Reclaiming Our King

Last Sunday after Pentecost – Christ the King (Proper 29B)

John 18.33-37

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook page (beginning at 21:00)

 

“Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’” This is the first interaction between Jesus and Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, the Emperor’s representative in the far-off land of Palestine. This is the first time Pilate has spoken to Jesus. At this point, Pilate only knows what he has heard from others. Namely, the temple authorities. Prior to this encounter, Pilate and the temple authorities have debated who has jurisdiction over Jesus and his alleged crimes. Pilate views this as a local matter which the temple authorities need to resolve. Wanting to be rid of Jesus, yet not having the authority to issue a direct death sentence, the temple authorities devise a scheme to push Jesus off into Pilate’s jurisdiction. While Pilate’s encounter with temple authorities (before the scene we hear today) does not specifically state as such, the implication based on Pilate’s question of Jesus is that the temple authorities threw down the gauntlet. They said the magic words: “This man claims to be King of the Jews.” This would imply that Jesus is at the very least a rabble-rouse if not an outright insurrectionist. If this allegation is true, then such a claim would be considered an act of treason against the Empire, placing Jesus solidly under Pilate’s jurisdiction.

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It's All a Matter of Perspective

26^th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 28B)

Mark 13.1-8

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook page (beginning at 23:55)

 

As you go through the process toward Holy Orders, to becoming a deacon or a priest—what is often and ominously referred to as “The Process”—you are required to undergo various evaluations. Interviews by the Commission on Ministry, a background check, a physical exam, and not one but two mental health evaluations. When you start into “The Process,” there is a detailed psychological evaluation entailing many hours of testing. Then, after going through all the hoops of the multi-year “Process,” the candidate for ordination undergoes a psychiatric evaluation. This one is less time-consuming and onerous than the psychological exams, generally entailing an hour session with a psychiatrist. I know that the purpose of these evaluations is to make sure that the candidate is fit for ministry and not an obvious potential danger to those they will engage in ministry. Although my personal theory is that you have to be crazy to want to become a priest, so the psychiatric evaluation is to make sure that if you were not crazy when you entered “The Process,” you are by the time you complete it.

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Response to the 2024 Election

25^th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 27B)

Mark 12.38-44

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook page (beginning at 23:50)

 

As I prepare to preach today’s sermon, I have a profound sense of déjà vu. Eight years ago—November 13, 2016—I stood in this spot, at this ambo, and prepared to preach what would only be my second sermon as Rector of St. Gregory’s. A sermon in which I felt the need to address what had happened the previous Tuesday: the day Donald Trump was elected to his first term as President of the United States. To speak to a group of people I had just met less than two weeks before and to try to provide some guidance as to how we as a parish, with differing political perspectives, were to move forward following what was one of the most divisive elections in our nation’s history.

 

Little did I know that, eight years later, I would be called upon to preach a comparable sermon. And yet, here we are. In many ways, what was true then continues to be true now. The president-elect is the same, although his opponents were different. Some of the issues were the same, although some were different. Some of the campaign tactics were the same, although some were different. Perhaps the biggest difference is that we now have a lived experience of what his first presidency was like. And in many ways, we have a different social and political landscape than we did eight years ago. Partially due to the pandemic, although largely due to the ramifications of actions taken during that first term in office. So, while things are very similar in so many ways, there are also profound differences. Particularly in terms of what many of our sisters and brothers are feeling this time around.

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Becoming Saints

All Saints’ Sunday

John 11.32-44

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook page (beginning at 22:00)

 

Today we celebrate All Saints’ Sunday. All Saints’ Day was actually November 1^st—this past Friday. Although The Book of Common Prayer classifies All Saints’ Day as one of seven Principal Feast of the liturgical year, making it a pretty big deal. Making it an even bigger deal is the fact that All Saints’ is the only Feast that may be observed on the following Sunday, in addition to its observance on its fixed date. That should tell us that there is something particularly significant about this day, this celebration, if we are given two chances at its observance.

 

It is believed that the commemoration of all the saints on November 1^st originated in Ireland, spread to England, and then on to Europe. In the early ninth century, the Pope urged the widespread observance of a festival commemorating all the saints. However, historical writings indicate that there had been localized commemorations of all the saints as early as the third century. Such celebrations were due to “the desire of Christian people to express the intercommunion of the living and the dead in the Body of Christ.”[1] Recognizing that there is some profound mystical connection between us and the saints who have gone before. Something that is important to our own lives of faith.

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