From Anguish to Alleluia!
August 17, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Proper 15 – RCL Year A
Genesis 45:1-15; Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15:21-28
Jesus left Gennesaret and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly. (Mt 15:21-28)
I don’t know about you, but lately I’ve been overwhelmed by the onslaught of tragic stories in the news. For the last several months there has been an increase of unrest, or at least that’s the way it feels. At first this seemed to be concentrated in the usual areas far away – the Middle East, Afghanistan and the Ukraine to name a few.
We’ve been hearing more and more about about the escalating attacks and death-counts in Gaza. Then, on July 17th we were stunned to learn that a commercial jetliner had been shot down over Ukraine, killing almost three hundred innocent victims. And all the while the Ebola virus has been spreading deeper and deeper across West Africa.
Immigration protesters on both sides of the debate staged rallies at a California Border Patrol station last week, in response to the child migrant crisis. Photo: Sandy Huffaker /Getty
And lest we think all the hardships are in far-off lands, we have our own issues to deal with. There are constant reminders of the young children seeking refuge in the U.S., fleeing their homeland due to violence and danger. This crisis has been met with mixed feelings and angry voices on both sides of the issue. Add to that the random shootings in offices and shopping malls, not to mention the endless bickering of a divided Congress, where finger-pointing rules the day. Read the rest of this entry »
Radically Sowing Seeds of Inclusiveness
July 13, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Proper 10 – RCL Year A
Genesis 25:19-34; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
The parable of the sower and the seeds always takes me back to the days when I was in Youth group, many, many, MANY years ago.
When I was in the 7th or 8th grade the youth leaders decided that we would put on a production influenced by the musical Godspell. There was a group of teens that did the singing and another group, of which I was a part, that did pantomimes of narrated parables. We wore clown-style make up and bright-colored clothes and got to run up and down the aisles of the church – what else could you ask for!
The parable of the sower and the seeds was one of the big hits. As each set of seeds were tossed by the sower, children would drop in a squat on the floor in a tucked position. My favorite memory was the first set to seeds thrown. They were played by smaller children, like Charlie or Callie’s age. Then, Randy, a tall lanky teen, played the big bird that came swooping down and lifted the little person-seed way above his head and carried them down the center aisle, cawing all the way. Read the rest of this entry »
The Lord is Generous Indeed, Alleluia!
April 27, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
2nd Sunday of Easter – RCL Year A
Acts 2:14a, 22-32; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31
Alleluia, Christ is Risen!
The Lord is Risen indeed, Alleluia!
On the morning of Good Friday I headed into Atlanta to participate in the Annual Ecumenical Good Friday Pilgrimage. Although the walk was to begin at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, near City Hall, I knew I needed to be here, at Christ Church, shortly after the walk was over, so, the perpetual planner that I am, I decided to park near the finishing point, at the Martin Luther King Center, and walk about a mile to the starting point.
jeffsdailypicture.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive
After finding a place to park, I made my way up Edgewood Ave. on foot. At 8:30 in the morning, the sidewalks were mostly empty, but I did encounter a few folks as I walked toward town.
In my clericals, I was an unexpected sight to one man who stopped me along the way. He was working on a demolition project and told me about his struggles with a co-worker, perhaps with the hope that I might provide words of guidance to resolve his conflict. We talked for a few minutes, which I’m not sure was so helpful, but perhaps encouraging, and then I was back on my way.
A few blocks later I approached an intersection where three men stood, waiting for the light to change. One of them was drinking from an aluminum can wrapped in a small paper-bag. As he turned and saw me, he smiled what seemed a self-conscious smile. Yet when it was returned with a smile of my own, and a “Good morning” greeting, he relaxed a bit, and then asked expectantly, “Is God Good?”
Claiming our context, Salt and all
February 9, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
5th Sunday after Epiphany – Year A RCL
Isaiah 58:1-9a, (9b-12), 1 Corinthians 2:1-12, (13-16), Matthew 5:13-20
About ten years ago, while working at Chase Bank, I was selected to participate in an Executive Women’s Consortium at Smith College in Massachusetts. I spent two weeks with about 125 other women executives from various corporations. Each day we’d attend classes led by professors from ivy-league universities. The classes weren’t so much finance-related, but instead provided deeper insight into aspects of society that impact our lives and businesses.
One class in particular has continued to stick with me through the years. The focus of the discussion was on Culture and Diversity. In general, we tend to think of Culture in fairly broad terms, specifically as it relates to Race, Gender, Nationality – things like that.
I remember the instructor talking about gender – pointing out some basic differences in how men and women handle things – even something as simple as greeting one another. You see, when a woman greets another person, she often begins with some kind of compliment – “Oh, Suzie, your hair looks so nice, is that a new style?” or “The blue in that dress really brings out your eyes!” You know how it works.
On the other hand, men have the opposite approach. If a man begins by paying a compliment to another man, it’s only as a way to get to the jab… “Dennis, that’s a great tie you’re wearing, too bad you spilled your lunch on it!” Right?!
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