The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox द्वारा प्रदान की गई सामग्री. एपिसोड, ग्राफिक्स और पॉडकास्ट विवरण सहित सभी पॉडकास्ट सामग्री The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox या उनके पॉडकास्ट प्लेटफ़ॉर्म पार्टनर द्वारा सीधे अपलोड और प्रदान की जाती है। यदि आपको लगता है कि कोई आपकी अनुमति के बिना आपके कॉपीराइट किए गए कार्य का उपयोग कर रहा है, तो आप यहां बताई गई प्रक्रिया का पालन कर सकते हैं https://hi.player.fm/legal।
At the dawn of the social media era, Belle Gibson became a pioneering wellness influencer - telling the world how she beat cancer with an alternative diet. Her bestselling cookbook and online app provided her success, respect, and a connection to the cancer-battling influencer she admired the most. But a curious journalist with a sick wife began asking questions that even those closest to Belle began to wonder. Was the online star faking her cancer and fooling the world? Kaitlyn Dever stars in the Netflix hit series Apple Cider Vinegar . Inspired by true events, the dramatized story follows Belle’s journey from self-styled wellness thought leader to disgraced con artist. It also explores themes of hope and acceptance - and how far we’ll go to maintain it. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews executive producer Samantha Strauss. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched Apple Cider Vinegar yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts .…
The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox द्वारा प्रदान की गई सामग्री. एपिसोड, ग्राफिक्स और पॉडकास्ट विवरण सहित सभी पॉडकास्ट सामग्री The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox या उनके पॉडकास्ट प्लेटफ़ॉर्म पार्टनर द्वारा सीधे अपलोड और प्रदान की जाती है। यदि आपको लगता है कि कोई आपकी अनुमति के बिना आपके कॉपीराइट किए गए कार्य का उपयोग कर रहा है, तो आप यहां बताई गई प्रक्रिया का पालन कर सकते हैं https://hi.player.fm/legal।
An Anglican Church Growing In Faith ~ Serving Our Neighbors ~ Creating Community
The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox द्वारा प्रदान की गई सामग्री. एपिसोड, ग्राफिक्स और पॉडकास्ट विवरण सहित सभी पॉडकास्ट सामग्री The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox या उनके पॉडकास्ट प्लेटफ़ॉर्म पार्टनर द्वारा सीधे अपलोड और प्रदान की जाती है। यदि आपको लगता है कि कोई आपकी अनुमति के बिना आपके कॉपीराइट किए गए कार्य का उपयोग कर रहा है, तो आप यहां बताई गई प्रक्रिया का पालन कर सकते हैं https://hi.player.fm/legal।
An Anglican Church Growing In Faith ~ Serving Our Neighbors ~ Creating Community
February 2, 2025 – Candlemas: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. “Two turtledoves, and a ground hog who sees his shadow.” What, not right? Well, at any rate, Merry Christmas everyone! And you thought all that was over weeks ago when those crazy wild guys from the East showed up. Well, not so fast. If you have your tree still up (and believe it or not, I do – not just the artificial one, but my live tree is still doing well!) – then you are not late at all. Today marks the final day of Christmas – for real this time. You might note that our gospel today is from Luke Chapter 2. This comes just one verse after the story about the shepherds visiting the baby Jesus. The missing verse is his circumcision on the 8 th day. So, we are clearly still in the birth narrative as Jesus is all of 40 days old. He isn’t even out of onesies or eating solid food yet. This is the Feast of the Presentation, a day on which candles are blessed for use at home and the church, so it is also called Candlemas. We don’t get to hear this story in church unless it falls on a Sunday, or a weekday service is offered. That is a shame, because it features so much in our daily lives for those of us who pray what is known in our church as the Daily Office. It also is part of our parish’s history, with two prominent stained glass windows associated with it – the center window of the Tiffany triptych in St. Mary’s chapel, and this one up there in the main tower. The chapel window shows the scene, and the tower windows have the words of Simeon, which we pray in the daily office in what is known in Latin as the Nunc Dimittis – which like all Latin titles is just another way of saying the first few words – in this case “You have dismissed…” So, all that said – let’s get to this story, because it is offers something important for us in the context in which we live now. Okay – we know the nativity story, but what happens right afterward, according to this gospel? Not wise folks from the East and a flight to Egypt to escape Herod – that is the Gospel of Matthew. Now, given that Matthew is written for the Jewish people by a Jewish author, and Luke is written for gentiles by a gentile author, you would think that the story of the wise guys would be in Luke and this story, along with the circumcision that precedes it, would be in Matthew, because these are stories about Mary and Joseph following Jewish law with respect to the birth of their first born son and the purification ritual for his mother. Weird, right? Anyway, in Luke, after the shepherds depart, the next thing we hear is that Jesus is going to a bris, and unfortunately for him, he isn’t the one bringing a gift. Joseph and Mary have him circumcised and he is named. Then we get to this story today, where 40 days after his birth, they bring Jesus to the temple to be presented to God in accordance with the law for her purification and his redemption that we get in that fabulous book that everyone loves – Leviticus. All this to say that Jesus is raised in the knowledge and adherence to scripture and the law. Now there are a couple of things to note in this story. First, according to Leviticus, you are supposed to offer up a lamb and a turtledove or pigeon. Only if you can’t afford that do you have the option of substituting for the lamb a second bird, which, as we find out, is what Mary and Joe offer up. So the author is telling us something about the Holy Family – that they are working class folks. Now – picture this…the temple isn’t like the size of our churches today. This place is huge. Have you ever been to St. John the Divine or the Washington National Cathedral? In those places you need to leave breadcrumbs to find your way back from the bathroom, right? Well, the temple in Jerusalem is larger. There is likely a lot going on there too. Mary, Joe, and Jesus would be just a small speck in this huge façade. They were probably barely noticeable, these two – coming in with their birds and their little baby. Just one of many trying to do the right thing by the law, lost in the vastness of this temple. They would have moved through the outer gates, past the court of the gentiles, and into likely now the court where Jewish women are allowed, outside of the inner court where only men could go. You’d think no one would really pay any attention to them, and yet two people did. Simeon was, according to the text, a righteous and devout man who had been told by God that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. He is guided by the Holy Spirit to come to the temple that day. He sees the child Jesus, takes him in his arms, and says (using what we say in Evening Prayer and inscribed on those windows) “Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised; For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see: A Light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.” He then foretells to Mary the destiny that awaits this child, and that it will pierce her heart. If that were not enough, Anna, a prophet, sees them. Now, how many of you ever heard of Anna, or for that matter, a woman prophet in the bible before? Yup – we need to be better about raising up this story. Anyway, she is very old, and is of the tribe of Asher, which just happens to be one of the original 12 whose area is Galilee. She sees the baby Jesus, and also proclaims the destiny that awaits him and what it will mean for the people of Israel. Lordy, what a thing to have happen to this couple. Remember all that has already happened – the annunciation to Mary, the reaction of John in the womb of Elizabeth and Mary’s song to God, the shepherds who tell Mary and Joe about the angels and what they said, and now this? I think the Holy Family invented the – post-Christmas, shut the door on the last guests, pour a glass of wine and put your feet up – crash. It’s a lot to deal with! So, what does all this have to say to us? Well, let’s go back to our righteous guy Simeon and his Benedictus – or blessing. He says “…my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” After the angels told the shepherds that Jesus would be “good news for all the people,” Simeon tells us that he will be a light – for the salvation of all. Christ, as we sang in the opening hymn, is the world’s true light. And in this time of deep darkness for our nation and the world, this truly is good news. This has been a most difficult week, hasn’t it? There was the mid-air collision of a helicopter and a plane that resulted in the death of 67 people, some of them very young. Then on Friday night, a “medical transport jet with a child patient, her mother, and four others aboard crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood shortly after takeoff…, exploding in a fireball that engulfed several homes.” The level of grief is overwhelming. And because we are filled with grief, we may have missed one other story amid the barrage of horror that seems to pervade our national political news cycle these days, and it is this: By yet another Executive Order – all refugee entry into the US was stopped. This resulted in 1,600 men, women, and children, who had gone through years of waiting, then years of processing – including biometric scans, background checks, you name it – people who had fled horrors in their homeland that people in our country could not even imagine in their worst nightmares – all of them denied the flights that had already been set up for them to find refuge here. This not only led to the heartbreak of those refugee families –but it also led to the loss of jobs for scores of employees in the Episcopal Church who worked for Episcopal Migration Ministries or EMM. EMM was one of many federally funded agencies who provided resettlement services to incoming refugees so that they would have housing, employment, and a community to welcome them. Folks, it isn’t like we were doing more than our fair share and needed to scale back. The truth is, we take in only .4% of the world’s refugees – far less than most countries. Worse though is that most of those behind this also want the US to be a so-called Christian country? They believe in the heresy of Christian Nationalism. Now, I know that the famed theologian Karl Barth implored preachers to “…hold the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other,” but I wish he had implored politicians who claim to be followers of Jesus to not only hold a bible in their hand, but actually open it up and read it. Because there they might hear about God’s commandments to welcome the stranger, and especially about the holy family’s flight to Egypt to escape the tyranny of Herod and the slaughter of the innocents. Thank goodness Egypt didn’t say – “Yeah, no. You aren’t welcome here.” Yet despite all the darkness of the world today, our grieving and sorrowful hearts can take comfort in the knowledge of Jesus’ birth as we close out Christmas today. Because God didn’t enter into a world that was a utopia of goodness and light. You don’t need a candle in the daylight, but in the darkness. Jesus was born into a time of harsh economic disparity and oppression. It was a dark time, such as we are experiencing now. His birth, that we finish celebrating today, was proclaimed by his mother to be God’s promise that the powerful will be thrown down and the lowly lifted up –the hungry will be fed and the rich will be sent away empty. The angels told the shepherds that his birth would be good news for all people, not just some. Simeon and Anna say that his light will bring salvation for all the world – all people everywhere. And that, my friends, is good news for us today, even amidst the uncertainty and chaos in which we find ourselves. Because the incarnation isn’t something that happened once a long time ago. It is happening still. Christ was, and is, and is to come. This story is happening now, and we are Anna and Simeon, despairing yes – but also a people of hope. Hope that rests in the knowledge of God at work in the world. Hope that is the flame that will overcome all darkness. And like Anna and Simeon, we will encounter Christ in our midst. We may not physically hold a little baby in our arms and see the light of Christ, but we don’t need to. We receive his light in baptism, we are nourished by it in here in the Eucharist, and we encounter him in those most affected by all this darkness we hear about every day – the poor, the lonely, the addicted, the imprisoned, the immigrant & refugee, the grieving, the homeless, the marginalized and the oppressed. We encounter God at work in all of creation too – in the sound of laughter, a bird’s song, the rising of the sun, the beauty of the stars. These gifts of God are not for a certain people – you don’t need a ticket to see or hear them – they are available to all the people in all the world. So, in the days ahead, when things seem most dark, come here to this house of worship like Anna and Simeon, for in this place we are able to turn off for a moment the chaos, the noise, the cruelty, and the coldness, and be reminded of God’s presence in our lives. Look around too – and see signs of God’s grace for all people. And when you return home, light the candle you received today and remember who you are and whose you are –children of God, claimed as Christ’s own – and loved unconditionally just as you are. Perhaps then you will see yourself in this story we heard today. For we are a people like Anna – filled with hope in our heart as we behold the handiwork of God all around us. We are a people like Simeon – following the Holy Spirit in the knowledge of the promise of God. We are the body of Christ the light of the world – a light shining through our own brokenness – to bring hope, healing, and love – a light that defeats all darkness, even perhaps our own. Amen. For the audio, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here (also available on Audible): Sermon Podcast https://christchurchepiscopal.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Rec-001-Sermon-February_2_2025.m4a The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge February 2, 2025 Feast of the Presentation 1st Reading – Malachi 3:1-4 Psalm 84 2nd Reading – Hebrews 2:14-18 Gospel – Luke 2:22-40 The post “A Light For All The World” appeared first on Christ Episcopal Church .…
January 26, 2025: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. Heard any good sermons this past week…or at least a snippet of one? I have no doubt that most, if not all, of you did. And today, we heard the beginning of another one, though we only got the opening sentence in what we just heard, when Jesus said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Now the setting for the gospel today is Nazareth. Jesus has returned to his hometown, and likely the synagogue where he went as a boy. This is not good, as any seminarian can tell you who has ever returned back to their childhood church to preach. So back to his sermon. At first, the folks in his hometown liked the opening, until they started thinking – hey, isn’t this Joseph’s kid? Which is a way of saying – I knew you when you were knee high to a duck – you couldn’t possibly have anything to teach me. And then, Jesus keeps preaching, and Lordy, they were not too crazy about what he had to say. They were so outraged in fact, that they chased him to the edge of a cliff in order to throw him off. We won’t get to hear that part because next week, the lectionary swaps it out for the scriptures about the presentation of Jesus at the temple – what we in the church call Candlemas. So, it seems that this sermon of Jesus is perfectly matched with the news of that other one we heard a lot about this week, because both were centered on the same message. And both got the same response – at least by some of those who heard it. So, let’s get back to that sermon by The Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. She was presiding and preaching in another Episcopal church – the Washington National Cathedral. I will post a link to the full service so that you can watch it for yourself, and look at the bulletin too: https://cathedral.org/about/service-info/ But before we get to what she said, we need to remember the context: This was a service done every time a new President is sworn in. It was not a service for the new President. It was, as the bulletin made clear, a service of prayer for the nation. It was also an ecumenical and interfaith service that prayed for those who serve others – the leaders of our nation, for those whom they serve – the people in need, and for all the peoples of the nation. The Rt. Rev. Mariann E. Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, preaching at the National Prayer Service. Bishop Budde, preaching from the text of Matthew and Deuteronomy read earlier that service, which called for us to love God, welcome the stranger, and build our faith on a strong foundation, began her sermon this way: “As a country we have gathered this morning to pray for unity as a people and a nation. Not for agreement, political or otherwise. But for the kind of unity that fosters community across diversity and division. A unity that serves the common good.” Drawing on the Matthew text, she spoke about a three fold foundation for this unity we pray for in our nation. The first is “honoring the inherent dignity of every human being.” Which, by the way, comes from our own baptismal covenant. The second one she said is “honesty in private conversation and public discourse.” And the third is “humility which we all need because we are all fallible human beings.” That’s all good, right? So, why the wild reactions to it? I mean, can’t we all agree that unity, honoring the dignity of every human being, honesty, and humility are good things? To which Jesus might say “Yeah, well I thought the text of Isaiah would be good news too.” Well, let’s get to the part that went viral. You see, in that service there is almost always a moment in which the preacher will directly address the president. Think of it like an ordination service in which the preacher nearly always has the ordinand stand while a charge is given to them about what their new life in Christ will mean for them and what they will be called to do. And Bishop Budde, in that tradition, said this, in her usual soft spoken way: “Let me make one final plea. Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you. And as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country. And we’re scared now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families — some who fear for their lives. And the people, the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants, and work the night shifts in hospitals. They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation. But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues … and temples. I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. And that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger for we were all once strangers in this land. May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being; to speak the truth to one another in love. and walk humbly with each other and our God. For the good of all people in this nation and the world.” And for this, our President said she was a “so-called bishop,” accused her of being nasty in tone, and called for a public apology. One congressman posted on social media calling for her deportation. Another has sponsored a resolution, HR 59, calling for Congress to condemn her words. I suppose that sounds a little better than a crowd trying to throw you off a cliff, except that Bishop Budde also has received death threats. Death threats! Death threats, calls for condemnation, deportation, and an apology for what? For daring to preach about caring for the vulnerable – the very call of Jesus. Folks, if you are in a church, and become offended by a sermon about mercy, compassion, welcoming the stranger, and love – then perhaps you meant to be in a coffee shop, because you clearly do not understand the words of Jesus and the meaning of our faith. Let us not forget what Jesus was preaching today – it wasn’t good news for the powerful, the wealthy, or the well connected. It was good news for the poor – And using that passage from Isaiah, he made it clear that he was there to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” I should note that the last bit, the year of the Lord’s favor – commonly called a Jubilee year in the Roman Catholic church… guess when it happens again…2025. And sadly, if we didn’t already know it, we know it after this week – if you preach the good news, as Jesus did, as Bishop Budde did – many people are not going to be happy about it. Now, I get it when it is someone who has never read the bible and perhaps has a lot of wealth and power. What I fail to understand is why so many of those who are angry, calling for her death, deportation, or condemnation think of themselves as Christians! Heck, one of them even sells bibles to make money! Seriously. And they also say this sermon was political! Have they ever read the gospels? Have they ever ready ANY part of scripture? Any of it? This isn’t political, it’s scriptural. If you can’t see that, then please, for the love of all that is Holy, go back to Genesis and read all the way through – especially read the Gospels if you claim to be a follower of Jesus. Heck, just start with the Magnificat – the words of Jesus’ momma Mary found in Luke 1, who when pregnant with him – with God in her womb – declared “…that the powerful and rich are sent away empty, while the hungry are filled with good things.” You gotta think Jesus heard a lot of THAT when he was growing up. Maybe we should all hear it a lot too. Because the thing is, the Magnificat, the Isaiah reading Jesus gave in the gospel today, nearly all of scripture is about God’s desire to be loving in relationship with us – and for us to be in loving relationship with God and with one another. God continually commands us through the prophets, through Jesus, to welcome the stranger, care for the poor, tend to the sick, have compassion on those less fortunate, mercy on those who need it, and love one another as God loves us. We are even called to love those who persecute us. And, Jesus went so far as to tell us that in these vulnerable ones, we will find him. And as the body of Christ in the world today – this is our life call too. Just as Jesus read in Isaiah “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” The same is true of each of us – we were anointed in baptism, and we committed (or recommitted in confirmation) to continuing the apostles teaching and fellowship, to proclaiming the good news of God in Christ, and to seeking and serving Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves, and striving for justice and peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being. These are our baptismal vows. All of us are anointed to proclaim this good news. All of us are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Now, you may not be called to preach in a synagogue like Jesus, or at a massive and live streamed church service like Bishop Budde, or even at all. But, as St. Paul made clear in his first epistle to the Corinthians, all of the body does not have the same role, but all parts are important, and all parts need the other parts. Each of us will live into our call differently depending upon the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to each of us, and we need each other too, just as each part of the body needs another part. We enter a time of uncertainty, vulnerability, and fear among many of our sisters and brothers in this nation. We must be willing to stand up and be the empowered people of Christ we are, to proclaim the good news, to see the ones no one else will see, to free the captive, to bring sight to the blind. And – we must, like Jesus, like Bishop Budde, be willing to speak truth to power, to be a voice for the voiceless, despite what may come. We may feel we don’t have the words, or the knowledge, or the homiletical skills. But, I want The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preaching his final Sunday sermon. Washington National Cathedral (Episcopal) to remind you of something someone else said from that very same pulpit Bishop Budde preached from. It was the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and as the world later found out, it would be his last Sunday sermon before being assassinated a few days later. He has been on my heart and mind lately, and he said this about how we each have a role to play: “Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” Folks, you are the ones anointed in baptism to proclaim good news to the poor. We don’t need to have a lot of money, a big title, or a national audience. We only need “a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.” And we need to remember that Jesus turned the world’s idea about power upside down. Power – REAL power – isn’t what you can do TO others, but what you can do FOR others. Authentic power can only be measured by the way in which it is good news for the poor, brings sight to the blind, and frees the captive. And all of us have that power within us. “The Spirit of God is upon you , because God has anointed you to bring good news to the poor. God has sent you to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of God’s favor.” Today this scripture has been fulfilled – right here – in you – in every one of us! And so, as Bishop Budde implored, “May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being; to speak the truth to one another in love. and walk humbly with each other and our God. For the good of all people in this nation and the world.” Amen. For the audio, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here (also available on Audible): Sermon Podcast https://christchurchepiscopal.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Rec-001-Sermon_-_January_26_2025.m4a The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge January 26, 2025 Epiphany 3 – Year C 1st Reading – Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 Psalm 19 2nd Reading – 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a Gospel – Luke 4:14-21 The post “Preach!” appeared first on Christ Episcopal Church .…
January 19, 2025: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. Eleven years ago this very day, on January 19 th 2014, I stood in this pulpit for the very first time as your Rector. Neither you all, nor I, could never have known what was to be when we first began to be joined as priest and parish. One thing for sure now, is that I feel blessed to be in this long relationship with you. That isn’t to say it doesn’t take work, or that there weren’t difficult times. There’s a saying out there that many a pastor write up a resignation letter on Sunday nights…only to throw them out on Monday mornings. And then there was the pandemic. Lordy! That was a strenuous time for clergy and laity all over the church. Of course, there are always tough times in any relationship of love – and that is what this is you know. At my installation, the Rev. Melissa Hall, who just recently announced her retirement from St. James in Upper Montclair, preached about this being a marriage of priest and parish. Marriages, as you know take work, but it is well worth every bit of it. And it is about a wedding that we hear about in the gospel of John today. Now, I know I told you’all that we are in Year C of our lectionary readings, when we are supposed to hear from the Gospel of Luke. But, since the 4 th gospel doesn’t get its own year, we hear bits of it splattered across the three other years. And sometimes a story is only heard in one gospel – like the one about the good Samaritan – it is only in the Gospel of Luke. This narrative, about Jesus and his mother Mary at a wedding in Cana is only in the Gospel of John, so it is good to hear it today, because it reveals something to us – and Epiphany is about revealing. As you know by now, after being prodded by his mom to respond to the situation, Jesus doesn’t just meet the need at hand, he goes far beyond it. Those jars would have been equal to nearly 1,000 bottles of wine – that’s a lot of chardonnay and merlot flowing into those cups at that wedding party. And it wasn’t the cheap box stuff or Two-Buck Chuck. It was the finest of wines. But the question is – what is revealed here? That Jesus has good taste in wine? Maybe he did, but no. Is it that he liked a good party – yeah, I think he did, but no. It is that Jesus responded with overwhelming abundance to the scarcity at hand. Jesus was revealing for us how the kingdom of God works – that when we experience scarcity, God responds with abundance – to those who are empty, you will be filled with grace upon grace. And as we enter into tomorrow, we need to hold that in our hearts – because we face the juxtaposition of two major events: The inauguration of the incoming president and vice-president and the national holiday honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. At first glance, this may seem like someone’s idea of a joke, given the rhetoric, beliefs, and actions of those about to take positions of leadership in our country – that their installation into power would come on the day in which we honor a man who fought against all that they stand for. But for followers of Jesus, it is a clarion call to take notice of King’s voice and the faith of this follower of Jesus as we enter into a time of scarcity for so many, and so I think it is good that they are on the same day. For at this moment, while people – some of them sitting next to you in the pews, some of them known to you in our community – fear they may be deported, fear their marriages may be made illegal, fear the loss of their children, their healthcare, their legal rights, their very freedom – there are others who think – this is a political thing and the church should stay out of it. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the Rev. Dr. King made that perfectly clear in his life and in his ministry. I have told you all this before, but it bears repeating every time on this day, that sadly there are so many people out there who either believe the church doesn’t care, or that we shouldn’t care. Yet they will say they admire Dr. King. Do they even remember what he said in a speech in 1967? The Rev. Dr. King said, “Before I was a civil rights leader, I was a preacher of the Gospel. This was my first calling and it still remains my greatest commitment. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preaching his final Sunday sermon. Washington National Cathedral (Episcopal) You know, actually all that I do in civil rights I do because I consider it a part of my ministry. I have no other ambitions in life but to achieve excellence in the Christian ministry.” And he sure did, did he not? He had a great gift for his prophetic witness, a gift that St. Paul, in the epistle we heard this morning, made clear came from the Holy Spirit. In his letter to the church in Corinth St. Paul wrote, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.” Do we honestly think the Holy Spirit gives these gifts so we can remain silent in the face of injustice, or turn our backs on our sister or brother who is in need, or worse – participate in the oppressive systems that bind God’s children? Can we, given what we know about Jesus? Absolutely not. And one thing we also know is that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. not only was gifted by the Holy Spirit, he made sure those gifts were used to proclaim the good news of Christ. And because of that, King also had a few choice things to say to those in the church who remain silent in the face of oppression. King wrote a letter from a Birmingham Jail – written to clergy, including some in our own Episcopal Church, who were trying to tell him to slow down in his pursuit of justice, to not get people all riled up, to not be such an “extremist” disturbing the peace of the status quo. Just a reminder of that “status quo” these clergy felt was important to maintain: segregation was still legal, full voting rights were still a dream, people of color were murdered, justice was only for white people, and freedom – true freedom – had not yet been achieved, nor is it still. Some clergy – followers of Jesus – thought that keeping the peace was more important than the suffering of their sisters and brothers. Not all mind you – many marched alongside him, including my own childhood pastor, the Rev. John Laney, whose stole I am wearing today. Yet King was feeling the opposition of others, and while jailed, responded directly to them. In that letter, which I have shared with you before, King wrote, “Was not Jesus an extremist in love? — “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.” Was not Amos an extremist for justice? — “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” … Was not Abraham Lincoln an extremist? — “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.”…So the question is not whether we will be extremist, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate, or will we be extremists for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice, or will we be extremists for the cause of justice?” Indeed. What kind of extremists will we be? Will we be extremists for Christ, or for secular governments? Will we seek the comfort of keeping the peace while children of God are oppressed, or will we follow Jesus? Because as we know from his life – Jesus was an extremist. He did not stop doing what he was called to do because of temple laws, cultural norms, or to play it safe in the shadow of the Roman Empire. Jesus responded to scarcity with abundance, pain with healing, oppression with freedom, hate with love, death with life, darkness with light. It was for this he lived, and it was for this he was willing to give his up his life on the cross. Today we are nourished here in community and at this table by that same Jesus, who set an example for us on what we are to do. Tomorrow we enter into an era in which our unique spiritual gifts will be called into action – gifts of prophetic witness, of wisdom, or even the working of miracles. We will be called to the utterance of knowledge in an era of disinformation and lies. We will be called to respond with the gifts of healing by the spirit for those who are fearful, who are marginalized, who are oppressed. We will be called to use the Spirit’s gift of prophetic witness, as the Rev. Dr. King did, and be a voice for the voiceless, and taking a stand against injustice of any kind. And we will be called to abundant grace in response to the scarcity of love in the hearts of those with secular power who wield that power unjustly – praying that they may have their hearts filled with the grace of God’s love – for their own salvation, and that of the world. Tomorrow we will be asked to reveal who we are – the body of Christ today. And what we need to ask ourselves is: Will we meet the moment? Will we go where we are called and use the gifts we have been given? Will we respond to the scarcity we encounter with an abundance of grace. Or, will we turn our backs and walk away? Before we answer that, remember again that there were people telling Jesus and King to be quiet – some of them religious leaders of their day. Eventually in both cases, they were killed – but they were never silenced. So in this pivotal moment in our nation’s history, I ask you to consider all that you heard today in the gospel and the epistle, and whether you believe the church is called to remain silent, or to public witness. And before you answer, hear this from that same letter from a Birmingham jail. In addition to what I quoted earlier, there is a part of the letter in which he responsed to those who questioned why he would lead protests against segregation in Birmingham, and calling his acts “unwise and untimely.” King wrote, “I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their “thus saith the Lord” far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid. Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea.… We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men [and women] willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.” “The time is always ripe to do right.” The time is always ripe to follow Jesus. The choice is yours. What will you do? Amen. For the audio, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here (also available on Audible): Sermon Podcast https://christchurchepiscopal.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Rec-001-Sermon_-_January_19_2025.m4a The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge January 19, 2025 Epiphany 2 – Year C 1st Reading – Isaiah 43:1-7 Psalm 29 2nd Reading – Acts 8:14-17 Gospel – Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 The post “The Time Is Always Ripe To Do Right” appeared first on Christ Episcopal Church .…
January 12, 2025: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. Hello everyone! I sure missed being among you these past two Sundays. I especially missed being able to welcome those strangers from the East who came to offer gifts to the child Jesus. But, now we move away from Jesus as a baby or even as small boy. He is now a grown man, and today, we just heard the story of his baptism. Just to recap – the baptism of Jesus is in all three of the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It doesn’t appear in John, as the community that likely wrote that gospel would have considered this something antithetical to their understanding of Jesus. There are some differences in the accounts of the baptism in the synoptics, but one thing striking in this account from the author of Luke and Acts was not even read today. Remember that I always tell you to note when we drop verses in a reading. Sometimes it is for brevity, but this time, it leaves out something important – that John was arrested by Herod. Then it says Jesus was baptized. So…who exactly baptized him? We will get to that in a bit. Now, after the baptism, we are blessed that our lectionary does exclude a lot of verses, because it provides the genealogy of Jesus – that’s a real snoozer. However, this author’s geneology is important, so the Cliff Notes version is this: Unlike Matthew, this author traces Jesus’ lineage not just back to Abraham & Sarah, but to Adam & Eve. Why do we care about that? Well, if this gentile author left it at Abraham & Sarah, like the Jewish author of Matthew, then Jesus’ lineage identifies him as part of the Abrahamic traditions and people, which at that time was solely Judaism – today it would include Christianity & Islam. And that does matter to us today, because it tells us that Jesus was born for all the world – all of human creation – not just a portion of it. And so that is the scene we get today – Jesus, the Son of Humanity – is baptized. By whom – well, we don’t know, at least with regard to who actually dunked him in the water. What does matter is what we hear said to him as he rises from the waters: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Why was God “well pleased?” I mean, it’s not like Jesus had done anything yet, right? Well, the thing is, Jesus didn’t have to do anything to hear those words – and neither do we. That is the entire meaning of the incarnation. God loves us – always has, and always will. Just look at our Isaiah reading, where God tells the people, “you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.” “I love you” God says. Imagine that. Think about that. You are loved by God, deeply loved, each and every one of you. God loves us from the moment we are created – even before we are born, really. Jesus didn’t need to be baptized to be God’s son, nor did he have to do any miracles to be loved. We also don’t need to be baptized to be loved by God, nor work any miracles. But, while baptism doesn’t create that love, it is far more than a simple dunk in water. It is a sacrament – an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace – and that grace is of God. Like the incarnation, it is a way that God seeks to be in relationship with us. In baptism we are anointed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever. It is a bonding of that relationship that began in the womb and continues after death – a relationship of unconditional love and grace. And it is a relationship that, like all relationships of love, requires something of us. Something we heard about this week in remembering a man of deep faith. James Earl Carter, Jr. was our 39 th President, and at the funeral this week, we all were able to take in the fullness of this man’s life. Yes, there were accomplishments of state – most significantly his work on peace in the Middle East in his work on the Camp David Accords with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat – a major accomplishment at that time and since. And of course he also served in the United States Navy, achieving the rank of Lt. Commander. But it was not his accomplishments as a Head of State, as a naval officer, or even as Governor of Georgia, that, in the end, were the hallmark of his legacy. It was instead his work in the world as a follower of Jesus. Unlike most who leave the highest office in our country, Jimmy didn’t accept the trappings of office that would bring in quite a great deal of financial rewards. He continued to live in the same Plains, Georgia home he had lived in for years. And, he continued to live and teach his faith in word and in deed. Troubled by the growing economic disparity between the rich and the poor, and despairing the ways in which diseases eradicated in developed countries were still devastating populations in less fortunate ones, he chose to love as he is loved – to love as Jesus loved him. So, at the end of his life, this humble servant Jimmy is most remembered for being a carpenter as was his savior as he built house after house alongside his beloved wife Roslyn for those who needed them as part of Habitat for Humanity. He was remembered for having been pivotal in eradicating Guinea worm disease – a parasitic infection caused by infected water from 3.5 million cases worldwide in 1986 to just 14 cases 2023 – yes, 14. He was remembered for being “…awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his “untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.”” And, above all of that, if you can believe it, the one we heard most about at his funeral, was for being a humble Sunday School teacher for more than 40 years at his church. There is a story that a guy was driving by the Baptist Church Carter attended, and flagged down a fella who was mowing the lawn. He said “Is this the church were President Carter goes?” The man replied with a big toothy grin that it was, and the driver continued on, not realizing that the man mowing the lawn was Jimmy himself. But why the Carters attended that church is often lost in the mix of all the other stories about him. “Maranatha Baptist Church, which is surrounded by tall pecan trees on a desolate road in Plains, was founded in the late 1970s. Its name, “Maranatha,” is derived from two Aramaic words meaning “Lord, Come!” The church was established by 29 members of Plains Baptist Church who left after their former congregation voted against allowing Rev. C.B. King, an African American minister from Albany, to join. Maranatha Baptist was built on a foundation of [inclusiveness] and continues to welcome people of all races…” [1] All of his life, this man lived as he was called to live in Christ Jesus. He saw it as an unnegotiable part of his faith – of his very life as a child of God. At the Nobel lecture in 2002, he said “The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices. God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes — and we must.” Indeed. And so, from this man’s life and funeral, and from the texts we hear today, there are some things we can take to heart as we begin this week to enter into a time of trial and trepidation for our nation, for the world, and for many who sit in our very pews. First, a reminder of what we heard in Isaiah: “you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.” God loves you – note – not because of anything you have done or not done, but just because you are God’s beloved child. Second, a return to that earlier question of “Who, then, baptizes Jesus?” Well, it is, as it always has and always will be, the Holy Spirit! In the text from Acts, written by this same author, those who had been baptized in the name of Jesus were not yet considered fully baptized until the Holy Spirit descended on them. And here’s the thing we need to know: The same Holy Spirit that descended on Jesus, the same one that was received by those baptized in Samaria – it’s the same Spirit that descended on you in your own baptism! Think about that! The Commendation during the service for James Earl Carter, Jr. Clockwise from Left: The Rt. Rev. Marianne Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, the Rev. Molly James, the Very Rev. Dean Hollerith, Dean of the Washington National Cathedral. And finally, here’s the thing about this funeral at the Washington National Cathedral we should take note of today. At this Episcopal church, as grand and beautiful as it is, his body was greeted by our Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, by the Rt. Rev. Marianne Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, and by the Very Rev. Dean Hollerith, Dean of the cathedral. The liturgy was from our Book of Common Prayer. And this former President of the United States received the same greeting as any of us will receive at our own funerals (though many do not hear them because they are said by the priest at the door of the church when the body arrives): “With faith in Jesus Christ, we receive the body of our brother James for burial. Let us pray with confidence to God, the Giver of life, that he will raise him to perfection in the company of the saints. Deliver your servant, James, O Sovereign Lord Christ, from all evil, and set him free from every bond; that he may rest with all your saints in the eternal habitations; where with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” From our birth, to our baptism, and finally to our death, we are loved by God – not for the offices we attain in life, nor for our riches, but just because we are God’s beloved. We receive the same Holy Spirit that Jesus and Jimmy both received. We are not given different words at our funeral – all of us are treated the same, because all of us are beloved children of God. It is the reason God came and walked among us – the gift we got at Christmas – that we might know, in Jesus, this very deep, unconditional, and abiding love. I don’t know what you expected at Christmas, but I am quite sure this is the greatest gift anyone could ever have imagined. We don’t have to understand it all right from the start. It is a gift that will, for many of us, take some time to unwrap. We only have to want to live up to the love that God has for us – a love that is ours – not because we earned it, or did some sort of wondrous act of piety, not because we are rich or powerful, not because we are Christian or Jewish or Muslim or Hindu, not because we are gay or straight, not because we are democrat or republican, not because we are male or female, not because we are of any particular race or culture, not because of anything other than that we exist. We are – and so we are loved. And as we grow into that incredible truth, we, like Jimmy, will be called to live into our baptismal covenant, one that we will reaffirm today, in which we promise to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourself, and striving for justice and peace among all peoples, respecting the dignity of every human being.” This will not be easy work as we enter into this new era of unrestrained power in the hands of people who would choose hate over love, oppression over justice, violence over peace, and marginalization over dignity for all. The task will seem insurmountable at times. Yet these words from our 39 th President, at the State of the Union Address in 1978, are a reminder that we are not in this alone. Jimmy Carter said, “We are a community, a beloved community, all of us. Our individual fates are linked, our futures intertwined. And if we act in that knowledge and in that spirit, together, as the Bible says, we can move mountains.” Indeed we can, we must, and we will. For it is true what our brother Jimmy once said, that “The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices. God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes — and we must.” We must. Because we have come to know that there is no greater life than one lived in which, at our death, our faith and service in Christ’s name is the very heart of what we are most remembered for having done. May it be so for us all. Amen. For the audio, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here (also available on Audible): Sermon Podcast https://christchurchepiscopal.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Rec-001-Sermon-January_12_2025.m4a [1] https://www.fox6now.com/news/jimmy-carters-beloved-maranatha-baptist-church-host-final-service The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge January 12, 2024 Epiphany 1 – Year C – Baptism of Jesus 1st Reading – Isaiah 43:1-7 Psalm 29 2nd Reading – Acts 8:14-17 Gospel – Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 The post “A Bond Of Love” appeared first on Christ Episcopal Church .…
December 15, 2024: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. Okay, here’s the thing…the gospel you just heard isn’t the one prescribed for this Sunday. The church would have us hear another passage about John the baptizer, and never hear the annunciation of Mary (except if you come to Lessons & Carols). It is the story of when the archangel Gabriel tells her she is to be the God bearer, the one to birth our savior into the world. Now, it seems to me that the lectionary folks could have put the two readings about Jesus’ cousin John into one for last Sunday, and given Mary more of her due. Instead, they reduce her story down to one tiny paragraph, which we will hear next week, about her visit to her cousin Elizabeth, John’s mom. As next week is our pageant, and I won’t be preaching, and as Mary is, after all, the chosen one to bear Jesus, I thought she should be given her due. So – if you want to know what you missed, you can go read about what John said in more detail: it is Luke 3:7-18. But, in short – he called everyone a brood of vipers, told them all to be just and kind, and that the one to come would baptize them in the Holy Spirit – but some would be in big trouble. There – now you are all caught up. So, let’s now turn our focus to Mary, the mother of Jesus – the annunciation, and what we will hear next week – her visit with her cousin Elizabeth, because we can learn a lot by her story. As we know, Mary is a young woman, the real meaning of the word virgin. Yet the depiction of her in art through the centuries brings most of us to think of her in her twenties. Scholars believe it is likely she was all of 15 or 16 – just a teenager. She is engaged to a man, Joseph. As for his age, well – my guess is that he was between 18-20, the marrying age for Jewish men at that time, but scholars vary wildly on that, putting him anywhere from 18-90. “The Rabbinic traditional laws said that men must marry by 18, and anyone over that age who wasn’t married was considered cursed, and courts had the authority to force them to marry.” [1] Which, makes you wonder about Jesus, right? But hey – he isn’t even born yet in our story, so let’s set that aside for now. Imagine a young unwed girl getting an appearance from the archangel Gabriel! That must have been frightening. Then Gabe says, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” And no, she didn’t respond with “And also with you!” The text says that Mary “was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.” Ya think? I mean, it’s like the scene from the movie “Dogma’ when Alan Rickman, playing the seraphim Metatron, appears suddenly in a woman’s bedroom in a big fiery entrance. Scared nearly out of her wits, she gets a fire extinguisher, sprays it all over him, grabs a bat and tells him to get the F outta there. So yeah… perplexed is one way to put what it might feel like to have one of these heavenly beings show up suddenly to announce something, but it was likely more like “Holy ____, well -you know!” Then, to hear that she will somehow become pregnant, and not by Joseph, and not after she is married…it all would be enough for most people to say to Gabe – hell no! Mary knew, despite being God’s chosen, the first for whom Advent came, that if she said yes to this request, she would be in danger. In that time, and even today, an unwed woman with child was subject to a so-called “honor killing.” This would have frightened even the most faithful person. Yet, what was her response? The text says that Mary replied “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” She doesn’t know what this will entail. She doesn’t know how Joseph will react. She doesn’t know if this will lead to her execution. You have to wonder just how many other young teens Gabriel had to ask before he found one who would say “yes” to all of this. Still, Mary does say “yes” to God’s invitation – to being the mother of Jesus – the son of God. Trusting in God, she agrees, despite the dangers that lay ahead for her, to be the theotokos – the God bearer. And what did she then do? She went to her cousin Elizabeth, who was already pregnant with John. And as we will hear next week, there she received confirmation of all that Gabriel told her, which must have given her a sense of peace about all that she had experienced to that point. When she enters Elizabeth’s home, her cousin says that the child in her womb, John, leapt with joy at the site of Mary. We will hear this next Sunday, “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” And Mary responds with what we in the church call The Magnificat, from the Latin “to magnify,” from the first words she says “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my savior.” Like the song of Hannah before her – it announces an overturning of the world order. Mary says “God has shown the strength of his arm, and scattered the proud in their conceit. God has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. God has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich have been sent away empty.” In other words – as I remind folks each year – Mary knew, so please stop mansplaining the birth of Jesus to her in that ridiculous Christmas pop song. So the stage is set – Mary is pregnant by the Holy Spirit and will bear Jesus, the Holy child of God. Elizabeth, her cousin, is near to giving birth herself to John, who will prepare the way for his cousin Jesus. Elizabeth confirms Mary’s call. What does all this mean for us now? We are nearing the bleak mid-winter, when it is cold and dark. And this year, it is something many of us feel not only deep within our bones because of dropping temperatures and shorter days, but deep within our hearts because of what is happening all around us. We, like young Mary, have a lot of reason to fear in the days ahead. People are being proposed to take positions of power in our country who have little regard for what is right, what is just, what is kind, what is truth. Nations abroad are at war, and children here are vulnerable to weapons of war in our schools. Massive wealth accumulates among the few, while many go hungry or have no home. Many who had begun to feel liberated from the chains of oppression are fearing the worst as those who want to deny, hurt, or marginalize them are soon to be given the means to do it without limits. So, we can understand a bit of what Mary must have felt. But we can also take note in what she did in response to her situation. Mary didn’t hide away in fear, but spent time in the presence of those who knew her, loved her, and understood her. Mary was vulnerable – but found comfort and strength in her family. And so too can you. Here in this place, among your parish family who welcome you, and nourished at this table by Jesus, who loves you just as you are – just as Elizabeth loved Mary just as she was. Here you come in the Advent of your life – when trouble is near, and hope is needed. Here you come to remember that by God entering into our human plane in Jesus – we have come to know that there is no darkness his light cannot overcome. Here you come to be given confirmation by others of your call, and the strength to carry on, just as Mary did. No, unless there is a star rising in the East around you, it isn’t that you are going to be the God bearer in the physical sense, but you are called to bear Jesus into the world. To be clear, it is likely your call was not announced by the Archangel Gabriel or the Metatron – and truthfully, that is a good thing because as I already said, these appearances were not like a sweet Hallmark moment, but would scare the wits out of you. Maybe God came to realize that humans these days need a little more of a subtle message. But however that message is delivered, you are called to bear Christ, and yes – most especially in times such as we face! I am reminded of someone else who had to answer a difficult call. Most of you have heard of Florence Nightingale, considered the founder of modern nursing. What you might not know is her story. Here is a bit of it, as noted in the book, Courage Is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave, by Ryan Holiday. “On February 7, 1837, at age sixteen, Florence Nightingale was to get what she was later to refer to as the “call.” To what? To where? And how? All she could feel was that it was a mysterious word from on high which imparted to her the sense that something was expected of her, that she was to be of service, to commit to something different than the life of her rich … family, something different than the constraining and underwhelming roles available to women in her time. … For eight years this call sat there in the recesses of Florence’s mind like an elephant in the room, not to be addressed. Meanwhile, she was vaguely aware that all was not right in the Victorian world. Life expectancy was barely forty years at birth. In many cities, mortality was higher for patients treated inside hospitals than outside them…. After eight years of denial, another call came. The voice asked, more pointedly this time: Are you going to let reputation hold you back from service? That was precisely the fear: What would people think? …This fear was strong, as it is in every person when they consider uncharted waters, when they consider blowing up their lives to do something new or different. When everyone tells you that you’ll fail, that you’re wrong, how could you not listen?… She was torn — did she want permission to follow her dream, or permission to leave it unfulfilled? [When she asked Dr. Julia Howe, author of the battle hymn of the republic, what she should do, Howe answered,] “My dear Miss Florence, it would be unusual, and in England whatever is unusual is thought to be unsuitable; but I say to you ‘go forward,’ if you have a vocation for that way of life, act up to your inspiration and you will find there is never anything unbecoming or unladylike in doing your duty for the good of others. Choose, go on with it, wherever it may lead you.”” [2] So, she told her parents (who were not the least bit happy about it) and off to Germany she went to train as a nurse. “By the time she was 33, Nightingale was already making a name for herself in the nursing community…When the Crimean War began in 1854, [she was sent] … to manage a group of nurses that would go treat the wounded soldiers.” Conditions in the hospitals were so unsanitary and overcrowded that most in the war died from disease than as a result of their injuries. Pushing past resistance from doctors who didn’t think women had any place there, “Nightingale and her team transformed the hospital. [And within six months, the] death rate went down from 40 percent to 2 percent because of their work.” [3] Nightingale’s name has been remembered to this day because she said yes to God’s call – despite society that told her it was not something she could or should do, despite her family who objected, and despite the danger of the conditions. She saved lives by saying yes. Like Mary and Florence, you too are called. You too need people to help confirm that call in your life. And like Mary, if you say yes to it, you too will magnify God by the light of Christ born in you, to a world that is bleak, despairing, and in great need. Like Florence Nightingale, you too will change what is to what may be, saving lives in the process by the healing balm of Christ’s grace working through you. And the most important life you save may very well be your own. For by allowing yourself to become a Christ bearer, by also magnifying the One who heals, who renews, who loves deeply and unconditionally, you will change the world, to be sure, but you will also receive all that too. So if you wonder if God is calling you – don’t wait for a spectacular announcement, or permission to follow it. Don’t wait until you feel ready, rested, equipped, or worthy. Listen to God’s voice resonating in your heart, come here to help confirm that call among those who know and love you, and then choose to say yes to it, going wherever you must go. Then the light of Christ carried within you will bring the mighty down from their thrones, lift up the lowly, and fill the hungry with good things. Then it will be your spirit, and the spirit of all those you serve, that will rejoice. And you will be blessed – in ways impossible to number. Amen. For the audio, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here (also available on Audible): Sermon Podcast https://christchurchepiscopal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rec-001-Sermon-December_15_2024.m4a [1] https://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/christianity/how-old-were-joseph-and-mary-when-they-got-married.aspx [2] Excerpted from Ryan Holiday, Courage Is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave (Random House, 2021). [3] https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/florence-nightingale The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge December 16, 2018 Advent 6 (7 Week Advent) – Year C 1st Reading – Zephaniah 3:14-20 Canticle 9 2nd Reading – Philippians 4:4-7 Gospel – Luke 1:26-38 (Off Lectionary) The post “Choose, Go On With It, Wherever It May Lead You!” appeared first on Christ Episcopal Church .…
December 8, 2024: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. Well, we have made the annual Advent turn. You know, the turn our gospel just took for us. Today, we are not hearing about the second Advent, but the first. After weeks of his return, we are heading into weeks of preparing the way for his birth. We have made a turn toward Bethlehem. And this gospel author does set a scene for us – one that has deep meaning too. There is a reason he names all those political and religious leaders. It isn’t just to set the story in the context of time. The author name drops all the rulers and religious leaders of the places of the life and death of Jesus. The Emperor Tiberius ruled during the time in which Jesus was active in ministry, arrested, and crucified. Pontius Pilate was governor and a principal at his trial and execution. Herod Antipas is the “Herod” who engages Jesus most in the Gospels. And this gospel author is the only one to include Herod Antipas in Jesus’ trial. He should not be confused with his dad, Herod the Great, tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, who encountered the wise men, and ordered the massacre of the innocents. Nice guy, right? Although Caiaphas was high priest at the time of the arrest of Jesus, Annas’ presence still loomed large, which meant both had a big role in the proceedings that led to his being turned over to Pilate. [1] All this to say that the author of Luke wanted very much for us to see the ending at the beginning. Sound familiar? It is an Advent theme isn’t it. We are again in that scriptural cycle we have been in these past few weeks of the ending and the beginning being interwined. This litany of rulers also reminds us that God is at work in the real world, not some sort of fantasy land beyond our reach. God’s plan of salvation, God’s vision of peace and wholeness, that is played out in the context of human history. It is the thing of mortals, even if angels are involved in announcing what is to come. After all, the coming of God into the world was as one of us, Emmanuel, God with us, the Word made flesh. And this birth into our human sphere is proclaimed by a locust eating, camel hair wearing, miracle child, John, the flesh and blood cousin of Jesus. He takes this good news out into the wilderness – a place where spiritual seekers mix with those on the margins – and where one hopes to encounter God in the stillness of a barren land. This is what we wait for in Advent – when God breaks into the very real human world, announced by angels, proclaimed by human prophets, and into the fragility of human existence in the form of a child, born to us at Christmas by an young unwed mother. Yet as the pastor and theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, preached in one of his sermons for this season: “Not all can wait – certainly not those who are satisfied, contented, and feel that they live in the best of all possible worlds! Those who learn to wait are uneasy about their way of life, but yet have seen a vision of greatness in the world of the future and are patiently expecting its fulfillment. The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.” In other words – Advent may be a time of expectancy and hope, but to understand it, you must be troubled by what is happening to children of God and God’s creation, and to be sure, Advent is deeply troubling for some, because what it portends is going to shake the foundation of the world, rock your life, and scare the crap out of any earthly authorities who wield power without compassion – those the author of this gospel names, or those now. Advent should not be tamed into some sweet prelude to a joyous miracle birth at Christmas. It is an announcement that change is coming – transformational change that, if we are prepared for it, will be revolutionary for ourselves and for all the world. Remember the words of Isaiah, as John proclaimed, that “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” “All flesh shall see the salvation of God.” That is the promise of Advent – that is the promise of our God – that God’s salvation is for everybody. It doesn’t matter what walls we humans build, who we try to push aside, who we desire to exclude – because God will not be boxed in by our smallness. God destroys those very walls and replaces them with bridges of love – unconditional love. All people shall see! All people!!! The word of God is coming to unexpected people and unexpected places, and that Word of grace and love is for everyone – no matter how much money you have, who you love, what language you speak, what gender you claim, or what faith you profess – everyone – all flesh – all of humanity – but most especially to those others have cast aside. Or, in the words of John’s dad Zachariah that we heard today “In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.” God’s dawn is near. Christ’s light will break into our dark land. The Holy Spirit will guide our feet into the way of peace – for ourselves, and for all the world. So, as John tells us, prepare for what is to come, which always reminds me a bit of the scouting motto: “Be prepared!” I come from a big scouting family. My dad was a scoutmaster, my mom a Den mother, my brother a life scout, I was the President of Law Enforcement Explorers, all three nephews are Eagle scouts, and perhaps the biggest scout of all is my sister-in-law, who even received the prestigious Silver Beaver award (and just about every other one too) as a long time scouting leader. About that Silver Beaver award, it is given to those “who implement the Scouting program and perform community service through hard work, self-sacrifice, dedication, and many years of service. But most importantly, it is given to those who do not seek it.” [2] So, as you might guess, this motto is big in our family. But the motto is about more than just being ready. As noted in Scouting Magazine, Lord Baden-Powell “…wanted young people equipped to react quickly to an emergency. The Great War loomed, and soon the …Scouts — not a military organization but a service-minded one — would be called upon to play their part. “Their keen eyes were added to the watchers along the coasts,” Winston Churchill wrote in a piece published in Scouting magazine in 1955. “In the air raids we saw the spectacle of children of 12 and 14 performing with perfect coolness and composure the useful function assigned to them in the streets and public offices.” But Baden-Powell wasn’t just thinking about first aid and wartime emergencies when he coined the motto. This is from the Scout Handbook: “His idea was that Scouts should prepare themselves to become productive citizens and strong leaders and to bring joy to other people. He wanted each Scout to be ready in mind and body and to meet with a strong heart whatever challenges await.” [3] Think about that: “Be ready in mind and body to meet with a strong heart whatever challenges await.” I think John, cousin of Jesus, and prophetic witness, is also telling everyone to “Be prepared,” too – because we truly cannot know what is to come about in the days ahead. And so it is here, in this place, that we prepare. Here were we ready ourselves in mind and heart to receive Him. While those who prepare well for what is to come won’t receive a medal of any kind, nor, like recipients of the Silver Beaver, would we ever seek it, we do receive something far greater: Hope to quiet our minds in times of fear. Light to guide us in times of darkness. And love to cast away all hate. Which makes us all the more ready in mind and body to meet with a strong heart whatever challenges await. And while what we, together with Christ, will do in the days ahead is not yet fully known, one thing we can be sure of – it won’t be good news to those who use power to oppress the vulnerable, build up wealth to the neglect of the poor, abuse God’s creation, or deny the dignity of any child of God. It will, however, be good news to the rest of the world. So, be prepared – that you may be the ones for whom Advent is meant. Remember what Bonhoffer’s said – “The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come,” As part of our preparation, let us acknowledge our own troubled souls and those of others – For so many live in fear of what is to come. So many are already suffering and dying by the acts of the powerful. It is to these for whom Advent is truly possible. And to we, troubled in our souls, Advent comes too. For then we will be the broken in whom Christ yearns to be born. Through our cracks, his light will shine, and the world will be changed, because we have prepared well to welcome him. Amen. For the audio, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here (also available on Audible): Sermon Podcast https://christchurchepiscopal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rec-001-Sermon-December_8_2024.m4a [1] Amended from exegesis of Prof. Troy Troftgruben, writing on WorkingPreacher.com [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Beaver_Award [3] https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2017/05/08/be-prepared-scout-motto-origin/ The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge December 8, 2024 Advent 5 – Year C 1st Reading – Malachi 3:1-4 Canticle 16 2nd Reading – Philippians 1:3-11 Gospel – Luke 3:1-6 The post “Is Advent Possible For You?” appeared first on Christ Episcopal Church .…
Southern Ring Nebula (NIRCam Image) – Webb Telescope December 1, 2024: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. Welcome back from the great Thanksgiving feast-a-thon! I hope yours was as wonderful as mine was – filled with good food, good friends, and a rainy parade. In the gospel (cheery again, right) Jesus says “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars…People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world…Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because it’s December at the malls!” Okay, maybe not what Jesus was talking about in the gospel passage from Luke today, but if you have ever been in those crowds, it can seem like the world is coming to an end, right? Now, I know the stores are already in Christmas, but we are still in Advent. For us it is Advent 4, and we are well into that state of reflection and expectancy. But because the whole church has not yet taken on the original 7 week Advent, those folks are just trying to enter into that Advent space, and we welcome them. It is also the change over to a new lectionary year. It is Year C now – the year we hear my favorite gospel, Luke. Now, as I mentioned before, Advent, whether 7 or 4 weeks, always begins with the end, and we sure have heard a lot of that in the gospel readings the past several weeks, right? The thing is though, these end times readings are not really about an end at all, because the end brings about the beginning. That may sound like I have been nipping at the egg nog this morning, but that cyclical life that I was just referring to is exactly what Jesus is telling us in the gospel, and what we experience every day and every year. This passage from Luke, like the ones in the other synoptic gospels of Matthew and Mark, is about the return of Christ. Unfortunately, there are some who have taken this second coming in quite a linear way, predicting certain dates for the end times. These folks miss what Jesus is saying by taking a very linear view of this birth, death, resurrection, ascension, and return. But look at what Jesus is saying here: “Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place.” And they did! Now, that may seem strange to hear, but the truth is, Jesus has returned, and is coming today, and will come tomorrow. Of course, if we think about it, it makes perfect sense. I mean we do proclaim the mystery of faith, right? You know, “Christ has died. Christ IS risen. Christ will come again.” But have you thought about what that really means? In his death, his disciples thought they lost him (the Romans thought he was gone forever too), but Jesus returned for his followers and for the world. In their ministry, in becoming the body of Christ alive in the world in their time, Jesus returned continually through them. And Jesus returns continually through the ages in us – the saints of our day. It is a never ending cycle of love and relationship, of beginnings and endings and beginnings again. The incarnation is not a straight line thing, but a circle – a continuous circle of love. How does that change Advent for you – to realize that this isn’t some sort of remembrance play we act out each year about something that happened long ago – but that Jesus is continually born in us? How does it feel to consider that this return of Christ we hear about isn’t far off in some distant future – but that it IS happening now, happened yesterday, and happens tomorrow – and each of you are active agents in that continual returning incarnation of God? I don’t know about you, but it sure makes coming here, and then living my life out in the world, something more powerful than I could ever have imagined. And THAT – THAT is what Jesus was hoping he could bring to all of us – that realization of who we are – beloved children of God – partners with the Holy Spirit in the work God is continually doing. And this ever evolving truth is something we experience liturgically in the church – we wait for Jesus in Advent, celebrate his birth during the twelve days of Christmas, he is revealed to us in Epiphany as the Incarnate One, we follow him to Jerusalem in Lent, and stand at the Cross on Good Friday. We celebrate his resurrection and ascension in Eastertide, and the birth of the church at Pentecost. We experience the workings of the Holy Spirit in the early church in Ordinary Time. On All Saints, we celebrate the communion of Saints – those whose lives were lived in the knowledge of Christ. And then we are back in Advent, hearing about the second coming before we experience the first one once more. We begin with the end, and then the end brings about the beginning. This so called second coming isn’t an ending, but a beginning, and it happens all the time. It is a cycle of love and grace that continually sustains us. But before we get all cozy in this never ending story, let’s consider for a moment what this really means for us, because we aren’t called to treat this like a syndicated TV show – watching it over and over again from the comfort of our couches, or even our pews. No, Advent portends the coming of Christ, but as Jesus made clear, it’s going to shake the world up a lot. It did centuries ago, and still through to today. It is a proclamation of something big coming. Now, that might sound like something you’d hear on Game of Thrones, and the weather sure feels like someone is warning us that “Winter is coming!” I suppose that is apt, because, if you really think about it, we in the northern hemisphere are fortunate that Advent isn’t in July. It is in this season when it is darker and colder. It serves as a symbol of what is happening across our nation and around the world, and why we must always keep watch, as Jesus said. Because people are living in the darkness of fear and hate. So many are weighed down by the coldness of oppression, and the bitter storm of violence. And about all of this, Jesus says “Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. “Stand up and raise your heads!” Now, how it is that Jesus could have known about our addiction to our mobile devices I will never know. I mean, we do literally need to raise our heads from whatever is distracting us from those we love, and from those we are called to love and serve in his name. We need to set aside the TV, text messages and email – whatever it is – and look instead at the Christ in your neighbor, in all of creation…and in yourself. The Christ that was, and is again – in you and in all the world. Because darkness hopes we don’t. Darkness hopes we don’t stand up – don’t raise our heads – don’t see what is happening to the children of God, don’t see the Jesus in our midst. Because that is how darkness and evil grows. There is a story I read about a pastor who felt lost and adrift spiritually. He said, “Once my spiritual foundation was gone, I no longer knew if God existed…[then I remembered a story told to me by a man I met in Russia]… Serge was living in a small village in the countryside and worked as a blacksmith, [and had grown up in the Soviet system of atheism]. One day, a man came to him and asked him to make a number of weapons – swords and knives. This man had very detailed specifications as to what metals he wanted used and how he wanted the weapons made. As Serge made these weapons, this man would sit in the corner of his shop and watch him. Serge recalled that there was this darkness or evil that seemed to emanate from the man, and he could feel that this man was going to use these weapons to do evil. As he pondered on this thought, it dawned on him that there was a definite evil spirit or aura about this man that he could not deny. After more thought on the subject, he resolved that if there was an evil spirit in the world, there must be a good or light spirit as well. This was the beginning of his faith in God. I’d had similar experiences in my life, the pastor said. I could not deny that I had felt light and dark, good and evil in different people and in different circumstances. Evil did and does exist. I have felt and witnessed it. But so does light and good, I have witnessed and felt this firsthand too! I also [knew]… I’d had experiences in my life I could not explain or deny, moments when I had felt God’s love for me. After some time, I resolved that God did in fact exist, that we are not here by accident but that we all have a [God] who loves us and that we were created in God’s image. You are not alone. We are not alone.” No, we are not alone. That is why Jesus implores us to stand up and raise our heads when it seems the world is coming to an end, for then we will know his presence with us. We will feel his light shining in and through us. We will experience his love for us. And we will then be filled with the transformational power of hope. In Christ, the incarnation of God – God present with us – Emmanuel – we are given hope in the knowledge of God’s great love for us. Hope that is always available to us – if only we are open to receiving it. Hope that can save – not only us, but the world. So we must be alert. We must stand up. We must raise our heads. And when we do, we will see Jesus, who has already returned, and he is right where he said he could be found – in the poor, the immigrant, the outcast, the imprisoned physically, spiritually, and mentally, those who suffer, those who fear, those who mourn. And if we raise our heads and see him, we will also know the work we are to do. That is what Jesus is telling us. And it is going to demand a lot of us once we do – once we stand up as we called to do, and see the Jesus who yearns to be known in our midst. Yet, do not be afraid. Listen again to the Collect of the Day that we prayed this morning. It began this way – “Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life.” Our call to love and serve Jesus today, to cast away the works of darkness by his light, we won’t do it alone – we couldn’t even if we tried. And thankfully, we don’t have to. Just allow God’s grace to enter in, and we will have all that we need for the work we are called to do. So let us stand up, raise our heads, and open our hearts to God’s grace, that we might cast away the works of darkness in our time. Let us put on the armor of Christ’s light, that we may be beacons of hope for a world who needs it so very much. The hope of Christ is coming – is here – and will always be! That is the expectant joy of Advent – the knowledge that what feels like end times, are the beginning of new life, and that we, who sometimes feel so overwhelmed by all that swirls around us in these dark days, are not alone or powerless, but are agents of God’s transformative love. And because of that – there is no darkness that his light, working in us, cannot overcome. There is no hate, that his love, pouring out from us, cannot defeat. Thanks be to God! Amen. For the audio, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here (also available on Audible): Sermon Podcast https://christchurchepiscopal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rec-001-Sermon_-_December_1_2024.m4a The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge December 1, 2024 Advent 1 – Year C 1st Reading – Jeremiah 33:14-16 Psalm 25:1-9 2 nd Reading – 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 Gospel – Luke 21:25-36 The post “Stand Up And Raise Your Heads!” appeared first on Christ Episcopal Church .…
November 24, 2024: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. This Sunday we enter into a week of thanksgiving to God for all of life. We gather with family and friends, and laugh, cry, cheer for our favorite teams, and argue over some thing or another. Perhaps though, you are wondering, with all the news of the past few weeks, what is there to be thankful for? Maybe it was hard for you to sing that opening hymn, “Now Thank We All Our God.” Perhaps though, the story of Martin Rinkart, will help. “German pastor Martin Rinkart served in the walled town of Eilenberg during the horrors of the Thirty Years’ War of 1618-1648. Eilenberg became an overcrowded refuge for the surrounding area. The fugitives suffered from epidemic and famine. At the beginning of 1637, the year of the Great Pestilence, there were four ministers in Eilenberg. One abandoned his post for healthier areas and could not be persuaded to return. Pastor Rinkart officiated at the funerals of the other two. As the only pastor left, he often conducted funeral services for as many as 40 to 50 persons a day—[nearly 5,000] in all. In May of that year, his own wife died. By the end of the year, the refugees had to be buried in trenches without services. Yet, [despite] living in a world dominated by [fear and] death, Pastor Rinkart wrote the following prayer for his children to offer to God: Now thank we all our God, With hearts and hands and voices; Who wondrous things hath done, In whom this world rejoices. Who, from our mother’s arms, Hath led us on our way, With countless gifts of love, And still is ours today.” [1] And that, you might recall, is the very first verse of the hymn we sung today in our processional, a hymn he wrote, even while serving Christ in the most dire of circumstances. Perhaps then we can take this hymn to heart in these difficult days, and remember, as he did, that no matter how dark things may be, the light of Christ is always stronger. This is not to say we must be all Pollyanna like every single minute of every single day. That is absurd. Even Jesus wept, got angry, had angst, needed time alone and away from everyone, and worried about his followers. We don’t get Easter without Good Friday – they are intertwined like darkness and light, or faith and doubt. In fact, that is our faith – that when we celebrate Christ’s birth, we are hearing also of his impending death. At Easter, Good Friday and the cross is ever present too. Being thankful is not about everything being good and right in our lives and in the world, but about recognizing that through it all – the good, the bad, and everything in-between – God is with us. Christ strengths us. The Holy Spirit dwells within us and guides us forward to a new day. Pastor Rinkart expressed this very thing, when in the second verse he wrote: “O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us, With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us; And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed; And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!” “Through all our life be near us, and guide us when perplexed.” Yes, that is a prayer we can all say, and one that is always answered. That God is always near us and guiding us when we are troubled – whether we take that guidance or not. I say that last bit because honestly, sometimes we are like that parody of horror movies when one sign says “Safety This Way!” and the other says “Warning – Danger Ahead!” and we think – what the heck, it doesn’t look all that dangerous to me. This is when God does a face palm. Yet despite our unwillingness at times to listen to the Holy Spirit guiding us, and despite the troubles we often find ourselves in, if we think about it, if we really give it some prayerful thought, we will find that there is, for most of us, quite a lot to be thankful for at this moment. If you lay your head down at night and you are warm, with a roof over your head, give thanks. If you do not leave your home in the day amidst bombs reigning down, air sirens announcing incoming drone strikes, tanks rolling through your street, or machine gun fire piercing the air at all hours, as those who live in war zones do, give thanks. If you are able to eat when you are hungry, drink when you are thirsty, stop taking any drug or alcohol with ease, or live without the internal demons of mental illness, give thanks. If you are not facing a first holiday season without someone you love, or are not spending those days in the hospital as a patient or caregiver, give thanks. If you are not facing deportation to a place you fled out of fear for your life and those of your children, or if your children were not kidnapped by our government at the border, give thanks. And if we cannot find it in our hearts to be thankful for what we do have, even if it is only a little, then let us remember and give thanks at least for those who labor for the food we eat, who toil to protect and care for others while we sleep, for our friends, for our family – however we define it, and for this place we call our parish home. That last one, well it isn’t a given you know. The pandemic and the early years afterward wiped out our endowment as we struggled to get our nursery school going again. And like many parishes, our average Sunday attendance – those who come here in person – is half of what it once was in the days before 2020. Yet by God’s grace, and the prayerful efforts of each of you, our parish leadership, and the staff of both the church and the school, we just may finally see a balanced budget sometime in 2025, and begin to rebuild the endowment for future generations. This is not a guarantee, of course, but I believe all of you will step forward out of gratitude for what this place means to you, and what it means to all who search for a church that will truly welcome them – just as they are – no exceptions. And so today, in that spirit of thanksgiving, we bring forward our pledges to this church – in support of the important work we do here and from here to love and serve Christ in all people. We also bring forward our gifts of groceries for those who are in need, and for animals and the shelters that care for them, our way of loving our neighbor, as we are commanded by God. We do this because we understand something about what Jesus was saying in the gospel we just heard this morning. In it, Jesus said, “I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you…? Therefore do not worry, saying, `What will we eat?’ or `What will we drink?’ or `What will we wear?’ …But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” It may seem that Jesus is a bit off his savior rocker with this – I mean, we do have real world concerns, do we not? How to keep that roof over our heads, how to care for those we love, how to take a step forward in these impending dark days of our nation and the world? But Jesus isn’t saying these hardships or concerns are not real, nor is he dismissing them out of hand, though the author would have it seem that way. What he is saying is that worrying will not help (or in his words, “not add one single hour to your span of life”). Doctors would tell you it will actually do the opposite – reduce your life span. Instead, Jesus tells us we should strive for the kingdom of God, and God’s righteousness, and all the other things will fall into place. Well, what the heck does that mean? Jesus was always telling his followers, that the kingdom of God is here, now – and to strive for righteousness is to strive to align our hearts, minds, and actions with the command of God to love – love one another, love ourselves, and love our God. If we seek and serve Christ here in our lives, we will be striving for that same righteousness. And how do we seek and serve Christ – by finding him where he said he would be: in the sick, the immigrant (called stranger in scripture), the imprisoned, the poor and the outcast, the hungry and the thirsty. When we care for these, we care for Jesus himself. And we will come to find that it is true – that when we strive to do these things, all other concerns seem smaller. That is why we bring food for those in need – both human and animals – for all are part of God’s creation – and in helping them, we are helping Christ himself. That is why we pledge to the church – to ensure that our mission and ministry in his name continues for generations to come. And so, as you go forward into this week of Thanksgiving, If the traffic is insane or your flight is canceled, while it may seem like it – it truly is not the end of the world. Breathe and know that you will be where you need to be when you need to be there – and safely too. If Uncle Billy drinks too much and starts on a political rant or spouts conspiracy theories he saw on the internet, put in your earbuds and just smile and nod. Then quickly find a way to extract yourself and go for a walk – anywhere – and look for signs of God’s grace – they are all around. If the turkey is dry, or you burnt the casserole – find a restaurant that’s open, or order a pizza, and know that you will laugh about this for years to come. If you get all the dishes in the dishwasher, but your mother-in-law comes in and re-arranges them, let it go. Despite what some may claim – there is no “right” way to load a dishwasher, and no “wrong” way either. It isn’t worth losing sleep over. In other words, as the saying goes, “don’t sweat the small stuff” – and truly, unless it is life or death, it is small stuff. Instead, go into each day with a small prayer of thanks to God for the ability to breathe in the air, to have something to eat and to sleep, and for a place where you can come each week to be nourished in Christ’s love and grace, and the fellowship of people who care for you, and the knowledge of God who loves you just-as-you-are. And most of all, know that I give thanks for you each and every single day – your faith inspires me, your generosity encourages me, and your love for one another fills my heart with joy. You are the gift of God’s grace for which I am truly thankful. So, on this Sunday, I will close with this litany of Thanksgiving from our own Book of Common Prayer, page 836: “Accept, O God, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love. We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side. We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us. We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone. Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom. Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know Christ and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things.” Amen. For the audio, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here (also available on Audible): Sermon Podcast https://christchurchepiscopal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Rec-001-Sermon-November_24_2024.m4a The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge November 24, 2024 Advent 3 1st Reading – Joel 2:21-27 Psalm 126 2 nd Reading – 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Gospel – Matthew 6:25-33 [1] Wikipedia. The post “Now Thank We All Our God” appeared first on Christ Episcopal Church .…
November 17, 2024: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. Well, that’s a cheery gospel, isn’t it? If you ever doubted if the church’s lectionary was in Advent in this time, this text ought to be perfectly clear about that, because Advent always begins with the second coming of Christ – with these end times passages. But, I think we all can agree, it speaks to us now in a way that perhaps it hasn’t before. I mean, it could not have been lost on any of you the words of Jesus in the gospel this morning, and how strangely they echo through the centuries to our current circumstances. The gospel passage begins with Jesus, having done some smack downs of the leaders inside the temple, now outside of it with his disciples. To fully get what this setting was Jerusalem Temple Painting by Alex Levin like for them, you gotta understand that the temple in Jerusalem was no small building. It was an enormous and beautiful structure – beyond anything these backwater disciples had ever seen. They were admiring the huge stones, and all the magnificence of the whole thing as they stood in its shadow. Jesus tells them that all that they are admiring will be destroyed – “not one stone will be left here upon another.” Imagine how that must have sounded to them as they sat alongside this awe inspiring structure? Even though the first temple had indeed been destroyed, that was centuries earlier – far from their realm of possibility in their minds. Now imagine how that sounded to those living at the time this gospel was written – when that temple was indeed a pile of rocks, with only the Western Wall remaining. To the disciples, it must have seemed impossible, but to those earliest listeners of this gospel, it was their reality. And both would want to know something even more important – where then would God be found? Where is God if not in the temple? Because in that time, for the Jewish people, and for most other religions as well, God was found in the temple – in God’s house. If that house was destroyed – what then? Where is God amidst the ruins? This is a question that comes into the hearts and minds of even the most stalwart faithful in times like we are experiencing now – when the world seems out of kilter, dark, hateful, and dangerous. “Where is God?” And then Jesus continues to teach his disciples, telling them that there will be liars trying to deceive them, and there will be “wars and rumors of wars,” that “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” of earthquakes and famine. Liars trying to deceive are indeed all around us right now, and “wars and rumors of wars,” famine and disasters – well, they haven’t been rumors for a long time for us now, have they. If only they were. This is one of the scripture’s apocalyptic narratives. The Greek, apokálypsis means a lifting of the veil – a revealing. So what is Jesus revealing here? What is the good news for us in this time of darkness? Because Lordy, do we ever need some good news right about now, am I right? So many are asking “Where is God?” “What are we to do now?” That is when we need to hear the last part of what he says in this passage. Jesus, says “This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.” Well, I certainly hope those birth pangs aren’t happening in a state where you can’t get reproductive healthcare, or you might just end up bleeding out and dead. But staying with Jesus here, and remembering that this is a metaphor he is using, we get to that good news we yearn so very much for – then for those earliest followers standing in the rubble of a destroyed temple, and for us now. And maybe it would be helpful to be clear about why the temple Jesus is talking about was destroyed. It came as the result of the first of three rebellions of the Jewish people against the Roman Empire. Prior to this, the Jewish faith had been temple centric – both Second Temple Judaism and the Samaritans, who had split off, and whose temple was another location. For Second Temple Judaism – this temple in Jerusalem was the center of festivals, the destination for pilgrims on high holy days, and Jewish political power. It also was still standing during the time of Jesus, and Jerusalem was the center of the early Christian movement, known then as “The Way.” So, when this temple was destroyed by Titus during the Roman siege of Jerusalem, it was a cataclysmic moment for the Jewish people. Where was God? What are we to do? Where are we to go? But, as Jesus said, this was not the end, but the beginning. That is the way with things, isn’t it? Even in the fortune telling world of Tarot, the death card doesn’t foretell of death, but of change, transformation, new life. It means something must end for this new path to begin. And we know from our life in Christ that his death on the cross was not the end, but the beginning of new life – of resurrection. Through it, we came to know that light will always overcome darkness, love is stronger than hate, and death never has the last word. And folks, this is good news for us today. Because the truth is, these days since the election have left many of us barely able to stand in the rubble of broken dreams and shattered hopes. We are weighed down with the exhaustion of years and years of hate, violence, and lies, and the thought of even worse coming into view with this administration and the movement behind it, where cruelty seems to be the point, destruction the goal, and there are no remaining guardrails to at least curb their worst instincts. I was thinking about this a bit yesterday when I attended the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE) Clara Horsley awards breakfast. And one of the first things we did was sing what is known as the Black National Anthem – we call it in the church, Lift Every Voice & Sing. I remember being at Convention the previous weekend, and as we sang it in the Eucharist service, I looked over and saw Tom Reynolds sing this with his eyes closed – all three verses. This is what this hymn means to people of color, especially those in the church. James Weldon Johnson Written first as a poem by James Weldon Johnson, and later set to music by his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, it is also something we need to hold close in our hearts now. I was struck yesterday by the words, particularly with the 2 nd and 3 rd verses, which read: “Stony the road we trod, Bitter the chastening rod, Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; Yet with a steady beat, Have not our weary feet Come to the place for which our fathers sighed? We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, Out from the gloomy past, Till now we stand at last Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast. God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who has brought us thus far on the way; Thou who has by Thy might Led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray. Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee, Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee; Shadowed beneath Thy hand, May we forever stand. True to our God, True to our native land.” Do these words not resonate with us today? “Stony the road we trod, Bitter the chastening rod, Felt in the days when hope unborn had died…God of our weary years, God of our silent tears” Do we not feel some of the weight that these words describe? And yet, this was written for a people of another era – suffering under Jim Crow in the reconstruction period. These words then became an anthem for those of the Civil Rights movement who were fighting and dying for the right to vote, to life without fear, to be fully included – fighting the police, the government, the Ku Klux Klan. They knew the “chastening rod,” and saw the “blood of the slaughtered.” But this is not a battle hymn calling for the destruction of enemies, but one of deep faith, asking God to keep us on the path, to lead us into the light. It reminds us of the God that is part of our weary years, and silent tears. God is not absent in these dark times, this hymn declares, but leads us forward to a new day. In fact, that is how the hymn opens: “Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise High as the listening skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us, Facing the rising sun of our new day begun Let us march on till victory is won.” Listen to that “we sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us!” The present? What had it brought people of color in those days or even now? We don’t need to major in US history to know that we are still living in a world where people of color have not yet found true victory, nor have women, immigrants, or LGBTQ+ people- which means none of us have true freedom, true victory. And yet, within that present reality – the rubble of the stones of oppression, hate, and violence – we know that is indeed where hope is born, and new life begins. The words of Jesus and of James Weldon Johnson, remind us that God is not absent in the darkest days, but as in similar times of the past, God lifts us up and walks alongside us, and works through us, God brings about new life that springs from the hope born in despair. Just remember what happened to Judaism following the destruction of the temple. People fighting against oppression had lost. The temple was destroyed. Yet, the Jewish people continued, and the faith didn’t die, but transformed into what is known as Rabbinic Judaism, living into new life that spread throughout the world. As for the Roman Empire? Well, it collapsed upon itself, as evil & power mixed together tends to do. This is what we need to hold in our hearts right now, because we are in living in what can feel like the end days of this democratic republic we call the United States, and it will take perseverance born of faith to move ahead even just a single step. This will not be easy. We know that the thing about pregnancy is that the birth pangs are painful. Yes, they signal the arrival of something new and exciting and wonderful – but the process to get there ain’t pretty and can make us downright sick at times. Yet we are not the first to be in this place. In the verses just after those we heard today in Mark, Jesus tells his followers that trouble is coming for them. Persecution came for native people and enslaved people in the colonization of this land we call our home. It came for those who have fought for freedom and justice all through the eternity. Well folks, trouble is coming for us too, no doubt about that. And that is when we need to remember the words of the letter to the Hebrews we heard today. The author writes, “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, …And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Yes – let us not neglect to meet together – here in this place – to be nourished at this table by Christ and with one another – renewed for the work ahead. Because the birth pangs Jesus is telling us are here and they signal a time that will, like pregnancy, sometimes make us sick, sometimes wear us out, and may even be dangerous to our physical health. Yet we will not be deterred. We will welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, and in every other way – we will love our neighbor. As part of our stewardship season, you will receive a gift blessed at the altar. These are not a thank you, but a way to prayerfully consider what this parish means to you, especially now as we walk together into the new hope born of this dark time. Today it is an ornament made of a part of a tree stump. The lines in a tree stump tell a story of the many years of the tree’s life – the droughts, injury, and harsh winters, as well as the times of abundant water, sunlight, and growth. Let it remind you to look beyond the present darkness and see the forest of the fullness of time. May the knowledge that we have been through eras worse than this, and rooted in God’s unconditional grace and love, together we will continue to grow as we serve Christ in the world. Folks, we have been walking in death the past few days, and we need time to grieve, to rest, to get ready for what will lay ahead when we will rise in new life. Jesus is telling us that we are not children of empire, but children of God – and just as God is larger than any temple, we are part of something mightier and more powerful than any oppressive force this world has ever produced. And so, together with our God, we will give birth to a new world – a world of peace where there is violence, freedom where there is oppression, love where there is hatred, life where there is death. Until then, we will continue to lift every voice singing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; and, shadowed beneath God’s hand, we will forever stand. True to our God, True to our native land. Amen. For the audio, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here (also available on Audible): Sermon Podcast https://christchurchepiscopal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Rec-001-Sermon-November_17_2024.m4a The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge November 17, 2024 Pentecost 25 – Year B – Proper 28 1st Reading – 1 Samuel 1:4-20 2 nd Reading – 1Samuel 2:1-10 3 rd Reading – Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25 Gospel – Mark 13:1-8 The post “Lift Every Voice And Sing!” appeared first on Christ Episcopal Church .…
November 3, 2024 – The Feast of All Saints – May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. As I have said before, I just love that phrase from our collect of the day today: “ineffable joys.” Ineffable, which means “too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words.” I love it today especially because I feel ineffable joy, the change in the hour allowed me to sleep in an extra hour– thanks be to God! And we have collective joy as a community because today we celebrate All Saints – a high Holy Day in which we remember those who passed on into the Saints Triumphant – that heavenly company of heaven that, together with us – the Saints Militant on earth, form the communion of Saints. And that is an Easter story…and there is nothing more wonderful, more joyous, more love filled, than resurrection – for the saints who went before us…and for the living saints we are! And it is an Easter story we hear today in the gospel. In the Gospel of John read a moment ago, we heard the story of the one that Jesus loved – Lazarus. Now, I was raise Baptist, as you’all know, and because we did bible drills, had to memorize the books of the bible, and in particular, needed to be able to recite a passage by memory, this story was a fav, because back then we used the King James translation, and that meant that the part where it says “Jesus began to weep” was reduced to “Jesus wept.” The shortest verse in the entire bible. It was definitely the go-to verse for us kids in Vacation Bible School. But let’s look at the story itself. Jesus arrives after the death of his beloved Lazarus, and he is greeted by one of the sisters of Lazarus, Mary. He is taken to the tomb. He tells them to roll away the stone, to which Martha, Lazarus’s other sister tells him that “There’s gonna be a stench, I mean Jesus, he’s been in there for days!” (okay, so I am paraphrasing here, but it is a classic line, right?). He has them roll away the stone, calls out to Lazarus to come out. And here is the best part – out of the tomb walks this guy, covered in cloth, like a modern day mummy movie. What a great reading to have on All Saints, right? – the eve of which we call “All Holy Eve” or “All Hallows Eve,” otherwise known as…Halloween (All Saints Day actually being November 1 st ). So totally awesome reading for this day, right? Anyway, he comes out, and then Jesus does something we need to pay attention to…he gets others involved. He sends the crowd to unbind Lazarus. First he has them roll away the stone, and then he has them unbind Lazarus – release him from the bondage of death in which they themselves enshrouded him. And through that miracle, new life is given to many who were there, as they followed Him. Amidst all that is happening in the world today – this gospel is important for us to hear. Just last week, Lordy – can we just take a breathe and think about all the horrific rhetoric that we heard over the past week in the news? It started last Sunday night, on the Sabbath no less, the former President of the United States held a rally at Madison Square Garden that was reminiscent, likely intentionally so, of a pro-Nazi rally held in the same venue back in 1939. I say intentionally so, because the speakers that night echoed some of the same vile speech heard decades ago. One, a senior advisor, shouted that “America is for Americans, and Americans only.” That will be good news for Native Tribal folks who probably would say “don’t let the door hit ya on the way out.” Another made a joke about Puerto Rico being an island of garbage, which certainly matches the former guy’s own description of America itself, except we know why Puerto Rico was singled out at that rally, don’t we. The entire event was a hate fest – on the Lord’s day no less. As the New York Times put it, it was “a carnival of grievances, misogyny and racism.” It was also un-American. But more important for us to understand here today, it was un-Christian. I mean, one of the speakers at this event even held a crucifix as he railed against Vice President Harris, calling her the devil and the “anti-Christ.” Seriously, he held a crucifix on a Sunday and waved it around like a weapon at a political rally. I mean, you couldn’t make this stuff up – it is just too sick, too horrible, for a normal person to even imagine. The cross is a symbol of the brutality of empire against a people, and the victory of love over hate. This folks, is Christian Nationalism. As I have preached over and over again, and will until it is defeated, Christian Nationalism is antithetical to all that Jesus taught and is the biggest oxymoron of our time. Christian Nationalism is an attempt to align Jesus with empirical power – power that willingly abuses children of God, power that destroys God’s creation without regret. And let’s be clear, this idea of a Christian Nation, well, it doesn’t include people like us – like those gathered here. This is a diverse congregation of people from all over the world, LGBTQ+ people, and folks from a variety of economic circumstances. That is NOT what Christian Nationalism seeks – because it is a white, straight, citizen only movement, in which only men are empowered to make decisions about their lives. And – It must be stopped. We must do everything we can to call it out as wholly against all that Jesus taught. I may be just a simple priest, but I do know what being a follower of Jesus means – to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, visit the sick and imprisoned – or in other words, love one another as he loved us. Love does not demean people from other countries. Love does not allow women to bleed to death in hospital parking lots. Love does not call for the execution of people who disagree with you. Love does not hate, threaten, abuse, neglect, or deny the dignity of another. Love weeps for the pain of others, not rejoice in their pain. Love does not seek power to hurt, but only grace to heal. And that brings us back to our gospel story today. Because clearly there are still tombs in which the dead, or nearly dead, have been pushed. There are still people bound by neglect, indifference, poverty, homelessness, addiction, depression, and oppression. There is still a stench of bigotry, hate, and violence that permeates everywhere. Jesus is weeping now, to be sure. So where is the good news in that? The good news is that Jesus moved through his grief to DO something about what he saw, what he heard, what he experienced. And the good news is that he invited those who follow him to join him in removing the stones of death, in freeing the captive, in experiencing resurrection. Jesus is inviting us too –calling us to join him in this work – to join us in this saint work, because that is what it is. To help us understand what I mean by saint work, as we do in our stewardship season, each of you will be given a gift, blessed at the altar, and today, you will be given a cardstock hand like this one, with the name and date of a saint from the Episcopal Church calendar. Some of these names may be familiar to you, like Sojourner Truth or Thomas Merton, but others likely will not be. If we want to know what Jesus is calling us to do today, we need to start by understanding what following Jesus really means when he calls us into our lives as his followers. The lives of these saints, while not perfect, are inspirational. These are every day folks who were called into extraordinary work in the name of Jesus, and their willingness to answer Christ’s call transformed the world. So, take this home, and even if you think you know about this saint, look them up to find out even more. Let their lives become a beacon of possibility for your own. And as you receive the Eucharist today, as you receive the love of Christ Jesus in it, let this gift be a reminder of all the saints who around the table stand united with us – the ones the church honors in our calendar, as well as all the ones we personally knew and loved – because they are all present here with us. Remember the words said just before the Sanctus “…therefore, joining with Angels and Archangels, and all the company of heaven, who forever sing this hymn…” While these saints are always present and available to us, it is in that moment of the Eucharist, that we know they join us here. But they are not the only saints present. Those who have left this earthly plane are the saints triumphant – that great cloud of witnesses who walk with God in eternal light and life. We are the saints militant – the ones walking with the Holy Spirit on the earth today – the ones filled with the light of Christ and sharing that through our own brokenness to those who live in darkness. Together, we are the communion of saints. And Lordy, we have work to do, don’t we, all us saints? We live in a turbulent time where, as we saw on Sunday, as we see nearly every single day on the news and in our lives, people are spewing racist, sexist, and homophobic rhetoric. They incite violence against the marginalized. Their voices are loud and angry and every seemingly single damn where we go, right? It’s just like the former President, Obama, said when he compared it to a neighbor using a leaf blower right outside your window all day, every day. It is exhausting. And…that is part of the point, isn’t it? To wear us down. No doubt that it can lead some to feel there is no hope, that there is nothing they can do, and so they retreat into darkness with their grief, into the safety of their personal tombs. That is why the words we sang this morning are so important, “Oh blest communion fellowship divine, we feebly struggle, they in glory shine, yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.” These saints are here with us now, and every single day of or lives here on earth. And one thing is for sure – don’t underestimate this communion of Saints in which we belong, because together, we are a mighty force. Together, with that great cloud of witnesses, we can work miracles. Together, we can bring forth a wave of resurrection to a weary world. And as we know from this story of Lazarus today, no matter how difficult the road we walk, no matter how dead we may feel, no matter how dark our tomb – we are not alone, nor are we hopeless, because Jesus will come for us too. He will raise us into new life – look for us to join him in his work – and call us to unbind the broken and lifeless in our midst. We are never dead to him – but alive! Jesus is calling us out of our tombs, where we have been hiding, where we have tried to comfort ourselves, where we have been curled up in a ball, covering ourselves over, and praying for a better day. Jesus is telling us that WE must move through our grief to make that better day a reality, that we are NOT dead, but alive in him, that we must come out of that tomb and live, that others might live. In today’s language – that means you get yourself out of bed and into church, and then you leave here, get out in the streets and fight for justice. And dang it – you get your souls to the polls and vote too! Vote – Because young pregnant women are dying, bleeding out or succumbing to sepsis, because they are being denied healthcare. Vote – Because there are people being marginalized, abused, threatened, and denied their rightful dignity because of who they are or who they love. Vote – Because all of creation, God’s handiwork, is groaning with the pain of our abuse and neglect. Never before have a people been called forward from their tombs of comfort to put their faith values into action by their vote – the values of justice, peace, love, and good will to all. So be the saint on earth you are called to be and get your souls to the polls and vote! And may God be with us all in the difficult days ahead. Amen. For the audio, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here (also available on Audible): Sermon Podcast https://christchurchepiscopal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Rec-001-Sermon-All_Saints-2024.m4a The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge November 3, 2024 Pentecost Last – All Saints Year B 1st Reading – Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9 Psalm 24 2nd Reading – Revelation 21:1-6a Gospel – John 11:32-44 The post “Souls To The Polls!” appeared first on Christ Episcopal Church .…
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