Happy Tail-wagging Day!
November 26, 2015
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Thanksgiving Day; Year B
Joel 2:21-27; Psalm 126; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Matthew 6:25-33
A few days ago I saw a post on my Facebook Page that caught my eye. This is what it said:
There is a story they tell of two dogs.
Both at separate times walk into the same room.
One comes out wagging his tail while the other comes out growling.
A woman watching this goes into the room to see what could possibly make one dog so happy and the other so mad.
To her surprise she finds a room filled with mirrors.
The happy dog found a thousand happy dogs looking back at him while the angry dog saw only angry dogs growling back at him.
What you see in the world around you is a reflection of who you are.
I think there’s a lot of truth to this.
Just yesterday, as I was trying to make my way through a grocery store parking lot, I found myself getting more and more frustrated. At 3:00 pm on the day before Thanksgiving, everyone is getting their last-minute items – including me. I was already envisioning the long check-out lines and decided I just didn’t have the patience for this right now, so I headed to another store, one closer to home.
Luckily, that extra drive gave me a chance to make an attitude adjustment. Read the rest of this entry »
The Tenacity of HOPE; The Discipline of LOVE
November 15, 2015
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
The 25th Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 28
1 Samuel 1:4-20; Hebrews 10:11-25; Mark 13:1-8
(Gospel text is provided at the bottom of this post)
You may have heard me refer to Mark’s gospel as the “action adventure movie” of the New Testament. Jesus is constantly on the move, going from town to town. Folks gather ’round wherever he is and he heals them and casts out demons. Even when he tries to get off for some time to himself, they find him – his compassion compels him to respond to their needs.
But today, we’ve reached the part of Mark’s gospel that sounds more like Mad Max, Independence Day and Armageddon all rolled into one!
It all starts innocently enough. Up until now, Jesus and the disciples have been traveling around Galilee, in small towns and the countryside. They’ve now entered Jerusalem and Jesus has been teaching in the temple.
As they leave the temple, the disciples marvel at the large buildings all around them – the grandness and permanence of this holy place. The place where the Hebrew people make pilgrimage for great feast days. The temple that held God’s presence.
But, as Jesus hears the disciples’ wonderment, instead of marveling along with them Jesus turns and informs them, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”
When the disciples ask for details, the message gets even more grim: Read the rest of this entry »
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