The Proper of the Day

St. Thomas is now on Facebook!

2009-12-11T13:30:00.002-05:00

Loyal Readers -

I just wanted to let you know that St. Thomas' is now on Facebook. I encourage you to check us both out! You do have to be a member of Facebook first, but I have to tell you that I am very pleased to recommend it to you. If you are online and reading blogs, then get on Facebook too. I expect to do most of my personal posting and the parish posts on FB for the forceable future.

The St. Thomas page on Facebook is here!

Proper of the Day will now go back to hiatus. Advent Blessings Continue!

RFSJ

Saturday Funny and an Announcement

2008-12-06T14:18:00.002-05:00

I'm kinda glad my GPS doesn't do this, although I wonder if it gets mad when I don't take its advice and constantly says in that patient voice "Recalculating."

Also, an announcement. The Proper of the Day is going on hiatus. I realized that part of my Advent discipline of being quiet and listening meeds to include my blog too. I've noticed it's been more and more tedious for me even to post my Sunday entries, and I completely neglected to post anything for St. Andrew the Apostle. So at least until Christmastide begins PotD will be observing an Advent quiet too. I want to thank all of my readers! I honestly don't know if I will start up PofD again or not. That will be part of my Advent discernment.

Blessings to all for a holy and restful Adventtide!

RFSJ

The Proper of theDay: The First Sunday of Advent

2008-11-30T14:00:00.000-05:00

Today, the beginning of the church year and the First Sunday of Advent, we at St. Thomas's beginn preparing for the Coming of the Babe in the manger and also for the Second Coming of the Lord of Heaven and Earth in the last days. Here's what I offerred at the pulpit today:

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Vernon
Advent 1B RCL 2008
Isaiah 64:1-9; Ps 80:1-7,16-18; 1 Cor 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37
The Rev. R. F. Solon, Jr., Vicar

In the Name of Him who will come again in power and great glory, Amen.

I’m sure everyone here has heard about the poor Walmart employee who was literally trampled to death on Friday morning when the store opened. It happened not far from here, relatively speaking – many of us know lots of people who live on Long Island. And all the news this week has also covered the horrible terrorist incident in Mumbai, India, where among others, a young rabbi and his wife from Brooklyn were deliberately killed in a horrible and intentional attack. Not too far away from us again. I could go on and on. So could probably any of us. The world that I and perhaps you as well, have known, a world of relative safety and security – that world seems to be not just crumbling, but out and out collapsing. It seems like Isaiah’s lament from the first reading, “You have hidden your face from us, you have delivered us into iniquity” is as true in our own day as it was in his.

Today is the first day of the season of Advent. This is perhaps the least understood and also most difficult of the seasons of the church year. You know of course that the most important season of the year is Eastertide, the Great Fifty Days of celebration over the Resurrection of Our Lord. And before that is the season of Lent, a period of six weeks where we are urged to prepare anew for what will come after the drama of Holy Week. And the second most important season is Christmastide, which begins on Christmas Eve and lasts through the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. Christmas is the Feast of the Incarnation, when God became man so that we might come divine. And just like for Easter, early Christians began to observe a period of preparation for Christmas, too. This season became known as Advent, from the Latin Adventus or “Coming.” During these four Sundays before December 25, we take time to look backward at the events leading up to the First Coming of the Lord at the manger in Bethlehem. And we also look forward to the time we recite each Sunday in the Creed when we say, “and he will come again in glory, to judge both the living and the dead.”

The looking back part is easy, but it’s the looking forward that is hard. It might seem like we’ve been in Advent for weeks now, because we’ve been dealing with some of the hardest of the hard words in Matthew’s gospel. We shift now to the Gospel of Mark, and over the course of this new church year, which begins today, we’ll delve deeply into the particular point of view and emphases of this evangelist. Today we hear from the famous or infamous “Little Apocalypse” of Mark. “Apocalypse” simply means “revealing,” or “revelation,” and this is a passage where Jesus seems to be talking to his disciples about what will happen in the future. And since he is, as we recalled last week, Lord of Heaven and Earth, he should know, right?

There’s a lot going on here, but it seems to me the most important part of this reading is not the images of the angels flying around out of heaven or the gathering of the elect from all the earth. Notice what Jesus says in verse 32: “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” This has always been a very comforting verse for me. I’ve found apocalyptic language, like what we are hearing today and what the entire Book of Revelation is about, to be problematic for me personally and spiritually. I admit I don’t understand it very well, and I often have difficulty seeing how it might speak to us today in the 21st century, especially since it’s usually using images and catchphrases that are very time bound. They would have been understood by Mark’s readers and hearers, but even then it was puzzling at best. It was never meant to be taken literally, although many Christians try their best to do so. And so we get to all these exciting predictions about starts falling from heaven and such, echoing today’s reading from Isaiah. And then Jesus says, in effect, “Don’t get excited too much about what I’m telling you, because the only person who really know what’s going on and what’s going to happen is God the Creator anyway.”

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think this means we can simply dismiss out of hand what Jesus is talking about. And in fact he will tell us in a moment not to do just that. But I think it’s a welcome tonic for the obsession some Christians have with end times. There is a lot of weird stuff being preached out there. and a lot of people spend a lot of time and effort trying to predict the future from these obscure passages from today and scattered throughout the bible. It’s ironic, perhaps, that in this season of the year, when we actually take time to reflect on the relative importance of the events of the world around us compared to God’s grand scheme, that the first thing we hear, right at the beginning of the season, is essentially, “Don’t get too hung up on it all.”

But that’s not all Jesus tells us. “Be aware, keep alert. Keep awake!” he says in the very next verse. Just because we don’t exactly know what will happen or when, doesn’t mean we can simply slack off and do nothing. Jesus tells a much abbreviated version of the parable of the talents that we just heard two weeks ago as a reminder that while we are waiting, there is much to do. Last week we were commanded in no uncertain terms what that work is – making sure that those around us know of the tangible love of God in their lives, that we proclaim it to them not only with words but most especially with actions. And while we are waiting and working, we are called to be alert, too. What is this being alert anyway?

To be alert means to be aware of what is going on around us. It requires an openness to using all our senses, to listening, to watching, to feeling, to tasting, to touching. It also requires a stillness on our part, a quietness. If we are talking, we can’t be listening. To be alert means to slow down and be quiet, so that we actually can see and hear and touch and taste what is really going on, instead of what we think or assume is going on. And so the message of this Advent, and every Advent, is to reground ourselves in the world around us, and in what God is calling us to do and be. And we can’t do that if we are running around, constantly busy, continually buying into the message of the culture to do more, to be more, to buy more, or else you aren’t good enough. That insidious voice wants to keep us busy so that we can’t hear the still small voice of God trying to break though into our hearts and souls, just as the tiny baby will once again break through the gloom and doom of the entire cosmos in a few short weeks.

So what to do this Advent? Slow down. Be quiet. Be alert! Let me suggest some practical ways you can practice being alert this Advent season.

Can you not do just one thing you might usually do this Advent? Maybe it’s a Christmas party, although we know they are really holiday or Advent parties, because Christmas doesn’t come until December 24th. Instead of going to that one more thing, stay at home with your family. Have a meal together, or order in if you’re tired. Take some time and simply be present to one another. No need to rush around and get stressed out.

You might use the Advent calendars that are compliments of the parish as part of a daily Advent observance. You can read iteach day in the morning. Get some markers and color in each day after you’ve read it, as a visual cue about how close you are getting to Christmas. I’ve got mine hung up on the wall next to my dresser, so I can’t help but see it as I’m getting dressed.
You might get an Advent wreath for your home. If you have a child in Sunday School you should be receiving one. Like we do here, light one more candle each week until you have all four lit on December 21st, the 4th Sunday of Advent. Light your wreath anytime anyone sits for a meal, even if it’s only for a quick breakfast in the morning. Say the prayer of the day from Sunday as you light the candle. You can find it on the front of the scripture insert each Sunday. The Advent wreath is a great way to bring the spirit of Advent here from our community Sunday worship into your own homes.

Or, perhaps you can spend five minutes a day, just 300 short seconds, simply sitting. You might look at a cross or a candle. Or your Advent candle if it’s nearby. You don’t need to do anything else. No need to read. No need to pray as such. Just sit. For five minutes. It’s not long, although the first few times will seem like forever. Set a kitchen timer if that would help. I know one very good friend who does this in her bathroom. She has a chair there and a five minute pause has become part of her morning routine. This is actually the spiritual practice I am going to adopt this Advent, although not perhaps in the bathroom.

We can’t escape the ongoing clamor of the world around us. Horrors like the tragedies in Long Island and Mumbai continue to assault our senses and our sensitivities. We can get worn down by all the incessant noise and demands on our attention and time and energy. But Advent isn’t merely, or even mostly, a time to get ready for Christmas. It is, of course, but even more it’s a time of sacred waiting, a time to allow the noise of the world to recede just a bit, a period to reflect on what our true priorities are, as opposed to what the world says they should be. And so, I invite you to enter as fully as you can into the spirit of Advent. Oddly enough, the less you actually do in these next twenty five days this season, the more you will be actually doing so!
Amen.

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

RFSJ

Sign of the times?

2008-11-29T08:36:00.001-05:00

RFSJ

A Cool Setting of Psalm 24

2008-11-24T09:36:00.002-05:00

Excellent for Christ the King Sunday, and coutesy of my friend Josh. Here's the English text from the Book of Common Prayer (The Orthodox have a slightly different numbering of the Psalms than Western Christians use, which is why it's Psalm 23 in the video):

24 Domini est terra

1 The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, *
the world and all who dwell therein.

2 For it is he who founded it upon the seas *
and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep.

3 “Who can ascend the hill of the Lord? *
and who can stand in his holy place?”

4 “Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, *
who have not pledged themselves to falsehood,
nor sworn by what is a fraud.

5 They shall receive a blessing from the Lord *
and a just reward from the God of their salvation.”

6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, *
of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
7 Lift up your heads, O gates;
lift them high, O everlasting doors; *
and the King of glory shall come in.

8 “Who is this King of glory?” *
“The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.”

9 Lift up your heads, O gates;
lift them high, O everlasting doors; *
and the King of glory shall come in.

10 “Who is he, this King of glory?” *
“The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory.”

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: The Last Sunday After Pentecost

2008-11-23T20:32:00.003-05:00

Today we at St. Thomas's gathered to celebrate the Lord's Day and in particular the festival of Christ The King. It was a good day to celebrate! Even in the midst of all the turmoil in our lives, Christ still reigns! Here is waht I offerred from the pulpit today:

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Vernon
Last Pentecost - Proper 28A RCL 2008
Ez 34:11-16, 20-24; Ps 100; Eph 1:15-23; Matt 25:31-46
The Rev. R. F. Solon, Jr., Vicar

In the Name of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, Amen!

I remember passing through the lobby on Monday sometime during the day, and glancing at the Food Pantry shelves. They had a nice variety of food in them, some canned veggies, and some pasta and sauce, and I think there was some Macaroni and Cheese and perhaps some tuna. I do remember the canned ockra which I wasn’t sure anyone would ever take - seems like it had been there a while. And there were the informative brochures about various services that people in need can call on in the Sussex County and NW New Jersey area. I have to confess I passed by with a little bit of pleasure. It’s good to see food there. It’s good to know members of this parish are watching out for those in need. I’m always pleased when I remember that our doors are always open. Some food pantries are only open on certain times, and you have to call ahead. That’s a perfectly acceptable way to run things, but it isn’t our way. We prefer to allow those in need to come in when they need to, allowing them to preserve their dignity by not having to make them ask. All in all, I was thinking, we’re doing pretty well.

Then I stopped by the office on Tuesday morning to check on messages and stuff. I passed though the lobby and glanced over at the pantry. It was completely bare. Even that canned okra? Gone. There was nothing there except some baby formula and the “who-to-call” handouts. Admittedly, it wasn’t the first time this has happened, but for whatever reason this time it hit home. After all, we had put up a sign asking people to take what they need but to leave some for others. Whoever visited Monday night didn’t even do that. I admit I felt perturbed, angry, and even a little violated. How could someone just take everything like that? Maybe those other food pantries are right. Maybe we need to set up a more protected system, so we can make sure people don’t take too much, so that there’s something for more people. Times are really tough economically right now. Maybe its time to revisit how we help out those in need.

It’s possible Jesus had occasions like this in mind when he told the parable that we heard in today’s Gospel from Matthew. Like nearly all of Matthew’s stories, it’s simply replete with details that, when we know a little about the context and subtext as well as the text, help to really illuminate what’s going on and what it might mean. It’s another in Matthew’s stories of judgment – seems like this past month has been nothing but these recently. And no wonder – this is the last chapter before the passion narrative begins. Jesus is naturally thinking about the end of his earthly ministry and apparently the end of all things as well.

And this one is a doozy. Jesus is now on the throne of heaven, Lord of all nations and Judge of all peoples. That’s one reason we’re hearing this on Christ the King Sunday. Nowadays we Americans don’t have a good sense of kingship or authority, but think perhaps of a Presidential motorcade or maybe the upcoming Inauguration and you might get some emotional sense of what’s going on. Jesus proceeds to divide people into two groups, on his right and on his left. (I might point out incidentally, as a left-handed person myself, that Matthew’s blatant handism is a bit offputting.) But be that as it may. He tells the ones on his right that they are blessed by God because they have taken care of Jesus’ own needs. When they took care of any of the poor and downtrodden and destitute, they were doing it for the Lord. The people on his right were surprised to hear that. And because of that, off they go to heaven.

And in perhaps the most direct and harsh words that Matthew uses in the entire Gospel, he condemns the people on his left hand to eternal punishment because they didn’t take care of Jesus’ needs when they did not minister to the poor and needy among them. Those people are surprised too, but they seem to have no options left and off they go to hell. There’s no getting around this language. It’s in the original Greek as well as the English. This seems pretty clear.
There a few things that it’s important to understand here, it seems to me. First, notice the quadruple repetition of the ways to help others out. Remember that throughout the Bible, and particularly in Matthew, whenever something is repeated it means to pay attention. And here, the same list of actions is announced not just once but four different times. Talk about a neon sign saying, “Listen up, people!” I’m not sure there is another instance in the entire New Testament at least that is repeated four times. This is obviously a really important thing for Matthew and hence for us.

There’s another thing that we might miss on a casual reading. At the end of time, notice it says that “all the nations” will appear before the throne. That’s a phrase that means everyone – Jews, Gentiles, Romans, Greeks, Barbarians. Absolutely everyone. No one is exempt. Everybody is included. So that means that everyone is not included in the judgment, but also in the “least of these” category, those who are members of Jesus’ family. There’s no special category of those who were helped. It isn’t just those like us, or just Christians, or just residents of Sussex County or whatever. It’s everyone.

And that’s actually perhaps the key to understanding this passage, it seems to me. After all, for it to be Gospel there should be News and it should be Good. It might be hard to find the Good News here, given the extremely negative things going on here. But it is there, and it’s actually not too difficult to find.

Notice who is doing the judging. It’s Jesus. It isn’t the sheep or the goats. It’s Jesus. He is the one who is the King and Lord of all Creation. He is the one who sits on the throne, channeling all the imagery of Isaiah and Ezekiel, whom we heard in the first lesson, into this heavenly vision. It is only him. He has the power, and he has the authority, and he has the responsibility to make wise judgment. And of course he will! Better him than us. We’re only human and we don’t have total knowledge like Jesus does. It’s above our pay grade and I, for one, am very thankful for that.

You know why? Because it frees us to concentrate on the giving and our ministries of service and not on whether or not those whom we serve are worthy - or not. Remember that it is “all the nations” who are both being judged and who are included in Jesus’s family. As followers of Jesus, our task is to do always what he did. He did in fact feed hungry and give water to the thirsty and all the things of that quadruple list. And he was remarkably indiscriminate about who he healed and ate with and served and died for. And that, I think is what the point of this gospel is. That’s the Good News. Jesus is the judge, not us. We don’t have to worry about whether those whom we help are hoarding food, or whether they follow the rules of the food pantry, or whether they really need it or not. That’s ultimately between them and God. Everybody, we who minister and those whom we minister to, will have to face Jesus in Jesus’ own good time. The Good News is we don’t have to worry about what anyone else is doing or not. We only have to ensure that we are doing as Jesus would have us do.

I find that incredibly freeing. It means that we can contrite on giving and healing and hoping, and generally showing the world that the rules of the world are not the be-all and end-all. Now, even now, there is an alternative. The kingdom of God and his Son Jesus Christ is being advanced, slowly perhaps by our eyes, but perfectly in unison with God’s plans. You and I are part of the advance team of that kingdom. Like campaign workers who go ahead of the candidate to get the venue ready, our job is simply to do our parts right here as the community of St. Thomas’s - to feed the hungry and give shelter to the homeless and visit the sick and those in prison. Are they really hungry? Do they really need that food card? The bizarre answer – bizarre to our ears which are used to hearing the words or the world – is, it doesn’t matter. Our job is to minister. Let the God of the weeds and the wheat, the God of the mustard seed, the God of the fish in the net, the God of the wise and foolish wedding attendants, the God of the sheep and the goats. Let that God do the sorting and the judging. We don’t have to. And boy, am I glad about that!

So the next time I see the food pantry empty, I’m still going to fret a bit. I’m going to hope that we the members of St. Thomas’ will do what we can to fill those shelves again. Each of us can only do so much. The message to the sheep is clear. Don’t simply ignore the needs of those around you. You cannot accept God’s love if you are unwilling to share it. Love cannot be hoarded. At the same time, we can only do what we can do. But each of us can and must do something. Whatever else you may find in this parable, doing nothing is, in Christ’s eyes, simply not an option.

So I hope you can find it in your hearts and wallets to continue to contribute to the Food Pantry, and to our Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets, and for the material needs of St. Thomas’s itself. Continue your ministries or service to this each other and this parish and in the community. Do like my friend does and volunteer to serve Thanksgiving Dinner somewhere. Whatever it is and whatever you can do, the need is always present. It’s not ultimately about those we are helping. It’s about treating them as Christ himself, and let Christ figure everything else out. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got enough to figure out and worry over than in trying to take on the job of Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Thanks be to God that’s for Jesus! I for one am relieved and delighted to have him do it.

Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well¯beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

RFSJ

A Proper for Veterans' Day

2008-11-11T11:37:00.006-05:00

Today is Veterans' Day in the US, the day originally when WWI ended, on the 11th month on the 11th day at the 11th hour. My first job out of college was as a civilian in the Information Technology group within the Defense Logistics Agency, an agency of the US Department of Defense. I got the opportunity to work with lots of active duty Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, and Airfolk (we called them "airmen" in the 80s) and gained great respect for what they do and did. My Federal service was a wonderful time for me, made so in large part because of the dedication and duty of the military members I had the privilege of working with and for. Even now, when I so disagree with the foreign policy of our nation, I cannot help but be angry with the way the current Administration has treated our veterans. No matter whether I agree with why they have been sent overseas or not, we as a nation still owe them and must take care of them and their families. That, I believe, is our solemn obligation.

And, as I observed on Memorial Day, we in the church do a disservice to our Veterans, it seems to me, by not having a proper observance on this day. Seems to me we could use the same observance as I suggested for Memorial Day andit would work fine. Alternatively, the stuff from Joel about the ravaging army (we are reading it in the Daily Office this week) would be appropriate. Are there other passages that come to mind?

For Heroic Service, BCP p. 839

O Judge of the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy. Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines. This we ask in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: Pentecost XXVI

2008-11-10T09:00:00.001-05:00

On Sunday we at St. Thomas's met for Word and Sacrament, around the words of Scripture and the Word Incarnate. We heard about Joshua's calling the peopleof Israel to renew the covenant, about St. Paul's speculation about what the return of jesus might look like, and Matthew's hard words about bridesmaids who don't think ahead.

What was most on my mind this weekend was an incident that happened on Thursday. A cross was burned on the front lawn of a family who supported Barack Obama. Hardwick is in Warren County, just next door to us in Sussex County. It appalled and disturbed me that still, in 2008, there are people who pervert the symbol of my faith, a symbol of love, into a symbol of hatred and racism. My homily addressed this by noting that, as Christians, the Parable of the Over and Undercaffeinated Bridesmaids says that we have the obligation to never simply acquiesce to evil in our midst but to confront it and stand against it. We simply can't ignore it or just stand idly by while it happens.

Praya for the family who were the victims of this incident. Pray for those who perpetrated it. And pray for the Church, that we might always be alert and be ready to confront evil wherever it occurs.

O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

TGIF!

2008-11-07T11:10:00.004-05:00

Yes, we have!

Well, *I* thought it was funny....

RFSJ

A Prayer After the Election

2008-11-05T01:23:00.003-05:00

For Sound Government (BCP p. 821-822)

O Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we
may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to
other nations of the earth.

Lord, keep this nation under your care.

To the President, the President-elect and members of the Cabinet, to Governors
of States, Mayors of Cities, and to all in administrative
authority, grant wisdom and grace in the exercise of their
duties.

Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

To Senators and Representatives, and those who make our
laws in States, Cities, and Towns, give courage, wisdom, and
foresight to provide for the needs of all our people, and to
fulfill our obligations in the community of nations.

Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

To the Judges and officers of our Courts give understanding
and integrity, that human rights may be safeguarded and
justice served.

Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

And finally, teach our people to rely on your strength and to
accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens, that they
may elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for
the well-being of our society; that we may serve you
faithfully in our generation and honor your holy Name.

For yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as
head above all. Amen.

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: Pentecost XXV

2008-11-03T07:55:00.004-05:00

On Saturday St. Thomas's celebrated All Saints' Day, and on Sunday the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, a Feast of the Lord. We continued to hear the epci stories from the sacred history of the Israelites, from Paul's first letter to the Christians at Thessalonica, and some interesting words from Matthew's gospel aboout the role of authorities in Christian communities. I chose to reflect on the experience of Joshua and the Israelites at the Jordan River. Some people still called me "Fr. Bob" after the services though.....

Here, in note form, is what I offerred at thre homily. As always, I welcome your comments!

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Vernon
Proper 25A RCL 2008
Joshua 3:7-17; Ps 107:1-7, 33-37; I Thes 2:9-13; Matt 23:1-12
The Rev. R. F. Solon, Jr., Vicar

Israelites at the Jordan before the Crossing into Israel proper....
Scary situation – 40 years years, Moses dead, spies reported back bad things, etc.
They can see the other side, the Promised Land....
But The river is pretty deep – can’t cross it right now....
Still they have a lot going for them….
What to do?
Once again, God saves them – G’s initiative, not theirs
Their response is in today’s Psalm – “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is Good”
9 separate times quoted in the Bible!

Seems to me we’re in a similar situation....
As a community , we want to move forward with Parish Goals....
For us personally, we have our own goals and dreams for the future.....
The deep water of the economy is before us, blocking us from our Promised Land.....
How are we going to cross it?
And yet Good Things Happening:

Worship Every Sunday and Principle Feasts
Vicar’s Forum
Bible Study
Welcome Mat Ministry
August Picnic
Autumn Quiet Day
All Saints Party
3 people presented for reception
7 or more for Baptism
Over 20 children enrolled in SS

I sense vitality and commitment to our Episcopalian identify here in Vernon
That’s a lot, it seems to me!
We are praying together, playing together, and serving together.
Israelites had much going for them, and perhaps they weren’t so good at seeing it – had gotten used to grumbling in the desert.
Maybe we aren’t used to seeing our good gifts from God either. Maybe we’re looking for a miracle to split the waters in too.
Maybe instead we are laying stones in the water so that eventually we can cross on dry ground.
Much to give thanks to God for, for he is good!
Our gratitude toward God leads us to offer our own gifts back to God of time, talent and treasure.

We are starting that time of the year when it’s important we talk honestly about what God is doing for us and what our responses will be. It’s my hope that our individual responses and response as a community will be to see the good things that are happening, see the stones being paid across the water, see the water itself piling up on one side and on the other. This week pledge cards are being prepared and will be ready for you. We’ll gather them in on Christ the King Sunday on November 23. Throughout the month members of the parish will talk honestly about what this community means to them. As they do so, I invite you to take a look around. Think about what God is doing right now for you in the midst of all the fear and uncertainty that surrounds us. The water looks deep and wide. But How will you respond to the invitation to cross to the Promised Land?
That water? It isn't so deep, or so cold, or so wide.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!

Amen.

Almighty and merciful God, it is only by your gift that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: Feast of All Saints

2008-11-01T15:55:00.004-04:00

Today is one of the seven Principle Feasts of the Church, the Feast of All Saints. On this day we remember not only all the saints already named in our calendar, but also those who are not known to us as well. It's one of my favorite days of the year because we sing some of my all time favorite hymns (although my organist says they are all my favorites), such as "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones" and "For All the Saints." But in addition, it's a good time ask why my personal patron, St. John the Evangelist, is indeed my patron. He's my patron because I'm a member of the Fellowship of St. John and because I have special reverence and love for the Fourth Gospel. So my task, it seems to me, is to see how the special qualities of that Gospel are such that I can incorporate them into my life and carry on the work of the Beloved Disciple in my own daily living.

Who are the beloeved saints in your life? Perhaps it's one of the "official" ones, perhaps one known only to you. I invite you to name them in the Comments, and if you're willing, tell a bit about why he, she, or they are your favorites(s).

While you're pondering, here's a version of the hymn tune "Lasst uns erfeuen," which is the tune for "Ye Watchers...."

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

RFSJ

A Halloween Poem and a Prayer

2008-10-31T11:18:00.005-04:00

WHEN the night wind howls

In the chimney cowls,

And the bat in the moonlight flies,

And the inky clouds,

Like funeral shrouds,

Sail over the midnight skies--

When the footpads quail

At the night-bird’s wail,

And black dogs bay at the moon,

Then is the spectre’s holiday--Then is the ghost’s high noon!

Ha! Ha!

Then is the ghost’s high noon!

As the sob of the breeze

Sweeps over the trees

And the mists lie low on the fen,

From grey tomb-stones

Are gathered the bones

That once were women and men,

And away they go,

With a mop and a mow,

To the revel that ends too soon,

For cock crow limits our holiday--The dead of the night’s high noon!

Ha! Ha!

The dead of the night’s high noon!

And then each ghost

With his ladye-toast

To their church yard beds take flight,

With a kiss, perhaps,

On her lantern chaps,

And a grisly grim, “good night!”

Till the welcome knell

Of the midnight bell

Rings forth its jolliest tune,

And ushers in our next high holiday--The dead of the night’s high noon!

Ha! Ha!

The dead of the night’s high noon!

WHEN THE NIGHT WIND HOWLS

by: W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911)

O Lord,

From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!

Amen.

RFSJ

Gone to the Dogs

2008-10-30T16:34:00.003-04:00

Yikes!

RFSJ

The Proper of Yesterday: SS Simon and Jude, Apostles

2008-10-29T17:29:00.003-04:00

I was at the Newark Clergy Conference yesterday without my laptop - there was a freak winter storm in N Nj and NE PA, and some areas of Sussex County had nearly a foot of snow! I was planning to commute each day, but with the bad weather I got a room last night instead. Glad I did! But that mean a gazillion emails when I did get home today and no reflection for SS Simon and Jude, Apostles, whose memory we recalled yesterday. So, loyal readers, any of you want to write a reflection on the day? Use the Comments so we can all see it.

O God, we thank you for the glorious company of the apostles,and especially on this day for Simon and Jude; and we praythat, as they were faithful and zealous in their mission, so wemay with ardent devotion make known the love and mercy of ourLord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you andthe Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RFSJ

The Proper of Yesterday: Pentecost XXIV

2008-10-27T08:14:00.003-04:00

Wow, the Roman numerals are getting very long this time of year! Yesterday we at St. Thomas's gathered as we always do on a Feast of Our Lord. We recounted the story of the death of Moses, for me one of the saddest passages in all the Bible. We continued to read from Paul's 1st letter to the Thessalonians, and then from Matthew's Gospel, the excellent and thought-provoking Summary of the Law. Here's what I offerred at the lectern. As always, I welcome your comments!

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Vernon
Proper 25A RCL 2008
Deut 34:1-12; Ps 90:1-6,13-17; I Thes 2:1-8; Matt 22:34-46
The Rev. R. F. Solon, Jr., Vicar

May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all our hearts, be always acceptable in your site, O Lord our Redeemer, Amen.

I can’t help but think of the game show, “The Weakest Link.” Do you remember it? That’s the quiz show where you and your team answered questions for higher and higher amounts of money, and at the end of the round you had to vote someone off your team. Remember Anne Robinson? She was the very stern and insulting quiz show host, who was nicknamed the “Queen of Mean.” He signature line was “You are the weakest link. Goodbye!”

It sort of seems like the Pharisees are playing “The Weakest Link” with Jesus today. And really, they have been at it for a while now. Last week it was the Pharisees who were trying to trap Jesus with the trick question about paying taxes. The week before it was Jesus, in the story of the very bizarre wedding banquet, zinging the temple leaders about who would be worthy to be invited to the Great Feast. And at the beginning of October it was Jesus again going after the Pharisees in the Parable of the Vineyard. Seems like they’re all playing a dangerous game of The Weakest Link, or maybe Survivor or Big Brother. Someone gets voted off the Island or the team or the mansion. Who will it be? Stayed tuned to find out!

Unlike the questions you get on game shows on TV for the most part, these quiz questions that Jesus gets are meant to be emtrapment and are dangerous. Although there was no TV back in the day, if Jesus gave a wrong answer, he could very easily have been arrested or worse, beaten up by the crowds. It was a dangerous game the Pharisees were playing. They were determined to get him, any way they could. It’s kind of interesting that, because we tend to use a more-or-less sequential reading of the Gospel, by the time we get into October and November every year we’re reflecting on places and events that happened, like this passage does, during Holy Week itself. In our church year we don’t get there until April, and there’s a long time between now, the first few days of that week, and the second week in April, when we take up the Passion narrative again. But make no mistake. The temple authorities were playing for keeps.

This time, though, I wonder if the temple leaders hadn’t made a strategic mistake. Even though they are trying to get Jesus in trouble, they pick a pretty esoteric topic to do it in. You might know that there are 613 commandments in the Torah, which means Teaching, and that includes the Ten Commandments and all the rest. There had been ongoing scholarly debate in Pharisee circles about which of all the 613 were the most important. After all, the temple purity laws were needed in order ot have ceremonially ready priest to offer the sacrifices. And the food laws were important in order to keep the people pure and not mix in with the heathens. Or maybe it was the laws about what to bring to the Temple when a pilgrim came to the Temple. Pharisees, of course, were the strictest and they wanted to follow all the Torah scrupulously. They tried, at least. But even they knew that some were probably more important than others. But which ones?

I wonder if this wasn’t a mistake because, except for the Pharisees, most Jewish people probably didn’t care too much which of the 613 were most important. They had a hard enough time trying to get by under foreign occupation and just keep as much of their own uniqueness going as they could. 613 separate commandments? You’re nuts, I can hear Jacob the Plumber saying. I’ve got mouths to feed and taxes that I can’t afford to pay. You want me to concentrate on what?

Of course in hindsight, we know what Jesus is going to say. His reply is the Summary of the Law: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” And then he goes on and asks them a trick question back. According to Matthew, “No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.”

For Jesus at least, the quiz was over. There would be more to come later on that week, unfortunately, but we know that even that final confrontation was the beginning of the end for sin and separation in the world. But it begs the question then, does the Summary of the Law have anything to say to us today? After all, the Good News is that we are not finally separated from God. That ended on Easter morning. Even in this physical life, we know that Jesus is among us right here and now, and most especially in the Holy Communion we will share in just a few minutes. When we say, “This is my body” and “This is my blood,” we really mean it. So what happens at the end of our worship then, after we agree to go forth in peace to love and serve the Lord? Does something that summarizes the 613 commandments of Torah, even if it is the words of Christ himself, mean anything to Christians today?

Think about it. We know that our salvation, the end of our separation, occurs when we are baptized and adopted as God’s own sons and daughters, brothers and sisters to Christ himself. That salvation is completely free – we can’t earn it, we can’t just follow the rules and be assured that all is right with God. After all, if that were true, then who needs Jesus at all? That’s what the 613 commandments were for, to keep people in right relationship with God. As we heard in the parable of the vineyard from a few weeks ago, though, it wasn’t working. God finally sent Jesus to finally and forever break down the separation we know exists. So how can two of those 613 commandments be good for us, if following them or any of the 613 won’t get us any closer to God than we are now?

It’s absolutely true that we can’t earn our way into God’s love. God won’t love us any more or any less than God loves each of us right now. It’s the entire life and ministry and death and rising again of Jesus that actually is a witness to that completely unbelievable love of God. But Jesus, who is literally the embodiment of the Good News of that love, he says something which cuts through all the red tape. He says to love God, and love your neighbor as yourself. He makes it clear that neither is more important than the other commandment. Both are equal in importance. Here’s the amazing part:

If you love God as hard as you can, you will find you have no choice but to begin to show love to those around you, your family, friends, next door neighbors, members of the community here at St. Thomas and wherever else you associate. Why? It’s paradoxical that it’s a commandment, but remember you can’t love God any more than God already loves you. It is impossible for us humans to reciprocate God’s love. We can’t do even one one-millionth, one one-billionth, one gazillionth of what God already does. And so in a way the command to love God is not much of a command, because we can’t. Not like God does. But what we can do is show the love that God shows to you and to me and spread it around. It’s the opposite of the Survivor or Weakest Link or Big Brother, because instead of voting people off the island, we do what Jesus does and vote them in. Anyone who wants to, just like Jesus did. That’s why Jesus pointed out that the two commands are equivalent, because in a way they are only one command. If you accept the salvation that God offers to you in Jesus, if you want the personal relationship that God has designed for you since the Big Bang itself, the way you love God with all you can is to begin to love your neighbor as yourself.

I want to point out a curious thing about this. I hope you do not think I am conceited, but I actually disagree with Jesus on part of this. Jesus says there are two commandments that are in actuality the one unified way to live out your salvation. Actually, there are three commandments here, not two. The first commandment is love God as hard as you can. The second commandment to be listed is to love your neighbor, and the third commandment is to love yourself. Really. The little word “as” is very very important. It says that your love of neighbor is predicated on how much you love yourself. You are your own closest neighbor. Think about that for a minute. You will not be able to show love to those around you if you are not taking good care and loving yourself. You’re created in God’s own image, after all. God doesn’t make junk, as the bumper sticker so rightly puts it. So if you aren’t showing your own self the care and attention and affection and desire for what’s truly best for someone – and that someone being you – then you will not be able to expand that love to anyone else and you will not really be loving God either. The love of God and neighbor means accepting yourself as God accepts you – honestly, clearly, with no preconceptions, no filters, just as you are.

And that’s hard. We all have things we wish were not part of our lives. Things we perhaps did in the past that we regret. Habits we know aren’t good for us. Baggage from old relationships long ceased that we still find we can’t put down. Internal DVDs or tapes from mentors or parents or friends – messages that pull us down that should mean nothing today but that continue to play in the background of our hearts. Separation from self is really the first separation that God says is over in Christ. God looks at each of us with complete clarity – nothing is hidden from God. All the things we hide even from ourselves, all the things we wish we could keep hidden from God. And the astounding Good News is that God loves each of us anyway!!!!! It doesn’t matter what we have done or said or been or, as the confession has it, left undone either. God wants to be in relationship with you and with me, unaffected by anything that has or has not happened in the past. And my unease, my discomfort, my discombobulation over that, and perhaps yours too, is that if God sees everything about my broken self and still loves me, then God invites me to see my own self with the same loving and clear eyes that God uses. And that means confronting those broken and sinful parts with love and honesty and acceptance. That doesn’t mean leaving them that way. If I begin to see myself as God sees me then I will want to work on those less-then-whole parts of my life. That’s the continual conversion to the mind of Christ that I open myself up for when I begin to let him into my life. I begin to want what he wants, which is wholeness for my own self, which is living my life as God desired for me in the first place anyway.

So does this last round of Jesus-vs-the Pharisees mean anything? It means everything. It was the final straw - the beginning of the end – for Jesus’ earthly life. But for you and for me, it’s the end of the beginning of our old lives, the lives marred by separation from God and others and our own very selves. So this week, my hope and invitation for you is to take some time and quiz yourself. Instead of Howie Mandel or Anne Robisnon asking the questions, though, let Jesus do it. Your quiz questions are simple. You shall love God and your neighbor as you live yourself. How do you fall short of loving yourself as God loves you? What are the broken parts of your life that you’d rather not remember, that you wish God didn’t already see? Take five minutes each day this week. Pick one thing you don’t like about yourself, or something you’ve done, or a habit that is causing you to be less than whole, less than living the life God wants you to live. And give it God. God knows all of it and loves you anyway! And then do one thing for yourself that you like to do, that gives you joy. That’s a reminder that God wants your entire life to be full of joy and wholeness. This is a way to begin to love yourself, so you can eventually love others and demonstrate in your very life the love of God too. In this quiz, there are no wrong answers. You won’t be voted off the team. And the grand prize is nothing less than your very life itself!
In the name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: St. James of Jerusalem

2008-10-23T20:15:00.007-04:00

Today the Episcopal Church observes the life and witness of St. James of Jerusalem "The Just," brother of Our Lord. This James is not the same as James son of Zebedee, but is assumed to be the author of the Letter of James and is also considered, because of the witness in Acts and elsewhere, as the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and so in some sense the first ackwoledged Bishop in Christian history. James was executed during an interval in Roman governors in Jerusalem in about 62 AD. By the First Council of Nicea in 325 AD, there were some three hundred bishops in Christianity, but up till then only five Patriachs, or bishops of the most important dioceses. These are Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, and Rome. So James the Just has a special place in Christianity for those who believe that being "catholic and apostolic" means being in communion with the historic episcopate.

Often the Scriptures appointed for Major Feasts are pretty obvious in their application. Occasionally, they don't seem to be, at least to me. Tonight's second lesson at Evening Prayer (Hebr. 12:12-24) seems like that to me. it's clearly exhortation to be at peace with others and also to recognize that in Jesus, proximity to God is assured, unlike at Mount Sinai during the Revelation of the Torah. This feast is not in the 1928 BCP, so is new in this edition. The recent Lutheran Evangelical Lutheran Worship does not have seperate readings in the Office for major feasts, and this feast is not observed there or by the Roman Catholic rite either. So no clues there. (Update: this Feast is observed by the Orthodox churches, and some of the appointed scripture is the same - see here.) The Psalms for the day are very Jerusalem-centric, and the reading from Isaiah (Is 65:17-25) is a wonderful prophecy about the Holy City's renewal. It's probably obvious to everyone but me, so if someone would please explain it, please do!

This Daily Office site suggests "O Lord, Thou Has Been Our Refuge" by Vaughn Williams for today. Here's a version on youtube that's nicely sung:

Grant, O God, that following the example of your servant James the Just, brother of our Lord, your Church may give itself continually to prayer and to the reconciliation of all who are at variance and enmity; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever.

RFSJ

PS - The icon of St. James was written by Fr. Tobias Haller at In a Godward Direction just this year and will be dedicated Sunday. It's used with his permission.

Death is Rated PG-14

2008-10-21T21:01:00.003-04:00

I happened to stumble across an episode of Boston Legal just a few minutes ago. The main story line was about a man who is about to be executed - for what I don't know. The execution itself was handled pretty well - it was all I could do to not turn the channel. (It was in Texas and so by lethal injection.) But I happened to press "info" on my cable remote. And you know what? This episode is rated PG-14. PG-14. The delibrate killing of a human being by the state is only rated "Parental Guidance - 14 years or older."

It's not X for extreme violence? It's not even R? It's only PG-14?

I'm appalled.

RFSJ

Private Poll: Obama beats McCain by 16 Electoral Votes

2008-10-21T08:38:00.006-04:00

The NYT has a cool feature that allows you to draw your own electoral map of the presidential election. At the moment, I'm conservatively predicting predicting that both Ohio and Florida will go for McCain, but that Obama picks up Colordado, New Mexico, and Iowa, as McCain seems to have conceded them. Here's a link to my map - you can draw your own if you sign in to the site. Note that you need 270 EVs to win the presidency. Many pollsters are giving Obama much higher scores, as Obama is trying very hard to break down the "270 +1 vote" mentality of governance and widen the concensus in American politics.

RFSJ

PS- Just found out you have to relink each time you make a change to the map. Darn.

Monday Funnies

2008-10-20T11:55:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since I posted any funnies. Here's two for Monday. Click on an image to enlarge.

Hmmm...What other virtue or vice lists would you have added?

Awwwwww!!!!!

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost

2008-10-19T21:03:00.005-04:00

Today the community of St. Thomas's gathered to celebrate the Lord's Day and the Children's Sabbath. We had special prayers for children and many of the children participated in out 10 AM service. Thanks to the Sunday School for the good work they are doing - we have more than 20 children registered this year!

At 10 AM I asked the children about why we come to church on Sunday. We had a bit of conversation about it , and then I reminded us that Sunday is the first day of the week, and that God should be first in our lives. so it's good and cool that the first thing we do on the first day of the week is come to church to meet God. Don't know how it turned out, but as I told the congregation when we began the Creed, it's there to cover for the preacher just in case.

Yesterday was the major feast of St. Luke, Apostle and Evangelist. I was leading an Autumn Quiet Day on the theme of Creation, and although I privately observed the feast at Morning and Evening Prayer, our public celebration yesterday had a different feel. I realize it's the first time I haven't done a sperate entry for a mjaor feast since this blog began, and I plead extra work this past week.

Besides the creation story of Genesis 1:1 - 2:3, I selected the following lessons to frame our day, beginning with MP and ending with the Gospel of the Eucharist. I'd appreciate your feedback on this "Votive for Creation" which is not really the same as the Rogation Day votives:

At Morning Prayer: Psalm 104: 1-24; Sirach 43:1-12, Benedictus es, Domine ( Canticle 13), Hebrews 2:5-18, Dignus es (Canticle 18), Collect for Rogation Days III, At the Eucharist: John 1:1-14

Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession 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.

RFSJ

The Great Re-Opening!

2008-10-16T09:12:00.003-04:00

From today's New York Times:

Since midsummer, installers have been placing the 8,500 pipes the console organ controls in chambers above the choir stalls at the eastern end of St. John the Divine.

Read it all here, and rejoice in God's adundance!

RFSJ

The Season is Incredible

2008-10-15T13:24:00.004-04:00

This week I've spent some time outside looking at the leaves. Last Tuesday a friend and I visited High Point State Park in Sussex County. at 1803 feet, the High Point monument is the highest place inNew Jersey. On a clear day, which it was, you can see almost four states!

Last Friday I took a drive up the Delaware River into New York. I wish I had brought my camera, because it was truly stunning. Deep valleys to the left, nearly sheer cliffs to the right on Rt. 97. There's a nice picture from the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River site from the National Park Service.

Finally, on Monday I took another drive up due north into New York and discovered the Mohonk Preserve, a privately funded forest preserve dedicated to protecting the Shawangunk Mountains by insporing people to care for, explore, and enjoy the natural world. Here's a pic from their site, which does nto really do justice to the immesity of the ridge itself:

Autumn in this area of the country has just been truly grand, and excellent reflectional fodder for the Autumn Quiet Day coming up on Saturday.

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: Penteccost XXII

2008-10-13T11:13:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was a long day, but good too. We gathered to encounter the Word in word and Sacrament - and this week the Gospel has got some of Metthew's "hard words" to deal with. See what you think. As always, I welcome your feedback!

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Vernon
Proper 23A RCL 2008
Ex 32:1-14; Ps 106:1-6, 19-23; Phil 4:1-9; Matt 22:1-14
The Rev. R. F. Solon, Jr., Vicar

May the words of my mouth, and meditation of all our hearts, be always acceptable in your site, O Lord our Redeemer, Amen.

When I was on vacation two weeks ago I visited my parents in Toledo. It was a good visit, except for the driving part! During part of my time there I had the opportunity to look through some of the family pictures from years past. It was very nostalgic in lots of ways to see pictures of me and my brother and parents during the holidays and stuff. Chad is twelve years younger than I am, and it was fascinating to see some of his baby pix in my minds eye when I had lunch with him later in the week! But what really has stuck in my mind are some pictures of weddings we went to when I was growing up. There was one with my uncle Denny – I was in the wedding party and we had to wear what we would now think are truly atrocious ruffles and a top hat with a walking stick. I think I was ten or so. There was another one with my cousin Celia – I vaguely remember that one. She was older too and so I might have been 12. There was my other cousin Kevin’s wedding too – it was bitterly cold and wasn’t even that fun, as far as I could recall. The truly oddest one, in a way, was the wedding of my own parents! It was a fall wedding, in October, and the wedding colors were exactly the colors of the leaves right now. I was also in that wedding party, too, and no, it’s not what you might be thinking! This was my father’s second marriage and I was five. I don’t remember too many details because I sort of didn’t quite understand what was going on until later. And thinking back on it, it was kind of a surreal experience, going to your own parents’ wedding.

Some of the details of the wedding we heard about in today’s passage from Matthew are pretty surreal, too. The parable starts normally enough. There’s a king, and his son is getting married, and invitations to the feast get sent out. Now in those days it was customary to get rsvp’s back, plan the banquet, and then send out a reminder closer to the day of the wedding. If you’re a king, you don’t need mail or email, you have your slaves go out. But for whatever reason, the invited guests blow the king off. They apparently have other stuff to do that’s more important. That’s the first odd detail. Remember that, like at the wedding at Cana, that weddings, especially royal ones, lasted several days and the parties were umbelievable. So the king got everything ready for the big multi-day dinner, and sent some more slaves, and, like in the parable of the vineyard, some of these get mistreated or even killed. That’s where it starts to get even more unreal. You don’t go around mistreating the king’s own slaves, after all! That’s sort of like beating up the mailmen. But then it gets even more strange, and rather bloody besides. While dinner is apparently more or less on the table, the king sent his soldiers to kill the guests and burn their city. Probably, this verse refers to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70 and might be a later addition into the story. It’s hard to tell, though, and in any case the point is that the king is not a happy camper. So he’s got all this food and wine, maybe a nice orchestra, all camped out for a week or more, and he tells his slaves to literally go pull people off the street to come to the feast. And as Matthew notes, “Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad, so the wedding hall was filled with guests.” Can you imagine having a week-long wedding reception at say, the Highland Lakes Clubhouse and just asking anyone to come in?

And here’s the next bizarre part of the story. The king comes in and sees one of the guests without a suit on. He asks him about it, and the guest has nothing to say. Now remember that this guy got his invitation, at the earliest, the same day. I can picture our guest going out for a donut, unshaven, wearing some old 501s, favorite rock band t-shirt, and maybe some flip flops, when all of a sudden a bus pulls up on a street corner and the driver says, “Come on, get in, there’s a great party over at the palace and the kings is having everyone in!” In jumps our guest in whatever he has on, and off he goes right to the great hall. But the king has him bounced out of the feast anyway, just like at a club in Midtown Manhattan or someplace. I’m reminded of my cousin Kevin’s wedding, where it was nice and warm inside the reception and below zero and snowy outside. “Many are called, by few are chosen,” are the concluding words of this parable.

This is, once again, an example of one of Matthew’s hard sayings. There are more coming up before all is said and done. Sometimes it’s easy to see the Good News in a particular parable or other passage from the Gospels. Other times it isn’t, and this seems like one of those. What’s going on here?

The first thing to note is that Jesus is still talking to the Pharisees and the scribes, his sworn enemies. This is the third parable he tells them, all after the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, so this might be only two or three days before the last Supper and the Crucifixion. Just like last week’s parable of the tenants in the vineyard and the story of the two sons the week before, the major point of this story is of an allegory of salvation history. The wedding banquet is the end time – after space and time has ended, when all are brought into judgment, and those judged worthy get to sit down to the banquet. God is the king, Jesus is the son, the slaves are not only prophets from the Old Testament times but also Christian missionaries later on, and the first round of invitees are the scribes and Pharisees themselves. Well, they don’t seem to be accepting the Good News of God’s love, and so other people – you and me, the guests pulled in off the street, are invited to the wedding instead. So far so good. But who is the guest caught in t-shirt, jeans, and flip-flops? What’s that supposed to represent?

Well, here’s where it’s both Good News and also hard news. The wedding garment the guest is lacking can be thought of as putting on the new clothes of salvation - you have to take off your old clothes if you want to put on new ones. It was the earliest practice of Christianty that people took off their old clothes, were baptized naked, and then put on a white baptismal robe to signify their new life in Christ. It may be that this practice has an echo in this parable. But the new clothes of salvation, for Matthew, are not merely the acceptance of the invitation. That’s where “many are called” comes in. Everyone, absolutely everyone, rich or poor, gay or straight, Republican, Democrat, Independent, white, black, men, women, are invited to God’s great celebration of new and renewed life. And that’s the Good News! God constantly calls to you and to me and says, “Hey, come to my dinner – I have all sorts of good things for you!" That’s what Jesus did – he issued a standing invitation to come to God’s wedding hall and dig in. And at the wedding each of us is given a white wedding garment to wear. Think of that as both baptism itself and more importantly, the baptismal covenant we renew several times a year. We’re given the garment and we’re expected to wear it. We don’t have to, it’s always our choice. But putting it on means taking off our old clothes first, the old clothes of not respecting the dignity of every human being, of not continuing in the apostles’ teaching and the breaking of bread, of not seeking and serving Christ in all persons, and the other things we sign up for that we say we agree with and that we will do. Matthew is very concerned that the grace of salvation gets acted on, and the little vignette about the wedding guest with crummy clothes is nothing less than a representation of one who just shows up and expects to be saved, without any expectation of doing anything else. Just because we get an invitation doesn’t mean we can show up in any old thing we want to wear. Just because we know we are saved, that we are in right relation with God, doesn’t mean we can just sit back at the banquet and chow down.

The wedding garment here is nothing less than the good works that we prayed for earlier this morning. “We pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works.” Notice that grace comes first. That’s so important! We are given the gift of salvation and it actually surrounds us and permeates us. Our good works don’t earn us grace, our good works are in response to grace. Our prayer is that this grace will inspire in each of us ways to show that God’s love is active right now, by extending God’s love out from each of us into the world we live in. And what’s completely wonderful is that we have a prequel of the wedding banquet that we’re invited to, every time we gather here in this place. Our Eucharist is nothing less than a preview, an appetizer, if you will, of that same wedding feast Jesus told us about in this parable. And like all food and drink, this holy meal nourishes us and strengthens us. “Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace only, and not for strength, for pardon only, and not for renewal.” Strength and renewal go along with getting a wedding garment, and it’s what we need to do those good works we just prayed that we want to, in fact, do.

And what is that? As I mentioned earlier, putting on the wedding garment means accepting what we signed up for when we were baptized or when we are confirmed. It’s a set of values that are at times completely antithetical to the values of the world around us. It’s seeing a need, here in St. Thomas’ or in the community, on in someone you know, or perhaps people you may never meet, and helping out in whatever ways you can to live out salvation right in your life. That’s what Jesus means when he talks about wearing the wedding garment. Each of us is given one, and we have to put it on – we’re asked to live out our wedding invitation. Each of us has different gifts that God us to do this – it’s part of the grace that precedes and follows us, because gifts, like grace itself, are unearned. Perhaps you have a special ability that know is useful and needed by the community. Perhaps you have the gift of time that you are offering for the ongoing ministries of St. Thomas’s or in the township. Perhaps you have a good income that you are contributing to the material fabric of the parish and support of the ministries. For most of us, it’s some combination of time, talent and treasure that at various times in our lives we can bring. Whatever it is, it’s valuable. And I want to thank and acknowledge whatever it is you are offering now. All of it is helping to build up this community of St. Thomas’s and is needed and helpful. In God’s eyes, there are no unworthy contributions at all. Everyone is invited to the Feast, and everyone’s offerings are valued and valuable too. That’s the flip side of the Good News. With great privilege - the good news that we are made right with God and each other, in Jesus - comes great responsibility, that we actually have to act like it.

I still remember how odd it was to stand there next to my Dad and his girlfriend in my own little tux. Going to your own parents’ wedding as a five year old is definitely a bit surreal, at least if you’re five. I often am mindful of that event in my life when I read about the surreal wedding of the king. The invitations, the over-the-top destruction of the city and then the weird treatment of the wedding guest. But the strangeness is the point. I wore a tuxedo back when I was five. Each of us is also invited to an ongoing wedding, and that feast starts right here. But if we go, we’re expected to get dressed up first. That starts here too. How can each of us daily live out the invitation we have been given, inviting others to the very same feast that we already have a standing invitation to?

Amen.

Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

RFSJ

A Pastoral Letter on the Financial Meltdown

2008-10-10T20:19:00.002-04:00

My Dear Sisters and Brothers of the Diocese of New York,

We live in perilous times.

For many years we have been aware of the danger to the environment. In recent years we have been acutely aware of the dangers of violence and war here at home as well as abroad. Day by day and week by week we have prayed for the men and women who serve in harms way, and for the leaders who direct their paths. Now we face a new threat, one that presents an even more immediate threat to the way we, live our lives as individuals, the well-being of our nation and even the health of the world's community of nations: the apparent collapse, at least in the short term, of the economic underpinnings that sustain us all.

No wonder that anxiety saturates society.

Times of danger can cause panic and panic which reveals the best and the worst in human character.

The worst amounts to a blind frenzy to survive. And here the operative word is "blind"; the state in which anything and everything can be sacrificed to the one objective of personal, corporate, or national survival. A pernicious corollary of this blind instinct is the indiscriminate placing of blame. Clearly the time will come when a deep and thoughtful analysis of what went wrong will need to be undertaken. However, in the very midst of the crisis, as we now find ourselves, we need to be extremely cautious about the wholesale pointing of fingers. This is exactly the impulse that, in other eras and places has led to the obscenity of pogroms.

However, such moments of crisis also have the power to elicit the very best that the human heart has to offer. It is that very best that Christians are called to offer, now and always. It is our deepest conviction that though there can be no dispute that the physical circumstances of our lives are important, yet the truth that we have been shown in Jesus is that the ultimate, the real, foundation on which our lives rest, is not on the health of our bank account but rather upon the abiding love of God. The gospel that we have heard, and have been called to proclaim, is not that the darkness is not dark, it is rather that the light of Christ will over-come it. The hope that is ours is rooted not in an unbroken chain of triumph and success but rather the cross of Christ that brings life out of death. Therefore, we need have no fear. Our identity is not defined by our bank accounts but by God's love. The ground on which we stand, the abiding love of God for us and for all creation, is solid ground. Though we may be surrounded by the tornadoes' winds we need have no fear. Though we may even be caught up in those winds, we need have no fear. The wind of the Spirit of God who sustains us is more than any of these.

Now more than ever, at this time, when our society is in such turmoil, it is our vocation as Christian to be, in ourselves, beacons of hope. We can be such beacons of hope not because we possess a secret answer to complex financial and economic questions, but rather because we know that the One through whom all things were made possesses us in the palm of His hand.

Faithfully yours,

+Mark
(XV Bishop of New York)

Don't Vote!

2008-10-06T15:51:00.004-04:00

Don't Vote.....Really!

Watch This.

Registration deadline in New Jersey is next Tuesday, October 14. Get the form here. You can register in person until 9 PM at each registration office!

You cannot vote if you do not register!

RFSJ

The Proper of Yesterday: The 21st Sunday After Pentecost

2008-10-06T10:57:00.003-04:00

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Vernon
Proper 22A RCL 2008
Ex 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20; Ps 19; Phil 3:4b-14; Matt 21:33-46
The Rev. R. F. Solon, Jr., Vicar

May the words of my mouth, and meditation of all our hearts, be always acceptable in your site, O Lord our Redeemer, Amen.

It;'s getting cooler, finally, isn't it? I kind of really like breaking out the jackets. But the cool weather and the beginnings of color in the trees get me thinking about the beauty of the season. Autumn is my favorite time of the year, I think, and it will be the very first time for me to experience autumn here in Sussex County. I can already sometimes smell what I assume are burning leaves, and it’s a wonderful smell. It’s illegal to burn leaves in the cities, but I seem to remember way back when I was in grade school, in Toledo, that we did it then. And it’s such an evocative odor, too, redolent with all sorts of depth and pungence, both soothing somehow and also biting, as if it’s looking both backward to summer and forward to winter.

This time of the year, I think many of us find special attractions in the wonders of outside and really of all creation. The sky is more deeply blue. And once the trees are in full color, it’s as if God spilled his paints all over, or maybe simply couldn’t decide what to use next and just used everything. Although it’s perhaps coincidental that the Feast of St. Francis falls in early October, it’s a good thing too. Francis was a special advocate both for the poor and for the wonders of creation, and a tradition of blessing of animals and pets on or near his feast day has sprung up in many parishes. We’re trying it this year as part of our regular worship, by inviting all the special animal friends who are really members of our family, to worship God our Creator with us today, and to receive a special blessing during the time of personal and community blessings. And our Eucharistic Prayer for today through November is one that particularly celebrates God’s gifts to us in creation, as the first of the many gifts from God that culminate in the greatest gift of salvation in Christ Jesus.

And that’s really what we do here today, and really every Sunday. We gather and pray, hear the word of the Lord in Scripture and meditation, and then approach the Table for the great Feast, where we give thanks to God for everything really, but most especially for what God did for us in Jesus.

This particular prayer invites us to consider the vast expanse of space and tiny lilttle ‘ole us, made by God the rulers of creation. God tried to keep us together with him and each other through the Law, encapsulated in the Ten Commandments that we heard recited today in the reading from Exodus. That unfortunately wasn’t enough. And although God has called us again and again, as even today’s Gospel reading reminds us, we turned against God and one another and our own selves. But Jesus, by becoming a human being like us, inside the created order of space and time, opened the way of freedom and peace for you and for me. He became the new Creation that allows each of us to rejoin the unsullied and unseparated universe that God always intended. As so we will say shortly, “we celebrate his death and resurrection, as we await the day of his coming.” Or as St. Paul puts it in today’s excerpt from his letter to the Philippians, “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, we press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”

And as we do that, for many of us, it’s our beloved pets who wait along with us. I’ve often thought that the love and attention of a family pet is perhaps closer than anything else on earth to the love of God. I know I have deeply loved, and been deeply inspired to love, by the love of the dogs I’ve been privileged to care for in the past. And it’s indeed a privilege, for I’ve never considered myself the “master” of my dog Alexander so much as his friend and trainer. I trained him to sit and heel and do all the other things he learned because they’re good for him. Learning to come if he’s running toward traffic is a good thing. Same thing with learning to heel if there’s a small child nearby who might otherwise be intimidated. I don’t train him for my benefit so much as his. And oddly, I think that’s what the Ten Commendmants are for us. They aren’t for God, because God is all knowing and truly the Lord of all creation. God doesn’t need our obedience in order to love us. Rather, the Commandments are for us. Not that we’re animals as far as that, but because they are good for us. I’ll leave it to you to take the reading home and perhaps meditate on which commandments seem the easiest and which the hardest for you. You might find some interesting insights as you consider your own life in the light of the Ten Commandments. We as Christians are not formally bound under the Ten Commandments, since as St. Paul reminds us today, our righteousness comes not from the law but “faith in Christ, the righteousness in God based on faith.” But that doesn’t leave us off the hook. The Ten Commandments are a fine way to examine our lives to see how we are living out the love of God in our lives. Jesus points out that loving God, and loving each other as our own selves, is the complete summary of the Law, God’s complete expectation for us. For one framework on how to do that, you can go to the Ten Commandments.

On this day and in this season when we celebrate the world that God gave us to be stewards over, you might wish to go beyond the Ten Words as they are sometimes called. There are two kinds of relationships that I don’t think are well represented. Yes, one’s relationship with God in the first four commandments, and with family and others in the other six, are all covered pretty well. But what about our relationship with the created order, with creation itself? In the beginning God gave us explicit authority over all the rest of creation, and it’s up to us to care for it and cultivate it, like the servants in the vineyard in today’s reading from Matthew. And my sense is that in some ways we humans aren’t doing a very good job of it globally and nationally. Dozens of species are extinct or endangered right here in America, and it appears that global warming is indeed a reality. I wonder how that will reflect on our stewardship of creation. So that may be an area to consider. How are each of is and in this parish exercising our duty as Christians, as follower of Jesus, to be the best steward of the vineyard of creation that we can?

The other area where the Decalogue falls short is one’s relationship with oneself. You can sin against your own self, and so many of us do. I’m not talking about the Seven Vices necessarily, but once again there’s wisdom there to be found as well. I’m really talking about the ways we fail to honor and respect and love our own selves as created in God’s own image. Remember it’s you and it’s me that God loved so much that God became one of us just so he could get through to us how much he does love us! And so each of us is infinitely valuable to God! And we forget that at times, believing that we’re not good, that we don’t measure up, that we can’t do it, that God nor anyone else could possible respect, care for, and love us. And that’s just as much a sin as any of the others in the Seven Vices or the Ten Commandments or the 617 laws of Torah.

My sisters and brothers, God’s gifts to us are amazing. Isn’t it odd that even in the midst of massive economic and political turomoil, when so many things seem so not to be going well, that we Christians still pause from our lvies to come together here to thank God for what God is doing? Somedays I wonder myself, what’s to thank God for? And yet the great gifts that God gives us, the gift of creation, the gift of the Commandments to help us day by day, the gift of our pets to be loyal companions on the journey, and most astoundingly to my mind, the gift of Jesus himself, that’s what to thank God for. And so I do, and I invite you to join in, too.

Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

The Rescue Plan summarized

2008-10-04T11:52:00.003-04:00

From today's New York Times, a good summary of the rescue plan (click image to enlarge):

RFSJ

Saturday Funnies

2008-10-04T10:28:00.004-04:00

Hmmm....it's true, I suppose...never thought about it that way before....

This is just cute....

And I don't yet have any dogs in the house, and I still get service loss.....

RFSJ

Well, They Did It

2008-10-03T22:51:00.004-04:00

Today the US House of Representatives passed the bailout bill and the President has signed it into law. Wall Street in the form of the stcok markets seemed to shrug it all off, but since this has never been about stocks, but about interest rates and credit, it doesn't really matter what the DJIA, et. al., did.

I wa watching a bit of C-SPAN this afternoon while at the gym and I was amazed at the claptrap some of the Honorables were spouting. "It won't work" said many. "We don't understand what the problem really is." How sad to utter either of those comments!

What has happened isn't complicated. Too many people acquired mortgages on terms they could not afford. The lenders were too lenient, too eager to make the deal, and so too many people got housing they could not afford for very long. When the mortgage rates began to adjust from the very low initial rates, people started to default and go bankrupt at rates far higher than anyone was prepared for. (Lenders always reserve something for unperforming loans.) At the same time, because of both deregulation and lack of regulation of the credit markets, the big banks began to repackage mortgages into sellable securities. It worked like this:

Say that Raphael, Uriel, Michael, and Gabriel each have taken out a mortgage so each can buy a fluffy cloud in Heavenly Hills. Each owes $100,000 to Medici Bank. Medici may keep or sell the mortgages (really, the right to collect the mortgage payments) at any time. Companies like Fannie and Freddie would buy the mortgages and take loan off the books of Medici so Medici could turn around and make some more loans. Remember that loans and credit are what make the modern economy run. But say that Medici combines the 4 loans into one thing called Mortgage A, and sells shares of Mortgage A to spread the risk around. People (institutions, in reality) could perhaps buy a $5000 share of Mortgage A. So far so good. But when the defaults rise higher than anticipated, then the pieces-parts of Mortgage A now become less valuable. Investors began to lose money on these securities, and because they are very complicated, it was hard to tell for a long time what would happen. There are trillions of dollars of these mortgage-backed securities floating around. The credit crunch is happening becasue the securities have dropped in value, and so institutions have to hold more cash to back them and cover the losses stemming from the underlying mortgage failures. If everyone is holding cash to cover their losses, there is less cash available to loan out. Modern everyday commerce depends on loans both long and short-term, and even California is having to ask the US Treasury to lend it money because California can't borrow when no one else will lend.

As I understand it, merely bursting the housing bubble (which is what is happening now) wouldn't necessarily be enough to cause the credit crunch, because the "normal" regulations and safeguards would have been in place to ensure banks had the reserves needed to cover their losses. But when you add in the unregulated securitization of the mortgages themselves, all bets were off. And that's what has happend. It's like a clogged water pipe - the water can't run and shuts everythineg down because it's clogged with bad mortgages and their securities. Loanable money is the water and it isn't flowing anywhere, because everyone is sitting on it to cover their bad loans.

So how to solve it? Remove the blockages in the pipes that carry the loand throughout the economy. In other words, buy the bad mortgages at reduced prices, which clears out the pipes by taking the bad loans off the books of the banks and institutions. Now the water can flow again becauase lenders and borrowers don't have all that bad debt blocking the pipes.

And that's what the bailout plan does. It authorizes the Government to use public debt to buy the debts that are clogging the economic system so that credit and loaning can resume. There are safeguards to make sure that we the taxpapers can recover the sales prices when the firms we buy the debt from recover. But the essense of the plan is to unblock the pipes by getting the bad debt out of the way.

I don't know if the above helps. It's almost more for me than for anyone else, but I hope it helps explain what, more-or-less, is going on and why the bailout was done the way it was done.

The New York Times is doing an excellent job of explaining things, far better than I can. Check it out if you'd care to.

RFSJ

A "St. Michael's Day Bloodbath"?

2008-09-29T15:55:00.003-04:00

The House of Representatives defeated the bailout plan today by a close vote. The markets plunged nearly 8 per cent on the news. I am stunned and I am angry. Maybe it wasn't the best plan, but there was hardly an alternative. When the church is on fire one hardly needs to be arguing about whether it's God's will for it to burn or not. You put out the fire.

Pray for the nation and for the world.

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: St. Michael and All Angels

2008-09-29T10:30:00.004-04:00

On this Major Feast we commemorate St. Michael and all the Angels. St. Michael is one of the Archangels, angels who are named specifically in the Bible. Angelos is the Greek word meaning "messenger," and so it is that so often God sent angels to deal directly with mere mortals. Of course, today's second lesson at Morning Prayer speaks about how Jesus is so much more exalted than the angels, and since he is also fully human, by implication so are we!

I know there was that whole angels kick going on for a while - wasn't there even a TV show "Touched by an Angel" or something? And Michael Landon played an angel - maybe it was the same show, but I'm too lazy to look it up on the Internet Movie Database.

Still, angels are kinda cool. Extra kudos for the first person to list the three other named angels in the Bible. (Hint: two of them are in the deuterocanonical books only.) And can you name the orders of angels? We often mention them on All Saints' Day. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, who have the angels been in your life, those who have anounced Good News to you in one way or another?

Here's some music for the day while you're working on your research, courtesy of the most excellent Chantblog's entry for today:

Everlasting God, who have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: Pentecost XX

2008-09-28T19:56:00.003-04:00

Today is the 20th Sunday after Pentecost and I was visiting St. Christoper's Episcopal Church in Carmel, Indiana. I've been in Indianapolis since Wednesday to attend the ordination of my good friend C. Davies Reed to the priesthood. It all went very well, albeit there was a little excitement early on because Bp. Waynick, the Diocesan, was taken suddenly ill. Fortunately, the retired bishop of Iowa, Bp. Smalley, is resident in the area and was fortunately available. Whew! So that happy event was yesterday at Christ Church Cathedral, which was the sponsoring parish for both Davies and myself. Today Davies presided at his first Eucharists and I went to the 10 AM service at St. Christopher's, where he is Associate Rector. It was a great joy for me to be present both yesterday and today and to receive Communion at his hands.

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

Blood Drive This Thursday!

2008-09-23T12:44:00.003-04:00

Our local chapter of Episcopal Church Women is sponsoring a Blood Drive this Thursday from 3 PM to 8 PM at the church. The American Red Cross will be here, and the need is great. Please donate if you can.

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

2008-09-22T12:22:00.004-04:00

Today the Church honors the witness and ministry of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, and especially the Gospel that has his name on it. (As like last week, when Major Feast falls on a Feast of the Lord, i.e., a Sunday, it gets bumped, so we're doing St. Matthew today.) We've been reading Matthew throughout the summer, and I have to say, having to preach, or at least consider, each of the passages appointed in Matthew's Gospel has given me a new appreciation for his particular point of view. I like his focus on community and on ethics - as I noted recently, it seems mostof his parables about the Kingdom have much to do with the lived-out Kingdom here on earth. Certainly M's echatalogy is right there too, and we;ll see more of that in October and November. But I will miss Matthew as we move to Mark, who is much more direct and far less concerned with teaching. I think my favorite from Matthew at least this year is Chapter 13 and the Parables of the Kingdom. what are your favorite Matthew passages?

Here's Monteverdi's setting of Cantate Domino, Psalm 95, from the appointed Introit for today:

We thank you, heavenly Father, for the witness of your apostle and evangelist Matthew to the Gospel of your Son our Savior; and we pray that, after his example, we may with ready wills and hearts obey the calling of our Lord to follow him; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

RFSJ

The Proper of Yesterday: The 19th Sunday after Pentecost

2008-09-22T11:58:00.004-04:00

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Vernon
Proper 20A RCL 2008
Ex 16:2-15; Ps 105:1-6, 37-45; Phil 1:21-30; Matt 20-16
The Rev. R. F. Solon, Jr., Vicar

In the name of Him who leads us to say, “What is it?” Amen.

Think outside the box!

I don’t know about you, but I’m beginning to wonder if that phrase has overstayed its welcome. We’re constantly encouraged to “think outside the box,” to use unconventional thinking to solve the problems that face us, especially in our corporate and political lives. For a long time I thought “the box” referred to those cubicle farms that so many of us have lived in. Those are the cubicles that Dilbert often makes so much fun of in his famous cartoons. They’re small and confining and lend themselves to sameness of not only décor in the office, but thinking as well. They can be a problem because they divide people up into individual cells and inhibit the creative thinking that can arise when people come together in less structured settings. Thinking outside the box meant getting together with others to figure things out – many heads are better than one, and all that.

In actuality, though, “the box” refers to a puzzle that the management gurus of the early 70s used to illustrate a point. It’s pretty easy – I’ll show you how it works. There should be some pens or pencils in each pew. If there aren’t enough, look on with someone else. Now on the front of your bulletin draw nine dots in three rows of three each. Like this: Now the challenge is this: Using only 4 lines, connect all the dots together without lifting your pencil from the paper.

How many have done this before? If you know the answer, don’t give it away. Everyone else, keep working, but keep one ear open up here too!

When we have problems that arise, we usually try to solve them using the experiences and education we already have. What distinguishes us humans from other animals, among other things, is our ability to consciously learn. And so when faced with something new, we look to what we already know to see if its similar to something we’ve already done, and we tend to try that first. If it worked previously, it’s likely to work again, right? And in many cases that’s true and it will work again. In some areas we know it will work. 2 + 2 will always equal 4. If the computer isn’t plugged in, it won’t work. Touching a hot pan will give one a burn. These things are certain.

There are lots of uncertain things that we need to deal with though. Take the Israelites for example. Here they are, having miraculously fled from Egypt in the Exodus, and now they seem to be lost in the desert and worse, they’re running out of food and water. So they do the natural thing and start thinking about what worked for them in the past. For them, what was certain was they were well fed in Egypt, even though they were slaves forced to work under pretty awful conditions. So, as Scripture records, they complained against Moses and even God. “If only we had died!” they said. They kept thinking about what worked on the past, about the things they knew, even though they were in a completely new situation from what they – or anyone – had ever been in.

And what happens? They think about the usual answers, but God doesn’t. God does something completely new. God thinks outside the box and gives them manna, the famous “bread from heaven” from the Psalm for today. It’s so new that the Israelites have no idea what it is, and they ask, “What is it?” That’s why it’s called manna – it actually means, “What is it?”
It turns out that this strange flakey thing was food! You could bake it or boil it or do other stuff with it, and it’s what fed the Israelites during their sojourn in the desert. So although the people could only think inside their box – what they had to eat as slaves in Egypt - God invited them to think outside the box by giving them this new thing to eat.

Notice something important though. We usually concentrate on the miracle of the manna as a type or a prequel for Jesus, the bread of heaven in the Eucharist. And in fact in a few minutes we will all receive the Body of Christ, the true bread of heaven. But I think just as important as the gift of manna itself is the reality that God answered the prayers of his people. They were hungry and they complained. Not a very gracious prayer perhaps, but it was prayer. And as you’ve heard me say in the past, God has broad shoulders and can and does take all our prayers, including the snarky ones or even worse. And what does God do? He answers them. He feeds the Israelites. He knows they are hungry and addresses their need. It’s not in any sort of a way they expected, but nonetheless, they aren’t hungry any more. God thinks outside the box of human experience and provides for his people. Listen to the excerpt from Exodus next week too – he’s going to do it again in another remarkable way.

And I think we need to work to recognize outside-the-box opportunities even today too. I don’t think anyone here is unaware that this week was the most tumultuous week for our nation’s financial health since the Great Depression. I never thought I ever would have said that in my lifetime, but it’s true. We won’t know the full extent of everything that is going on for weeks and months yet, but one thing is for sure: the old ways of thinking, the thinking inside whatever boxes we have, aren’t going to work to get us back on a financially whole path. All of us know or perhaps are experiencing some of the effects of the whole housing market collapse. I’m experiencing it first-hand myself. I have a house to sell in Indianapolis, and after this week I have no idea what price I will be able to sell it for. Governor Corzine noted this week that there are five NJ jobs supporting every job on Wall Street in the City. Even for us way out in Sussex County, it’s possible, even likely, we will be affected.

And it’s not just our national and global financial situations that will require outside-the-box thinking. Right here in this community of St. Thomas’, we’ve got some financial challenges as equally as critical as the ones facing our nation as a whole. The Exec. Comm is committed to transparency about where we’re at, and I’m pleased to note that as a community we’re coming together for events such as our Carnival on the Mountain to raise the critical funds that we need. We’ve got an Art Auction coming up in November as well. As I hope you are all aware, it’s our pledges that are the most important and the largest contributor to our financial stability, and I encourage everyone to continue to contribute to the basic fabric of this parish as you can. All of us will have to look even harder outside the boxes of our own expectations and assumptions in the weeks and months ahead.

You know what, though? It’s not just thinking outside the box. It’s praying outside the box that’s even more important. God gives us brains and that’s good – we have to use them. But just like the Israelites in the desert, we’re in a bit of desert too. And how did the Israelites begin to move forward? They prayed. And God heard them. God answered their prayer without something completely outside their knowledge and experience. So let me ask you. Are you praying regularly for this community of St. Thomas’? And not just on Sundays during the Prayers of the People. How about at other times? If you aren’t, I encourage you to do so, with daily prayer for this parish as your goal. Prayer is powerful and dynamic and it matters. Jesus encourages us to pray for what we need. God listened to the prayers of the Psraelite people in the desert. And it’s important for us too. For all we know, there may already be manna for us, already being showered on us like the manna that the Israelites received every morning, but without prayer to open our hearts and our minds and our souls, we may simply be missing it. “What is it?” was what the people asked in the desert. What is it in our lives, in the life of this community, that is God’s gift to us to satisfy the deep and very real needs that we have? As we prayed earlier this morning, even know, while so many things seem to passing away, let us hold on to those that shall endure.

So, have you figured out the puzzle yet? Connect all the dots using no more than 4 lines without lifting pencil from paper. How many people are still challenged by this? Here’s the answer: You actually have to move your pencil outside the box of the lines of the puzzle to make it work!

My friends, I don’t know what thinking outside the box will mean for us. I have to face it with my house in Indianapolis. You may have some problem you’re wrestling with in your life. Certainly our nation has a lot of boxes we have to get outside of. And we do in the community of St. Thomas’s does as well. But if, in all these situations, we do only two things, then I am convinced that by the grace of God all these things will pass away. If we pray and bring what we need to God, God will answer. And if we continually look around in our lives and in the life of our community and ask, “What is it?” then we will find what we need. That may take discernment on our part to recognize the new things God is providing. “Behold, I make all things new” God promises us. But the Good News is that We don’t actually have to think outside the box. God will do that for us. We just have to be opening to recognizing the manna as it falls from heaven. It might well not be what we expected, and in fact, that’s probably the only thing we can expect. But God does provide. God will provide. God starts by giving us Jesus, the true bread from heaven, and then invites us to look around and ask “what is it?” Let’s starting looking!

Amen.

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

Quotation of the Day

2008-09-19T15:18:00.003-04:00

"At this point I should note that for the first time, both the United States secretary of state and secretary of defense have doctorates in Russian studies. A fat lot of good that’s done us."

DEFENSE SECRETARY ROBERT M. GATES, on evaporating hopes for closer ties with Russia.

- from this mornings NYT.....

RFSJ

TGIF!

2008-09-19T15:18:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted funnies recently, but here's a good one:

Go to the Carnival this weekend - Friday 6 to 11, Saturday 4 to 11, and Sunday 2 to 9!

RFSJ

Carnival on the Mountain!

2008-09-16T10:24:00.005-04:00

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Vernon

Invites You to

Carnival on the Mountain

This Weekend!

Thursday Sept. 18, 6-10 PM
Friday, Sept. 19, 6 PM – 11 PM

Saturday, Sept. 20, 4 PM – 11 PM
Sunday Sept. 21, 2 PM – 9 PM

Mountain Creek Resort in Vernon
(200 SR 94, between CR 515 and CR 517)

Rides, Games, Food, and More!
Bring the Entire Family!

Pay One Price Ride Special
$25 all day Thursday and Sunday till 6 PM

Proceeds for hurricane relief and for parish support

The Proper of the Day: Feast of the Holy Cross

2008-09-15T13:19:00.006-04:00

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Cross (transferred from yesterday because it falls on a Sunday this year). This festival grew out of the fact that the Cross, the central symbol of Christianity since the 2nd century, is "celebrated" on Good Friday, when Our Lord was crucifed on one. But that day is not really a joyous occasion, when in fact the Cross itself is ultimately a wonderful thing. So the idea of a seperate celebration that focuses on the Exaltation of the Cross as opposed to its Pain took hold. This is similar to why we observe the Feast of Corpus Christi - Maundy Thursday itself, which is the institution of the Eucharist, is the day before Good Friday and not in and of itself a joyful time.

As to how the date of September 14 came to be, here's what Lesser Feasts and Fasts has to say:

The historian Eusebius, in his Life of Constantine, tells how that
emperor ordered the erection of a complex of buildings in Jerusalem “on
a scale of imperial magnificence,” to set forth as “an object of attraction
and veneration to all, the blessed place of our Savior’s resurrection.” The
overall supervision of the work — on the site where the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre now stands — was entrusted to Constantine’s mother,
the empress Helena.

In Jesus’ time, the hill of Calvary had stood outside the city; but when
the Roman city which succeeded Jerusalem, Aelia Capitolina, was built,
the hill was buried under tons of fill. It was during the excavations
directed by Helena that a relic, believed to be that of the true cross, was
discovered.

Constantine’s shrine included two principal buildings: a large basilica,
used for the Liturgy of the Word, and a circular church, known as “The
Resurrection” — its Altar placed on the site of the tomb — which was
used for the Liturgy of the Table, and for the singing of the Daily Office.
Toward one side of the courtyard which separated the two buildings, and
through which the faithful had to pass on their way from Word to
Sacrament, the exposed top of Calvary’s hill was visible. It was there that
the solemn veneration of the cross took place on Good Friday; and it
was there that the congregation gathered daily for a final prayer and
dismissal after Vespers.

The dedication of the buildings was completed on September 14, 335,
the seventh month of the Roman calendar, a date suggested by the
account of the dedication of Solomon’s temple in the same city, in the
seventh month of the Jewish Calendar, hundreds of years before
(2 Chronicles 7:8-10).

Here's a haunting setting of the anthem Adoramus Te, Christe, "We Adore You, O Christ":

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ was lifted high upon the cross that he might draw the whole world to himself: Mercifully grant that we, who glory in the mystery of our redemption, may have grace to take up our cross and follow him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

RFSJ

The Proper of Yesterday: The 18th Sunday After Pentecost

2008-09-15T12:56:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was a long day for me at St. Thomas's. It was great day, though. We commissioned the Sunday school teachers and students as they began their year, and welcomed the choir back from their summer hiatus and commissioned them too. I was truly amazed when the entire Sunday School came up to the Altar - we had probably twenty-five kids and six teachers and assistants! And with all members of the choir returning, I have to say we are truly blessed indeed!

In the Gospel for the day Jesus gives us a soliloquy on forgiveness, perhaps the least understood of Christian duties. Here's my take on it, in note form (PS - does anyone know an easy way to copy notes into Blogger and keep the formatting?) :

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Vernon
Proper 19A RCL 2008
Ex 14:19-31; Ps 114; Rom 14:1-12; Matt 18:21-35
The Rev. R. F. Solon, Jr., Vicar

In the Name of Him who forgives us our sins. Amen.

• Money and debt on our minds this past week
• Today possibly the most important lesson from Matthew short of the Resurrection itself
• What is forgiveness?
o Definition: Looking forward to a future unaffected by the actions of the past.
o Can only be offered by one wronged
o It implies repentance, the turning away from an action or habit that is or has been hurtful
o It’s the key ethical concept for Matthew for life in community
• So last week we learned a bit how to live in community.
• Peter continues the conversation, asking about forgiveness.
o Would 7 be good enough?
o J says not 7, but 77 times! Or maybe seventy times seven even.
o Tells a story to illustrate this
• Unforgiving Servant
o Key point here is the talent and the denarius
 10,000 talents is something like 750,000,000
 The slave owes an absolutely unimaginable amount of money
 A denarius is one day’s wage, or maybe $80 or so in today’s money
o The first slave got all his debt forgiven – in Greek it’s the same word, for both monetary and spiritual forgiveness
o He didn’t forgive the other slave who owed him a lot less
 Not like he was trying to scrape up the $750 million – he didn’t owe it anymore
o When the king – who is obviously God in this parable, hears about it, he takes back his forgiveness and tosses the guy into prison – which would obviously be for life.
o A hard saying: So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.
 M likes to exaggerate – 10,000 talents? Even King Herod’s annual income was estimated at 900 talents.
 This is an exaggeration, but it is a warning too: don’t take forgiveness lightly. Work at it! Keep trying.
• So how to forgive?
o Imagine a future with the person needing your forgiveness. What do you have to do to get to that future?
o Talk to the person who needs your forgiveness – remember last week! Stay in positive relationship as much as you possibly can.
o Maybe you can’t yet imagine such a future. The hurt you have felt may be very strong – so pray for that person at a minimum.
o If you can’t pray positive things about the person, at least name her or him before God, confessing that you can’t even wish God’s blessings on such a one but you know that God can and does. It’s a start, and will be efficacious.
• Forgiving 77 times or 70 x 7 does not mean putting up with abuse or addiction.
o An addict can’t help but hurt the ones around him or her, and will keep hurting and asking for forgiveness as long as he or she is actively using or drinking
o Imagine the future with that person as one of that person whole and healthy and in recovery
o In such cases, your forgiveness may be to help that person get into recovery!
o Insert in the bulletin about Episcopal Recovery Services
• Another point: holding on to hurt is not healthy for us. Holding it in, bearing grudges, not only contradicts what we are so clearly called as Christians to do.
o Bearing grudges and hurt just poisons our own hearts and souls.
o God does not want that. He cares about each of us as individuals. He wants each of us to be whole and healthy. Nursing our grudges, feeding them, caring for them, doesn’t hurt anyone else but else.
o God invites us to let go of all that!
• Sometimes the hurt is against our own selves.
o Often easier to forgive others than to forgive oneself. We beat up on ourselves when there is no need. We place higher expectation on our own lives than others or God even does. We don’t let go of our own baggage
o Use the same approach to forgive yourself:
 Imagine your life without the baggage you’re carrying around!
 Stay in positive relationship with yourself. Odd concept, but true – our relationships with our own selves are often the worst ones we have.
 Name yourself before God and ask God to help you forgive yourself
 Or, at least name yourself before God. It’s a start, and, over time, it will be efficacious.
• We will shortly pray “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”
o Only petition in the LP that is conditional
o Of course God’s forgiveness is not conditional – it’s unconditional
o The “as” here doesn’t mean only get forgiveness as much as we forgive others
o It means that we pray that we may learn to forgive other folks just like God has already forgiven us. We pray to work hard at it.
o Only direct thing we sign up to do in the LP

• None of us, I don’t think, owe anyone $750 M. But it’s as if we did owe it, and owed it to God. God continually forgives to the tune of $750 M, $750 B, $750 trillion!
• Our solemn obligation is to keep trying to forgive those who have hurt us just as much.

Amen.

O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy 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.

RFSJ

In Memoriam

2008-09-11T17:13:00.006-04:00

Snippets from The Office of the Dead from this morning:

From Psalm 42

My tears have been food day and night; while all day long they say to me, "Where now is your God?"

...

Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul, and why are you so disquieted within me? Put your trust in God, for I will yet give thanks to him, who is the help of my countenance and my God.

...

I will say to the God of my strenght, "Why have you forgotten me? And why do I go so heavily while the enemy oppresses me?" While my bones are being broken, my enemies mock me to my face."

From Psalm 46

Though its waters rage and foam, and though the mountains tremble at its tumult, the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

...

The nations make much ado, and the kingdoms are shaken; God has spoken, and the earth shall melt away.

...

It is God who makes war cease in all the world; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear, and burns the shiled with fire.

...

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

From the Letter to the Romans, Ch. 8

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Today there is so much to ponder. I feel sad, and angry, and ashamed at my anger. On sunday we will hear Peter ask how many times to forgive, and Jesus replies with the perfect "Seventy times seven!" I cannot do that. I'm not even sure I can do the bare minimum and name my enemies by name before God. I know that even merely nameing them in prayer, even if I can do no more that that, is powerful and will change me over time. I don't know that I want to be changed, frankly. there's something about anger that is energizing. I think we as a nation still have some of that going on. I don't think we're ready to give up our own anger yet. I don't know what that means, especially given "And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us."

And so today I pray for the dead who died, and rage with Mozart at the terror of death itself:

Day of wrath! O day of mourning! See fulfilled the prophets' warning, Heaven and earth in ashes burning! Oh what fear man's bosom rendeth,when from heaven the Judge descendeth,on whose sentence all dependeth.

RFSJ

New Website

2008-09-08T09:55:00.001-04:00

St. Thomas's has a new website. Do check it out and let us know your comments, and thanks!

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: The XVIIth Sunday after Pentecost

2008-09-07T13:12:00.002-04:00

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Vernon
Proper 18A RCL 2008
Ex 12:1-14; Ps 149; Rom 13:8-14; Matt 18:15-20
The Rev. R. F. Solon, Jr., Vicar

In the Name of Him who treats us like Gentiles and tax collectors! Amen!

“A penny saved is a penny earned.”
“Early to bed and early to wise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
“Too many cooks spoil the broth.”
“Many hands make light work.”“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning.”

I could probably go on and on quoting stuff like that. You probably can too with a little thought. Proverbs, maxims, wise sayings – often these elegant little snippets hold a great deal of practical advice. Maybe you have one that is a favorite, or that you find yourself coming back to again and again. I imagine most of us picked up the ones we know from our parents or other relatives, or maybe from reading. Benjamin Franklin wrote a whole series for his Poor Richard’s almanac, and of course the Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament contains all sorts of both useful and esoteric sayings.
In fact, I’d venture to say that much of the Bible contains all sorts of both useful and esoteric wisdom, some of it all at the same time! Matthew’s Gospel in particular contains a lot of admonitions about how to live out the Good News that we’ve been given. The Sermon on the Mount with its Beatitudes and all the rest takes up three chapters, and most of Matthew’s parables seem to have distinctly ethical implications. How to live out the Gospel and how to live together are important themes in Matthew’s Gospel. Today’s passage from Chapter 18 is no exception. Today we get some practical advice, some maxims, on living together, on being in community.
Look how it starts. “If another member of the church sins against you.” Jesus is realistic. He understands that even though you and I are already forgiven, we’re still gonna screw up. We’re still going to hurt each other, mostly accidentally, but sometimes deliberately. We’re still going to get angry with one another, especially when one of us may feel the other isn’t living up to expectations. Sometime we say or do things that we don’t think about as being hurtful, when they often are. I’m a perfect example. I used to think I was fairly sensitive about other people when I was growing up, but I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve inadvertently hurt someone when that wasn’t my intention at all. Most of the time I was simply trying to do something else entirely, and neglected to consider fully how my actions or words my affect others. And unlike some marvelous people who can read others like a book and know exactly what they’re thinking, I don’t have that gift at all. I have to ask people to please tell me what’s going on with them, because I’m a terrible mind reader. Ask any member of the Executive Committee – it was one of the very first things I said.
So Jesus doesn’t assume that in a Christian community that everything is going to be sweetness and light. His advice - command really, not something as optional as mere advice – is this: “Go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone.” He’s reminding us that even when someone neglects to respect us, we have to respect the other person and bring their error to them privately first so as not to embarrass them.
And notice another very important aspect here. Going to someone private and talking with them is the very first thing we’re to do. This is very significant. One of the most destructive tendencies that communities of any kind fall into the habit of is triangulation. That’s when I’m upset with you and I go tell someone else about it and ask them to go to you. It’s a bit different from venting. We all do that. We all go to our friends and say, “Can you believe what that so-and-so just said? I’m speechless!” Most of the time that’s not triangulation. What is triangulation is if I said, “Can you believe what that do-and-so just said? Would you let him know that made my angry?” And what Jesus is counseling us to do is avoid triangulation. He’s telling us quite clearly that if one of us has an issue with another person, the way to handle it Christ-based respect is go to that person directly.
This is so important. Triangulation is deadly. Remember the telephone game? You may have played it in school, and it used to be done at those offsite teambuilding sessions we often had to go to. It’s a bit dated now, because of text messaging and email, but it’s still useful. The leader reads a short statement to somebody privately, and then that person tells the next person privately, and so on, without using paper. Everyone has to do it from memory. And then the last person says out loud what the original message was. When you compare it to the actual message written on the paper, sometimes it’s completely different! And even one iteration of the telephone game can cause the message to be distorted. Triangulating – passing messages through other people to the one intended to receive it – runs the incredible risk of not getting it right. It’s risky for both the sender as well as the receiver. What’s even worse is when it’s anonymous, when the initiator is not named and the receiver doesn’t exactly know who it is, although the person in the middle, the triangulator, sometimes does.
This first step that Jesus advices us to do when we feel hurt is so difficult. It’s really hard to go to another person directly and say that you’ve been hurt. We’re scared to offend the other, or that the relationship will end or that the fallout will be worse than the original hurt. And sometimes that happens. People don’t like being told they’ve hurt others or have screwed up in some way. But the truth of Christian community, although we often forget it, is that since we are already beloved children of God in Christ, then what others say and do ultimately doesn’t matter. Nothing you can say or do to me will affect my relationship with God. Nothing. That fact should free each of to be able to speak the truth to one another in love – always respecting the dignity of the other. But it also frees us to be able to hear what others have to say with equanimity as well.
And one more thing – our mutual relationships can never really be broken as long as we are in real communion with one another. If each of us is willing to continue to come to the Altar, then even when we’re angry or upset with one another, we are still ultimately bothers and sisters in Christ. Communion means “union with.” I’m certainly not suggesting that we just treat each other like dirt and then brush over it as the Communion rail. What I am saying is that the true reality of how and why we are together – because each if us in Christ and therefore brothers and sisters - is far far stronger than any reason in particular why we may feel our relationships are stretched. Of course we’re going to sin. Of course not everything is going to be peachy keen. During this time in the life of St. Thomas’s we are all working hard to help stabilize our common financial situation. There is a lot going on in a very limited timeframe this fall. I am one in particular who can so focus on a task at hand, that I often forget that it takes real people to accomplish things. People have feelings and it’s part of my duty as a Christian to remember that. And in fact, that’s everyone’s duty as followers of Christ. I hope that, when I fall into this old habit, that you will gently call me on it and do so directly, without triangulation. You can expect the same from me.
Ultimately, our relationships with each other are worth far more than the items we set out to accomplish. Of course, that cannot mean we just all sit around basking in Christian joy with each other. There’s work to be done and Good News to be shared, after all. But the Good News actually means is that we can, if we allow it, be free from the guilt and fear that characterize so many others kinds of relationships. Our communites, Jesus says to us, should be different.

Of course, Jesus doesn’t end there by reminding us not to triangulate, although if we remember that, the rest of what he says probably won’t be needed. If the person to whom you go to directly, without triangulating, listens to you, you have regained that person. But if not, take a few people along with and try again. This is important for two reasons. First, it’s possible the person you went to simply didn’t understand what you were saying. Sometimes that happens – we end up speaking past each other, not deliberately but because for whatever reason we just don’t get it. So bringing along someone else who might be able to explain using different language is simply respectful of the hearer. But there’s another reason. It’s possible that the perceived sin isn’t really a sin at all, but a mistake on the part of the one who felt hurt. That happens too. By asking that one or two others be brought along, we’re required to explain our case to others and receive some validation that we really do have a valid concern. It’s possible we don’t, and maybe weren’t able to see it at first. If you ever find yourself in this situation and need someone else to go along with you, feel free to call me. That’s part of why I am here.
See how relationships get continually built up in this process! First there’s the relationship between the one who was hurt and the one who sinned. Then there’s the relationship between the one who was hurt, and the witnesses and the witnesses and the one who sinned. Even in the midst of hurt and pain, if we observe the dignity of each person and keep relationships paramount, the community will continue to get built up! How amazing is that!
Jesus then suggests that, well if there is still an issue, then tell it to the church. Now this is something that in reality I’ve never observed and can’t imagine how often it happens or should happen. For the entire community to get involved is sort of the nuclear option, it seems to me. If I’ve got a beef with Sam, and I’ve gone to him privately and gone to him again with some others, and it’s so serious that it still hasn’t been resolved, to take the matter to the entire group will surely bend if not break some relationship bonds. I might interpret that to mean, in our case, the Executive Council, or something. Frankly, my prayer is that in our relationships with one another it never comes to that.
Finally, notice something else. Jesus says, well if nothing else has worked, then treat such a one as a Gentile and a tax collector. That sounds on its face that this is the means of excommunication. You get three tries and if, after three attempts, after all the validation that it is indeed a real issue, that no, the offender is not going to change or repent, then you get to kick her out, right? Gentiles and tax collectors weren’t part of the community, after all.
But I suggest that’s a bit simplistic. How does Jesus treat Gentiles? He healed the centurion’s slave boy and the Canaanite woman’s daughter after all. How about tax collectors? The very author of this Gospel was a tax collector and now revered as one of the Four Evangelists. How about that? Treating such a one as a Gentile or a tax collector means bringing the very grace and hospitality of Jesus himself to bear. It means eating and drinking and being in community and fellowship. Remember what Matthew told us in Chapter 13 a few Sundays ago in the parable of the weeds and the wheat? It’s not our place to decide ultimately who is a weed and who is wheat – let all grow together, Jesus reminds us, and let God figure it all out.
I have been harping on relationships this summer. Throughout the summer season the Offertory Sentence - that’s the invitation to offer up our gifts of time, talent, treasure in money, bread and wine – has been this: “If you are bringing your gift to the Altar and realize your sister or brother has something against you,, then leave your gift at the altar and go, first be reconciled to your sister or brother and then bring your gift.” For us Christians, walking way – simply breaking off the relationship – is quite frankly, never an option for us. Even after repeated attempts at reconciliation, we’re still to treat one who is unreconciled as a tax collector or a Gentile. Doing otherwise is an offense against the very Holy Communion we celebrate every Sunday. Our relationships one with another are grounded in the relationship each of us has with God first. Since God will never break his relationship with any of us, we are enjoined to the best of our ability to live out that same Good News and not do it either.
My sisters ands brothers, there is, I think, perhaps no harder work than being in Christian community. We’re going to screw up at times, and Jesus knows that. Particularly when much is at stake, like frankly it is right now in the life of our community, we may find ourselves seeing hurt where there is none or hurting others when that’s the last thing on our minds. We screw up, we confess that we have sinned, and we come to the Table to renew our communion with God and with each other. And we try as hard as we can until it happens again. But when we do, we have some maxims, some wise words, some proverbs - a command from the Lord himself really - imbued with a wisdom far greater than that of Poor Richard or any other earthly source:
“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

Amen.

Here's a well-known anthem that goes excellently with today's reading from Romans:

Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

RFSJ

What Authority Do We Have to Bind or Loose?

2008-09-03T12:05:00.005-04:00

I thought I might try something different for a while. Over on Doorman-Priest, when I was guest blogger I asked readers to conttribute to a discussion about the upcoming readings for Sunday. It was kind of e-Bible Study, and I think it was pretty fun. So I'd like to try it here. I confess my ulterior motive: I always get something out of such activites as fodder for my own sermon!

Here's the Gospel for Sunday. (It won't always be the Gospel, and I think the format of this may change with time, but let's see how this goes.)

Matthew 18:15-20

Jesus said, "If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."

As usual, there's all kinds of food for reflection here. I think what strikes me up front is this idea of binding and loosing. It's unique to Matthew's Gospel, and it's important for a vairety of reasons, I suspect. That's a truism, so perhaps it's me that thinks it's important at this time in my life and the life of the parish.

What does "binding and loosing" seem to mean? Does it really mean there's some sort of parralelism between heaven and earth, and that we have authority here on earth? What's this authority about then? What gets loosed and bound anyway? How do we decide? Doe all Christians have this?

I look forward to the discussion!

RFSJ

Fr. Boniface's Sermon is Up

2008-09-03T11:59:00.002-04:00

As I promised, I updated the entry for August 24 with Fr. Boniface's sermon. It's quite good. Do have a look.

RFSJ

We Had a Flea Market on Saturday

2008-09-01T22:28:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, St. Thomas's sponsored a Flea Market as a fundraiser for the parish. We had pretty good weather and several vendors come. Our ECW chapter put together a great cons=cession stand, and several parishioners even took turns at a St. Thomas table. We made a few hundred dollars but more importantly, set it up for even a bigger event next year. I think everyone had a good time and it was great to see so many people come out and support the work we're doing. (I need to do a better job of putting events up on my blog before the event!)

Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for this parish family. Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent. Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP. p. 817)

RFSJ

The Proper of Yesterday: The 16th Sunday after Pentecost

2008-09-01T20:19:00.005-04:00

I suppose this should be a split post; today is Labor Day, and there is an optional Eucharistic proper for it, althoigh it isn't observed in the Office. But of course yesterday, a Feast of Our Lord, is not optional, and we observed it as we always do at St. Thomas's. In Scripture we heard the story of Moses and the burning bush and God introducing himself with his own name "I AM WHO I AM" and from St. Paul's letter to the Romans, a description of Christians acting atg their best in community, something we can and should all aspire to. In Matthew's Gospel we heard just rebuek Peter after Peter says Jesus can't possibly go to Jerusalem, and then Jesus taching his disciples and us about what taking up one's cross means.

I pointed out in my sermon that to take up anything, one must first put down whatever it is you're already carrying. The paradox of the Cross is that, when we put down our old lives, that is, whatever is keeping us from accepting and living into God's amazing love for each of us, when wer take up the Cross we actually gain our lives back again, this time as God wants us to live it and not as society or others say we have to live it.

I also noted that quite clearly that carrying one's Cross is voluntary. I used the example of the monks at St. Gregory's, who choose to take on the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience as their way of growing into God' love for them. They aren't forced to, and in fact, God nevers forces anyone to do anything. So those people who believe that, for example, living in an abusive situation "because it's their cross to bear" are wrong. Violece and degrdation and abuse are noever part of God's plan for us, and if you are in such a situation, here are some resources in Sussex County you can contact if you need to. Also, you can always call me directly and I will help any way I can.

Almighty God, you have so linked our lives one with another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common good; and, as we seek a proper return for our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

Go Bucks!

2008-08-30T11:33:00.005-04:00

The NCAA Football season opens today, and No. 2 Ohio State, my favorite team, is playing unranked Youngstown State for their opener today at noon. I look forward to football season every year, and this year I'm playing in a "Pick-em" online league, where you get points for each correct pick you make for the games played that week. I'll tell you more about my strategy later, but for the moment, on with the game!

RFSJ

PS - St. Thomas' is having its yeard sale today till 4 PM. Stop on in!

Obviously in Good Taste

2008-08-28T18:31:00.001-04:00

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: St. Bartholomew the Apostle

2008-08-25T21:10:00.004-04:00

Today the Church remembers and celebrates the ministry of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, one of the Twelve. (We tranferred it this year to Monday since August 24 fell on a Sunday, which is always a Feast of the Lord.) Not much is known about him, and although he is said to have preached in both India and Armenia. He is the Patron of Armenia and of cobblers and of leatherworkers, as tradition has it he was skinned alive in Albanopoli, Armenia. It's often thought that St. Bart is the same as Nathaniel as listed in John ch 1, since John doesn't list Bart and the synpotics (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) don't list Nate.

In some ways, St. Bart is Patron of the anonymous. We don't know much about him except (possibly) one encounter with Jesus in the Fourth Gospel. So perhaps the best way to honor St. Bartholomew is to do something anonymously for someone else. What can you do for someone tomorrw without letting him or her know it was you?

In honor of Bartholomew here's something from Anonymous 4:

Almighty and everlasting God, who gave to your apostle Bartholomew grace truly to believe and to preach your Word: Grant that your Church may love what he believed and preach what he taught; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: The 15th Sunday after Pentecost

2008-08-24T23:39:00.006-04:00

I've been on vacation, visting St. Gregory's Abbey in Shawnee, OK, for the ordination and first Mass of my longtime friend the Rev. Boniface Copelin. He was ordained on Thursday and celebrated Solemn Mass today at the Abbey Church. On this day - the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time in the Roman Rite - the Abbey community and guests gathered to hear from Isaiah, Romans, and Matthew. Fr. Boniface's sermon concentrated on Peter's confession of Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, and he asked us to consider what each of us will say when the time comes in our lives when we will really have to decide what to say and more importantly, what to do about it. Update: Here's Fr. Boniface's sermon:

The Scottish poet, Robert Burns wrote: “Oh would some power the gift to give us, to see ourselves as others see us.”

In this passage, Jesus is doing something which most people find dangerous. It is quite easy to believe that the image which we have of ourselves is the image which others see. We have this façade which we have created and which we wish people will believe is who we really are. Often, much to our chagrin, we find that no façade so constructed can perfectly hide our defects, our imperfections. We cannot truly deceive the rest of the world.

In today’s Gospel, however, we have a different take. First Jesus asks the disciples what the crowds are saying about him. (On the human level this is very dangerous. Would we really like to know what others think of us?) He has previously used the image of the Son of Man, the Messiah, as a veiled reference to himself. He never says, “I am the Son of Man” but it is reasonably clear that he is referring to himself when he does use the expression. He hopes that the people will catch on and complete the sequence: Jesus of Nazareth-Son of Man-Son of God. So he asks them: “Who do the people say that the Son of Man is?” The response he gets is that he is of those of the noble profession of the prophets; men who declare God’s righteousness and remind God’s people of their obligation to follow God’s law.

Then, Jesus does that which at the human level is even more dangerous. He asks his disciples who they themselves think he is. He wants to know (or perhaps wants to make sure that they know that THEY are getting it?) This time he is not veiling the question in the title “Son of Man” but he says “Who do you say that I am?”.

Then up steps Simon to the plate. Simon Bar-Jonah has quite a reputation in the New Testament. For most of the Gospels he apparently opens his mouth without fully engaging his brain, thereby firmly sticking his foot into that open mouth. But here, he gets it right the first time out of the chute; and in his impetuosity he blurts out “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”. In the synoptic Gospels, this is the first time that any of the disciples affirms to Jesus that they recognize him as the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, and in doing so Simon shows that the Father has given him the key to understanding the mystery of Christ.

As a result, he receives from the Lord his vocation to be the Rock for the others. (It is interesting to note that there is apparently no record of using the Greek Petros or the Aramaic Kephas as a name before this time. Consequently, some scholars indicate that the best translation therefore would be “You are the Rock” rather than “You are Peter”. ) We will see in the rest of the Gospels that Peter has a great deal of trouble saying the right thing at the right time. He will even, at the time of Our Lord’s interrogation by the Sanhedrin save his own skin by denying any knowledge of Jesus. But, after Pentecost and the coming of the Spirit, everything changes and he will fulfill the vocation given him in this passage by the Lord to be the Rock of faith for the others. For the Church, he becomes the touch-stone of faith. And his faltering starts before Pentecost become merely steps of humility as he prepares for the awesome ministry which he will have to strengthen the faith of the others; and like Shebna and Eliachim in today’s first reading he is given keys for admitting and restricting access and for locking up and distributing the treasure of the Kingdom.

God knows whether we believe of not. We do not need to prove our faith to him. But, sometimes we do need to prove our faith to ourselves. We need to be able to say with Simon-Peter that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God; so that when those times come when we will have to stand beside ourselves and ask “Do I believe or not and if so, how am I supposed to act now?” we can act according to that Faith. If we have found the same Key which the Peter found in his confession we will also find, if we listen to the Lord, our vocation. Perhaps it will be what we are called to do in a specific instance in our lives. Perhaps it will be the question of what course our lives will take. We may not be called, like Simon, to be the touch-stone of faith for the entire Church but we are each called to something. And we cannot do that ‘something’ without also knowing in the very depth of our being that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Amen.

There does not seem to be an online source for the Roman Opening Prayer (the Collect of the Day in our terms) so I can't reproduce it here. However, in the spirit of ecumenism here is Collect for Unity from the Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty Father, whose blessed Son before his passion prayed for his disciples that they might be one, as you and he are one: Grant that your Church, being bound together in love and obedience to you, may be united in one body by the one Spirit, that the world may believe in him whom you have sent, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

RFSJ

I'm on Vacation

2008-08-20T00:48:00.003-04:00

I'm visiting St. Gregory's Abbey in Shawnee, OK this week to attend the ordination of my friend Br. Boniface Copelin to the priesthood. While I'm here I'll get some retreat time in as well.

Later I'll complain about the flights today, but for right now I'm off to bed.

RFSJ

The Proper of Yesterday: The 14th Sunday after Pentecost

2008-08-18T10:51:00.007-04:00

St. Thomas's had Picnic Sunday yesterday. As I noted to the congregation, not a Major Feast of the Church. but a continuation on this day of the this Feast of the Lord that we always come together on Sundays to celebrate. I didn't don my full vestments at all; instead I wore a polo shirt and shorts and socks and sneakers and put on my stole over that. Lots of other people came in shorts and stuff too, so it was good. I asked at the beginning of my sermon (my notes are too sketchy to even include today, so you just get a recap) if anyone was uncomfortable because I wasn't vested. Several people rasied their hands, and I prasied their honesty. I pointed out that the discomfort some felt over my casual attire was nothing compared to the discomfort felt by the disciples and at least initially by Jesus in the encounter with the Caananite woman in the region of Typre and Sidon in the Gospel passage appointed for the day. I bascially reminded us all that the Good News for the day is that ultimately Jesus is human like us - in my mind, he shows growth and maturity in his own expanding understanding of his ministy on earth.

More importantly, though, Matthew is reminding us that the mission of the Good News is not ultimately limited to anyone. As St. T's wants to proclaim and live out the Good News of Jesus in Vernon, we, too, may need to stretch our own boundaries of comfort as we welcome those into our community who may well be different from us.

Although none of us are worthy to even gather the crumbs under the table (if we has been doing Rite I you know we would have used the prayer of humble access today!), in Christ Jesus we not only get the crumbs, we get to sit at the table with the Master! Our job is to invite all people to come to the Table, for it's His Table, not ours.

Here are some pix of the picnic. I want to thank the Clouses and the Dickersons for putting all this together - it was a great success!

Shucking the corn to be roasted over the grill - thanks to Pochuck Farms for the discount:

A few folks sitting down to eat, including one happy vicar!

Some of the kids in the pool. Thanks go to Nancy Hansen, parishioner and director of The Children's School, where we had the picnic.

The picnic in full swing. We had so much food, it's a wonder I can eat anything today!

Swinging at the Pinata....

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: St. Mary the Virgin

2008-08-15T10:41:00.005-04:00

Mother and Child, Tallowood, Rose Van Vranken

Today is the Major Feast of St. Mary the Virgin, Mother of our Lord. In the Roman Rite it's the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven. The Scriptures for both the Eucharist and the Offices (scroll down a bit) are rather eclectic in their emphasis, but notably the Song of Hannah is appointed for Morning Prayer, which is clearly a precursor to the Magnificat, Mary's great song of praise to God that she sings in response to Elizabeth's greeting to her at the Visitation.

I've commented before on relationships between the Marian Feasts and theology. Today I was simply struck by a headline in the local newspaper: "Many families are hurt by rising fuel prices." It turns out that the number of families with problems paying their electric bills is up this summer, and that analysts see this as proleptic for the winter, as fuel oil (which lots of people use in these parts, although St. T's and the Vicarage are on natural gas) is nearly $1 per gallon higher than it was last year. And my heart goes out to them. No parent want his or her children to be cold; we all want the best for our loved ones. In a very maternal way, I thought it was an interesting commentary on our society that on Mary's ancient feast day, when we honor the Mother of Our Lord, there are mothers and fathers who, through no fault of their own, cannot provide for their children and families.

Today, in honor of St. Mary, can you find it in yourself to give $10 or even more to a charity that helps with utilities? I promise to do so too. Let us know in the comments whom you decided to give to.

Here's the Magnificat from Mozart's Solemn Vespers K339:

O God, you have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of your incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

RFSJ

I'm Guest-Blogging Today

2008-08-13T22:16:00.003-04:00

My Friend Doorman-Priest over in England is away on field placement in Talinn, and he's asked me and several others to keep up his blog while he's gone. What a great privelege! Here's my entry for his blog for today. Do go over and give him some comments.

RFSJ

Funnies for a Dreary Monday

2008-08-11T13:19:00.002-04:00

It's cool enough here in Vernon that I'm tempted to light a fire in the fireplace! But I'll wait, although it reminds more of October than August. Here are some funnies that might warm your heart on this cool day:

Getting through Customs.....

A distinguished young woman on a flight from Ireland asked the priest beside her, 'Father, may I ask a favor?'

'Of course child. What may I do for you?''Well, I bought an expensive woman's electronic hair dryer for my Mother's birthday that is unopened and well over the Customs limits, and I'm afraid they'll confiscate it. Is there any way you could carry it through customs for me? Under your robes perhaps?'

'I would love to help you, dear, but I must warn you: I will not lie.''With your honest face, Father, no one will question you.'

When they got to Customs, she let the priest go ahead of her.The official asked, 'Father, do you have anything to declare?'
'From the top of my head down to my waist, I have nothing to declare.'
The official thought this answer strange, so asked, 'And what do you have to declare from your waist to the floor?''I have a marvelous instrument designed to be used on a woman, but which is, to date, unused.'

Roaring with laughter, the official said, 'Pass, Father. Next!'

Quasimodo Died....

After Quasimodo's death, the bishop of the Cathedral of Notre Dame sent word through the streets of Parish that a new bell ringer was needed. The bishop decided that he would conduct the interviews personally and went up into the belfry to begin the screening process. After observing several applicants demonstrate their skills, he decided to call it a day when a lone, armless man approched him and announced that he was there to apply for the bell ringer's job. The Bishop was incredulous. "You have no arms!" "No matter," said the man "observe!" He then began striking the bells with his face, producing a beautiful melody on the carillon. The bishop listened in astonishment, convinced that he had finally found a suitable replacement for Quasimodo. Suddenly, rushing forward to strike a bell, the armless man tripped and plunged headlong out of the belfry window to his death in the street below. The stunned bishop rushed to his side. When he reached the street, a crowd had gathered around the fallen figure drawn by the beautiful music they had heard only moments before. As they silently parted to let the bishop through, one of them asked, "Bishop, who was this man?" "I don't know his name," the bishop sadly replied, "but his face rings a bell."

The following day, despite the sadness that weighed heavily on his heart due to the unfortunate death of the armless campanologist, the bishop continued his interviews for a bell ringer of Nothre Dame. The first man to approach him said "Your Excellency, I am the brother of the poor armles wretch that fell to his death from this very belfry yesterday. I pray that you honor his life by allowing me to replace him in this duty." The bishop agreed to give the man an audition and as the armless man's brother stooped to pick up a mallet to strike the first bell, he groaned, clutched his chest and died on the spot. Two monks, hearing the bishop's cries of grief at this second tragedy, rushed up the stairs to his side. "What has happened?" the first breathlessly asked. "Who is this man?" I don't know his name," sighed the distraught bishop, "but he's a dead ringer for his brother."

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: The 13th Sunday after Pentecost

2008-08-10T14:41:00.003-04:00

1411-13 Tempera on wood, 102 x 65 cm Sant Pere, Terrasa

On this Sunday, a Feast of Our Lord, the community of St. Thomas's gathered as we always do to expereince God's saving grace in Word and Sacrament. From Genesis we heard how Jospeh's brothers sold him into slavery, and St. Paul reminds us that the Good News just doesn't appear in people's hearts, it must actually be preached. And in today's Gospel, the Good News is not only that Jesus walks on water, we can too. Here's my sermon for today:

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Vernon
Proper 14A RCL 2008
Gen 37:1-4,12-28; Ps 105:1-6,16-22,45b; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33
The Rev. R. F. Solon, Jr., Vicar

May these words be in the Name of Him who immediately reaches out and catches us. Amen!

We’ve had some rainy weather the past several days. Last weekend in particular we had some pretty heavy rain squalls in the early evening. They were mostly just inconvenient, but you might ask the members of the worship guilds who were at the vicarage for a thank-you supper just how wet a certain vicar actually got. We came in and out not once but twice, actually. Fortunately, we managed to save all the food. And, like the feeding of the five thousand we heard about in last week’s Gospel, there were plenty of leftovers.

What was particularly cool about those rain squalls though was how they ended. On both Saturday evening and on Sunday, the rain came around 5:30 or 6 or so and was over pretty quickly. The storm fronts moved pretty quickly eastward, and it wasn’t too long before the western sky was clear and you could see the sun setting. And because of the rain and the sun, on both Saturday and Sunday there was an incredible rainbow that you could apparently see for miles around. I saw it on Saturday evening when a hiker pointed it out to me. It was actually a double rainbow, extending horizon to horizon as you faced east from the vicarage porch. We got several great shots of it because Thomas happened to have his camera with him. I sent one of the best versions to the members of the Executive Committee, and you can see it posted on the bulletin board in the lobby after church.

Not only, though, did we get the gift of a rainbow on Saturday, but on Sunday as well. Those of you who were visiting with me at the vicarage got to see it live. And it was a sight to see, too. Once again, horizon to horizon, and thick – you could see the individual colors. At one point it looked like one end of the rainbow was right on the stump of the old tree next to the Chapel. It was amazing to see – I personally have never seen one like it.

I wonder of the disciples in the boat saw a rainbow as they were finally heading for shore. I’d like to think they did. They had just suffered through a pretty intense storm, too, heavy enough that they had been rowing hard against an adverse wind all night, but hadn’t yet gotten to the far side. Right after the feeding of the 5000 – “immediately – is what the Gospel account says - Jesus had ordered them to go to the other side while he dismissed the crowds and stayed behind to pray for a while. So off they went, and early in the morning – the older translations use the phrase “in the fourth watch of the night” – Jesus came to them, walking miraculously on the top of the sea. They thought they were seeing a ghost though, and were very very afraid. Possibly they thought a demon from the sea was appearing and would annihilate them. But Jesus immediately – there’s that word again – calmed them down by assuring them that it’s really himself. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. I don’t know about you, but I think I’d still be pretty scared if all of that happened to me. But good old impetuous Peter says, “Lord, if it’s really you, command me to come to you on the water.” Perhaps he had to shout to make himself heard over the wind. But Jesus yells back, “OK, come on then.” And then miraculously, Peter gets out of the storm-battered skiff and begins to walk on the water toward Jesus! Only after he gets a certain distance does it dawn on him what he’s actually doing. He loses heart, begins to sink, and screams “Lord, save me!” And Jesus immediately catches hold of him and saves him from drowning, asking him why he doubted. After that, they all get into the boat and the wind stops. And soon after that, I’d like to believe, they see a rainbow, maybe like the rainbow we saw last weekend.

I find myself intrigued by two elements of this passage at this time in the life of our parish. The first is the little story of Peter climbing out of the boat. Now this particular detail is not included in the same story from Mark and a similar one in John. You might know that it’s ancient tradition – from the 3rd century after Christ onward – that the boat in this story is considered a symbol of the church itself, the community of believers who are trying to follow Jesus. And so the boat – the church – is on its way, following Jesus’ command to go out into the sea to get to the other side, when it faces a horrible storm. And the people on the boat pray to Jesus for help, naturally – what other prayer could there be? And he immediately assures them that it is he who is with them even in the middle of the tempest. And then Jesus, who is Lord of both earth as well as heaven, calms the storm and the boat gets ashore safely. In other words, the church, even in moments of crisis, can depend on the saving presence of Jesus among them even when things look really bad, even while in the midst of doing exactly what Jesus wants us to do in the first place.

And then there’s this bit about Peter. Notice one detail that we often skip over. After Jesus invites him to, Peter gets out of the boat and actually walks on the water for a time, just as Jesus does. He too, is doing as Jesus commands. And for a time, it’s a true miracle. Peter is walking on the water. It’s only after his faith stumbles that he falters and begins to sink. And Peter too prays the most natural prayer he could: Lord, save me! And then more Good News: Jesus immediately catches him and saves him from the waters of the sea.

That’s the first point: when Peter did was commanded of him, he was miraculously successful! And the very instant he became fearful, because he was, after all, doing something that no one else had done before, Jesus didn’t hesitate for a millisecond but immediately reached out and caught him. The word “immediately” occurs three times in this one passage. The first is right after the feeding of the five thousand: Jesus immediately made them get into the boat. The second is when the disciples were mistaken about who they were seeing in the boat. Jesus immediately corrected them and assured them that they weren’t seeing a ghost but himself. And this third time, when Jesus immediately grabbed hold of Peter and saved him. Peter might not even have gotten his sandals wet! Jesus never hesitates to save. When he is called upon, he’s right there. And not only that, when the church is mistaken, thinking that Jesus really isn’t there but that it’s something else, Jesus doesn’t wait around to correct the mistake, but assures those poor boaters – and us – that it’s really Jesus who’s with us and not simply a figment of our imaginations.

My friends, our community of St. Thomas’s here in Vernon is vibrant and dynamic and we’re doing God’s will for us, to “welcome one another, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” We’re having a successful hiking season with our hostel, we’re moving ahead with our fall education and program plans, and we’re going to launch a Hospitality Ministry to help newcomers to the area get acclimated to Vernon. So we’re in the boat and on our way, doing what Our Lord has commanded us to do. But as you know, our financial situation needs our sustained attention. In the next twelve months we all need to understand the state of our financial health as a community and make potentially difficult decisions about what to do about it. Now the wind is picking up and we’re starting to have to row harder. It’s becoming more and more difficult to see to the other side. How are we going to get there? What are we going to do? Those are all important questions that we have to ask, as we feel that wind get stronger and the boat that is St. Thomas’s start to rock and get blown off course. Immediately after this Eucharist we will have an information meeting so we can all take the first step of understanding where we are as a parish. We’re going to keep rowing but we need to make sure we’re on the right course, and today’s session is an important part of that.

Remember that in Matthew’s gospel whenever something is repeated it means we should pay close attention to it? I invite you to consider the word “immediately.” Three times in today’s Gospel Jesus immediately takes some action for the good of the disciples. Immediately Jesus got them out of a possible mod situation. Immediately he reassured them that he was indeed with them. Immediately he rescued Peter from falling into the stormy waves. We’re invited to take note. Jesus immediately intervenes. He is dynamic and present. We know he’s present because he promised us he would be, and we make that presence real in the Eucharist we are celebrating right here and now. So although the waves are picking up and the wind is rising and in reality have been for some time, we know our prayers to Jesus are effective. Jesus is with us and will get us through this storm and to the other side. We have to row of course, we just can’t site back, but it will happen.

And you know how I know? I know because of another repetition. Remember that rainbow that occurred last weekend, the one I imagine the disciples also saw? How many times did our rainbow occur? Not once. Twice. Things that are repeated are especially important for us to take note. As I stood on the porch of the Vicarage not once, but twice, and marveled at the incredible gift of the rainbow God gave us last weekend, it came to me that not only is the rainbow a wonderful manifestation of the glory of God in nature. It’s also a promise. The promise of the rainbow that another biblical figure in another storm survived – Noah, of course – is that God will not abandon humanity ever again. It’s the first of the covenants of God for us imperfect and sinful people. The rainbow reminds us of God’s all-encompassing love for us, the love that wants nothing but the best for us. And so as I stood on the porch watching that 180-degree beam of light arch over the Chapel in splendor and majesty, I realized that rainbow is for us. Not once, but twice – listen up, you who are my beloved people of St. Thomas’s, Jesus is saying: I am with you always!

My brothers and sisters, we’re far from shore in our little boat, tossed on a stormy sea. Even though we’re doing what God has asked us to, to be the Body of Christ here in Vernon, we can’t see the shore on the other side. Things could get rough before they get better. When we’re in the middle of the tempest, it’s hard to see the way forward. When the disciples got to the other shore, all safe and sound, it’s not written that they saw a rainbow. But I’ll bet they did. And we too have seen the rainbow, the promise that God is with us right here in our boat. And what’s astounding is that we don’t have to wait out our storm to feel that promise. It’s already been given to us. What a tremendous blessing that we get to know the promise of God’s protection and presence not once but twice – listen up, God say to us – right from the middle of our boat!

In the Name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity.

Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

So I went to the fair on Wednesday

2008-08-09T11:36:00.004-04:00

Here I am with my host Jill (in the midlle) and another parishioner at Jill'sd box at the Horse Show ring. The weather was just beuatiful, as was the company!

Here's Jill and her husband Peter with me at their box. They rent it for the entire ten day fair run, and since they're their every day, it makes a convenient place to rest out of the sun.

The Sand Sculpture is pretty neat - you should see all three sides of it. Very whimsical!

Pete and I are enjping free ice cream fromt he New Jersey Fresh pavilion.

This city boy is about as close to nature as he wants to be....

Well, OK, maybe a little closer is OK....

Thank you to Jill and Pete for showing me around and taking the pix - I had a wonderful time!

RFSJ

TGIF!

2008-08-08T15:52:00.001-04:00

The old order changeth....

Click to enlarge and enjoy!

RFSJ

This could catch on...

2008-08-07T14:29:00.003-04:00

A Christian can confess to anyone, after all....

RFSJ

There's a reason they call them "Dog Collars"

2008-08-06T23:12:00.002-04:00

(Click to enlarge as needed.)

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord

2008-08-06T10:12:00.005-04:00

Today the church continues to observe a celebration first begun in the East in the 4th century, and spreading into the West and made a general observance in the 1400s. On this feast we commemorate the glipmpse of heavenly glory given to Peter, James, and John, and confirmed by both the Law and the Prophets, and finally by the Voice of God, that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of God, in all his Incarnational splendor. The irony of this is that we will hear Jesus predict his own torture and death not once, but on three seperate occasions, so that the Transfiguration itself becomes almost comic, especially since Peter himself ends up denying Jesus at the Cross.

There are times, I think, when we need to see Jesus in his splendor, and not only in his humility; in his glory, and not only in his pain. I think the Transfiguration gives as that assurance, that no matter what our spiritual or mental of physical conditions are, Jesus is Jesus and is with us. God's command is all, ultimately, that we need: "This is my beloved Son; listen to him!" Listening to Jesus in his life and teaching as well as his death and resurrection is what leads us to the Light of the World. This phyiscal world is awful at times, perhaps for some of us a lot of the time. (I am mindful of the other event that so much of the world commemorates on this day.) Getting a foretaste of what awaits us is not a bad thing at all.

The proper Introit for today is a portion of Psalm 27: "You speak in my heart and see 'Seek my face.' You face, Lord, will I seek." Here's a setting of Psalm 27 by John Rutter:

O God, who on the holy mount revealed to chosen witnesses your well-beloved Son, wonderfully transfigured, in raiment white and glistening: Mercifully grant that we, being delivered from the disquietude of this world, may by faith behold the King in his beauty; who with you, O Father, and you, O Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

Well, it is!

2008-08-05T21:11:00.002-04:00

RFSJ

Well, this could be true....

2008-08-04T13:43:00.002-04:00

Click on the image to enlarge, and Happy Monday!

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: The 12th Sunday after Pentecost

2008-08-03T21:57:00.005-04:00

Today on this 12th Sunday after Pentecost the community of St. Thomas's gathered for Word and Sacrament. My sermon today was a children's homily about the Eucharist. We had a snack of bread and grape juice and talked about how the special meeal we have on Sundays is a meal like any other meal, and a meal like no other meal. At the Eucharistic prayer I invited them to come stand with me at the Altar for the Great Thanksgiving. i think they got something out of it - I know I did!

The picture above is not photo-shopped - it was taken by a thru-hiker visiting us after an early evening rain squall in the Vernon valley, and shows St. Thomas' Chapel with a rainbow over it. The rainbow lasted perhaps a half hour, and we got a lot of good pix of it. There were actually two rainbows - the second was parralel to the first but dim enough that the camera couldn't pick it up. The amazing thing is that it happened again this evening! Another early evening squall that cleared up and then the rainbow - again! This time, I was having the members of the worship guilds over for a summer barbeque to thank them for their service, and so maybe fifteen people saw it rather than just me and the hiker. And now everyone can see it!

I'm reminded that in Scripture things that are considered more important are often repeated. To take a recent example, the parables of the Weeds and Wheat and the Net in Matthew 13 repeat some of the same words about the righteous and the unrighteous, as do the parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven. I wonder if the Sign of the Rainbow - repeated and the second time with many witnesses - can be taken as a promise and a sign for this worshipping community. I will need to ponder this more - hope is good, but it can be very easy to read into any unique happening any meaning that one wants it to have. In the meantime, I'm simply going to enjoy the great gift God gave us in this rainbow.

I'm delighted that the Collect appointed for this day is so apt for the day that the Lambeth Conferecne closes - may all the conferees take this prayer to heart!

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

Mmmm....Pie!

2008-08-02T16:06:00.003-04:00

The New Jersey State Fair runs from yesterday through August 10 right here in Sussex County!

Bad for the wasitline, good for the soul, is my take on fair food!

RFSJ

Whew - TGIF!

2008-08-01T16:45:00.006-04:00

Well, it's Friday already and I've been pretty busy - always seems like this when I go away for a week or so, vacation or no. It's been a full week, too. The good news is I'm cleared to go to the gym - my cardiac stress test was normal, so now I have no excuse. [Sigh.]

We're busy in the throes of planning for the fall and so there is a lot to do. In the meantime, here are a few funnies I've accumulated (click any image to enlarge):

It's nice to see anyone cite Scripture actually in a reasonable context (look it up to double-check) :

Well, I already know the answer to this one:

Happy Friday!

RFSJ

The Archbishop of Canterbury Nails It!

2008-07-29T16:26:00.002-04:00

The Second Presidential Address of the Archbishop of Canturbury at the Lambeth Conference:

He nails this on the head - hard words for all, not just some, and he shows he gets it. I'm not thrilled with the language of authority and covenant, but his articulation of the issues for both "sides" is spot on. I hope the conferees will get it as well - RFSJ

(photo courtesy ACNS/Gunn)

29 July 2008

'What is Lambeth '08 going to say?' is the question looming larger all the time as this final week unfolds. But before trying out any thoughts on that, I want to touch on the prior question, a question that could be expressed as 'Where is Lambeth '08 going to speak from?'. I believe if we can answer that adequately, we shall have laid some firm foundations for whatever content there will be.

And the answer, I hope, is that we speak from the centre. I don't mean speaking from the middle point between two extremes — that just creates another sort of political alignment. I mean that we should try to speak from the heart of our identity as Anglicans; and ultimately from that deepest centre which is our awareness of living in and as the Body of Christ.

We are here at all, surely, because we believe there is an Anglican identity and that it's worth investing our time and energy in it. I hope that some of the experience of this Conference will have reinforced that sense. And I hope too that we all acknowledge that the only responsible and Christian way of going on engaging with those who aren't here is by speaking from that centre in Jesus Christ where we all see our lives held and focused.

And, as I suggested in my opening address, speaking from the centre requires habits and practices and disciplines that make some demands upon everyone — not because something alien is being imposed, but because we know we shall only keep ourselves focused on the centre by attention and respect for each other — checking the natural instinct on all sides to cling to one dimension of the truth revealed. I spoke about council and covenant as the shape of the way forward as I see it. And by this I meant, first, that we needed a bit more of a structure in our international affairs to be able to give clear guidance on what would and would not be a grave and lasting divisive course of action by a local church. While at the moment the focus of this sort of question is sexual ethics, it could just as well be pressure for a new baptismal formula or the abandonment of formal reference to the Nicene Creed in a local church's formulations; it could be a degree of variance in sacramental practice — about the elements of the Eucharist or lay presidency; it could be the regular incorporation into liturgy of non-Scriptural or even non-Christian material.

Some of these questions have a pretty clear answer, but others are open for a little more discussion; and it seems obvious that a body which commands real confidence and whose authority is recognised could help us greatly. But the key points are confidence and authority. If we do develop such a capacity in our structures, we need as a Communion to agree what sort of weight its decisions will have; hence, again, the desirability of a covenantal agreement.

Some have expressed unhappiness about the 'legalism' implied in a covenant. But we should be clear that good law is about guaranteeing consistence and fairness in a community; and also that in a community like the Anglican family, it can only work when there is free acceptance. Properly understood, a covenant is an expression of mutual generosity — indeed, 'generous love', to borrow the title of the excellent document on Inter-Faith issues which was discussed yesterday. And we might recall that powerful formulation from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks — 'Covenant is the redemption of solitude'.

Mutual generosity : part of what this means is finding out what the other person or group really means and really needs. The process of this last ten days has been designed to help us to find out something of this — so that when we do address divisive issues, we have created enough of a community for an intelligent generosity to be born. It is by no means a full agreement, but it will, I hope, have strengthened the sense that we have at least a common language, born out of the conviction that Jesus Christ remains the one unique centre.

And within that conviction, what has been heard? I want now to engage in what might be a rather presumptuous exercise — and certainly feels like a risky one. I want to imagine what people on different sides of our most painful current debate hope others have heard or are beginning to hear in our time together. I want to imagine what the main messages would be, within an atmosphere of patience and charity, from those in our Communion who hold to a clear and traditional doctrinal and moral conviction, and also from those who, starting from the same centre, find fewer problems or none with some recent innovations. Although these voices are inevitably rooted in the experience of the developing world and of North America, the division runs through many other provinces internally as well.

So first : what might the traditional believer hope others have heard? 'What we seek to do in our context is faithfully to pass on what you passed on to us — Holy Scripture, apostolic ministry, sacramental discipline. But what are we to think when all these things seem to be questioned and even overturned? We want to be pastorally caring to all, to be "inclusive" as you like to say. We want to welcome everyone. Yet the gospel and the faith you passed on to us tell us that some kinds of behaviour and relationship are not blessed by God. Our love and our welcome are unreal if we don't truthfully let others know what has shaped and directed our lives — so along with welcome, we must still challenge people to change their ways. We don't see why welcoming the gay or lesbian person with love must mean blessing what they do in the Church's name or accepting them for ordination whatever their lifestyle. We seek to love them — and, all right, we don't always make a good job of it : but we can't just say that there is nothing to challenge. Isn't it like the dilemma of the early Church — welcoming soldiers, yet seeking to get them to lay down their arms?

'But please remember also that — while you may say that what you do needn't affect us — your decisions make a vast difference to us. In this world of instant communication, our neighbours know what you do, and they see us as sharing the responsibility. Imagine what that means where those neighbours are passionately traditional Christians — and what it means for our own members, who will be drawn to leave us for a "safer", more orthodox church. Imagine what it means when those neighbours are non-Christians, delighted to find a stick to beat us with. Imagine what it is to be known as the 'gay church' in a context where that spells real contempt and danger.

'Don't misunderstand us. We're not looking for safety and comfort. Some of us know quite a lot about carrying the cross. But when that cross is laid on us by fellow-Christians, it's quite a lot harder to bear. Don't be too surprised if some of us want to be at a distance from you — or if we want to support minorities in your midst who seem to us to be suffering.

'But we are here. We've taken a risk in coming, because many who think like us feel we've betrayed them just by meeting you. But we value our Communion, we want to understand you and we want you to understand us. Can you find some way of being generous that helps us believe you care about us and about the common language and belief of the Church? Can you — in plain words — step back and let us think and pray about these things without giving us the impression that the debate is over and we've lost and that doesn't matter to you?'

And then : what might the not so traditional believer hope has been heard?

'What we seek to do in our context is to bring Jesus alive in the minds and hearts of the people of our culture. Trying to speak the language of the culture and relate honestly to where people really are doesn't have to be a betrayal of Scripture and tradition. We know we're pushing the boundaries — but don't some Christians always have to do that? Doesn't the Bible itself suggest that?

'We are often hurt, angry and bewildered at the way many others in the Communion see us and treat us these days — as if we were spiritual lepers or traitors to every aspect of Christian belief. We know that no-one is the best judge in their own case, but we see in our church life at least some marks of the Spirit's gifts. And part of that is acknowledging the gifts we've seen in gay and lesbian believers. They will certainly be likely to feel that the restraint you ask for is a betrayal. Please try to see why this is such a dilemma for many of us. You may not see it, but they're still at risk in our society, still vulnerable to murderous violence. And we have to say to some of you that we long for you to speak up for your gay and lesbian neighbours in situations where they are subject to appalling discrimination. There have been Lambeth Resolutions about that too, remember.

'A lot of the time, we feel we're being made scapegoats. Other provinces have acute moral and disciplinary problems, or else they more or less successfully refuse to admit the realities in their midst. But those of us who have faced the complex issues around gay relationships in what we feel to be an open and prayerful way are stigmatised and demonised.

'Not all of us, of course, supported or took part in the actions that have caused so much trouble. Some of us remain strongly opposed, many of us want to find ways of strengthening our bonds with you. But even those who don't stand with the majority on innovations will often feel that the life of a whole church, a life that is varied and complex but often deeply and creatively faithful to Christ and the Scriptures, is being wrongly and unjustly seen by you and some of your friends.

'We want to be generous, and we are hurt that some throw back in our faces both the experience and the resources we long to share. Can you try and see us as fellow-believers struggling to proclaim the same Christ, and to be patient with us?'

Two sets of feelings and perceptions, two appeals for generosity. For the first speaker, the cost of generosity may be accusation of compromise : you've been bought, you've been deceived by airy talk into tolerating unscriptural and unfaithful policies. For the second speaker, the cost of generosity may be accusations of sacrificing the needs of an oppressed group for the sake of a false or delusional unity, giving up a precious Anglican principle for the sake of a dangerous centralisation. But there is the challenge. If both were able to hear and to respond generously, perhaps we could have something more like a conversation of equals — even something more like a Church.

At Dar-es-Salaam, the primates tried to find a way of inviting different groups to take a step forward simultaneously towards each other. It didn't happen, and each group was content to blame the other. But the last 18 months don't suggest that this was a good outcome. Can this Conference now put the same kind of challenge? To the innovator, can we say, 'Don't isolate yourself; don't create facts on the ground that make the invitation to debate ring a bit hollow'? Can we say to the traditionalist, 'Don't invest everything in a church of pure and likeminded souls; try to understand the pastoral and human and theological issues that are urgent for those you are opposing, even if you think them deeply wrong'?

I think we perhaps can, if and only if we are captured by the vision of the true Centre, the heart of God out of which flows the impulse of an eternal generosity which creates and heals and promises. It is this generosity which sustains our mission and service in Our Lord's name. And it is this we are called to show to each other.

At the moment, we seem often to be threatening death to each other, not offering life. What some see as confused or reckless innovation in some provinces is felt as a body-blow to the integrity of mission and a matter of literal physical risk to Christians. The reaction to this is in turn felt as an annihilating judgement on a whole local church, undermining its legitimacy and pouring scorn on its witness. We need to speak life to each other; and that means change. I've made no secret of what I think that change should be — a Covenant that recognizes the need to grow towards each other (and also recognizes that not all may choose that way). I find it hard at present to see another way forward that would avoid further disintegration. But whatever your views on this, at least ask the question : 'Having heard the other person, the other group, as fully and fairly as I can, what generous initiative can I take to break through into a new and transformed relation of communion in Christ?'--Posted By Integrity USA to Walking With Integrity at 7/29/2008 06:49:00 PM

RFSJ

Shades of my college days....

2008-07-28T20:52:00.006-04:00

Last evening I was invited by parishioners to attend a performance of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night by a local dramatic troupe up in Warwick, New York, at the Warwick Valley Winery. It was an outdoor performance on an open-air stage. We brought lawn chairs and were able to buy food and drink from the winery's store. (The Chardonnay is very good, by the way!) It was very civilized, even though our intermission was brought forward a few scenes due to a rain squall. We all had a great time.

I was really intrigued to see this performance, for several reasons. Shakespeare in the Park is big in New York at Central Park in the summer, and all sorts of good actors take part. Consequently, tickets, although free, are very hard to get. So it was great to get a great seat and see what I thought was a fine performance with period dress and even a harpist playing Renaissance music beforehand. Reminds me of the performances of Shakespeare in the Park in Columbus that I went to as well. They did Shakespeare as well as musicals. I rememer seeing the Scottish play, King Lear, and several other ones as well, as well as the musical Camelot.

What was more interesting to me was the incredible fact that I actually played Sir Toby Belch in Capital University's production of Twelfth Night about twenty years ago, and I couldn't remember very many of my lines at all! Now I can recall almost all the music I sang with the Chapel Choir from the same period - we memorized our music, so I had to drill it as much as I did my lines as Sir Toby. But still, I had to confess that I didn't even remember how the play went except very broadly. And to not remember my lines. Admittedly, I'm not much used to Elizabethan English, and so the cadences don't lend themselves to sinking in like lyrics in sacred music. But still. I played the part in four or five performances and God knows how many rehearsals!

I'll get over it. But it's still a little weird.

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: The 11th Sunday After Pentecost

2008-07-27T11:21:00.013-04:00

It's continually a joy for me to come together with Christians on Sundays to encounter Jesus in Word and Sacrament, and today was no exception. This Feast of Our Lord, like all Sundays, is the 11th Sunday after Pentecost. We've settled in to Genesis, Romans, and Matthew for the summer. I like the opportunity to skip back and forth between texts; if I don't hit a good point in one Sunday, I can refer to it in another one, because of the continuity we get (more or less) from the assigned readings. I'm not usually one to attempt tying together all the lessons, especially since in this season after Pentecost they aren't designed to do so, but today was a bit of an exception. (Once again, my sermon is in bullet form; I guess I'm taking a little time off this summer, too. I've been told people like it better when I don't preach from a text, but I still prefer it. I'll keep up this experiement for a bit and see how it goes.)

(The pictures are a triptych by James B. Janknegt called Treasurefield #1: Find the Treasure; Treasurefield #2: Sell Everything; and Treasurefield #3: Buy the Field.

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Vernon
Proper 12A RCL 2008
Gen 29:15-28; Ps 105:1-11,45B; Rom 8:26-39; Matt 13:31-33; 44-52
The Rev. R. F. Solon, Jr., Vicar

In the Name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Amen.

1. Went to Cross Roads Summer Camp this week as Visiting Chaplain
a. Saw kids, opportunity to proclaim Good News – Mary M as example of the 1st to proclaim the GN
b. Example of both Mustard Seed and Yeast
i. Doubled because it’s very important
c. Nothing can separate us from the Love of God in CJ

2. First Lesson – story of how Laban got Jacob to marry twice
a. [tell story]
b. Might have been because Laban thought Leah would be married before Rachel was
c. Kinda turns the tables on Jacob – remember he tricked Esau out of his birthright
d. Parable of the Net and of the Weeds and the Wheat
i. Righteous and unrighteous will get thiers, in God’s good time, not ours
ii. Doubled because its’ very important
iii. All sorts of people are instrumental in God’s Economy – God uses the most obnoxious, even despicable, to do God’s will
iv. Not for us to judge
v. Nothing can separate us from the Love of God in CJ

3. Visiting NYC on Friday and Saturday
a. Got my car window bashed in
i. Oddly, pretty calm about it
ii. Always checked on it in the past, never expected
iii. Going for my GPS or satellite radio, didn’t get either
iv. Probably won’t drive in to NYC any more, although the train is a bit more expensive and time consuming
v. Already got quote, too – not terribly expensive, thank God
vi. Would have had to figure out a way to pay pretty much no matter what
vii. Lot’s of things in this economy that we have to pay for
1. Health Care
2. Housing
3. Food - Gas
viii. Parable of the Really Expensive Pearl and the Treasure in the Field
ix. What would you be willing to sell for salvation? What price would you be willing to pay?
x. Paradox in God’s Economy is that although salvation is more valuable than anything, it’s completely free
xi. Doesn’t mean there isn’t a cost – God expects us to live out our salvation by emnulating Jesus - teaching, healing, and reconciling.
xii. We live in this economy and and in God’s economy. Because we live in both, we cannot ignore the costs of this economy. We will need to take wise counsel for the financial future of this community so we can continue to be a teach, heal, and reconcile as Jesus did.
xiii. Even so, Nothing can separate us from the love of God in JC!

4. We’ve gotten glimpses over the past three weeks of God’ economy – K of Heaven in Matthew’s words. Always a lot to digest and think about. But although Mattew describes the K – God’s economy – obliquely, St. Paul in the Letter to the Romans doesn’t:

5. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor annoying family members, nor things present, nor things to come, nor bashed in windows, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor financial challenges, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Amen!

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

The Proper of Yesterday: St. James the Apostle

2008-07-26T21:27:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we remembered St. James the Apostle, Martyr. This is James the fisherman, brother of John and son of Zebedee, and part of the "inner three" that included Peter and his brother. (I wonder in passing why is was three and why Andrew, Peter's brother and the first Apostle, was not included. ) James the apostle is not the same as James, brother of Our Lord, either. This is the James whose mother asked Jesus to put her sons on thrones to his right and to his left. We remember him in parituclar because he was the first Christian martyr. His death is recorded in Acts ch. 12 and was basically a political stunt on the part of Herod Antipas.

I thought the Collect was particularly apt, given that most of the bishops in the Anglican Communion are gathered at the Lambeth Conference. I wonder if they prayer the same prayer and were reminded that true Christian leadership is the leadership of service and not exaltation?

O gracious God, we remember before you today your servant and apostle James, first among the Twelve to suffer martyrdom for the Name of Jesus Christ; and we pray that you will pour out upon the leaders of your Church that spirit of self-denying service by which alone they may have true authority among your people; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

RFSJ

Father Jake Stops The World Has Morphed....

2008-07-23T11:04:00.004-04:00

Many folks are readers of Father J Stops The World, who covered the various goings-on in the Episcopal Church and the WorldWide Anglican Communion. He has been named the Evangelism Officer of The Episcopal Church and has started a new blog, Father Tim Listens To the World. Check it out. We Christians have Good News to share, and Fr. Tim's job is to help us share it.

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

2008-07-22T10:48:00.005-04:00

Today the Church celebrates the Major Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, from whom seven demons had been cast out. She is one of the womean who provided for the Lord Jesus and the male disciples out of her own resources. Perhaps more importantly, she is one of the undisputed witnesses to the Crucifixion and Resurrection, and is considered the Apostle to the Apostles because of here role in Luke and John of being the one to announce the Resurrection to the Disciples.

While at Cross Roads this week, I can’t help but thinking of the campers who are here, some of whom are part of a program for children whose parents are incarcerated. At worship, I can tell that many, perhaps most, of the campers know very little of the Good News of the love of God in Jesus Christ. I think the program does a good job of sowing the seeds of the Gospel. The staff here are apostles – ones who are sent to tell the Good News. And that news comes not only in the words that are spoken and the songs that are sung here, but more importantly in the love that counselors show every moment to every camper. It’s the love that is shown for the food on the table, of which there is enough for seconds for all who ask. It’s shown in the respect that the camp insists is the right of every camper, a respect that some campers here have perhaps never felt before. The work that Cross Roads is doing is hard work – it’s really difficult to be “on” nearly 24 hours a day for an entire week, knowing that even one slip can be devastating to a child. I remember my own counselor days, and I frankly don’t know how I did it, with no time for myself sometimes little time to even think. But I think it was the community formed by the senior staff during staff training, and the communities we tried to form among our own cabins for the week or two we would be with our campers, that actually kept me uplifted and more or less sane. We’re working on that here, too, and that’s what Christina communities are doing all over, hopefully in more intentional rather than haphazard ways.

Mary Magdalene announced the Good News to the disciples. Her spirit – the spirit of a transformed life lived out so that others may also be transformed – lives on here in the lives and hearts of the counselors and staff and board and benefactors.

Chantblog has some nice music for today.

Almighty God, whose blessed Son restored Mary Magdalene to health of body and of mind, and called her to be a witness of his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by your grace we may be healed from all our infirmities and know you in the power of his unending life; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

RFSJ

The Proper of Yesterday: The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

2008-07-21T10:16:00.004-04:00

The Weeds by Ian Polluck

Yesterday we at St. Thomas's gathered as Christians do on the Lord's Day for Word and Sacrament. We're trying a Summer Schedule of 1 service at 9 AM with less music rather than our usual schedule of 2 services at 8 and 10. Seems to be so far, so good, but I haven't really gotten any feedback yet. But I had to pack and get out to Cross Roads Camp and Conference Center, where I am serving as Visiting Chaplain this week. So here's my sermon notes from yesterday. My continued apologies for the bulleting - I will try to work on it later.

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Vernon
Proper 11A RCL 2008
Gen 28:10-19a; Ps 139:1-11, 22-23; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
The Rev. R. F. Solon, Jr., Vicar

May these words be in the Name of Him who knows both the weeds and the wheat in all of us, Amen!

· Bread
o A basic human necessity in the West.
o All kinds – white, wheat, rye, various artisan breads
o My fave is sourdough, by the way
o It smells great when it’s baked
o Can add all kinds of things to it – raisins, nuts, fruit, (then it’s fruitcake and lasts forever)
o Amazing how we figured out about bread
o Ever stop to think about food and how it came about….

· Bread made from wheat, usually, but can be made from potatoes and stuff too

· Obviously important in Jesus’ day, here’s another parable about it.
o Last week the seeds were not really named, just implicitly valuable.
o This week it’s clearly about wheat
o (recount the parable)
· Parables are meant to point away from themselves

· In this case something about the Kingdom of Heaven – pretty explicit, J says so

· All of chapter 13 is about why not everyone is rushing to hear and accept the Good News.

· Last week we discovered that even then the Word is spread about like seed before the wind, not everyone receives it.

· This week it’s about judgement – how long will things go on?
o Definite end – “the end of the age”
o Sorting of the weeds and wheat
o Pretty harsh language about those who are seem to be weeds
o Barns for the wheat, the furnace of fire for the weeds

· Two ideas here
o We’re not doing the sorting – God is!
§ Not to judge ourselves, God will do that
o Time is not determined – when the harvest is ripe

· We are not to be the sorters!
o We may be wheat, or we may be weeds, but the parable is explicit about letting them grow up together
o Not the best farming practice, but then J was a carpenter, after all!

· But what about this Judgment? Is this Hell?

· Lots of different ideas about this
o I don’t usually talk about Hell
o J doesn’t much either, but in Matthew he does
· This is a passage that really suggests that there will be some sort of time after sorting that is nasty to the weeds and good to the wheat

· This is where I’m supposed to ask you whether you are weeds are wheat. Except I’m not going to.

· Here’s what I believe, which I think is consistent with all of Scripture and of what I know and understand to be God’s will for us in Jesus:

· Sorting – judgment, if you will, happens in an ongoing way, by individuals who decide they do not want to be art of God’s economy and so disconnect themselves from God.

· God, as far as we can see, is putting off the assertion of his own omni-ness in creation for some indeterminate time. That’s why the end of the age hasn’t come yet. Perhaps – and we’ll never know – he’s waiting for us to get our acts together.

· In the meantime, each of us are indeed called to be wheat – to be fruit of 30, 60, or 100x.

· Mission of the Church is to reconcile all to God and each other in JC – that’s what being wheat is about – to proclaim God’s love we already know to the world.

· We already know people respond differently. We know now it isn’t up to us in or out of the church to judge how people respond or not. Our job is to concentrate on living out our lives as faithful followers of JC.

· Does not mean, btw, that anything goes
o Addiction, violence, destructive behanvior to self or others or the community – must always confront that
o Respect the dignity of human being in the process (Bapt. Cov.)
o The Commandment is still in force - Love one another as Christ loves us

· So rather than ask if you’re weeds or wheat, my questions are:
o Where is the wheat in your life? The weeds?
o Do you find yourself judging others? That’s God’s job after all

· We know how important wheat is. What are you doing to cultivate the wheat in yourselves, and get rid of the weeds?

· We don’t need to worry about others – remember logs and motes in eyes? Concentrate on ourselves – let God take care of everyone else in God’s own good time.

· Let’s concentrate on treating others as wheat - better to err on the side of caution than try to overstep our own bounds and get stuck in the weeds.

Bread is the staff of life. We eat the Bread of Heaven every Sunday. We are the wheat, mixed with the weeds. Tjhere is both weed and wheat in each of us, after all! Let each of us be the Bread of Heaven which gives life to the world around us, not just now, in the walls of St Ts, but when we walk outside this place as well. The world is hungry for the bread we provide. How can you be that bread this week?

Amen.

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

RFSJ

Amazing Grace

2008-07-19T18:17:00.004-04:00

No, I'm not preaching on that exact topic, and in fact, I should be working on my sermon for tomorrow. But I ran across this while dilly-dallying on Facebook:

They're called DuoVector and they have some other videos up here.

RFSJ

Saturday Funnies

2008-07-19T15:31:00.005-04:00

I still have some problems uploading some of my funnies, so this isn't all of them. You're probably saying, "Whew - glad I don't have to deal with *that!*"

Anyway, why shouldn't there be a PB-fish?

Very philosophical, these ATMS are getting...,

This is exactly what should happen, right, parents? Haven't you ever said, Gosh, that looks fun! I wanna play too!

Dumb, but I got a snicker anyway.....

I am going to camp next week, but fortunately not any of these.....

Do you suppose I'd need to get one of those heavy-metal Christian bands instead of my organist and choir?

RFSJ

The Lambeth Conference Has Opened

2008-07-18T12:04:00.003-04:00

I have purposely avoided blogging about this, since there is so much other coverage already. The Lambeth Conference is a gathering of (nearly) all the Anglican and Episcopalian bishops in the world. It happens once every ten years at the University of Kent, in England. Its convenor is The Archbishop of Canterbury, and its main purpose this year is to rebuild community among the worldwide college of bishops. It's being held over three weeks, and it began on Wednesday. Bishop Beckwith, our Bishop, is there, along with all other American bishops except for Gene Robinson, the Bishop of New Hampshire. He was not invited as a sop to the conservative bishops who think it's a sin that an openly gay bishop was consecrated, even though it apparently is not a sin that we've always had gay bishops and priests, but it was OK as long as they were in the closet. Honesty is apparently the real sin here.

In any case, there are plenty of resources covering the Lambeth Conference:

Here's the official Lambeth Conference website.

Here is Episcopal Life's converage.

The reports from the excellent site Thinking Anglicans is here.

Bishops Blogging from Lambeth is here.

Integrity's blog at Lambeth is here.

Many of the blogs listed in All Sorts and Conditions are blogging live from Lambeth or about Lambeth. You can check them out at the sidebar. I personally think that as long as the Archbishop does not allow his agenda to get hijacked by the reasserter bishops, then we'll have nonews or pronouncements from Lambeth, and that will be fine. In 1998 the Conference was much different - it was more of a legispaltive body that passed resolutions about various items of interest to the WorldWide Anglican Communion. (The Lambeth Conferecen site has links to the past resolutions.) The most famous of the 1998 resolutions - Resolution 1.10 - was one that was rammed through with the support of the then Archbishop of Canterbury which said many things, some of which are quite good:

Lambeth Conference 1998: Resolution 1.10 Human Sexuality

This Conference:

1. commends to the Church the subsection report on human sexuality;

2. in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union, and believes that abstinence is right for those who are not called to marriage;

3. recognises that there are among us persons who experience themselves as having a homosexual orientation. Many of these are members of the Church and are seeking the pastoral care, moral direction of the Church, and God's transforming power for the living of their lives and the ordering of relationships. We commit ourselves to listen to the experience of homosexual persons and we wish to assure them that they are loved by God and that all baptised, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ;

4. while rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture, calls on all our people to minister pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation and to condemn irrational fear of homosexuals, violence within marriage and any trivialisation and commercialisation of sex;

5. cannot advise the legitimising or blessing of same sex unions nor ordaining those involved in same gender unions;

6. requests the Primates and the ACC to establish a means of monitoring the work done on the subject of human sexuality in the Communion and to share statements and resources among us;

7. notes the significance of the Kuala Lumpur Statement on Human Sexuality and the concerns expressed in resolutions IV.26, V.1, V.10, V.23 and V.35 on the authority of Scripture in matters of marriage and sexuality and asks the Primates and the ACC to include them in their monitoring process.

The reasserters have crowed about the first part of Item 4 for ten years now, while reappraisers have wondered where the listening process of Item 3 and the declaration that all people are beloved by God in Item 3 went.

Of course, the Lambeth Conference was never meant to be legislative, but only consultative. In other words, each Province in the Communion has its own polity and governance. The Lambeth Conference is not a synod which can legislate for the whole communion, and so it sresolutions are only advisory at best. Only the General Convention of The Episocopal Church can legislate for Episcopalians in the US; whatever is said or done at Lambeth is worth noting and repsecting, but is not binding. Many of us continually forget that.

This Lambeth, if all goes as planned, there won't be any new resolutions. And that will be fine.

However, what is very significant and very worthwhile is the Lambeth Bible Study. the Bishops are doing a three-week study of the Gospel of John, and the Conference Planning Group has published a 7-part Bible Study that groups or individuals can use on their own to be in solidarity with the Lambeth attendees. Signs on the Way - A Bible Study Series (scroll down a bit to see it), is available on the Resources page here of the Conference website. I lvoe the Gospel of John - it's my favorite, and so I'm going to be using it next week for my private study while at Crossroads as Visiting Chaplain. I encourage you to take a look at it as well. I may blog my reflections as I go, but as internet acceess is limited at camp, I may not get much opportunity, in which case I'll post them, when I return.

RFSJ

Baseball Update - All-Star Edition

2008-07-17T13:09:00.004-04:00

Well, the All-Star Break is now over and we start the second half of the year. The AL beat the NL for the 11th straight year in the 15th innin by a score of 4-3. It was disappoinitng, as I'm an NL fan. But that's the way it is.

RFSJuniors is not doing well at all - 9th of 12 at the break. Essentially, I have terrible hitting. (Performance is a combination of both hitting and pitching numbers, accumulated fromt he players I "own" and then compared to the other teams in the league.) Although my team's batting average is second highest in the league, I am dead last in home runs and stolen bases. It really hurt when both Chipper Jones and Albert Puhols got injured in May and June. I made one trade to get a stolen base guy - Jacob Ellsbury of Boston, but that didn't help at all.

My plan is to wait through August and then probably have a fire sale. I would like to finish in the top half of the league if at all possible, but I don't see that happening barring a miracle in hitting. There just aren't any power hitters out there. Well Barry Bonds may be activated, but I wouldn't want him - I actually owned him last year and he was a bust. The trading deadline is August 10, so I need to make some decisions in short order.

Oh well. Hope springs eternal!

RFSJ

Buddhism May Be Dieing in Japan

2008-07-14T12:46:00.002-04:00

OGA, Japan — The Japanese have long taken an easygoing, buffetlike approach to religion, ringing out the old year at Buddhist temples and welcoming the new year, several hours later, at Shinto shrines. Weddings hew to Shinto rituals or, just as easily, to Christian ones.

When it comes to funerals, though, the Japanese have traditionally been inflexibly Buddhist — so much so that Buddhism in Japan is often called “funeral Buddhism,” a reference to the religion’s former near-monopoly on the elaborate, and lucrative, ceremonies surrounding deaths and memorial services.

Read it all here. Substitute "Mainline Christianity" for "Buddhism" and "the US" for "Japan" and you get a remarkable coincidence.

RFSJ

The Proper of Yesterday: The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

2008-07-14T10:17:00.006-04:00

Van Gogh, Sower with Setting Sun

Yesterday the community of St. Thomas's in Vernon gathered as one body at 9 AM, as we inaugurated our Summer Schedule. We heard the story of Esau and Jacob and some stew (it must have been really good!) and from St. Paul as he explains, in language that we have to be careful of today, about spirit and flesh. And we began a miniseries from Jesus on the Kingdom in the first of several exceprts from what many consider the central discourse of Matthew's Gospel, Ch. 13. There's a lot of agricultural imagery coming up in the next few weeks!

I wrote my sermon in note form this week, so it will likely be a bit choppy. If I have time later I will try to fix the bullets.

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Vernon
Proper 10A RCL 2008
Genesis 25:19-34; Psalm 119:105-112; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9,18-23
The Rev. R. F. Solon, Jr., Vicar

May these words be in the Name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.

· Distractions
o In the world – Times Square, ads
o In our lives – family, job, the economy, all sorts of things
o I often get distracted by the Internet, or by baseball, by my own finances,
o Things trivial and important distract us from what we’re meant to be
· Distractions throughout today’s Scriptures
o Esau distracted by his hunger
o Paul talks about the flesh vs. the spirit – really talking about whatever is of the world
o Jesus in the Parable of the Seeds
§ The Path – no soil at all = no understanding of the Word
§ Rocky Ground – no depth
§ Thorns – Weeds, choked the Word out
§ Good Soil
o Distractions there are the Rocky Ground and especially the Thorns

· Point of the Parable is clear
o Earlier, in Ch 10, we received some instructions on how to live in God’s kingdom, God’s economy, if you will.
o Last week Jesus invited us to take off the burdens of the world and out on his backpath
o All of Ch. 13 is about earthy images
o It’s about God’s Kingdom and how the world will react to it
o One of the only parables clearly spelled out
o Each of us is a type of Ground that the Word – the Seed - falls on
o The parable attempts to explain why not everyone is getting the Good News
o Of course, we’re meant to be the Good Soil, that produces 30, 60, or 100x
o I think most of us are mixtures of soil though….
§ We want to be Good Soil, but we often find Thorns – Distractions – in our lives that keep us from acting out the Good News
§ Sometimes we’re even Rocky ground – not so much depth to our trust in God
o We can cultivate better soil within ourselves – don’t have to assume we’re stuck
§ Get rid of some rocks
§ Pull some weeds
o How?
§ Coming here to St. T’s - best way to get the Water for growth
§ Often not enough though – distractions are with us 24/7 when we aren’t here
§ Pray – start by saying grace at every meal
§ Read the Bible – Forward in Faith, Daily Office, even Random Access
§ Do some service – the Hostel, some gardening, Harvest House
§ Make some quiet time each day
§ Talk with others – get a spiritual director even
§ Read a good book about spirituality or spiritual practices
o Staying rock free and weed free is hard – lots to distract us
o What’s your soil like right now? What can you do to get rid of the rocks and the weeds? Do you feel like you can produce 30, 60, or a hundredfold in your life? God does. So do I.
o How about here at St. Ts? What kind of soil are we in right now as a community?
o Each of us can live up to our potential, live the life God intends for each of us to live and in this community.
o We don’t simply have to accept the kind of soil we are. Get out those hoes and wheelbarrows and trowels and Round-up!
o Distractions will always be with us – our job is to make our spiritual soil as productive as we can, so that we can [read the collect]

Amen.

O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

RFSJ

Jus the Facts, Please

2008-07-12T16:48:00.003-04:00

I just discovered FactCheck.org, a non-partisan website run out of the Annenberg School of Public Policy that seeks to double-check and verify the "factual" claims that candidates make about themselves and each other. From their website:

We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.

The Annenberg Political Fact Check is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The APPC was established by publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg in 1994 to create a community of scholars within the University of Pennsylvania that would address public policy issues at the local, state, and federal levels.

The APPC accepts NO funding from business corporations, labor unions, political parties, lobbying organizations or individuals. It is funded primarily by the Annenberg Foundation.

Inform yourself. Did Obama really vote for a tax increase on people making less than $32,000? Is the McCain campaign really funded by lobbyists and PACs? Check them out to see some real facts, rather than the spin from the candidates.

RFSJ

Saturday Funnies

2008-07-12T16:28:00.004-04:00

Yikes! I just realized I haven't posted in the last few days. Didja miss me? I did accumulate a lot of funnies, as always, likc on any image to enjoy.

The General Theolgoical Seminary owned a Gutenburg Bible, but sold it stupidly in the 1970s....

I hear this is the way it is: We Americans have no sense of endurance any more. I guess $4 per gallon gas is our pain point. In all of Europe gas is much more expensive - in US dollars - per gallon.

I haven't seen a Zot! in Wizard of Id in ages and ages!

OK, this one is part of a much longer story line, but I love the idea of a pigeon learning Shakespeare from performances in the park! they had them in Columbus and they were wonderful - NYC, too, but I've never been able to get a ticket.

Do they still have those Build-a-bear stores or whatever they're called?

Well, yeah - white is just boring!

Exactly. Sigh.
It took me a while to get it.....

Hmm, speaking of judicial activism..

Amen and Amen!

We took thos picture's at RFSJ's birthday party, of course!

4 woofs indeed!!!!!

Unfortunate, but seemingly true.
This batch had a lot of political cartoons. In this election season, don't be surprised to see more!

Happy Saturday,

RFSJ

A Blog from the time of Jesus

2008-07-08T17:27:00.004-04:00

JERUSALEM — A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days.

If such a messianic description really is there, it will contribute to a developing re-evaluation of both popular and scholarly views of Jesus, since it suggests that the story of his death and resurrection was not unique but part of a recognized Jewish tradition at the time.

Read the whole article here and see what you think. I don't think necessarily that just because others might have had thoughts like this means that Jesus's death and resurrection are somehow suspect. I mean, the article itself references the Book of Daniel's images of the Son of Man, a title Jesus uses explicitly in the Gospels. So there are all kinds of imagery already running through the culture. I'm not sure how a three-days-dead-and-then-rising motif that's already present in some sense (and the article implies the artifact isn't exactly clear on that) is any different from a Son-of-Man-appearing-before-the-throne-of-God motif that is suggested by Daniel and is also already present in the milieu.

Am I missing something here?

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

2008-07-06T19:45:00.004-04:00

Sarah and Rebecca, Virtual Israel Bible Museum

It was a good day at St. Thomas's Episcopal Church. We gathered as we do every Sunday to encounter the Word in Scritpure and Sacrament and to celebrate God's presence among us. Today we heard the story of how Rebecca came to be Isaac's wife, heard St. Paul lament about how no matter how he tries he can't seem to do thre right things, and heard Jesus give the amazing invitation to come to hom, all who are heavy laden. Here's what I offerred at the pulpit of St. Thomas's. As always, I welcome your feedback and comments!

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Vernon
Proper 9A RCL 2008
Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67; Psalm 45:11-18; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
The Rev. R. F. Solon, Jr., Vicar

May these words be in the Name of Him whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light. Amen.

Each generation, it seems, has an invention or device that defines the generation and what it stands for. We’re in the Internet Age now. We use the Internet and computers for all kinds of time and money and people savings. America and the whole world could not exist as we do today without the help that computers give us. A lot of it is invisible, but those computers are still there, running quietly, doing what they have been designed to do. Remember the Year 2000 scare of ten years ago? Predictions of the near collapse of civilization didn’t come to pass, of course, but they seemed very understandable. We’ve come to depend on computers in nearly every aspect of our lives. It’s like that in every age. At various stages of human history, various labor-saving devices have been invented to make life easier, often in the area of transportation or construction. In the 20th Century it was the automobile and airplane. In the 19th Century it was the train and the steam engine. Earlier ages saw widespread use of wagons and carriages and sophisticated sailing vessels. Before trains and for indeed thousands of years it was the horse and other beasts of burden that were the principal means of transport. We could harness multiple animals together with a yoke – a beam of wood that fit across the shoulders of mules or other animals that forced them to walk together. The advantage was two animals tired out less quickly and could plow tough ground more easily. The yoke was possible the first labor saving device after the domestication of animals themselves.

That’s not the yoke that Jesus is talking about in today’s Gospel though. The yoke he is talking about – and this is separate from yolk, too, which is the yellow part of an egg – is similar to the animal yoke, but used for people. People, after all, were the very first transportation mechanisms. At first, we dragged or carried stuff. Some bright person figured out that if we put a beam across our own shoulders and hung stuff on either end, we could stand upright, using the natural strength of our backs and hips and shoulders to help us carry burdens longer and with more ease. So a yoke was a device to make people carry heavy things. To “lay down the yoke” was to subjugate a conquered people and make them slaves. To “take on the yoke” meant the same thing, to become slaves to otherwise take on forced labor. It wasn’t a complimentary thing. A yoke was something used to make it possible to carry and move heavier things than one could do alone.

But there’s another way to look at what a yoke was and does. A yoke is used to make a heavy burden easier to carry, but what if that burden is something you want to take on? Then it’s not a negative thing, but a positive one. It becomes not a subjugator, but a liberator. A yoke then becomes something willingly taken on, to help with a willing burden.

There’s a modern day version of such a yoke that many of us have seen. The backpacks that our thru-hiker guests use are very sophisticated pieces of equipment. I tried one on the other evening with the hiker’s permission and I could tell how well it fit and worked. They’re designed to distribute the weight of one’s hiking supplies across the shoulders and hips in a way that allows one to travel many miles a day without too much strain – as long as you’re in reasonable shape! But the point is, a thru hike is something one presumably does willingly. I mean, walking 2,174 miles is a very long way! And so you’d better have good supplies and a way to carry them all. A hikers’ backpack, a yoke, if you will, helps with that in the very best sense.

Today’s Gospel is an amazing testimony to Jesus and what he does. In this passage Jesus issues a unique invitation to his hearers then and to us now. “Come to me, all you that are weary and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

What Jesus is inviting us to do is put down the yokes that other people have put on our backs, as well as the yokes and heavy burdens that we ourselves have placed on our own backs. I’m talking about the burdens of hurt and pride and envy and distrust and all the other stuff we carry in our hearts and in our souls. Jesus is inviting all of us this very moment to look at ourselves and feel the backpacks we’re carrying. And Jesus says, there’s no need for that. Take those packs off. You don’t have to carry them around any longer. Those backpacks filled with enmity and self-pity and anger toward each other and our own selves – life’s too long to have carry them, far longer than the 2100 plus miles of the Appalachian Trail. Even our own stuff is too heavy. Look at St. Paul. He admits in today’s reading from Romans’ that there are times even he can’t seem to stopping sinning no matter how hard he tries. We’re all like that. Jesus says, Take all that off. Instead, take on his yoke. It’s light – far lighter than any of those other ones you’ve been carrying for all this time. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. My yoke, Jesus says, is not one of those heavy yokes imposed by others. My yoke is designed to carry easily the burden I offer. That burden is simply to live life as God’s loved and forgiven children. Love God by loving your neighbor and yourself. That’s all. No one comes to the Father except the son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Guess what? Jesus says, I choose to reveal God to anyone and everyone at all who seeks me and him! That’s the burden I offer. And the yoke I give to make it even easier is the gift of my very presence. You actually don’t have to carry very much at all. I’ll do most of the work.

Once you put down all those other burdens, you will find rest for your souls, and really for your whole self. You don’t have to hold on to your anger or pride or embarrassment or anything else that’s wearing you down. Because you are a loved and forgiven child of God, you don’t have to worry about what others think or say or do. You can act like a loving and forgiving person toward all those around you. Your relationship with God who loves you can never be bent, can never be broken. You can then practice extending that assurance to those around you. You never have to pick up the heavy backpacks of other peoples’ expectations or desires or ill will or hurt. You can leave them on the ground. You don’t need them anyway. You have all you need in the backpack Jesus wants to give you. It’s an easy backpack, too. Let go of that other stuff. Just put it down and walk away from it.

My friends, that’s the essence of the Good News itself. It’s the Lord himself who extends this most sublime invitation. We can, if we choose, take up the yoke of society’s expectations; of all the things we think we need to do to be happy, healthy, and wealthy. Jesus says we don’t need to, and it’s actually a mistake to do so. The values of society are false ones, Jesus says. They are heavy burdens, burdens so heavy we don’t even know that we aren’t walking, but that we’re really only crawling along at best, suffering under the values and expectations of a society that does not really want us to walk upright and secure in the trust in God’s love and forgiveness. Don’t listen to that stuff, Jesus says. Learn from me instead. For my yoke is easy, not like the yoke of the world. My burden is light, not like the crushing backpacks of the weight of the world. You can’t find rest with those backpacks on, but you will find rest for your souls with my backpack.

Today each of us has the opportunity to put down our burdens of sin and take up the oh-so-light burden of God’s love. And the yoke he places across our shoulders is not the heavy kind of yoke, the kind that slaves wore. The yoke Jesus gives is the kind of yoke, like a modern hikers’ backpack, that helps us with the weight we carry. And that yoke is his very self, the self we encounter every Sunday at the Communion rail in his own Body and Blood. He gives us of himself first. He makes it possible to easily shoulder the not-very-heavy weight of the forgiveness we have as God’s sons and daughters. Not much of a burden at all. A burden each of us carries with joy and hope rather than despair and doubt.

That backpack I tried on last evening wasn’t very heavy – possibly 20 pounds at the most, because it was partially unpacked. The hiker told me that full weight for her was around 30 pounds or so. It’s a good thing it wasn’t full, too, because I’m actually a bit sore in my back, and I had that thing on for maybe two or three minutes at most. Can you imagine how tired and sore your spirit is from carrying around all those backpacks containing the world’s burdens, burdens you didn’t even ask for? You don’t need that. I don’t need that. Jesus doesn’t want to us to have to deal with that. Jesus says to let it go. And you and I and all who wish it will indeed find rest, true rest, for our souls. Amen.

And the appropriate selection from The Messiah:

O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

Out of Office Replies You Might Get

2008-07-05T18:31:00.003-04:00

With the long weekend and summer high upon us (even if people are having "staycations"), don't be surprised at receiving one of the following replies to your email note (courtesy of my friend Chris Thomas):

1. I am currently out of the office at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. Please be prepared for my mood.

2. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn't have received anything at all.

3. Sorry to have missed you, but I'm at the doctor's having my brain and heart removed so I can be promoted to our management team.

4. I will be unable to delete all the e-mails you send me until I return from vacation. Please be patient, and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.

5. Thank you for your e-mail. Your credit card has been charged $5.99 for the first 10 words and $1.99 for each additional word in your message.

6. The e-mail server is unable to verify your server connection. Your message has not been delivered. Please restart your computer and try sending again. (The beauty of this is that when you return, you can see who did this over and over and over....)

7. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system.
You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.

8. Hi, I'm thinking about what you've just sent me. Please wait by your PC for my response.

9. I've run away to join a different circus.

10. I will be out of the office for the next two weeks for medical
reasons. When I return, please refer to me as Lucille instead of Steve.

Cheers!

RFSJ

The Proper of the Day: Independence Day

2008-07-04T14:46:00.004-04:00

On this day the Episcopal Church observes Independence Day with the rank of a Major Feast. We didn't do so until the 1928 BCP, interestingly, but I think it's a good thing to pause in the midst of our burgers, brats, and fireworks to remember Who is the source of true freedom.

Today's Gospel is surely an odd one for Independence Day. It's the command toe love one's enemies, to pray for those who persecute you. In any context, those are difficult words to hear. We are to pray for those who hate us, who wish ill on us, who might even want us dead? I honestly think it would be diificult to publicly pray for Al Quada or the Taliban in any church in this country, but I suspect that's what Jesus really means. The enemies of the community at that time were the Jewish authorities and the Roman overlords. It can't have been easy for the Christians of Matthew's day to hear that either. But prayer is never about changing God's mind and heart, but about changing our minds and hearts. When we pray, even for our enemies, we open ourselves up to the mind of Christ. I do not know what God's will is for terrorists, much less for me some days, but I know that the mere acting of naming people in prayer helps us remember them. This is hard stuff. I don't particularly want to remember my enemies and those who persecute me! And to be reminded to do so on this particular day, when we rightly celebrate what's good and wonderful about our country, draws me up somewhat short. Maybe it does for you too.

Here's an apt musical selection for today, The Last Words of David, by Randall Thompson, and sung by the Rutgers University Choir.

Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of this country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

So I feel sorry for Saul

2008-07-03T21:48:00.006-04:00

In the Daily Office we're reading from I Samuel in the Evening Office. Tonight we read how King Saul was disowned by God because he offered sacrifice to God before the big battle with the Philistines without waiting for Samuel to come and do it. Of course, the army was deserting and the Philistines were advancing quickly. Now I completely understand that this is a story (not as awful as the story of the sacrifice of Isaac which I preached on last Sunday) that demonstrates that it's important to trust in God no matter what the apparent circumstances, but still. Consider:

I Samuel 9: 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, the one I asked you to put aside.” 24 The cook took up the thigh and what went with it and set them before Saul. Samuel said, “See, what was kept is set before you. Eat; for it is set before you at the appointed time, so that you might eat with the guests.”

Now you have to know that this phraseology indicated that the portion reserved for Saul would normally be reserved the the priest for after the sacrifice.

Here's another:

I Samuel 10: 3 Then you [Samuel is speaking to Saul just after he has anointed him king of Israel] shall go on from there further and come to the oak of Tabor; three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three kids, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4 They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from them.

Again, it's not something you might know, but the bread was the bread of the "elevation offering" which again was normally reserved for the priest to receive. So Samuel was telling Saul that we would be treated in some sense as a priest.

OK one more:

I Samuel 10: 10 When they were going from therej to Gibeah,k a band of prophets met him; and the spirit of God possessed him, and he fell into a prophetic frenzy along with them.

So now Saul is prophesying, just like a priest would do.

BTW, this is not my idea; these are notes in the Harper-Collins NRSV version. I imagine the Rabbis have already put this together, but still, it kind of stands to reason that King Saul, who was treated like a priest at least three times, would feel under great distress that Samuel, God's prophet, wasn't around. So is it so unreasonable that he would undertake the sacrifice - reserved for only the priest to perform - when he had been so treated three times before?

Saul doesn't even get one chapter before he's rejected by God in favor of David. Now, I fully accept the omnipotence and the omni-knowledge of God. So how Saul fits in to the plan of salvation is beyond me. Perhaps Saul represents the earlier remnant of a dynasty before David in Israelite prehistory? I mean, it's just chapter 10 that he's rejected by God but it takes him to chapter 31 to finally die. And there is a lot of good stuff there. So as we move through July we'll get all of that, but in the meantime we get to deal with a God who apparently leads Saul on and then, when he does the seemingly natural thing, says he's wrong and that he will die and somebody else will be Kinf over Israel. I know there's more here, but that's what strikes me this evening.

Here's a scene from the G.F. Handel opera Saul:

RFSJ

Awwww!

2008-07-02T19:47:00.001-04:00

This is just cute!

RFSJ

GQ Profiles Bishop Gene Robinson!

2008-07-02T14:43:00.004-04:00

Even before he could speak, he knew it and felt it: knew he would never be separated from it; felt it in the form of light and heat. actually, light and heat belittled what he felt. They were just words, and words were small, man’s way of knowing; words could point and suggest, but never apprehend. When he was old enough to search for better ways to convey what he felt when the love of God came upon him, he would tell his mother and father and minister and anyone else in Nicholasville, Kentucky, that it was like butter, liquid-warm, luminous, drizzled atop his head and descending over and through him in a seamless golden coat to his feet.

As a child, he prayed the way he breathed, and for the same reason. His Sunday-school attendance record was unblemished, from toddlerhood to the time he left for college. One Sunday morning, he woke feeling that his insides were being dry-baked. “Nothing’s wrong,” he told his mother when she saw the color of his face. “Let’s go to church!” So off they went, where he passed his measles on to every student in his Sunday-school class. Weighed against the prospect of not getting his Sunday fill of Jesus, the reprobation that came from being a Patient Zero was a small price to pay.

Gentleman's Quarterly has done an excellent profile on the Bishop of New Hampshire, the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson. Bishop Robinson is the only bishop in the entire worldwide Anglican Communion to not be invited to the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference of anglican bishops, hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. (The ++ABC, as he's called in shorthand, is considered "first among equals" in the Communion because of his role as Primate of All England. He chairs the Lambeth Conference and the once-a-year-or-so Primates Meeting, and is President of the Anglican Consultative Council. See more about him here.)

The reason Bishop Robinson was not invited to Lambeth? He is gay and has lived openly with his partner for decades.

Read the GQ article here. You will get a fine sense of the love of God and the holiness of Bishop Robinson, whom I've had the privelege to meet personally an several occasions.

RFSJ

I [Heart] MTA!

2008-07-02T12:55:00.002-04:00

This piece in the NYT about a family's pleasures of the NYC subway system just made my day.

RFSJ

A Green Solution to Cord Proliferation?

2008-07-02T11:38:00.003-04:00

I'm finally getting around to going through my boxes and bags of computer cords and stuff. Turns out I have probably 30 telephone cables of various lengths (back when dial-up was king and then DSL) and lots of other assorted extension cords, cables for video monitors and printers, etc. I don't want to just throw them out. Any one know how to recycle these? I'd even be willing to ship them.

RFSJ

PS - the picture is not of my stuff, but you get the idea!

The Proper of the Day: SS Peter and Paul, Apostles and Martyrs

2008-06-30T14:37:00.005-04:00

St Paul's martyrdom, Hendrik Goltzius

Today the Church commemorates the Major Feast in honor of the two most significant of the Apostles, St. Peter "the Rock" and St. Paul "the Writer." (This Major Feast is normally observed on June 29, but is transferred to the next open weekday when it falls on a Sunday as on this year.) Much of the New Testament writings are either directly from SS Paul and Peter or attributed to them. The Letters to the Romans, Corinthians, I Thessalonians, Galatians, Philippians, and Philemon are considered by most scholars to have been written by Paul himself. II Thessalonians, Colossians, Ephesians, I and II Timothy, and Titus may have been written by Paul (they have his name in the openings of them) by may well have been written by members of a Pauline "schola," using his name and ideas to lend credence to their own work. This wasn't uncommon in the First Century. Catholic Resources Online has a decent summary of the scholarly consensus about these writings that's worth a read. The Letters of Peter, I and II Peter, seem to perhaps been written by a Petrine schola but many conclude not by Peter himself.

None of that is to say that these writings are not important. They are absolutely crucial to understanding what the Apostles thought about Jesus! Peter knew Jesus personally, after all, and Paul was a very early convert himself, given the title Apostle ("one who is sent") because of his missionary activity throughout the Roman world. We honor these two Apostles not only for what they wrote, but for what they did in spreading the Gospel. Tradition says they were executed under Nero in AD 64 in Rome. Peter is counted as the first Bishop of Rome, and St. Peter's Basilica is erected over the site of his tomb. There is some evidence that the actual tomb of Peter might have been found in recent years.

Here is a stirring version of Tu Es Petrus, Thou Art Peter, which is the appointed Gradual for today (at least I think it is; this looks like it's in Polish or something, so I'm not exactly sure! Just in case, here's a more traditional setting here.)

Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified you by their martyrdom: Grant that your Church, instructed by their teaching and example, and knit together in unity by your Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

RFSJ