Psalm 84 | Grace Episcopal Church (Sheldon, VT)

Pentecost 13 Proper 16B August 22, 2021

Posted on August 22, 2021 by Beth Crane

1 Kings 8:1,6,10-11, 22-30, 41-43
Psalm 84
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-59

In our opening reading this morning, the great temple in Jerusalem has been completed. King Solomon and the leaders of the people gather, and the priests bring the ark of the covenant into the temple. A cloud fills the temple, indicating the holiness of the presence of God. This is a deeply profound moment in the history of God’s people. They have been nomads. The ark has led them ourtof slavery in Egypt and into the promised land. Now they will be settling down.

Solomon offers a powerful and beautiful prayer. He emphasizes that, although the ark is now in the temple, symbolizing God’s presence, God cannot be contained or limited. God fills the heavens and the earth. And Solomon also emphasizes the inclusiveness of God, saying, “Likewise when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a distant land because of your name…when a foreigner comes and prays toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name….” Solomon is praying that, if someone from far away comes to the temple and offers prayers, that God may hear and answer those prayers so that people all over the world may know God. This is one of the early passages that teach us that God has a big family, and it includes everyone on earth.

Our psalm today is one of the most beloved of all the psalms. Although it is a song about the temple, for us it is a song abut Grace Church and every church building we have ever loved. As Herbert O’Driscoll notes, it is also a song about the pilgrimage of our lives and how much we love being in sacred spaces where we can feel the presence of God and generations of past pilgrims. “One day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room.” God’s protection is such a cherished gift for us: “For the Lord is both sun and shield; he will give grace and glory.”

Our epistle today gives strength and tools for following our Lord in a challenging world. We are called to “be strong in the Lord,” and to put on the “whole armor of God.” Following Jesus isn’t easy in a world that often values the material over the spiritual, and just as people dress to fight chemical fires or dive into the ocean depths, so we are called to wear “the belt of truth,” the “breastplate” of of a right relationship with God, the “shield of faith”, the “helmet of salvation,” and the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Most of all, we are called to pray, to stay in touch with God. The fruits of the Spirit, as noted in Galatians 5:22—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, are so different from the values of this world that it is helpful to have these tools at hand.

In our gospel, Jesus is teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. He is talking about what we need to do in order to stay close to him. His disciples find this teaching difficult. He knows that Judas is going to betray him. He is going to be crucified. When John’s gospel was being written, followers of Jesus were being persecuted, and this has happened over the centuries. It is not easy to follow the way of our Lord. People leave. People fall away.

So he asks his disciples, “Do you also wish to go away?” And Simon Peter answers, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Here we are, at Grace Church, in the year 2021, centuries after Peter said those words. and yet he is speaking for us. We have been abiding with Jesus for quite a while now. Not perfectly, to be certain. As the Prayer Book says”We have erred and strayed” from his ways from time to time to be sure, but here we are, and, with Peter, we know there is no other one we can follow. We are like the sparrow in the psalm. We have found a home with him. We abide in him and he in us.

For me, abiding in Jesus always brings to mind Psalm 23. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. Barbara Brown Taylor tells us that she has a friend who grew up on a sheep farm in the midwest. Taylor says that, contrary to common belief, sheep are not dumb. She writes, “According to my friend, cows are herded from the rear by hooting cowboys with cracking whips, but that will not work with sheep at all. Stand behind them making loud noises and all they will do is run around behind you, because they prefer to be led. You push cows, my friend said but you lead sheep, and they will not go anywhere that someone else does not go first—namely their shepherd—who goes ahead of them to show them that everything is all right.

“Sheep tend to grow fond of their shepherds, my friend went on to say. It never ceased to amaze him, growing up, that he could walk right through a sleeping flock without disturbing a single one of them. Sheep seem to consider their shepherds part of the family, and the relationship that grows up between the two is quite exclusive. They develop a language of their own that outsiders are not privy to. A good shepherd learns to distinguish a bleat of pain from one of pleasure, while the sheep learn that a cluck of the tongue means food, or a two-note song means it is time to go home.” (Taylor, The Preaching Life, pp. 140-41.)

This is a wonderful description of what it means for us to abide in Jesus and Jesus to abide in us. He knows us, flaws and all. We know him. We can hear his call. We know he loves us, and we love him. He calls us to love each other, and we do, to the best of our ability, with the help of his grace.

But perhaps the most important thing is that he is always going before us. There is nothing that we will have to endure that he has not gone through already. As Taylor writes, our shepherd goes before us to “show us that everything is all right.” He has gone before us, and he will make it possible for us to follow. He will be out in front leading us. As the “Footprints” poem says, he may even be carrying us. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: "The Preaching Life", 1 Kings 8, Barbara Brown Taylor, Capernaum, Ephesians 6:10-20, Galatians 5:22, Good Shepherd, Herbert O'Driscoll, John 6:56-59, Psalm 23, Psalm 84 | Leave a comment »

The Second Sunday after Christmas January 3, 2021

Posted on January 3, 2021 by Beth Crane

Jeremiah 31:7-14
Psalm 84
Ephesians1:3-6, 15-19a
Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

This is our first Sunday in the year 2021, and I know most of us are happy to see 2020 go. This is also the Second Sunday of Christmas, a day we do not always have in our calendar. I actually counted back to 2012. Out of those eight years, we have celebrated the Second Sunday after Christmas only four times.

Our Collect for this day begins, “O God, who wonderfully created and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

In our opening reading from the prophet Jeremiah, God’s people are going to come home from exile. We have spoken of how our experience with Covid-19 has been like an exile. We can’t travel; we can’t even get together with neighbors. We have to wear masks when we go out. It feels as though we are living in a foreign land.

This passage from Jeremiah is God speaking to God’s people, including us. God will become as a shepherd to us. God will be our father, guiding us home. God will answer our weeping with consolation. God will “Turn [our] mourning into joy, God will comfort [us], God will give [us] gladness for sorrow.” Things will be getting back to normal. It will take time, but it will happen. We can help this process by continuing to follow the guidance of our medical experts.

In our gospel for today, the Wise Men have been warned in a dream not to go back to King Herod. They have gone home by another road. And now the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt because Herod is searching for Jesus in order to kill him. Guided by an angel of God, Joseph takes Mary and the baby to Egypt. Herod never finds Jesus, but, in order to preserve his power, he kills all the baby boys under two years old. Tyrants will stop at nothing to hold on to their control. When Herod finally dies, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him that it is safe to go home. Joseph is in constant contact with God and follows the divine guidance immediately. Finding that Herod’s son is now ruling Judea, Joseph does not want to risk going there. Guided by God in a dream, he travels to Galilee, a place far from the centers of power, and settles in Nazareth.

When God chose a man and woman to raise God’s Son, God chose two ordinary working people, Mary and Joseph. They were people of profound faith who had strong prayer lives, close communication with God, wisdom, accurate intuition, extraordinary courage, determination, and self-discipline. But they did not have worldly power.

Mary became pregnant before they were married, so Jesus was born under the shadow of illegitimacy. Jesus was born when they were homeless. A kind inn keeper gave them lodging in a stable. Then they became refugees. They had to escape into Egypt. They were seeking asylum, some degree of safety.

In his sermon on the First Sunday after Christmas on December 29, 2013, Pope Francis said, “And today, the gospel presents to us the Holy Family on the sorrowful road of exile, seeking refuge in Egypt. Joseph, Mary and Jesus experienced the tragic fate of refugees, which is marked by fear, uncertainty and unease.” In his address for the 106th World Day of Migrants and Refugees on September 27, 2020, Pope Francis called us to respond to the suffering of the many people who are becoming displaced persons and refugees as a result of the Covid pandemic.

In our Collect, we call on our loving God, who has “wonderfully created and yet more wonderfully restored the dignity of human nature.” We ask God to “Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity.”

In our reading from Ephesians, Paul writes, “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may come to know the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.”

Archbishop Desmond Tutu says, “God has a big family,” and our own Presiding Bishop Michael Curry calls us to walk the Way of Love.

In his sermon on December 29, 2013, Pope Francis said, “Jesus wanted to belong to a family who experienced these hardships, so that no one would feel excluded from the loving closeness of God.”

As we walk with the Holy Family today, experiencing with them the terror of having to escape from a despot who is trying to kill their child, may we commit ourselves to helping displaced people and refugees know the loving presence of God. May we work for a world in which no one has to be a migrant or a homeless person or a refugee.

When God came among us as a baby, Jesus and his mother and foster father suffered homelessness, and were forced to flee as migrants and refugees. Yet, at every crisis and point of decision, Mary and Joseph asked for God’s guidance and followed God’s will. As we look out on our country and our world, can we see our homeless people and migrant people as the Holy Family? Can we see these people through God’s eyes? Can we have the faith and hope to tackle issues of race, class, and income inequality so that we can help God restore the dignity of every human being?

Borrowing from Paul, with “the eyes of our hearts enlightened,” may we know the hope to which you have called us, O Lord, the hope of your shalom, and may we use the power of your grace to see others with your eyes and help you restore the dignity of every human being. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, COVID-19, Ephesians 1, Galilee, Holy Family, Jeremiah 31, King Herod, Matthew 2, Nazareth, Pope Francis, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, Psalm 84, Shalom, Wise Men, World Day of Migrants | Leave a comment »

The Presentation February 2, 2020

Posted on February 2, 2020 by Beth Crane

Malachi 3:1-4
Psalm 84
Hebrews 2:14-18
Luke 2:22-40

Today we celebrate the feast of the presentation of Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem. Forty days after the birth of a first born son, the parents would take him to the temple to dedicate him to God. We don’t have the opportunity to celebrate this unless it falls on a Sunday, and this is one of those years.

Our first reading is from the prophet Malachi, We know almost nothing about this man. The name “Malachi” means “messenger, but scholars tell us it is not his real name. He is a messenger, so his book has been named “Messenger.” Scholars tell us that his ministry took place between 520 B.C.E. and 400 B.C.E.

God is calling this messenger to prepare the way for the time when the Lord will come to the temple. We hear the words which Handel has so beautifully set to music in the Messiah. “But who can endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears?”

The Lord will purify the people so that they can present offerings to the Lord as a people of compassion and justice, a people who love the Lord with all their heart and soul and mind and strength and who love their neighbors as they love themselves.

Psalm 84, our psalm for today, was a song that pilgrims sang as they entered the temple in Jerusalem. How dear are God’s holy places to us. How dear is Grace Church to us. We love to spend time with God and each other, and our strength is in God.

Our reading from the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus came to be one of us so that he could destroy the power of death. As John Donne wrote, “Death has no more dominion” over us. Jesus has become like us so that he can become “like his brothers and sisters (namely, us) in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God.” And then those words which are so reassuring and inspiring to us in times of great trial. “Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.” Our Lord has walked through the valley of the shadow of death, and he helps us when we have to walk that valley. We know that he has gone before us, and his grace holds us up and even carries us.

Our gospel is a tender scene of celebration. It is forty days after the first Christmas, and Mary and Joseph bring the little Jesus to the temple to worship and to celebrate and to offer him to the Lord and ask God’s blessing.

In the temple is a faithful elderly man named Simeon. His song of praise, the Nunc Dimittis is in our prayer book on page 93. Simeon realizes that he has seen the Savior, and he sings a song of thanks and praise, “Lord, you now have set your servant free/ to go in peace as you have promised;/ For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior,/ whom you have prepared for all the world to see:/A Light to enlighten the nations,/ and the glory of your people Israel.”

Just think what it must have felt like to see this beautiful baby, only a little over a month old, and realize that this is your Savior. Simon blesses Mary and Joseph and tells then that because of what Jesus will have to suffer, a sword will pierce their own hearts too.

Another devout person, Anna, is there, She never leaves the temple. She “worships there with prayer and fasting night and day,” She, too, recognizes who Jesus is. She praises God and tells the people that Jesus is the Savior.

And then those final sentences, so filled with meaning: “When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.

The next time we will see Jesus is when he is twelve years old and the family goes to the temple for the Passover. In those days, families traveled in large extended family groups. Mary and Joseph started on their way home in that large family group, thinking Jesus was with Uncle Amos and his family or perhaps Aunt Elizabeth and her family, and they finally realized he wasn’t with them. We recall that they rushed back to Jerusalem and found him teaching in the temple, astounding people with his learning.

They had been so worried and they tried to tell him how upset they were that they had left him in the temple without even realizing it. We will never forget his answer. “Don’t you know that I must be about my Father’s business?” Even at age twelve, Jesus knew who he was.

He is our Savior, someone who understands all of what it means to be human, and, because he understands, we can go to him and tell him about the times when we fail to love God and our brothers and sisters or the times when we really put our foot in it and say something we regret or the times when we get angry because we are very tired, and why are we tired? Because we tried to do it ourselves instead of asking him for help. We can tell him the truth because we know that he understands. And because he love us. And forgives us. And gives us strength to go on.

These two very elderly people, Simeon and Anna, understand whom they are seeing, a Savior who loves and understands and forgives and strengthens us. May we know him, too, more and more deeply. May we see him more clearly, love him more dearly, and follow him more nearly. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: "Nunc Dimittis", Anna, Hebrews 2, Luke 2, Malachi 3, Psalm 84, Simeon | Leave a comment »

Christmas 2 January 5, 2020

Posted on January 5, 2020 by Beth Crane

Jeremiah 31:7-14
Psalm 84:1-8
Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-19a
Matthew 2:1-12

Our opening reading from the prophet Jeremiah describes the exiles coming home from the north. Everyone is returning home—not only those who are healthy and strong, but also the blind, the lame, those who are pregnant, even those who are giving birth. God is calling the people home, and there is great rejoicing. The text tells us that the life of the people will become “Like a watered garden,” a life of safety and peace and growth and plenty.

Psalm 84 was sung by pilgrims going into the temple in Jerusalem. It is a song about our desire for union with God.

Our reading from the Letter to the Ephesians tells us that God loved us before the world was formed. Before time, God loved us and called us to be God’s children. We will spend our entire lives trying to grasp the depth of God’s love for us.

Our gospel for today is the story of the wise men coming to “pay homage” to Jesus. The text does not say that there were three wise men. Tradition has developed that part of the story. There are many theories about the star that guided these men on their journey. Some say that it was a conjunction of planets; others say it was Halley’s comet. Scholars think these men were astrologers and priests from Persia, people who observed the stars very carefully. Translating them into more modern terms, I see them as deeply spiritual scientists, astronomers or astrophysicists. They were people who were respected and taken very seriously. And they saw something in the sky that they knew had great meaning. They saw that star and they had to follow that star no matter what. Their sole purpose was to “pay homage” to this new king.

When they finally reached Judea, they followed protocol and went to King Herod and asked where the child was, and we know that this news of a new king terrified Herod, who so insincerely asked the wise men to let him know where the child was so that he, too, could go and “pay him homage.” What he really wanted to do was to kill the infant who was a threat to his power.

Biblical scholar Thomas Troeger tells us that the Greek word translated “pay homage” is proskyneo. Troeger writes, “Because ‘journey’ is a primal metaphor for the life of faith, [we] might explore how the [journey of the wise men] begins with their need to give themselves utterly and completely to the only one who is worthy of worship. This implication is clear in the Greek, since proskyneo was commonly used to describe the custom of prostrating oneself at the feet of a king. The physical posture dramatically expresses the idea of giving not just gifts, but our entire selves to Christ.”

Troeger points out that, when Herod says that he, too would like to pay homage to the new king, the irony of his statement is striking. Troeger writes, “The irony is that Herod unknowingly states what in truth he needs to do. The despot who rules by violence and fear needs to prostrate himself before the power of compassion and justice, needs to give himself entirely to the grace that is incarnate in the child whom the magi are seeking.”

Troeger reminds us that, when they finally reach the house, not a stable or a cave because their journey has taken at least a year, the wise men go into the house, see Mary and Jesus, and “pay homage.”

He concludes, “Only after this act of worship, only after giving themselves completely to Christ, do they present their material gifts.”

May we also give ourselves completely to Christ. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Ephesians 1, Herod, Jeremiah 31, Matthew 2, proskyneo, Psalm 84, Thomas Troeger | Leave a comment »

Pentecost 14 Proper 16B

Posted on August 26, 2018 by Beth Crane

1 Kings 8:(1,6, 10-11), 22-30, 41-43
Psalm 84
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-69

In our opening reading today, King Solomon has completed the building of the new temple in Jerusalem. The ark is being brought from the tent in which it had been kept into the glorious temple which will be dedicated to God. Herbert O’Driscoll points out that the people of God are making a transition from a nomadic life to a settled life. (O’Driscoll, The Word Among Us, Year B, Vol. 3, p. 86.)

After the Ark has been put in the most holy part of the temple, the presence of God is shown by the cloud that surrounds the Holy of Holies. King Solomon prays, saying that there is no God like the God who has led the people so faithfully, walking with them on their journey out of slavery into freedom. Solomon prays for the foreigners who may be called to worship in this temple, and asks that God will hear their prayers as well.

This is a most holy moment in the journey of God’s people Israel, and our response is one of the most beloved and beautiful psalms: “How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.” As the temple in Jerusalem has been the beloved house of worship for so many, Grace has been our beloved house of worship. We humans cherish these places which have been set aside for us to praise God, places where we know that prayers have been said for centuries.

In our gospel for today, Jesus says, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my food abide in me, and I in them” When we spend time with Jesus and share the Eucharist and study the scriptures and pray together, our bond with Jesus grows stronger and stronger. We abide in him, and he abides in us. We become his living Body. We are the Body of Christ here to do his ministry on earth.

In our reading from the Letter to the Ephesians, we are given the “whole armor of God,” so that we can stay on the path and keep following Christ. We are not facing physical persecution as the early followers of Jesus did, but life certainly has challenges for all of us.

So what kind of armor does God give us? Well, first, we fasten the belt of truth around our waist. That is something to think about. There is such a thing as truth. There are such things as facts that can be verified. The ultimate truth for us as Christians is the life and teaching of our Lord. There are many other parts of the Bible that are interesting and instructive, but, for us, the ministry of Christ as revealed in the gospels is the core.

Then we put on the breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness means right relationship with God. Are we in harmony with God? Are we following the example of Christ? His commandment to us was to love others as he has loved us.

Then we put on the shield of faith. This is going to help us to face the forces of darkness. Our faith is like a lifeline between us and Jesus so that we can follow him through the shadow of death and the caverns of despair and darkness. As the “Footprints” poem reminds us, sometimes our Lord carries us through those times.

Then we put on the helmet of salvation. The root word of salvation is wholeness. Take the helmet of the wholeness that our Lord gives to us. Live out of the strength and health that Christ gives to us.

And we hold the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Jesus is the eternal Word. He is with us to help us when the going gets tough. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it,” says John in the prologue to his gospel.

“Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication.” Pray all the time. Stay alert and pray for all the saints. That is, pray for all our brothers and sisters in Christ. Pray for all of God’s children.

The armor of God—truth, righteousness, that is, right relationship with God, faith, salvation, that is, the wholeness and health that our Lord gives us as a gift, the Holy Spirit, who energizes us and enables us to follow Christ and build his shalom, and, last but not least, prayer—prayer at all times and in all situations.

This is how we abide in Christ and allow him to abide in us. This is how we actively live in Christ and let him live in us.

A prayer from our gospel for today—“O Lord, you have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” Lead us and guide us always. In your holy Name. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: 1 Kings 8, Ephesians 6, Herbert O'Driscoll, John 6, King Solomon, Psalm 84, The Ark | Leave a comment »

Pentecost 13 Proper 16B RCL August 23m 2015

Posted on August 23, 2015 by Beth Crane

1 Kings 8:(1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43
Psalm 84
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-69

In our opening reading, the Ark of the Covenant has been brought to the beautiful new temple. King Solomon offers an eloquent prayer. God’s presence is signified by the cloud, which is so thick the priests cannot perform their duties. Yet King Solomon acknowledges that God is far bigger than this temple, impressive as it is.

As we have followed the story of King David and his son, Solomon, the scriptures have revealed that both these leaders, though they were respected and loved by the people, were, like us, flawed human beings. One of the endearing things about the Bible is that it does not gloss over the weaknesses of our heroes. Both David and Solomon loved God deeply yet they sometimes made mistakes and failed to do as God would have them do. This can be reassuring to us. We don’t have to be perfect in order to love and follow our Lord.

This is made clear in our gospel for today. Even among Jesus’ followers, there were degrees of faithfulness. Judas betrayed our Lord for thirty pieces of silver. Peter denied him three times. And yet, Jesus calls us to abide in him and he says that he will abide in us. In today’s gospel, Jesus can see that some of the disciples are having problems believing in him. Some actually leave. But, when Jesus asks Peter if he wants to go elsewhere, Peter says in his forthright way that there is no one else to go to. Peter speaks volumes when he says, “We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Believing is not something that happens just with the head or with the intellect. Believing is not simply intellectual assent. Believing and knowing involve every aspect of ourselves and of our lives. Believing involves the heart. We remember that the heart in the Biblical sense, is not just the seat of the emotions. It is also the center of the will and the spirit and the motivations. When we say that we believe in Christ, we are saying that we believe with all of our selves.

Our reading from Ephesians addresses this and gives us tools. The letter was written at a time when the Roman Empire ruled the known world. Following Jesus is seen as a cosmic battle, because the community of faith is surrounded by a culture that is violent, materialistic, and tyrannical. Christian values are very different from the values of the surrounding culture, then as now.

In this passage, Paul calls us to clothe ourselves in the virtues we are going to need, as individuals and as a Christian community. The first thing we put on is the belt of truth. Earlier in the letter, Paul said that we need to speak the truth in love in order to make the Body of Christ healthy and strong. Then we put on the breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness does not mean being holier-than-thou. Righteousness is being in a right relationship with God, being in a healthy relationship with God, depending on God for help and opening ourselves to God’s power. The Roman Empire and all empires rest on human power. The Christian community depends on God’s power.

Let us just remind ourselves of the distinction between tyranny, imperium, and authority, auctoritas, as described by the Rev. David Brown. Imperium is the boot coming down and crushing the little guys. Auctoritas is authorship, creativity, calling things into being as our Lord did at the creation, letting be, freeing. Very different kinds of power.

Our reading says, “As shoes for your feet, put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.” Shalom, the creation in harmony, with all creatures living in safety and wholeness and health. Then we take the shield of faith. The journey can be challenging. Faith is the only thing that will get us through. We are called to put on the helmet of salvation. Scholars tell us that the Hebrew word for salvation means literally “to make wide.” Kathleen Norris writes that, when Jesus said that a person’s faith has saved him or her, the Greek word would be translated “has made you well.” Salvation is being made whole. It is not something that happens in an instant; it is usually a process. Theodore Wedel says that, when we are saved, we know that we are sinners, but we also know that we are forgiven. In this passage from Ephesians, we put on the helmet of salvation and we know that we are frail humans and sinners, and we also know that we are forgiven, we are on the way to wholeness in Christ, and this gives us a sense of the protection of our Lord. We may walk through the valley of the shadow of death, but we need fear no evil, because he is with us. We take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Our Lord is with us, the Spirit is with us, and we are called to speak the word of God. And we are called to pray in the Spirit at all times. That is how we stay in touch with God. We keep alert and we pray for all the saints, that is, all members of the Christian community. We are clothed in these gifts, these qualities, as we try to spread the gospel of peace, love, and healing in the world.

What are we hearing in these lessons? Our greatest heroes and heroines of the faith loved God with all their heart and soul and mind and strength, and they were not perfect. Even Jesus’ disciples were not perfect. Salvation is a sense of wholeness in Christ, and an awareness of God’s forgiveness even as we are also aware that we are flawed.

We are on a journey. We are called to be spiritual athletes. We are called to stay in training. The Greek word for this is askesis. It is translated as ascetic. But it does not mean that we have to go off into the desert and eat locusts and wild honey. It is what Paul is talking about in today’s reading. To stay strong in order to serve our Lord, there are tools we can use, and Paul is talking about some of those tools. Prayer is a very important one. You dear people are well acquainted with these tools. You use then every day.

We began today with the blessing of the new temple in Jerusalem.

One hundred and ninety-nine years ago, on August 12, 1816, some faithful folks gathered in Sheldon and formed what they called an Episcopal Society. Next year, Grace Church will celebrate its two-hundredth birthday. Please begin to think and pray about how to celebrate this wonderful occasion. Keep up the good work. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: 1 Kings 8, Ark of the Covenant, David Brown, Ephesians 6, John 6, Kathleen Norris, Pentecost 13, Psalm 84 | Leave a comment »

Christmas II Year B RCL January 4, 2015

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Beth Crane

Jeremiah 31:7-14
Psalm 84
Ephesians 1: 3-6, 15-19a
Luke 2:41-52

Our opening reading from the prophet Jeremiah is from the so-called “Consolation” portion of Jeremiah’s book. Much of Jeremiah’s ministry took place during troubled times. There were all kinds of international intrigues and alliances, wars, corrupted leadership, and all kinds of problems.

In this passage, Jeremiah is telling the people that God is going to bring them home from exile. God is going to make the journey easy for them. Jeremiah says that the life of the people is going to become “like a watered garden,” lush and full of growth. And when they get home, there is going to be a party. The young women will dance; the men will be merry. Mourning will turn into joy.

Jeremiah begins the passage with the command to “Sing aloud with gladness.” He calls the people to celebrate their return with praise to God. In an age when so many people are in exile or are refugees, we are blessed to be already at home. But this reading makes an important point. There is much value and grace in praising God. Maybe this is why we all love to sing.

In our epistle, Paul touches upon a theme which we heard in our epistle last Sunday—that, because of Christ, we have become children of God. Paul prays that God may give the Ephesians and us “a spirit of wisdom and revelation as we come to know him, so that, with the eyes of our hearts enlightened, [we] may know what is the hope to which he has called [us], what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.” As “the eyes of our hearts are enlightened,” we grow in faith and hope; we gain a deeper sense of God’s many gifts to us; and we grow into a more profound sense of God’s power to help us in every event and part of our lives. No matter how challenging or distressing a situation may be, God has the power to guide us through it.

On this Second Sunday after Christmas, our lectionary gives us three choices for our gospel. One is the story of the Wise Men coming to worship Jesus. Another is the story of the Flight into Egypt, when the angel warns Joseph to take Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt to keep the baby Jesus safe from King Herod. At various times over the past several years, we have looked at both those gospels.

The third choice is from Luke, which we have just heard. All of us who are parents, and most of us who are not literal biological parents, are well aware that, with any child, you have to do your best, try to be a good example, work hard to train them up in the way they should go and grow, and then, at one point or another, they are going to make their own choices. Sometimes they are good and healthy choices and sometimes they are not. When our children make not so great choices, and when they have to go through pain as a result of those choices, we as parents go through agony.

This gospel is not about Jesus making a bad choice. It is about Jesus being who he truly is. Mary and Joseph were faithful in the observance of their religion. They have gone to Jerusalem for the Passover. In those days, when you went to Jerusalem for a festival, you went with your extended family. Whenever you traveled, you went with a large group because it was dangerous to travel alone. There were robbers and other dangers along the way.

So it takes time before Mary and Joseph realize that Jesus is not in the large family traveling party. He’s twelve years old. He probably likes to walk with Uncle Zechariah, who can tell one great story after another, or Aunt Rachel, who carries the best snacks to munch as you walk along. So, they gave gone a day’s journey before Mary and Joseph realize that Jesus is not there. This is not bad parenting. It’s just that there was a big crowd of relatives among other big crowds of relatives traveling home from the Passover.

Now Mary and Joseph both know that Jesus is the Son of God. But it’s one thing to know on a theoretical level and another thing to know on this experiential level. They look for him among the crowd of relatives and friends. Then they rush back to Jerusalem, worried sick.

They search for three days. Can you imagine your twelve year old child being lost for three days? This is a parent’s nightmare. Finally, they find him in the temple learning from the teachers there. And he asks them, “Don’t you know that I must be in my father’s house?” What a shock for them!” He does go home with them and is obedient to them. But now they know that, at any moment, he may go off to serve his heavenly Father. The text says, “His mother treasured these things in her heart.” Did she have any idea where this would lead? Did she have any idea how much strength she would have to have in order to go through life with her extraordinary son?

Jesus was fully human and fully divine. We know this. But sometimes it is good to contemplate what this meant to Mary and Joseph. What faith and grace it took for them to be such good parents to Jesus. Joseph was such a fine role model for all fathers. When God chose Mary for her amazing and challenging ministry as God-bearer, this put Mary and Joseph in an awkward position. Joseph rose to the occasion, marrying Mary and protecting Mary and Jesus. We need a lot more fathers like Joseph on this planet. As I have said before, we have several in this congregation.

As Jesus grew, I think both Mary and Joseph began to have some idea of how difficult things were going to get. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Jesus was a different kind of King, a king who wasn’t going to use his divine power to hurt others in order to save or defend himself. I think the shadow of the Cross fell upon their lives quite early on. Yet they persevered.

I think that we can safely say that the eyes of their hearts were enlightened. They were able to face every situation with faith and hope. May we follow their example. Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Ephesians 1, Jeremiah 31, Psalm 84 | Leave a comment »

Christmas 2 January 5, 2014

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Beth Crane

Jeremiah 31: 7-14
Psalm 84:1-8
Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-19a
Matthew 2:1-12

Our opening reading for today is a beautiful and powerful passage about the return of all the exiles from the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. They had been conquered by the Assyrians and then by the Babylonians, and the people had been deported to foreign lands.

They had spent years studying the law and deepening their commitment to God and their faith. They had also learned in this time of desolation to cherish their homeland. Now they will be returning.

God is going to gather them from the ends of the earth–the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labor. The text says, “Their life shall become like a watered garden.” The people will live in peace and abundance. This is the vision of God’s shalom.

Psalm 84 expresses the joy of being in God’s house, the joy of returning home after a long exile. Even though we have not been in exile in Babylon or elsewhere, we can still identify with this feeling of joy at being in God’s house and being in God’s presence.

Our epistle, from the Letter to the Ephesians, once again emphasizes that God has made us heirs of God’s kingdom. God has come close to us. God has adopted us, made us sons and daughters of God. We are able to call God Daddy or Mom. Paul gives thanks for the people of God and prays that we may receive a “spirit of wisdom as we come to know [God], so that, with the eyes of [our] hearts enlightened, we may know what is the hope to which he has called us, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.”

What does this mean? First, we have had “the eyes of our hearts enlightened” because the light of the world, Jesus, has come to live in our world, in our hearts, and in our lives. We are not alone. He is always with us. He is constantly bringing light into our hearts and minds, constantly leading us into new truths and teaching us new things. And the most important thing is how deeply he loves us.

Therefore, we have a deep hope, no matter how many challenges we may face, no matter how many tragedies we may hear about on the news, no matter how much suffering we may see around us and within our own lives and families at times. Christ is with us and with all people. Wholeness will come out of brokenness. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

So, we believe in the power of God to bring light out of darkness and to make wholeness out of brokenness. We have the gift of faith, and it is a great gift indeed.

In our gospel for today, we read again the story of the Wise Men. They were highly respected, probably Zoroastrian priests, a combination of scientists, scholars, and spiritual leaders. They had noticed that something important was happening in the solar system. There was a star, and they had to follow it. They felt that a new king was going to be born. So they packed up gifts, made ready for a long journey and set out to follow that star.

Following the highest diplomatic protocols, they met with King Herod, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that he did not want their report on the new king for good purposes. They went on to Bethlehem, and when they got there, finding this little baby who was going to be the greatest king the world has ever known, but not in earthly terms, they fell on their knees and worshipped him. Many a scientist has done the same thing. We try to plumb the mysteries of creation and are led to the ultimate mystery of the Creator of all things. They gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

A dream confirmed that it would be a big mistake to go back and visit King Herod. So they went home by another way.

Many people have been inspired by the story of the wise men. T. S. Eliot wrote about what a life changing experience it was for these journeyers to meet Jesus. Life was never the same after that. All of the old points of reference were gone. A new landscape, a new world, had come.

James Taylor wrote a song called “Home by Another Way “ which explores the corrupting nature of Herod’s power and tells us to “keep a weather eye on the chart on high and go home another way.”

We have spent this Advent and Christmas moving closer and closer to the stable in Bethlehem and finally meeting our Lord Jesus as a tiny baby. We will grow with him as he matures and carries out his ministry.

We have met Jesus and he has changed our lives forever, and is continuing to change and transform us.

May we always follow that star. May we always follow him.

Amen.

Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Advent, Ephesians 1, Jeremiah 31, Matthew 2, Psalm 84 | Leave a comment »

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