The Episcopal Church Of Saint Peter and Saint Paul

God’s power overcomes our powerlessness

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 (NRSV): Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming, it is near– a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come….

We have come here today to share the liturgy of Ash Wednesday. This is no ordinary occasion that gathers together Christians and those curious about Christianity. We all are likely to be here because we know something about Ash Wednesday and its meaning.

There is something strangely reassuring in this observance of Ash Wednesday. We remind ourselves of the stark contrast between God’s power and authority and our mortality and fallibility. Perhaps in this very contrast between God’s power and our powerlessness, we find reassurance. We know that God is good, and in our powerlessness, we seek God’s power for us and for our good. Ultimately, we know that God’s power overcomes our powerlessness, and we find that knowledge reassuring.

The season of Lent that begins today sets aside time to examine the problem of sin in our lives. Something inside us knows that we need such a time—that we need Ash Wednesday, with its solemnity and perspective on human frailty. We are aware of our own limits and of how we have failed God, failed others and failed ourselves. Human imperfection strikes us as an obvious fact. One theologian once said that original sin is the one empirically verifiable truth of the Christian Faith—none of us is perfect and we all deal with the problem of sin.

We come to Ash Wednesday worship not because we need to learn about our own powerlessness, but because we seek the comfort of God’s power. We want to kneel in confession, we want to feel the dry scrape of ashes on our forehead and the weight of a hand on our head. We want to hear that reminder of our mortality: “remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” We want to make some gesture that marks this season—some action that might sum up all the regrets that have built up over time, and lay them in God’s strong hands. We seek a reminder that God’s power overcomes our powerlessness.

During Lent, we practice self-examination and repentance. We are often aware of the faults of others, and most of us probably wish that the other person were more aware of his or her sins. In Lent, we turn that wish toward ourselves. The question for us in Lent is not ‘how do others treat others—what is their relationship with God,’ but the question for each of us is rather ‘how do I treat others—where is my relationship with God?’ Through the practice of

Jesus calls both poor and rich

Luke 6:17-26 (NRSV): Jesus came down with the twelve apostles and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

Many of you have had the experience of sending students off to college. Others of you were sent to college yourselves, or perhaps you look forward to the day when you will go off to school. When parents send their kids off to college, they send them with blessings and warnings, all in hopes of helping them thrive. To the students who are constantly stressed about the next test and the need to succeed, parents offer assurance. It’s going to be OK. You are prepared for this. It will be hard, but you can make it. We are here for you even if you fail; we will help you back on your feet.

Parents also offer advice and caution. Sometimes students have coasted through high school without working hard, and they face a rude awakening when college steps up the challenge. And sometimes the same student needs both reassurance and advice and caution. The advice and caution probably comes from the parents’ experience, and out of love and a desire to spare their kids the challenges parents faced when they were in school. College is harder. Grades won’t come easily. With less structure, it will be easy to get behind. If you don’t pay attention to your work, it won’t end well.

Parents send students off with blessings and warnings. Each part comes from a deep and compassionate love for their kids, wanting the best for their kids in this next chapter of their lives.

Jesus is doing something similar with his disciples in today’s Gospel reading. This reading from Luke is similar to another scene of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew called the Sermon on the Mount. In this case, Jesus is in a level place, so we call this the Sermon on the plain. Like most traveling preachers, Jesus repeats some of the same themes. But in this case, his words are more blunt, and he sets up a polarity of blessings and woes. In Matthew, we read about Jesus’ words ‘blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, the peacemakers.’

Here in Luke, Jesus says ‘blessed are the poor, the hungry, the weeping, the despised and unpopular, those just like the prophets.’ Then he adds woes, matching every item on his list of those blessed to a list of those he tells “woe.” ‘Woe to you who are rich, woe to you who are full, woe to you who laugh, woe to you who are popular now, fo

In the Struggle, God helps us Grow

Hebrews 12:1-6 (NRSV): Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children– “My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts.”

John 7:37-46 (NRSV): On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.'” Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Some of you know that my younger son, James, is currently on Parris Island, South Carolina. He is in Basic Training with the United States Marine Corps. Marine Corps boot camp is a very challenging and rigorous thirteen-week experience. They tell parents that no news is good news, but we did get a letter a month ago. James seemed to be very challenged by boot camp, but also very motivated. He described his Drill Instructors as incredibly intimidating. And yet he also holds them in extraordinarily high regard. He knows that his Drill Instructors are pushing him and challenging him because they want to bring out the best in him. In the struggle of Boot Camp, the Drill Instructors want their recruits to grow.

So why would the military put their recruits through such hardship? And why would recruits who know that life will be hard decide to sign-up anyway? Part of the reason for challenge in boot camp is that war is hard, and a Marine needs to be ready to function well in situations of incredible stress. Part of the reason for challenge in boot camp is training recruits in high ideals over personal impulses. Boot Camp re-trains one’s instincts to value others over self, to set aside the impulse for self-preservation and run toward the gunfire to protect others. The motto of the Corps is Semper Fidelis: Always Faithful. Faithful to God, to country and to the Marine Corps (in that order). In the struggle, the Drill Instructors help recruits grow.

We value boot camp in our culture in part because many people have gone through it. In part, the values of Boot Camp lead to heroism in service to our co

God’s love makes us the church

1 Corinthians 13:1-13(NRSV) If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

This coming Saturday, we will gather together for the annual Red & White Dinner. This dinner celebrates God’s blessings given through the youth ministry of this church—ministry to and with young people. We’re selling tickets and holding a raffle and silent auction, to raise money to make special youth trips more affordable for participants. This is also a great opportunity for a dinner out, especially in advance of Valentine’s Day.

The stores started decorating for Valentine’s Day right after Christmas. All the talk about love in the commercial world in February is a great excuse for Youth Ministry to focus on relationships in their Sunday morning programs. I find it interesting that today’s reading from First Corinthians 13 appears in the lectionary near Valentine’s Day. 1 Corinthians 13 is a favorite passage about love, and often used at Weddings.

Paul writes “love is patient, love is kind…[love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things…And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” Cue the red hearts and the romantic music!

While this passage certainly informs marriage and romantic relationships, those relationships are not Paul’s focus here. Paul writes about marriage in chapter seven and elsewhere. Paul uses similar concepts there: Paul describes an overarching framework of mutual commitment and mutual submission to each other and mutual support. However, chapter 13 is not part of that discussion about marriage. In fact, the discussion of marriage in chapter seven is part of Paul’s larger message in First Corinthians that gains focus in chapter 12. Paul is primarily interested in the unity of the church, the unity of the body of Christ.

That’s right: First Corinthians 13 is not so much about marriage as it is about us—about the church! First Corinthians 13 is about God’s love for us and how God’s love makes us the church.

In the last two weeks, we heard from chapter 12, and Elisa and I preached on those readings. Paul addresses divisions in the church in Corinth. Some divisions came from factions built around leaders. Other divisions arose because people claimed that their own spiritual gifts were better than the spiritual gifts of others. Some said speaking in

It’s Epiphany! This is the day of the year that we celebrate the Incarnation of God into the person of Jesus Christ. From the Incarnation flows everything else in our faith: the teaching of Jesus Christ, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. Without the Incarnation, these things do not happen. Part of the power that comes from Epiphany is where it is placed in our liturgical season, for to get to Epiphany, we must go through Advent.

God gives us gifts for the common good

1 Corinthians 12:1-11(NRSV) Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

Here’s a story of a Pot Luck Supper. Only this isn’t any ordinary pot luck supper, this is a Corinthian Pot Luck Supper. When the church at Corinth gathers, there is a great combination of good food. José brings his homemade salsa; Bill (who isn’t that great a cook) brings a bag of chips anyway. Mrs. Perkowski brings her famous pirogues; Dr. Davidson brings his roast beef, Janet brings her sherbet punch, and Sue brings her green bean casserole. With such delicious food, you would expect a very joyful gathering.

However, this is a Corinthian Pot Luck. In Corinth, each person takes the food he or she brought, and going to separate tables, they eat only their own food. Now, José would love to have some of Bill’s chips. And Bill would love to have some of José’s salsa. Mrs. Perkowski sure would enjoy her pirogues with some of that sherbet punch and some green bean casserole. And Sue would really enjoy roast beef with her green beans. And they all would have enjoyed each other’s company. Sadly, a few came unaware of their abilities to cook, and some came without food to bring, and they left hungry.

Then the close of the Corinthian pot Luck is the special desert. However, the buffet has strange offerings. You find Joe filling out two bowls—one of sugar and one of brown sugar. Carol sets out a plate of butter, George whips up a bowl of raw eggs, and Kristin sets out a bowl of flour. This strange arrangement is called a Corinthian Cake.

I don’t know about you, but I find myself so hungry right now! I’m hungry for a complete meal. I’m hungry for a delicious homemade cake. And most of all, I’m hungry for some connection between these crazy Corinthians! God gave them wonderful gifts of food and cooking and fellowship. But they don’t realize the joy they are missing by not sharing their gifts for the common good.

In today’s New Testament reading, we hear from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians—the real Corinthians whose problems aren’t really with their pot luck suppers, yet they operate the church just the same way. Paul helped to start this church in Corinth. They were a motivated group of believers. They were energetic and open to the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They discovered the joy and power of their life in Christ, and they discovered the spiritual and miraculous gifts that God gave them.

However, they became prideful and divided in their discoveries. Some felt that they were particularly important because they could work miracles, others saw

God empowers us with his Holy Spirit

God empowers us with his Holy Spirit

Acts 8:14-17 (NRSV): When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 (NRSV): As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Today is the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord. We remember Jesus’ Baptism in fulfillment of John’s promise. Jesus is the one greater than John, the one who will Baptize us with the Holy Spirit. At Jesus’ Baptism, the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus and God blesses his Son from heaven. Then, when the Holy Spirit has acted in this way, Jesus is sent forward into ministry.

Especially with the New Testament reading today about the Samaritans receiving the Holy Spirit, I think that this feast is the intersection between Christmas and Pentecost. Christmas is the feast that celebrates God coming to be with us in Jesus. Pentecost is the feast that celebrates God coming to be with us in his Holy Spirit. Today’s readings connect the two together in Jesus’ baptism. Through Jesus, God empowers us with his Holy Spirit. In Baptism, Jesus is revealed and the Holy Spirit is active. At Jesus’ Baptism the Holy Spirit is active, sending Jesus into ministry. The same is true for us. God empowers us with his Holy Spirit.

Long after Jesus’ Baptism, after his death and resurrection and ascension, The Apostles are filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit empowers them for ministry, and they go out into the world. Philip goes to Samaria and shares the Good News of Jesus. The Samaritans are Baptized, but they don’t know about the Holy Spirit. They are like a sports car with an empty gas tank, or a cell phone with a dead battery. They were blessed with a fantastic gift, but they weren’t empowered to experience the value of that gift. So the church takes action to remedy the situation. The Apostles Peter and John go from Jerusalem to Samaria and pray for them, laying hands on them and the Samaritans also receive the Holy Spirit.

This is sort of like when the Bishop comes to visit us and lays his hands on candidates for Confirmation to pray for them. The difference is that the Bishop prays for a strengthening of the Holy Spirit. You see, what the church intends in the sacrament of Baptism is what Peter and John intended for the Samaritans: that Baptism is both being saved from our sins and being filled with the Holy Spirit. In baptism, God empowers us with his Holy Spirit.

Today we Baptize Luke Henry Galbraith. He will be cleansed from sin and sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism, given new life in Jesus Christ. Now we might look at Luke and say that he is just a ba