March | 2014 | Grace Episcopal Church (Sheldon, VT)

Lent 4A RCL March 30, 2014

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Beth Crane

1 Samuel 16:1-13
Psalm 23
Ephesians 5:8-14
John 9:1-41

Our opening lesson today is the reading from the First Book of Samuel about the calling of David, a young shepherd, to be the King of Judah. David is the son of Jesse of Bethlehem. David is the shepherd-king, who takes care of the people as a shepherd tends the flock. The theme of the shepherd-king is very powerful, both in the history of God’s people and in literature in general.

Our psalm for today builds on this theme. This is one of the most comforting, strengthening psalms in the Bible. The Lord is our shepherd. He leads us beside the still waters; he leads us to good pasture. He takes care of us. He is with us in everything we face.

Our epistle brings up the theme of light and darkness. We are called to walk as children of the light.

In today’s gospel, Jesus us walking along and he sees a man who has been blind from birth.

Note what the disciples do. They try to find a reason why the man was born blind. As my beloved mentor, David Brown, former Rector of Christ Church, Montpelier, and now retired, says, “We live in a fallen creation.” This means that the world does not operate as God would want it to. Bad things happen to good people. Things happen which are not God’s will. Children are born blind or with other terrible things wrong with them. Fortunately, medical science has reached the point where skilled physicians and surgeons can correct many of these conditions. This medical knowledge and skill is, of course, part of God’s gift of healing. God gives us brains to figure out ways to help and heal people.

But back to our gospel. It is very human to try to find explanations for things. Unfortunately, the disciples immediately go to the blame game. Aha! Someone must have sinned. That’s why this man was blind from birth, It must have been either the man or his parents. This is what I call Bad Theology. Something goes wrong, so someone must have sinned. First, remember, we live in a fallen creation. Second, there is no way a baby can sin. Thirdly, sin is not the issue here.

Jesus tells us that this situation is an opportunity for God to work to bring health and wholeness. He speaks in terms of light and darkness. Every situation of darkness is an opportunity for God to bring light and healing.

Jesus then does a totally earthy thing. He makes a poultice of saliva and mud and puts it on the man’s eyes. The he tells the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam, meaning “sent.” and the man is healed.

Then we have the doubters. Well, this couldn’t be the same man we have seen all these years. This must be a hoax. Then we have the Pharisees, who can’t simply accept the healing with the great joy it deserves, They gave to get into all the intricacies of the law and begin a full investigation. Throughout it all, we have this man who has been healed, And he keeps saying, over and over, “I was blind. Now I can see. Jesus did this for me.”

Finally, the Pharisees drive the man out. They see him as a sinner who is not qualified to teach them. Jesus hears about this, and he takes the time to go and find the man. He lets the man know who he is, but the man has already become a follower of Jesus.

Sometimes the people who think they have a corner on truth and wisdom don’t really have much grasp on truth and wisdom. Sometimes the most humble people among us are the most wise. Good Lord, give us the gift of humility.

Saul of Tarsus thought he had a hold on truth, and he was killing followers of Jesus, He was filled with hate. On the road to Damascus, Jesus spoke to him. He was blinded by the light, and his whole life was turned around. He shared the good new about Jesus and planted churches around the Mediterranean. John Newton was a slave trader, but, when he met Jesus, he stopped all that. He wrote those immortal words which stir our hearts. “I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now I see.”

Our first reading reminds us that God does not see as we see. The Lord is our shepherd, even today. God can heal us of all kinds of things. God can lead us from darkness to light, from brokenness to wholeness. God walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death and gives us courage and strength to face anything we have to face.

When Jesus sees this blind man, he does not get hung up on details or technicalities, He sees this as an opportunity to help this man and heal him. That’s how Jesus looks at us. If we have something that is hurting us or weighing us down, f we are sick, or if we need help, Jesus is there for us just as he was for this man.

So, if something is bothering you, or if something is weighing you down, please ask Jesus to help you with it. As the old song says, “Take it to the Lord in prayer.” Ask Jesus for help. He will and does help us. These gospel stories are not just for days of old. Let’s take another look at Psalm 23, page 612 in the Prayer Book.

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.

You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me. In the presence of those who trouble me. The older translation read “in the presence of my enemies.” God is making a safe place for you and putting on a feast for you in the face of those who are giving you grief.

You have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over. God is showering us with abundance. Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. God is surrounding you with God’s goodness and mercy and healing and love at this very moment and every moment.

God is walking with each of us and all of us every moment, guiding us, protecting us, healing us. I would suggest that we say this psalm every day this week and that we pray for a deeper awareness of God’s constant presence and healing. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: 1 Samuel 16, David Brown, Ephesians 5, John 9, Lent 4, Psalm 23 | Leave a comment »

Lent 3A RCL March 23, 2014

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Beth Crane

Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 95
Romans 5:1-11
John 4:5-42

One of the themes of Lent is that we are journeying with God’s people.We are on our own journey from slavery in Egypt to a new life in the promised land. Our slavery might not have involved making bricks for the pharaoh, but it might have involved thinking that nothing we do is ever good enough, or it might involve thinking that we don’t deserve God’s love or the love of other people, or that we have not succeeded in our lives; we have not achieved enough or we have not made enough money or we have not done the right kind of work or made the right decisions. Possibly we have suffered the slavery of some kind of addiction. There are so many forms of slavery.

This morning, as we read our opening lesson, we are reminded that change is not easy and that the journey to the promised land is fraught with conflict. God’s people are complaining to Moses, “There isn’t any water.” At other times on the journey they complain that there isn’t any food, They think back to the wonderful leeks and melons and other foods that they had in Egypt and they forget that they were making bricks. But today, the issue is water. The people are desperate and they are angry, and Moses is not exactly serene in the midst of this. He calls out to God. He is probably groaning. “What shall I do with this people?” He thinks they are ready to kill him. They are so frustrated. God tells Moses to go ahead of the people. But God does not tell Moses to go alone. God advises Moses to take some of the elders with him.

Theologian Urban Holmes talks about spiritual leaders as trail guides, people who know all the good water holes out in the desert, people who know the best routes, in other words, people who have made the journey many times and can save us from falling into all the potholes. They go out in front, not in an arrogant way or a showy way. They go out in front the way Jesus did and the way all good shepherds do, to lead the sheep in the right path. There is something reassuring about having the leader out in front. But the leader does not go alone. The leader goes with a team. The elders. And the leader takes the staff, the symbol of leadership, and, at God’s command, strikes the rock and the water comes out.

In our gospel, we have an extraordinary encounter. Jesus goes into Samaria, an area usually avoided by Jewish travelers. He is tired. It is so important for us to keep in mind that Jesus was fully human. He got tired. He asks a Samaritan woman for a drink of water. Jews didn’t talk to Samaritans. Rabbis didn’t talk to women. Jesus is reaching over centuries of barriers in this encounter.

Jesus asks for a drink. He doesn’t even have a bucket to draw with. Then he begins to talk about living water, and the woman thinks how wonderful it would be to have a water supply that never ran out so that she wouldn’t have to come to this well every day.

Then Jesus asks her to call her husband, and she tells a truth which was shameful in those days. She has no husband. Jesus knows this already. He tells her that she has had five husbands and she is not married to the man she is with now. Some prophets or teachers would think that’s a disgrace. Not Jesus. He does not shrink away from her in disgust. He looks into her eyes with acceptance, love, and forgiveness. That is exactly how Jesus looks at you and me.

The woman senses something about Jesus and she asks a theological question. Should we worship in the temple in Jerusalem, as the Jews say we should, or on Mt. Gerizim, as the Samaritans say we should? Jesus tells us that it is not the place that is important; it’s the attitude with which we worship.

I think the woman has an intuitive sense of who Jesus is, and that prompts her to ask about the messiah. And Jesus gives her a great gift: he tells her who he is. He entrusts that truth to this woman who is living in what some people would call sinful circumstances, this woman who is also a seeker after truth.

The woman becomes the first preacher of the good news. She goes into the city and tells people about Jesus, and they come to see for themselves. The text tells us that “many believed because of her testimony.”

In our epistle, Paul writes something so profound that we could meditate on it for years: “…suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” We have all known people who have suffered and gained endurance through that suffering, people whose characters have been shaped and strengthened by that endurance until all of their experience is tempered by fire and ice into hope. I think Jesus saw that process in this Samaritan woman, and I think that is why he entrusted the gospel to her.

What does all of this mean to us today? We are on a journey, and when we hear God’s people complaining and see Moses getting frustrated, it reminds us that we are not alone. Even God’s chosen people had difficulty. The journey is not easy.

Here at Grace, we don’t have one leader; we are a leadership team. Everyone offers his or her gifts. Jesus is our leader.

Our Lord went places that others did not go, and he reached out to people others would look down on. He saw the potential in this woman. He saw her as what she was, a precious and gifted child of God. He told her the truth about himself, and she shared that truth in a way that was convincing enough that many people came out from the city and followed Jesus.

Our Lord sees the gifts of the most unlikely people and gives them the grace to use those gifts. He can and does use us to share the good news every day.

This is our model—team ministry and compassionate ministry which sees the potential of every person. And, as we walk the Way of the Cross, we remember Paul’s profound progression: suffering leads to endurance; endurance leads to character; character leads to hope, and all because of God’s love poured out for us.

May we continue to walk the Way of the Cross, remembering God’s unfailing love for each of us and for all of us. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Exodus 17, Jesus and the Woman at the Well, John 4, Lent 3, Psalm 95, Romans 5, Urban Holmes | Leave a comment »

Lent 2 Year A RCL March 16, 2014

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Beth Crane

Genesis 12:1-4a
Psalm 121
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
John 3:1-7

In our opening reading today, we encounter the great icon of faith, Abram, who will later become Abraham. Abram and his wife Sarai, who will later become Sarah, have a comfortable life. But when God calls Abraham to take Sarah and all their possessions and go to the land of Canaan and start a new nation, Abraham says Yes to God. The journey of Abraham and Sarah will lead them into whole new identities.

Abraham has no idea where Canaan is or how to get there. He is taking a journey into the unknown. But, if God wants him to go and found a nation that will be a blessing to all nations, even when he and Sarah have no children, Abraham is going to take that journey. He has faith that God will indeed bless him, and he has courage, the kind of courage that astronauts have, or sea captains have when they set out to find a new world.

Our psalm describes the kind of relationship we need to have with God when we set out on the journey of life. We need to know that God is going to be with us, God is going to do all that God can to protect us and help us. God cannot shield us from every adversity, but God will be there to guide us and comfort us. We are so fortunate that we can lift up our eyes to the hills and feel the loving protection of God.

In our gospel for today we have another courageous person. Nicodemus is a member of the Sanhedrin, the council that is in charge of the Temple in Jerusalem and is also the governing body of Judah. This group of men has a huge amount of power. They are the religious and political leaders. Nicodemus is a Pharisee, an expert on the law. He is a scholar and a very intelligent man. He is also wealthy, as are all the members of the Council. He is an astute politician, accustomed to the power dynamics which take place at the highest levels of any government.

Nicodemus has a lot to lose. He is at the top of the political and religious structure of Judah. And yet there is something about this Jesus which draws him like a magnet. It would be foolhardy to go and see Jesus in the daytime, so he goes to visit Jesus under cover of night. If anyone knew that he was doing this, he would lose his job, his position of respect, and possibly even his life.

The Pharisees and others are already keeping their eyes on this Jesus, thinking that he is a major troublemaker. Nicodemus clearly respects Jesus. He says, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do the things that you do apart from the presence of God.”

Jesus’ response makes a quantum leap into a whole new world. “No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” This blows Nicodemus’ theology right out of the water. He has never heard such talk. He goes to the literal level and asks Jesus if people have to go back into their mother’s womb and be born again. Jesus says, “No, the Holy Spirit does this. And then Jesus says that he is the Savior, the One sent from God because God loves us so much that God wants us to have life in a new dimension, starting right now. We have no idea what Nicodemus’ reaction is to this.

The next time we meet Nicodemus is in Chapter 7 of John’s gospel when the authorities are plotting to condemn Jesus. With great courage, Nicodemus asks, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing, does it?” The authorities accuse Nicodemus of being from Galilee, in other words, an ally of Jesus. (7:50-51.)

Our final meeting with Nicodemus takes place at the saddest time of all. Jesus has been crucified. Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin and a secret follower of Jesus, risks everything and asks Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body from the Cross. Nicodemus comes with one hundred pounds of costly spices with which to anoint the body of Jesus. Together, they take our Lord from the cross. They are exposing themselves to ritual uncleanness by handling a dead body. Their careers will be over. Their lives may be in danger.

Yet together they gently and lovingly lift the beloved body off the spikes, reverently anoint it with spices and wrap it in cloths for burial. Then they place the body of Jesus in the new tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus have clearly been transformed. They have entered the kingdom of Jesus. They have been born anew.

We have no idea about the stages of Nicodemus’ journey, but we see these profoundly moving glimpses. He is willing to risk everything for Jesus. Just this one encounter with Jesus allowed Nicodemus to be born again. Just those few moments with Jesus began his process of transformation. What a wonderful example for us,

May we be open to the love of Jesus and the power of the Spirit.

Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Genesis 12, John 3, Joseph of Arimathea, Lent, Nicodemus, Psalm 121, Romans 4 | Leave a comment »

Ash Wednesday March 5, 2014

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Beth Crane

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Psalm 103:8-14
2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
Matthew 6:1-6; 16-21

Our first reading for this Ash Wednesday comes from the Book of Joel, one of the so-called minor prophets, such as Amos and Hosea, whose books are grouped at the end of the old Testament, or Hebrew Scriptures. Scholars tell us that Joel lived in the Southern Kingdom of Judah from 539 to 331 B. C. His ministry took place from about 400 to 350 B. C. This was during the time after the exiles had returned home from Babylon.

Scholars tell us that Judah is being invaded by a huge army of locusts, so many that they make the sky turn dark. This is a major disaster, something like Hurricane Katrina or Tropical Storm Irene in our own times. An enormous amount of damage is going to be done. The invasion of insects is compared to a military attack by an enemy.

In the face of this disaster, Joel, who is a prophet associated with the temple in Jerusalem, is calling the people to turn to God in worship. He is calling people of all ages, from babies who are still nursing to elderly people. He is calling people in all circumstances, even brides and bridegrooms. And he is calling us to “rend our hearts and not our garments,” in other words, to enter into sincere repentance, to turn our entire beings to focus on God and on God’s will for us, not merely to engage in external, rote worship. This is in complete harmony with the gospel for this day.

In our epistle for today, Paul is calling the Corinthians and us to “be reconciled to God.” This is a wonderful theme for Lent. We are called to seek God’s help in growing closer to God during these forty days.

Our gospel gives us so much good food for thought. Back in Jesus’ time there were some folks who would fast and pray and give alms in order to appear virtuous or to draw attention to themselves. Our Lord tells that our spiritual life is something very private, something that is between us and God. Jesus says that, when we fast and pray, we should not show any outward signs of this discipline, but we should anoint ourselves with oil and wash or face. In other words, as someone has said, “It’s an inside job.” We are called to do our spiritual work. We are called to do what we need to do in order to grow closer to God. But Jesus calls us not to make a show of our spiritual discipline. Our motive for praying and fasting and following our Lenten discipline is not to make a public display, but to engage in rigorous self-examination, acknowledge our sins to God, and receive God’s forgiveness.

And then our Lord calls us not to store up treasure on earth, but in heaven. Jesus is reminding us not to place our trust in material things, but to put our trust in him. It is so easy to lapse into materialism. It is so easy to begin to trust in the things of this world. But we are called to trust in God.

What a profound statement we have in this gospel: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We are called to consider our faith in God and our relationship with God as a great treasure in our lives.

Lent comes from the root word for spring, and Lent is a time of spiritual growth. It is a time when we follow a spiritual discipline, maybe giving up some things or taking on some things. All in order to grow closer to God. It is a process of metanoia, conversion, transformation. What we give up or take on is between each of us and God. Each of us has prayed and asked God’s guidance as we prepare to walk the way of the Cross.

We have seen our Lord transfigured on the mountain, and we want to grow into the persons God calls us to be. So we follow our Lenten discipline to allow that to happen. The ashes on our foreheads today were made from the palms strewn in his path on Palm Sunday. We are marked as Christ’s own forever. So we will walk with him and he will walk with us. And our journey will lead to a garden and a mock trial and a horrible death and then new life.

Lord Jesus, give us grace to walk the Way of the Cross faithfully with you. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: 2 Corinthians, Ash Wednesday, Joel 2, Matthew 6, Psalm 103 | Leave a comment »

Last Sunday after the Epiphany March 2, 2014

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Beth Crane

Exodus 24:12-18

Psalm 99

2 Peter 1:16-21

Matthew 17:1-9

Our first lesson takes us back three thousand years. The people of God have arrived at Mount Sinai. God has called Moses to go to the top of the mountain to receive the tablets of the law. Herbert O’Driscoll reminds us that back in those days, people thought that gods lived on mountains because mountains are elevated, reaching to the heavens. He tells us that at that time Mount Sinai was an active volcano, so when we read of fire and smoke coming from the mountain, we have to imagine the active volcanoes we have seen in pictures or perhaps experienced.(O’Driscoll, The Word Today, Year A, Vol. 1, p. 120.)

Back in those days, people truly believed that you could not look on the face of God and live, You could not get close to God and live through it. What courage Moses shows in going to the top of the mountain to meet with God! The elders go part way up. He tells them to stay and wait. Then Moses and Joshua go to the top of the mountain. They stay for forty days and forty nights.

What a different experience we have of God because of Jesus coming to be with us.

Six days after Peter says that Jesus is the Savior, Jesus takes Peter and James and John and they go up the mountain. Scholars tell us that it was probably Mt. Hermon, near Caesarea Philippi. Jesus is transfigured. He becomes who he really is. Moses and Elijah are there, showing that Jesus is a great leader along with the spiritual giants of his people.

I can’t help but think of our favorite super heroes. Mild mannered Clark Kent ducks into a phone booth and emerges as Superman. Jesus has shared meals with the disciples, taught them, encouraged them, loved them. He has been one of them. He has been and is a fellow human being. Now they see that he is something much more than human. They see what they and we can become as spiritual beings.

Peter wants to capture the moment. Oh, how we want to save these mountaintop experiences for all time! But we can’t. Nor can we live at that level of heightened excitement all the time. We would die of heart attacks.

They see who he really is—the Son of God—and the voice of God confirms the fact. They are terrified. They still believe that you cannot be near God and live. But Jesus touches them and reassures them, He tells them not to be afraid. Everything has changed because of Jesus. We can now walk with God, We do not have to be afraid.

This is the scene we see on this last Sunday before the beginning of Lent. As we prepare to walk the way of the Cross, we see Jesus in his glory. This reminds us that, with Jesus, there is always light in the midst of darkness, wholeness in the midst of brokenness, life in the midst of death. It also reminds us that we are on a journey of transformation.

Our epistle from Peter talks about something very powerful. Think what it was for people to hear about Jesus from someone who had gone up the mountain with our Lord. Think what it must have been like to hear about Jesus from one of the people who had spent all that time with our Lord, someone who had walked and talked with Jesus, someone who knew Jesus as friend, mentor and teacher, someone who had seen Jesus transfigured on that day.

This is someone who can convey the very presence of Jesus to us, someone who can bring us into the presence of Jesus. By the time this letter was written, the Church was undergoing persecution. Peter writes, “You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”

The reality of Jesus, his love and his grace, his presence walking with us through the challenges of life, is a powerful thing. He is the light in the darkness. He brings a new day of hope, and faith rises again in our hearts.

This Wednesday we will gather to begin Lent. We will have ashes on our foreheads, which will remind us of our mortality and our frail humanity. We will begin to walk the Way of the Cross.

As we prepare for Lent, let us think about these two mountaintop experiences. In the first one, Moses and Joshua went up the mountain, and it was terrifying. God’s power was something to be feared. In the second experience, with Jesus and James and John, yes it was awe- inspiring and scary to hear the voice of God, but, when it was all over, Jesus was there alone before them. Yes, he is the Savior, and he walks down the mountain with us and keeps on walking with us just as he had before.

Jesus is one of us. Yet he is God walking the face of the earth. He is fully human and fully divine. And we are going to walk the Way of the Cross with him. And he is going to face the worst of what warped human power can do. And it is going to be awful. But, through it all, there is going to be that light shining in the very darkest places. The day will dawn, and the morning star will rise in our hearts.

Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: 2 Peter, Exodus, Herbert O'Driscoll, Matthew 17, Mt. Hermon, Psalm 99, Transfiguration | Leave a comment »

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Lent 4A RCL March 30, 2014

Lent 3A RCL March 23, 2014

Lent 2 Year A RCL March 16, 2014

Ash Wednesday March 5, 2014

Last Sunday after the Epiphany March 2, 2014

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