St. Mary’s Episcopal Church

The first reading today comes from the Book of Acts, the Acts of the Apostles. This is Part 2 of Luke's Gospel. In Part 1, the Gospel of Luke, the author told us all about the life of Jesus from his birth to his death and resurrection. Now in Part 2 he tells us about the Body of Christ, the life of the Church. You could argue it goes through its life and resurrection, too. It is the only account we have of the early days of the Church. We have some other documents. We have primary sources in the letters of Paul and others. We can infer some things from the Gospels because they were written by the earliest Christians, but this is the only account that we have. It is unfortunate--we have four accounts of Jesus and his life, and it would be nice if we had a few other accounts of these early years. But this is the one we get.

In this account we can learn a lot about what the early church was like. One of the things we see in the Book of Acts is that the church changed. Things that happened at the beginning of the Book are not necessarily how they did things at the end of the Book. For instance, at the beginning of the Book, every member of the Body of Christ had to give all of their possessions to the Apostles, and the Apostles gave it back as it was needed. This procedure did not survive until the end of the Book, and don't worry, it is not coming back. We won't make you hand everything over. Another thing that changed is the leadership and who could be in positions of leadership. They were very concerned early on about making it similar to the time before Jesus died. They wanted to have twelve because there were twelve that Jesus picked, so they felt the need to replace Judas. Part of the criteria was that the person had to be there at the very beginning of Jesus's ministry. Both of these are things they let go of by the end of the Book. New Apostles are not necessarily there from the beginning of Jesus's ministry, as evidenced by Paul who never met Jesus during his earthly ministry. The Apostles also didn't care about the number twelve anymore. As some of the original twelve die off during the course of the Book, they don't replace them. Apostles come up in new and different ways. The Church is dynamic. It is not static. It is changing, as it has always done. If you look at the history of the Church you see a Church that has changed over time as we've continued to work through and understand what it is God wants us to do and what God wants us to be. The Church is not a static institution. It is a dynamic one that is shifting and changing as we see in the Book of Acts.

Another thing we see in the Book of Acts is that the Church is not of one mind. It never has been. The Book of Acts goes through all the differences of opinion. Some of them are sharp and some aren't. These disagreements are confirmed in Paul's letters and other Epistles. Sometimes they are major disagreements, sometimes they are minor ones. Sometimes Paul takes a strong stand on them, and sometimes he just says it's OK. The important thing is that we keep together. This is Paul's Body of Christ image. During those moments of conflict and disagreements within the Church, we must stay together.

Many of the disagreements are about who we are and what we need to do. Today's reading comes from the section in the Book of Acts where they are trying to figure out who is part of the community, and what they need to do to be part of the community. This is a sharp disagreement. We see that in the reading when some of the followers of Jesus criticize Peter for eating with the Gentiles. They do not think it is appropriate. They think he needs to remain pure and separate from those who are not willing to follow the Law.

Peter was once part of that critical group, but had a conversion on this issue. He has two reasons why he shifted his view. One, he has a vision that he describes, and the other is that he sees the work of the Holy Spirit in these people. As the Book goes on, it is the second reason that really matters, the vision, while it might have been important to Peter, doesn't really convince other people. What convinces other people is that they, too, see the work of the Holy Spirit in this group of people. They see a people who are trying to love God, who are trying to love their neighbor, and who are trying to follow Jesus. That is what matters. The Holy Spirit shows all the wonderful fruits of the spirit, gentleness, kindness, love, compassion, care, generosity. It is all there in those people, and because of that, why would we not want them to be part of this community?

It is a question of our identity, and our identity as followers of Jesus. We can disagree on whether all must follow certain Laws, because the center of our faith is the issue of love, desiring to love God, desiring to love our neighbor, trying to follow Jesus who is the Incarnation of love in this world. We are meant to be a community that centers on that love, as our offertory hymn is going to put it in a moment, and the fellowship of love that our recessional hymn is going to put it a little while later. We are to be a community of love.

Whatever metaphor you want to use for the Church, for example, the Church is like the solar system and the star we orbit around is love. Or the Church is a building being constructed and the plumb line of our life is love. Or you can say that we are a symphony and the tuning note of the orchestra is love. We are meant to focus on love. We can disagree on all the other stuff; we can work through it, but love is the center. That is what we are tying to do today in this community. We are tying to be that community of love.

Today is Giving Day, a day for us to offer gratitude to God for the community of love, to celebrate the community of love, and to support the community of love. Your gift will allow us to keep being that community, offering love to a world that so desperately needs love.

It is no secret there are a lot of disagreements in this world today. Some of them are right here in the pews. Some of them are sharp and it feels that they are becoming sharper with time. In the midst of that, we are called, we are sent forth to remind ourselves and this community and the world to act in love. We might not get it all right, and that's OK. But we need to stick together in love, trying to understand how we can live more deeply into that love. The love we are focused on, the love that is the center of our faith, is the same love that is God. As First John says, God is love. The love that is the center of our faith is the love that was Incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ. That love is the same love that Jesus taught us in our Gospel today where he says I give you a new commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. That is the love that went to the cross, and the love that was raised on the third day that we celebrate during this Easter season. It is all part of the same thing. We are to see that love, to embrace that love, and try to share that love with others.

AMEN.

In the name of our loving, liberating, life-giving God. Amen.

The words of today’s collect ask: O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of thy/your people: Grant that when we hear his voice, we may know him who calleth/calls us each by name, and follow where he (doth) leads…

Grant that when we hear God’s voice, we may know who's calling us, and then follow. Like animals who know their caregivers, or children who know their parents’ voices, like siblings, friends, or lovers who instantly turn at the sound of their names and the unique voices of those speaking, Jesus lovingly and longingly calls out our names, beckoning us into relationship with God. “My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me.” This voice of Jesus, this voice that calls out to us, is a voice we are tuned to recognize. It resonates with the same divine frequency that has been gifted to each of us. The divine spark, the irrefutable fact that we are created in the image and likeness of God, from love, out of love, for love.

I think of Mary Magdalene at the tomb not recognizing the risen Christ until, until he calls her by name, “Mary.” And then she sees him, she knows him, “Rabbi!” she lovingly and exuberantly calls out.

And Thomas the twin who missed Jesus’ return, Jesus calls him by name, “Thomas” and shows him the wounds in his resurrected body and Thomas cries out, “My Lord and my God.” Jesus calls us each by name. Jesus IS calling, WILL call, HAS BEEN calling us, into relationship, into a deeper understanding of God’s love for us, our belovedness. Do you remember your baptism? Or the baptism of a child, grandchild or friend? In our baptism, we receive our Christian names as our parents, Godparents or sponsors present us:

“We present Ryan Jacob Baker to receive the sacrament of Holy Baptism.” And the priest baptizes us, calling us by our names, “Robert Bingham Powell I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” And in a few weeks our confirmands will be called by name by Bishop Akiyama: “Defend O Lord your servant Rose Ann Bradshaw with your heavenly grace, that she may continue yours forever and daily increase in your Holy Spirit more and more, until she comes to your everlasting kingdom.” God calls us by our names. God knows us. We are God’s.

And when we hear our names, and recognize the voice of our Good Shepherd, we do our best to follow and release our lives into God’s loving care.

Do you hear Jesus calling, inviting you? Come on, I’ve got you, it’s safe, I’m right here with you, I know the way, follow me. “My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me,” says Jesus.

The type of shepherding that God is calling us into is one of ultimate care, love, and sacrifice. Jesus is not just someone getting paid to watch over us sheep and goats. Jesus is the kind of shepherd that was there from the beginning, from the pregnancy of the ewes to the birthing of the little lambs and throughout their lives as they grew and then had lambs of their own. The kind of caregiver that knows each one by their unique appearance, sound and behavior. Each sheep in his care is known and valued, loved and called by name.

Jesus, our good shepherd, guides us safely down the paths of our lives, when they are hilly and dangerous, and when they are smooth and straight. Jesus promises to never abandon us, sticking with us until the end, even if it means giving up His life for ours. Indeed, this is what He did on Good Friday, setting us an example of just how much God loves us and how much we are called to love others.

Earlier in chapter ten of John’s Gospel Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.”

Jesus has laid down his life for us. And he has picked it up again, rising from the dead, demonstrating God’s ultimate power, the conquering power of love.

When we hear God’s voice and decide to join the Christian community, to seek and serve Christ in everyone, to love our neighbors are ourselves, to strive for justice and peace among all people, to respect the dignity of every human being, we place ourselves under the care and shepherding described in the 23rd psalm.

1 The LORD is my shepherd; *

I shall not be in want.

There’s no promise of wealth, power, or success, but we will have what we need, we won’t be wanting for anything.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *

and leads me beside still waters.

God will bring us to the light and joy of bright, green grass, and the peace and calm of still, soothing waters.

3 He revives my soul *

and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.

God will revive our souls, bringing life and energy where there is weariness, and God will guide our lives down paths God has laid out, paths that are right for us, fitting our lives’ journey, helping us learn, grow, and know our value and find our place in this world.

4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I shall fear no evil; *

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

And even during those times when the evil of this world and the power of death are closing in on us, God WILL be there, we will know and feel God’s presence and we will be comforted. Now, when it feels like our lives are in a constant state of uncertainty, not knowing what COVID will bring next, what world or national politics will become, how we, our family and friends will make it through stress and trauma, past and present, God is here with us, offering comfort, accompanying us in our sorrow, anxiety and exhaustion.

5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *

you have anointed my head with oil,

and my cup is running over.

When we are having trouble getting along with others, God will smooth out the table cloth and lay out everyone’s favorites for a reconciling meal. And God will honor us, will set us apart as holy and beloved, “anointed,” and we will have SO much of God’s goodness in our lives that we won’t be able to hold it all in, it will overflow and pour out onto us and onto everyone we meet.

6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

And whenever we look over our shoulder, who’ll be right on our tail, following us around like a baby brother or sister? Goodness and Mercy. And with Jesus as our good shepherd, we will know that we are always welcome at God’s place, where there is plenty of room, plenty of food, and Jesus’ open arms of love beckoning, calling us home.

Siblings in Christ, sheep in God’s flock, Jesus our Good Shepherd calls us each by name, inviting us to grow, learn, and know God’s goodness and loving care. O God, grant that when we hear you, we may know you, and follow where you lead. Amen.

Before we can talk about today's Gospel reading from the 21st Chapter of John, we need to step back for a moment and look at Chapter 20. More specifically, we need to go back to Easter Sunday morning when we heard the story of Mary Magdalen on the very first Easter Day while it was still dark, going down to the tomb and finding the tomb empty. The body was not there. She was confused, and so ran off to get Simon Peter and the beloved Disciple.

At this point John includes the strangest detail that I can't get out of my mind. It says that Simon Peter and the beloved Disciple had a foot race. Now, we live in Track Town USA, it's marathon Sunday, so we can understand why they would want to have a foot race in that moment. Why not? But why include the detail in the telling of the story all those years later? There are also many details about this foot race. We learn that the beloved Disciple wins the race. He gets there first, but when he gets there he merely peeks in the tomb and then waits. Along comes Peter, lagging behind, and he goes into the tomb. He looks down, sees the burial cloths, and then comes out. Then the beloved Disciples goes in, takes a look and is able to confirm what Peter saw, and then they both leave.

This competition these two men seem to have shows up again in today's Gospel reading. This is now the third time Jesus has showed himself to the Disciples. They are back at work fishing in the Sea of Galilee and are not being very successful. They are not catching any fish. Jesus appears from the shore at that moment. The beloved Disciple is the first one of all the Disciples to figure out that this is Jesus. He wins the race of recognition, as it were. Not to be outdone, Peter decides to win the next race. He puts some clothes on because he was naked, another odd detail that we won't discuss right now, and jumps in the sea. This must be the next leg of a triathlon because he swims to shore. He wins the race as the first person to get to and interact with Jesus on the shore.

The competition between these two men doesn't end here. We are almost at the end of the Gospel with today's reading, but there are a few verses left. Right after Peter and Jesus have this conversation, do you love me? Yes, I love you. Feed my sheep, Jesus goes on to tell Peter how he is going to die, which is the end of today's Gospel reading. The very next little bit is that Peter turns and looks at the beloved Disciple. Then the narrator tells us details about who the beloved Disciple is and why he is so important. Peter then turns back to Jesus and says, "And what about him?" Now Jesus must be rather exasperated at this point because he looks at Peter and says, Who cares? Who cares if he is going to live longer than you is more precisely what Jesus says, and then says, Follow me. Focus here. Stop worrying about that petty competition the two of you seem to have.

In the writing of the early church Fathers and Mothers, these two Disciples, Peter and the beloved Disciple, are two models or exemplars of the faith. They illustrate two ways of being faithful followers of Jesus. For them, the beloved Disciple was representative of the contemplative life. He doesn't jump right in the water. He takes his time to get to shore. But he is the first one to recognize Jesus. He is very attuned to God's presence in that moment. John is the one who leans on Jesus, the one who is very close to Jesus. Peter is the fervent one, they said. He is the one of action, the one who jumped in the water and swam to shore to get there as fast as he could. He is the one told by Jesus to go do things, to feed my sheep, and as a result Peter will be the one who will die earlier. He gets into a little bit of trouble with all that action. The early church writers said these two models are not meant to be in competition with one another. It is not that one is better than the other. They are both important. The life of prayer, attuning your life to God's presence is critically important, and so is that life of action, going into the world and embodying God's message of love and how you treat other people, to serve as Christ served. Both of these are critically important.

In a sense this Gospel reading is meant to be a mirror to hold up before your life and ask, which one of these am I more like? Some of us are more of the contemplative prayerful sense and some are more action oriented out there doing things. You hold that mirror and ask, which one am I more like, and in what ways do I need to deepen the parts of me that are not there. If I am more like the beloved Disciple, how can I be more action oriented like Peter? Of if I'm like Peter and action oriented, how can I be more like the beloved Disciple?

This reading points to two ways of embodying these models, the ways of following Jesus. The first is in the Eucharist. This story is about fish and bread, so how is it about the Eucharist? If we look at images of the early Church and how they imagined the Eucharist, there are images of bread and fish as well as images of bread and wine. They understood bread and fish to be Eucharistic also. I'm grateful we are not serving salmon today with the Eucharist, but potentially there were Eucharists that included fish, based on he images that depict something like that. So the early church understood this as a Eucharist meal that Jesus was offering the Disciples. Part of the life of prayer, the contemplative way of following Jesus, is about the Eucharist, about finding the presence of God in this bread. Not to say that God is only contained in this bread, but to practice seeing the presence of God so that when we go out into the world, back to our lives, we can start attuning our lives to God's presence around us all of the time. This is a particular moment when we recognize it in the Sacrament.

The other way is that nice long conversation Jesus had with Peter when he says, feed my sheep, tend my flock, go do things, actions of love in this world. Both of these ways, in being and doing, in contemplation and in action, draw us closer to Christ. Christ that is always present with us, the Christ we find in the Eucharist, Christ we find in the Sacraments, Christ we find in our lives. But also in action, the Christ we find in our neighbor. Just as Jesus taught us in Matthew 25, when I was hungry you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; whatever you did to the least of these you did to me, we find Christ in others, in their need. When we encounter them and serve them, we are serving Christ. These are not opposites. These are complementary things. As we deepen that life of prayer, and as we deepen that life of action, we are supporting the other. Action should lead us into prayer, and prayer should lead us into action. As we engage in these practices of faith we want to engage in more practices of faith. We will want to grow closer to God in prayer and grow closer to God in action. It might be in coming to church, engaging in daily prayer practices on one side. On the other it might be serving at the Saturday breakfast, or taking the cans and bottles to the recycling center to help pay for more huts to get people off the streets. These are different ways we are embodying the life of prayer and of action.

So my friends, this week I ask of you, I invite you, I encourage you to take some time with the mirror of this Gospel reading. Hold it up to your life and ask, where am I, who am I, and how can I deepen my faith through contemplativeness or through action, both of which are rooted and grounded in love.

AMEN

We have converted our "The Way of the Cross" video to audio to assist you in walking through the stations in our church. Use this audio to guide you through our Stations of the Cross.

Over the past few weeks we have been hearing a good bit about call, God's call to us. Two weeks ago we prayed in our opening Collect to follow God's call: Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Then we went on in our Epistle to hear Paul talk about different calls we might have. Some are called to be apostles, some are called to be teachers, some are called to healers, etc. all with the idea that there are different calls within the church and are all an important part of the Body of Christ.

Last week we heard about Jeremiah's call and his resistance to it. And we also heard, again from Paul, when he talked about the greater call to love. Deacon Nancy preached a beautiful sermon tying those two senses of call together and inviting us to listen to God for our call.

Today the theme of call continues. In our first reading we heard Isaiah's call story, and in the Epistle we heard about Paul's call to be an Apostle. In the Gospel we heard Simon Peter's call to follow Jesus. Although many only think about "call" in terms of clergy and ordination, it is, in fact, a broader concept that applies to all of us. Call or vocation is not just for the clergy.

The first call for all of us is the call to baptism, and as an extension, the call to baptismal ministry. You have been called by God to something or many somethings and the baptismal covenant lays out some of those fundamental or foundational calls that all of us, as baptized members of Christ's body, are to try and follow.

There are calls within the church, like the call to the Altar Guild to prepare the Sanctuary for worship, or the call to cook eggs or make sandwiches with our Saturday breakfast in order to fee our hungry neighbors, or the call to make music by singing in the choir or when you join in singing the hymns with the congregation.

And then there are our calls out there in the world, like the call to educate as a teacher, or the call to heal as a doctor or nurse, or the call to help house people as a realtor, or the call to paint or build or fix or clean or design or.........There are so many calls.

There are the big vocational matters, like I am called to be a priest. Then there are the more specific issues, like I am called to serve at St. Mary's. Then there are the daily vocational matters, like what am I called to accomplish today?

The stories of call in scripture always seem to be the dramatic ones, or at least that's the way they are told, but often God's voice is much more subtle. God is not always going to call out your name, like when God called Samuel. Often the call will be more like that sound of sheer silence that Elijah heard when he went up on the mountain and heard God. Frederick Buechner says that our vocation, God's call to us, can be heard in that place where our deep, great joy meets one of the world's deep needs, that intersection of joy and need that God is calling us. Parker Palmer says that God's call can be found when we start listening to our own life, to who it is God made us to be because our vocation or God's call is intimately tied up in our identity.

In our readings today there is a thread, and that is the thread of inadequacy. Isaiah thinks he is not worthy, Paul thinks that he is unfit, Peter thinks he is too sinful. When Isaiah protests, he says I am lost, I am lost. But just like John Newton wrote in that old great hymn, he says I once was lost but now am found. God has found Isaiah and called him to this task. God has found Paul and called him to this task. God has found Peter and called him to this task. Because in the end it is not ultimately about our adequacy. It is about God's adequacy. It is not about our faithfulness. It is about God's faithfulness. It's not about our worthiness. It's about God's worthiness. Maybe we feel that way sometimes. We can feel lost, but God eventually finds us, too, and when we hear that call and we ask if we are up to the task, we can remember that it doesn't really matter if we are or are not because God is. God is up for it. God will fill in whatever holes need to be filled to supplement any limitations we may have. God can even transform our very failures, just like God transformed that ultimate failure of the cross by turning it into resurrection.

There is another use of the word call in our readings today and that comes from our Psalm, and this is our call to God. When I called you answered me, the Psalmist says. The pairing of these two types of call, God's call to us and our call to God, remind us that ultimately call is not a one way street. Communication with God is not a monologue. Communication with God is a dialogue. Discerning our call, discerning our vocation, is about conversation with God.

This pandemic has upset so much about our lives, but it has also given us a great opportunity to listen more attentively to God and to discern our vocations again. Perhaps in that big picture major move career kind of way. I know some people are making those kind of discernments right now, but probably for most of us it is in the smaller ways. What am I called to do and be, even in the midst of this pandemic. Like the call to get vaccinated and boosted as an act of love for my neighbor, or the call to reach out to a friend or acquaintance who might be lonely.

Listen to the call, my friends. Converse with God about it and follow in the way. For God will be with you as you do.

AMEN.

Our Book of Common Prayer is filled with instruction and with recommendations. In the instructions for the Ordination of a Deacon, three lessons are to be read. The Readings are ordinarily selected from the provided list in the Prayer Book, but they can come from other Bible selections. The first of the two recommended readings from the Old Testament is today’s reading of Jeremiah’s call from God. And while my classmate, Tracey and I, at our ordination to be deacons, would have preferred a Scripture reading of a young girl answering God’s call, we found Jeremiah’s humble reluctancy fitting to our calls to ordained ministry, where we, too, each felt like an unprepared child.

I grew up in the Episcopal Church and I think of my childhood and youth in the church as a time of learning. As an adult I broadened my learning from books to experiences through opportunities to serve in my church and in my communities. I chose activities that were of interest to me, like transcribing books into Braille, or activities that someone asked me to join, like the Altar Guild and the Sunday school staff. I certainly didn’t have a dialog with God about it. My attitude was, I have no idea what God may want of me, but hopefully at the end of my life God will say it was good enough. I hid out in my ministry, not even putting that name to it. Had God spoken to me, I very well may have said, “Ah, Lord God! I am only a child! Let me be.”

But then I was asked to contemplate the diaconate, and I knew that I would be expected to look at myself and my relationship with God. I had to come out of hiding. I poked my head up. And God said to me, “Oh, Nancy. There you are. I’ve been waiting for you to appear. You can do this, and I am with you.”

God eased Jeremiah’s concerns and said to him: Do not be afraid, for I am with you. God stayed with Jeremiah throughout his ministry. God let Jeremiah know that God would go with him where he was sent, and he would be given the words to say. Jeremiah learned, with God’s help, to be a great prophet. Jeremiah, however, was not a mannequin for God. A commentator for The Common English Women’s Bible remarks that, “There are times when Jeremiah’s voice is indistinguishable from God’s and the anguish of one represents the suffering of both. Yet Jeremiah also laments and complains to God, providing a model for those of us today who find ourselves in impossible situations and have no other outlet but to vent those frustrations to God.”

When one finds and develops a dialog with God, be it God in the person of the Creator, or Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, a ministry can be richer and more meaningful when God is treated as an active partner and not as a passive deity.

When I came to St. Mary’s and settled in a bit, years before I was ordained, I was asked by Deacon Penny to help with a Spirituality Day hosted by the Episcopal Church Women. This year Spirituality Day is celebrating its 30th anniversary. It brings up to 100 or more together from throughout the diocese for a day with speakers and workshops, and an opportunity for community as well as personal reflection. Serving on the committee with Penny and others was a congenial experience for me and soon I was asked to serve on the diocesan board of the ECW. I expected there to be many years of collaborative work and observation before I might be asked to be responsible for taking a leadership role on the board. But, in four short years I found myself president of the board and wondering if I was up for the task. I am only a child! But when God doesn’t speak directly, God sends help. Not only Penny, but also another woman in the diocese named Florette, guided me along with their own experiences and wisdom. I truly felt their support, and the unspoken words, ‘Do not be afraid, for we are with you.’

Ministry takes many forms. Over the past three weeks we have been hearing Paul’s words on the Gifts of the Spirit. On the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, we heard of the various kinds of gifts. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. It may be prophecy, like the gift given to Jeremiah, or it may be the utterance of wisdom or knowledge, which were the gifts I received from Penny and Florette. On the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, last week, we heard how these gifts are to be used in community. Our gifts are to work together as parts of a body; the foot is not to declare itself separate from the body because it is not a hand. Nor is the ear to declare itself separate from the body because it is not an eye. No, all are members of the body of Christ and all are to work together. Today, the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Paul continues with our place in the body of Christ. It is not enough to have received a Gift of the Spirit. It is not enough to recognize that others have received a Gift of the Spirit and that we are joined together. It is only enough when we are joined together and work together in Love. Ignatius Loyola, the father of modern spiritual theology, wrote that “Love consists in the mutual sharing of goods … Hence, if one has knowledge, one shares it with the one who does not possess it; and so also if one has honors, or riches. Thus, one always gives to the other.”

With God’s love we are able to let go of our own plans and to receive God’s plan without fear. All are called by God, not just those who are asked to do mighty things. You can be open to God’s purpose for you and be open to dialog. At this point in your life, it may be time to share the abundance you have received to be used for God’s work in the world. Share your wisdom and knowledge with those who are just now leaving their childhood learnings and are finding their way in God’s call to them. And that person may be you, ready to take risks, as Jeremiah does, to speak out to the world on what needs to be corrected; to take action to care for the poor, the lonely, the sick, and the bereaved. Know that God is with you, and this community is with you. We take different paths, but we are together on the journey of God’s loving call to us.

And what if it isn’t God’s call after all? What if, like me, you just hope that God says at the end of the day, it is good enough. Verna Dozier wrote in her book, The Dream of God, concerning that hazy mirror from Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians: “We always see through a glass darkly, and that is what faith is about.” She continues: “I will live by the best I can discern today. Tomorrow I may find out I was wrong. Since I do not live by being right, I am not destroyed by being wrong. The God revealed in Jesus whom I call the Christ is a God whose forgiveness goes ahead of me, and whose love sustains me and the whole created world.”

Amen.

Our first reading today comes from the Book of Nehemiah. We do not hear much from the Book of Nehemiah in the three year Sunday lectionary. I'm pretty sure, although I did not double check this, that this is the only Sunday we get a reading from Nehemiah in the lectionary. I could be wrong about that, but I'm not far off. This is a very rare book for us to read.

The book that is read more than any other for this first reading slot is the Book of Isaiah. If you add in the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel and the other prophets who are writing around this same time as Isaiah, which is right before the exile and in the exile, that is the plurality of readings we get. This is especially true in the seasons of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. We have been hearing a lot lately from Isaiah, and we are going to hear more from Isaiah during that period of the exile.

As you remember, that exilic period, that period of exile, was very difficult for God's people. The Babylonians had ransacked Jerusalem. They destroyed the walls, they destroyed the Temple, they kicked the people out. It was a time in which the Psalmist wrote that they wept by the waters of Babylon. It was a very hard time for the people, not just because they were forcefully removed from their homes and lost their livelihoods. It was a hard time because their very identity and their understanding of God and God's identity, and the relationship to God was all disrupted. They didn’t know what to make of this time and why God had allowed this to happen. It was a very hard time and we get a lot of readings about how difficult it is, and a lot of readings of the prophets trying to offer hope to the people during this time. They desperately needed that hope in the midst of so much difficulty.

Our reading today is interesting because it comes right after that time. We don't get many readings from this period right after the exile. The Persians have come in and kicked out the Babylonians, led by Cyrus. They have allowed the people to return to Jerusalem. They have allowed them to rebuild the walls, they have allowed them to rebuild the temple. That is the time today's reading takes place, after the return, the restoration, the rebuilding of the physical infrastructure of their lives and their faith. But they need to do something more. They need to rebuild their relationship with God. So they gather together by the Water Gate to renew their Covenant.

In order to do that, our reading says the first thing they did was to pull out the Book of the Law of Moses, and read from it. At first glance, that sounds rather boring, but the Book of the Law of Moses is not a book of laws. It is not like reading the city building code. That would be dreadfully boring. But the Book of the Law of Moses is a book full of stories. There are some laws, rules, and regulations interspersed in there, but it is primarily a story of God, and God's relationship with the people. It is the story of their ancestors, of Abraham and Sarah, who left behind their home, families, and friends in order to follow God on a rather ridiculous promise. It is the story of Joseph and his brothers and their entrance into the land of Egypt. It is the story of Moses and Miriam and Aaron and how they left Egypt, how they were led out of their bondage and their slavery and led through the desert wilderness. It is a story of God's faithfulness to them through all of their complaining and whining. It is a story of God nourishing them and giving them water in the desert. It is a story of their entrance into the Promised Land.

This is the story of their ancestors. It is important for them to read that story because in that foundational identity forming story, they begin to understand better who they are today, who God is, and what their relationship with God should be. Even those boring rules and regulations are laying out God's dream, God's vision for this world. A world in which we love our neighbor, take care of the stranger. A world of Jubilee, the year of forgiveness of debts, the year of the Lord's favor. All that is laid out in the Book of the Law of Moses. That is what they are there to do that day. After this great period of disruption, this period that has undermined the understanding of their identity, of God, their relationship to God, they are coming back in order to review it, to understand those stories, to understand who they are, who God is, what their relationship is all about, and God's vision for this world. They read those stories because that is their story, and they are gathered by the Water Gate that day in order to begin the next chapter in the story.

That story, of course, gets added on to. This very event at the Water Gate becomes part of the story. The words of the Prophets get written down and added to the story for future generations to read and they become part of the story as well. That is what we find with Jesus. Jesus takes the story heard at the Water Gate, and their addition to the story and it becomes his story. In our Gospel reading today he takes part of that story, a reading from the prophet Isaiah, and reads it out loud. He reads the words of the Good News to the poor and the release of the captives and recovery of sight to the blind and freedom for the oppressed and the proclamation of the year of the Lord's favor, a euphemism that means the year of Jubilee when debts are forgiven. Jesus says today this has been fulfilled in your sight because that story is now our story.

We are the ones now who get to rebuild our relationship with God and try to bring about God's vision, God's dream for this world. The story at the Water Gate, and the story of the people at the synagogue that day with Jesus is also our story, your story and my story, the story of our ancestors, the story of God's dreams and God's visions for this world. We are writing the next chapter in that story.

It is not exactly like the exile, but this pandemic has been, in a sense, like an exile. It has exiled us from so many of our understandings of how things were, of what we did. It is a time for us to rebuild, although we can't fully do that because we are still in the pandemic. We hope we're near the tail end of it, but we don't know. But even now we need to begin to think about how it is that we rebuild our identity, our understanding, how we rebuild our faith and our relationships to God and our relationships to each other. In the isolation all of that can so easily be strained or weakened, just as it was during the exilic period.

We need to do that work that Nehemiah is doing, that work of rebuilding. Rebuilding the physical structure, which we are doing now at St. Mary's with our new HVAC system, but more importantly, rebuilding that spiritual infrastructure, to rebuild those relationships with each other and with God. To do that we need to go back to these stories, the stories that we read every single week when we gather together, whether in person or virtually. We gather together and we read these foundational stories of our faith, because in them, in that story, we find our story. In their story we find our identity. In the story of God's love and mercy and grace we find that God is loving and merciful and gracious with us as well. We better understand how it is that we are to move forward, to move forward in faith with God and with each other. Not to go back, you can never go back, but to go forward, pulling that story forward just as the people did by the Water Gate, just as Jesus did in the synagogue, and just as you and I are doing right now on our computers as we gather and worship and hear these stories.

These stories aren’t' always easy for us to understand. Do you remember in the reading where it says they read the Book of the Law of Moses with interpretation? We do need interpretation in order to understand it. There are confusing things in there, there are contradictory things. We have to interpret it. And when we do we understand more fully the greatness of God's mercy and love.

So, my friends, as we move forward together, even as we are physically distant, we can start this work of rebuilding our relationships with each other and with God. To renew our covenants and move forward in faith and love and grace and mercy, just like they did by the Water Gate that day when they all said Amen, Amen.

Our Gospel story for today, the miracle at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, is the first of seven signs in John's Gospel that are designed to show us something about the divine power in Jesus. John tells us these are not all of the signs that Jesus provided. There were more. These are simply the ones John decided to share with us. Not all of them are labeled, so there is some scholarly disagreement about which are the seven, or even if there seven or maybe eight. These are all side issues. This one we heard today is the first, John says. The others that follow include several of Jesus's healings, the feeding of the multitude, and the raising of Lazarus from the dead. That is some remarkable company to be in. This thing that Jesus does at the wedding at his mom's request is right up there with the feeding of the multitudes, and the healing of the sick, and the raising of the dead. This seemingly trivial thing of keeping the party going matters.

Each of these signs in John's Gospel reveal something important about God. In the raising of Lazarus we learn about resurrection, that God does not let death have the final word. In the many deaths that we face in this life, God is bringing about new life. Through the signs of healing, of which there are several, we know that God cares about our physical bodies and their wellness. God values not only our spiritual health, but also our physical well being. In the feeding of the multitudes we see that God cares about nourishing us, and God provides more than enough for our nourishment. There is an abundance available so that everyone can be satisfied.

In today's reading, the sign at the wedding at Cana of Galilee, by lifting up the miracle that allows the party to continue, we see that God cares about our joy, about pleasure, about fun. All too often we think about religion as serious business. It is, but one of the things that God seriously cares about is joy. God delights in our delight. When God became Incarnate in the person of Jesus, God did weighty and grave things certainly, but God also had fun. Jesus invited himself over to meals a lot. And one of the great criticisms of Jesus at the time was that he was a glutton and a drunkard. He liked the parties.

Here he is at one in Cana of Galilee and they have run out of wine. So Jesus makes more. Not just a little bit and not just the cheap stuff. He makes the good stuff and he makes a lot of it. He makes sure the celebration is not going to end for a good long while. God cares about the celebration. God cares about joy. These are not ancillary matters in a good and holy life. Playfulness matters. Fun matters. Joy matters.

Joy, unfortunately, has been rather hard to come by these past few years. It's not just that there is so much bad news, although that is definitely part of it. We are tired. The accumulation of bad news has worn us out. Safety protocols have worn us out. Being on high alert has worn us out. I read an article a couple of weeks ago that mentioned a survey in which they asked people what words they would use to describe themselves right now. The number one word that people used to describe themselves was exhausted. Does that resonate with you? I know there are moments when it resonates with me. Exhausted. And joy is hard to come by when you are exhausted.

And yet, joy is important. We need to find ways top have fun, even in the midst of so much difficulty. When it comes time to return to a more normal life when this pandemic is over, and it will end. Every pandemic in the history of the world has come to an end, and this one will, too. When it does, joy has to be at the top of our priorities, to have fun together, again. Because fun is not a side issue to God. Joy is part of a whole and holy life. In this first miracle, the first sign of God's divine presence with us, Jesus kept the party going.

AMEN.

Let us pray: O God who names us, who claims us, and is who is with us always, make yourself known to us today in these words, through the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

“I have called you by name, you are mine.”

I’ve learned the names of thousands of students over my 22 years of teaching. There’s something very powerful about being able to call someone by their name, to recognize them. As a teacher, this was crucial, especially to know who to “call out” for behavior that was not appropriate, to know who was or wasn’t present or sitting in their assigned seat, to be able to talk to colleagues about students who needed help, to greet students by name in the halls, at lunch, at athletics, performances, or other events. To know someone’s name is a powerful thing, to recognize them, to see them and to acknowledge them. To know someone’s name is to be connected to them, to be in relationship. When we take the time to learn someone’s name and do our best to remember and pronounce it correctly, it shows that we value them. Please don’t worry if names don’t come easily to you, some people have a gift for it and others of us have to work hard at it. In graduate school at the U of O when I went to visit one of my professors, I noticed that he had photocopies of each of our ID pictures taped on the wall by his desk.

I was impressed that he was taking the time to learn our names. I could tell that he cared.

In today’s lesson from the prophet Isaiah, God speaks to the Israelites during their time of exile. God calls them by name and reminds them who they are and whose they are. “I have called you by name, you are mine.” During the time of their present troubles and in their troubles to come, God calls out to them, recalling their relationship through the power of naming. And God reminds them of the promise to walk with them.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you, when you walk through fire you shall not be burned…” Notice that God said WHEN, not IF. WHEN troubles come. We’re in them right now and we’ve been in them for nearly two years now. Whether our collective world, nation, or community-wide troubles, family or friends’ troubles, or our own individual troubles: physical, mental illness, depression, anxiety, substance abuse addiction, loss of job, broken relationships, WHEN troubles come, God calls our name and says to us, “I will be with you. Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you…Do not fear, for I am with you.” WOW! Such Good News! Such an important reminder for each and every one of us. Isn’t this the most basic thing we all need and are long for?

You are precious. You are honored. You are loved. You are precious. You are honored. You are loved. Make this your mantra. I am precious. I am honored. I am loved. God is with me. I am precious. I am honored. I am loved. God is with me.

We hear this same affirmation in the gospel story of Jesus’ baptism today. God sends the Holy Spirit to let everyone gathered near the river that day, including Jesus, and all those who would come to hear this story, that the Creator of the Universe names and claims Jesus. “You are my child, the Beloved: with you I am well pleased.”

I wonder, can you place yourself in this story? Can you enter into the waters of the Jordan, dunk your head, come up, water dripping down your neck, wipe your eyes and hear the awesome voice of God calling you, naming you, affirming you? You are my child. I claim you as my own. You are valued. You are worthy. You are loved. With you I am well pleased. You make me smile. You make me proud.

Each of us who has been baptized has been named and claimed by God in a formal and ritualized way. We have been joined with Christ, “Christened”, receiving our Christian names. Baptism with water and in the name of the Trinity, the Book of Common Prayer tells us, “…Is full initiation into Christ’s Body the Church. And this bond is indissoluble” (BCP, p. 298). You are claimed, you are named, you are beloved.

One of my favorite parts of the baptism ceremony is the chrismation, the marking of the cross on the forehead with oil blessed by a bishop and used specifically for this occasion. Calling the person to be baptized by their name, the priest anoints them and says, “…You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own for ever.” Sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’ own for ever.

Today as we celebrate the baptism of Jesus, we will renew or baptismal vows, our promises to live our lives in light of our new names, new status, and new community. Faced with this awesome outpouring of God’s love for us, like Jesus, how we will now carry out our ministry in the world? How will we bring this message of God’s claim on our lives, God’s love and value for each person, and God’s promise to be with us, to others? With God’s help, we will: strive to come together, as safely as possible for all, to continue to seek and follow Jesus in that long line of faith passed on to us from the first followers of Jesus, we will gather to worship, pray and share in the Eucharistic feast, the breaking of bread.

With God’s help we will: resist evil, and when, when we hurt ourselves or others, we will say that we’re sorry, ask for forgiveness, and give it, and do our best to return to following God’s way of love.

With God’s help we will, by what we say and by what we do let others know how valuable they are, how worthy of dignity, how beloved just for who they are as human beings.

With God’s help we will look for Jesus in everyone and treat every person AS IF they WERE Jesus, we will work to love ourselves, and to love our neighbors, ALL of them, with the same love that we receive from God who calls ALL of us beloved.

With God’s help we will become aware of the injustices in our world, and we will work to end their sources, proclaiming by word and deed that every human being is worthy of dignity, worthy of care, comfort, and love. We will, with God’s help.

Because of who we are, named, claimed, beloved and accompanied by God, we are called to go forth into this world in the power of the Spirit, as Jesus did, to bring God’s love to others, to call them each by name.

Amen.

We are at the threshold of a new year, at the beginning of something new. We also sense that we are at the threshold of a new world. It’s not just a new year, it’s a new era. And we are filled with trepidation.

The story of the epiphany is a threshold story. King Herod hears that the wise ones from the East have seen a new star rising, the star of the Messiah. Herod hears this and he is frightened, he is greatly disturbed, and all of Jerusalem with him. And we know from history, that when Herod was disturbed, he was dangerous. He killed all the innocents in an attempt to kill Jesus.

There is always disturbance and danger at the threshold, because you are passing from the known and moving into the unknown. The threshold is a crossroads moment. You can look behind you and see what has happened. You can see where you’ve been. The past has already happened, and cannot be changed. Then you look ahead, and you cannot see what is there. You can pause on the threshold, but you cannot stay there. You cannot go back, you must go forward.

The wise ones, the astrologers from the East, saw something: a new star, and they knew that something big was happening, and they prepared by packing up treasures. They moved towards the star, towards the threshold event, to welcome it. They do not seem afraid or disturbed, they seem more curious. They are curious. They prepare themselves and move decisively towards the unknown, fueled by curiosity.

But Herod is disturbed and afraid, and all of Jerusalem with him. The king is afraid, and his realm is afraid along with him. Like Herod, we have powerful minds, and our fear can infect other people, especially the people who look to us. Our fear is contagious.

We have powerful minds for both the negative and the positive. The astrologers are curious and study the signs, the changes in the sky, and are compelled by something deep inside themselves to move towards the new thing, the new star that is leading them. They are motivated by their curious minds.

Jesus, who in this story is still a baby, is with his mother Mary, and the star stops above the dwelling where they are. The wise ones are curious, and when they find what they are seeking, they are overwhelmed with joy. They are not just happy, they are overwhelmed with joy. Joy is the fruit of their curiosity, and their decisive movement towards the star and what it heralds. Overwhelming joy.

They enter the house, and open their treasure chests, and give of what they have, their precious gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Herod, on the other hand, begins to scheme and dissemble. He says he wants to pay homage to the child, but we know he is up to no good. We know his heart is troubled and afraid, and that he is possessive of his own power. He is the opposite of generous, he wants to cling to what he has gathered for himself, he wants to hoard and control.

So this story is showing us at least two possible approaches to a threshold event: fear and disturbance which leads to hoarding and scheming and even violence—or curiosity, action, and generosity, which leads to joy.

In the Epiphany story we have the wise ones from the East, and we have King Herod. But we also have Mary, who is in the dwelling that the star comes to rest over. Mary who is with the baby, the brand new thing that has come. The Christmas gospel from Luke tells us that Mary “treasured all these things and reflected on them in her heart.”

It seems to me that Mary has a great deal to tell us about this threshold event. Was she not the one who was impregnated by the Spirit? Did she not carry this unexpected child for nine months? Give birth in a manger? Stand guard, witness and gather the countless signs and wonders that came to her in the everyday miracles of life? Mary watches her child, Jesus, who is both ordinary and extraordinary, born in a time of great upheaval, this child hunted by kings, heralded by angels and stars, adored by shepherds and their flocks, and visited by wise ones from far away with their overflowing chests of treasure.

Mary sees it all, and what does she do? Mary humbly treasures all these things in her heart, and she reflects. She is completely present to what is happening. And so Mary teaches us something very important about the power of our minds, especially at the crossroads.

We can be present and humble. We can watch and witness, we can reflect. In other words—pray. We can pray.

John O’Donohue, poet and priest says: “We’re on a threshold and the name of the threshold is fragility and we desperately need the shelter and protection of prayer.”

How do you want to approach this new year? This threshold event, when so much is at stake?

We are on a threshold, and we are fragile, we are in need of shelter and protection, most certainly. The news day after day is not good. We are on a threshold, and we are tired and afraid.

Like Jesus, from the moment we are born, we are never far from danger and fear. This is what it means to be human.

But, also like Jesus, we are never far from the miracles of love and healing, from the treasures of the wise ones. This is what it means to be born of God, children of God.

From the moment we are born, we are on the threshold of death. And we are also on the threshold of resurrection and everlasting life.

We are never far from our Mother Mary, who shelters us always with love and prayer, and who treasures us in her heart.

My prayer for you this new year, this Epiphany is a blessing.

A Blessing for the Threshold

May your eyes be open and clear

so that you can see the star guiding you to

the birthplace of Mystery.

May you know the Love that is always

seeking to find you, to take root and to bloom in you,

to dwell in the tender ground of your being.

May you cross the threshold of this time

with grace and courage, knowing the power

of your mind to heal and forgive.

May prayer shelter you

from doubt, fear and fragility,

and light the path before you.

May your curiosity lead you forward,

may you be generous with the treasures of your heart,

and may your joy be full to overflowing.

Matthew 2:1-12 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

`And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Collect from Revised Common Lectionary:

Radiant Morning Star, you are both guidance and mystery. Visit our rest with disturbing dreams, and our journeys with strange companions. Grace us with the hospitality to open our hearts and homes to visitors filled with unfamiliar wisdom bearing profound and unusual gifts.