Returning Home

17th Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 19 (Year C)
Exodus 32.7-14; Psalm 51.1-11; 1 Timothy 1.12-17; Luke 15.1-10
Sunday, September 11, 2016 – St. Paul’s Emmanuel, Santa Paula

It was a Tuesday. Tuesdays had a special rhythm all their own. On any other weekday, I would get up, get ready for work, eat breakfast, and then go to the office. But on Tuesdays, I would skip breakfast, and instead of going to work, I would drive right past my office and on to St. George’s Episcopal Church, where I was doing my internship prior to going to seminary. This particular Tuesday was different still. Normally while I’m getting ready for work I listen to the news on the radio. On the drive to work I also listen to the radio. This particular Tuesday, for some reason, I did not turn on the radio while I was getting ready for work. When I got into my car the radio was turned off. I did not turn it on. I enjoyed a quiet, peaceful drive to St. George’s. I got to the church and walked into Coleman House, which served as the parish offices and meeting space, where we had our Tuesday morning Eucharist, followed by breakfast.

Read more!

The Steep (and Complicated) Cost of Discipleship

16th Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 18 (Year C)
Deuteronomy 30.15-20; Psalm 1; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14.25-33
Sunday, September 4, 2016 – St. Paul’s Emmanuel, Santa Paula

Well, I guess we all might as well just go home. After all, Jesus begins today’s Gospel passage with “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.” And he ends with “none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” I think it’s pretty safe to say that each of you have people in your life that you love. Your families and your friends. I know I love my mother. I love my sister – most of the time. And I love all of you. So we all fail on that count. And I’m guessing that most of us love being alive. Okay, there may be days when life may not be that great, but for the most part, I hope we all enjoy being alive. Again – fail. And then there are the possessions. We all have “stuff.” Since we are not sitting here buck naked, I can say with absolute certainty that none of us here is completely free of owning at least some possessions. It may not be a whole lot, but at least we have the necessities of life and maybe even some creature comforts. So again, we all fail. So how can we be followers of Jesus?

Read more!

The Strength of Humility

15th Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 17 (Year C)
Proverbs 25.6-7; Psalm 112; Hebrews 13.1-8, 15-16; Luke 14.1, 7-14
Sunday, August 28, 2016 – St. Paul’s Emmanuel, Santa Paula

What would Emily Post or Miss Manners say? Hosting a dinner party without a seating chart and place cards? It can only lead to chaos – people elbowing their way to the seats of greatest honor. Shameful!

With all due respect to our mavens of etiquette, that wasn’t how things were done back in Jesus’ day. At feasts and banquets, the male guests would recline on couches. And there was a hierarchy to the placement of the couches. The center couch – the equivalent of the head table – was the place of highest honor. The perceived level of honor decreased as you got farther away from the center couch. Being seated in a place of honor was based on wealth or power. And it was somewhat fluid. If a more prominent guest arrived (fashionably) late, someone of lower rank would be moved to a place of lesser honor to make room for the more prestigious guest.

Read more!

Sabbath Controversy

14th Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 16 (Year C)
Isaiah 58.9b-14; Psalm 103.1-8; Hebrews 12.18-29; Luke 13.10-17
Sunday, August 21, 2016 – St. Paul’s Emmanuel, Santa Paula

To say that Jesus was controversial is an understatement. He had a reputation for saying and doing things that made the Jewish religious authorities nervous, if not downright angry. This was because Jesus’ words and actions challenged the status quo. In some cases, what he did or said even contradicted the Law. These incidents really got the religious authorities all hot and bothered. One category of Jesus’ actions was particularly troublesome for the authorities – what is collectively referred to as the “Sabbath Controversies.” Luke records four particular incidents of Jesus breaking not just any of the 613 commandments in the Torah but one of the Ten Commandments – one of the biggies. The one about keeping the Sabbath. “Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work” (Ex 20.9-10).

Read more!

What in Blazes is Going On?

13th Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 15 (Year C)
Jeremiah 23.23-29; Psalm 82; Hebrews 11.29—12.2; Luke 12.49-56
Sunday, August 14, 2016 – St. Paul’s Emmanuel, Santa Paula

What is going on? What happened to the Jesus who just last week offered words of hope and comfort when he said “Do not be afraid, little flock”? Just moments after saying these words, he pops off with “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” To be followed by “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!” And then he talks about how this division will even be between family members. This all just seems so contrary to the image we have of Jesus. This is not the Jesus we know. And how can we not be afraid with his talk of fire and division?

Read more!

The Last Word

12th Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 14 (Year C)
Genesis 15.1-6; Psalm 33.12-22; Hebrews 11.1-3, 8-16; Luke 12.32-40
Sunday, August 7, 2016 – St. Paul’s Emmanuel, Santa Paula

I may be a glutton for punishment, particularly in this election cycle, but I enjoy watching political news. Although I’m by no means a political junkie like some of my friends. Being a progressive, I generally get my political news from MSNBC. I love “All in with Chris Hayes” and “The Rachel Maddow Show.” And occasionally, if there is nothing else on TV, or if I have not gotten sufficiently sated, or sufficiently disgusted, with politics, I watch “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.” The title comes from the fact that at the end of his show, Lawrence makes a point of giving the last word on the issue of the day to one of his guests. You never quite know what you’re going to get. Sometimes it’s a word of optimism. But sometimes it’s a word of warning. Or of dread. Or of fear.

Read more!

The Lord's Prayer - Model for Prayer, Model for Life

10th Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 12 (Year C)
Genesis 18.20-32; Psalm 138; Colossians 2.6-15(16-19); Luke 11.1-13
Sunday, July 24, 2016 – St. Paul’s Emmanuel, Santa Paula

There are many things that various Christian denominations don’t agree on. Theological positions, liturgical practices, church polity, to name a few. But one of the thing we can all agree on is the centrality of the Lord’s Prayer. Nearly every worship service, regardless of denomination, includes the public recitation of this same prayer in some form. Now just to be clear, today’s Gospel contains a more scaled-down version than in Matthew’s Gospel, which is the version commonly used. Luke just gives us the basics, the most important parts. The parts he leaves out merely provide further explanation.

The first utterance of this prayer is by Jesus in response to his disciples’ request, “Lord, teach us to pray.” The prayer Jesus offers not only provides a model for how to pray, it also incorporates key defining points in our life of faith. For Christians, this prayer helps define who we are as followers of Jesus. It becomes an integral part of who we are.

Read more!

"Go and Do Likewise"

8th Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 10 (Year C)
Deuteronomy 30.9-14; Psalm 25.1-10; Colossians 1.1-14; Luke 10.25-37
Sunday, July 10, 2016 – St. Paul’s Emmanuel, Santa Paula

This week we have witnessed a number of brutal acts of violence across our country. The killing of two homeless men and serious injury of two others in San Diego on Monday. The killing of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge on Tuesday. The killing of Philando Castile in St. Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday; the killing of five police officers in Dallas on Thursday. And all of this just a few weeks after the killing of 49 people in Orlando. As I watched the news coverage of some of these events, with endless analysis and commentary, what invariably was cited as the root cause – usually by religious leaders, but also by some political leaders – was not so much race, or Black Lives Matter, or excessive use of force by police. What it ultimately boils down to is love of neighbor. Or lack thereof.

Read more!

We are the Seventy

7th Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 9 (Year C)
Isaiah 66.10-14; Psalm 66.1-8; Galatians 6.1-16; Luke 10.1-11, 16-20
Sunday, July 3, 2016 – St. Paul’s Emmanuel, Santa Paula

The season after Pentecost is all about growth, as evidenced by the color green. Growth of the Church and growth of those of us who follow Jesus. Today’s Gospel reading is a pivotal story about growth, particularly growth of the Church. Of course, throughout his public ministry, Jesus has been traveling through the countryside winning hearts and minds with his message of love and his acts of healing. Growing the Jesus Movement. A little earlier in Luke’s gospel, Jesus sends out the Twelve to expand that work. But in today’s reading, that takes a definite turn.

Read more!

Call to Live the Fruit of Spirit

6th Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 8 (Year C)
1 Kings 19.15-16, 19-21; Psalm 16; Galatians 5.1, 13-25; Luke 9.51-26
Sunday, June 26, 2016 – St. Paul’s Emmanuel, Santa Paula

On the journey of faith, we frequently talk about being called to follow Christ, of being called to God’s service. In some circles, this notion of call is the exclusive domain of those who are ordained. While some are called into a particular form of ministry involving ordination, all of us who follow Jesus are called into life with him, into his service. All Christians are called by God to their own unique ministry.

All our scripture lessons for today deal with aspects of call. Our Old Testament and Gospel readings are call narratives – stories of individuals being called to God’s service or to follow Jesus. In 1 Kings we hear how Elisha is called to replace Elijah as God’s prophet. Elisha is working in a field when Elijah walks by him, throws his mantle – the symbol of his authority – over Elisha. No words are spoken, but Elisha knows what this means. He drops what he’s doing and follows after Elijah. In Luke’s Gospel, we hear three call narratives. In the first, someone apparently perceives a call to follow Jesus and expresses this desire to him. And to the other two, Jesus himself issues invitations to follow him.

Read more!