As Christians we are called to live a life of faith. When we have faith in Jesus Christ we are saying that we trust Him, that our life belongs to Him. That we may not know what lies ahead, but we know that He is there. As we journey through Mark’s Gospel we see many people responding in faith to Jesus and His works and words. This is what we do, we hear, we read, we follow Jesus. He amazes us by what we see in Him – his love, sacrifice, mercy, grace and hope….

This Sunday we will resume in-person Sunday worship at Holy Apostles, a sign of what so many of us have been starting to experience in our lives as we slowly emerge from the pandemic: new beginnings. With many new beginnings there is great excitement and hopefulness — and our current beginning is no different. We are excited to be physically with folks we’ve only communicated with virtually for so long. We anticipate a return to some kind of normalcy. We hope that everything will suddenly be better, whatever “better” means to each of us….

If you pass by the gate at the entrance to the Holy Apostles courtyard on 9th Avenue on any given day around the beginning of May, you will encounter a large lilac bush. There are many beautiful plants in our garden and on our grounds, and this flowering tree is truly a jewel in that crown. When in bloom it is startlingly beautiful—healthy, gorgeous purple flowers—and the scent is incredible. You can smell the lilacs from more than six feet away….

Nicodemus who was a Pharisee a leader of the Jews, knowing that Jesus was a teacher who had come from God questions Jesus when He said, “Very truly, I tell, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old?

Sometimes, like it was for Nicodemus, we come to Jesus and do not find the answers we think we will find, but find instead more questions. We encounter scripture and discover it doesn’t necessarily say what we think it says, or what the world has told us it says….

It was one of those days. Yes, the sun was shining and yes, the energy at the Soup Kitchen was up and positive. Still, stress was in the air. A couple of staff members were out unexpectedly. Some necessary supplies had not arrived in a timely manner. The phones and the internet service were fading in and out, which made it difficult to get any office work accomplished. It was frustrating, as only the days when it’s impossible to complete any single task can be.

Every once in a while, when I am waiting on a line or have a break that’s long enough to allow for focus but too short to really accomplish anything, I go to the Games section of the New York Times and play Spelling Bee. The object of Spelling Bee is to take seven assigned letters and make as many words of four letters or more as possible. Six of the letters are arranged, honey-comb style around a center letter, which has to be used in every word…

Jesus tells us that He is “the true vine” from which we are to receive our nourishment. We need this nourishment to live a productive life that bears good fruit. He goes onto say, that there are two types of branches.  The first are those who only believe in Him...