Shared Vision
August 9, 2015
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
The 11th Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 14
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33; Ephesians 4:25-5:2; John 6:35, 41-51
(Epistle text is provided at the bottom of this post)
“Live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” This was the last verse of today’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
Does it sound familiar? With a few minor changes, this is the phrase both Ceci and I use each Sunday as the Offertory Sentence – though you probably don’t recognize it so much as a lead-in to the Offertory, as a confirmation that the announcements have come to an end!
At face value, this verse seems like an odd invitation to the offertory. It isn’t as “in your face” as Bishop Wright’s recitation from 2 Corinthians: “Let each of you give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor 9:7) When you hear that, you know it’s time to pull out your wallet… albeit cheerfully!
Yet I contend that to Walk in love; to Live in love as Christ loved us and gave himself [fully and completely], as an offering to God – this is asking even more from us. Giving all of ourselves as an offering to God is the ultimate act of stewardship – giving not only that which comes from our purse, but giving our whole selves; a fragrant offering – a sweet gift – to God. Read the rest of this entry »
Putting on the Cape-of-Christ
July 5, 2015
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
The 6th Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 9
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10; 2 Corinthians 122-10; Mark 6:1-13
(Gospel text is provided at the bottom of this post)
When I was growing up, summertime was a time for going to the movies – in movie theaters – long before Netflix and On-Demand. We’d pull out the entertainment section of the morning newspaper… you know, a real paper. We’d turn to the movie page to get the theaters and starting times, and we’d begin to figure out what we wanted to see.
The first thing you have to decide is what kind of movie you want to see – drama, romance, or action/adventure. Action was usually a safe bet, and in today’s fast-paced world, it seems to still be a big-draw.
If you Googled action-movies right now – please don’t, but if you did – you’d find a series of sequels to action films we can’t seem to get enough of, like Terminator, Mad Maxx and Jurassic Park. And then we have the Marvel Comic-book inspired Action-Hero movie: The Avengers! – where Superheroes come together, joining forces to save the planet from the evil villains of the world.
If I characterize the Gospels by movie genre, I’d say that Matthew seems more like a documentary, while The Gospel of Mark would be the Action/Adventure Movie of the New Testament. No, really! You may not be able to tell from the lesson we read today, but when we look at it as a whole, it’s filled with action.
WHY – It Matters
July 1, 2015
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
This is an article written for the church’s monthly newsletter, the Communique, published in July, 2015.
Wild & Wacky Wednesdays began in June, and while these evenings are usually filled with outdoor games and a lot of running around, our “first fruits” were used for an outreach project – preparing lunches for the Rainbow Village kids. In the preceding weeks parishioners had donated salty and sweet snacks, bread, fruit cups – you get the idea. So, on this first Wednesday night, the kids and youth would be decorating 150 lunch bags, writing 150 notes for the RV kids, and then filling these bags with all the lunch goodies.
As soon as the kids arrived, we got them signed in and put them to work! Armed with color pencils and stickers they immediately started decorating bags, one by one. Some designs were very elaborate, others more modest, and all were GOOD.
Do you not care?
June 21, 2015
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
The 4th Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 7
Samuel 17:32-49; 2 Corinthians 6:1-13; Mark 4:35-41
Last week was Sandwich Sunday, so after the 8:00 am service, a bunch of folks gathered in the Parish Hall with loaves of bread, peanut butter & jelly and ham & cheese ready to get to work. As usual, there was the obligatory search for the plastic gloves… my Achilles heel. We had enough to get everyone started, but I decided I’d run up to Target and get a full box and some more bread.
As I was headed back to church I sat at the traffic light and thought to myself, “I love this job.” In my twenty years in banking I know there were times when I liked what I was doing, and certainly who I was working with. I know I was good at my job, but I’m not sure I could ever truthfully say “I love this job.”
I continued to hold onto that feeling of love for this job as the new work-week began. On Monday, I popped in on Mary and her team of helpers at the Norcross Co-op Vacation Bible School. Then headed over to the church with Rita and Ken to map out the new Four-square and Basketball design on the back parking lot. The love continued as I made final adjustments to the Celtic liturgy, not to mention the fun of the Vestry meeting on Monday night!
On Tuesday, my love continued in the midst of conversations about an updated sound system planned for the sanctuary, followed by productive staff and warden’s meetings. And these feeling of love carried over to Wednesday, even as I hauled water hoses under the blazing sun to get things ready for a Wild & Wacky night with the kids.
I went to bed Wednesday night weary from a physically challenging day – earning over 13,000 steps for my effort – and the payoff was an evening filled with smiling kids and teens pelting each other with water balloons and careening across a three-lane slip and slide. I mean, what’s NOT to love about this job! Read the rest of this entry »
jodygreenwood 