Ancestors

All Saints' Sunday (Year C)

Ephesians 1.11-23; Luke 6.20-31

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 22:05)

 

Throughout history, there have been a number of cultures and religions that have—and still do—place a great deal of emphasis on the place of ancestors in the ongoing life of the community. A variety, if not most, cultures, now ancient history, have recognized the importance of their ancestors through practices and rituals. Some of these continue into our own day. For example, a number of Asian cultures and religious expressions, as well as Native American tribes and religious systems, recognize the importance of the ancestors. And we are certainly familiar with the celebration of Día de Los Muertos, in which the dead are honored by leaving gifts for them on ofrendas, or special altars honoring the departed.

 

In such cultures and religious systems, there is a recognition that the ancestors, even though physically dead, continue to be active in the lives of individuals, families, and communities. In some cases, this is a recognition of the contributions the ancestors made to the communal life and well-being. A way of remembering family lineage and maintaining kinship values and family loyalty. In some cases, it is believed that the ancestors intervene in the lives of the living, providing guidance and blessings to, sharing in joys and sorrows of, their living relatives. In some cases, the ancestors are even believed to serve as messengers between the divine and the living. While sometimes referred to as “ancestor worship,” this really is a misnomer. Such cultures and religions do not generally worship the ancestors as divine, but venerate them as having a special place of honor in the lives of families and communities.

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It's a Trap!

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 25 (Year C)

Luke 18.9-14

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 15:40)

 

As we delve into today’s Gospel reading—the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector—it becomes increasingly apparent that, like so many of Jesus’ parables, this story has multiple layers. As is often the case in parables, two things are going on. First, there is a certain degree of hyperbole expressed. Sometimes to the point of being ludicrous. And second, things are turned inside out, expectations are upended, as a way of ultimately getting to the point Jesus wants to make. Jesus does this because it is the hyperbolic and the unexpected outcomes that would have stuck in the minds of his hearers, thereby helping them to more fully process and remember his lessons. Today’s parable is no exception. We have loads of hyperbole and an unexpected outcome. But there is also a cherry on top, which is meant to further emphasize the main point. And that can best be characterized in words not from Jesus’ times, but rather from “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” In the words of Admiral Ackbar in Return of the Jedi, “It’s a trap!” But we have to really delve into the parable to see just how it is a trap. A trap that leads to the real point of the parable.

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Struggles

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 24 (Year C)

Genesis 32.22-31; Luke 18.1-8

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 17:15)

 

You have to admit, life is full of struggles. Sometimes these can be pretty major. Struggles with challenging situations, finances, relationships, health issues. Struggles that may be ongoing and often have a significant impact on the shape or trajectory of our lives. Sometimes even struggles that come to define who we are in a significant way. And then there are struggles that are pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. Sure, in the moment, they may seem pretty overwhelming, but in actuality, not so much. Struggles that quickly fade into the background once resolved. Becoming little more than a distant memory, if remembered at all. Unless one lives an absolutely charmed life, or is completely delusional, we readily accept that challenges and struggles are an inherent part of our existence. And some would argue that without challenges and struggles, life is meaningless. Without challenges and struggles, there is no opportunity for growth, for change, for improvement.

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Getting Out of Our Own Way

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 22 (Year C)

Luke 17.5-10

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

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

 

I just love the unique and varied ways God chooses to slap us upside the head right when we need it. Earlier this week, I sat down to look at the Scripture readings for today, to start to get a sense of where I wanted to go with this sermon. Or where God wanted me to go with it. As I was just getting ready to look at the Gospel reading for the first time this week, I was interrupted by a text message. A parishioner sent me some information I had requested. Then came another message from the same parishioner: “Sorry it took so long to respond.” I replied with “No worries. I’ve been a little tied up with other issues, so you have not been in my way. I’ve been in my way.” The response came back: “Better you than me.” At first, I did not think much of the banter via text. As I returned to the Gospel reading, I was hit in rapid succession with the image of the apostles saying to Jesus, “Increase our faith!” and the reminder of my own text: “I’ve been in my way.” And the realization that a flippant text message in the 21^st century actually provided some insight into a possible response to the apostles’ desire for increased faith.

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Failure to Communicate

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 21 (Year C)

Luke 16.19-31

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

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

 

In the 1967 prison drama film “Cool Hand Luke,” the prison warden delivers a line that has crept into our cultural lexicon: “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” Jesus could just as easily have said these words as a way of summing up today’s Gospel reading. Or words that could have been spoken by Abraham to the rich man. Which he essentially does, only in more theological language.

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Finding the Lost

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 19 (Year C)

Luke 15.1-10

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 17:00)

 

Before my parents got married, my mother was a bookkeeper for a printing company in her hometown in Kansas. She was very good at her job and had a reputation of being thorough and detail-oriented. Even though she gave up that job when my folks got married (and she had to move halfway across country to join my father who was stationed in North Carolina), those bookkeeping skills have remained with her to this day. As soon as Mom gets her bank statement, she sits down and reconciles her accounts. She is not comfortable until she knows every last penny is accounted for. And she has been known to spend hours, even days, trying to find even a few cents on those rare occasions when her statement and her check register do not agree. Not that a few cents would break the bank. But for Mom, it’s the principle of the thing. She just doesn’t feel at ease unless she knows that everything is balanced and reconciled. So, when she does find those missing few pennies, she is overjoyed. And relieved. I’m sure we can all relate to the relief of finding those few missing pennies in our check register or finding those keys or other item that somehow were misplaced. And we can all relate to the joy, the sense of relief, when we find what had been lost.

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Cost of Discipleship

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 18 (Year C)

Luke 14.25-33

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 11:05)

 

“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

 

How do these words make you feel? Uncomfortable? Confused? Fearful? Maybe even angry?

 

Make no mistake about it: these are not just some words Jesus said to a crowd of people 2,000 years ago. These words are clearly spoken to anyone who follows Jesus. Any one, for all time. These words are, therefore, spoken directly to each and every one of us.

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Status

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 17 (Year C)

Luke 14.1, 7-14

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

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

 

What would Miss Manners or Emily Post say? Probably that the whole situation could have been avoided if the host had simply used place cards. Of course, 2,000 years ago, place cards at dinner parties were not a thing.

 

Jesus is at a dinner party hosted by a leader of the Pharisees. Which, in some ways, seems strange in and of itself. After all, the Pharisees spend a lot of time criticizing Jesus and his message. And Jesus spends a lot of time condemning the actions of the Pharisees and the temple authorities. And yet, this particular leader of the Pharisees invited Jesus to dinner. And yet, Jesus accepted.

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Active Faith

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 14 (Year C)

Genesis 15.1-6; Hebrews 11.1-3, 8-16; Luke 12.32-40

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 5:40)

 

What is faith? What does it mean to be a person of faith? What does it mean to live a life of faith? These are the fundamental questions we continually seek to answer every time we gather together as a worshiping community—what we sometimes refer to as a “community of faith.” And while we touch on these all-important questions every Sunday (or at least we try to), while we explore various aspects of the life of faith every Sunday (or at least we try to), it occurs to me that we don’t spend a lot of time talking about the broad, overarching questions I just posed. Perhaps because we take it for granted that we all know what we mean by “faith.” What we mean by “person of faith.” What we mean by “life of faith.”

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What Defines Who You Are?

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 13 (Year C)

Luke 12.13.-21

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 19:20)

 

One of the things I particularly enjoy is watching YouTube videos on such topics as minimalism, essentialism, decluttering, and organization. Always searching for tips and ideas about how I can live a more minimalist lifestyle. In the strictest sense, a minimalist is one who only has what they absolutely need to live. The idea being that much of what we have is not really necessary and, if anything, distracts us and gets in the way of living more intentionally and doing what matters most to us. Invariably, the focus is about creating space in our lives for what is essential: for our relationships and for pursing those activities which contribute to who we ultimately want to be. Whatever and whoever that is for the individual. In the church, we would use the language of focusing on those relationships, on those things and activities, that help us to live more fully into who God has created and is calling us to be as beloved children of God.

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