God with Mary; God with Us!
December 21, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Advent 4– RCL Year B
2 Samuel 7:1-11; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38
Although the Advent wreath prayers today were focused on Joseph, the text from Luke’s gospel is centered on Mary; specifically, the visit that she received from God’s messenger, Gabriel.
From out of the blue Gabriel appears to Mary saying, “Greetings favored one! The Lord is with you.”
Luke’s gospel gains immediate credibility for me when it tells us that Mary is confused by this greeting. Here she is, a young woman, probably in her early teens, most likely living a very ordinary life. As a girl, she wouldn’t have much influence on what would happen in her life. Her father had already decided who she would marry, which we know was Joseph.
From there, after their marriage, Mary would dutifully carry out the tasks of tending to the household. She doesn’t study or read scripture, but instead prepares the daily meals, carefully adhering to the dietary rules of the Jewish tradition. She makes sure that her husband’s needs are attended to, and there would certainly be an expectation that Mary would have children – hopefully male children, to carry on the family line.
And while all of these things are essential and good, they would not likely earn the greeting bestowed upon Mary this day, “Greetings favored one! The Lord is with you.” So, Mary is perplexed. Read the rest of this entry »
Called to Re-formation
November 30, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Advent 1– RCL Year B
Isaiah 61:1-9; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37
“Let me borrow your skin?” I want to ask the friend who writes through hot tears on the morning bus.
Because they say to walk a mile in a man’s shoes if you really want to know his life.
But I know today that shoes that slip on and off with will are not enough for me to know what I need to know.
I need you to loan me your skin, because maybe inside it I will find my way to the knowing I need.
Maybe in your skin I will grow to understand the pain that boils to hot anger in your blood.
And maybe in your skin I can stand outside my own privilege long enough to know-in the truth of your life and your story.
If I could borrow your dark eyes then maybe I could see your son’s future through the storm of fear that brews inside you.
Loan me your skin so I can find the words to explain the scars that mark your life?
If I could speak in the rasping hoarseness of your voice so long unheard maybe I would feel the urge to shout with you.
If I could sing the slave’s songs with my grandmother’s memories pulsing in their harmonies then maybe I would feel the fullness of their soulful wails.
Let me borrow your skin so I can trace the scars of sideways glances and cold, hard stares of intimidation?
If I could finger your hair atop my head, during the silent shifting on the bus in the seat where I have the right to sit but not the welcome–
Let me borrow your skin so I can find the courage to bear the offense taken when I speak about the life you live in it.
I never ask it and she doesn’t have to answer for me to know what has always been true.
There is no way out for her of the skin she lives in and no way far enough in for me to truly know.
What we have to share is this – that I slide in close and lace my pale fingers through hers,
Embrace, leaning in to one another, and hear our hearts beat the same
drum
drum
drumming
of redemption’s song.
Tuesday morning began for me with heaviness of heart, having heard about the Ferguson grand jury verdict the night before. I knew that my Facebook page would be filled with anger, sadness, confusion and frustration, and it was. Then, later in the day, this poem, written by Colleen Mitchell, came across my News Feed – she had written it that morning. Read the rest of this entry »
A Flip of the Coin
October 19, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Proper 24– RCL Year A
Exodus 33:12-23; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Matthew’s gospel is tough. It was written for a particular audience at a particular time in history. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have something to say to us today, but before we can attempt to understand how it might speak to us, we first have to do the work of understanding what it meant THEN, to THAT audience.
Most of us don’t take time for that kind of work. We hear today’s gospel and interpret it simply to mean that we should pay our taxes, give to Caesar what is Caesars’s, and get on with it. But, it’s not that simple. It’s Matthew’s gospel, so there’s work to do.
But, don’t be afraid, I’m here to help.
Matthew’s gospel is big on RULES and AUTHORITY.
We continually hear stories where the Pharisees challenge Jesus or his disciples about the Sabbath because they are healing people or taking corn from the fields and no one’s supposed to be working. And, a couple of weeks ago we heard the Pharisees asking Jesus, by whose authority John was baptizing people.
For all you rule-breakers out there, we like it when Jesus stirs things up! When he goes against the tradition and challenges the status quo.
And when we hear that the Pharisees are trying to trick Jesus with a question, we love it when Jesus turns the tables on them, and they are dumbfounded! Read the rest of this entry »
Practicing Forgiveness
September 14, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Proper 19 – RCL Year A
Exodus 14:19-31; Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35
The other day I was driving by a park and noticed a young girl practicing softball with an older boy. This momentary glance took me back to a time many years ago when I played church-league softball. I was making the transition from T-ball to full-pitch softball, and it wasn’t going very smoothly. I quickly learned that hitting the ball as it moved toward me was harder than I thought.
In practice one day I kept missing the ball, and I was getting pretty frustrated. My older brother, Jimmy, was there. I don’t know if he was “officially” helping out, or whether he was just biding his time, while his sisters had softball practice. In any case, he offered to help me learn how to hit the ball. He had played little league baseball, and in my eyes, was good at anything he did, so why not?
So there I was, standing at the plate, bat in hand, barrel cocked-back over my shoulder as I’d seen all the baseball players do – I was ready for the pitch. Jimmy stood several paces away and gently tossed the softball toward me. I swung… and missed. After doing that a few more times, the result didn’t change, and Jimmy could tell I was about to give up. So, he decided to use a different approach.
He told me to hold the bat out in front of me, across the plate, and just touch the ball when it came toward me – not to swing at all – just reach the bat out and touch the ball wherever it was as it came across the plate. He then came a little closer and tossed balls toward me. I tapped each one, and got a sense of what it felt like for the bat to make simple contact with the ball. He had taken the swinging-action out of the equation, and gave me something I could actually accomplish. It was encouraging! Read the rest of this entry »
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