Still We Rise!
June 1, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
7th Sunday of Easter – RCL Year A
Acts 1:6-14; 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11; John 17:1-11
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.” This Henry David Thoreau quote confronts me each time I open the refrigerator door. It sits as a framed, limited edition work of art, created by my niece, Kayanne. The card arrived in my mailbox four years ago announcing that she would be graduating from college with a degree in Graphic Design.
Although I’ve never asked, I’d like to think that Kayanne’s connection with this quote may have been partially inspired by a time she and I spent together just four years earlier, at the time of her high school graduation. As a graduation present, I got tickets for Kayanne and me to hear Dr. Maya Angelou when she came to Houston. Angelou had been a favorite of my older sister, Kathy, Kayanne’s mom, who had died a couple of years earlier. So, sharing this experience with Kayanne was one way of bringing her mom into the celebration with us.
During the evening we were captivated by the inspiring and poignant words of Angelou. Her message was optimistic while she encouraged each of us to share our unique gifts with the world. She attributed each person’s unique strengths to their ability to rise above the struggles in life, and she assured us that “each of us has the power to change someone’s life,” saying, “Sometimes if you just speak to someone it can change their whole day.” (1) Read the rest of this entry »
Both Shepherd and Lamb
April 18, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Good Friday, April 18, 2014 – Year A
Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Hebrews 10:16-25, John 18:1-19:42
If you were here this past Sunday, you heard me explain that these narratives about Jesus’ death are called “The Passion” because the Latin root of the word is passio, which means suffering.
Throughout the Passion narrative from Matthew read on Sunday, we got a sense of the suffering Jesus endured, yet today’s account from John is quite different. In John’s gospel Jesus is the one directing the course of action, from beginning to end, and this is reflected in the Passion story, as well.
In today’s reading, after Judas brought the soldiers and temple police into the garden where Jesus was, instead of Judas kissing Jesus on the cheek, as told in Matthew’s version, here we have Jesus stepping forward on his own. He asks the soldiers who is it they seek, and when they say “Jesus of Nazareth” Jesus responds, without hesitation, “I am he.” Read the rest of this entry »
Rebirth of Understanding
March 16, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
The Second Sunday in Lent – Year A RCL
Genesis 12:1-4a; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; John 3:1-17
In today’s gospel we hear the familiar story of Nicodemus, a leader in the Jewish tradition; a Pharisee. During the night, under the cover of darkness, Nicodemus comes to Jesus. Having seen the signs that Jesus has done, he affirms that Jesus must be a teacher who comes from God, because surely these signs wouldn’t be possible without God’s presence.
And instead of accepting this affirmation from Nicodemus, it says, “Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’”
Nicodemus is confused by this. He likes things to be straight-forward. He’s used to abiding by the letter of the law, carrying out the commandments that God has set forth. So now, he hears Jesus saying that one has to be “born from above” and Nicodemus’ literal nature responds in a literal way: “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”
But Jesus isn’t talking about an earthly birth, one based in flesh, but instead, he talks of being born of the Spirit. Being born into the person God calls us to be; not the image that the world has for us.
So what is this rebirth? What does it look like?
Have you wrestled with the cross lately?
September 14, 2011
Candler School of Theology, Atlanta, GA
Feast of the Holy Cross, September 14, 2011
2nd Year MDIV Student
Lectionary: Isaiah 45:21-25, Psalm 98, Galatians 6:14-18, John 12:31-36
A few weeks ago, on the first day of classes, Anglican Studies eagerly welcomed six more students to the program. As with any group, when new people join, there are always questions about how things work and what we do. On this particular day, knowing we would be leading Evensong & Eucharist that evening, we spent some time walking through the service.
It was only a year ago that I was going through the same thing – completely unfamiliar with sung Evensong – the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis – and having to learn it on the fly. There I was, considered one that was leading the service, yet I was wholly unsure of what I was doing at every turn.
Now lucky for us, this year’s newbies are good at asking questions. As we went through the liturgy someone asked “When do we make the sign of the cross?” which was quickly followed by “How do you make the sign of the cross?” These are good questions, and remind us that we all have different sensibilities and experiences with this particular gesture.
For many, the only time they see this gesture is when they are watching a baseball game and the batter makes the sign of the cross as he steps up to the plate. And even though this acknowledges the same strength and protection from God through Christ, the spitting and scratching that follows is not part of our routine… or at least not intentionally.
