Sheepfolds

Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year A)

Acts 2.42-47; John 10.1-10

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 20:10)

 

As we begin the fourth week of the seven-week season of Eastertide, we have a shift in focus. During the first three weeks, we focused on various post-resurrection encounters between the Risen Christ and his followers. Beginning this week, the focus shifts to some of Jesus’ teachings about what it means to live in intimacy with God. All teachings that occurred prior to his death and resurrection, but which, nonetheless, contain core truths that guide our lives as post-resurrection followers of Christ. This week, we start off with one of the most well-known and most beloved images of who Jesus is and who we are as his people: the story of the Good Shepherd.

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Our Road to Emmaus

Third Sunday of Easter (Year A)

Luke 24.13-35

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

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

 

Luke’s account of Jesus’ first post-resurrection appearance on Easter Day is completely different from the accounts from John’s Gospel we have been tracking thus far in Eastertide. It also differs significantly from the post-resurrection experiences recorded in the gospels according to Matthew and Mark. In all the Gospels except Luke, Jesus makes his initial appearance to Mary Magdalene, either by herself or with other women. And only then does he appear to the other disciples. And all these appearances occur at or near the tomb. But here, in Luke’s account, Jesus does not make his initial appearance to Mary Magdalene or Peter or any of the other eleven disciples. And he does not make his appearance at the tomb. Instead, Luke records Jesus as making his first post-resurrection appearance to two previously unknown followers of Jesus as they travel from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus.

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The Wounds of Christ

Second Sunday of Easter (Year A)

John 20.19-31

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 20:50)

 

Every year on the Sunday after Easter, we have the same Gospel story. The story that bears the unfortunate, and inaccurate, name of “Doubting Thomas.” And every year, I say some variation of the same thing. That this is not about Thomas doubting the appearance or existence of the Risen Lord. That, if anything, Thomas is just being cautious until presented with more information to substantiate what is, in the moment, a virtually incomprehensible encounter. That Thomas does not ask for, nor does he receive, anything that the remaining ten disciples have not already received: irrefutable proof that the person appearing before them is not a ghost and is indeed Jesus Christ, resurrected. While all this is the conventional interpretation of today’s Gospel, perhaps that is not the only way to approach this story.

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"Whom Are You Looking For?"

Easter Sunday

John 20.1-18

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 23:25)

 

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

 

Imagine what that first Easter Day would have been like. The darkness, the emptiness, the loneliness that Jesus’ disciples experienced following his horrific death by crucifixion on Good Friday. Their world would have been turned upside down. Their lives would have been in shambles. Their faith would have been shattered. Understandably, they would have been filled with such a mixture of emotions. Grief and sorrow at the profound loss they had experienced. Anger at the betrayal by one of their own. Outrage at the injustice. Confusion as to why it had even happened in the first place. These and so many more. How could they ever pick up the pieces and move on? Despite this, or maybe because of it, Mary Magdalene feels compelled to go to the tomb where Jesus had been buried. Maybe she will find some answers, some clarity.

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Defining Moments

Great Vigil of Easter

Romans 6.3-11; Matthew 28.1-10

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 35:45)

 

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

 

When we look back on our lives, what will we most remember? Certainly we will remember moments of particular joy: graduating from high school or college, getting married, the birth of a child or grandchild, the purchase of your first home, taking a particularly memorable trip. The list of possibilities goes on and on, and is, obviously, unique to the individual. As we look at such moments, more often than not, what these events have in common is that they are defining moments in our lives. In some way or another, many if not all of these remembered moments helped to shape and form who we are. That there was a fundamental change in who we are as a result of those moments. When it comes to the ordination of a person to Holy Orders, one of the things you sometimes hear is that ordination results in what is called an “ontological change.” While the same person physically, there is a complete change in being, in who they are. I would argue that the same concept applies to many of the memorable, life-changing events we experience in our lives. Maybe not all, but certainly the more significant ones. For example, in the act of marriage, one changes from being a single, independent person to being a spouse, legally and spiritually bound to another, with a whole new role, new responsibilities, and a new identity. You get the idea.

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Family Meals

Maundy Thursday

Exodus 12.1-14; 1 Corinthians 11.23-26; John 13.1-17, 31b-35

St. Thomas of Canterbury, Long Beach and St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on St. Thomas Facebook Page (beginning at 15:30)

 

For many, the family meal is sacrosanct. Of course, there are some family meals that are more special, more sacred, than others. Some of the obvious ones in our culture are the big holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, maybe Easter. In some families, some of these meals take on an almost iconic aura, involving specific decorations, the use of special dishes, and most importantly the inclusion of particular foods. Some of these are so sacred that one dare not even think about changing certain aspects of the meal. Thanksgiving dinner is perhaps among the most inviolable, with an estimated 88 percent of families having turkey (according to the National Turkey Federation). And certainly each family has other dishes that need to be included. In mine, it is acceptable to tinker with how the potatoes are done or what type of dressings are fixed. But we insist on my mother’s cranberry salad and her sweet potato casserole. And for us, Christmas is always, always, always, Mom’s lasagna. We almost kicked my brother-in-law out of the family last year when he suggested that maybe we not have lasagna for Christmas because of Mom having chemotherapy just a few days before Christmas. Mom was not deterred, and we still had lasagna last year. There are some things you just don’t mess with. So yes, special family meals and associated traditions are pretty high on the list of sacred events.

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This Can't Be How It Ends . . . Can It?

Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday

Matthew 21.1-11; Matthew 26.14—27.66

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 46:15)

 

Here we are, poised to begin the final leg of our Lenten journey. Although, admittedly, of the six weeks of Lent, what we face today and what lies ahead is the most rigorous, the most grueling. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually. While the vast majority of Holy Week still lies before us with our upcoming commemorations of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday, what we do today—specifically the reading of the Passion Narrative—provides a roadmap, if you will. Providing an overview of where we will go this week. Of where Jesus will lead us. Not all of the way. Not just yet. But at least enough to get to the next waystation on this dramatic journey.

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