In the Name of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
My dog Gabriel is a good dog. O sure, sometimes he is a little reluctant, but he usually comes around to being obedient pretty quickly. Gabe is a good dog but he does have a couple of issues. Gabriel is driven by two all consuming passions, and when they come into play Gabriel goes from compliant and friendly dog, to the dog from Hades. Confronted with either of his passions, he becomes an uncontrollable beast and at those times, if you asked his owner, I guarantee he would not say Gabe is a good dog then. His first passion is squirrels. When he sees a squirrel and he goes completely berserk. But it is his second passion that I really want to tell you about. It is a bit of a dark family secret, but your family right? Here goes… Gabriel loves poison toads. I don’t think poison toads live up north here. There is a non-poisonous toad and he will go after one of them out of necessity but Gabriel’s real passion is poison toads and where we lived in Houston—it was just teeming with them. They were everywhere. When Gabriel sees a toad he goes instantly and completely insane. He acts spastic. He becomes unresponsive to verbal commands or physical prompts, and before anybody can stop him, he has grabbed this poor forlorn toad in his mouth and wolfed it down—swallowed it in one gulp. (Believe me, it’s not anything you ever want to witness. It’s truly disgusting and yet to Gabe, whole toad is a gourmet treat.)
What I know, that Gabriel doesn’t know, is that poison toads are poison. (Duh, he’s a dog right?) Anyway, every time he eats a toad he becomes violently ill and O my, what a mess. He doesn’t get sick for five or six hours but when he does it is a very, very unpleasant experience for everyone concerned, Gabriel and Brenda and me. He gets so sick that I’m afraid one day he will die. Now, wouldn’t you think that if toad made him that violently ill that he would stop eating them? He hasn’t stopped. In fact, he seems to love them more every time he eats one. Gabriel has a passion for toad. He knows it’s not what his master wants for him. He knows I get unhappy with him every time he lunges at one, but his desire for toad, and the enjoyment he seems to get from eating toad, far exceeds his fear of displeasing me. And he doesn’t understand why I want to deny him his guilty little pleasure. “What’s the big deal anyway?” And as far as the illness and suffering goes? He doesn’t make the connection. He doesn’t get sick right away. It’s only hours after his favorite snack that Gabriel gets sick and by that time he is incapable of tying the illness back to the snack. His master sees the link between toad and sickness but poor Gabriel never does. If he could see the link, if he could see that the very thing he loves is the thing that is killing him, perhaps he would reach out for help. Maybe he would see the value of the collar around his neck maybe he would respond more positively to his master’s tug on his leash. Perhaps he would see that the master’s desire is not to deny him pleasure but to save his life. But as it is, Gabe’s passion for toads is killing him and he doesn’t even know it.
Now I believe that dogs and people are different, that dogs are beasts with an extremely limited ability to reason, and that people are highly intelligent creatures gifted with the ability to abstract reason. I really do believe that but I am also a student of human behavior and I have to be honest. I see people living the same sort of distorted life, repeating the same sorts of self-destructive behaviors as Gabe. And if I had to be really honest, I might admit that I repeat self-destructive behaviors in the same way as that dog of mine. What’s up with that? Why do we keep repeating the same mistakes and the same anti-social behaviors that make us sick? Our Master knows that these things cause us to become sick. He knows that they will eventually kill us. But we don’t seem capable of putting two and two together. What’s the definition of insanity? Doing the same things over and over again, expecting it will turn out differently this time? Somehow we have got to make the connection if we ever hope to break the cycle. We have to see the link between our personal, selfish, sinful behavior and the pain, suffering and death in our world. We are not exclusively to blame of course. Everybody on the planet contributes, but even if they didn’t our own sins would be sufficient to destroy us and those around us. Until we get humble and admit that connection, we are destined to keep eating poison toads, wondering why God is not rescuing us from our pain and sickness and why God keeps trying to deny us our guilty little pleasures. (If people are smarter than dogs then why do we believe in victimless crimes? Or in morally neutral behaviors?)
God made us smarter than dogs but we don’t always act that way. And that is why so much space in the Bible has been devoted to stories about sin and judgment, by the negative illustrations, and by the constant warnings of the wrath to come. Sin inevitably leads to sickness and death. And people sin and don’t see it’s devastating effect. That is the heart of the human condition. And a God who names himself “Compassion and Mercy” cannot leave that condition unaddressed. God has got to work on our hearts. He has got to call us out. He has got to show us the real cause of our sickness. I mean, when I am struggling to pull Gabriel away from a toad I am not doing it to ruin his fun. I am trying to save him from his own ignorance. When God sends one prophet after another with the message that we will be punished for sin, when he convicts us of our personal failures, when he refuses to let us skate, he is trying to save our lives by humbling us in order that we might see the truth. Jesus tells us the truth will set us free.
Over the next four weeks our readings on Sunday morning are going to be tough readings—they always are this time of year. We will hear the words of Jesus and the prophets telling us that God’s wrath is coming. The gist of the thing is this: ‘You haven’t stopped sinning and your chances to stop are just about used up. Once time is up you are going to suffer, not for a little while but forever. Once time is up you are going to be separated from God, not for a little while but forever. To put it into the context of the Gabriel story, God will tell us over and over again that insisting on eating poison toads kills dogs, no matter how good a dog they might otherwise be.
These passages are not designed to make us unhappy or to cause us to have an unpleasant day. They are designed to open our eyes to the true gravity of our situation, to humble us and cause us to to seek God’s merciful and powerful grace. The prophet is not thumbing his nose at God’s chosen people saying, “Tough luck, it’s over, there’s no hope.” The prophet is announcing the inevitable consequences of sin and warning that the time to repent and return to the Lord is now: not tomorrow, not after lunch but right now. Jesus does not tell his judgment parables to taunt those who are about to suffer eternal damnation. He tells his judgment parables to rescue them, by inspiring people to look at him with fresh eyes. Jesus’ desire is to inspire enough humility in his listeners that they will actually be able to see past their own destructive passions and peer into the eyes of the Son of God who is standing right in front of them, offering them God’s forgiveness.
When Jonah finally preached judgment against Nineveh, the people of Nineveh humbled themselves. They threw ashes on their heads and tore their clothing. They fasted and they repented. And (much to Jonah’s chagrin) God did not destroy the city. God had mercy on them and spared them.
Over the next several weeks, as we close out this Church year, we are going to be given the same opportunity Nineveh was given. We are going to be given the opportunity to listen to the hard words of God’s messengers and to hear God’s grave warnings. You can take it as a burden but I would suggest you see it as a great privilege. We are extremely fortunate that God, in his mercy, has chosen to speak these words to us ahead of the time, and has given us another opportunity to amend our lives while there is still time. We are going to be given the opportunity to open our eyes to the gravity of our situation and to humble ourselves, to receive the Gift of God’s forgiveness. That is an priceless gift. Over and over we will see that we have been driven by passions, passions that make our souls sick, passions that lead us away from the Kingdom of God and towards eternal death. But our Lord Jesus Christ was also driven by a passion—a holy passion. And his passion is humanity. His passion is you. More than anything else he desires to see you saved. On the day he was crucified He welcomed the beating he endured because it was the means of restoring you. He let the soldiers spit in his face because he took your humiliation upon himself. When he died upon the cross he died to cancel your debt to God. All that you owed God Jesus paid on your behalf. Jesus paid it all. He paid it all for every one of us. Jesus paid it all for everyone who has ever lived. Jesus’ holy passion has opened up the Gates to God’s eternal city. He has clothed us in pure white robes and he bids us come, come to the banquet. Your debt is paid. You have been stripped of your chains. You are free.
Proverbs 27.6 reads, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” That is a good word for us in the weeks to come. If you feel wounded by the Word of God, I beg you to take the message to heart. God has sent you a healing word. Know that the Lord seeks your welfare and that if you hear a hard or difficult word from him, it is meant for your good. If we humble ourselves before the word of God only good can come of it. Humble yourselves, therefore, in the sight of the Lord, in order that he may lift you up. Amen.
October 31, 2011
October 18, 2011
PA Supreme Court Denies Appeal
Dear Friends,
Below is a letter from Bishop Duncan notifying everyone that our last appeal was denied. This means that the decision of the Common Pleas Court of Allegheny County stands. Those properties deeded to the Trustees of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh belong to the Episcopal Church. While this decision is a disappointment it was not unexpected and the Anglican Diocese has already made the adjustments required by the original court decision.
The decision does not change our status at Trinity, Beaver. We were never named as defendants in the original lawsuit and our property is not deeded to the Trustees of the Episcopal Church. Our case has yet to be heard by any court. Our hope is that it will never have to be heard, that we can arrive at a fair and amicable settlement with the Episcopal Diocese. We do, however, believe that our case is a good one and that, if pressed, we will win in a court of law.
Please continue to pray for those parishes whose property is at risk. Pray that they may find a reasonable and satisfactory settlement that will meet their worship needs. And please continue to pray for our parish leadership as they seek a final resolution to this matter.
Bishop Duncan's letter can be found below.
Blessings, Scott+
Below is a letter from Bishop Duncan notifying everyone that our last appeal was denied. This means that the decision of the Common Pleas Court of Allegheny County stands. Those properties deeded to the Trustees of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh belong to the Episcopal Church. While this decision is a disappointment it was not unexpected and the Anglican Diocese has already made the adjustments required by the original court decision.
The decision does not change our status at Trinity, Beaver. We were never named as defendants in the original lawsuit and our property is not deeded to the Trustees of the Episcopal Church. Our case has yet to be heard by any court. Our hope is that it will never have to be heard, that we can arrive at a fair and amicable settlement with the Episcopal Diocese. We do, however, believe that our case is a good one and that, if pressed, we will win in a court of law.
Please continue to pray for those parishes whose property is at risk. Pray that they may find a reasonable and satisfactory settlement that will meet their worship needs. And please continue to pray for our parish leadership as they seek a final resolution to this matter.
Bishop Duncan's letter can be found below.
Blessings, Scott+
Appeal to PA Supreme Court Denied
18th October, A.D. 2011
Feast of St. Luke
TO ALL CLERGY AND LAY LEADERS OF THE ANGLICAN DIOCESE:
Dearest Brothers & Sisters in Christ,
I write to you today to inform you that our appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has been rejected. We accept that the courts have not found in our favor and will, of course, comply with all court orders.
We remain committed to reaching a negotiated settlement with the Episcopal Church diocese. In light of this judgment by the courts, we will redouble that commitment to reaching a final resolution of all issues between the Episcopal Church diocese and the Anglican diocese through negotiation.
We intend to persevere in our mission, which is to be Anglican Christians transforming our world with Jesus Christ. We do this chiefly by planting congregations. As at every annual Convention since realignment, congregations are being added to our diocese both locally and across the country, for which we give thanks to God. We pray God’s continued favor on our mission, his grace towards those who remain within the Episcopal Church, and his help for our beloved Communion as we move into the challenges and opportunities of this new millennium. May the Gospel of our Lord Christ find a fresh hearing all across his Church and his world!
Faithfully your Bishop and Archbishop,
+Robert Pittsburgh
Feast of St. Luke
TO ALL CLERGY AND LAY LEADERS OF THE ANGLICAN DIOCESE:
Dearest Brothers & Sisters in Christ,
I write to you today to inform you that our appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has been rejected. We accept that the courts have not found in our favor and will, of course, comply with all court orders.
We remain committed to reaching a negotiated settlement with the Episcopal Church diocese. In light of this judgment by the courts, we will redouble that commitment to reaching a final resolution of all issues between the Episcopal Church diocese and the Anglican diocese through negotiation.
We intend to persevere in our mission, which is to be Anglican Christians transforming our world with Jesus Christ. We do this chiefly by planting congregations. As at every annual Convention since realignment, congregations are being added to our diocese both locally and across the country, for which we give thanks to God. We pray God’s continued favor on our mission, his grace towards those who remain within the Episcopal Church, and his help for our beloved Communion as we move into the challenges and opportunities of this new millennium. May the Gospel of our Lord Christ find a fresh hearing all across his Church and his world!
Faithfully your Bishop and Archbishop,
+Robert Pittsburgh
September 29, 2011
Mission to Kajire, Kenya
Kajire is a village in Southeastern Kenya about 100 miles from the Indian Ocean. It is a rural area. The local economy is agricultural--mostly subsistence level farming.
Kajire became a point of interest for Trinity Church, Beaver two or three years ago. A parishioner became friends with the Rev Ferdinand M'bwangi who visited Western Pennsylvania for a couple of years while attending seminary. One night at dinner Ferdinand admired the runnning water in our houses and he began to talk about the village where he was born. There is no water in Kajire, except for the little bit that can be collected at a water hole a couple of miles away. And so, people in 2011, much as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago, walk to the water hole, gather their day's water (if there is any left) and walk back home. That parishioner, our parish, determined to help the people of Kajire get a well in their village. That well is currently being dug.
It just so happens that Kajire is also right in the middle of the worst drought Africa has experienced in many years (and that is saying a lot). No water means no crops and no crops means no food produced. It also means no crop to sell in order to buy food. The people of East Africa, and our friends in Kajire, are starving to death as a consequence of no rain!
A number of us in the parish have been praying for Kajire for a long time now. And the Lord has placed a burden for Kajire on our hearts. The Lord is calling us to find ways to partner with our brothers and sisters there, to alleviate their suffering, to build indigenous industry, to help them help themselves. The Lord has also called us to go and meet his people in Kajire, up close and personal. And so a group of us will go to Kajire in January, to meet the local leaders, to survey the area for opportunities to serve, and to preach the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We go as representatives of Trinity Church, Beaver and we will bring back and share our experience with everyone.
I will be posting a series of blogs about our relationship with the people of Kajire over the next few months. The articles are written with the intention that those of you just hearing about Kajire will feel moved to join in this mission and for those who have already been moved to join in the project, to keep you informed about what is going on.
The need in East Africa is immense. Large numbers of people are dying of starvation daily. If you saw the numbers it would break your heart. Trinity parish will never be able to meet anywhere near all the need but we can do what we can do. And our Lord honors all effort. If we do what we can, many will be blessed by our efforts. So, I invite you to join in this great adventure, as we seek to serve the least, the last and the lost. What could be closer to God's heart than people reaching out to help lift their brothers and sisters up? After all, isn't that what Jesus has done for all of us?
"Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: so clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen."
Kajire became a point of interest for Trinity Church, Beaver two or three years ago. A parishioner became friends with the Rev Ferdinand M'bwangi who visited Western Pennsylvania for a couple of years while attending seminary. One night at dinner Ferdinand admired the runnning water in our houses and he began to talk about the village where he was born. There is no water in Kajire, except for the little bit that can be collected at a water hole a couple of miles away. And so, people in 2011, much as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago, walk to the water hole, gather their day's water (if there is any left) and walk back home. That parishioner, our parish, determined to help the people of Kajire get a well in their village. That well is currently being dug.
It just so happens that Kajire is also right in the middle of the worst drought Africa has experienced in many years (and that is saying a lot). No water means no crops and no crops means no food produced. It also means no crop to sell in order to buy food. The people of East Africa, and our friends in Kajire, are starving to death as a consequence of no rain!
A number of us in the parish have been praying for Kajire for a long time now. And the Lord has placed a burden for Kajire on our hearts. The Lord is calling us to find ways to partner with our brothers and sisters there, to alleviate their suffering, to build indigenous industry, to help them help themselves. The Lord has also called us to go and meet his people in Kajire, up close and personal. And so a group of us will go to Kajire in January, to meet the local leaders, to survey the area for opportunities to serve, and to preach the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We go as representatives of Trinity Church, Beaver and we will bring back and share our experience with everyone.
I will be posting a series of blogs about our relationship with the people of Kajire over the next few months. The articles are written with the intention that those of you just hearing about Kajire will feel moved to join in this mission and for those who have already been moved to join in the project, to keep you informed about what is going on.
The need in East Africa is immense. Large numbers of people are dying of starvation daily. If you saw the numbers it would break your heart. Trinity parish will never be able to meet anywhere near all the need but we can do what we can do. And our Lord honors all effort. If we do what we can, many will be blessed by our efforts. So, I invite you to join in this great adventure, as we seek to serve the least, the last and the lost. What could be closer to God's heart than people reaching out to help lift their brothers and sisters up? After all, isn't that what Jesus has done for all of us?
"Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: so clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen."
August 19, 2011
Going to Kajire with Living Water
An Appeal for Trinity Church’s Mission to Kajire
Dear Friends,
If you have been listening to my preaching over the last four years then you should have heard a consistent message about the Lord’s call on each of us to be disciples, and that being disciples is not about simply believing in Jesus in our heads. It is about living and acting in the ways that Jesus lived and acted. Disciples do not just know what the rabbi knows. Disciples do what the rabbi does. If we want to call ourselves Christians we must be disciples of rabbi Jesus. And that means we are called to do what Jesus does.
That brings me to the Kajire well project. Isn’t this water well we are attempting to build in Kenya about getting life-giving water to people who are thirsty? Isn’t it about getting water to people who do not currently have ready access to water? As a Christian community we heard Jesus speak to us about the suffering of his people in Kenya and we responded to his clear call by doing the sort of thing our Lord would do. We provided the funds required to relieve people’s suffering. But there is another form of suffering even worse than the thirst for water. It is the suffering that comes from not knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He came to us in order that we might know him. If we are really interested in these people’s lives and alleviating their suffering shouldn’t we be going to them to make sure that they hear and they know that Jesus has come for them? To save them? I believe that this Kajire well project is a perfect opportunity for us to begin a conversation with the local people about a God who loves them so much that he calls his servants from half way around the world to bring them water—not just well water but the living Water of Life.
A couple of us have been praying about this for quite awhile now and I believe that God is calling us to send representatives from Trinity Beaver to the Kajire village, as representatives of Christ’s church, to celebrate the well AND to bring the Gospel message to anyone there who will listen. I am ready to answer God’s call and go to Kajire. I wonder if you will help in three ways?
1)Pray for the trip and for those who go on it. Pray for our safety, that the message of God’s love and salvation would be spoken clearly and received by many.
2)Consider going to Kajire with me. The Lord may have a purpose for you there. Ask him, and if you believe you may be called to go, please contact me.
3)Provide financial backing for the trip. I cannot afford to finance this trip myself. The church's annual budget is tight. Would you make a one-time gift to provide the money required for airfare, housing and meals for the mission?
Prayer, team members and the money to fund the trip are all vital to the success of this mission. Would you prayerfully consider joining in and helping? Blessings to you. I am thankful for your partnership in this ministry,
Scott+
Dear Friends,
If you have been listening to my preaching over the last four years then you should have heard a consistent message about the Lord’s call on each of us to be disciples, and that being disciples is not about simply believing in Jesus in our heads. It is about living and acting in the ways that Jesus lived and acted. Disciples do not just know what the rabbi knows. Disciples do what the rabbi does. If we want to call ourselves Christians we must be disciples of rabbi Jesus. And that means we are called to do what Jesus does.
That brings me to the Kajire well project. Isn’t this water well we are attempting to build in Kenya about getting life-giving water to people who are thirsty? Isn’t it about getting water to people who do not currently have ready access to water? As a Christian community we heard Jesus speak to us about the suffering of his people in Kenya and we responded to his clear call by doing the sort of thing our Lord would do. We provided the funds required to relieve people’s suffering. But there is another form of suffering even worse than the thirst for water. It is the suffering that comes from not knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He came to us in order that we might know him. If we are really interested in these people’s lives and alleviating their suffering shouldn’t we be going to them to make sure that they hear and they know that Jesus has come for them? To save them? I believe that this Kajire well project is a perfect opportunity for us to begin a conversation with the local people about a God who loves them so much that he calls his servants from half way around the world to bring them water—not just well water but the living Water of Life.
A couple of us have been praying about this for quite awhile now and I believe that God is calling us to send representatives from Trinity Beaver to the Kajire village, as representatives of Christ’s church, to celebrate the well AND to bring the Gospel message to anyone there who will listen. I am ready to answer God’s call and go to Kajire. I wonder if you will help in three ways?
1)Pray for the trip and for those who go on it. Pray for our safety, that the message of God’s love and salvation would be spoken clearly and received by many.
2)Consider going to Kajire with me. The Lord may have a purpose for you there. Ask him, and if you believe you may be called to go, please contact me.
3)Provide financial backing for the trip. I cannot afford to finance this trip myself. The church's annual budget is tight. Would you make a one-time gift to provide the money required for airfare, housing and meals for the mission?
Prayer, team members and the money to fund the trip are all vital to the success of this mission. Would you prayerfully consider joining in and helping? Blessings to you. I am thankful for your partnership in this ministry,
Scott+
July 8, 2011
The Silent Sermon
A friend of mine in Texas sent this to me:
A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the preacher decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his preacher's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace... And waited.
The preacher made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the preacher took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone, then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.
Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The preacher glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.
As the preacher reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, "Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I will be back in church next Sunday."
A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the preacher decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his preacher's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace... And waited.
The preacher made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the preacher took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone, then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.
Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The preacher glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.
As the preacher reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, "Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I will be back in church next Sunday."
June 23, 2011
Pass It On
a simple act of evangelism that has gone untried
by Fr. Scott Homer
Everyone has their preferred means of communications. For some it is the telephone. More and more people use telephones to text one another. My preferred method of communicating is face to face but that is followed closely by email. Just about everybody, old and young, is emailing these days. It has become America’s means of sharing life with one another.
That is why Trinity has begun the practice of sending out a weekly email newsletter. The email newsletter is a fast and efficient way of sharing this parish’s life with one another. Almost everybody I ask tells me that the Trinity Newsletter is attractive, informative and professional. They tell me they read it, in its entirety, just about every Monday. And that causes me to wonder why we don’t forward it to our families, friends and neighbors. Wouldn’t that be an excellent way to let them know what we are doing in church, and also a friendly and gentle way of letting them know they we are inviting them to join in that aspect of our lives we call church?
Many of us forward jokes, or oddities, or product coupons that we receive via email. Why not forward Trinity Newsletter? Perhaps those people you are afraid to talk religion with would be blessed by receiving news about your church and the many wonderful programs that are happening there. At worst, they can shrug and hit delete. In either case you have fulfilled, in a very simple and unassuming way, your obligation “...to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence...” (1Peter 3.15)
by Fr. Scott Homer
Everyone has their preferred means of communications. For some it is the telephone. More and more people use telephones to text one another. My preferred method of communicating is face to face but that is followed closely by email. Just about everybody, old and young, is emailing these days. It has become America’s means of sharing life with one another.
That is why Trinity has begun the practice of sending out a weekly email newsletter. The email newsletter is a fast and efficient way of sharing this parish’s life with one another. Almost everybody I ask tells me that the Trinity Newsletter is attractive, informative and professional. They tell me they read it, in its entirety, just about every Monday. And that causes me to wonder why we don’t forward it to our families, friends and neighbors. Wouldn’t that be an excellent way to let them know what we are doing in church, and also a friendly and gentle way of letting them know they we are inviting them to join in that aspect of our lives we call church?
Many of us forward jokes, or oddities, or product coupons that we receive via email. Why not forward Trinity Newsletter? Perhaps those people you are afraid to talk religion with would be blessed by receiving news about your church and the many wonderful programs that are happening there. At worst, they can shrug and hit delete. In either case you have fulfilled, in a very simple and unassuming way, your obligation “...to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence...” (1Peter 3.15)
June 9, 2011
Blessed in Brokenness
by Fr. Scott Homer
Once a month the residents of a number of group homes come to Trinity, Beaver to share in a lunch with dozens of volunteer parishioners. The event has been dubbed the Mustard Seed Café. Our guests come faithfully month after month and they receive tremendous meals served up with a smile. The question I am asking is, why? Why do they come? What do they need that we provide? A bowl of soup, a sandwich, some chips and a beverage? Sure, I guess, but they would have those things without us. They don’t need to venture outside their homes to get their bellies fed, so what is it that brings them to us?
Community, friendship, acceptance, love, forgiveness? Obviously they cannot articulate these things to us but isn’t that why they are really coming? They are coming to see you! They are coming to be greeted by you! They are coming because you are glad to see them, because you sit and talk to them, joke with them, sing with them, pray with them! They are coming because they love you and they enjoy being loved back.
Are they hungry and needing to be fed? Well yes, but they are not hungry for food. They are hungry for joy. They are hungry for companionship. They are hungry for relationships that greet them, and encourage them, and support them. Healthy relationship: that is the hunger that is beginning to be met at Mustard Seed Café. The core of every healthy relationship is love and the ultimate source of that love is Jesus Christ.
For the disabled and the handicapped relationships are often difficult. Many have grown up in relationships characterized by abuse and neglect. Many have been laughed at, mocked, humiliated and degraded. Many have been taken advantage of, used, or ignored. Many have grown to hold themselves in extreme contempt and to distrust others. They see little or no value in themselves as human beings. They do not like what they see when they look in the mirror. When they look in the mirror they see the “despicable me” the world has taught them to see. Is there any doubt about why they love the positive attention you show them?
“They” are not alone. Although we spend most of our lives attempting to mask our neediness and deny our lack of self-worth, although we want to feel good about ourselves and to know we are valuable to others, the truth for many of us is that we are hungry to be greeted, encouraged, and supported. We are hungry for positive, healthy relationships too. We too have heard so many negative voices for so many years. I pray that our church will become a place where healthy relationships support people by encouraging them, supporting them and nurturing them. I pray that the need for community that is central to every human being would be met in this church as we remind each other that we are forgiven, protected and welcomed by the head of our community Jesus Christ. I pray that many of us will model our lives after his example.
We are all hungry for relationships and if we cannot get healthy ones we will settle for unhealthy ones. Welcome to America. Welcome to the problems of drug abuse, alcoholism, sexual promiscuity, compulsive shopping, compulsive eating and compulsive living. If someone is starving he will settle for junk food. When people are starved for healthy relationship they will settle for any relationship, no matter how destructive. I pray that the people we know, the people who live around us will never have to settle for unhealthy relationships because they will find us to be a ready source of healthy ones.
The Mustard Seed Café at Trinity Church is a fairly new venture but already we have established a toehold on the true meaning of community. In our relationships with the truly broken, the truly marginalized and the truly poor, we are seeing our own brokenness and our own needs. As we see God's grace operating through us we begin to recognize the presence of the One who meets us, greets us, encourages and strengthens us, not in our areas of strength but in our greatest weaknesses. The heart of the community we are finding at the Mustard Seed Café is the heart of Jesus blessing us and encouraging us as we learn to bless and welcome one another.
In the months ahead I hope we will be able to find creative ways to point to the presence of the Holy One in our midst, to name Him and proclaim Him and rejoice in what He is doing for us. And I hope that we will begin to find ways to operate outside of the box, to explore new avenues for deepening our commitment to one another and to the community. What a blessed beginning the Lord has given us!
The next Mustard Seed Cafe will be held June 26 at 12:15pm in the parish hall. Try it. We believe you will like it.
Once a month the residents of a number of group homes come to Trinity, Beaver to share in a lunch with dozens of volunteer parishioners. The event has been dubbed the Mustard Seed Café. Our guests come faithfully month after month and they receive tremendous meals served up with a smile. The question I am asking is, why? Why do they come? What do they need that we provide? A bowl of soup, a sandwich, some chips and a beverage? Sure, I guess, but they would have those things without us. They don’t need to venture outside their homes to get their bellies fed, so what is it that brings them to us?
Community, friendship, acceptance, love, forgiveness? Obviously they cannot articulate these things to us but isn’t that why they are really coming? They are coming to see you! They are coming to be greeted by you! They are coming because you are glad to see them, because you sit and talk to them, joke with them, sing with them, pray with them! They are coming because they love you and they enjoy being loved back.
Are they hungry and needing to be fed? Well yes, but they are not hungry for food. They are hungry for joy. They are hungry for companionship. They are hungry for relationships that greet them, and encourage them, and support them. Healthy relationship: that is the hunger that is beginning to be met at Mustard Seed Café. The core of every healthy relationship is love and the ultimate source of that love is Jesus Christ.
For the disabled and the handicapped relationships are often difficult. Many have grown up in relationships characterized by abuse and neglect. Many have been laughed at, mocked, humiliated and degraded. Many have been taken advantage of, used, or ignored. Many have grown to hold themselves in extreme contempt and to distrust others. They see little or no value in themselves as human beings. They do not like what they see when they look in the mirror. When they look in the mirror they see the “despicable me” the world has taught them to see. Is there any doubt about why they love the positive attention you show them?
“They” are not alone. Although we spend most of our lives attempting to mask our neediness and deny our lack of self-worth, although we want to feel good about ourselves and to know we are valuable to others, the truth for many of us is that we are hungry to be greeted, encouraged, and supported. We are hungry for positive, healthy relationships too. We too have heard so many negative voices for so many years. I pray that our church will become a place where healthy relationships support people by encouraging them, supporting them and nurturing them. I pray that the need for community that is central to every human being would be met in this church as we remind each other that we are forgiven, protected and welcomed by the head of our community Jesus Christ. I pray that many of us will model our lives after his example.
We are all hungry for relationships and if we cannot get healthy ones we will settle for unhealthy ones. Welcome to America. Welcome to the problems of drug abuse, alcoholism, sexual promiscuity, compulsive shopping, compulsive eating and compulsive living. If someone is starving he will settle for junk food. When people are starved for healthy relationship they will settle for any relationship, no matter how destructive. I pray that the people we know, the people who live around us will never have to settle for unhealthy relationships because they will find us to be a ready source of healthy ones.
The Mustard Seed Café at Trinity Church is a fairly new venture but already we have established a toehold on the true meaning of community. In our relationships with the truly broken, the truly marginalized and the truly poor, we are seeing our own brokenness and our own needs. As we see God's grace operating through us we begin to recognize the presence of the One who meets us, greets us, encourages and strengthens us, not in our areas of strength but in our greatest weaknesses. The heart of the community we are finding at the Mustard Seed Café is the heart of Jesus blessing us and encouraging us as we learn to bless and welcome one another.
In the months ahead I hope we will be able to find creative ways to point to the presence of the Holy One in our midst, to name Him and proclaim Him and rejoice in what He is doing for us. And I hope that we will begin to find ways to operate outside of the box, to explore new avenues for deepening our commitment to one another and to the community. What a blessed beginning the Lord has given us!
The next Mustard Seed Cafe will be held June 26 at 12:15pm in the parish hall. Try it. We believe you will like it.
June 7, 2011
The Ascension: Hope and Assurance Affirmed
by Fr. Scott Homer
A sermon for the 7th Sunday of Easter:
A large percentage of Christians around the world gathered in churches on Thursday to worship God and to celebrate the anniversary of Jesus’ ascension into heaven. We had quite a large number gather here. But why did we gather on the anniversary of the Ascension?
To answer that question I would like to quote two passages from scripture and then take you to one of my favorite places from long ago. It was an extraordinary place in many ways and I hope will give us some insight into the value of Jesus opening up the possibility of heaven to you and me. The first passage from Scripture is Psalm 127.1: “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build …” The second is from the Letter to the Hebrews 9.24: Hebrews 9.24, “Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.”
To get to this place I liked so much, you had to walk off the noisy, crowded and busy city street, climb a series of steps approaching the building until finally you walked through large glass doors and into an mammoth lobby area built of very expensive stone and glass but otherwise open, plain, and largely utilitarian, as lobbies usually are. But we are not interested in the lobby. That is not why we have come and so we walk over to the banks of elevators. To get where we want to go we are going to have to ascend to the top of the building, and so we must choose the correct elevators because some of the elevators only service the lower half of the building. We need one of the elevators that will go all the way to the top, to the 103rd floor. The elevators are large, the size of small office, also nicely appointed but largely utilitarian and so nothing in the public areas of this building prepares you for what you are about to see. After a climb that seems to last forever, long after your ears have popped due to the change in atmospheric pressure, the door of the elevator finally opens.
As the door opens you find yourself beaconed into the most extraordinary space. It’s magical; it’s luminous, glittery and golden, with subdued, sophisticated lighting. There is a hushed atmosphere to the place with just a hint of elegant music in background. You feel like it would be crass to speak in a normal voice. You want to whisper. As you step off the elevator you feel as if you have indeed entered Cloud Nine. Here is refinement, beauty, and comfort combined into an environment which pushes the edges of human design. Surely, this must be the work of angels. This is a restaurant where every table has enough space to be alone and intimate even as its occupants share the room with many others. And you share the room with extraordinary smells and tastes and sounds and sights. In this restaurant, it is not cliché to say that you are experiencing a bit of heaven. And that feeling is enhanced by the ceiling to floor, and wall to wall windows through which you can gaze upon the millions of lights that illuminate the city by night. From this immense height you are convinced that you and these other fortunate few patrons are looking down from heaven upon a perfect earth. (I don’t know if you have ever noticed but there is no pain and no suffering from a distance—that only occurs up close) Beautiful, almost beyond human imagination, and yet this is not the Kingdom of heaven, not the creation of God or the Lord’s throne room. This is the Windows on the World Restaurant in the World Trade Center in New York City as I recall it in about 1978. Occupying the 103rd story in the tallest building in the world at that time, this was the closest thing to heaven that human creativity and industry could muster. Here at the top of the great cathedral of business and commerce was the place to strive for. The room smacked of money, power, creativity, genius. And when I entered that room at the age of 23 I thought, “This is it!” This is worth the striving, this is worth suffering to attain. If you could afford the prices on the menu in this place you really could know heaven on earth.
Of course the Windows on the World restaurant now symbolizes the problem. Nothing built by human hands lasts. Nothing devised or engineered by man can sustain itself. No matter how spectacular, no matter how rich, no matter how wonderful, the products of human labor and ingenuity are sure to fail, either from inherent structural flaws or from enemy attack. That fact was confirmed on on September 11, 2001. The great American tragedy of our time. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the workers labor in vain who build it.”
This morning we read an account of another ascent, not an ascent into a structure made by human hands, but an ascent into the Kingdom of God, a place far more spectacular than the Windows on the World Restaurant, and a place that has no inherent weakness, no design flaws a place impervious to attack. Here the rugs do not get dirty and worn. Here the glass is always clean. Here the staff is always courteous, and best of all, here everything on the menu is free because someone has already picked up your tab. All who ascend to this place will know joy, and peace, and fulfillment—not until it wears out, not until it gives out and not until it is taken from us. This place is the place built by the Lord, a product of God’s perfect will and purpose. This place lies beyond the fallen world where sin and death, anger and disease wield so much influence. The kingdom of God is set apart. It is pure and holy and it endures forever. “Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.”
On the fortieth day after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, he ascended into heaven. Jesus is lifted up in a cloud and vanishes from sight. It is the final act in his work of salvation for his people. Jesus tells his disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you, so that where I am you may be also.” You know that expression, “Life stinks and then you die?” It is a lie. At the end of these few years we enjoy on earth lies life, not death. The more accurate expression would be something like, “death stinks and then you live, and live and live.” Jesus ascension opens the door to God’s heavenly and eternal kingdom to us.
The Ascension affirms in fact what Jesus taught in word: that there is way more to life than what you can see, hear, taste, smell and feel. Human senses are severely limited and if we trust them to explain reality to us we will be misled. Our senses will persuade us that when we achieve the success that we hoped for in this life that we have actually arrived someplace significant, when in fact, our success in earthly terms has little to no bearing on our eternal relationship with Christ. Even worse, reliance on our senses will cause us to be blind, deaf and dumb to the spiritual realities that surround seemingly ordinary events. We simply cannot rely on our senses to tell the truth in the important matters. We are not to trust in the products of our own hands. We are not to judge our wellbeing based upon our circumstances. We are called to trust in God for our future. We are to invest ourselves in the things important to Jesus Christ. God is working. He is building and we can trust in that building.
Do what you want with your life. But unless what you do has some bearing on your relationship with Jesus Christ it is of little or no long-term value. In the end all of your work will fall—maybe not as dramatically as the World Trade Center, but our efforts will fall just as surely. And so we ought to live our days, plan our activities with some intentionality. Our choices matter—and unfortunately we humans tend to choose our desires instead of God’s purposes.
Most of us wonder how we will find time to pray in the midst of so many important activities. That is a misunderstanding of our priorities. We ought to be wondering how we are going to find time to do all these other things when we have so much praying to get done first. Can you imagine calling your spouse and apologizing for being late for dinner because you had to stay late to pray? Now there is a legitimate excuse for missing dinner. Can you imagine writing out an I owe you to God, a bill equal to a percentage of your take home pay and keeping it on top of your stack of bills? Can you imagine giving back to God before you pay the electric or the rent?
We have said that the only thing that matters in the long run is our relationship with Jesus Christ. If we truly believed that we would live differently. And I am here to tell you. It is not a hypothetical. It is true. When a person takes care of their relationship with God first and foremost, they and their family lose nothing. In fact, they really do find themselves living a better quality of life. I have seen it happen time and time again. Try it, I guarantee you will like it.
And I guarantee that you will never find yourself trusting in a building that is falling down around your ears, realizing that you have lost hope in your future, living in anxiety and fear, and wondering if there is a God who cares. That is the unfortunate place people without faith wind up. People who despair, at least many of them, have spent their lives excluding God from the fabric of their daily lives. Many of them lived in the delusion that they could construct a house out of their own strength, their own ingenuity and their own hard work only to discover that it has all been in vain. The bottom line is there is only one heaven. There is only one way to ascend into heaven. Heaven is prepared. It is ready for occupancy. The way to heaven has been paved by our Lord and Savior Jesus, and he has shown us the way. He is the way and he has promised that all that believe in him, all who make him Lord of their lives, will find their home with him.
This first Sunday after the Ascension is a great reminder that our actual home is not here on planet earth. We are beings who were created to live in the heavenly realms but our minds and our wills have been misdirected. Our families and friends, even we ourselves have devoted ourselves to this worldly stuff thinking that somehow or another it would lead us to the things our hearts desire. Of course we have to live in this world, but we will never find the ability to live in this world gracefully let alone prepare for the world to come until we place God’s kingdom in the place of priority. We will never learn to manage life on life’s terms until we have submitted to living life according to God’s priorities.
Jesus ascended into heaven and we have been called to ascend into heaven as well. For Jesus the ascension was an event. In a moment he was raised up in a cloud and was gone. For us ascension is a process, a lifelong process that began when we were baptized and will end when we find ourselves before the throne of God singing, “Holy, holy, holy.” And I fear it is a process that we all neglect to our own detriment. I fear we suffer in this life needlessly because we defy God’s direction and refuse God’s assistance and grace. “Too busy to pray,” we say. “The world is too risky to trust,” we say. “If I give to God I will be the poorer,” we say. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Jesus said, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto to you.
Do something dangerous this week: Surrender to God. Trust that he will care for you. Believe that your investment in your relationship with God will gain you more than you loose. That is the truth! That is actual reality! Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, dwelling in the place of perfection. And he has saved a place for you there. Amen.
A sermon for the 7th Sunday of Easter:
A large percentage of Christians around the world gathered in churches on Thursday to worship God and to celebrate the anniversary of Jesus’ ascension into heaven. We had quite a large number gather here. But why did we gather on the anniversary of the Ascension?
To answer that question I would like to quote two passages from scripture and then take you to one of my favorite places from long ago. It was an extraordinary place in many ways and I hope will give us some insight into the value of Jesus opening up the possibility of heaven to you and me. The first passage from Scripture is Psalm 127.1: “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build …” The second is from the Letter to the Hebrews 9.24: Hebrews 9.24, “Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.”
To get to this place I liked so much, you had to walk off the noisy, crowded and busy city street, climb a series of steps approaching the building until finally you walked through large glass doors and into an mammoth lobby area built of very expensive stone and glass but otherwise open, plain, and largely utilitarian, as lobbies usually are. But we are not interested in the lobby. That is not why we have come and so we walk over to the banks of elevators. To get where we want to go we are going to have to ascend to the top of the building, and so we must choose the correct elevators because some of the elevators only service the lower half of the building. We need one of the elevators that will go all the way to the top, to the 103rd floor. The elevators are large, the size of small office, also nicely appointed but largely utilitarian and so nothing in the public areas of this building prepares you for what you are about to see. After a climb that seems to last forever, long after your ears have popped due to the change in atmospheric pressure, the door of the elevator finally opens.
As the door opens you find yourself beaconed into the most extraordinary space. It’s magical; it’s luminous, glittery and golden, with subdued, sophisticated lighting. There is a hushed atmosphere to the place with just a hint of elegant music in background. You feel like it would be crass to speak in a normal voice. You want to whisper. As you step off the elevator you feel as if you have indeed entered Cloud Nine. Here is refinement, beauty, and comfort combined into an environment which pushes the edges of human design. Surely, this must be the work of angels. This is a restaurant where every table has enough space to be alone and intimate even as its occupants share the room with many others. And you share the room with extraordinary smells and tastes and sounds and sights. In this restaurant, it is not cliché to say that you are experiencing a bit of heaven. And that feeling is enhanced by the ceiling to floor, and wall to wall windows through which you can gaze upon the millions of lights that illuminate the city by night. From this immense height you are convinced that you and these other fortunate few patrons are looking down from heaven upon a perfect earth. (I don’t know if you have ever noticed but there is no pain and no suffering from a distance—that only occurs up close) Beautiful, almost beyond human imagination, and yet this is not the Kingdom of heaven, not the creation of God or the Lord’s throne room. This is the Windows on the World Restaurant in the World Trade Center in New York City as I recall it in about 1978. Occupying the 103rd story in the tallest building in the world at that time, this was the closest thing to heaven that human creativity and industry could muster. Here at the top of the great cathedral of business and commerce was the place to strive for. The room smacked of money, power, creativity, genius. And when I entered that room at the age of 23 I thought, “This is it!” This is worth the striving, this is worth suffering to attain. If you could afford the prices on the menu in this place you really could know heaven on earth.
Of course the Windows on the World restaurant now symbolizes the problem. Nothing built by human hands lasts. Nothing devised or engineered by man can sustain itself. No matter how spectacular, no matter how rich, no matter how wonderful, the products of human labor and ingenuity are sure to fail, either from inherent structural flaws or from enemy attack. That fact was confirmed on on September 11, 2001. The great American tragedy of our time. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the workers labor in vain who build it.”
This morning we read an account of another ascent, not an ascent into a structure made by human hands, but an ascent into the Kingdom of God, a place far more spectacular than the Windows on the World Restaurant, and a place that has no inherent weakness, no design flaws a place impervious to attack. Here the rugs do not get dirty and worn. Here the glass is always clean. Here the staff is always courteous, and best of all, here everything on the menu is free because someone has already picked up your tab. All who ascend to this place will know joy, and peace, and fulfillment—not until it wears out, not until it gives out and not until it is taken from us. This place is the place built by the Lord, a product of God’s perfect will and purpose. This place lies beyond the fallen world where sin and death, anger and disease wield so much influence. The kingdom of God is set apart. It is pure and holy and it endures forever. “Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.”
On the fortieth day after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, he ascended into heaven. Jesus is lifted up in a cloud and vanishes from sight. It is the final act in his work of salvation for his people. Jesus tells his disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you, so that where I am you may be also.” You know that expression, “Life stinks and then you die?” It is a lie. At the end of these few years we enjoy on earth lies life, not death. The more accurate expression would be something like, “death stinks and then you live, and live and live.” Jesus ascension opens the door to God’s heavenly and eternal kingdom to us.
The Ascension affirms in fact what Jesus taught in word: that there is way more to life than what you can see, hear, taste, smell and feel. Human senses are severely limited and if we trust them to explain reality to us we will be misled. Our senses will persuade us that when we achieve the success that we hoped for in this life that we have actually arrived someplace significant, when in fact, our success in earthly terms has little to no bearing on our eternal relationship with Christ. Even worse, reliance on our senses will cause us to be blind, deaf and dumb to the spiritual realities that surround seemingly ordinary events. We simply cannot rely on our senses to tell the truth in the important matters. We are not to trust in the products of our own hands. We are not to judge our wellbeing based upon our circumstances. We are called to trust in God for our future. We are to invest ourselves in the things important to Jesus Christ. God is working. He is building and we can trust in that building.
Do what you want with your life. But unless what you do has some bearing on your relationship with Jesus Christ it is of little or no long-term value. In the end all of your work will fall—maybe not as dramatically as the World Trade Center, but our efforts will fall just as surely. And so we ought to live our days, plan our activities with some intentionality. Our choices matter—and unfortunately we humans tend to choose our desires instead of God’s purposes.
Most of us wonder how we will find time to pray in the midst of so many important activities. That is a misunderstanding of our priorities. We ought to be wondering how we are going to find time to do all these other things when we have so much praying to get done first. Can you imagine calling your spouse and apologizing for being late for dinner because you had to stay late to pray? Now there is a legitimate excuse for missing dinner. Can you imagine writing out an I owe you to God, a bill equal to a percentage of your take home pay and keeping it on top of your stack of bills? Can you imagine giving back to God before you pay the electric or the rent?
We have said that the only thing that matters in the long run is our relationship with Jesus Christ. If we truly believed that we would live differently. And I am here to tell you. It is not a hypothetical. It is true. When a person takes care of their relationship with God first and foremost, they and their family lose nothing. In fact, they really do find themselves living a better quality of life. I have seen it happen time and time again. Try it, I guarantee you will like it.
And I guarantee that you will never find yourself trusting in a building that is falling down around your ears, realizing that you have lost hope in your future, living in anxiety and fear, and wondering if there is a God who cares. That is the unfortunate place people without faith wind up. People who despair, at least many of them, have spent their lives excluding God from the fabric of their daily lives. Many of them lived in the delusion that they could construct a house out of their own strength, their own ingenuity and their own hard work only to discover that it has all been in vain. The bottom line is there is only one heaven. There is only one way to ascend into heaven. Heaven is prepared. It is ready for occupancy. The way to heaven has been paved by our Lord and Savior Jesus, and he has shown us the way. He is the way and he has promised that all that believe in him, all who make him Lord of their lives, will find their home with him.
This first Sunday after the Ascension is a great reminder that our actual home is not here on planet earth. We are beings who were created to live in the heavenly realms but our minds and our wills have been misdirected. Our families and friends, even we ourselves have devoted ourselves to this worldly stuff thinking that somehow or another it would lead us to the things our hearts desire. Of course we have to live in this world, but we will never find the ability to live in this world gracefully let alone prepare for the world to come until we place God’s kingdom in the place of priority. We will never learn to manage life on life’s terms until we have submitted to living life according to God’s priorities.
Jesus ascended into heaven and we have been called to ascend into heaven as well. For Jesus the ascension was an event. In a moment he was raised up in a cloud and was gone. For us ascension is a process, a lifelong process that began when we were baptized and will end when we find ourselves before the throne of God singing, “Holy, holy, holy.” And I fear it is a process that we all neglect to our own detriment. I fear we suffer in this life needlessly because we defy God’s direction and refuse God’s assistance and grace. “Too busy to pray,” we say. “The world is too risky to trust,” we say. “If I give to God I will be the poorer,” we say. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Jesus said, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto to you.
Do something dangerous this week: Surrender to God. Trust that he will care for you. Believe that your investment in your relationship with God will gain you more than you loose. That is the truth! That is actual reality! Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, dwelling in the place of perfection. And he has saved a place for you there. Amen.
May 27, 2011
Te Deum laudamus
You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord: we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you;
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You Christ are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
you did not shun the Virgin's womb.
You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
We believe that you will come and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.
You are the Lord: we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you;
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You Christ are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
you did not shun the Virgin's womb.
You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
We believe that you will come and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.
May 25, 2011
Pastoral Care AA Style
This is taken from an AA daily devotional entitled, Twenty-Four Hours a Day (Hazelden):
Working with others can be subdivided into five parts:
Confidence
The first thing in helping people is to earn their confidence. We do this by sharing our own experiences so that they can see that we know what we are talking about. If we share frankly they will know we are sincerely trying to help. They will realize they are not alone, that others have had equally bad experiences and they will gain confidence that they can be helped. (May 23)
Confession
By frankly sharing we get them talking about their experiences. They will open up and confess things to us they have not shared before. And they feel better when this confession is made. It’s a great load that is lifted when they get these things out in the open. It is the things that are hidden that weigh on the mind. They feel a sense of freedom and release when they open up to us. (May 24)
Conviction
A prospect must be convinced that they want (to stop drinking). They must see and admit that their life in unmanageable. They must face the fact that they must do something. They must be absolutely honest with themselves and face themselves as they really are. They must be convinced that they must give up their old way of life and realize that their whole fate depends on this conviction. (May 25)
Conversion
Conversion means change. Prospects must learn top change their way of thinking. They must now face a new and different life. They must see and admit that they cannot overcome their past by their own willpower, so they must turn to God for help. They must start each day asking god for the strength to walk in his ways. This conversion to belief in god comes gradually, as they try it and find that it works. (May 26)
Continuance
Continuance means staying with them after they have started on the new way of life. We must stick with them and not let them down. We must encourage them to attend church meetings, bible studies, and prayer groups regularly for fellowship and help. They will learn that life is a lot easier in the fellowship of others who are trying to do the same thing. We must help others by going to see them regularly or telephoning them or writing them so that they don’t get out of touch with the church. (May 27)
Working with others can be subdivided into five parts:
Confidence
The first thing in helping people is to earn their confidence. We do this by sharing our own experiences so that they can see that we know what we are talking about. If we share frankly they will know we are sincerely trying to help. They will realize they are not alone, that others have had equally bad experiences and they will gain confidence that they can be helped. (May 23)
Confession
By frankly sharing we get them talking about their experiences. They will open up and confess things to us they have not shared before. And they feel better when this confession is made. It’s a great load that is lifted when they get these things out in the open. It is the things that are hidden that weigh on the mind. They feel a sense of freedom and release when they open up to us. (May 24)
Conviction
A prospect must be convinced that they want (to stop drinking). They must see and admit that their life in unmanageable. They must face the fact that they must do something. They must be absolutely honest with themselves and face themselves as they really are. They must be convinced that they must give up their old way of life and realize that their whole fate depends on this conviction. (May 25)
Conversion
Conversion means change. Prospects must learn top change their way of thinking. They must now face a new and different life. They must see and admit that they cannot overcome their past by their own willpower, so they must turn to God for help. They must start each day asking god for the strength to walk in his ways. This conversion to belief in god comes gradually, as they try it and find that it works. (May 26)
Continuance
Continuance means staying with them after they have started on the new way of life. We must stick with them and not let them down. We must encourage them to attend church meetings, bible studies, and prayer groups regularly for fellowship and help. They will learn that life is a lot easier in the fellowship of others who are trying to do the same thing. We must help others by going to see them regularly or telephoning them or writing them so that they don’t get out of touch with the church. (May 27)
May 21, 2011
Another Christian Thumping
by Father Scott Homer
The headline reads, Apocaplyse Not: Harold Camping Wrong-Again-about 'The Rapture'. But the real news is not that somebody somewhere is predicting the end of the world. That is about as common as sliced bread. The news story is really about a news media that is so intent on slinging mud at Christian leaders and so devoted to making them look stupid that they will create a story just to promote anti-Christian sympathies. This Harold Camping guy predicted the rapture before. He got big news coverage before. He was wrong before. He is a crackpot and virtually every reasonable person in the world has said so. So, when is the media going to stop parading him and guys like him before the public as if they are legitimate spokesmen for the Faith? Answer: when the media is convinced that nobody is paying attention to the legitimate Christian leaders anymore.
The headline reads, Apocaplyse Not: Harold Camping Wrong-Again-about 'The Rapture'. But the real news is not that somebody somewhere is predicting the end of the world. That is about as common as sliced bread. The news story is really about a news media that is so intent on slinging mud at Christian leaders and so devoted to making them look stupid that they will create a story just to promote anti-Christian sympathies. This Harold Camping guy predicted the rapture before. He got big news coverage before. He was wrong before. He is a crackpot and virtually every reasonable person in the world has said so. So, when is the media going to stop parading him and guys like him before the public as if they are legitimate spokesmen for the Faith? Answer: when the media is convinced that nobody is paying attention to the legitimate Christian leaders anymore.
Is Today the End of the World?
by Father Scott Homer
If you own a radio, TV, telephone or internet capable device then you have surely heard that some folks at the Family Radio Network are predicting that the Rapture will occur today at 6PM. Depending on the news source feeding information to you, this anticipated event has been characterized as "Armageddon, the end of the world, the return of Jesus Christ, and the Rapture." Commentators are focusing on doom and gloom when they are not focusing on the wackos that are claiming today to be the day. And if you are like me you are just confused by reporting that seems intent on laughing at these predictions and yet fascinated, even wishing, that God might actually intervene in the affairs of men again. So what do we make of all this?
Firstly, if the Rapture occurs at 6pm as predicted, and I have serious reservations about it (to say the least), it will be a very good thing for those who are raptured. It means they will be lifted out of the current mess and live in God's glorious presence with no suffering or pain. Not so good for the vast majority of people who would not be raptured! They would remain on earth enduring an increasingly dark and evil trajectory of world events that would eventually lead to the final end.
And that is the second point: The rapture, as described by St John is not the end of the world, although it would certainly point to the beginning of the end. The rapture is described as God sparing his saints from the final episode of Earth's demise, but that final episode takes some time and John is quite clear that the people who are not raptured, and who remain in the midst of the mess do so by their own choosing. They are those who refuse to listen to the testimony of God's messengers. The people of doom are the people choosing it! And that brings us to point three.
Do you love the Lord? Do you confess and repent of your sins? Are you trying to live as a child of God? Then you have nothing to fear! God is not a monster seeking to destroy people. (that would be the devil) The same St John who describes the final battle for Earth in Revelation writes in his first letter, "God is love." In other words, God desires that you prosper, not suffer. God desires that you be saved not that you be lost. God's desire is the restoration of the world and not its destruction. God is love and God's love will finally conquer. And that brings me to the final point.
The Book of Revelation does not end with smoke, rubble and ash. The final scene is not one of total devastation and destruction. Rather, it is one of a restored and perfected world in which our God reigns. Jesus Christ reigns in victory in a new Heaven and a new Earth where evil, sin and death are vanquished and where God's people live, in the flesh, enjoying an eternity of peace and joy. There may be battles that must be fought along the way. There may be suffering and loss to endure but the story does not end in desolation. Quite the contrary. It ends with God's people victorious and in glory!
So, come Lord Jesus. May today be the day! And whether it is or is not, may we today give you the praise and the glory for all the wonderful blessings that you have showered on us, this day and always. Amen.
If you own a radio, TV, telephone or internet capable device then you have surely heard that some folks at the Family Radio Network are predicting that the Rapture will occur today at 6PM. Depending on the news source feeding information to you, this anticipated event has been characterized as "Armageddon, the end of the world, the return of Jesus Christ, and the Rapture." Commentators are focusing on doom and gloom when they are not focusing on the wackos that are claiming today to be the day. And if you are like me you are just confused by reporting that seems intent on laughing at these predictions and yet fascinated, even wishing, that God might actually intervene in the affairs of men again. So what do we make of all this?
Firstly, if the Rapture occurs at 6pm as predicted, and I have serious reservations about it (to say the least), it will be a very good thing for those who are raptured. It means they will be lifted out of the current mess and live in God's glorious presence with no suffering or pain. Not so good for the vast majority of people who would not be raptured! They would remain on earth enduring an increasingly dark and evil trajectory of world events that would eventually lead to the final end.
And that is the second point: The rapture, as described by St John is not the end of the world, although it would certainly point to the beginning of the end. The rapture is described as God sparing his saints from the final episode of Earth's demise, but that final episode takes some time and John is quite clear that the people who are not raptured, and who remain in the midst of the mess do so by their own choosing. They are those who refuse to listen to the testimony of God's messengers. The people of doom are the people choosing it! And that brings us to point three.
Do you love the Lord? Do you confess and repent of your sins? Are you trying to live as a child of God? Then you have nothing to fear! God is not a monster seeking to destroy people. (that would be the devil) The same St John who describes the final battle for Earth in Revelation writes in his first letter, "God is love." In other words, God desires that you prosper, not suffer. God desires that you be saved not that you be lost. God's desire is the restoration of the world and not its destruction. God is love and God's love will finally conquer. And that brings me to the final point.
The Book of Revelation does not end with smoke, rubble and ash. The final scene is not one of total devastation and destruction. Rather, it is one of a restored and perfected world in which our God reigns. Jesus Christ reigns in victory in a new Heaven and a new Earth where evil, sin and death are vanquished and where God's people live, in the flesh, enjoying an eternity of peace and joy. There may be battles that must be fought along the way. There may be suffering and loss to endure but the story does not end in desolation. Quite the contrary. It ends with God's people victorious and in glory!
So, come Lord Jesus. May today be the day! And whether it is or is not, may we today give you the praise and the glory for all the wonderful blessings that you have showered on us, this day and always. Amen.
May 19, 2011
Update on Bud and Kathleen
I got a surprise phone call from Bud the other day. It was good to hear his voice: same old joyful demeanor! Bud and Kathleen are living and doing ministry in East Aurora, NY. Their son Jacob is now 18 months old. Bud is serving in an ACNA parish there and is asking that we pray for new members. The parish is small and struggling to pay the bills. If you would like to drop them a note and say hi I am sure they will appreciate it. Bud's email address is Budbrooker@gmail.com. Blessings, Fr. Scott
May 18, 2011
Packing the Right Things for the Big Move
by Jay Morgan
(Our Senior Warden reflects on his recent transition and the ways it informs our understanding of our parish's own transition. -Fr. Scott)
I prayed with Fr. Scott last year about my growing family’s need for a larger home. I began by thanking God for all His provisions. Scott interrupted me: “Ask Him for a house.” I started again with another rambling prayer. He interrupted again: “Ask Him for a house.” So I asked plainly, putting my family’s need before Him. Several months later we moved into our new home. But, as the Lord provides He also teaches. Searching for a house is one thing—moving into it is another…
Just four people moving a mere five miles––yet it was difficult to decide what to take, what to replace, or what to throw out. Can we really part with our 20-year-old college textbooks? (The answer, apparently, was “no.”) The kids no longer play with these toys, do they? (“We still want them, Dad.”) Speaking of the kids, they were leaving the only home they had ever known. We have had to juggle packing with their school schedules and our two jobs—and our fifteen-year-old dog that is in frail health. To add to the stress, our appliances began dying: first the washing machine, then the oven, and finally the vacuum cleaner.
On moving day, our refrigerator’s icemaker line leaked all over the kitchen floor after the movers had taken the unit away. As a plumber worked at the old house, an electrician was updating the old wiring for the new washer and dryer. Both were unplanned expenses. Still, we are grateful for the electrician and plumber’s expertise and for the movers who had done the heavy lifting.
Even though we are thankful we are frustrated with the piles of boxes still unpacked—boxes with labels such as “pictures,” “clothes,” and “vases—very breakable.” That last label, I imagine, was for me. And while most of our furniture works well, some pieces do not. That dresser is too big, that table is too small, and did that floor lamp always lean like that?
After this move I now have a new appreciation for the Exodus. The Hebrews left the only home they had ever known, laden with plunder, and being chased and seemingly cornered. On the other side of the Red Sea, the Israelites had fashioned their Egyptian gold into the form of a calf, a representation of an Egyptian god. Yes, it is hard to let go of old places and familiar things.
In our Christian journey, letting go of the old is what we are called to do. In Colossians 3, the Apostle Paul admonishes us “to set our minds on the things that are above not on the things that are on earth” (v. 2). We are raised with Christ and hidden in Him, Who is seated at the right hand of God. In that sense we all have that new heavenly address; yet we bring the wrong things with us. Those things labeled “impurity, covetousness, slander, and anger,” (vv. 5-7) for example, do not fit with our new heavenly surroundings. Trying to bring them with us will only cause pain, frustration, and sorrow. The things that will fit in our new home are labeled “compassion, kindness, humility, patience, meekness, forgiveness.” Tying these all together, writes the apostle, is love (vv. 12-14).
Our parish is also on a kind of Exodus. Trinity Beaver with most of the diocese has left The Episcopal Church. Without either accusing TEC of holding us in bondage or making light of real slavery—we have property that we have taken with us in our departure and we are being pursued. Yet, whether we litigate, negotiate, or relocate, we need to be sure that we pack “the things that are above.” We will need to bind these heavenly things in love for ourselves (such as “patience”) as well as for our TEC counterparts (namely, “forgiveness”). While our Trinity home for the future is uncertain, we know that the Lord is leading us to something new. And He has already done the heavy lifting in our deliverance, so let’s pack appropriately.
By the way, I looked up in my calendar when I had prayed with Fr. Scott for a house. It was March 2, 2010. Diane and I signed the closing papers on February 25, 2011, 360 days later.
(Our Senior Warden reflects on his recent transition and the ways it informs our understanding of our parish's own transition. -Fr. Scott)
I prayed with Fr. Scott last year about my growing family’s need for a larger home. I began by thanking God for all His provisions. Scott interrupted me: “Ask Him for a house.” I started again with another rambling prayer. He interrupted again: “Ask Him for a house.” So I asked plainly, putting my family’s need before Him. Several months later we moved into our new home. But, as the Lord provides He also teaches. Searching for a house is one thing—moving into it is another…
Just four people moving a mere five miles––yet it was difficult to decide what to take, what to replace, or what to throw out. Can we really part with our 20-year-old college textbooks? (The answer, apparently, was “no.”) The kids no longer play with these toys, do they? (“We still want them, Dad.”) Speaking of the kids, they were leaving the only home they had ever known. We have had to juggle packing with their school schedules and our two jobs—and our fifteen-year-old dog that is in frail health. To add to the stress, our appliances began dying: first the washing machine, then the oven, and finally the vacuum cleaner.
On moving day, our refrigerator’s icemaker line leaked all over the kitchen floor after the movers had taken the unit away. As a plumber worked at the old house, an electrician was updating the old wiring for the new washer and dryer. Both were unplanned expenses. Still, we are grateful for the electrician and plumber’s expertise and for the movers who had done the heavy lifting.
Even though we are thankful we are frustrated with the piles of boxes still unpacked—boxes with labels such as “pictures,” “clothes,” and “vases—very breakable.” That last label, I imagine, was for me. And while most of our furniture works well, some pieces do not. That dresser is too big, that table is too small, and did that floor lamp always lean like that?
After this move I now have a new appreciation for the Exodus. The Hebrews left the only home they had ever known, laden with plunder, and being chased and seemingly cornered. On the other side of the Red Sea, the Israelites had fashioned their Egyptian gold into the form of a calf, a representation of an Egyptian god. Yes, it is hard to let go of old places and familiar things.
In our Christian journey, letting go of the old is what we are called to do. In Colossians 3, the Apostle Paul admonishes us “to set our minds on the things that are above not on the things that are on earth” (v. 2). We are raised with Christ and hidden in Him, Who is seated at the right hand of God. In that sense we all have that new heavenly address; yet we bring the wrong things with us. Those things labeled “impurity, covetousness, slander, and anger,” (vv. 5-7) for example, do not fit with our new heavenly surroundings. Trying to bring them with us will only cause pain, frustration, and sorrow. The things that will fit in our new home are labeled “compassion, kindness, humility, patience, meekness, forgiveness.” Tying these all together, writes the apostle, is love (vv. 12-14).
Our parish is also on a kind of Exodus. Trinity Beaver with most of the diocese has left The Episcopal Church. Without either accusing TEC of holding us in bondage or making light of real slavery—we have property that we have taken with us in our departure and we are being pursued. Yet, whether we litigate, negotiate, or relocate, we need to be sure that we pack “the things that are above.” We will need to bind these heavenly things in love for ourselves (such as “patience”) as well as for our TEC counterparts (namely, “forgiveness”). While our Trinity home for the future is uncertain, we know that the Lord is leading us to something new. And He has already done the heavy lifting in our deliverance, so let’s pack appropriately.
By the way, I looked up in my calendar when I had prayed with Fr. Scott for a house. It was March 2, 2010. Diane and I signed the closing papers on February 25, 2011, 360 days later.
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