Why Do You Look for the Living Among the Dead?

 Great Vigil of Easter (Year C)

Luke 24.1-12

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 1:07:20)

 

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” These are the words that the angels spoke to the women at the tomb. Maybe I’m being a little too literal, but the women were not looking for the living. They were looking for a dead body. Jesus’ dead body. To prepare it according to their burial customs. But, as we see, this was really the angels’ way of reminding the women of what Jesus had told them before they even came to Jerusalem. That after he was crucified, he would rise again on the third day. That new life can—and in this case, does—come out of death. And, of course, the angels do then confirm for the women that Jesus has risen.

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Solidarity

 Good Friday

John 18.1—19.42

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 33:15)

 

How do we begin to make sense of the horrific events that we commemorate on Good Friday? Theologians have been debating that pretty much since the first Good Friday. Trying to understand just what happened. Why it happened. Why it had to happen. And even how it happened. Not how as in the mechanics of Jesus being nailed on the cross, but how as in just how did Jesus’ death accomplish what we claim that it accomplished? That his death and subsequent resurrection defeated sin and death. In short, what is collectively known as atonement theory. Fear not. I am not even going to attempt to delve into atonement theory. Because between you and me, I don’t find any of the classical theories of the atonement particularly satisfying. Or, for that matter, particularly reasonable if our God is who we say God is: all loving, merciful, and compassionate. For me, the specifics of atonement are a great mystery, understanding of which is way above my paygrade. That it ultimately boils down to a matter of faith. One of the central tenants of our faith as Christians.

 

And yet. And yet. We still feel a need for some sort of explanation to help us understand just a little of what this has been all about. As in such truly unexplainable events, there are undoubtedly a variety of ways of looking at what happened on Good Friday. Of explaining why Jesus had to die on the cross. I think one of the best explanations—at least one that makes about as much sense as any, at least for me—is solidarity. That Jesus underwent suffering and death out of solidarity with us.

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The Right Place at the Right Time

Palm/Passion Sunday (Year C)

Luke 22.14—23.56

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 40:30)

 

Today, with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we formally begin our journey through Holy Week. Where we witness Jesus’ final days. Where we witness his Passion—his betrayal, his arrest, his trial, his torture, his sentencing to death, his journey along the Via Dolorosa to Golgotha, his execution. On Palm Sunday, or what is sometimes referred to as Passion Sunday, we are provided with an overview of the week’s events. Giving us the lay of the land. And then, throughout the remainder of the week, on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, we delve more deeply into the events of those days.

 

Looking at the arc of events, this year I find there is one verse, one image, in today’s Passion Narrative that has captured my attention. Focusing on a single person. One who, in many ways, serves as a guide for what will happen. Not so much a guide through the week, but one who can serve as a guide for understanding what this means for us and our lives of faith. “As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus.” (Lk 23.26). Simon of Cyrene. An obscure character, to say the least. Yet, as we shall see, one who serves as an exemplar for how we can begin to approach the horrific events of this week and help us to be transformed by them.

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Through Faith in Christ

Fifth Sunday in Lent (Year C)

Philippians 3.4b-14; John 12.1-8

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 15:45)

 

On the first Sunday in Lent this year, I preached a sermon that I entitled “Making it Through the Wilderness.” I talked about Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil. I went on to talk about how this story and other biblical stories of wilderness experiences provide an image for our own wilderness times: times of being tempted and tested. How our Lenten journey, if anything, is an image for what those times of tempting and testing have been about in our own lives. How our Lenten journey is not so much about the specifics of the temptations, but about our responses to those temptations which may come between us and our relationship with God. That regardless of the specific temptations, Jesus tells us there is a universal response. That we are to recognize our reliance upon God. Because it is in relying on God, in being obedient to God, that we open ourselves to be molded and shaped by God. In so doing, we have the opportunity to live into the fullness of who God creates and calls us to be as his beloved children.

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Making it Through the Wilderness

First Sunday in Lent (Year C)

Deuteronomy 26.1-11; Luke 4.1-13

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 18:25)

 

While Lent officially began four days ago on Ash Wednesday, there is a part of me that feels like the period between Ash Wednesday and the First Sunday in Lent is a time to ease into our Lenten journey. A time to get up to speed, as it were. Now, that is not the official position of the Church; it’s just my personal view. I think it is because on the First Sunday in Lent, our Gospel reading is always the temptation of Jesus. Perhaps my personal sense that Lent begins in earnest on this day is precisely because the Gospel reading recounts Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness, where he is tempted by the devil. And that our 40-day Lenten journey—with its own temptations as we struggle with our Lenten disciples—is intended to call to mind, even parallel in some ways, Jesus’ 40 days of being tempted and tested.

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Are You Ready?

Ash Wednesday

Isaiah 58.1-12; 2 Corinthians 5.20b—6.10; Matthew 6.1-6, 16-21

St. Thomas of Canterbury, Long Beach (7:00 AM)

and St. Gregory’s, Long Beach (7:00 PM)

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 15:00)

 

Are you ready? Today is the beginning of Lent—the 40-day journey of preparation for Easter. Traditionally, this is a time when we engage in special Lenten disciplines to help us in our preparations. So, have you decided what you are going to be doing for your Lenten discipline this year?

 

Traditionally, our Lenten practices revolve around the three disciplines outlined in our reading from the Gospel according to Matthew: giving of alms, prayer, and fasting. We most commonly think of this as including giving up something, like your morning Starbucks beverage of choice, television, chocolate, or any other number of things. Reminiscent of the discipline of fasting Jesus talks about in our Gospel reading. For some, this is a time to take on something additional, particularly by way of outreach ministry—helping at a food pantry, or a homeless shelter, or making additional charitable contributions. Reminiscent of the discipline of almsgiving Jesus talks about in our Gospel reading. And for many, there are additional spiritual practices, such as special devotional readings, like the “Living Well Through Lent” book our two congregations are using, or extra worship services, or study programs, like our joint Lenten program exploring various versions of the Stations of the Cross. Reminiscent of the discipline of prayer Jesus talks about in our Gospel reading.

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Transfigured

Last Sunday after the Epiphany (Year C)

Exodus 34.29-35; Luke 9.28-36

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 17:50)

 

Today we are at a transition point. Both in terms of the liturgical calendar, as well as in the stories of both the Hebrews’ forty-year journey in the wilderness and Jesus’ own journey through his life and ministry. As to the liturgical calendar, this is the Last Sunday after the Epiphany—where we wrap up our Epiphanytide focus on the many ways that Jesus is revealed as the Son of God, as the Messiah, and we begin to turn our attention to the season of Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday. The readings appointed for this day, particularly the Old Testament reading from Exodus and the Gospel reading from Luke both have themes that relate to this shift in focus from Epiphany to Lent. Stories that help us make the transition from the time of revelation we experienced over the last two months to the time of living into what that revelation means to us in our own lives of faith.

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Sharing the Gift of God's Love

Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany (Year C)

Genesis 45.3-11, 15; Luke 6.27-38

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

 

Today’s Gospel reading is a continuation of the Sermon on the Plain which we began last week. As you (hopefully) recall, Jesus starts this sermon with a series of four “blessed are” statements and four counterbalancing “woe to you” statements. I ended my sermon on Jesus’ sermon by noting that his words are intended to be a tool, a guide, to help us assess where we are in our lives and how that affects our lives of faith. How where we are affects our relationship with God and with one another. That we are invited to live a Christ-centered life by finding ways to be a blessing to others, and that in so doing, we ourselves are blessed. In today’s Gospel, Jesus shifts his focus, moving from the theoretical to the practical: providing instruction on how to live a blessed life. And it all boils down to love. Although, I’m sure you have gathered from what we just heard, this is easier said than done.

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Blessed Are . . .

Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany (Year C)

Jeremiah 17.5-10; Psalm 1; Luke 6.17-26

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 16:45)

 

We’re all familiar with the Beatitudes. The series of pithy sayings, each beginning with “Blessed are,” recorded in the Gospel according to Matthew as part of the Sermon on the Mount. Today, we hear Luke’s version of this sermon, which is slightly different. While Matthew has this sermon taking place on a mountain, Luke notes that this sermon happened “on a level place.” Hence, this is often referred to as the Sermon on the Plain. There are other notable differences, as well. Namely in the structure of the sayings delivered by Jesus. In the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew records nine sayings, all beginning with “Blessed are.” Luke, however, records eight sayings. But only four begin “Blessed are.” The other four begin “Woe to you.” With the “woe” statements being the opposites of the “blessed are” statements. Some scholars believe these may be the same sermon, just that the details were remembered differently. After all, both Matthew and Luke were written about 60 years after the fact and were not even written by eyewitnesses to the events; both relying on secondhand accounts and possibly other source documents now lost to us. Others think they may be different sermons with common themes. The themes presented were certainly part of Jesus’ core teachings, so he undoubtedly repeated himself a lot over the three years of his public ministry.

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Whom Shall I Send?

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany (Year C)

Isaiah 6.1-8; Luke 5.1-11

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 16:45)

 

All of our readings today deal with the subject of “call.” Of being called to ministry. Quite appropriate for the day on which we are holding our annual parish meeting. Quite appropriate for the day on which we celebrate the ministries—and more importantly, the ministers—of this parish. And when I say ministers of this parish, I am not talking about myself. As the Catechism in The Book of Common Prayer asks, “Who are the ministers of the Church?” Answer? “The ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons” (BCP, 855). Notice that you—the laity—are listed first. Because you are the most important ministers of the Church. The Catechism then goes on: “What is the ministry of the laity?” Answer? “The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be; and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church” (BCP, 855).

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