Sermons | Grace Episcopal Church (Sheldon, VT)

Pentecost 22 Proper 27A RCL November 9, 2014

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Beth Crane

Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25
Psalm 78:1-7
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13

In our opening reading for today, God’s people have reached a moment of transition. They are going to settle down in the land of Canaan and they are going to stop being nomads. Joshua also calls them to an important choice. They must renew their covenant with God. They must choose to be loyal to God.

Back in those days, when you moved into a new land, you encountered gods different from your own. There were the gods from beyond the river, that is, the Euphrates, and there were also the local gods of the land of Canaan, most notably fertility gods. Joshua calls the people to renew their vows to God. He leads by example, He tells the people that he and his family will worship Yahweh. The people follow his example.

In our secular age, we are surrounded by other gods—or we might say, idols. Many folks worship power and wealth. Some people strive for their fifteen minutes of fame. We are called to worship God.

In our epistle for today, the situation is that folks in the early church thought that Jesus would return quickly. But now it’s about twenty years after the death and resurrection of our Lord, and someone in the congregation has died. People are wondering what will happen to this person. Paul is telling them that because our Lord has been raised from the dead, we will be raised. Now it has been two thousand years since our Lord was here on earth. We can still be a people of hope because we know that death has no dominion over us. We are in eternal life now and we will be with our Lord and all the saints and angels in heaven.

Our gospel is dealing with a wedding banquet, but scholars tell us that Matthew’s congregation was also dealing with the question of Christ’s coming again. When will he come? Why has he not come already? Matthew was writing about 90 AD, some sixty years after our Lord’s death. Everyone hearing this parable knew how weddings went. If you are a bridesmaid, the first thing you do is to make sure that you have plenty of oil in reserve. It’s going to get dark and you will want to have your lamp lighted, and you will want to be sure that you have enough oil so that, at the crucial moment when the bridegroom arrives, you will be able to welcome him with you lamp burning.

The wise bridesmaids may seem to be selfish when they refuse to share their oil, but everyone knew what the priorities were when it all began, and they are focussing on the important thing: when the bridegroom arrives, I want to have my lamp lighted, with plenty of oil to spare. The foolish bridesmaids have to go off to buy oil and the bridegroom arrives when they are gone. They miss the feast.

This parable is almost a foreshadowing of Advent themes. It has been two thousand years, but our Lord will come and he will bring in his shalom. Our job is to be ready. We don’t want to miss the feast.

How do we go about being ready? Charles Cousar writes,”Watching means seizing the day, loving God and neighbors in each moment….” Texts for Preaching, Year A, p. 561.) Jesus calls us to be ready for his return. He cautions us not to speculate on when he will come, not to engage in theories or hypotheses, not to search the scriptures for signs. Rather, we are to accept God’s love, be ready in each moment of our lives, be people of hope looking forward to the time when he will come to us and establish his kingdom of peace, love, harmony, and wholeness. We are called to be ready for the moment when he will restore the creation to be as he created it to be.

Now we are in a time of transition, We are moving from ordinary tine, the season after Pentecost, into Advent time, beginning to prepare for his coming again.

It is not easy to live in a secular society. We can understand the situation of God’s people settling in Canaan. At times we might be tempted to put our trust in some of those other gods. Maybe the accumulation of lots of things or just the right clothes can make us happy. Maybe retail therapy is the way to a life of joy. That’s what the advertisers are telling us. Maybe clawing our way up the ladder of worldly success isn’t that bad after all. As the saying goes, it’s a dog eat dog world. Did you ever see that TV program called “Monk”?

The theme song has a lot of truth in it. “It’s a jungle out there.”

But the whole point is that, if we love God with everything we have and if we love our neighbors, and if all of us do that, the world will be a peaceable kingdom, not a jungle. That is God’s vision for the creation. Everyone getting along. In fact, everyone helping each other. Everyone having enough—enough food, clothing, shelter, good work to do, love. and caring and peace and healing.

That is the kingdom, the shalom that we are called to be ready to welcome. That’s the feast we are called to attend. That is the vision we are called to bring to fruition. That is why we love God and believe in God with all our heart and mind and soul and strength. That is why we are people of hope, because we know that God loves us and all people and that God calls us to life in a different and richer dimension, eternal life, fullness of life. And that is why was are going to be sure to have more than enough oil so that we can keep our lamps lighted into the dusk and into the darkness, and, when he comes, we will be ready to welcome him and the whole creation will be filled with light.

May we love God in every moment, May we love our neighbors in every moment. May we be ready to welcome our Lord. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: 1 Thessalonians, Charles Cousar, Joshua 24, Matthew 25, Parable of the wise virgins, Psalm 78 | Leave a comment »

All Saints’ Sunday Year A RCL November 2, 2014

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Beth Crane

Revelation 7:9-17
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12

This Sunday, we celebrate the feast of All Saints.

Our first reading is from the Book of Revelation, the vision of John on the island of Patmos. In our reading for today, a great multitude of people, from every tribe and nation, worships God. Salvation is open to all who respond to God’s love and mercy.

Special honor is given to those who have gone through the great ordeal Scholars tell us that John was referring to those who had suffered persecution by the Roman Empire, but, over the centuries, the Church has especially remembered all those who have been martyred for their faith. Today, we pray especially for those who have suffered and lost their lives at the hands of Isis.

“They will hunger and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat, for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Our psalm continues the song of praise to God, who is so good to us. Our epistle reminds us that, because of God’s love, we are children of God, as close to God as a child is to its mother or father,

And, finally, in our gospel, Jesus gives us the Beatitudes. The poor in spirit, those who admit their need for God, receive the kingdom of heaven, Those who mourn are comforted. The meek inherit the earth. Those who hunger and thirst for a right relationship with God will be filled. Those who are merciful will receive mercy. The pure in heart, those who seek God with all their heart and soul and mind and strength, will see God. Those who are persecuted for their faith are especially close to God. The beatitudes are a blueprint of the qualities of kingdom people. We are called to be meek, not power-grabbers. We are called to be merciful, not out to climb the ladder of worldly success at any cost. These values are counter to the values of our surrounding culture. But they are the values of our Lord. We are called to follow his example.

We are part of God’s big family. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, those who are here now, those who have gone before us, and those who will come after us. We are knit together in the Body of Christ, which spans all time and all the peoples of the world. We take inspiration from the lives of the saints. And, as the beloved hymn tells us, saints are just folks like you and me. They have run the race before us and they inspire us to do the best we can, with God’s help.

These readings today also serve to remind us that our loved ones who have gone before us are there in heaven with Jesus, with God, with the angels, and with the whole communion of saints in heaven, in eternal light and joy.

May we always be thankful for God’s immeasurable love and for the communion of saints of which we are a part. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: 1 John, All Saints Day, Beatitudes, Matthew 5, Psalm 34, Revelation 7 | Leave a comment »

Pentecost 20 Proper 25A RCL October 26, 2014

Posted on October 26, 2014 by Beth Crane

Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Matthew 22:34-46

Our first reading this morning gives us the privilege of being present at an extraordinary moment in history and in the life of God’s people. Moses, the leader who has brought the people out of slavery in Egypt and has led them though so many challenges, is now gazing upon the promised land, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees.

The land stretches as far as the eye can see, and it is a beautiful sight, We can imagine how Moses must feel. Perhaps he gives an inward sigh of relief. Whew! We made it. This may seem quite a miracle, given all the complaints along the way. Why did you bring us out here to die of hunger, or of thirst? It was just wonderful back there in Egypt, with all the good food. Now we are going to die. But the people did not die, Here they are on the verge of moving into their new home.

But it is a bittersweet moment because Moses is not going to cross over into the new land with them. He is going to die. After all, he is 120 years old. This is sad, and indeed the people mourn for thirty days. But the text makes it clear that Moses died at the top of his form. The scripture tells us that “his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated.”

After the period of mourning, Joshua, who is full of the Spirit because Moses has laid his hands upon him, takes over the leadership role. But the text makes it clear that Moses is the greatest leader the people of God have ever seen.

In our gospel, the Pharisees are gathering to pounce and trap Jesus. They ask him which commandment is the greatest, and he responds by quoting the rabbis, who have given us the summary of the law from Deuteronomy and Leviticus: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it. ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Then Jesus asks them what they think of the messiah. Whose son is he? And they say he is the son of David. But Jesus answers by giving a hint as to his true identity, by emphasizing that the messiah is the son of God and that he is that messiah.

In our epistle, Paul is continuing his letter to the Thessalonians. Thessalonica was a major city in Macedonia and a key city in the Roman Empire. There was a strong Roman influence in the city, and that was in direct opposition to the new faith, so there were many stresses on the growing congregation and on new converts. There were also people who questioned Paul’s motives, and there were competing teachers. Paul is making it clear that he does not have any mixed motives. His purpose is to serve our Lord. Paul touches a deeply personal note. He tells the people how much he loves them and he compares himself to a mother caring tenderly for her own children. He writes, “So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but our own selves.”

If we can stop for a moment and imagine Paul’s ministry. Paul was a person of high status in his society, He was a Pharisee and he was a Roman citizen. But that did not protect him from being put into prison several times. In fact, he and Silas had been thrown into prison in Philippi just before they came to Thessalonica. Paul and his assistants were courageous, They suffered all kinds of hardships—not only imprisonment, but beatings, shipwrecks, and constant harassment by other teachers who were trying to get control of the congregations he had started.

Unlike other leaders, Paul did not ask for contributions from the congregations he served. He was a tentmaker, and that is how he earned his living. This meant that he would spend time each day in the marketplace with other craftspeople and workers. He was right on the grassroots level, He got to know people in the towns where he nurtured churches.

And he was not distant from the people in the faith community. He made it clear that he loved them. He nurtured them. He shared his personal journey with them, and this encouraged them to share their journeys with him.

In our reading for today, Paul is offering us a wonderful gem of truth about our life together and our ministry in Christ, and that is that we are called to share, not only the good news in Christ, but also our own selves. Not just our intellectual insights. but our hearts, our feelings, our struggles, and the high and low points of our journeys in Christ.

When we do this, we create a safe space, a safe community in which anyone can share struggles and triumphs and know that he or she will be safe and will be treated with respect. Years ago, a friend of Jean’s and mine came to Grace. We had our usual coffee hour sharing and some of us were having some struggles and talked about them and got encouragement and wisdom from our brothers and sisters. This friend said—and he is a devout Episcopalian— “You guys are a support group.” Well, we are, and I think that is what Paul is talking about today.

But we are not just a support group on our own. We are a supportive, safe community rooted in faith in Christ. That’s where the power and the healing and the guidance come from. Grace is a healing place to be and to grow. We not only share the good news. We share ourselves, and we share our faith in Christ.

We know that this is not our doing. We have received a gift. We have received many gifts from our Lord—the gift to know that he is the savior, the gift to be able to accept his love for us and to share that love with others.

So, because of the presence and power of Jesus, we grow close to each other and we grow close to our Lord, and that is a great gift. May we always cherish that gift. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: 1 Thessalonians, Deuteronomy 34, Matthew 22, Psalm 90, The great commandments | Leave a comment »

Pentecost 17 Proper 22A RCL October 5, 2014

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Beth Crane

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Psalm 19
Philippians 3:4b-14
Matthew 21:33-46

In our beginning reading from the Book of Exodus, we are with God’s people at Mount Sinai, and God is giving them the Ten Commandments. The first four of these commandments have to do with our relationship with God, and the last six commandments deal with our relationship with each other. These commandments were the foundation of the life of the covenant community, and they can serve as an excellent framework for life together over three thousand years later.

In our epistle, Paul has been trying to counteract the efforts of opponents of his, some of whom have been trying to convince Gentiles who are joining the new community of faith that they have to follow the Jewish dietary laws. Paul lists his credentials. Like Jesus and John the Baptist, he was circumcised on the eighth day of his life. He is an Israelite of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee, an expert on the law. On the secular level, he is a Roman citizen. Paul openly admits that he persecuted the Church. But when he met the risen Lord on the Road to Damascus, everything changed. His whole world was transformed.

All that Paul wants to do now is to grow closer to Christ. All of those previous privileges and honors and signs of status are as trash to him. Entrance into the kingdom of God has nothing to do with our past accomplishments. In fact, it has nothing to do with us. It is a gift. Coming from his own history and background as one who followed the law to the letter, Paul is now saying: Brothers and sisters, let us not make these new believers follow the law. That is not the point. The new life in Christ is a gift from God, Let us accept that gift. Of course, we will strive to carry out the commandments. But let us strive to surpass the law, to move from the letter to the spirit of the law.

Our gospel for today must be approached with great care. The gospel is an allegory. Jesus is in the temple and he is addressing the religious leaders of his time. The vineyard is an image used by Isaiah for the people of God. We could say it could also be an image for the kingdom, the shalom of God. The landowner is God. The slaves who were sent are the prophets, The son is Jesus. The tenants are the religious leaders.

Matthew’s gospel was written about 90 C. E.. Scholars tell us that Matthew’s community was a Jewish community which was incorporating new Gentile members. The new faith was being persecuted. This parable may have provided a ray of hope for Christians who were being oppressed.

But the point of this gospel is not to be anti-Semitic. It is to ask ourselves how we would receive the Son if he came to ask us how the vineyard is doing. Are we following the commandments? Are we bearing good fruit? Are we, like Paul, trying to align our lives with the life of our Lord? Are we trying to let him live in us? Are we trying to live in the light of his grace? Are we sharing his love with others?

This parable is asking us to look at religious leaders. The religious leaders of Jesus’ time were arguing with God. They were blind to the work that God was trying to do among them. Are we blind to the work of the Holy Spirit? Our Bishop has called us to engage in a year long process of discernment looking at what it means to be a missional Church. A couple of Saturdays ago some of us went to a Ministry Fair. In the context of Holy Eucharist, we went outside the walls of the cathedral to discover what God is doing in the neighborhood.

Several of the groups went to the Old North End, which is the less affluent part of Burlington. Many of our new Americans live there now, as well as in nearby Winooski. We found many signs of life, as some folks shared last Sunday—gardens, a solar installation. a Sustainability Academy, a compassionate veterinary practice, Pathway to Housing, an organization which provides houses for homeless people. We saw people sitting on their porches talking. We saw houses painted artistically in bright vibrant colors. There was a lot of life out there.

The religious leaders of his time were constantly challenging Jesus, Last Sunday they were asking him by what authority he healed and taught and forgave. Some people in Philippi wanted everyone to follow the dietary laws, Paul felt that was putting a stumbling block in the way of folks coming into the new faith. It is a sad thing when religious authorities or religious people get in God’s way.

One of the ideas we hear about when we discuss the missional church is that we need to go out into the world and see what God is doing. I would say, what the Holy Spirit is doing. That is because I define the Holy Spirit as God at work in us and in the world. Wherever peace grows, wherever healing happens, wherever someone is learning, there is the Holy Spirit. And we need to support those things. The Holy Spirit is at work in many ways and in many people. Some of those people do not believe in God. Some of those people cannot believe in God because religious leaders or religious people have put stumbling blocks in their path.

One of the reasons I went back to school and got my psychology degree is that I wanted to help people on their journeys toward wholeness. I also wanted to be helpful to people who would never darken the door of a church. All of you are out in the world living your faith and doing your ministries. You are able to touch the lives of people for whom our faith has become irrelevant or. worse, a negative force.

I think that is what our readings are talking about today: living our faith and being open to the work of the Holy Spirit out in the world as well as in the Church. The Shalom of God is growing every day. Loving God, help us to be open to your Spirit. Give us grace to help you build your Kingdom, your Shalom of healing and harmony and wholeness. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Exodus 20, Matthew 21, Parable of the Vineyard, Philippians 3, Psalm 19 | Leave a comment »

Pentecost 15 Proper 20 A RCL September 21, 2014

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Beth Crane

Exodus 16:2-15
Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45
Philippians 1:21-30
Matthew 20:1-16

In our first reading, we join God’s people on their journey. We’ve all been on journeys of one kind or another, perhaps a road trip or a hike, or a bike trip. Or we have begun a journey of another kind. We have gone into
therapy, or we have made a decision to recover from an addiction.

At first, it’s exciting and every day is an adventure, but gradually, it becomes a struggle. If we are on a hike, the mountain seems as though it’s straight up at a ninety-degree angle. If we are on a car trip, we wonder when we are going to get there. If we are doing hard internal spiritual work as in therapy or recovery, the first thrill of excitement is long gone and the work gets very difficult and we want to quit. Our brothers and sisters out in the wilderness are looking with fond nostalgia at their former life as slaves!

The journey of life, the journey with and toward God, can be a struggle at times. We complain. And God feeds us and gives us water and gives us strength to keep journeying. God is always there to help us.

In our epistle for today, Paul is writing to his beloved congregation at Philippi. Paul is in prison. He is suffering. His letter is so honest. He can’t travel around to visit all the congregations he has founded and wants to nurture. He writes, “For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.” With the suffering he is enduring, the idea of dying is attractive to Paul. He would like to “depart and be with Christ.” But he feels deeply called to continue to stay alive in order to be with these beloved people and support them. He writes, “I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel.” Paul says that he knows that the people of the congregation are not intimidated by their opponents. We do not know exactly whom he meant, but these were times of persecution. Paul actually says that it is a privilege to suffer for Christ. In our own time, Christians are being persecuted. Paul is in a challenging time on his journey and he chooses to remain alive to continue his work of nurturing all the congregations he has planted around the Mediterranean Sea.

Our gospel for today is not about how to manage a business. It is about the kingdom, the shalom, of God.

Here is the context of this parable. Matthew’s congregation was growing. New people were coming in. Some had been there from the beginning. Some of the old-timers viewed the newcomers as second class citizens. How come these new people are greeted with all of God’s grace and love when I’ve been here slaving away for so long?

We are all familiar with this parable. The landowner goes out to hire workers for the vineyard. He goes out at six o’clock and hires a group of folks and agrees to pay them the usual wage for a day’s work. Then he goes out at nine and at noon at three and at five o’clock, he says he will pay those workers what is right.

The day ends, and the manager begins with those who were hired at five. That’s rather unusual. Something is different here. He gives these latecomers a full day’s wage. If I am back in line and I have worked since dawn, and I am sweaty and tired and hungry and ready to faint in the heat, and I see this, I can begin to think, Wow! He paid that guy a whole day’s wage. The pay scale has taken a leap! He’s going to pay me more. Maybe seven or eight or twelve times more. That guy started at 5 PM and I started at 6 AM. But when I get there, the manager pays me a day’s wage, too. Maybe I am a bit upset. The pay scale has not changed. The manager paid the latecomers a full wage. But he also paid me what we had agreed upon—also a full day’s wage. The owner has been fair to me and very generous to those who arrived late in the day.

If I can identify with the person who was hired at five PM, if I can think of a time when I couldn’t find a job or if I can think of the hundreds of kids today who have gone to college and can’t find a job in their field, so they are waiting on tables or bar tending or working some other minimum wage job and still living at home, if I can identify with the vulnerable side of myself, the part of me who is out there in the market place every day and has sent out hundreds of resumes and can’t even get a response, let alone an interview, then I am beginning to understand this parable.

Jesus is always looking for workers in his vineyard. And if you are there in the village square, if you show up, it doesn’t matter whether you have a Ph.D or a high school diploma or a third grade education, if you are willing to go out there and share his love with others, he has a job for you. If you are a little older and have a few aches and pains, if you can’t see as well as you once did, if you have a disability, he sees that as a strength. All you have to do is show up. He will welcome you with all the love and respect that he would give to any one of the twelve apostles. They were there at the beginning. We have joined the community two thousand years later.

That’s how his kingdom is, That’s his shalom of peace and harmony and wholeness and healing. Everyone is treated in the same way, with the infinite love and respect that our Lord has for every one of his children. No one is losing anything. It’s just that those who are more vulnerable, those who, for one reason or another didn’t get the good news as soon as some of the rest of us, get the same embrace with wide open arms of love that Jesus gives to Peter and James and John and Mary Magdalene and Martha and Mary and Lazarus and all those who were there at the very start of it all.

Before he tells this parable, Jesus tells us that the last will be first and the first will be last. He also says this at the end of the parable. And he is on his way to Jerusalem, so all of these discussions of grace and forgiveness are in the context of the cross.

May we hold fast to those things that shall endure—God’s grace and love, and the fellowship of the Body of Christ. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Exodus 16, Matthew 20, Paul, Pentecost 15, Philippians 1, Psalm 105, Workers in the Vineyard | Leave a comment »

Pentecost 14 Proper 19A RCL September 14, 2014

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Beth Crane

Exodus 14:19-31

Psalm 114

Romans 14:1-12

Matthew 18:21-35

This morning we read the dramatic story of God’s people crossing the Red Sea. This passage tells us that God can lead us into freedom. It also tells us something about traveling light. The Israelites can move over the sea of reeds and not sink in. but the Egyptians, with their chariots and horses, sink up to their axles and get stuck. This makes me think of the story of David and Goliath. God is rooting for the under dog. God loves everyone, and God especially treasures ordinary folks like you and me. God protects us, leads us, and guides us. We are called to pray constantly for God’s direction.

In our epistle, Paul is addressing differences between people in congregations. In the early Church, some folks had come from the Jewish tradition and were still following the dietary laws and celebrating the holy days and festivals. Other people might have been coming from a tradition of worshipping at the temples of the Roman gods and celebrating other festivals. We do not know the exact details, but we know that the new church was drawing people from all kinds of backgrounds.

Every congregation has differences of opinion. Some people like the traditional language; some like the contemporary. Some like incense; some do not. We could go on and on. We also have political differences. We could go on and on about that.

One thing that Paul is saying is that, if we focus on Christ, these differences assume their proper place. Our oneness in Christ is the important thing. We should not judge each other. In fact, Paul says that each of us has to be responsible for our own beliefs and behavior. It’s between each of us and God. I would add that our differences make us strong, and that, as long as we place our Lord at the center of our lives, we will be one as he and God are one.

Our gospel draws all of this together. Peter asks Jesus that very important question: “If another member of the church sins against me, how often shall I forgive? As many as seven times?” Peter is being generous here. The rabbis said to forgive three times, and Peter is expanding it to seven. But then Jesus says seventy-seven times. Other translations say seventy times seven, or 490 times. And then Jesus tells a parable.

A king wants to settle accounts with his slaves. The first one owes him ten thousand talents. Scholars wonder how a slave could even accumulate such a debt. It is huge. Biblical scholar Thomas Troeger tells us that a talent is about fifteen years worth of wages. Therefore, ten thousand talents is 150,000 years worth of wages.

Troeger says, “If we calculate this in modern terms and allow fifteen dollars per hour after deductions and a forty hour work week, we come up with$600 per week or $31,200 per year, which in 150,000 years would equal forty-six million dollars. Forty-six million dollars! The king forgives him forty-six million dollars!”

The send slave owes a hundred denarii. A denarius is one day’s wages. Troeger says that one hundred denarii would have been a hundred days in back wages.He writes, “ If, once again, we figure fifteen dollars an hour, an eight hour day would be worth $120, or twelve thousand dollars for a hundred days.”

Troeger continues, “The slave who is forgiven a debt of forty-six million dollars refuses to forgive a fellow worker a twelve thousand dollar debt even after the man promises him, ‘I will pay you.’ After walking away scot free from the king, the first slave sends his fellow worker to debtor’s prison.” (Troeger, New Proclamation 1999, p. 218.)

I find Troeger’s calculations helpful because they point out the almost unbelievable amount the first slave has been forgiven—46 million dollars and his inability to extend that forgiveness for a comparatively tiny debt of twelve thousand dollars.

The point is that God is more generous to us than we can even imagine. God showers us with gifts of grace and forgiveness and healing. If we are truly aware of how much God has done for us, we will be generous and forgiving to others.

Of course, the ultimate point that our Lord is making is that we should not be going around carrying calculators. God has done so much for us. God has extended to us such love and forgiveness. We are called to extend that love and forgiveness to others.

This call to forgive seventy-seven times or 490 times, to stop counting the number of times we forgive, is a call to those of us living in Christian community. In Christian communities, we know that we are called to respect every person. We are also called to extend God’s love and forgiveness to those outside our communities.

But, a word of caution. This does not apply to cases of child abuse or domestic abuse. Children and adults who have been abused need to be protected, placed in safe environments, and helped to recover. Perpetrators of abuse must be held accountable and prevented from hurting anyone else. Nor does this reading apply to cases of international abuse or genocide. In those cases, those committing the abuse need to be called to be accountable.

The United States is working with other nations to deal with a terrorist group, ISIS, or the Islamic State, or ISIL, which is terrorizing and killing Muslims, Christians, women, and children. The nations of the world are gathering in order to deal with this very grave situation. Please keep our President and Congress and the leaders of our nation and the world in your prayers.

Meanwhile, even in the face of this horror, we are called to be people of compassion. May we pray again our Collect, Page 233.

O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Hoy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Exodus 14, forgiveness, Matthew 18, Paul, Pentecost 14, Psalm 114, Romans 14 | Leave a comment »

Pentecost 11 Proper 16A August 24, 2014

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Beth Crane

Exodus 1:8-2:10
Psalm 124
Romans 12:1-8
Matthew 16:13-20

Our first reading this morning opens on a somber note: “Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” Joseph is no longer the second in command. We do not know the details, but there has been a shift in power. The new king is threatened by the Hebrew people. They are growing too numerous and he fears their power. The pharaoh enslaves the people and forces them to make bricks and do hard labor.

Then the king moves to genocide. He tells the midwives to kill the boy babies of the Hebrew women the moment they are born. The midwives, our first heroes this morning, are actually named–Shiprah and Puah. These courageous women are not going to commit genocide. They put forth a creative explanation of why they cannot carry out the pharaoh’s orders. Then the king extends his decree to the whole population. He wants these Hebrew boy babies killed. This probably makes us think of King Herod, who , centuries later, will issue a similar order. It also brings to mind so many examples of genocide over all the years of human history. The most recent and alarming example of genocide in our world involves the brutal actions of the group called the Islamic State, or ISIS. They have killed many people, including a courageous journalist and neighbor from New Hampshire, James Foley. We pray for James, and for his family. We pray, also, for God’s guidance for the leaders of the world as they deal with this serious situation.

But back to our story. Sometimes people look at the evil in the world and decide not to bring children into such troubled times. In our story, a Levite man and a woman marry; they are people of hope. They have a son. The woman keeps her son secret as long as she can. and then she makes a little waterproof boat and puts him into it, and hides it in the bulrushes along the Nile. The baby’s sister, Miriam, keeps watch, and the miracle happens. The little one is rescued by the very daughter of the murderous king and is raised in the castle with his own mother to nurse him.

The king’s daughter knows that this is a Hebrew baby, yet she also knows that she will be able to protect this little one. She has her father wrapped around her little finger. Here this young woman, who enjoys every privilege, gives a new life to this little one and to God’s chosen people.

This is a choice we all face. When certain races or nationalities or kinds of people are being oppressed or even killed, we have the choice to realize that all people are human beings who deserve respect. The women in this story all make that choice. Because of their courage, Moses grows up to be the liberator of his people.

In the epistle, Paul is calling us to offer our whole selves to God. Not just our minds, not just an intellectual assent to the tenets of our faith. Not just our emotions. Yes, we are called to believe in God with our minds. We are called to love God with our hearts. But we are called to give all that we are and all that we have to God so that God can work with us and transform us. That is the second part of this reading. First, we have to offer all of ourselves to God, Then we have to allow God to change us, to transform us.

If we do these things, we will begin to realize on a whole new level, that we are members of Christ as our arms and legs and eyes and ears are members of us. We make up the living body of Christ.

Everyone has been given gifts by God, and each gift is equal to the next. Preaching is not more valuable than paying the bills. Teaching is not more valuable than sweeping the floor. Every person and every gift is infinitely precious and beloved by God.

In our gospel, Jesus and the disciples are in the region of Caesarea Philippi. Herbert O’Driscoll reminds us that this region is way up north near the source of the Jordan River. (The Word Today, Year A. p. 101.) First Jesus asks the disciples who people say that he is, and they report the responses they have heard. But then he asks, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter responds, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Herbert O’Driscoll wonders why Jesus has led the disciples so far north. He theorizes that our Lord leads them to Caesarea Philippi because it is far from their usual world. O’Driscoll says that as Christians, we are being led out of our former world in which the Christian faith was dominant. He writes, “We are being hauled out of the familiar, vaguely Christian culture we were formed by, into a tougher, harsher reality. And here he asks us again, in all sorts of ways and at all kinds of moments, Who do you say that I am?” (The Word Today, p. 102.)

At the end of May, Bishop Tom issued an inspiring statement called Becoming More Missional: The Episcopal Church in Vermont/ AnInvitation to be Part of a Year-Long Journey of Visioning, Discernment and Planning for Tomorrow. Beginning with the Ministry Fair at St, Paul’s Cathedral on Saturday, September 27, continuing with the pre-convention hearings on Vermont Interactive Technologies at 2 PM on Sunday, October 5, (Our group would meet in St. Albans), we in the Diocese of Vermont will be looking at ways in which our Lord is calling us to do mission. There will also be a gathering in our area in early spring.

On a local level, Bishop Tom wrote to me this past June, “It is my hope that during the Spring of 2015, you and the people of Grace Church will enter into a process we might call ‘Focusing on Grace Church’s Missional Ministries.’ This process will involve my office and is meant to take a look at the ongoing and future ministries of Grace Church. I hope this process seems a good idea to you and the congregation.” These are exciting times, and we have much good work to do.

May we again pray our Collect for today: “Grant, O merciful Lord, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Exodus 1, Herbert O'Driscoll, Joseph, Joseph and Pharaoh, Joseph in Egypt, Matthew 16, Psalm 124, Romans 12 | Leave a comment »

Pentecost 10 Proper 15A RCL August 17, 2014

Posted on August 17, 2014 by Beth Crane

Genesis 45:1-15
Psalm 133
Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32
Matthew 15:21-28

Last Sunday we began reading the story of Joseph. Joseph is Jacob’s favorite son. He is a dreamer. He also has visions. One of his visions indicates that he is going to be more powerful than his brothers. This does not exactly make him popular with them. On top of that, Joseph has been given a very special coat of many colors. or, as one musical puts it, his “amazing technicolor dream coat.” His brothers do not like that at all.

One thing leads to another, and they talk about killing Joseph. Reuben convinces them not to do that. Finally, they throw him into a pit and sell him to some traders. The brothers dip his many-colored coat in goat’s blood and tell their father that Joseph is dead. The traders take Joseph to Egypt.

After some ups and downs, Joseph rises to a position second only to the pharaoh. There is a famine all over the area, and, under Joseph’s guidance, Egypt has carefully stockpiled food for seven years in order to be prepared for the seven years of famine which Joseph had predicted from the pharaoh’s dream of seven fat cows and seven lean cows.

After many more dramatic events, Joseph’s brothers, including his beloved brother Benjamin, have come to buy food to take home to the family in Canaan. The brothers have no idea that this powerful man, with whom they have already had some dealings, is their own brother Joseph, but Joseph is now overcome with feelings.

Joseph weeps loudly and tells his brothers who he really is. He tells them that he forgives them for what they did many years ago, and he says that God sent him ahead of them to provide for them and their families. He tells them to go home and get their father and all the family and bring them back to Egypt and he will take care of them.

Then Joseph and Benjamin, both sons of Jacob’s beloved wife, Rachel, hug each other and cry, and kiss each other. These biblical stories can be grisly, but they can also be tender and moving. Here we have a tale of sibling rivalry gone to extremes and forgiveness in return. What a powerful example Joseph sets for us. After all his brothers did to him, he sees the hand of God in every step of the journey and he is also able to stand on the side of love and forgive his brothers.

Our gospel for today is one of the most compelling stories in the ministry of our Lord. Jesus and the disciples are in the district of Tyre and Sidon, a Gentile area. also called Phoenicia. A woman from the area, a Gentile, starts to shout, “Have mercy on me, Lord. My daughter is sick. Please cure her.”

Jesus does not answer. He thinks his ministry is only to people of his own faith. This is getting embarrassing because she continues to shout. The disciples want him to send her away. So Jesus tells the woman that he has been sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. She is persistent in her need. She comes and kneels in front of him, beseeching. “Lord, help me.”

And then he says that line which makes us wince. “It is not right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” He thinks his mission is not to her people. But she is so desperate, and she sees something that our Lord himself does not yet see, She knows that he has come to help and welcome everyone. So she says those words that change Jesus’ understanding of his ministry: “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

Think of this. This woman helps Jesus to a clearer understanding of his ministry, Jesus has the humility to listen to her, to hear what she is saying.

That is why he tells her that her faith is great. Her daughter is healed that instant. Jesus comes to an entirely new understanding of his ministry in this encounter with a mother who is desperate to have her child healed.

This woman realizes that the new faith is for the whole world., that Jesus’ love and healing are for everyone. As Archbishop Tutu says, God’s family is a very big family indeed, and this Canaanite woman is one of the first people in the gospels to recognize that fact.

Joseph could have been bitter, He could have been cruel to his brothers. He could have put them all in prison. He could have done terrible things to them, But he did not. He may have been a dreamer, but he was also very gifted and deeply spiritual, He rooted himself in God’s compassion and extended that compassion to his brothers.

This Canaanite woman had a vision of what God was doing on earth. God was reaching out to all people. Jesus had the wisdom and humility and openness to listen to someone who was not highly respected in his culture. Women were at the bottom of the scale.Gentiles were in the same position. But Jesus listened.

Gracious God, grant us the gifts of compassion, faith, persistence, humility, and wisdom. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Genesis 45, Joseph and his brothers, Matthew 15, Psalm 133, Romans 11 | Leave a comment »

Pentecost 9 Proper 14A RCL August 10, 2014

Posted on August 10, 2014 by Beth Crane

Genesis 37:1-4,12-28
Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b
Romans 10:5-15
Matthew 14:22-33

In our first reading, we are continuing the story of Jacob, who has become Israel. Israel now has twelve sons. His beloved wife, Rachel, the mother of Joseph and of Benjamin, their youngest son, has died. Joseph is Israel’s favorite son. He helps his brothers to tend the flocks, and he has just given Israel some negative feedback on the work and behavior of his brothers.

Joseph is a dreamer. He also has visions. Some of those visions indicate that he is going to be more powerful than his brothers. As we can imagine, this does not exactly make him popular among them. On top of that, Joseph has been given what a later musical called his “amazing technicolor dream coat.” His brothers do not like that at all.

Israel sends Joseph out to see how things are going with his brothers, and, as they say, the rest is history. They want to kill him, but Ruben prevents that. Finally, they throw him into a pit and sell him to some traders. They dip his wonderful coat of many colors in goat’s blood and tell their father that Joseph is dead. The traders take Joseph to Egypt, where he reaches the highest position in the land. He becomes the chief assistant to the pharaoh. We will pick up the story next Sunday.

These stories, which go back so far in history, are fascinating because we know about these family dynamics, and they are timeless. Younger brother takes on airs and ambitions, seems to want to lord it over older brothers. Older brothers get mad and do something awful to him. Sibling rivalry is alive and well, and people don’t always behave the way God wants us to. We will tune in next Sunday for the amazing way in which Joseph deals with his brothers.

In our gospel, Jesus has just fed the five thousand. He makes the disciples get into the boat and go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which, as we know, is a big fresh water lake. We can think of Lake Champlain or maybe Missisquoi Bay. When the winds and storms come up, the Sea of Galilee, like Lake Champlain, can be a terrifying and treacherous place.

Jesus dismisses the crowds and goes up the mountain to pray. What a wonderful model for us. He has been working hard. He has been ministering to these people, healing them, feeding them. Loving them. He knows that he needs to spend time with God. He needs to renew his energy. As the song implies, we cannot be a light to others unless we keep putting oil in our lamp. Jesus constantly turns to God in prayer.

Meanwhile, out on the lake, the wind has come up, and the boat is being battered by the waves. They are far from the land and the wind is against them. Jesus comes walking on the water. What is their response? They are so scared that they do not even recognize him. Have you ever been so afraid that you couldn’t even recognize God, or recognize the help that was coming to you? Sometimes, when a person is drowning and a rescuer comes to save the person, he or she will flail about and fight the rescuer. As strange as it may seem, sometimes we do not recognize God’s presence and God’s willingness to help us. They actually think Jesus is a ghost. They scream in fear.

And then Jesus speaks those words, the words we so need to hear: “Take heart; it is I; do not be afraid.” How many times have we gotten caught in heavy seas and called upon Jesus to rescue us? How many times have we felt overwhelmed with problems and scared out of our wits. We struggle and struggle and finally we remember to pray. Always that strong arm is there. Always that loving face is there. Our Lord is always with us to help us.

That is the point of our epistle today. God is always near us. On our lips and in our hearts. God is Lord of all. If we feel that the boat is sinking, Jesus is right there with us, calming the storm.

Today’s readings are a call to renewed faith, especially in the face of things that we know are beyond our control, things that are terrifying. Like the situations in the Middle East and in Ukraine, the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, the suffering of so many people around the world, and the pain and suffering of those close to us. We can pray, and there is help. Our loving God does care about these situations and these people.

Loving God, help us to remember that we are all in the same boat, and you are in the boat with us. Give us the grace to pray, to recognize you, to seek your will, and to help you to build your shalom of peace and
harmony. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Genesis 37, Joseph and his brothers, Matthew 14, Psalm 105, Romans 10 | Leave a comment »

Pentecost 8 Proper 13A RCL August 3, 2014

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Beth Crane

Genesis 32:22-31
Psalm 17:1-7, 16
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:13-21

Our first reading today goes back centuries into ancient times. It was passed down though the oral tradition and was first written in our scriptures by the person we call the Jahwist writer, or J, because this scholar referred to God as Jahweh. This writer worked around 950 B. C., so this version of the story dates back three thousand years.

God has called Jacob to return to his homeland. After some discussions with his wives, Leah and Rachel, and some negotiations with Laban, their father, Jacob has set out for home.

Jacob has heard that Esau is coming his way, and he is quite sure that Esau is still intent on killing him, so he splits all his possessions into four groups and sets them traveling at intervals so that, when Esau meets the first group of livestock and other possessions, those who are supervising that group will say, “All of this belongs to Jacob, “ and Esau will be impressed with Jacob’s wealth. Even after all that God has tried to teach Jacob, he is still operating on the assumption that one’s value depends on how much stuff one has. He is assuming that Esau operates on that value system as well, and that Esau will be impressed and perhaps subdued by meeting four successive accumulations of Jacob’s possessions. Also, Jacob reasons, if Esau captures one or two of the groups of possessions, one or two or three other sets of his wealth may still escape and remain his.

In terms of his spiritual journey, Jacob does a wise and courageous thing. He decides to spend the night alone by the River Jabbok, a river that feeds into the Jordan. In those days, people believed that, when you crossed a river, there was a river spirit there, and you had to get that spirit’s permission to cross. That is the origin of this story.

The identity of Jacob’s adversary is not made clear in our translation. He is simply referred to as “the man.” Jacob and his adversary are about equal in strength. The adversary injures Jacob. He strikes Jacob on his hip socket and Jacob’s hip is put out of joint.

They wrestle until the dawn is almost breaking. The adversary asks Jacob to let him go. But Jacob will not let him go until the adversary blesses him. In our Judeo-Christian tradition, we believe that Jacob is wrestling with God. God blesses Jacob and gives him a new identity. Jacob, the Supplanter becomes Israel, one who has “striven with God and humans and has prevailed.” Jacob names the place Peniel, because he now has seen God face to face. As the sun rises, he is limping because of his battle with himself and with God.

We all know what it is to wake up at two or three in the morning, worrying about a problem, perhaps a family member in distress or something else that has been weighing us down. We have all struggled with God in our own ways, maybe not as dramatically as Jacob, but in our own ways and in our own times. We have also wrestled with the darker sides of ourselves. Why don’t we just take the easy way out for once? What harm could it do to lie just this once? Or fudge the books? Or take this little tax break? Or this little drink or drug? What harm could it do, just this once, to take the easy wrong over the difficult right?

None of us is perfect, though we all try to seek and do God’s will, with the help of God’s grace. The reason this story is so compelling is that we have all wrestled with God, and that is because God is always calling us into more wholeness and more health.

Jacob comes out of this battle with a new identity and with a wound. We are constantly growing into the people God calls us to be, and we, too, are wounded. But, you know what? We are stronger for those wounds. Linda Sanford has written a wonderful book called Strong at the Broken Places. There is much truth in that title.

Every time we go though a challenge and a struggle, with God’s help, we grow stronger.

Our gospel for today is the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus is tired. He has just heard about the death of his cousin, John the Baptist. He gets into a boat and goes to a deserted place by himself. Perhaps he is grieving John’s death. Perhaps is is scared, knowing that the authorities are watching him. Certainly he can use a rest, because the crowds are following him everywhere. They need his healing and they are hungry and thirsty for physical and spiritual nourishment.

When he gets to shore, the crowd is there. The disciples want him to send the people away to buy food. Jesus tells them to give the crowd something to eat. The disciples come from a theology of scarcity. “All we have is five loaves and two fish.” Jesus tells them to bring the offering to him. He makes sure everyone is seated on the grass. What a difference it can make when we take a situation that could be chaotic and introduce some order and calm. Just taking the time to get into groups and sit down on the grass helps everyone to focus on the attention and love that Jesus is bestowing on these people.

He takes the bread, looks up to heaven, blesses the bread and breaks the bread. And feeds all these people with twelve baskets left over.

This is a Eucharistic action, to take, bless, break, and give the bread to the people. Jesus does this for us every time we gather to celebrate this feast of Thanksgiving.Jesus is always with us, to listen to us and care for us, to give us the grace to take the next step in our journey toward wholeness. And at every Eucharist, he feeds us with himself, with his love, his grace, his energy, his very self.

Our readings tell us that every encounter with God is filled with God’s grace.

May we always be deeply grateful to our Lord for his never-failing grace and love. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Genesis 32, Jacob and the Angel, linda Sanford, Matthew 14, Psalm 17, Romans 9 | Leave a comment »

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