The Gospel according to Huckleberry Finn
January 11, 2015
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
The 1st Sunday after Epiphany
Genesis 1:1-5; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11
After the worship service on Christmas morning, Alice and I headed to Hilton Head for a few days of R&R. We stayed at a hotel with a beachfront view, and each morning as I awoke, I could see the thin glimmer of day breaking, as color peeked above the ocean waters. I was drawn to it. Each day I welcomed the gradual emergence of a new day; of God’s creation.
That first morning at the beach, I began reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. You know Huck, he’s Tom Sawyer’s good friend; the one who traveled down the Mississippi River on a raft alongside a runaway slave named Jim. I’ve always loved Mark Twain’s humor and the way he captures the full picture of life, both glistening and gritty. Through his stories he brings to light the truth of real-life experiences. Read the rest of this entry »
Got Wheat?
July 20, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Proper 11 – RCL Year A
Genesis 28:10-19a; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
In today’s gospel we have another parable from Jesus to the crowds, and as Matthew seems kind enough to do, we also have an explanation of the symbols in the parable, shared only with the disciples… and us, it seems.
Like the sower and the seeds parable we heard last Sunday, Jesus continues to use farming imagery familiar to his audience. But in this parable the seeds no longer represent the spreading of God’s word. Instead we have two kinds of seeds. The seeds of wheat are the good seeds sown by the Master. The other seeds are weeds, sown at night by the enemy. We are told that the good seeds represent the children of the kingdom, while the weeds represent the children of the evil one, sown by the devil.
Now, some might look at this text and conclude that one’s goodness or evilness is predetermined – that when we come into this world, we are either cast as a seed of wheat or as a weed, and there’s nothing we can do about it. I don’t believe that this is how things work. And, for the purpose of Matthew’s gospel, this parable is more likely about Jesus’ hope to expand God’s kingdom in the world.
Source: http://blog.illumina.com
Through this parable, Jesus is beckoning the crowd to be WHEAT… that is, to hear his message about God and live into God’s call to love others. The alternative is to fall under the influence of those who act contrary to God’s message of love; those who focus on, or get distracted by, worldly things.
Washing off the Mud of Jesus
March 30, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
The Fourth Sunday in Lent – Year A RCL
1 Samuel 16:1-13, Ephesians 5:8-14, John 9:1-41
Last year, as part of my World Religion class at seminary we went to the Al-Farooq Mosque, on 14th Street in Midtown Atlanta, for Friday afternoon prayers. One of our guides was an active lay-minister and often preached the English-language sermon on Friday’s, which he did that day.
At one point he mentioned that whatever condition a person is born into, whether into poverty or into wealth, for example, it has its own burden to navigate. It is incumbent on each person to spend their life in prayer to God, seeking the proper use of their wealth, or seeking a way to overcome or endure their poverty.
In this same way, I believe, we are each born into circumstances of life that we must navigate. For the man in today’s gospel reading, he was born blind. Others, like my friend Claire, have been born deaf; still others are born with a predisposition for addiction; others with chemical imbalances in the brain that cause depression or anxiety; some with learning challenges, like dyslexia; and the list goes on and on.
In ancient times, being born with blindness or other debilitating conditions was believed to be a judgment by God for having sinned. But, we see in his conversation with the disciples, that Jesus dispels this notion.
I contend that in the same way that these physical conditions aren’t caused by sin, sin also doesn’t cause someone to be born into poverty any more than a lack of sin causes someone to be born into wealth. And while both have their challenges, if given the choice, I’m sure we’d much rather struggle with the burden of WEALTH.
But returning to the story of the man born blind, Jesus says that he “was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.” Similarly, each condition into which we are born can also provide an opportunity for God’s work to be revealed in us.
But, just as with this man, it isn’t automatic, and it isn’t without risk and consequence.
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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