; but if you are unable, why trouble me in vain? For faith in our Lord is a seal and a wall of safety to us.’ So, after many attempts, they gnashed their teeth upon him, because they were mocking themselves rather than him.

There are so many things to learn, but mocking the devil doesn’t seem all that wise; however, that is precisely what Antony did. He laughed at the devil. St. Thomas More tells us why it is not such a foolish idea. “The devil…that proud spirit…cannot endure to be mocked.”

St. James tells us, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7b). The next time you find yourself in a spiritual battle, resist the devil and throw in a bit of mocking. The devil can’t endure it, and it will bring a bit of levity to your soul.

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Sermon: Epiphany 2 RCL B – “Signs”

Photo by Nicolai Berntsen on Unsplash

In the 1960s, Time Magazine was seeing a decline in subscriptions. Something had to be done, so the decision was made to make a mass appeal to potential subscribers. Previously, such appeals had required a great deal of manual labor: writing, sorting, stuffing, labeling, stamping, etc.; however, about that time, IBM had come out with a razoo machine known as a computer that promised to eliminate all that work and make life easier. Time employed the computer and put it to work. With the database uploaded and the paper trays full (or whatever it was they had back then), someone hit start. It worked, with a couple of glitches (it seems nothing has changed regarding computers.) A rancher out in Wyoming, who never got all that much mail, began receiving mailbags full of letters. All told, he received 12,634 letters, all containing the same emotional appeal to subscribe to Time Magazine. The rancher read a dozen or so of those letters and must have taken it as some sort of a sign because he then wrote a check for $6 to Time Magazine to pay for a subscription. He also included a brief note with his check—“I give up!” 

The Oxford Dictionary defines signs—as in signs and wonders—as “an object, quality, or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else.” One thing that is pointing to something else. We partially define a sacrament as “The outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” Baptism in water is the outward and visible sign of the cleansing that is taking place within our souls. However, some may view one thing as a sign, while others may see nothing at all or only coincidence. As Umberto Eco, the author of The Name of the Rose, wrote, “The understanding of signs is not a mere matter of recognition (of a stable equivalence); it is a matter of interpretation.” (Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language) 

I’ve told you this story before, but I like retelling it on occasion because it helps me remember the signs of my own life.

I had graduated from college and was working for a marketing firm in Dallas, but by the mid-90s, I had my fill, so I quit the white-collar job and moved to Butte, Montana. To pay the bills, I did several jobs, including working as the custodian at St. John’s Episcopal Church. 

I’m a night owl, so I would go to the church late at night to do my work and, afterward, would go into the sanctuary, lean up against the altar, and say my prayer. One night, I prayed, “Lord, you’ve given me some smarts and a pretty good education. I’m happy doing this job, but if there is something else you want me to do, you need to let me know.” (A word to the wise: never give God an open-ended option.) The honest truth: I went home and crawled in, slept a bit late the next day, and woke up about when the mailman was delivering. In the mail was a large envelope. It contained something I had not requested, nor would I have even thought to order—an application to seminary.

“The understanding of signs is not a mere matter of recognition…. it is a matter of interpretation.” I only received one piece of mail, not 12,634 pieces, but I understood that one piece of mail as a sign. I did not try to interpret it on my own but took it to faithful friends and the Church. Based on my current position, you can see that we all got the wrong interpretation! Actually, I believe we did. I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. Signs and interpretation of signs.

There are many signs within Holy Scripture, which are sometimes very clear, but often, they are up for interpretation. In his Gospel, John is kind enough to tell us when a sign has occurred, and he does so on seven occasions. 

The first was turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana, and also, in Cana, he healed the official’s son who was dying. While in Jerusalem, He healed the paralytic who was lying next to the Pool of Bethesda, and then, on a hill beside the Sea of Galilee, he fed the 5,000. This was followed by the fifth sign, walking on water, and later, He healed a man who had been born blind. Finally, Jesus gave the greatest of all signs: He raised Lazarus from the dead.

For each of these events, John tells us that what the people saw was a sign, but remember, a sign is an event or object pointing to something else, but to know what they are pointing to, we must first interpret them. In doing so, we understand that Jesus is not limited to earthly restraints. He can transform the ordinary—water—into the extraordinary—the best wine. He can heal those who are dying and restore those who are broken. He can take what little we have and produce a cup that is overflowing. He has power over the natural world, and He allows us to see what has been hidden. And, finally, He shows us that, with God, death has no power over us. 

So, if we have these seven signs, and those are our interpretations, then what are these signs pointing us to? What is the greater meaning? “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance….” The seven signs that John tells us about all point to the Resurrection—itself, a sign to us of things to come.

Were these all the signs that Jesus gave? No. Toward the end of his Gospel, John tells us, “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

All these signs that the disciples witnessed and more that are not recorded, but… can I ask you a question? Where’s my sign? Where’s your sign? How come they got to see signs, and all we are left with are a few words in a book written 2,000 years ago? The only problem with that statement is that it is not true. Why? Because we, too, are provided signs. Signs not written in the book or identified as such are no less signs. Take our Gospel reading for today—the calling of Philip and Nathanael. 

Jesus sees Philip and says, “Follow me.” Philip follows, and the first thing he does is find his buddy, Nathanael. Nathanael has his doubts but goes. Jesus sees Nathanael coming and says, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 

That encounter is not one of the signs identified by John. For you and I, there are some cryptic sayings that need explanation, but they are summed up as the calling of the disciples but… what would Nathanael say about that encounter? “It was a day like any other day.” “Nothing special happened.” “No signs to see here.” No. Jesus’ statement to him, “I saw you under the fig tree,” was a sign for Nathanael. It was a sign that pointed him to God, for he declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Nathanael was called and was known by God, and that calling and that knowing were all the signs he needed.

I’ll tell you something that you may not know: you have been called by God. You are known by God. As the Psalmist sings,

“My frame was not hidden from you
  when I was made in the secret place,
  when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.”

God saw Nathanael under the fig tree, and God saw you before the creation of the world. God called Nathanael, and God calls you. That is your sign. You don’t need 12,634 pieces of mail or an application to seminary to know this to be true. You only need to look within to see the signs clearly. The only question remaining is, “How will you interpret them?”

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, You gift us with all the good gifts that make us the people you created us to be. Help us to know and find your will and to trust that you will help us to understand the individual path you call us each to journey in life. Where there is doubt, give us courage. Give us hearts open to your quiet voice so we can hear your call. Help us to know your faithfulness and help us to be faithful to that which you call us to. Amen. 

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