Fire and Water

A Sermon for Pentecost (RCL A) 6-12-2011

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry (annual outdoor liturgy)

Texts:              Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:24-35, 37; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13; John 7:37-39

Title:               Fire and Water

Fire! And water! Today, of course, we remember and celebrate the greatest gift that God have ever given to humanity: that is, the gift of the Holy Spirit which descended upon the disciples as tongues of flame.

Fire and water. These are the elements that the Church has always used to speak of the Holy Spirit.

I want us to think about this together a bit this morning. Here we are, gathered by a major body of water, and there is fire burning right back there in those grills!

These two elements – fire and water – are crucial and necessary for human life.

We cannot live without water. As you know, up to 60% of our bodies are water.

We also cannot live without fire. Fire is the source of our heat and our light; it is also how we cook our food, like we hope those guys are doing over there!  

There are other things that we need to survive: food and shelter, of course. But the Bible and the Church have been clear in pointing to fire and water as symbols of the Holy Spirit.

Why do you think that is?

First, I think it is because they are elements essential for life. We call the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of life”.

This is what the Psalm said today: “You send forth your Spirit and they are created, and so you renew the face of the earth.”

But I also think we speak about the Holy Spirit as fire and water because these things are so notoriously difficult to control! We human beings have never been very good at controlling water and fire!

Just look at the news right now: a massive wildfire is raging out of control in Arizona. Devastating floods continue to affect large areas along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, as well as up in Vermont.  

Fire and water are crucial and vital for us only when we have them in small quantities that we can control. But when the quantity becomes too much, we lose all control and those forces act as if they have a mind of their own.

This is how it works with the Holy Spirit as well. We really like it when there’s a bit of the Spirit moving in our midst. That means that things are growing perhaps. There is some energy in our community, some new people are joining us. There’s a feeling of joy and excitement among us.

This is all wonderful, but only so long as there’s not too much of the Holy Spirit. We don’t want things to become out of control, do we?

We don’t want the fire to burn out of control! We don’t want the water to flood our community!

We want the Spirit to stay controlled, where we can manage it.

But the Spirit always has a mind of its own, and whenever possible, the Spirit is always pushing the edges of our control.

What did St. Paul say of the Holy Spirit in our reading from his first letter to the Church in Corinth?

All kinds of different gifts handed out by God to those in the community “just as the Spirit chooses.”

And what happened after all on that day of Pentecost among the disciples there in Jerusalem? Tongues of fire came upon them and took control of them in a very real way.

Why did the bystanders think that they were drunk? Because it appeared that they were acting out of control? And why is that? Because the fire of the Holy Spirit had come among them!

Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher, as well as a disciple of the Lord, who died in 1662. A few years before his death he had a profound experience of God coming into his life, like an uncontrollable power bursting upon his consciousness.

The experience was so profound that he wrote it down immediately in these words raw with passion, almost chaotic in ecstasy:

“The year of the Lord 1654. Monday, 23 Novemeber, from about half past ten in the evening until about half past twelve at night: Fire. God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, not the God of philosophers and scholars. Certainty, joy, peace. God of Jesus Christ. He is only found along the ways that are taught in the Gospel. Tears of joy. I had parted from him. I fled from him, denied him, crucified him. Let me never be separated from him. Surrender to Jesus Christ.”

Fire. For two hours, the Holy Spirit touched Blaise Paschal in a direct and powerful way.

And what was the first word that he could use to describe that experience? Fire.

There’s one more thing that is special about fire and water and that points to the purposes of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Both fire and water are used to clean. We wash with water; we sterilize with fire.

Even in nature, the waters from floods are used to cleanse the land and to bring new and fresh soil into the river bottoms.

And after forest fires, new seedlings are enabled to sprout as the old dead wood is cleansed away.

In the Bible, think of the flood in the days of Noah sent to cleanse the earth of evil, and the promise of fire in the last days for the same purpose.   

The Lord Jesus spoke of rivers of living water that would flow out of our hearts when we drank in all of the truth and goodness that we experience in him. That river cannot flow if it is blocked by the cares of the world, by the desires for things of this world. The Spirit wants to cleanse us so that this living water might flow unhindered for the blessing of all those around us: our families, our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers.

 Are you ready to lose some control? Are you ready for the power of the Holy Spirit?

So welcome the Holy Spirit into your lives, my friends. Let the Spirit cleanse you. Do not be afraid to let the Spirit be in control. And do not be afraid when the Spirit brings new life and new possibilities into your life. Amen.  

Eternal and Glorious Plans

A Sermon for 7 Pascha RCL – A (6-5-2011)

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts:              Acts 1:6-14; Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35; 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11; John 17:1-11

Title:               Eternal and Glorious Plans

Have any of you ever been on a visit, either as tourists or as pilgrims, to the Holy Land? To Palestine and Israel and Jordan?

Well, neither have I! Perhaps one day I will get there, but that certainly does not seem likely anytime in the near future!

It is said that shepherds in that part of the world behave much differently than they do in the western countries, like they would here in the US. Even today, it is said that Middle-Eastern shepherds tend to develop a close relationship with their flock. Do you remember when the Lord called himself the Good Shepherd who knows each of his sheep by name? He was referring to this type of relationship between the shepherd and the sheep.  This would have been common knowledge to his original listeners, but it is difficult for us here in this time and place to understand.

Chua Wee Hian, the founding pastor of a Korean church in London, tells the story of a group of tourists visiting the Holy Land and touring the countryside by bus. Their guide was a local Arab man. As they drove through hillsides with flocks of sheep grazing on them, he explained to the people the reality that we were just considering; that is, how Middle Eastern shepherds are very close to their sheep. So close, in fact, that these shepherds nearly always lead their sheep. They do not drive them from behind with dogs, as is common in the West.

Middle Eastern shepherds lead their sheep by going in front of them, by calling to them, perhaps by using a pipe or a whistle to call them. The sheep know their shepherd and so they trust him and they follow him. It’s a very different relationship than what we might expect here, and it helps us to understand what the Bible means when it speaks of the Lord as our shepherd who leads us beside still waters.

Well, on this tourist bus, the Arab guide was explaining all of this when a number of the tourists noticed a man on one of the hillsides driving a small flock of sheep down a hill with a large and menacing stick! So the people started to mumble, “Look at that! Maybe he is wrong! Does this fellow really know what he is talking about?”

When the guide saw what the people had noticed, he immediately stopped the bus and ran off across the fields to intercept this man who appeared to be a rather scary kind of shepherd after all.

A few minutes later, the guide returned to the bus, his face beaming with relief. And he announced, “I have just spoken to that man. Ladies and gentlemen, he is not the shepherd. He is, in fact, the butcher!” (See The Contemporary Christian by John R.W. Stott, p. 284.)

You see, the shepherd acts very differently than the butcher, doesn’t he? Here in this amazing 17^th Chapter of the Fourth Gospel, we are given a glimpse into the shepherd heart of Jesus. Here, the Gospel opens up a window onto the secret prayer communication between the Son of God and the Father. We are allowed to eavesdrop into this intensely personal prayer.

Here, our Lord is about to face his betrayal and passion. Just before this occurs, he stops to pray once more, and to intercede on behalf of his rag-tag group of followers who have gathered around him.

Most of what we hear in this high-priestly prayer is Christological: that is, it carefully explains the relationship between Christ and the Father.

But throughout this dialogue, his love and care and concern for his sheep continuously breaks through. And over and over again, Jesus prays: “Holy Father, protect them.”

 We who know and trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and our Lord, who have experienced his grace in our lives in profound ways – we believe in his protecting presence as our Good Shepherd.

And yet, it does not always feel this way, does it? You and I continue to experience all types of pain and suffering in this life, even when we live as a sheep of Christ’s own redeeming.

How are we to make sense of all this pain which seems so senseless and meaningless?

Let me suggest that in all of these things, when the suffering and death and pain which we see feels so pointless, what matters is the perspective which we take.

Remember this: what you and I see is but a tiny, small view upon the whole panoramic landscape of God’s activity in the world.

Cabin under construction

Let me explain this matter of our perspective in this way. When our family first bought our little cabin way up in the woods of New Hampshire, it was a small A-frame built in the 1970’s as a hunting camp. A family had been living there before us, so it was – technically - livable as it was (though I don't know how anyone could have lived there!). But our family had a different vision for what that place could become. So, right away, even the very day that we closed the sale, we began to tear it apart. Over the course of the next 3 years, we literally tore that place apart. There were huge piles of debris and garbage all around it, sometimes left there for months until I had time to return and continue the project. We couldn’t really get a dumpster up to the cabin. So I made piles of the debris, some to burn in a big bonfire and some to haul away in my truck.

Now, to anyone who passed by and gazed in over the course of those years, all of the chaos of that place must have appeared as completely senseless and pointless. I’m sure the few neighbors around there thought we were crazy.

BUT - what they could not see is that we had a plan: a long-term plan to completely renovate that place and to transform it. The process of getting there was going to be messy and painful and costly, but in the end, all of that was necessary to complete the transformation.

This is a good way for us to think about the trials and sufferings in life that we see and experience.

We see messy and painful things, we experience chaotic, sudden tragedies, and these things appear so meaningless, unjust and capricious. But the problem is that we can only see just a tiny sliver, a momentary glimpse of what is happening in the universe. We cannot see the long-term plan that is in place to renovate and transform humanity.

Somehow, in some way which is beyond our understanding, we can trust that God will use all things for good for those who love God and are called according to God’s purpose. We can embrace each experience of our life as training, as preparation, for the task that is before us. We do not know what God has in store.

Consider this: in each person’s life, there are a few moments when a decision will be made, or an action taken, that can change the course of history for their family, or their community, or their nation. Each experience of our lives is preparing us, so that when those critical moments arrive, we are prepared to decide rightly and to act with generous love and compassion.

If we can welcome each experience in this way – whether they be good things or painful things, then we will be able to be trained by Christ and prepared for what lies ahead.

Listen to this contemporary translation of our reading today from the 1^st Letter of St. Peter. These verses are taken from The Message (by Eugene Peterson):

“Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job.” And the end of this passage is translated here in this way: “So keep a firm grip on your faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ – eternal and glorious plans they are! – will have you put together and on your feet for good. [God] gets the last word.”    

Jesus has prayed, and continues to intercede, for the protection of his people. God has eternal and glorious plans for us. Long-term plans which we cannot see or understand. But we can trust that the renovation is in process, that the transformation is underway, even if it appears messy to us.

The Good Shepherd has gone before us and he leads us toward good things. Let us never forget that God always gets the last word. Amen.

The Times of Human Ignorance

A Sermon for the 6^th Sunday of Pascha (RCL A) 5-29-2011

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts:              Acts 17:22-31; Psalm 66:8-20; 1 Peter 3:13-22; John 14:15-21

Themes:         sharing the good news, accounting for the hope in us, the Spirit of truth
Title:               The Times of Human Ignorance

My dear friends: you and I are called this morning to consider together right now for a few minutes one of the most uncomfortable duties of the Christian life: the task of evangelism!  

You all know that one of the promises that we make in our baptismal covenant is this: “Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?” (BCP P. 293). And you all know that we will once again this morning answer this each for ourselves by saying: “I will, with God’s help.”

This is, almost without question, the most unpopular of the five promises made in this covenant.

Who among us likes the idea of putting our daily lives on display as demonstrations of what it means to live in Christ? And what is worse, who among us welcomes the idea of talking with our neighbors and friends and family about Jesus and about what he has done in our lives? 

This Memorial Day weekend is prime time for cookouts and barbecues. We have a number of these that we have been invited to in our neighborhood. But I can guarantee to you that, if I go this weekend to these cookouts and if I launch right in to a conversation about how amazing Jesus is to me, it is very likely that my family will not be invited back again next year!

Isn’t that right? Religion and politics – it’s one of those things that we do not talk about in polite society.  

And yet…and yet, we have made this promise to proclaim the gospel by word and example!

In our reading from the First Letter of St. Peter, we find one of the classic biblical texts which call each Christian person to be ready for the task of evangelism.

“Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter 3:15). 

How do we proclaim the gospel without alienating those around us who do not yet share our love for Christ? How do we defend the reasonableness of our faith in Jesus Christ with gentleness and reverence? How does the example of our lives lived faithfully with Christ impact those around us?

The great St. John Chrysostom, one of the greatest Christian preachers ever, offered this insightful commentary about the witness of Christian people to those around them.

“When we live according to …our faith, those around us may respond in three possible ways. First, they may be so impressed by the example of our goodness, and so envious of the joy which it brings, that they want to join us and become like us. That is the response which we most earnestly desire. Second, they may be indifferent to us, because they are so bound up with their own selfish cares and concerns; although their eyes may perceive our way of life, their hearts are blind, so we are unable to stir them.

Third, they may react against us, feeling threatened by our example and even angry with us; thus they will cling even more firmly to their material possessions and selfish ambitions, and slander us at every opportunity.

Naturally, we dread this third type of reaction, because we want to live in peace with our neighbors, regardless of their personal beliefs and values. But if no one reacts to us in this way, we must wonder whether we are truly fulfilling the commandments of Christ” (On Living Simply, P.12).

Do you notice the assumption that he makes here? He said that those around us “may be so impressed by the example of our goodness, and so envious of the joy which it brings, that they want to join us and become like us.” 

It was his assumption, as it was the assumption of all the apostles and teachers of the early church, that Christians naturally have lives which are filled with goodness and joy. The kind of goodness and joy which are clearly evident to our neighbors, our friends, and our families.   

Of course, Chrysostom, once the Bishop of Constantinople, is speaking here most directly of the witness of our actions, of our lifestyles. And no one should doubt that it is this testimony, the witness of a faithful life, that speaks more loudly than any spoken defense of the faith. 

We have a responsibility to make our faith known to those around us, in our words and in our example. Of course, this is always to be done with “gentleness and reverence”, with respect for the dignity of every person, with sincere concern for the well-being of the other.

But how can we practically do this? Without question, the most effective witness of all is to do as St. John Chrysostom has assumed: to live with true inner goodness and joy, not phony or faked or forced, but by truly embracing the joy of the Lord.

But are there other ways that we can speak perhaps more directly to the importance of our faith?

Perhaps we could do something as simple as having a sticker on our car, a simple cross perhaps or an Episcopal Church flag.

Perhaps, if you are on Facebook, you can friend the Episcopal Church, or join our Shared Ministry group, or friend our Diocese of New Jersey. So when people look up your profile, then they will see that you have an allegiance to the Church. That is a subtle type of witness.

There are, of course, ways to be more direct in accounting for the hope that is in us. You might be very surprised how many people are open to answering questions about their thoughts and opinions.

Last November and December, I organized the “Ask-A-Priest” project for the Woodbury Convocation of our Diocese – which includes all of our churches in Gloucester and Salem counties. You might remember that this consisted of a number of Friday and Saturday nights during the holiday season when an Episcopal priest was present at a table in the Deptford Mall. We were available for anyone to ask us anything that they wanted, anything at all.

We encountered a number of very interesting questions. Of course, most people ignored us, and that’s okay. But those who were interested came over to us and asked us questions, some of which were personal, some about the church and history, some about ethics and decision-making.

a view of the Areopagus today

For me, the point of this project was to follow the example of the apostle Paul in this most famous example of sharing the good news of God in Christ. Today, we heard a bit of the story of Paul’s visit to Athens. Paul went into the marketplaces of Athens. He went and listened and observed, and he also talked and argued with people on the streets of Athens. But he conducted himself always with gentleness and reverence.

Like him, our “Ask-A-Priest” project sought to go into the marketplace of our culture, where people gather to buy goods and to hang out. We sought to bring the good news of God in Christ into this place. We noticed all three types of responses as explained by Chrysostom, though, thankfully, those who were against us most often kept their thoughts to themselves.

All of these ways of giving testimony to the gospel must be employed by us today: in our lifestyles, in subtle signs, and in direct conversations.

Of course, there is an explicit and existential impulse for us to do this: truly we need to gather in new converts, new disciples to the Lord who will join us in our journey with him!

But our true motivation is much deeper than this: it is the plan and the desire of God that people hear and receive the good news through us!

What is it that Paul proclaimed up there on the Areopagus? Until now, “God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, [but] now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). 

My brothers and sisters: it is our duty, our commitment to help others to repent and to come to new life in Jesus Christ our Lord. But much more than this: it is our joy to be the midwives of grace in the lives of those around us, helping God to bring new life into places of darkness and death!

May God give us all the privilege ever to be channels of grace in this way. Amen.

The good is always the enemy of the best

Excellent food for thought. Always strive for the highest and the best.

"Whenever right is made the guidance in the life, it will blunt the spiritual insight. The great enemy of the life of faith in God is not sin, but the good which is not good enough. The good is always the enemy of the best."

          Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, p. 146

A Royal Priesthood

A Sermon for the 5^th Sunday of Pascha (RCL A) 5-22-2011

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts:              Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5,15-16; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14

Themes:         Stephen’s martyrdom, living stones, a holy nation, the greater works
Title:               A Holy Priesthood

My dear brothers and sisters, I have a question for you:
Do you know who you are? I mean, do you really know who you are? 

It seems to me that many of the problems of our lives come about because we forget who we truly are.

Martin Luther made it a practice every morning, as soon as he stood up out of bed, to make the sign of the cross and to declare his identity out loud: “I am a baptized Christian!”

It was a way to remember, a discipline of remembrance, so that every one of his days would begin and would be shaped by this remembrance of who he was at the core of his being.

And it was a practice which he encouraged all Christians to adopt.

For this is the truth of the matter, the truth of our lives: God has chosen you to carry on the works of Jesus in this world.

It doesn’t matter how you feel about your relationship with God; how you feel about your faith or about the church. It really doesn’t even matter what you’ve done or what you haven’t done. It doesn’t matter whether you feel ready or adequate for this calling.

None of that matters, because it’s not about you or me after all!

This is God’s choice. God has chosen us to be God’s own special and peculiar group in this world.

But why does God do this? What is the purpose? The apostle tells us clearly: 

 
"In order that we might proclaim the mighty acts of the one who called us out of darkness and into God’s marvelous light!"

Do you see? We have the incredible privilege of participating in what God is doing in the world. The works of Jesus continue, and even greater things are being done today in his name. And we have been drafted to be those through whom God is redeeming the world.

So I invite you right now to listen, my friends, once more to what was written in the name of great apostle Peter.

Listen, and remember!

4 Assistants come forward to a front table now. Each takes a candle in her/his hands.

Reader:          Now we are newborn infants, Reborn in God’s grace.

                        Let us thirst for the pure, spiritual milk

                        So that, by drinking it, we may grow into our salvation.

                        Remember what the scripture says:

                        “You have tasted that the Lord is good.”

Reader:           Come then to the Lord, the living stone,

                        Rejected by men and women as worthless,

                        But chosen by God as precious.

                        Come and let yourselves be used

                        In the building of God’s spiritual temple.

                        Remember what the scripture says:

                        “I am laying in Zion a chief cornerstone.

                        Whoever trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

Reader:           This is what God says about us:  “You are a chosen race.”

Assistants:     Move out to 4 random individuals and give them candles. While handing over the candles, say You are a chosen race. Then they return to the table and take another candle.

Reader:           Listen, my friends, and remember. For this is what God says about us: 

“You are a royal priesthood.”

Assistants:     Move out to 4 other random individuals and give them candles. While handing over the candles, say You are a royal priesthood.

Reader:          Listen, my friends, and remember. For this is what God says:  “You are a holy nation.”

Assistants:     Move out to 4 other random individuals and give them candles. While handing over the candles, say  You are a holy nation.

Reader:           Listen, my friends, and remember. For this is what God says:  “You are God’s own people.”

Assistants:     Move out to 4 other random individuals and give them candles. While handing over the candles, say You are God’s own people.  After giving out this last candle, the Assistants return to their seats.

Reader:           You … and you… and you

are chosen by God,

chosen to proclaim the mighty acts, the wonderful works of Christ

who has called you out of darkness

and into God’s marvelous light! 

Once you were not a people; now you are God’s people! 

Once you had not received mercy; now you have received God’s mercy!

Called out of darkness and into God’s marvelous light! That is who you are! Beacons of light and truth and goodness in this world.

My friends, let us never forget who we are; let us never forget who God has made us to be. Amen.

This symbolic action is adapted from a resource from the Iona Community in Scotland, He Was In The World: Meditations for Public Worship by John L. Bell (1995: GIA Publications), p.97.  He Was in the World : Meditations for Public Worship

 

the celebrants of life - Schmemann

Fr. Alexander Schmemann

A profound meditation on eucharist as the lens through which we understand all of human life, written by the great (late) Alexander Schmemann, orthodox Dean of St. Vladimir's Seminary:

We already know that food is life, that it is the very principle of life and that the whole world has been created as food for [humanity]. We also know that to offer this food, this world, this life to God is the initial "eucharistic" function of [humanity], [our] very fulfillment as [humans]. We know that we were created as celebrants of the sacrament of life, of its transformation into life in God, communion with God. We know that real life is "eucharist", a movement of love and adoration toward God, the movement in which alone the meaning and value of all that exists can be revealed and fulfilled. We know that we have lost this eucharistic life and, finally, we know that in Christ, the new Adam, the perfect [human], this eucharistic life was restored to [humanity]. For he himself was the perfect Eucharist; he offered himself in total obedience, love and thanksgiving to God. God was his very life. And he gave this perfect and eucharistic life to us. In him, God became our life.

The Food Here is Good

A Sermon for the 4^th Sunday of Pascha/Easter (RCL A) 5-15-2011

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts:              Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10
Themes:         good shepherd Sunday, breaking bread, leading out into green pastures

Today, my friends, is Good Shepherd Sunday. The 4^th Sunday of the Paschal season every single year is known as Good Shepherd Sunday, and the lessons each year on this Sunday focus upon the description of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd who cares for his sheep.

Let us think for a moment about the role of a shepherd, and what makes a shepherd to be “good”.   

Jesus said that a shepherd goes ahead of his sheep and he leads them out to where they can find pasture.

A good shepherd, then, provides for the needs of the flock, by making sure that the flock has access to food and to water. But a shepherd also protects from the thief and the bandit who come only to steal and kill and destroy.  So a shepherd is good if he providing security from attacks.

Food, drink and safety – this is what a good shepherd provides.

These are the things necessary for sheep to have life. And these are the things that our Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd, provides for us so that we might have life and might have it abundantly.

From the very earliest days of the church’s existence, the followers of Christ have closely associated the care of the Good Shepherd with the sustenance that he provides for his people in the bread and wine of communion.

As we heard today from the Book of Acts, the first community of disciples who gathered after the day of Pentecost devoted themselves to the breaking of bread. These liturgies were certainly not nearly as elaborate as ours today, but they surely seem to have been understood as sacred events where Christ was present in a profound way and where he was nourishing and strengthening his sheep.

If we are to have abundant life as the Gospel says, then obviously we must have nourishment and sustenance for our souls, something that feeds us on the inside. Food, drink, safety – this is what a good shepherd provides, and this is what we need if we are truly to be the people of God.

Week by week you come to the Lord’s table to receive bread and wine which have been transformed by our prayers and by his promise into the body and blood of Christ. What do these things mean to you?

Let me invite you to consider for a moment what the body and blood of Christ have meant for all of the people of God throughout the ages, in all of the different places and situations and circumstances in which the church has existed. From hiding in catacombs and caves during the Roman persecutions, to the communion shared aboard the Apollo mission on the surface of the moon, from the grand cathedrals of Europe, to the communion liturgies in the bush among rural African tribes – everywhere humanity has been, in every circumstance that you can imagine, people have received and embraced the body and blood of Christ as true spiritual nourishment.

The Good Shepherd provides for his sheep. Even when they walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Christ is with them. Christ spreads a table for them even in the presence of their enemies.  

Consider this example, my friends. Dr. Vigen Guroian tells a remarkable true story about a very special Eucharist shared by refugees during the Armenian genocide.  Dr. Guroian is himself of Armenian descent, and he is now a professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia.

Around the time of the first World War, the Turkish army undertook extreme measures against the Armenian people, which resulted in the death of one-half of the 3 million Armenians.

In one instance during this genocide, the Armenian villagers from one small village escaped quickly into the countryside, fleeing from Turkish troops. The village priest had fled along with them. As they wandered, the people decided to stop and worship. I do not know whether it was the Lord’s Day, or whether they just felt that it was right to give thanks that they had escaped. But whatever the motivation, the people paused to celebrate the Holy Eucharist.

However there was a major problem: they had no bread and wine at all. They had fled the approaching army without very little time to gather many provisions. So, there in the countryside, they prayed and they celebrated and they gave thanks by blessing bowls of dirt and cups of water as the body and blood of Christ. It was all that they had.
Everyone took a bit of that blessed dirt and ate it, and washed it down with a bit of that blessed water. And God was present with them. "Restoring The Senses" interview from On Being

Even in their extreme suffering and hardship, wandering as refugees, fleeing from a genocidal army, even there the Good Shepherd provided spiritual nourishment for his people.

It may not always look like what we are used to. It may sometimes be rough, a bit sloppy or unpolished. But our Good Shepherd does provide us with food and drink and safety, the only kinds of food and drink and safety which truly matter!

Spiritual sustenance which brings joy and strength. Eternal security which brings peace that the world can never provide. These are the provisions for abundant life from our Lord.

Now, it is often surprising how the Good Shepherd might provide these things for us. Just consider the dirt and water communion of the Armenians. Consider also this personal story told by Julie Krause, a fellow Episcopalian. It is written in a brief poem, but with a bit of imagination, we can flush out the much larger story of her life which is told here.

Ms. Krause’s poem is titled “Homeless Angel” (from Women's Uncommon Prayers) and it speaks of a serendipitous meeting with a homeless man who points her toward the nourishment of the Lord’s Table in her time of need:

Returning from the nursing home, I feel empty.

She who nurtured me no longer knows me.

Suddenly, I need to be taken care of.

The unkempt homeless man on the steps of the church invites me in.

“The food here is good,” he says.

Trained early not to talk to strangers, I think only, “Do I look poor or hungry?

Why should he call me to me?” It’s his soup kitchen, and more his church than mine.

There is a noon Eucharist. How I’ve missed it. Communion,

And the taste of my mother’s kitchen. A meager celebration.

But the bread and wine feed my soul.

Outside, he calls to me again as I walk past.

“Did you get to eat? Did they feed you? Did you get what you needed?”

I glance back over my shoulder. He smiles.

“Yes,” my heart silently shouts.

He nods.

That’s right, my friends. The food here is good! Because it comes from the Good Shepherd who spreads out a table for us and who fills our cups to overflowing!

If we will but come to the feast; if we will join in the celebration, along with all of those around the world who know his voice and follow where he leads. Thanks be to God for the gift of abundant life which we receive through our Lord, the Good Shepherd. May each one of us always know and experience this sustaining and protecting grace which he so lavishly provides. Amen.

"We See a Gardener"

"We See a Gardener":
 a prayer-poem for the Paschal Season by Jennifer Heckart
found in Women's Uncommon Prayers (p. 29).

Risen Lord,
so often encountered,
so seldom recognized,
you meet us in the gardens of our hearts,
on the lonely roads of our lives,
on empty beaches, and greet us.
But in our blindness,
we mistake you for someone else.
Through our tears, we see a gardener;
in our weariness and wariness, a stranger.
But you call us back to ourselves.
Forgive us our hard-heartedness,
our lack of understanding.
Open our eyes and our ears to you,
wherever you are found,
and give us grace to love you with abandon,
to throw ourselves into your service,
as Mary threw herself at your feet,
as Peter threw himself into the sea.
Amen.

The Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven Virtues

Thomas Merton once described a holy person as one who is "quiet, simple, humble, and direct." This summarizes for me a life that eschews the seven deadly sins and which cultivates the seven virtues. It is a beautiful life, one which is worthy of being pursued with vigor. This is a highly appropriate reflection for the period of mystagogical catechesis which is the Great Fifty Days.

Here is an outline of these traditional categories in Christian moral thought, with some of my own brief explanatory notes:

The Seven Deadly Sins

1. Pride - arrogance, boastfulness, expecting (closely linked with anger)
2. Covetousness - greed, taking (linked with envy)
3. Lust - obsession, demanding, grasping (linked with gluttony)
4. Envy - greed, discontent, craving
5. Gluttony - indulgence, immoderate, consuming, devouring
6. Anger - bitterness, resentment, fearing (fear gives birth to anger)
7. Sloth - laziness, unmotivated, disengaged, withdrawn, lack of vision

The Seven Virtues

1. Faith - confidence, trusting (closely linked with hope)
2. Hope - assurance, perspective, seeing (hope grows out of clear vision)
3. Love - commitment, focus, giving (closely linked with fortitude)
4. Justice - fairness, impartiality, compassion 
5. Prudence - discernment, wisdom (linked with temperance)
6. Temperance - calmness, self-control, moderation
7. Fortitude - perseverance, diligence, determination 

If you keep these characteristics in mind when you study the great teaching on the hillside by our Lord Jesus (The Gospel of Matthew 5-7), you can see how his teachings clearly connect here and how these categories help to dscribe the eternal kind of life into which he brings us when we trust in him.

The Stone is Rolled Away!

A Sermon for Resurrection Sunday (the Holy Pascha) 4-24-2011

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts:              Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2,14-42; Colossians 3:1-4; Matthew 28:1-10

Title:               The Stone is Rolled Away!

Welcome, my dear friends! Welcome, all of you, to this happy morning! Welcome to this season of rejoicing and feasting and splendor and happiness! For Christ has been raised from the dead, never to die again, and we too have been raised with him.

Now our Lenten fasting is over; now is the time only for joy and celebration. Let nothing and no one steal away or interrupt your joy now in the resurrection of our Lord!

They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day!  When Mary and the other Mary went to the tomb at the break of day, they met there the angel who had rolled the stone away from the entrance to the tomb. And they received the angel’s message with “fear and great joy”, as the gospel says.

But let’s back up just a moment and focus upon this rolling away of the stone by the angel. Why was the stone rolled away? What was the point of this?

If the risen Lord was able to walk through walls and by-pass the normal limitations of space and time, did he need this stone rolled away? Was it rolled away for Christ? This is what the great archbishop Peter Chrysologus preached about this many years ago back in the early 5^th century:

“[The angel] did not roll back the stone to provide a way of escape for the Lord but to show the world that the Lord has already risen. He rolled back the stone to help his fellow servants believe, not to help the Lord rise from the dead. He rolled back the stone for the sake of faith, because it had been rolled over the tomb for the sake of unbelief.”

“Pray, brothers [and sisters], that the angel would descend now and roll away all the hardness of our hearts and open up our closed senses and declare to our minds that Christ has risen, for just as the heart in which Christ lives and reigns is heaven, so also the heart in which Christ remains dead is a grave.”

There’s something very powerful for me in the imagery of this giant stone rolled in front of the Lord’s tomb in order to seal it closed, then rolled away by the angel at the break of dawn.

Rich Mullins was one of the great Christian musicians of recent decades. He sang these words about that stone and about the longing of our hearts (from his song named Jesus (Demo Version) ):

“Jesus,

They drove the cold nails through Your tired hands

And rolled a stone to seal Your grave

Feels like the Devil's rolled a stone onto my heart

Can You roll that stone away?”

Can you roll that stone away? That’s what I want to know! Can you do it, Jesus? Can you roll the stone away from my heart?

Now, let’s be honest, OK?  There are many days when I am not asking this kind of prayer. Those days, I am feeling confident and competent, like I can conquer the world and can tackle any challenge.

But there are other days when all of my bluster and bravado fade, and other days, when I feel tired and worn down, and days when I can’t seem to make any sense at all out of this life and it feels like things are spinning out of control, and days when I feel as cold as a block of ice, with no compassion, no love, no joy – at those times, I remember and I know that I need help!

And then I ask: Jesus, can You roll that stone away, off of my heart? Can you do it?

Well, today, on this glorious day, let there be no doubt at all that God can indeed roll it away; that God can set our hearts free and can fill them with joy! If we open ourselves to it!

Remember what Peter Chrysologus said: the heart in which Christ remains dead is a grave, but the heart in which Christ lives and reigns is heaven!

And in this matter, it is up to each one of us to make our choice. Will we choose to keep Christ sealed away in the grave, not interfering with the way we want to live our lives? Or will we allow Christ, the risen Lord, to take charge, to live and reign in our hearts, and so will we open ourselves to the joy of his resurrection? 

There have been many different charges made against Christians, and indeed most of us have heard of horrible things done by Christians over the centuries, often in the name of Christ.

Unfortunately, we continue to hear of detestable things done by some Christians today. All of these reports are indictments against the Church, but, to be honest, none of these things surprise me.

To be a Christian does not mean that we become automatically better than anyone else. To be baptized into Christ does not mean that we become automatically better than others. We continue to stumble and fail. We continue to sin. The fact that this happens is unfortunate, but it ought not to surprise anyone. After all , we are sinners saved by grace alone.

So perhaps the worst charge leveled against Christians is the one expressed by Friedrich Nietzsche, the great anti-Christian philosopher of the 19^th century. In Nietzsche’s experience, Christians were the people who were completely devoid of joy. He said that he saw more joy in the bars than in the churches of his hometown! Speaking to a group of Christians, Nietzsche once said: “if your belief makes you blessed then [at least] appear to be blessed! Your faces have always been more injurious to your belief than our [scientific] objections have!”   

Although Nietzsche was clearly an arrogant fool (IMHO), his critique still has merit!

That is, if Christ truly is raised from the dead as the scriptures proclaim and as the church has always confessed, then surely this fact ought to be reflected in the joy clearly evident on our faces for all to see!

Who are we if we are not people of incredible and indescribable joy? Our Lord Jesus, the one we love, the one who offered himself freely on our behalf, the innocent Lamb of God who would stop at nothing to set us free, the Son of God who has redeemed us from our own foolishness and sin and blindness – the Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the dead!

He is alive and well and active in the world. Alive and well and active in his church! Alive and well and active in our lives!

What can we do but rejoice?! Rejoice when we see him here in the gathered body of Christ! Rejoice when we see him in the faces of those in need out in the world! Rejoice when we see him in the beauty of God’s creation! (Rejoice when we see him in Matthew as he is baptized here today!)

For Christ is alive, and we are alive in him. Joy is the key to this life in Christ.

Let it show on our faces today. And by God’s grace may it abide in our hearts for ever. Amen.