Monday's no sermon to post post

I did not preach this Sunday, we had the Rev. Dr. Lucy Hogan in for a sermon, and the baptism of her Granddaughter. Very exciting.

I did do a little winging it homily at the 8AM service, we did not do the Ascension readings, using instead the readings for 7 Easter.

Here they are: The Lectionary Page

The Acts reading is one of those wonderful visual readings that the writer of the Gospel of Luke-Acts uses to express the power and possibility of God. Paul and Silas are freed from prison by an earthquake. My brief homily touched on how we can revel in the imagery of this story and how God does the impossible in freeing God's disciples. However, the Gospel, from John, offers us the real impossibility. What does it mean to be one?

What does it mean to be one for the Church. This is the impossible feat that we should all be impressed if it were accomplished by God. Breaking a couple of short tempered disciples from prison is no problem, making the world one, or all Christians one is a whole other story.

So I left the 8AM'ers with the question, what does it mean to be one, for the Church? What does that look like and how do we live into this Gospel story from John about being one?

Be well,
A+

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Deeper Crisis for the Episcopal Church in Minnesota???

I am ever the optimist, I always assume that people are operating out of the general good of their hearts, for the betterment of whatever it is they might be working or advocating for. I am also not one to hold a grudge, and will jump on board with the decisions made by a body that they believe are what that particular body needs. So, of course, when I was on the losing end of just about every resolution presented at convention I was able to look forward to what would come next and prepare myself to support the decisions I need to support as we move forward. Tonight I put all my eggs into the basket to try to get a coadjutor process passed as the way we would proceed in calling a new bishop. We missed that by three votes, granted, a majority of the Diocese wanted to have a coadjutor, but because of a motion to have the vote by orders it lost, clergy passed it 86-59 and the laity narrowly missed it by a vote of 114 to 117. Makes for some nail biting prime time entertainment, let me t
Read more

Beautiful Impartiality. Easter Day Sermon

“Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him. If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.” So spoke Sojourner Truth in December 1851, just 5 years before this parish was founded, at a Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio. She began her brief and eloquent speech with the words, “Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter.” There has been a lot of racket in our world, in our Church in our lives. Something is out of kilter that is for sure. Each year during Holy Week, all the clergy in the Diocese are invited to attend a service of the reaffirmation of our
Read more

An interesting Observation

I was sitting on the pew out in front of the Church on 4th Avenue waiting for my lovely and beloved wife to pick me up. Our other car was in the shop and due to rushed-ness we had to just drop me off at Church today. Anyway, I was sitting out there for about 15 minutes waiting for Sara to come and pick me up and I noticed something very odd. I didn't keep a number tally in my head, but I bet half of the people walking toward me crossed the street, not in the crosswalk at the corner, but at some other point before arriving at where I was sitting. Now, I was wearing my collar and sitting in the pew reading a book. The pew has been used frequently I have noticed by many passersby, I even saw a young man take off one of the round parts of the pew, it had kind of fallen off, so no longer attached, but just stare at it and look it over as he walked on. So the pew has not been an intimidating thing, it was definitely me and my collar, and no, I didn't smell, because many others w
Read more