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    • Sunday service - Holy Communion April 2, 2023 at 9:30 am – 11:00 am Grace Church 215 Pleasant Street, Sheldon, VT Website: www.gracechurchsheldon.orgTime:  09:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)        Every week on Sun.Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/83929911344?pwd=alZQTWZMN0ZkWFFPS1hmNjNkZkU2UT09Meeting ID: 839 2991 1344Password: Call for detailsOne tap mobile+13126266799,,83929911344#,,1#,816603# US (Chicago)+19294362866,,83929911344#,,1#,816603# US (New York)Dial by your location        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)        +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)Meeting ID:…
    • Sunday service - Holy Communion April 9, 2023 at 9:30 am – 11:00 am Grace Church 215 Pleasant Street, Sheldon, VT Website: www.gracechurchsheldon.orgTime:  09:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)        Every week on Sun.Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/83929911344?pwd=alZQTWZMN0ZkWFFPS1hmNjNkZkU2UT09Meeting ID: 839 2991 1344Password: Call for detailsOne tap mobile+13126266799,,83929911344#,,1#,816603# US (Chicago)+19294362866,,83929911344#,,1#,816603# US (New York)Dial by your location        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)        +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)Meeting ID:…
    • Sunday service - Holy Communion April 16, 2023 at 9:30 am – 11:00 am Grace Church 215 Pleasant Street, Sheldon, VT Website: www.gracechurchsheldon.orgTime:  09:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)        Every week on Sun.Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/83929911344?pwd=alZQTWZMN0ZkWFFPS1hmNjNkZkU2UT09Meeting ID: 839 2991 1344Password: Call for detailsOne tap mobile+13126266799,,83929911344#,,1#,816603# US (Chicago)+19294362866,,83929911344#,,1#,816603# US (New York)Dial by your location        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)        +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)Meeting ID:…

Pentecost 7 Proper 10B RCL July 12, 2015

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Beth Crane

2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
Psalm 24
Ephesians 1: 3-14
Mark 6:14-29

Our first reading describes a memorable and joyful moment in the history of God’s people. King David has defeated the Philistines, which sets the people free for a new beginning. The ark of God, which is the center of God’s presence, the ark which led them through the wilderness into the promised land, is being carried into Jerusalem, which is going to be the religious and political center of the new united kingdom of Judah and Israel under David.

We do not know exactly what the ark looked like, but, clearly, it was large enough to have to be carried on a cart, a new cart to signify the new beginning. This cart was pulled by oxen. The entire journey from the home of Abinadab to Jerusalem, becomes a joyful procession. David and all the people of Israel dance together and sing praises to the glory of God. This celebration is for everyone, not just for the king’s court.

David wears the priestly garment, the ephod, and makes sacrificial offerings to God. When the ark has been reverently placed inside the tent constructed for it, David blesses the people and gives food from the ceremony to all the people to take home.

This event, at the beginning of David’s reign, makes it clear that David is the good shepherd who places his faith in God and takes care of all the people. The king is a spiritual leader as well as a political figure. This whole ceremony reminds us of the Eucharist and the feeding of the five thousand. David is a good shepherd of the people, and this ceremony foreshadows the coming of our own Good Shepherd Jesus.

Everyone present at this celebration will remember it for the rest of his or her life. What a beautiful and joyful beginning to a new reign!

In our reading from the letter to the Ephesians, we read of all the gifts and blessings God has given us. God has adopted us as God’s own children, God has chosen us to be members of the Body of Christ. Most of all, God has come among us and lived among us. Our Lord Jesus has freed us from the mire of our sins and given us the grace to live life in a new way. All these many gifts are not just for a few people, but for everyone. Just as the celebration of David’s kingship was open to all, so the gift of new life in Christ is for everyone.

Our gospel for today is extremely difficult. Let’s place it in context. Last Sunday, Jesus went to his own home town and the people did not accept him. But at the end of that gospel reading, Jesus sent his disciples out into the world to preach the good news and to teach and heal people. So at the beginning of this gospel, the disciples are out in the world carrying on Jesus’ ministry.

Herod Antipas was a very different kind of king from David. He had divorced his wife to marry the wife of his brother Philip. John the Baptist has told him that was wrong. Herod used to go and talk with John the Baptist because he knew John was right, that John had courage and morality, and that he, Herod needed both those things. But at the same time, he rankled that John had named his immoral acts.

When Herod hears about Jesus’ ministry and how word is spreading about this wonderful teacher, he thinks that John the Baptist has come back to life.

Herod’s wife had never forgiven John for pointing out the immorality of her marriage to Herod Antipas. We all know the gruesome story of the murder of John the Baptist. Depending on which gospel we are reading, the details differ slightly. Contrary to what we see in the world of film, the gospels do not mention anyone named Salome in this story. There is someone of that name mentioned in connection with the resurrection.

So Mark is doing one of his sandwich things here. He starts out one story and then inserts another one. Jesus sends the disciples out to do ministry, Herod hears about it and then we have this awful flashback to the killing of John the Baptist. John’s disciples come to get his body and give it a decent burial.

Why is this story here? One reason is to draw a parallel between Jesus and John. They both speak truth to power, threaten power, and are killed. Ultimately, Jesus is going to be crucified.

But let’s look again at the context. What happens after this section of Mark? What happens is that the disciples come back to report to Jesus on their work. And they are full of joy. They have brought healing and good news to people, and the response has been wonderful, They have had success.

What are these readings telling us? What is God telling us this morning? David was not perfect by any means. Later, he would make many mistakes. But he began by rooting and grounding his kingship in faith in God and care for his people. And he felt deep joy in his relationship with God. He danced and sang with joy in God’s many blessings.

Our epistle echoes that theme. How many blessings God has showered upon us, and how much joy we can have in knowing how much God loves us and how much we love God.

And what about this most difficult gospel? Jesus sends the disciples out. Travel light. Trust in God. Stay where you are welcomed. If people do not want to hear you, shake the dust off your feet and go on to the next town.

Yes, Herod killed John the Baptist. People in power use that power to protect themselves. Many of John’s disciples joined Jesus’ followers. And they went out and spread his love and forgiveness. And here we are, inheritors of all those gifts.Yes, there are obstacles and challenges, and persecution. These things are happening right now in our world. But above and beyond all those things is the joy in following Christ, and the gratitude for all his gifts.  Amen.

 

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Pentecost 6 Proper 9B July 5, 2015

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Beth Crane

2 Samuel 5:1-5,9-10
Psalm 48
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-13

In our opening reading, David is crowned King of Israel and Judah. We know that God had sent Samuel to anoint a King from among Jesse’s sons, and that the young shepherd boy, David, turned out to be the chosen one. A bit later, David was crowned King of the Southern Kingdom, Judah, and now the elders of Israel come to crown him as their King as well. David then takes over Jerusalem, which is on the border of the two kingdoms, as the place where the king will dwell. The most important thing is that David is the King that God has chosen and David is called to carry out God’s will. Our opening Hymn, based on Psalm 72, is a song of praise to the king. This hymn lets us know that all leaders are called to adhere to the values of God’s kingdom.

In our epistle, Paul is defending himself against people he calls “super apostles,” teachers and evangelists who have come to the faith community in Corinth and have attacked Paul. They say that Paul  says one thing and does another, this mostly because he had planned to visit Corinth and then was not able to do so. They also say that Paul does not have enough mystical experiences. According to these people, a true spiritual  leader must gave frequent mystical experiences and then brag about them.

Paul decides to play their game. He has had some powerful mystical experiences, but, when he brags, he brags about his weakness and the power of Christ. As we all know, the cross is at the center of our faith. As he showed what many might see as weakness on the cross, our Lord freed us from all that imprisons us and led us into life in a new dimension. “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness,” Paul writes. What a powerful inspiration for us when we feel our own weakness and we need God’s strength.

In our gospel, Jesus goes back to his hometown. As any rabbi would do on the sabbath, he goes to teach in the synagogue. People wonder, “Where did he get all this? How did he become such a wise teacher?” They are really impressed. But then the tide turns. Isn’t this Jesus, Mary and Joseph’s son? And they take offense at him. They think he is putting on airs.

This led me to wonder, what if we lived in Nazareth back then? Here are Mary and Joseph and their family. Here the scriptures are telling us that Jesus had four brothers, James, Joses, Judas, and Simon, and that he also had several sisters, We do not know how many. Joseph was a carpenter, and we can assume that, as was the custom, he trained Jesus in that trade. So Jesus made tables and benches and all kinds of things for his neighbors in Nazareth. He was the carpenter’s son.

At some point, Jesus went away for a while. Some scholars think he studied with the Essenes, a religious community of that time. There, he would have  engaged in prayer and study of the scriptures. As we know, he was called to be baptized in the River Jordan by his cousin John, and then his ministry began.

From this account in Mark’s gospel, we can see that Jesus was a wise teacher. How would we have responded to him? The people in the synagogue asked, “What deeds of power are being done by his hands?” I think we can be quite certain that word would have been spreading about Jesus’ ministry. People would have known about his healings.

Would we have assumed that skeptical tone? Would we have thought Jesus was putting on airs?

As most of you know, I grew up in a little village in central Vermont called East Calais. It was and is a community where people worked hard, helped each other out, and were generally down to earth folks. It was a place where you could really make a deal or a contract on a handshake. Many folks had farms, and often the dads would also work a second job to supplement the family income, because these were small farms, nothing like what we see today in Vermont. One dad was a carpenter, another worked in the granite quarries in Barre, and so on. We were all just plain, ordinary people.

When I was in high school, the son of one of our farm families came home to visit, and he was featured in the local paper, the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus. He was kind of a celebrity. He had gone to college and then he had decided to work with what we would now call an NGO, and he was spending his life working overseas to help people around the world have better lives.

While he was home, he gave a talk which many of us attended. He described the work he was doing in an extremely down to earth and humble way, and most of us were inspired. For us he was a local hero. He was the only member of his family who had gone to college,  and he was doing work that made the world a better place, but nobody thought he was putting on airs.  Here’s Don Luce. His Dad is a farmer. All his brothers work on the farm. His Mom is the postmistress.  We thought he was an inspiration.

If we had lived in Nazareth or Sheldon or Franklin or Montgomery or Fletcher and Jesus had grown up on a farm and left for awhile and then come back to our church to teach, how would we have reacted?

How would we react if he walked in right now? Would we have some preconceived notions about what a teacher should be, as the Corinthians and the people of Nazareth did?

If Jesus walked in here right now, what would we say to him?

I think we would want to thank him for all he has done for us, for giving us new life, for leading and guiding us each day, for protecting us and strengthening us in our weakness, and for giving us his amazing grace.  Amen.

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