Commitment and Resolve

Third Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 8 (Year C)

1 Kings 19.15-16, 19, 21; Galatians 5.1, 13-25; Luke 9.51-62

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 20:55)

 

Our Gospel reading for today opens by telling us that Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem.” This is a transition point for Jesus. Thus far, he has been traveling throughout Galilee preaching, teaching, and healing. That he “set his face to go to Jerusalem” is a term that is often used to describe a shift in focus to his ultimate destiny—to his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension—which will occur in Jerusalem. This change in focus does not mean that he ceases to preach, teach, and heal. That will continue until his dying day, and beyond. But this is the point where the trajectory of Jesus’ ministry begins to take turns that will be necessary to accomplish his mission. Setting his face to go to Jerusalem entails multiple turns. A geographic turn, as he begins to slowly work his way south toward Jerusalem. A theological turn, as he slowly, sometimes subtly, seeks to expand the circle of those whom he ministers to, of those who are included in God’s kingdom—expanding beyond his initial Jewish-centered audience to include Gentiles as well. And a programmatic turn, as he begins to focus more on the education and formation of his disciples, preparing them for the time when they will be called upon to take up his mantle. It is this latter turn that is of particular concern to us, not only today, but throughout the remainder of this season after Pentecost, where we walk alongside Jesus, learning from him as he makes his way to Jerusalem. As he prepares his disciples—and us—for what is to come.

Read more!

Casting Out Demons

 Second Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 7 (Year C)

Luke 8.26-39

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 22:35)

 

At first glance, our Gospel reading for today may seem to be a bit archaic. A bit irrelevant to life in the 21^st century. I mean, demons? Really? We don’t generally think of people as being possessed by demons in our own day and age. Other than in “The Exorcist” and similar movies. Indicating that, in our time, demons have been relegated to the realm of pure entertainment. But is that really a fair assessment? If we really look around, aren’t there people in our own time who could be considered demon-possessed? Aren’t there conditions or situations which could be considered demonic? And no, I am not talking about your inconsiderate neighbor who plays loud music at two in the morning or that political figure you love to hate. I’m talking demonic in the true sense of the word. As implied in our Gospel account of the Gerasene demoniac.

Read more!

Invited Into the Work of the Trinity

Trinity Sunday (Year C)

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 17:30)

 

Early in my life as a priest, when Trinity Sunday inevitably rolled around, I felt that I had to provide some sort of explanation of the Trinity. What it is and how it operates. Which, inevitably proves to be an exercise in futility, as we just cannot understand the “new math” involved when it comes to the Trinity: Three in One and One in Three. That our one and only God is comprised of three “persons”: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And that, despite being manifest as three “persons,” as three unique entities, they are each comprised of the same substance and nature, making each “person” fully and completely God. All three “persons” being our One God. Three in One and One in Three. It’s enough to make your head hurt. And if your head hurts trying to sort all that out, just imagine how much my head hurts trying to come up with new ways to explain the doctrine of the Trinity every year.

Read more!

Jesus' Prayer for Us

Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year C)

John 17.20-26

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 19:00)

 

Today is the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Next Sunday is the Day of Pentecost. Which means we are in the home stretch of this Eastertide marathon. This last week of Eastertide is a bit unique in its feel because, from the perspective of the disciples, Jesus is gone. Out of the picture. This past Thursday we celebrated Jesus’ Ascension into heaven. During the last six weeks, between Jesus’ resurrection and his ascension, he has been preparing his disciples for this eventuality. And always quick to reassure them that he was not abandoning them. That he would send his Spirit—the Holy Spirit—to be a guide and companion in their ongoing mission and ministry. We know that it was a mere ten days between the Ascension and Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit did arrive. But they don’t know that at the time. So they find themselves in a liminal time of waiting. They are a bit at a loss as to what is happening. Not unlike the uncertainty and sense of loss they experienced during another liminal time just seven weeks before. During that time between Jesus’ death and his resurrection.

Read more!

The Peace the World Cannot Give

Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year C)

John 14.23-29

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

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

 

Wednesday morning I attended a meeting of CLUE—Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice. An interfaith organization that “educates, organizes, and mobilizes the faith community to accompany workers and their families in their struggle for good jobs, dignity, and justice.”[i] As is pretty common at meetings of such organizations, you start off giving your name and the organization you represent. And more often than not, there is some sort of check-in question. The question at the start of Wednesday’s meeting was “How is your soul doing?” I don’t normally care much for check-in questions, finding them to be a bit contrived. But this question really resonated with me that morning. And I have returned to that question several times since then, sort of checking in, not with a group, but with myself. Checking in with my soul. Before I go any further with my sermon, I’m going to stop for a moment and ask you to ponder that same question. How is your soul doing?

Read more!

Who Are We to Hinder God?

Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year C)

Acts 11.1-18; John 13.31-35

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 20:40)

 

I don’t think it would come as a shock to anyone here that we have an “us” versus “them” problem. I’m not specifically talking about here at St. Gregory’s. I’m speaking in general terms. That societally we have an “us” versus “them” problem. Virtually everywhere you turn, the prevailing messaging is about how “we” and those who are like us or who agree with us are good, and “they,” “them,” “those,” and others like them or who agree with them are bad. Or if not bad, at least need to be viewed with suspicion. This is most evident in the political sphere. Increasing division between liberals and conservatives, between our political parties. With each “side” having its core positions that one has to agree with in order to be considered one of “us.” Identity politics playing out in the once-sacred halls of our governmental institutions, not to mention on the nightly news, in social media, in our streets, and even around our family dinner tables. Just look at the issues occupying all these forums in recent days and weeks. Some being pretty clear-cut, like the war in Ukraine. Definitely “us” and “them”—Russia attacking Ukraine on the spurious pretense of liberating the Ukrainian people from their allegedly neo-Nazi government. Or closer to home, the vast increase in racial tension over the last couple of years. A very visible “us” versus “them” based on color of skin and stereotypes about behavior and character that supposedly go with skin color. Then there are the divisions based on deeply held beliefs, be they religious or otherwise. The most current being pro-life versus pro-choice, as we await the United States Supreme Court’s impending decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Or throughout the pandemic, those who believe the science around COVID-19 versus those who think its all a hoax. And the related issues of requiring vaccinations or masking, boiling down to protection of public health versus perceived individual rights. And there are so many more “us” and “them” issues out there. Some that impact our society as a whole, and some that impact only a subset of our population. Divisions that are perhaps more insidious and potentially more dangerous as they often go virtually unseen by most people. Resulting in an attitude of “why should I be concerned with that if it doesn’t directly affect me?”

Read more!

The Good Shepherding of the Lamb of God

Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year C)

Revelation 7.9-17; John 10.22-30

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 20:40)

 

We are still in the Easter season, but as of last week, we exhausted our accounts of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances to his disciples. In the remaining four weeks of Eastertide, our Gospel readings focus on Jesus’ teachings about faith and intimacy with God. Focusing on our relationship with God. How we relate to God and how God through Christ relates to us. And the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Easter always focuses on one of the most well-known and perhaps most beloved images of that relationship: the Good Shepherd. With each year of our lectionary delving into a portion of the Good Shepherd discourse from the Gospel according to John.

 

I find it interesting that whenever I prepare a sermon, no matter how many times I have preached on a particular theme or particular set of readings, I invariably notice something that I had never noticed before. A detail in a reading jumps out, as if being read for the first time. Or how the whole set of readings for a particular Sunday come together to present an image I never noticed before. That is what happened for me this week, as I contemplated how to preach about the Good Shepherd for the umpteenth time in my career as a priest. As I pondered the readings for today, something jumped out at me that never had in my nearly 17 years of ordained ministry. As I tried to figure out how to approach the story of the Good Shepherd this year, as I tried to come up with a new angle, I noticed that the image of sheep figure prominently in our reading from the Gospel according to John and in the Epistle reading from the Revelation to John. Both books traditionally attributed to the same author: to John, the Beloved Disciple. The Gospel according to John using the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd to his sheep, and the Revelation to John incorporating the image of Christ as the Lamb of God. Both images pointing to answers to the question Jesus is asked as he walks through the Temple: “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly” (Jn 10.24). You will note that “the Jews gathered around him” asked this question. It is important to recognize that throughout John’s Gospel, when he refers to “the Jews,” he typically is referring to the Jewish authorities.

Read more!

Meeting Us Where We Are

Third Sunday of Easter (Year C)

John 21.1-19

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning 19:45)

 

I love all the accounts of the post-resurrection appearances that we hear in these days after Easter. They are all very different, each conveying something about the Risen Lord, but also something about the people Christ appears to. And in the process, these stories somehow weave together attributes of the Risen Lord and attributes of those to whom he appeared, to say something about who we are as the Body of Christ. As those called to carry on his mission and ministry in the world in our own time.

 

It's hard to pick which of the post-resurrection stories is my favorite, as they are all so wonderful and endearing in their own unique ways. But today’ account of Jesus appearing to the disciples on the beach definitely ranks right up there. First off, I like the fact that the story is a bit whimsical. Portraying both Jesus and the disciples in a bit of a lighter manner than in many of the other post-resurrection appearances. As a result, this account is so relatable in many ways. The disciples are certainly relatable in their reactions. And even Jesus is relatable. Which I find interesting, as throughout the Gospel according to John, Jesus seems a bit unapproachable. Not that he is, but John definitely seeks to portray Jesus from a perspective referred to as “high Christology”—that Jesus’ divinity is more evident and on display than in the other Gospels. Given John’s high Christology, what I find so appealing about this story is that after Jesus’ death and resurrection, when he is definitely inhabiting more the divine realm than the human realm, that Jesus comes off as more human. More approachable. More relatable. Even, more playful. And maybe that’s the key to today’s Gospel story.

Read more!

Faithful Thomas

Second Sunday of Easter (Year C)

John 20.19-31

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

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

 

If there was ever an election to select a saint for our times, for our contemporary age, Thomas would get my vote. Of the many names given to the times we live in, one of the most common used in secular society is “the information age.” An age in which we generate and consume more information than ever before. An age that is defined by the use—and I would add, abuse—of information. An age which has seen the advent of “fake news.” That has seen self-proclaimed experts and pundits of all political persuasions spin stories and twist their explanations of what should be observable events in ways that would make the most accomplished of contortionists blush. An age in which so much of what is presented as news, as fact, bears no relation to the objective truth. It’s absolutely dizzying and mind-boggling. Its times such as these in which we need the likes of our friend Thomas. The one so often referred to as “Doubting Thomas.” A moniker which, in itself, is actually an unjustified spin on the events of the actual encounter Thomas has with Jesus. The result of fake news, if you will.

 

Let’s take a look at our Gospel account. An objective look. Or as objective as we can get given the information presented.

Read more!

The New Normal

 Easter Day (Year C)

Acts 10.34-43; John 20.1-18

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 22:15)

 

Today has been a long time coming! The last time we celebrated Easter Sunday in-person was in 2019. I’m sure we all recall the beginning of the pandemic and the mandatory stay-at-home order that went into effect on March 20^th of 2020. At that time, when the Bishop ordered the cancelling of all in-person worship, he was hopeful that this would all be behind us and we would be back to in-person worship within three or four weeks. Just in time for Easter 2020. And all us clergy were talking about what a glorious Easter that would be, as we celebrated Christ’s resurrection and the end of the pandemic. Right. Not only was church not reopened by Easter, we were not even allowed to live stream from within the church at that time. Instead, our Easter service was live streamed from my dining room. I have to tell you, that was a pretty depressing Easter. At the end of the service, I closed my laptop and started crying. Sure, we had celebrated the Lord’s resurrection. We had brought back the “Alleluias.” We had even sung two quintessential Easter hymns: “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” and “The Strife is O’er.” And yet, it did not feel like Easter. I did not feel as if Christ had risen. At the least, the Body of Christ that is St. Gregory’s had not risen. And the strife was not o’er. As it turned out, it was just beginning.

Read more!