When we take the opportunity to share with another person about what having a real and life directing faith in Jesus Christ means to us, what will we say? When the moment comes when God is depending on our voice to prepare the way for another person to come closer to God, will our voice be heard and what will we say? Will we share what is important or slide by with peripheral talk?
What a message for us at Advent, “Let every heart prepare him room….”
Last Wednesday evening, I had the privilege of attending a program at Carnegie Hall featuring work from participants in the Creative Arts Therapy Program at Rikers Island. It was a beautiful evening. Original artwork was all over the walls of the reception area. A short film featuring dance and music programs was shown, and then a panel including Arts Therapists, a former program participant, and someone working with citizens returning to their communities went deeper into the power of creative work in helping people find their voices….
C.S. Lewis was an Irish-English author as well as a tutor and lecturer at Oxford University, and then Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English Literature at Cambridge University. He is called a Christian “apologist,” a technical term for those who explain and defend the Christian faith. One of his most popular books, Mere Christianity, was based on a series of fifteen-minute radio addresses for a broad audience interested in learning more about Christianity. And of course, many of us have read his Chronicles of Narnia series of fantasy novels for children (and adults!) that have underlying Christian themes….
We are the Episcopal Church, which means we are a church with bishops. The Greek word for bishop is “episcopos,” which means “overseer”—indicating that some of our clergy are called especially to a ministry of organization, supervision and unity. Each diocese in our national church elects a diocesan bishop, and all clergy and worshipping communities are under that person’s care….
Often, we let our circumstances dictate our faith. We trust God when things are going well, but when things get tough, we start to doubt. We start to question whether He really cares. In part of Sunday’s Gospel, (Mark 12:42-48) we see the faith of the widow was not dependent on her circumstances as she, despite her poverty, gave all she had to the treasury. She was clearly dependent on her trust in God….
Recently, a clergy colleague and I were having a conversation about the tensions between Christian commitment and citizenship. This priest could tell that people in her congregation were feeling divided. She knew they were well-intentioned; that they were trying to do the right thing, even as they felt conflicted in making decisions and uncomfortable once the decisions were made….
Ever since I served at St. Michael’s Church, I have had an affinity for the feast day of St. Michael and All Angels, which falls on September 29. Most of my focus has naturally been on the “St. Michael” part of the feast. But this year I find myself interested in the “All Angels” part as well – who are “all” the angels?!…
As the world around us and our lives grow more and more complicated and stressful, it is often grounding to get back to the simple things in life — like a walk in a park. It’s a good way to let go of our worries and to be present to the beauty of God’s creation. And...
Happy St. Luke’s Day!
Today is the day we remember the person who, between his Gospel account and the Acts of the Apostles, is responsible for almost one third of the writing in the New Testament (more if we include the Letter to the Hebrews, which some scholars believe Luke also wrote). He was born around eight years after Jesus and died in the year 92. Because of his style of writing, some of the vocabulary he uses, and his being referred to as “one who heals” in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, some have deduced that he a medical professional—perhaps a doctor. And there is a legend (unproven, but lovely) that he painted the first icon of Mary holding the infant Jesus. St. Luke is the patron saint of physicians, artists, bachelors, notaries, butchers and brewers….
The cost of following Jesus is a theme that reverberates throughout the New Testament. When the rich young man asked Jesus about inheriting eternal life, Jesus didn’t give him an easy answer. Instead, He challenged him to sell all his possessions and follow Him. This was a high cost indeed, and it left the young man feeling dejected.
We may not be asked to sell all our possessions to follow Jesus, but the cost is still significant. This cost is not just about giving up material possessions or personal ambitions. It’s also about giving up our pride, our desire for control. This is a humbling and challenging process, but it’s also liberating…..