The Reverend Canon Jesus Reyes

June 28, 2015

2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27, Psalm 130, 2 Corinthians 8:7-15, Mark 5:21-43

June 14, 2015  Rev. Bill Stafford

1 Samuel 15:34-16:13

Psalm 20

2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17

Mark 4:26-34

Jume 7, 2015  Susie Ferguson, Christian Education Director

1 Samuel 8:4-20, 11:14-15

Psalm 138

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

Mark 3:20-35

May 31, 2015  Kimberly Axtell and Rev. Wendy Smith

Isaiah 6:1-8

Psalm 29 

Romans 8:12-17

John 3:1-17

Pentecost     The Rev. Wendy Smith, PhD May 24, 2015

The Spirit of Truth

(Acts 2:1-21, Romans 8:22-27, and John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15)

Both in Hebrew and in Greek, the word for spirit, is also translated wind, and breath.  Wind-breath-spirit all refer to an invisible movement of air, which brings new ideas, moves things around, and creates change.  Today, I will reflect on the ways the disciples were moved around, and how we are moved by the Holy Spirit.

As I reviewed these passages from the Book of Acts, and the Gospel of John, I was reminded that we have two different traditions about the giving of the Holy Spirit. I wonder if any of you have noticed this?  The tradition we are all familiar with, is the one we heard from the Books of Acts, our first lesson, when the holy Spirit descended on the disciples at Pentecost in tongues of fire.  Originally, Pentecost was a harvest festival, observed by the Jews on the 50th day of the barley harvest, hence the word pentecost, which means, 50th.   Later, Pentecost became the celebration of the giving of the 10 commandments to Moses at Mt. Sinai.  So it is quite significant that the Holy Spirit descended on the same day that God had given the commandments.  Furthermore, these tongues of flame empowered the disciples to proclaim the good news in languages they did not know, but which were intelligible to Jews who were visiting from many different countries to celebrate the festival.

The second tradition about the giving of the Spirit comes from the Gospel of John.  Every year on Pentecost, we read a different passage from the Gospel of John.  Remember that this Gospel was the last of the four to be written, near the end of the first century AD.  The Holy Spirit plays a much bigger part in this Gospel than the other three.  In chapter 3, in the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus,  Jesus told that puzzled Pharisee that “no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit” (3:5).  Then in chapter 4, Jesus told the Samaritan woman that what is important, is to worship “in spirit and in truth” (4:23).  In chapter 7,  Jesus announced that living water flowing from Jerusalem, would be a flow of spirit coming from himself (7:38-39).  So even before we get to the Farewell Discourses of Jesus in chapters 14-17, we can see that St. John was highlighting  the things Jesus said about the Holy Spirit.

There might be a very particular reason for this emphasis.  We know that the first generation of Christians believed that Jesus would return soon:  within their lifetimes.  By the time John was writing his Gospel, at least 60, or perhaps 70 years had passed since the resurrection.  Jesus had not come again in power and glory.  There was a big question in the minds of Christians about what this meant.  It seems likely that John was telling his community, that Jesus has come, and is among them, as the Holy Spirit.  John would have been arguing that Jesus didn’t mean he would come in the flesh;  no, John said, remember the words of Jesus, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever . . . the Spirit of Truth”.  That title, Advocate, in the New Revised Standard Version, was translated Counselor in the old Revised Standard Version, and in the King James Version it was Comforter.  Behind these three English words is the Greek, παρακλητος which means, “one who comes alongside”. That idea could also be translated, Supporter, Friend, Helper, or, Comforter, Counselor, Advocate.

Now there is something very subtle going on in these chapters of the Farewell Discourses.  At the beginning of the discourse, when Jesus said he was going to prepare a place for us, he also said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” (14:6).  So Jesus is “the Truth”.  A few verses later, he said, I will send you “the Spirit of Truth” (14:17), which must mean, he is sending his own Spirit..  The Spirit of Truth, seems to be the Spirit of Jesus.  Then he said, “I will n[...]

Seventh Sunday of Easter     The Rev. Wendy Smith, PhD May 17, 2015                The World and the Gospel

(Acts 1:15-17,21-26, I John 5:9-13 and John 17:6-19)

The biggest challenge  we face in understanding today’s Gospel reading, is what St. John means by the word, world.  It is used 12 times in 13 verses.  My dictionary gives 25 meanings for world, many of which refer to the earth, as a physical reality, and other meanings refer to humanity, or to the various nations and cultures of the earth.  Think for a moment of the different ways we use this word:  we often say, “in our world” which means either the culture we live in, or the century we live in.  We make a distinction between our world, and the ancient world, which was different in culture and technology.  We also make a distinction between our world and the third world, which is partly a distinction of place, and partly is based on development.  We may also use this word in a more limited way, when we say, the world of academia, or the world of sports, yet we are still referring to a group of people who hold a set of values, activities and knowledge not shared by others.

So when we read that Jesus said his disciples do not belong to the world, yet he is sending them into the world, we must be careful to ask, what exactly did he mean?  Fortunately, the English word world translates a Greek word that is familiar to us: kosmos.  In the New Testament, kosmos refers to the Jewish belief in creation:  that God created the physical universe, as well as humanity, and God gave us the ability to develop language and culture.  So Jesus and the Jewish community in which he lived, would not have made a firm distinction between the physical world and the human world.  They found it natural to say that the trees and the hills praise God, while the whales, birds and cattle glorify the Lord.

All this is background for the particular use of world in the Gospel of  St. John.  Remember what it says in the first chapter of the Gospel:  the Man Sent from God, the Word, “was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him” (1:10).  The world that came into being through him is the universe, everything from stars to insects.  But the world which did not know him, was humanity:  we are the ones capable of knowing the Son, yet we did not recognize him.  So even in that one verse the word kosmos/world, is used in two different ways. The next important reference to the world is the familiar affirmation in chapter 3: “for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son . . .” which means that God so loved human beings, that God has provided a way to save all who believe from perishing.  I conclude that the problem St. John was addressing in his Gospel, was that most of humanity are in darkness, and love the darkness.

This is the reason Jesus said, in our reading from Chapter 17, that his disciples do not belong to the world, meaning they are people who have seen the light of Jesus, so they are no longer in darkness, nor do they love darkness.  They are in the world, but not of the world:  that is, they live among people who are in darkness, but they are in the light.  What we would expect to read next, is an instruction to remain separate from those in darkness, in order to dwell in the light, and not be drawn into the darkness.  However, the instruction Jesus gave was just the opposite:  he sent them into the world, just as the Father had sent him into the world (verse 18).  The reason is, that God intends to save the world, and this will happen through the witness of the disciples to Christ.

Jesus was, of course, speaking at the Last Supper, to the original 11 disciples (Judas having already left the upper room).  It seems likely that St. John has emphasized this sending into the world precisely because the Christians to whom he was writing, really did want to withdraw from the world.  St. John wrote his Gospel at the end of the first century AD, w[...]

6th Sunday of Easter

Sermon preached by Karen Cuffie  May 10, 2015. Mother’s Day

Acts 10:44-48, Psalm 98, 1 John 5:1-6, John 15:9-17

Our youngest son’s Godparents, Andy and Anita live in Exton, PA now, which is just outside Philadelphia. But we met them in Connecticut when our children were young. They are a very special couple. We don’t get to see them very often, in fact the last time we saw them was when our son got married almost three years ago in Chicago. Before that it had been about five years. But when we do see them, it’s as if it was yesterday. We pick up where we left off. Time and distance just don’t get in the way of our relationship. Do you know what I mean? Do you have some friends like that?   I want to tell you about the very unique way that Andy and Anita celebrate Mother’s and Father’s Day – which is a glimpse of why they are so special. On Mother’s Day, Anita gives Andy a gift – because if it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t be a mother. And on Father’s day. . .you know what’s coming. . .Andy gives Anita a gift, because if it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t be a dad. It’s a mutual relationship where they honor each other and the love they share. This is how they live out their lives with each other, even today. I would describe their love as “abiding love.”

We heard the word ‘abide’ at the very beginning of the gospel passage this morning. “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.” What does the word ‘abide’ mean to you?   dictionary.com says that it’s a verb meaning to remain or stay – to continue in a particular way. The Greek translation of the New Testament uses the word μενω, which is also defined as remain & stay but it is further translated as live, dwell, last, endure, and continue. Let’s substitute those words for the word abide in Jesus’ sentence. See if it makes a difference in your understanding of what it means to abide. If you’re comfortable, close your eyes and imagine that Jesus is speaking directly to you. Remain in my love. Stay in my love. Dwell in my love. Live in my love. Continue in my love. What an amazing invitation!

I need to give you some context for today’s Gospel reading because I think it adds a great deal of weight to what Jesus is saying to the disciples at that time. The passage we just heard is part of a what is called “The Farewell Discourse” in the Gospel of John. It’s a farewell speech of sorts that begins at the end of chapter thirteen and goes to the end of chapter seventeen. He had a lot to say. . .

Jesus is explaining that he will be leaving them and what to expect when he leaves. He knows how hard it is going to be for them and is preparing them, knowing that they live in tense times. Persecution by Roman authorities was becoming more frequent, and conflict between Gentile and Jewish Christians and between Christians and Jews was intensifying. So, in that context, you can imagine how much Jesus wants them to hear and understand his words. They are more than important. One could even say that their lives depended on paying attention to what Jesus was saying.

Jesus used his own relationship with his Father to demonstrate not only his relationship with them, but also the kind of relationship they should have with one another. “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. . . love one another as I have loved you.” This is Jesus’ commandment, but it’s not a conditional clause the way some might understand it. He doesn’t say “if” you keep my commandment, “then” you will abide in my love. No, what he’s saying is something more like, “by keeping my commandment to love one another, you are abiding in my love. You already ARE.

Jesus modeled this obeying and abiding relationship with his Father to show the kind of relationship he was inviting them into. It is an intimate relationship. Think of a mother who’s just given birth and holds her baby to her chest. It’s that kind of intimacy.

There’s another part of this abiding[...]

The Rev. John Buenz May 3, 2015.

Acts 8:26-40, Psalm 22:24-30, 1 John 4:7-21, John 15:1-8

Fourth Sunday of Easter The Rev. Wendy Smith, PhD  April 26, 2015

My Shepherd (Acts 4:5-12, Ps 23, I John 3:16-24 and John 10:11-18)

I imagine you know that the word psalm means a hymn or song of praise, but perhaps you didn’t know, that it refers to a song accompanied by a stringed instrument.  Out of 150 psalms, 73 psalms, almost half, are attributed to King David, and among these, about 13 psalms specify a particular known circumstance in the life of David, when he wrote the psalm.  The 23rd Psalm is one that we can attribute with confidence to David, because we know he was a shepherd, and because we know there were several occasions in his life when he walked in the shadow of death.

It is such a familiar and comforting psalm, that it is easy to overlook the details that give it such deep meaning.  The first detail has to do with the sheep, which were important assets in the ancient Israelite economy–for milk, for wool, and for sacrificial offering.  Sheep are easily startled and are always hungry.  Although they usually follow the dominant ewe, they are sometimes distracted and wander away.  Then they may be attacked by predators such as wolves and jackals.  So the shepherd needs to be a strong guardian, but also a calm presence, so that the sheep do not panic and scatter when a new direction must be taken.  With this background in mind, it is easy to see that the psalm tells the story of a journey, in which the shepherd guides the flock through a dangerous landscape to a safe place to graze.

But there is something else behind this experience of herding sheep which influenced the psalm:  it is the memory the Jews kept alive, of wandering in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt.  They had been led by an earlier shepherd, Moses, who followed the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.  When the people were hungry, God provided manna and quails; when the people were thirsty, God provided water from a rock.  So the image of the Lord as the shepherd of Israel was much older than David; indeed that early experience was the foundation for the sense that God was their defender, and their rescuer.

In the first three verses of Psalm 23, David claimed a personal relationship with the Lord — he had no doubt that everything necessary would be provided.  Our usual translation, “I shall not want” does not convey this feeling as strongly as the old 1928 Prayerbook translation:  “therefore can I lack nothing”.  The green pastures, the still waters, and the right, or safe, pathways will certainly be found.  The meaning of these first three verses is, God is keeping me alive!

In verse 4, there is a significant shift.  David seems to remember that despite God’s guidance along right paths, sometimes we sheep get lost and find ourselves in dangerous places — “the darkest valley” or “the valley of the shadow of death”.  These words convey a feeling of confusion, of fear, and of despair . . . David was remembering a time when he didn’t know which way to turn in the darkness.  He then affirmed, addressing the Lord in the second person:  “you are with me, your rod” for beating off predators, “and your staff” for guiding me in the dark, “they comfort me” and “I will fear no evil”.  In the midst of suffering or danger, David says, I am like a sheep who trusts completely in the protection and guidance of my Shepherd, who is God.

In verse 5, there is another significant shift, from the valley in shadow, to the household.  We know this because sheep do not eat from tables — this is a domestic image, a picture of hospitality:  God the shepherd, has become God the host, the head of a household who has prepared a feast, a banquet set forth for me.  According to the etiquette of the ancient world, the guests should all be anointed with oil, and provided with cups that are refilled again and again.  This picture says that I will receive more than I need — an abundance is waiting for me.

In the final ve[...]

Third Sunday of Easter                                             The Rev. Wendy Smith, PhD April 19, 2015                                                        Episcopal Church in Almaden

(Acts 3:12-19, I John 3:1-7, and Luke 24:36b-48)

Even though we live in the age of cameras and video recorders, the role of the eyewitness is still important. Whenever something out of the ordinary happens, whether it is a crime, or an act of nature, or a first-time-ever event, people who were there, who witnessed the event, are asked to describe it, to tell what they saw and heard. Our Gospel reading is such an eyewitness account. Today, we understand as well, that witnesses to the same event, see slightly different things — whether because of their distance from the event, or because of poor eyesight, or their attention to details, or their attitudes about the gender or race or appearance of the people involved. This difference among eyewitness reports, is the reason we have four Gospels, which apparently tell the same story . . . Matthew, Mark. Luke, and John had each learned some details that the others didn’t know, and each author organized and interpreted what they knew. This is the reason it is valuable for us to hear today, St. Luke’s account of the same event, (apparently) as we heard last Sunday from the Gospel of St. John. And it is also helpful to hear the two interpretations, from Linda last week, and from me today.

All four Gospels do agree that the disciples were together, discussing the events leading to the crucifixion, and wondering about what Jesus had said to them . . . they were in a private room, when Jesus was suddenly present among them, and said, “Peace be with you”. All four Gospels agree that the disciples were startled, and frightened. St. Luke said specifically that Jesus knew that “doubts were arising in their hearts”. Therefore, Jesus showed them the wounds in his hands and feet, and invited them to touch him, although St. Luke does not say whether they did. The next verse is one of the most unusual statements in the Bible: it is verse 41 in chapter 24: “In their joy, (the disciples) were disbelieving and wondering . . “   The fact that at this central moment of revelation, the disciples couldn’t believe what they were seeing, AND that their disbelief was remembered and later reported by St. Luke and St. John, should give us greater confidence that it really happened.

Just at this point, I want to remind myself, and all of you, that when some unexpectedly good news comes to us today in the 21st century, we often say, “I can’t believe it! It’s too good to be true.” And then I want to point out that Jesus understood how they felt . . . because he immediately showed them the marks of crucifixion in his hands and feet. But even that wasn’t enough, so he asked for something to eat, they provided boiled fish, and he ate the fish. This was evidence that Jesus was not a ghost or an hallucination . . . and they seem to have accepted this, because they listened as Jesus “opened their minds to understand the scriptures . . .”   When you read or hear that verse, have you wondered exactly which scriptures Jesus helped them to understand?

First, He might have been referring to the 12th chapter of the book of Daniel, which says, “many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life . . .” Second, scholars have shown that the idea that the dead could be resurrected, arose in the second century before Christ, during the Maccabean revolt, when so many righteous Jews were killed defending their religion. Resurrection would be a vindication of their lives and their martyrdom.

In the third place, the theology of resurrection has been traced back into the Hebrew Scriptures by the scholars Levinson and Madigan.

Their starting point is the claim that St. Paul made, that resurrection would take place on the third day, “according to the scriptures”. There are at least 8 places where this re[...]