Life-Changing Encounters

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 8 (Year B)

Mark 5.21-43

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 24:25)

 

When I saw what the Gospel for today was, my first thought was, “Great! We are having our first baptism in over a year and a half, and this is the Gospel I have to work with: the story of a hemorrhaging woman sandwiched between the story of a young girl who dies. What am I going to do with that?” And then it hit me.

 

On the last full day I was in Israel in 2019, our group visited, among other places, the ancient village of Magdala. Home of Mary Magdalene. The original village, now ruins, has been extensively excavated, revealing some exquisite finds. Near the fantastic ruins that have been unearthed, there is also a starkly modern building, Duc in Altum. In addition to an altar shaped like a boat in front of a wall of glass looking out over the Sea of Galilee, Duc in Altum has what’s called the Women’s Atrium, containing seven pillars dedicated to women in the Bible who followed Jesus, and an eighth pillar dedicated to women of all faiths across time. But for me, the most outstanding feature of Duc in Altum is a chapel on the lower level called the Encounter Chapel.

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We’re All in the Same Boat . . . with Jesus

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 7 (Year B)

Mark 4.35-41

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 18:45)

 

The event in today’s Gospel reading is often described as a nature miracle, in which Jesus demonstrates an ability to control such natural elements as the weather. Clearly an indication that he is not just any mere mortal, but highlighting his divinity as the Son of God. And to reveal these attributes to the disciples, as evidenced by their awe and exclamation, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mk 4.41).

 

The context of the story is that Jesus has had a very long and busy day teaching the crowds along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. At the end of the day, he and the disciples decide to set out in a boat for the other side of the lake. Jesus is wiped out, so immediately falls asleep in the back of the boat. Then a violent storm whips up threatening to capsize the boat and endangering the lives of all on board. And Jesus manages to sleep through it. Until the disciples, naturally panicked, awaken Jesus, who, seemingly a little irritated, rebukes the wind and the sea, resulting in the storm abating.

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We are the Mustard Seed Plant

Third Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 6 (Year B)

Mark 4.26-34

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 18:30)

 

Our Gospel reading for today ends with Mark commenting that “with many such parables [Jesus] spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables” (Mk 4.33-34). Why parables? Why not just come out with the message, plain and simple? This is a bit of a mystery. Particularly when you consider what Jesus himself has to say to the Twelve about parables: “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven” (Mk 4.11-12). There is so much debate among scholars as to what Jesus meant by this statement. Why would Jesus try to intentionally keep the secrets of the kingdom of God from people? His whole mission was about revealing God to humanity, not keeping God hidden. It just doesn’t make sense. And to be honest, I have never come across a particularly satisfying explanation. Not that I’ve really looked all that hard, truth be told.

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Invitation to Deeper Relationship

 Second Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 5 (Year B)

Genesis 3.8-15; Mark 3.20-35

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 17:05)

 

It’s early in Jesus’ public ministry and he’s already going 90 miles a minute. It is obvious from scriptural accounts that he was keeping a fast-paced schedule just to keep up with the demands on his time. He’s barely started and has already outwitted Satan in the wilderness, cast out a couple of demons, healed Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, gone on a preaching and teaching tour throughout Galilee, cleansed a leper, healed a paralytic and a man with a withered hand, and healed countless others with all sorts of diseases and infirmities. And he even found time for administrative details like appointing the Twelve as his inner circle and righthand men. And all this activity has not gone unnoticed. In the short time he has been at it, Jesus has attracted quite a bit of attention. Wherever Jesus went, people flocked to see him. Some coming from great distances. The crowds were such that “he could no longer go into a town openly” (Mk 1.45). Not only had he attracted the attention of the people of Galilee, but also from the temple authorities in Jerusalem, who come to Galilee to check out for themselves what this Jesus is all about.

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Living into the Mystery of the Trinity

Trinity Sunday (Year B)

Isaiah 6.1-8; Romans 8.12-17; John 3.1-17

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 22:25)

 

Prepare to be baffled! Because, yes, it is Trinity Sunday. That one day a year when we have the opportunity to take a deep dive—or at least attempt to—into one of Christianity’s most important, yet most baffling, doctrines: the Trinity. So, what is the Trinity? First, I will give the obligatory overview, and then attempt to find some way to explore it in hopefully a more understandable way.

 

According to the doctrine of the Trinity, we believe in one God who is comprised of what theologians rather unfortunately refer to as three “persons.” “Persons” is really a misleading label, as we are not dealing with corporeal humans, Jesus notwithstanding. In actuality, the Greek term that we have translated as “person” is more aptly translated as “being” or “substantive reality.” Or, as applied to the Trinity, “individual reality.” Of course, we know that these three “persons” are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three “persons” are distinct, but at the same time are of one substance or essence or nature. Despite being distinct, each “person” is wholly God. One God in three distinct “persons.” Three “persons,” all the same essence and nature, all the same God.

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Our Potential in the Holy Spirit

Day of Pentecost (Year B)

Acts 2.1-21; Romans 8.22-27

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 24:30)

 

The event we celebrate today—the coming of the Holy Spirit—hardly needs any explanation. It’s all laid out there in the second chapter of Acts. Well, maybe a little backstory is needed as to why the disciples were all gathered in one spot. They were gathered to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Weeks, or Shavuot—the ancient harvest festival that happens fifty days after the Passover. Hence the other name for this day—the name that we know—Pentecost, which means fiftieth day. A celebration that had, over time also taken on additional meaning: the commemoration of God giving the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. So, while we are not specifically told as such, the day would have already been filled with celebration, even if nothing else, nothing extraordinary, happened. There is that humorous little quip that “they are filled with new wine” (Acts 2.13). Being a harvest festival, which apparently could get pretty lively, it is entirely possible.

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Re-Boot

Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year B)

Acts 1.15-17, 21-26; John 17.6-19

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

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

 

Once again, the lectionary for today provides a wonderful backdrop for what is going on in the life of the contemporary church. Specifically, what is going on here at St. Gregory’s. Today our parish makes the shift from solely doing online worship as we have been for the last 14 months, to reopening to in-person worship. To be more accurate, we are shifting to hybrid worship—combining elements of in-person worship with online worship to provide a broader, more accessible worship experience for all. In short, we are in transition.

 

At its core, this is what we see going on in our readings for today—in our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles and in the selection from the Gospel according to John. Both readings deal with a shift, or an impending shift, in the way the early church would function. And even though the nature of the transition was very different from what we are dealing with, both these readings have something to offer us, to help as we move forward.

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Abide in My Love

Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year B)

John 15.9-17

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 9:10)

 

Earlier this week, I had a conversation with a parishioner about the confusing nature of some of our Gospel readings this time of year. Specifically, the fact that we are in Eastertide, but the Gospel readings in the last half of the Easter season—after we exhaust the post-resurrection appearances about three weeks in—are actually from Holy Week. In some ways, this sets up a bit of a disconnect. Seven weeks ago, we did Holy Week, with Jesus’ Passion. Then we celebrated Easter. And now we are back to Holy Week, at least in our readings, with selections from Jesus’ Farewell Discourse—his final words to his disciples before his crucifixion.

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Living Resurrected Lives as Good Shepherds

Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year B)

1 John 3.16-24; John 10.11-18

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook page (beginning at 17:55)

 

As of today, we are done with Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances. Through the remainder of Eastertide we focus instead on delving into just what it means to be a post-resurrection people. To be a people who follow the Risen Christ and seek to live resurrected lives. And, of course, as we do every Eastertide, we begin with one of the most well-known and most beloved images of that life. The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. This image tells us a lot about who Jesus is, but it also provides a model for how we are to live as those who follow Jesus—to live our own resurrected lives.

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You Are Witnesses to These Things

Third Sunday of Easter (Year B)

Luke 24.36b-48

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 18:45)

 

The disciples “were startled and terrified, and thought they were seeing a ghost” (Lk 24.37). It’s no wonder. I mean, Jesus had just died. And it had been a long day and the disciples were still trying to process what had happened the last few days. They were still trying to process what happen today. They had only just found his tomb empty that morning. In Luke’s telling, this is the first encounter the disciples have with the Risen Lord—occurring on the evening of the Day of Resurrection. The women at the tomb do not see the Risen Jesus—they are told by a couple of angels that he has risen. Then on the road to Emmaus, Cleopas and his companion have an encounter with a stranger. But they only realize after the fact that the stranger they had been traveling with was none other than the Risen Christ. When Cleopas and his companion rush back to Jerusalem to inform the other disciples what has happened, they are told “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” (Lk 24.34). Even though we have no details of how Jesus appeared to Simon Peter. So, while the Risen Christ appeared to several people, this was the first time that he had appeared to all the disciples at once. And, naturally, they are a little freaked. Even though they knew he had been raised. Even though some of their number had already experienced the Risen Christ. But then again, grief will do that to you. Your whole world is turned upside down, to the point that you can’t think straight. And in this case, how could they think straight? They were devastated by the brutal death of their friend and teacher. And now, he’s appearing to select individuals? That completely defies the understanding of death. No wonder they are freaked.

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