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“What’s in a word?”

This Sunday, which is firstly the Fourth Sunday of Advent, there is great emphasis in the lectionary readings about the “word” or speech in general. A word from the Lord comes to Nathan who instructs him to tell David to build a permanent tabernacle. Psalm 89 is sprinkled with references on words or speech. “My mouth will proclaim…” “Oath” “Spoke in a vision…” We should be well to remember that the Lord spoke all of creation into existence. “The Lord said, let there be light…” And then Mary proclaims one of the hardest and most humbling words we as Christians, and anyone to anyone else for that matter, can say. “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Difficult if only because our human nature wants to follow our will, my will, what I want to do.

If you were at Spirituality Group last week, you heard me talk on hope using my favorite theologian and thinker, Jacques Ellul. In another book of his, titled Humiliation of the Word, Ellul makes the distinction between reality, which is seen and has to do with sight, and the truth, which is spoken and heard through word. God reveals himself as Truth to all of reality (the reality he created by his Word) through the Word made Flesh. In today’s world, we seem to be more interested in what is seen. We demand proof and evidence (like St. Thomas!). Television, social media, advertisements have created what seems like a vortex of our attention. We spiral into binge watching our favorite TV shows or stay up late watching TikTok reels. We know that attention spans are decreasing. While many of grew up with television, we didn’t grow up with so many choices of screen time. Phones, tablets, televisions, video games, etc. I don’t wish to critique any parenting styles and know how convicted I am in my participation of screen time.

All of these images, however, can have the power to disconnect us from the source of all goodness and truth, God, who in his mighty power, came down to us, as a baby. (I’ve always wondered about those initial sounds baby Jesus made, those sweet coos, the yawn, the little grunts babies make when they stretch, just like the rest of us). Ellul does not argue that word and truth are superior to image and reality. Both are needed for the fullness of understanding who we are. So, what’s in a word? Everything else needed to make sense of what is in front of us. Jesus Christ will soon be here, the truth of God in the fullness of our reality. We are more than consumers of media or images.

Do you listen for a word from God? Sometimes this Word isn’t what we want to hear. Sometimes it’s exactly the answer to a prayer. It’s amazing who we can be and what we can do when we stop and listen and wait for the Word that creates us anew and allows us to say, “You called me, God, let it be done according to you.”

I hope you had a blessed Advent and have a Merry Christmas!

Fr. Zach

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Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us. Let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us, through Jesus Christ our Lord… (Collect 3 Advent)

When I was studying for my M-Div. degree my professor recommended that when we open a book for his class, we should first read the last chapter and then begin the book. In the case of the Gospel, we start every year knowing how the book ends. Our church year begins in Advent with lessons from the last chapter of Mark. In the second week, we start at the beginning of Mark with the prophet John the Baptist. This week we go to the first chapter of John. In verse five, John says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” We will now get to see the serum light enter into humanity.

The Gospel goes on with the story of John the Baptist on the river Jordon near Bethany. The first century historian Josephus wrote: "John, that was called the Baptist… who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness.” We begin Advent in the darkness of the world with the second coming of our Lord and then go back to the time and place in history when the prophet, John the Baptist pointed to the light. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8). Jesus enters our story in Mark as he begins his ministry. Our lectionary experts have given us a head start on the disciples. We will watch them struggle to understand who Jesus is. Mark points us backwards to what God has promised to us through the prophets. The prophet Isaiah says, ”The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified (Isaiah 61:1-2).

It is time to prepare some space in our heart for Jesus Christ. Last week, Deacon Claire promised that God is searching for us and we merely need to turn towards God to accept him in our life. This week we are asked to look for the light coming out of the darkness. Jesus came to bring the good news of the love of God. We have this hope in Jesus Christ that carries us through difficult times. God’s grace and mercy will surely come to those who wait.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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Advent conjures up lots of words, thoughts and questions. As I spent time pondering what to write for this week’s Chalice my mind was overrun with many questions Perhaps you have some also:

·       What do we most need this Advent?

·       What are we waiting for?

·       Who are we waiting for?

·       Where is our wilderness?

·       In the busyness of our lives, are we able to hear the voice that cries out to our hearts?

·       If God is coming to bring us peace, how and where can we find it?

·       How do we prepare a home in our hearts for the one to come and come again?

So, we come to church – a place where we can worship God, to be inspired and grounded, to be part of a community, to be blessed and find support in the timelessness of Holy Scripture, maybe even to become better people. Church can also be for many of us a place of peace – a respite from our daily challenges – a place to retreat from the world and slow down as we search for answers that will endure.



As I looked at the word art that is at the top of this message, it took a long time for me to find the one word I was desperately looking for – something I need: Peace. I know I am not alone in this need. See if you can find it! It is barely noticeable. Yet, peace, comfort, patient waiting and even a call to turn our hearts to God, to seek forgiveness, are among the many themes found in our lectionary for this Sunday. Psalm 85 verse 8 tells us:

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,

    for he will speak peace to his people,

    to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.

Where is this peace to be found? Henri Nouwen tells us, “The answer is clear. In weakness. First of all, in our own weakness, in those places of our hearts where we feel most broken, most insecure, most in agony, most afraid. Why there? Because there, our familiar ways of controlling our world are being stripped away; there, we are called to let go from doing much, thinking much, and relying on our self-sufficiency. Right there where we are weakest, the peace which is not of this world is hidden.” (emphasis added)

I pray that you will all join us this Sunday – for a time of peace – perhaps to get some answers to the deeper questions that are challenging you. Maybe even to find peace.

Shalom,

Deacon Claire

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“May he whose second Coming in power and great glory we await, make you steadfast in faith, joyful in hope, and constant in love” (Advent Blessing).

Advent is a season of faithful action, as we wait in joyful expectation for the coming of Christ in the world. As we heard in last week’s Gospel, we can look for Jesus in the oppressed of the world. We see Christ through caring for the sick, feeding the poor, and welcoming the stranger. We give thanks for all who gave to our Thanksgiving Baskets. To some of us, this year has had its share of difficult times and we ask the Lord to come into our hearts and sustain us. Please join us for Blue Christmas Healing on December 14^th at 7 PM. To others, like the persecuted church of the first century, we just hope that God will help us endure to the end. Regardless of where we are right now, we know that our redeemer will come one day and put things right. Since we do not know when, we want to always be alert and ready. We come to church each Sunday to thank and give praise to God. In this Advent season, let us with steadfast faith, open our eyes and hearts to the coming of Jesus.

This Advent, let us keep awake, to see what really matters. In the words of Isaiah, “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down…we are the clay and you are the potter; we are the work of your hand.” Let us be clay in the potters hand on that day when the sky darkens, so that we might not fear that day, but be ready for it. Isaiah tells us that we will all fade like a leaf and wither like the grass. While we are here, let’s focus on the eternal, the things that shall not pass. Let us give testimony to the Gospel. Advent is a time when we wait for the revealing of Christ. Advent is a time of waiting and preparing. Advent is a time when we align our lives with the will of God.

Last week in my sermon, I spoke of bringing friends, family, and our community to all the wonderful events we have at this time of year at St. John’s. Please keep a holy Advent and plan to come to church these next four Sundays. Worship and prayer are what we all need to do in these troubling times as we prepare for the coming of Christ.

Our Advent calendar is a little different this year because Advent IV happens on Christmas Eve. We will have our Christmas Pageant rehearsal and the greening of the church on December 16^th. On December 17^th we will have a Rite I service at 8 AM and our Christmas Pageant at 10:00 AM. On Sunday December 24^th we will have our Advent IV service at 9:00 AM. We will have Christmas Eve services on Sunday, December 24th at 4 PM, 7 PM, and 10 PM. Christmas morning service will be at 9 AM. I am so thankful for the dedicated folks at St. John’s that will be giving a little extra this year to make this happen.

This weekend, our youth group will be selling Christmas wreaths and flowers. Please contact Fr. Zach or Ford ASAP to reserve your wreath. Please join us on Tuesday, December 5^th and 12^th at 6 PM for Evening Prayer, supper, and our Advent program. Bishop Wolf will join us on December 9th at 9:00 AM for an Advent Retreat. 

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan 

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I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come (Ephesians 1:16-21).

St. John’s, Huntington has something that you need, your family needs, your friends need, and your neighbors need. It is the love of Christ in your heart. This love starts by realizing who Jesus is and what he did, does, and will do for anyone that believes in him. With the “eyes of our heart enlightened,” we can bring the peace “that passes all understanding” to our inner circle. Have you felt the tension that folks are feeling on social media, on the roads, and at your workplace? We are headed into an election year again and we all know this divides us as a nation. The world is divided by war and unspeakable evil. Many churches are dying. Paul tells us that there is hope in Jesus Christ. It begins with a thankful heart. Please give thanks for everything that you have been given.

This week’s Gospel asks if we have fed the hungry, given a drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, and visited those in prison. We need you at St. John’s, and perhaps the love of Jesus Christ and the peace of God is just the remedy that the world could use right now. We would love for you to fill out a 2024 pledge card and catch up on your 2023 pledge. These are difficult times financially for churches. Let’s carry on the tradition of the last 278 years at St. John’s. We ask for you to volunteer or bring in some gently used winter clothing for the Thrift Shop. We ask for you to support our Adopt a Family. We need you not only to come to church, but to invite others for Advent programs, Christmas Concerts, and services. We stand at the crossroads and we need everyone to make a choice. Will we accept the love of God or will we be sucked into the division and hatred that has enveloped our world?

There will be Advent Wreath Making after the 10:00 AM service on Sunday November 26th at the coffee hour.                                                                                          

Join us for our Advent Series from 6-8 PM on Tuesdays, December 5th and 12th and on our Advent Retreat with Bishop Wolf from 9 AM-12:30 PM on Saturday, December 9th.

Please order your Youth Group Christmas Wreath and Flower by November 28th. Our youth will hand out your wreath and flowers on Saturday December 2nd from 10:30-1 and Sunday December 3rd until noon.

Please fill out your Altar Guild Christmas Poinsettia Memorials and Thanksgivings forms ASAP!    

Please attend our concert, Peace on Earth on December 10th at 7 PM and our St. John’s Christmas Concert on December 17th at 7:30 PM with Leslie, Christine, and friends.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan 

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In the Blink of an Eye

“Time is endless but goes too fast.
You long for the future, then yearn for the past.”
By Ebony Black

Sermon preparation takes time. It is about allowing the scriptures to settle into my brain and heart – to whirl around a little – alas, in my case, a lot. I can’t even tell you how many hours it takes after I read the lectionary, do the appropriate research to be fully grounded in the intent of the passages for the whirling to stop so I can finally put pen to page.

Time is a funny thing. When we are children, time seems to go on forever: “When will I be old enough to stay up until 9:00? -- to stay out until 9:00?”  Perhaps you have experienced a period in your life, or even in your career when you marked off each day on your calendar – thinking that it might help speed up time – to get to the end of something tedious. Can’t wait until this school year is over, says one teacher – me too, agrees the student. That seems rather sad. Trying to rush through a year without considering the joy in teaching – in learning – not to mention some of the fun activities school can offer both children and adults!

As we age, time sweeps by in the blink of an eye. We are reminded of the frailty and brevity of life. It isn’t comfortable to face what we cannot control and time is certainly one of those things.   Have you ever noticed how our culture fights aging? More wrinkle creams or hair dyes line the shelves of our stores as we struggle with the natural signs of the passage of time. Our independence is so precious that it becomes traumatic to give up the car keys when age lessens our vision or judgment. How we struggle with letting go!

Our lectionary this week includes portions of Psalm 90 – a Psalm frequently used at funerals. It has been attributed to Moses. We are offered comfort from the very first line: “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.” God has been home to the Israelites, throughout their entire forty homeless years in the desert in search of the promised land. But alas, it is not to be for many on that journey, including Moses. He is left only to view the land of milk and honey from afar. And we learn that our time is not all there is to measure. We are being encouraged to reflect on God’s time – not just our own. “A thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes”

Most importantly, however, we are being encouraged to live each day – day by day – not dwelling on the past or fretting about the future. Moses’ prayer ends with a plea for God to teach us – help us to see and receive each of the days we are given as a gift from God. May we each strive to make each day count to the glory of God!

Let us make each day count!
Deacon Claire

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I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream (Amos 5:23-24).

Today’s Gospel from Matthew asks us to keep awake. To be awake in the Lord is to love God and one another. Be generous with your love to God, to your family, and to your neighbor. Celebrate the diversity of our community with a thankful heart and a steadfast faith. Every kind act you do for one another gives praise and thanksgiving to God, whose steadfast love for us overflows from our hearts. Be aware that folks come to our church each and every week hoping to connect with our community. 

“Henri Nouwen spoke about ‘hospitality of heart.’ At its core, hospitality is an opening of the heart. It really has very little to do with having friends or strangers over for dinner. Indeed, we can invite the poor into our homes for a meal three nights a week, but if our heart is not open, we have not offered hospitality. This is what makes many of us avoid hospitality as a practice. We hesitate to open our hearts to the degree that hospitality calls for. Providing a meal or shelter seems more manageable than opening our hearts. Opening our hearts means we really have to gather others in… to know the hopes that lie hidden in their souls, the joys that have taken them to heaven’s doors – all these become a part of our own heart when we engage in hospitality as a spiritual practice. The challenge of this, of course, is that the contents of our own heart merge with those of our guest. This means that what is in our heart is no longer front and center. It’s no longer all about me. It becomes, instead, all about us” (M. Renee Miller).

Love is not just treating folks well, but listening to how they feel. If we are ever to break the bonds of racial injustice, we must listen to the voices of others. What we often find out is that others are gifted in ways that we never saw before. As I listen to the joint choir between St. Augustine’s and St. John’s on our website, I feel the passion in the choirs singing. That passion penetrates our hearts and makes us overflow with love like a stream after it has rained for several days. Justice and righteousness are a gift of the Spirit when a heart is overflowing in love. Too often we are hung up on the little things that bother us and we are distracted. I ask you to awaken and arise in the love of Jesus Christ. Justice and righteousness begin to roll down when we listen to the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the oppressed, and the naked. I ask you to join our HIHI homeless ministry, give a donation for the thanksgiving baskets, knit a prayer shawl, help in the thrift shop, join the breakfast group or St. Hilda’s Guild, give a gift to our Adopt-a-Family, and pray for peace in the Middle East. God’s only hands and arms are yours. 

Finally, I ask you to turn in your pledge card by Sunday, if you have not already done so. Our Stewardship Committee will be making calls and visits next week to follow up, but they would prefer if they didn’t need to make any calls. Please also check if you are up to date on your pledge for 2023. Thank you to all members of our congregation who have already pledged. Your generosity allows us to continue the faith and love that have been shared for the past 278 years and to let God’s justice and righteousness roll down from St. John’s into our community.

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan  

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This Sunday, we are transferring All Saints Day from it’s traditional day of November 1 to the following Sunday, as we are allowed to do. This week has been a time to remember both the saints in our lives and our church and also those who have departed from us, with the commemoration of All Souls on November 2.

We remember both saints and souls who have gone before in church history. As we conclude St. John’s stewardship appeal, I hope we can take a moment to remember that we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. It is important to remember that our church and her works and our faith are always on the move and the church temporal is not and will never be finished until that last day. This is the third iteration of St. John’s church, the Episcopal Church was once an east-coast establishment that now finds itself throughout the Western Hemisphere and beyond, and as we prepare this church for the 21st century, we are making it ready to be a spiritual beacon for Huntington and all of Long Island.

This doesn’t mean simply building and grounds, how many activities you volunteer for, or how much you give, but also how you live in light of being a Christian and worshipping as a Christian here at St. John’s. I do not mean to say we strive for perfection, but, as I touched on in a previous sermon of mine, we do strive to be saints. We are called down a path of holiness in our Christian lives. This is something I would like to touch on this Sunday, what is our stewardship of holiness? How are we stewarding our call to holiness in this place? And how does this stewarding of holiness help the future here at St. John’s?

Remember, holiness is not perfection, but it is the way in which we follow God and God in Jesus Christ closely, that can help us care for a place like St. John’s and our community so that they will be here not only for the next generation, but show right now, right here why St. John’s and her message of making Christ known is so desperately needed in the world.

Yours in Christ,
Fr. Zach

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What an amazing fair we had this past weekend! I thank God for all who coordinated, helped and attended. The rain brought us indoors where we were able to experience an intimacy in fellowship that is often not as easy when we are outdoors and spread so far apart. Yet the rain was a deep reminder of God’s abundance – that our earth has been sustained, fed, and indeed loved. What a beautiful picture – a tree that is deeply rooted – a tree that will not decay as it receives God’s loving water. It will bear fruit and prosper. Its leaves are the source of the fresh air we breathe. A deeply rooted tree offers us shade and even shelter from the rain and the sun that nourish it. I wonder how we can each be a tree like that? We know that God’s desire is that we bear fruit and prosper. God gives us a pathway in Psalm 1: When we delight in the law of the Lord, we too become like the trees planted by streams of water. We bear fruit. Our leaves do not wither because our roots are deep. This week’s Gospel contains the summary of the law, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment.  And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Can you imagine what the world would be like if we all lived and loved like that? We often think of love as simply an emotion – something soft, huggable and often subject to change. This, in fact, is a diminished view of love. Today’s lectionary places “loving God” in the context of a command. We not only feel love in our hearts, but we are commanded to love in the fullest measure. Wholehearted love comes from our minds and our souls as well as our hearts. The "love" that is being called for is not emotion; it is not "liking," "getting along with," "desiring," or "feeling warm about." The "love" Jesus is talking about here is trust, loyalty, enduring devotion, being attached to. Loving in this way becomes a decision. “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” (Jeremiah 31:3). God’s love is indeed everlasting and abundant. We become rooted in God’s love as we grow in our relationship with God and with others through worship, prayer, community and connections.  God’s love becomes an extension of our very selves. As we nurture our relationship with God and each other, we will see that, despite worldly beliefs, we will always have more than enough to share. In God’s Abundant Love, Deacon Claire

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There are so many exciting things happening at St. John’s right now. Twenty one of our folks just returned from pilgrimage in Iona, Scotland. This weekend is our Harvest Fair! There will be concerts, vendors, great food, raffle baskets, St. Hilda’s Guild crafts, baked goods, Vermont cheese, Thrift shop clothes, lots of white elephant items, and much, much, more. Please attend the St. Augustine/St. John’s Choir concert at 4PM.

We are called to be generous in giving of our Time, Talent, and Treasure at St. John’s. Generous living is much more than what we do with our money. We are called to be kind to one another, to all living things, and to God’s earthly creation. We are called to deal with each other honestly and to be humble. Stewardship is a call to action to each of us as followers of Jesus. Jesus showed us the way to live generously: by welcoming the outcast, by overturning the tables of the money changers in the temple, by dining with the poor, by healing the sick, by teaching, by forgiving, and by ultimately giving his life so that all might have life abundant.

Each year, I am asked to preach and teach on stewardship. The fact is that if you put God first in your life, everything else will come in line. Of course we want to keep the building in good shape, hire a sexton, and give to the poor, but what is really important to me is your spiritual health. When your heart feels the redeeming love of God, you will naturally love others. When you feel the forgiving grace of God, you will naturally forgive others. When you realize that everyone is welcome in the Episcopal Church, you will want to show hospitality to everyone you meet. Stewardship is so much more than money and it is what makes St. John’s such a special place. We are like one big family and although we can be a little dysfunctional at times, our greatest gift is our hospitality. Please know that this is the greatest gift you can give to St. John’s. Before you put one dollar in the plate, please give of yourself that others might have life abundant.

We make a pledge each year to help the wardens and vestry make a budget for 2024. You will receive a pledge card in the mail this week and I ask you to prayerfully consider the gifts that you receive and ask you to make a pledge to St. John’s. If you have not received a pledge card yet, they are available on the table in the back of the church. We will collect pledge cards for the next three Sundays and bless them at the altar on November 5th on Loyalty Sunday. Each week, you will hear parishioners witness about what they love about St. John’s.

We are thankful for whatever you can pledge. In order to hire a sexton next year, we need to increase our pledges by about 5%. Please consider raising your pledge this year so that St. John’s may continue to grow and flourish. Another way you can help is to invite someone to St. John’s. Perhaps they can come to the Harvest Fair or join you on Sunday. It is a hard subject for most of us to bring up, but many people are frustrated with their own church and now is the perfect time to invite people to St. John’s.

I am so grateful for you. Your faithful membership at St. John’s and your generosity sustains our ministry and is a source of encouragement to me. I am always proud of the fantastic turn out at Harvest Fair and all the outreach and mission that we do. God bless you!

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

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Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:4-9).

I would like to thank Leslie, Rob, Sean, and every member of the team that made the pilgrimage to Iona, Scotland so amazing. We faced some obstacles, but we worked together in the beautiful space where Saint Columba spread Christianity throughout the region. We heard about and practiced Celtic Spirituality and learned about the history of the island. I found Iona to be filled with the presence of God and left with an experience of a deeply welcoming community that prioritized welcoming their guests, the care of the created world, and justice issues. They preached the love of Jesus, and they practiced what they preached. I was deeply moved by the sermon of the warden at the Sunday service and will try and share her thoughts on being gentle with one another and the land that we live in. Many of you know that we are deeply committed to the environment, outreach to those in need, to our children, and our vestry is working on ways to be even more meaningful in Huntington.

Please support our thrift shop by volunteering on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 12-3, bringing donations to the church, and shop at our thrift shop. We give a special thanks to Mary Beth who works tirelessly with her volunteers to make St. John’s Thrift Shop one of the best on Long Island. We need lots of help working in the Thrift Shop for the Harvest Fair.

St. John's Annual Harvest Fair will take place on Saturday, October 21st from 10AM to 4PM. This is an “all hands on deck” event. Join us by just coming down and lending a hand. New members are especially encouraged to join in. If you don’t know where to go, just head for the kitchen and you will work with lots of familiar faces. Please invite your friends and neighbors to attend. Our ECW will give a substantial portion of the proceeds to local charities. Help us to help others. God’s abundance is a feeling that what you do matters and that your life has meaning. God’s abundance includes our worship, our music, our community, our pastoral care and our physical buildings and property. In a time of despair and worry, God offers hope and contentment. In a time of enmity and separation, God offers love and unification. In a time of uncertainty, God offers us eternal life. By the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, we know that God’s unending love for us is real and that God’s promises are true. I urge you to see your life as a precious gift from God and to give of your time, talent and treasure accordingly. Come to the Harvest Fair, and if you are able, come to the gospel concert at 4:00PM. St. Augustine’s Church will provide fabulous music and we should welcome them with open arms. 

I am so grateful for you. Your faithful membership at St. John's and your generosity sustain our ministry and are a source of encouragement to me.

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

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Something that was emphasized for me this week was the importance of seeking encounters and experiences in the world today. Travelling and music festivals are just two of the ways in which I feel my generation most popularly seeks encounters (and neither are wrong). Then again, the lax attitudes towards and legalization of marijuana and psychedelic drugs points to a need in our society to experience something “real” or mind-altering for the sake of self-improvement. 

Of course, none of these things are new to the world, but their continued popularity points to the larger fact of human experience that we are always seeking out meaning, purpose, and contentment. We tend to also seek experiences that might already confirm what we think and know, hence the creation of echo chambers both in real life and on-line. Our faith in Jesus Christ presents us with an encounter with the one who made us and loved us first before anyone else. This is a very real encounter because we believe that He is still living.

This importance of encounter was talked about in the context of evangelism and the fact that we Christians have a history of evangelism through information. In this age of both mass information and needed encounters, how does a Christian get a word in edgewise? Perhaps we need to encounter Jesus Christ once again ourselves. The Gospel, while it is information as good news, is news about the encounter of God Incarnate with His people. This is life-changing news because it confronts us with an encounter that should motivate us more than any trip, abroad or in the home, can provide. It is the fullness of what is real and true and beautiful in this world offering us a very personal relationship, because it comes from the One who knows us.

Some questions to leave you with to meditate on: When was the last time you encountered Jesus Christ? What do you believe about what God has done, what He is doing, and what He will do in your life? How can I best witness to my encounter with Jesus to others?

Yours in Christ,
Fr. Zach

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Hello St. John’s,

While I will have a sermon prepared for Sunday, all I can think about this week is my late sister, Theresa. Last year on September 27, my family lost her to metastatic breast cancer. I’m sure most of us has had a devastating loss in our own families, so I hope we can share in our mourning about these special people in our lives and would love to hear from you about who they are. I would like to share Terry with you today.

As I read this weekend’s reading from Philippians, the famous Christ Hymn, I am especially reminded of her. She was incredibly selfless and loving and spirit filled. She took her diagnosis and fought it with every ounce of her being, while at the same time always making sure all of us around her were taken care of. The week she was in the hospital leading up to her death, my mother was also admitted to the same hospital back in Michigan for what turned out to be kidney stones, all my sister could do was ask about mom, how she was doing, and demanded my mom start drinking more water. Terry loved her family, her husband Mark and two boys, James and Connor. She supported them in all they did; shuffling the boys to sports practice, volunteering with their school, all the while committed to her work as an office manager at a medical office. She cared deeply for people.

She never complained about her fight and took every minute as a gift from God and remained so calm in the face of such certainty. I especially rely on this steadfast faith of hers every time I feel down and out about losing her. We both knew that we would see each other on the other side. The last time I spoke with her, she joked with me that she would get to meet Jesus first. I know she is in His loving arms.

For all the women out there especially, please get tested for the BRCA gene and stay on top of your mammogram screenings.

Your in Christ,
Fr. Zach

The Readings

Ezekiel 18:1-4,25-32

Psalm 25:1-8

Philippians 2:1-13

Matthew 21:23-32

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September 14 is always Holy Cross Day. This day marks a feast in honor of the Cross upon which Jesus Christ was crucified. But why September 14? Wasn’t Good Friday sometime in the spring, shouldn’t that be Holy Cross Day? That’s a great question! The September 14 date commemorates three events: the finding of the True Cross in AD 326 by Queen Helena, the Christian mother of Emperor Constantine; the dedication of churches soon after built by Emperor Constantine at Holy Sepulchre and Mount Calvary; and the restoration of the True Cross at Jerusalem in AD 629 by Byzantine Emperor Heraclius after it was taken by the Persians. Unfortunately, much of the Cross supposedly found by Queen Helena is now lost, with only fragmented relics claimed to be of the Cross now found throughout the Middle East and elsewhere. By the Reformation, John Calvin is noted as having said that there were so many relics of the True Cross that they could build a ship.

So this week, the readings present us with a beginning framework of reconciliation and forgiveness. It is through the Cross that Jesus Christ reconciled himself, as God the Son, to us. How are we to exactly forgive someone 77 times? How are we to relate with those who hurt us, or who we hurt? We seek the way of Jesus first and that way begins with his work on the Cross. God Himself has reconciled himself to his people. He has forgiven sin once and for all. That of course means we cannot abuse this gift. As one priest colleague put outside his church, “Enjoy your forgiveness.” Indeed, enjoy it! Because the freedom found therein can help us not only build bridges, but repair broken ones that need repairing, that need the healing love that Christ offers for us on the Cross. The Cross is a moment in history which affects us eternally. It is the way through troubled times as the perfect symbol of reconciliation and forgiveness this world so often needs. 

Yours in Christ,
Rev. Zach

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Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, *

and I shall keep it to the end.

Give me understanding, and I shall keep your law; *

I shall keep it with all my heart.

Make me go in the path of your commandments, *

for that is my desire.

Incline my heart to your decrees *

and not to unjust gain.

Turn my eyes from watching what is worthless; *

give me life in your ways. (Psalm 119:33-37)

I would like to give a special thank you to our Wardens, Patti and Sean, to our vestry, to Fr. Daniel Ade and Alex, to Coral, to Deacon Claire and Deacon Zack, to John, Jenni and Chris and all those who helped with the floors, to our teachers in the Nursery school, and to all those who helped and supported the kitchen remodel. I invite our entire congregation to service this Sunday, to see the new, remodeled kitchen and floors, and to the Parish Picnic on September 17th. September is a homecoming for many of us, as we return back to the practice of listening to the Word of God at St. John’s.

During my sabbatical this summer, I wrote about my great-grandmother in a book that will be titled, “Restless Heart.” The book is about the life of one strong, independent, indigenous woman. I include some of the stories that she gave me that reveal what it was like to be an orphan on the reservation in Muskogee, Oklahoma. I am amazed that she named a musical society that is still active over a hundred years later in Tulsa, that she was a music composer from New York to Paris, that she knew President Teddy Roosevelt, that she helped found a mission school that later became Tulsa University, that she was number one on the Dawes roll of all indigenous people in Oklahoma, and that she went from extreme poverty to abundant wealth and back to poverty in her lifetime. I gave her a promise that I would share the oral tradition of the Muscogee (Creek) people and share her thoughts on how to teach the next generations to align their lives with the will of God.

Paul tells us in Romans that the fulfillment of the law is to love one another. Jesus said, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34). Jesus brings people from slavery to freedom, from brokenness to wholeness, and from death to life. We need to have a relationship with Jesus that we may also love each other as Jesus loves us. Paul asks us to, “Owe no one anything except to love one another.” Jesus tells us that when we are gathered here together, he will be with us. Let us witness to the reconciling power of Jesus Christ by listening to one another, caring for one another, and loving one another. 

My great grandmother told me that there are two ways to know God. The first is with a relationship with Jesus Christ through loving one another. The second is through the Native American practice of knowing God through nature. She taught me to watch the sunrise every day and to give thanks to God for everything that I have received from God. She showed me how to listen to God’s will through a deep relationship with the natural world.

In a few weeks, many of us will travel to Iona, Scotland on pilgrimage. We will have the opportunity to meet God in nature and Jesus in the Word of God at the St. Columba Chapel. We will celebrate the Eucharist and either Evensong or Compline every day. Please pray for us and we will pray for you. 

We are given the opportunity to hear the Word of God and to be in community each weekday through Morning Prayer. We have an 8AM and 10AM service on Sundays in person or on Zoom. There is noonday prayer on Wednesdays in the church and a Healing Service and an Evensong every month on Thursday nights. You are invited to join us with God because, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am among them ” (Matt. 18:20).

In Christ, Fr. Duncan

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This week’s Gospel reading contains one of the most famous of Christian imperatives, “take up our cross and follow him.” The snippet from Paul also contains a list of imperatives. Our love is to be genuine, hate what is evil, give good hospitality, bless those who persecute us, be humble in thought and, what seems like an impossible task nowadays, live in harmony with one another. Human nature is so complex and much psychologized these days, that it never seems to remind us how broken we are. One of the great hypocrisies of modern Christian life is the downplaying of the sinfulness of our human nature while also thinking that science and what is so fashionably called “progress” will save us from our ills. But Christian faith rests in the knowledge that Jesus Christ has completed the work of reconciling God’s love and grace to us, which is sufficient to get us through all our ills. 

Of course, I don’t mean to sound like praying can simply heal us physically! Much of modern medicine and technology is well and good (though not above critique and miracles do happen), but at the core of who we are, as both spiritual and physical beings, we need both spiritual and physical help. Christians offer the world in the fullest way both, by offering the Gospel to the world. God is using us to help the world learn how to love, care, and seek truth. We cannot do these things on our own; we need God’s help. The self-denial that Jesus calls for is the sacrifice that we proclaim: not our own way, Lord, not our own will, which will always be imperfect, but thy will, which is always perfect. Everyone’s “cross” will look different, but it is the same in that we are allowing ourselves to be led by God and His will for us and for the world. But the world, in its imperfection and self-interestedness, does not like this and may well persecute us for it but we keep on loving like Christ loves us.

Yours in Christ,
Deacon Zach

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Obedience is a concept most 21st century Christians in America struggle with. For many of us it invokes our fear of failure and judgement. Much of Protestant Christianity has used fear of judgement to get people to obey, to "tow the line." but the opposite often happens. Fear leads to anxiety, shame, and eventually alienation. In this week's lesson from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans we hear the exact opposite approach to obedience. In the first two verses of chapter 12, Paul encapsulates a vision for living the christian life based on gratitude for everything God has done rather than fear of punishment. 

Before he tells us what to do, he reminds us of everything God has done for us, and then uses the simple word "therefore." Since God has broken all the boundaries that separate us from God through a lasting, abiding, unbreakable relationship in Christ -- Therefore, brothers and sisters, what do we offer back to God? The foundation of our relationship with God is gratitude for these cords of love binding us together. And God's response is delight. Our  relationship with God can never be based in fear but only in mutual self-giving, gratitude and delight. 

So this week, as we look at Romans chapter 12:1-2 ask yourself these questions: Do I ever obey God out of fear? What would change if I obeyed God out of gratitude and a desire to please him? What about my life delights God?

Blessings,
Fr. Dan

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God’s Dream:
To Be a Welcoming World 

Our lectionary for Sunday, August 20th, Proper 15, deeply reflects God’s dream – a dream for a world that is much greater than national identity, a dream that welcomes all young and old, poor and rich, Gentiles, Jews and all ethnicities. A beloved Community! It is a dream that doesn’t love the walls we create – walls that separate, isolate, categorize and make us think we are safe. Nevertheless, history has taught us – or at least we should have learned the lesson – that walls are a mere illusion and those who build walls end up locked inside them. Those who believe that by defining their own space against others end up in a space that is only bare and empty.

Robert Frost wrote a poem called “Mending Wall,” which casts a cold eye on the real and figurative walls that divide us. The first stanza goes like this:

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.

There is Someone who doesn’t love a wall and today’s extract from Isaiah introduces us to that Someone. Taking place when the Jews were released from Babylon to return to their homeland around 538 BCE, the prophet announces God’s salvation as a motive for maintaining justice and righteousness. This salvation will include non-Israelites – people from other nations to become worshippers of the Lord. God will bring those foreigners – all peoples - to his holy mountain. 

Psalm 67 reminds us that we must be joyful – for God judges the peoples with equity and guides all the nations upon the earth.

In Romans, Paul is struggling to understand the disbelief of his own people – the Jews of Israel. Why do they reject the gospel of Jesus Christ? His argument reminds us that God’s gifts and call are irrevocable. God made an oath to Abraham and Sarah that he would always be their God and they would be his people. He dismantles the wall that divides Gentile and Jews as he reminds us that all are justified by his gift of grace.

Finally, in our Gospel – Jesus further removes the bricks from the wall of ethnic separation when he responds to the Canaanite woman and heals her daughter.  

Please join us this Sunday as we embrace God’s dream – his yearning for us to break down our walls become his true beloved community.

In God’s Great Love,
Deacon Claire

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We often hear about how much impact words have on our life, especially in our relationships. Our words can hurt, uplift, spark curiosity, and bring joy and laughter. Other’s words can have the same effect on us of course. In this week’s reading from Romans 10, Paul highlights for us the importance of both faith held in one’s heart and the expression of our faith upon our lips, which culminates in the phrase that “Jesus Christ is Lord”. 

Two phrases are central to my personal theology, “the Word of God” and “Jesus Christ is Lord.” It was once explained to me that all language is a response to the initial word spoken at the beginning of creation. Notice in Genesis 1 that God creates the universe through speaking. That Jesus Christ is Lord means for us that everything is ordered towards his authority under which we order our lives. He speaks His word, and we listen. How else could we believe it? I must include verses 16 & 17 of Romans 10 in this text because they continue the centrality of about which Paul is talking. I will read these verses on Sunday but know now that faith comes through listening (v. 17). 

As well, “being saved” may sound a bit too “American evangelical” for some of us. I understand. But I must insist we work against the cultural zeitgeist of our time (like our Christian ancestors did all those centuries ago!). This is what Jesus Christ came to do, to save us (John 3:17). As Christians we do believe in salvation through faith and this is the Good News! The etymological root of evangelical is the one who is the bearer of Good News. That is the central essence of a Christian life, that we know, embody, and can share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord.

In Christ,
Dcn. Zach

The Readings

1 Kings 19:9-18

Psalm 85:8-13

Romans 10:5-15

Matthew 14:22-33

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This weekend, the church commemorates the Feast of the Transfiguration, always celebrated on August 6. This year, it lands on a Sunday. For us, at St. John’s, we will also be celebrating five baptisms! Thanks be to God! We are pleased to welcome back three sets of families for the baptism of their children who have deep roots here at St. John’s. Much like Mary and Joseph in the Gospel of Luke going back to Joseph’s family’s ancestral town of Bethlehem to be registered, these families have made the choice to come back to their “ancestral” church for baptism. Pray for Logan, Connor, Wyatt, Colby, and Ryan as they begin their Christian journey.

Logan’s parents, Patrick and Stacey Wright, were married here and Patrick grew up here in the parish. Patrick’s sister Colleen, who will be Logan’s godmother, too was married here just last summer. John Mulada is the grandfather of the four young men being baptized, Connor, Wyatt, Colby, and Ryan. Along with his sister, Ruth, they attended St. John’s during their formative years. John’s children, Amy and Jeffrey, were baptized here as well. Jeffrey is the father of Connor and Wyatt. Amy is the mother of Colby and Ryan. We welcome them all back and look forward to seeing them on Sunday!

Yours in Christ,
Dcn. Zach

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When last we left St. Paul in Romans chapter eight, he was filled with exuberance in his proclamation of the saving grace of God for all people. In chapter nine, our text for this Sunday, we meet a very different Paul. He seems to be in the depths of despair wondering why his own Jewish people have not freely embraced the message of Jesus. Yet he wisely remembers that God will continue to be faithful to Israel.

The gentile Christians in Rome would have been immersed in a powerful imperial narrative contrary to the story of the Bible. From the brothers Romulus and Remus to the current emperor seen as the lord of the earth, the story of Rome was one of divinely sanctioned power, privilege and domination of peoples. It would be easy for gentile Christians in Rome to assume exceptionalism for themselves over the Jewish community who had not come to believe in Jesus. But Jesus is not another emperor. Paul strenuously counters the myth of Roman dominance with the story of God's continuing invitation to Israel as the bearers of God's hope for the world. The gentiles are invited to join Israel in God's mission to redeem all things in Christ. 

In our time, another imperial counter narrative is alive and well through the myth of American tribalism and Christian nationalism. As Christians faithful to God's vision in an increasingly secular culture, our mission is to oppose that counter narrative and to keep alive a global vision of God who first called Israel and now invites us as well to reconcile all people to God and one another.

Blessings,
Fr. Dan

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We have spent the last several weeks with Fr. Dan, pondering the words of Paul to the Romans. Just last week, we were given the deep assurance that nothing can separate us from the love of God. That indeed is comforting and grounding – especially as we move forward into a message that takes us out of our safe haven, compelling us to face the gray areas of our lives.  This week we are being called to occupy in-between places – places that may be mixed, messy, confusing. A message that challenges our comfort zones and moves us into God’s field to live among the wheat and the tares.

Why is it that the servants are deterred from removing the weeds to ensure a good harvest? Jesus tells us that in removing the weeds, we run the risk of uprooting some of the good crop – because indeed the wheat and the darnel look alike. So, we are told to wait – to have patience and restraint. It isn’t quite time for the harvest. And we are not the harvesters. It is God who will sort it out at the final judgment. In the meantime, we are called to live, grow, love and flourish together.

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Here are a few initial thoughts for my sermon on Sunday. This week we will look at Romans chapter 8 where St. Paul sums up the theological argument he has been presenting through the first half of the letter. We will focus our reflection on Romans 8:31-39:

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son but gave him up for all of us, how will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ who died, or rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all day long;
 we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In 21st Century American Christianity there are two divergent, but equally dangerous theological takes on this Scripture profoundly departing from St. Paul's intention. The first sees the promises of God as being owned by the 'right kind" of people. Those trumpeting this belief make a loud and brittle proclamation of self assuredly accepting those promises for themselves while excluding everyone else. We can see this in the rising tide of white nationalism. The second is quite different but also dangerous for a person's spiritual welfare. It assumes an almost secular vision of God's promises -- a breezy pursuit of life, liberty and happiness for nice people. I think we Episcopalians are more tempted to this second vision.

St Paul is not talking about the stingy withholding of God's compassion, nor about an optimistic Christianity asking nothing of anyone promising only sunny days. What he is talking about is assurance. Paul knew the experience of powerful suffering. He teaches us that hardship is not God's turning away from us, but a sign of God's presence with us in life's difficulties. All of God's covenant promises with us are made incarnate in his gift of Jesus' redemptive suffering on the cross. God stands in solidarity with all those who experience anguish, pain and grief. This is the gift of our blessed assurance that God is with us. and this is the place where we find our hope.

Blessings,
Fr. Dan

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From this week's Gospel

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

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Over the next three Sundays we will explore chapters 6-8 of St. Paul's Letter to the Romans. Paul calls us to reflect the absolute generosity of God in our daily lives. God's faithfulness is the gift that gives birth to our own faithfulness in return. 

In a certain way we reflect on Paul's theology every Sunday. One of the things I've come to appreciate about St. John's is the use of the Collect for Mission at the end of the 10:00 Eucharist. Its an unusual liturgical choice, but a wonderful way to remind us all of the gift God has given us and our sharing that gift in our lives in response.

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on

the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within

the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit

that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those

who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for

the honor of your Name. Amen.

Jesus' saving embrace is the place of our healing, our peace, and our hope.Our mission is to proclaim God's extravagant generosity. Paul reminds us, we can't boast of our own accomplishments, but only of the enduring faithfulness of our loving God.

I invite you to read these chapters from Romans over the next several weeks and reflect on where you are experiencing the healing peace and faithfulness of God in your life. This week we will sing hymn of thanks for God's generous gift.:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father

There is no shadow of turning with Thee

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not

As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

Blessings all mine with 10, 000 beside

Blessings,

Fr. Dan

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This week’s scriptures take us through some murky water. You may believe, like me, that having a relationship with God would make life easier. Yet this week’s lectionary challenges our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. What does it take to follow Jesus!

In the Old Testament reading, the prophet Jeremiah rails against God. All along he has been doing what God asked of him and it just hasn’t gone well for him. “I have become a laughingstock all day long;everyone mocks me.” He continues to complain saying, “All my close friends are watching for me to stumble.”

Our Psalm is less than comforting – like Jeremiah, another lament, and a plea for God to intervene:

“Surely, for your sake have I suffered reproach, 
     and shame has covered my face.
I have become a stranger to my own kindred, 
     an alien to my mother's children.
Save me from the mire; do not let me sink; 
     let me be rescued from those who hate me
        and out of the deep waters.”

The “Missionary Discourse” in Matthew’s Gospel is challenging at best. The disciples are near Jesus – there to learn in order to carry his message forward. Some rather confusing words come from Jesus’ mouth:

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

Confusion. Cost. Courage is needed. And yet, as we will learn there is hope. Please join me this Sunday as we wrestle with the deeper understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

Faithfully yours,
Deacon Claire

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Be joyful in the LORD, all you lands; *

  serve the LORD with gladness

  and come before his presence with a song.

Know this: The LORD himself is God; *

  he himself has made us, and we are his;

  we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Our Psalm this Sunday points us towards our vocation for joy. We sing joyfully for the good news that we belong to God and each other. Last week, we looked at our inheritance through faith as the children of Abraham. God's mercy has claimed us and made us his own. The psalmist is correct that God has created us and made us his people. Belonging to God also means belonging to each other as a community. 

As a newcomer to St. John's, I am struck by the sense of loving care everyone in the congregation shows in raising the children in the faith. It truly is a communal experience. All the people of St. Johns are involved in the love and care of the youngest members of the community. That is one reason why we will honor all the men of the congregation during the prayers of the people on this coming Fathers Day. The vocation of fatherhood is wide and doesn't refer only to biological fathers. Any man who has been a foster father, an adoptive father, an uncle, a teacher, mentor, or coach shares in the vocation of fatherhood for children.

Part of Sunday's celebration will also be remembering Juneteenth and we will be using hymns and prayers honoring the experience of the African American community. I look forward to joining with you as we joyfully come before the Lord's presence with a song.

Blessings,

Fr. Dan

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Last week we looked at Rublev's icon of the Trinity revealing the creative power of God's hospitality shown through Abraham and Sarah.  This Sunday, we once again return to the story of these ancestors in faith through the lens of St. Paul in his magisterial Letter to the Romans. Paul  reimagines what it means to be a member of the household of Israel. It is a natural human tendency to gather as a community with people who look like us, think like us, and worship like us. Paul's message is that the resurrection of Jesus changes everything and the household of faith is wider than we could ever imagine. A hymn we will sing this week puts it this way: "For the love of God is broader than the measure of the mind; and the heart of the eternal is most wonderfully kind. If our love were but more faithful, we should take him at his word; and our life would be thanksgiving for the goodness of the Lord."

Blessings,
Fr. Dan

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This Sunday will be my first as a supply priest for the summer, but I have been attending St. John's since late last fall. It's been a pleasure to be part of such a welcoming, diverse, and energetic Christian community. I look forward to us spending summer Sundays together while Fr. Duncan takes his well deserved sabbatical. 

This week we keep the Feast of Trinity Sunday. It is tempting to see this day and the theology behind it as abstractions best left to theologians, but not of much practical use to the average person in the pew. What does this mystery at the heart of the Chistian faith have to say about how we live our everyday lives? In the year 1410, Andrei Rublev wrote one of the most famous icons of the Trinity in the Eastern Church; creating it not for decoration, nor as a helpful explanation of a difficult doctrine, but as a window through which everyday people might experience the hospitality at the heart of God.

During this week's liturgy, we will gaze at the icon together to discuss how God's hospitality and invitation to rest can inform our daily lives in a concrete way during this summer of 2023.

Blessings,
Fr. Dan

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“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 1:12-17)

On Easter Morning the disciples heard the eyewitness account from Mary who said, “I have seen the Lord.” In this week’s Gospel from John, Jesus goes to the Upper Room that very day and says to the disciples, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” The Hebrew word “Shalom” is a general greeting that means peace, but the peace of God that passes all understanding has a meaning that is much deeper. “Peace be with you” means restoring you to wholeness. Jesus knows that the mission that he was given has been fulfilled and now it is the time for God to breath the Holy Spirit into a new creation. The disciples will start the church forward, and you and I will keep the church and the peace of God going. We are God’s new creation and we are holy and beloved. God gives us the power to forgive and the power to love unconditionally.

Another meaning of the word peace is to rest in the Lord. God asks one day of rest for every six days of work. The idea of a Sabbath has been practiced by Jewish people for thousands of years. A sabbatical is a few months of rest from the rigors of church life after my first six years (well maybe a little more because of Covid). I will be off in June, July, and August to renew my pursuit of telling my great grandmother’s story. When I was just a young lad, she asked me to listen to her stories and pass them on to future generations in our family. She grew up in Oklahoma and went to the Carlisle Boarding School in Pennsylvania with other Indian children. She lost her mom, dad, stepdad, two brothers and husband to bullets. Yet out of the tragedy of her life she triumphed through the love of God. A music society bearing her name (the Hyechka Club was organized on Oct. 20, 1904, in Tulsa, Indian Territory) is still strong. The boarding school Henry Kendall College which she helped start with her mother (who adopted her) is now Tulsa University.

When Alice Robertson met her as a little orphan girl, she knew that the only power strong enough to bring her to peace and wholeness was the Holy Spirit. Her story is that of a courageous full blood Muscogee Creek Indian that would not rest until her heart rested in the love of God. She earned a master’s degree in music composition, helped translate the Gospel into the Muscogee language, traveled and performed around the world, composed music, and was friends with President Teddy Roosevelt. While her life had many difficult turns, she always turned to the Lord.

I would like to thank our wardens and vestry for allowing me to take some needed rest and to write my great grandmother’s oral history. This will be my last Sunday until after Labor Day.

Shalom,
Fr. Duncan

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Crown Him the Lord of life who triumphed o’er the grave,
Who rose victorious in the strife, for those He came to save.
His glories now we sing, who died, and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die

(Hymn 494 Words: Matthew Bridges).

“It was my first Mother’s Day without my mom. So blessed and thankful that God chose this rock of the universe where I would be known and loved by such a strong and beautiful soul” (David Burns.) Last Sunday was Mother’s Day and I felt very blessed by the beautiful sermon given at our service by Deacon Claire, the wonderful music that we sang, and especially for the participation of our children and youth. It was one of those moments when time slows down and you feel the peace that passes all understanding. The children were singing and serving in many capacities and their moms were grinning from ear to ear.

Yet there was sadness in my heart for most of the day. Maybe I wasn’t expecting to feel like I did, but I spoke to several folks who were also feeling a little melancholy on this particular day. I sometimes feel the glory of God in our services at St. John’s, but that mountain top feeling subsides when I am back in the valley of life. Perhaps what makes me get through these days is knowing that Jesus overcame death on the cross and brought our humanity with him to heaven. In the pain of our loss, Jesus gives us the hope of glory.

In this week’s Gospel of John 17:1-11, Jesus is praying to God the Father. Jesus is finishing up his final discourse that his followers might understand what is going to unfold in the next three day when he dies on the cross and is resurrected on Easter Morning. This past Thursday, we celebrated the Feast of the Ascension with Evensong. Jesus prays to God in heaven that the disciple’s might understand that it is going to be okay after he ascends and sits on the right hand of the Father in heaven. We get a chance to listen in with angels, archangels and all the company of heaven. Jesus first prays that the Father will bring to fulfillment everything that Jesus has done. Then he prays for the disciples and finally for all believers of all time. This passage is so deeply steeped in truth that it is almost beyond our capacity to comprehend. In fact the eleven disciples and the women will not understand what he is saying until the resurrection.

We are believers at St. John’s because we know that our redeemer abides in heaven and intercedes for us in our pain. As we learn to know Christ in our heart, we can share the love of Christ with others. I guess that is what my brother was saying on Mother’s Day. Not only was he grateful that Jesus triumphed over death on the cross for our sins, but that individuals can love one another with the same love that God has for us. What a blessing to have a mother that loved us in this manner. Yet even those who have dwelt in the pain of the valleys of this life can experience the love of God in Jesus Christ. So on this final Sunday of the Easter season let us commit ourselves to knowing the love of God in Jesus Christ and let us love our neighbors with that same love.

Crown Him the Lord of Heaven, enthroned in worlds above,
Crown Him the King to Whom is given the wondrous name of Love.
Crown Him with many crowns, as thrones before Him fall;
Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns, for He is King of all.

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

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“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.”

John 14: 18

Such a comforting message that Jesus gives his disciples in this week’s Gospel! “I will not leave you orphaned.” Comforting even as we yearn for stability. Please don’t change. Please don’t go. We hope that our loved ones will be with us forever and we dread the day that they will no longer be at our physical side.

The disciples were being given a message that must have been churning in their stomachs. Jesus is leaving them. What will they do now? All they understood about how to follow him was through his physical presence.

I remember when I lost my father. It felt like the bottom of my life just fell.  What will I do now? And so, I became ever so protective of my mother. No, I can’t lose you! We traveled back and forth to Rochester so often to make sure mom was ok. That she was still there.  And yet, she too died less than five years after my father.

We live in a world where many of us feel and experience the uncertainty of each day. Uncertainty and impermanence are always real. Yet, we long for something that is unmovable yet lifegiving. We are given that in this week’s Gospel. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” This is how you are being called to live and love. Not holding tight, but sharing that love.

Jesus’ farewell discourse takes place at the last supper the night before he knew he’d be crucified. He is preparing his disciples for their loss. He prepares us also. How to live into the uncertainty of the days ahead when we feel so alone and abandoned.

But the good news is that we have not been abandoned. When Jesus tells his disciples “I will not leave you as orphans! I will come to you,” he is acknowledging their vulnerability and reminds them that they are never alone. “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.”  Jesus has sent the Comforter, the Intercessor, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit.

When I travel to my birth home in Rochester now, I am not able to be in the physical presence of my own mother, and yet there are always the signs of her presence among us – my siblings and extended family, our old home – still occupied by a family member, my grandmother’s home where we picnicked and worked in the garden. I can smell mom in the flowers and freshness of the air around me.

We celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday. It is also a day when we think about all the people who have loved us and who we have loved in return. For the many of us who feel vulnerable – perhaps lost in a motherless world, be reminded that we all have an Advocate and Comforter.

“O Love, that will not let me go”…. You have not been orphaned – not by the Spirit, and not by those in whom the Spirit has made a home!

May we each find our home in You, Lord!

Sharing with you in a love that will not let us go,

Deacon Claire

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I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life

Wherever someone knows that they are lost,
And cries for help to find the way back home,
And turns towards their father's house at last
You are their Way before they know your name.

Wherever someone searches for the truth
And tests each easy answer in its turn,
Stressing the question, pressing to the pith,
You are the Truth they cannot yet discern.

Wherever someone sorrows over death
Yet seems to glimpse a gate beyond the grave,
A living spirit in the dying breath,
You are the Life within the life they love.

You come to us before we ask or pray
Till you become our Life, our Truth, our Way.

~Malcolm Guite.

One of the hardest things to deal with in our lives is the fact that we live in a temporal world. My mom died a few months ago and joined my dad in heaven. Those whom we love and love us will be separated from us one day, and everything we see will eventually fade away. As we age, we constantly hope to look and feel younger, but time will catch up with us. As difficult as it seems, we will witness the funeral of our loved ones or they will witness our funeral. When we see a beautiful flower, its beauty can only be captured in that moment. Two weeks later, that flower might be compost in the soil. Jesus offers us a look beyond the temporal life that we live. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. We don’t have to wait for the death of a loved one to understand that everything is passing away in this world.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:1-6)

A deepening relationship with Jesus Christ is the path to the eternal. We can get a glimpse of the eternal by loving as we have been loved, giving generously of ourselves, forgiving as we have been forgiven, being thankful for everything we receive, and living life with joy in our hearts. We are Easter people because we live in the hope of the resurrection. We know that Jesus died for our sins and conquered death that we might live abundantly. Abundant life is not something we have to wait for, but is offered to us right now. In his Farewell Discourse, Jesus is telling us that he will soon be ascending to our God in heaven, but that we can get a glimpse of eternal life through faith, prayer, and action. John teaches a realized eschatology. Walk with Jesus in this life and the next and you will live the abundant life.

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

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Community Prayer for All To Recite:

Lush mountains, vast Oceans
Tiny seeds, grains of sand
Each one beautiful
Each one precious
You, our Creator, have given us a gift
The gift of land and air and sea
Without these seemingly basic gifts of creation
We could not exist
You have entrusted us to care for this world
To till and to tend, to plow and to sow
Help us to meet the challenge of preserving our earth
Help us to conserve our resources
Teach us to not exploit the trees
To not pollute the rivers and the sky
Bless us with a sense of gratitude and contentment
Fill us with the miracle of creation
We are blessed
We are responsible
We are one with all creation

By Rabbi Susie Heneson Moskowitz, Sr. Rabbi, Temple Beth Torah, Melville, NY

Please remember that this week we celebrated Earth Day. Plant some flowers or a tree in the coming weeks. Pick up some garbage or plastic if you see it. Commit yourself to recycling, reducing your carbon footprint and caring for this planet each and every day. St. John’s is committed to environmental stewardship! Our solar panels have given us a zero sum electric bill in the new section of the church. We have invested wisely and the dividends are both financial and environmental. Please recycle all paper at the church and help us to reduce our consumption. On Sunday April 30th there is a program at the Cinema Arts Center at 3pm. Please join us for "Kiss the Ground" with a community discussion to follow.

There is a Trash Problem in Huntington according to Supervisor Ed Smyth:

The only garbage landfill on Long Island is expected to close in less than 2 years. The cost of shipping existing municipal solid waste (garbage) off Long Island is projected to increase dramatically over the next 5 years.

Cut back your garbage usage any way you can!

1. Buy unpackaged fresh fruits and vegetables
2. Invest in produce bags to transport fresh fruits and vegetables
3. Bring your own grocery bags.
4. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) – A weekly box of fresh organic veggies, fruit, meat, eggs or even beer straight from our local farms to a pickup location near you. No middlemen, no warehouses.

Today we are back in John’s Gospel. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Jesus is the Word of God made flesh that we might know that Jesus is our redeemer, God’s son. John uses the metaphor of the good shepherd that we might understand the relationship between us and our Lord. God came to us that we might have abundant life in him. We are called into relationship with Jesus Christ through the breaking of Bread and the scriptures. Jesus, the good shepherd, will walk with us through these troubled times and into the higher plane of the Beloved Community if we will stop to hear his voice. I urge every member to develop a deep relationship through worship, prayer, and service to the Living God. Join us daily as we walk together with our Lord at 9:00 am through Morning Prayer. If you are going through a difficult time, we will stand beside you and pray with you. Follow the path of righteousness that Jesus has laid before us and have your soul restored. We will make it through this difficult time.

Join us next week on Monday at 6:30 pm for a bible study of Jonah on Zoom. Our Thrift Shop is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 12-3. We need volunteers to sort and sell our cloths and collectibles. Mary Beth and our Thrift Shop team really need your assistance! You can offer one day or come every week. Please join us.

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

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Our Road To Emmaus

We join a journey that began before us,

that stretches back, and also onward.

The Unknown One joins us, and hears.

We tender our brokenness.

The Storyteller tells the old story in a new way

and we see in a new way. It is our story.

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

As I was preparing the sermon for this week, I felt a little lost. There were so many directions to go. Lost - probably not unlike the disciples who were on the road to Emmaus right after the tomb was found to be empty by devoted and strong women. Women, who were not afraid to speak truth out loud. The tomb is empty! And yet, for the multitudes that had been singing hosannahs only a week before, there may have been a sense of betrayal, anger, sadness, and loss. Let’s get out of here!

We had hoped…

“We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” We may feel so similar to the two disciples of Emmaus, full of disappointed hopes, which make us angry or even resentful. Put yourselves there – on that road – maybe, just maybe the pain will go away by the time we reach Emmaus. We are disoriented, unable to make sense of the events around us. Let’s get away from the feelings deep in the pit of our stomachs – We’ve been betrayed… yet

We had hoped…

So, in all of my pondering and preparation, I simply wondered – where are our Emmauses? Where are those places we go to escape from the intensity of the pain that we imagine might be more than we can bear. Escape from something too large to grasp – and yet how can we fully grasp the Resurrection? This Resurrection!

Can we allow ourselves to hope?

Who is this intruder in our pain. The one who chastises us for not remembering the scriptures. Yet, he listens – deeply listens. There is something about this stranger that makes us want to know him. So, we invite him to rest and have dinner with us. And as the bread is broken, we are reminded that while on that road, our hearts burned – a profound knowing. 

Our hearts burn within us.

Drawn together, we invite the Stranger to our table,

offering our gifts and hospitality.

We break bread,

and in the sharing we behold the Holy.

Our eyes are opened.

Wonder, reverence, awe, and gratitude

swell in us, and raise us up

and send us out to tell others.

We go with haste, rejoicing.

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

This IS the one who through suffering redeemed Israel. He is ALIVE! We are never alone. Pray that we recognize his presence as we all journey through this life together.

Hope is indeed alive!



Your sister traveler,

Deacon Claire

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THE RESURRECTION by M.S.Lowndes

The stone's been rolled away;

The tomb lay open and bare —

They looked for Him, and then the angel said

That He is no longer here

Oh what joy they must have felt

To see Him just once more,

To eat with Him, to drink with Him,

To receive Him back as Lord

In the resurrection story from Matthew, the first witnesses to the action of God were the women. On Good Friday they wrapped the body of Jesus, put spices on to preserve the body, and laid him in a tomb given to them by Joseph of Arimathea. They left the tomb while it was light because their Jewish law prohibited work on the Sabbath, which began at sunset and lasted for 24 hours.



Early in the morning, after the Sabbath had ended, several women walked back to the tomb where Jesus had been laid. Their hearts were broken and they were filled with compassion and sympathy. When they arrived, the ground began to shake and the heavy stone in front of the cave-like tomb rolled away from the opening and a dazzling white figure appeared on top of it. They heard a voice in their hearts that settled their nerves. Then a voice came from the angel and said, “Jesus has risen. Do not be afraid. Enter the tomb and see the linens folded neatly where Jesus was placed.” Then the angel said, “Go tell the disciples that he has risen from the dead and that he will meet them in Galilee.”

Jesus appeared to Mary and the other women on the path and gave them a warm greeting. They fell at his feet and worshiped him. Jesus asked them to tell the other disciples to meet him in Galilee. The disciples went to the hill in Galilee and Jesus told them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:16-20).

Good Friday – April 7th

7:00 pm – Stations of the Cross

7:30 pm – Good Friday Holy Eucharist

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86443860086

Easter Sunday – April 9th

7: 30 am – Rite I Sunrise Holy Eucharist

9:00 am – Rite II Family Eucharist

10:15 am – Easter Egg Hunt in the Garden of Blessings

11:00 am – Rite II Choral Eucharist

In Christ’s Love,
Fr. Duncan

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Our Road To Emmaus

We join a journey that began before us,

that stretches back, and also onward.

The Unknown One joins us, and hears.

We tender our brokenness.

The Storyteller tells the old story in a new way

and we see in a new way. It is our story.

~Steve Garnaas-Holmes

As I was preparing the sermon for this week, I felt a little lost. There were so many directions to go. Lost - probably not unlike the disciples who were on the road to Emmaus right after the tomb was found to be empty by devoted and strong women. Women, who were not afraid to speak truth out loud. The tomb is empty! And yet, for the multitudes that had been singing hosannahs only a week before, there may have been a sense of betrayal, anger, sadness, and loss. Let’s get out of here!

We had hoped…

“We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” We may feel so similar to the two disciples of Emmaus, full of disappointed hopes, which make us angry or even resentful. Put yourselves there – on that road – maybe, just maybe the pain will go away by the time we reach Emmaus. We are disoriented, unable to make sense of the events around us. Let’s get away from the feelings deep in the pit of our stomachs – We’ve been betrayed… yet

We had hoped…

So, in all of my pondering and preparation, I simply wondered – where are our Emmauses? Where are those places we go to escape from the intensity of the pain that we imagine might be more than we can bear. Escape from something too large to grasp – and yet how can we fully grasp the Resurrection? This Resurrection!

Can we allow ourselves to hope?

Who is this intruder in our pain. The one who chastises us for not remembering the scriptures. Yet, he listens – deeply listens. There is something about this stranger that makes us want to know him. So, we invite him to rest and have dinner with us. And as the bread is broken, we are reminded that while on that road, our hearts burned – a profound knowing. 

Our hearts burn within us.

Drawn together, we invite the Stranger to our table,

offering our gifts and hospitality.

We break bread,

and in the sharing we behold the Holy.

Our eyes are opened.

Wonder, reverence, awe, and gratitude

swell in us, and raise us up

and send us out to tell others.

We go with haste, rejoicing.

~Steve Garnaas-Holmes

This IS the one who through suffering redeemed Israel. He is ALIVE! We are never alone. Pray that we recognize his presence as we all journey through this life together.

Hope is indeed alive!



Your sister traveler,
Deacon Claire

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The King

(Tanner Olson)

You’ve always done things differently … and they’ve never failed.

Like the time you turned water into wine.

Or like when you rubbed mud on the blind man’s eyes so he could see.

Or when you healed the paralyzed man because his friends truly believed. 

And like the time You entered Jerusalem riding on the back of a colt,

And they asked, “Who is this?”

And they - along with the rest of the world would soon know.

They knew you as the one who healed the sick and fed the poor.

The one who turned lives inside out and upside down.

The one who had 12 close friends, raised a man named Lazarus from the dead,

and told a cripple to get out of bed.

But soon they would see you are more than anyone who had come before.

Just in time - Hope had arrived.

Some cheered and cried Hosanna.

Save us! Save us now!

Please, save us.

They waved palm branches and laid them down

so you wouldn’t have to touch the ground.

Children sat on the shoulders of parents

as they pointed to the one they’d been waiting for

Echoes of Jesus is Lord filled the city

as you moved toward the beginning of the end.

And we thought that The King was coming to take His crown!

But you knew the King was coming to be buried in the ground,

to bring us from lost to found.

Good arrives only to die, only to rise, only for the world to realize

You are who you say You are:

The King.

This Lenten season has sure had its ups and downs. Our Lenten program featured a courageous group of parishioners that brought hope to the border. We met Max and Yuna, who are refugees from Ukraine living in our apartment. They told of how they were forced from their homeland and how much they appreciated the kindness and love of the inter- faith communities of Huntington. They have received jobs and are learning to drive this week. Last week we sent our Curate off to St. Paul’s, and we will miss him dearly.

Palm Sunday and Easter are the core liturgical observances of the Christian year and they are filled with ups and downs. Many of us experience ups and downs in our faith. This is the week when many people who have been down spiritually, come back to church. At St. John’s we say we, “Know Christ and make him known.” Please invite a family member or friend back to church.

Maundy Thursday is a simple Seder at 5:30 PM and Eucharist at 7:30 PM in the tradition of the last supper. The Gospel from John is read and we wash each other’s feet as a sign of our servanthood and love of one another. The service ends with a dramatic stripping of the altar and we pray through the night, unable to stay up for even an hour.

Good Friday is a somber reminder of the depth of God’s love for us. We begin with Stations of the Cross at 7:00 PM and then have a Good Friday service at 7:30 PM. We pray at the foot of the cross with Mary and John. We pray in silence and ponder the incredible love of God in the act of Jesus death on the cross for our sins.

Easter Sunday is a celebration of Christ’s resurrection and the hope that Christ gives to each of us. All are welcome to share with us in his resurrection. The 7:30 AM service begins with a fire in the Garden of Blessings. The children will celebrate with singing during the 9:00 service and an Easter egg hunt afterwards. The 11:00 AM service will have beautiful music. We will proclaim the resurrection. Alleluia! Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

These services help us to see ourselves as part of a community baptized into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I urge you to come to as many Holy Week services as you are able, to invite guests and to welcome everyone with open arms to meet the King.

In Christ’s love,
Rev. Duncan A. Burns   

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To set the mind on the flesh is death,
but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 

-Romans 8:6

To the people of the Community of St. John’s Church in Huntington: grace and peace to you.

This Sunday’s biblical texts all center around the paradox of death and new life; the ending yet the beginning; the completion of one story and the creation or launch of another. The bolded quote above is from this weekend's second reading of St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, which St. Paul sums up quite nicely. We as human beings have an inclination to focus on the material, immediate results, and what is right in front of us rather than imagining the future tree from seeds planted: the larger picture.

Our gospel this Sunday takes us straight to the heart of this. Jesus’ longtime friend, Lazarus, has died. Jesus knows that He divinely shares in God the Father’s majesty and power, but he still weeps at Lazarus’ grave. The last time I wrote to you, we were reminded that Jesus was fully human and fully divine. Jesus’ humanity showed when He wept for the loss of his friend, when He shared in solidarity the hurt and pain of Lazarus’ sisters Mary and Martha. Jesus was brought into setting His mind on the flesh - the times that were right before Him. I’m writing to you today to say that it is okay. We can take moments to cry and mourn like Jesus did for Lazarus. It is okay to be upset. What brings us to metaphorical death is the everlasting dwelling there in that space. 

Our first reading is the shortened version of the Valley of Dry Bones, which is typically read as part of the Saturday night Easter Vigil service. If you have ever attended an Easter Vigil service, the reading of this scripture from Ezekial in the twilight vesper hours by candlelight is an experience. God asking “Mortal, can these bones live?” and the response being “Oh Lord, only you know.” God commands the mortal to prophesy over the bones and make them live and they graphically get up and have life put into them again, using the power of the Holy Spirit, Sophia. This is an Old Testament reference to the resurrection that was to come, certifying and proclaiming that yes, after death, there is life. 

As I mentioned last Sunday at church, the Bishop has asked me to answer the call of Priest-in-Charge at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Patchogue. This too is easy for me to focus on the material, immediate results, and what is right in front of me. I think about the big change of where I’m living, how much I will miss this community and the sadness that accompanies this change. I am also slightly nervous about my uncertainty of what is to come. This is natural. I must accept that these things will come to mind first. After this moment passes, where I should dwell mentally is the true point of St. Paul’s message: if one’s mind is set on God’s will, that is what gives humanity life in itself, and allows God’s Holy Spirit, Sophia, into the discerning human’s heart. 

Please join us this Sunday to share in Holy Communion at St. John’s Church in Huntington. You will be all truly missed, but I hope you, with me, see the greater picture for the universal (catholic) church at large. I give thanks to God for my time here, and for the growth and the good ministry of this holy place. I continue to pray for the influence of Sophia, the Holy Spirit, to guide the ministry that is happening here at St. John’s.

It has been my pleasure to serve you all, St. John’s. Cheers to the journey; until our paths cross again. 

Your sibling in Christ,
Fr. James

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I Once was Blind, but now I See – God’s Amazing Grace

The lectionary this week is filled with images of seeing, vision, light. The irony of seeing but not perceiving. I see! I get it! We come to learn that seeing, grasping, understanding from our human individual perspective has limits. Lent offers us a time to slow down, to journey with others in community and to look more deeply into our own hearts – to see, share, learn, and perhaps to heal.

It is not unusual to view things differently when we gather in community. Hundreds of years ago, our ancestors thought the world was flat – simply because flatness was what was in front of them. In time, we learned otherwise, but most of us have not had the opportunity to journey into outer space to see firsthand the glorious roundness of the earth, our island home.

After morning prayer coffee hour takes us into conversation about what we see. Shared from our varied perspectives we discover a bigger picture of what we face each day. The rain is preventing me from going out. The rain is flooding our streets. The rain is watering our earth.

Last week, we enjoyed a perspective of “seeing” from Fr. Chavez, Canon for Border Ministries in the Diocese of Arizona. Borders are all around us – do we see them? How does being here - in my own little space - impact my consideration of a deeper, universal truth? We all stand together on our earthly home. Why borders? What do they teach us if we are willing to risk grappling with the larger view? How does engaging in relationship with those we “see” as “others” help our hearts to change? 

In our Old Testament reading, the Lord sends Samuel to locate a new king. Samuel, with grieving heart and eyes, is unable to see anything new or transformative in his immediate surroundings. But the Lord sends Samuel. Go, look, and trust that I will help you see. “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature… for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

The Gospel this week is filled images of seeing and not seeing. When our eyes are opened by Jesus, we are offered the gift of transformation – but often, like the Pharisees, we don’t trust our own eyes – we don’t want to see what is in front of us as we reject God’s gift. We are not ready and so we choose not to receive God’s unconditional love and mercy. We get swept away with a group mentality that tells us “What you think you see – in front of you -- is not real – not truth.” So we miss a deeper healing of our hearts and a bigger picture of what God’s love and mercy truly is.

As we continue our Lenten journey together, I challenge us all to open our hearts, minds, and eyes. Allow ourselves to receive and to notice things with new eyes – with the healed vision Jesus offers. Steve Garnaas-Holmes encourages us to “Loosen your grip. Stop trying to make things be what you want.” May we open our eyes, receive, and be healed. Maybe, just maybe, we will see, enjoy, and grow together in love as we accept and welcome the incredible beauty, richness and deep truths that surround us.

Journeying with you towards healing, clearer vision, and deeper love,
Deacon Claire

The Journey Onward – Toward Love and Healing

The season of Lent is indeed a time to reflect on our journey together with Christ to Gethsemane and ultimately to the cross. We have been called to spend quiet time both alone and in community to deepen our relationship with Jesus – to bring him into the center of our lives. What does it mean to be in relationship with Jesus? Fr. Duncan had us ponder that question in his sermon just this past Sunday. Perhaps you have felt dry – disconnected even parched. I would like to suggest as we continue our Lenten journeys that we look for moments to quench our thirst as we spend time with Jesus in the wilderness.

The lectionary this week invites us to accompany Moses as he guided the whole congregation of Israelites through the desert. No water to drink – the people became tired, irritable. They quarreled among themselves. Why did you take us out of Egypt? Such short memories they had – Egypt was not a safe place! Give us water, they cried! Moses, frustrated beyond our capacity to comprehend cries out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people?” Can you imagine accompaniment on such a strenuous passage?

Our own Lenten journey is nothing like this. In our attempts to grow closer to God – to Jesus, I pray that none of us has reached that kind of bottom – the bottom the Israelites experienced. The bottom so many migrants and asylum seekers reach when they journey beyond what they know – terror and fear for their lives, food insecurity, lack of water and other basic survival resources. But the journeys they take are often just as dangerous as what they have left behind.

We all thirst – we thirst for renewed minds, renewed spirits, for forgiveness of our sins. Our Psalm reminds us that the Lord is a great God – but it also asks us not to harden our hearts like our “forebears did in the wilderness…” How do we grow in love? Paul reminds us that “suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

It is time for us all to open our hearts to Jesus. That is just what he wanted from the woman at the well – that she open her heart to him. Just like peeling the layers off an onion to get to the center or even peeling off the petals of a rose to get to its heart, Jesus had to peel off the layers of resistance and bias in this woman to allow – to enable her to accept his offering of living water. Jesus thirsted for her faith and he thirsts for ours also.

Rev. David Chavez, Canon to Border Ministries, Diocese of Arizona

Please join with me in welcoming The Rev. David Chavez, Canon for Border Ministries from the Diocese of Arizona. He will preach on these scriptures on Sunday at both of our services. What an honor it is for us to be able to host him!

Please also join us on Saturday, March 11^th for our Lenten Quiet day, hosted by our Spirituality Group. Fr. Chavez will speak from his deep experiences of the many challenges we as humans face in our world today – a world that feels so broken. And yet – there is hope. “Hope and Healing for a Broken World” 

Beauty for brokenness
Hope for despair
Lord, in the suffering
This is our prayer
Bread for the children
Justice, joy, peace
Sunrise to sunset
Your kingdom increase!

God of the poor
Friend of the weak
Give us compassion we pray
Melt our cold hearts
Let tears fall like rain
Come, change our love
From a spark to a flame

Graham Kendrick 
Copyright © 1993 Make Way Music

Growing together in Christ,
Deacon Claire

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“Life on the surface keeps us judging the circumstances. We look at the circumstances as a picture. If it is pretty, pleasing, and shows us what we want to see then God is good and life is as it should be. When we don’t see what we want then we often look for a new picture. The restless searching, the longing for more, the desire for meaning are not, however, usually answered by changed circumstances. The answer is found in depth, intimacy, and the vulnerability of the interior journey. We do not need to see new things. We need to see the same old things with new eyes. We do not need to hear a different voice. We need to hear the same old voice with different ears. We do not need to escape the circumstances of our life. We need to be more fully present to those circumstances. When this happens life is no longer lived at the surface. These are the transfigured moments, moments when the picture of our life has becomes a window into a new world and we come face to face with the glory of God.” (Michael K. Marsh)

In the Gospel, Peter, John, and James go to the mountain to pray. Jesus' face changed in appearance and his clothes became dazzling white. Then they see Moses and Elijah, talking to him. It is obvious to me that Moses, Elijah, and Jesus and are outside the temporal realm. The bible calls this situation, “the Kingdom of Heaven” and this is the place in our time and space where heaven and earth overlap. Many people can only experience the temporal realm. When you are a believer, God is able to bring the light of Christ to a hurting world through you. When we give of ourselves for the sake of others, we feel the peace that passes all understanding. This is a foretaste of the eternal life that we will experience in the next life.

The abundant life is filled with experiences outside the temporal realm. This fleeting presence of “the Kingdom of Heaven” is a foretaste of what we will experience in eternity after our resurrection. In today’s lesson, Jesus crosses the temporal realm so that the disciples may have this foretaste, but the disciples are not in the right place to understand. Most people believe that they will go to heaven, but my experience is that non-believers don’t think that God can come into our time and space.

In the fifties and sixties, while I was growing up, practically everyone I knew believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. The church was filled and when we went out of church, we felt like servants of Jesus Christ on a mission. The times were tumultuous in the sixties, yet the Episcopal Church was a great place to be. We felt good that we were changing the world in a positive way to the problems of the environment, war, women’s rights and racism.

I imagine that most of us miss out on the deep joy and peace that we are offered by God because we are too distracted by our egos, our anger towards certain individuals, and other “stuff.” The trick in life for me is to let go of the “stuff,” give of ourselves to others, and to forgive others as we are forgiven by God. This deepens our relationship with God and our neighbor and allows us to experience the full benefit of God’s love and mercy. We are able to not only recover from bad things that happen to us, but somehow the glue that puts us back together makes us stronger than we have ever been. Once we see each other as broken vessels in need of the love and mercy of God, we love all our neighbors because we know that they are just as broken as us. We begin to walk the path that our Savior walked, who hung on a cross that he might know our pain and we might know the hope of the resurrection. 

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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God, Help us to live slowly:

To move simply:

To look softly:

To allow emptiness:

To let the heart create for us. Amen

Michael Leunig

The lectionary for this week, the sixth Sunday after Epiphany,  is deep and rich – inviting us to a more profound understanding of who we are as followers of Jesus. Indeed, these scriptures could inspire several sermons, but I will focus on the overall theme of being a beloved community- and as we honor Black History month, it reminds us of our call to grow together in the spirit of the law – to enter into deepness and wideness of God’s love – a challenge to go beyond simple dichotomies of rights and wrongs. 

In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, we learn about a community that is squabbling over which spiritual leader is better – Paul or Apollos. Their fighting and confusion point to the fact that they have not understood the deeper message -- human wisdom alone is unable to attain the knowledge of God. It is the Holy Spirit that equips us to know God – and to know God’s will for our lives. The problem with the Corinthians is they have been fully depending upon wisdom from the wrong sources. We do need teachers and guides to help us along the way to spiritual maturity, yet we must  be receptive to the voice of Jesus sent through the Holy Spirit.

In our old testament lesson, Moses attempts to illumine the path that will lead the Israelites to life and prosperity – if only they obey and follow the commandments of the Lord their God. Sometimes, when faced with two roads, both seemingly desirable and good, we need someone with vision to point us in the right direction. We always have a choice, but Moses reminds his people that part of choosing is knowing God and keeping his commandments. The decalogue is not just a list of laws to blindly follow – it is a gift from God which invites us into relationship with each other and with God. We are asked to know God’s heart – to love God and to walk in ways of justice, righteousness, and loving kindness. Into the fullness of the law.

 What does God’s love really look like? Jesus is inviting us into a wider view for building community and righteousness. It is more than just following specific rules. Righteousness is about being in right relationship with our God and our community and this is a righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees and scribes who live into the letter of the law. We are called to live into the spirit of the law – as we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in our everyday decisions about how we treat each other and grow into a beloved community.

In early December 1967, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. unfolded his vision for the Poor People’s Campaign, his next protest in Washington, D.C.. Assassinated on April 4, 1968, he never made it to the mall in Washington, but thousands traveled there to honor King’s memory and pursue his vision. The Rev. Ralph Abernathy picked up the torch lighting the way for the erection of Resurrection City. He is quoted as saying, “We’re going to build this city…a community of love and brotherhood. The American Indians, Puerto Ricans, Mexican Americans, white poor Americans from the Appalachian area of our country and Black Americans will all live together in this city of hope.” It remained intact for 42 days before being disbanded. It was a community of people who had often been set against each other now living in love and action- looking down new roads of possibilities – challenging the status quo. This was a place where people felt a profound hope for beloved community.

Jesus has called us to live into a deeper understanding of God’s love, which may require that we struggle a bit in the gray areas – where we are called to live into a much broader and glorious way of loving.

Dear God,

We pray for another way of being:

another way of knowing.

Across the difficult terrain of our existence

we have attempted to build a highway

and in so doing have lost our footpath.

God lead us to our footpath:

Lead us there where in simplicity

we may move at the speed of natural creatures

and feel the earth's love beneath our feet.

Lead us there where step-by-step we may feel

the movement of creation in our hearts.

And lead us there where side-by-side

we may feel the embrace of the common soul.

Nothing can be loved at speed.

God lead us to the slow path; to the joyous insights

of the pilgrim; another way of knowing: another way of being. Amen

Michael Leunig

In the spirit of God’s Love, 

Deacon Claire 

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“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”(Matt. 5:13-16)

Jesus went out to the margins of society respected the dignity of everyone, healed the sick, forgave the penitent, and ate with sinners and outcasts. His words were so revolutionary that they transformed the community. His action of giving up his life on a cross that they might have life was also transformative because it means that we are loved and forgiven and loved by God, even when we mess up. I ask you today to come to church, to listen to the Gospel, to be transformed by the revolutionary words of Jesus Christ, to regain that belly burning salt, and to shine the light of Christ so brightly that it will transform others to the love of God. The focus for the coming year at St. John’s will be Spirituality, Evangelism, Children, Youth, and Young Adult Ministries, Outreach, Hospitality, and Pastoral Care.

I would like to thank all our parishioners who made this year deeply spiritual for one another. The Rev. Claire Mis, Deacon has certainly been an inspiration to all of us. Fr. James Reiss, our curate, has brought energy, enthusiasm, and a deep love of Jesus Christ to our community. Our Morning Prayer group met every weekday at 9 AM (260 times in 2022) and has prayed for our friends, neighbors, and for all in need. Prayer is the foundation of everything we do at St. John’s. Thank you for your leadership, your generosity, your ministry, and your continued faith in Jesus Christ. We are very blessed by your presence. I would also like to thank Coral, who has done an outstanding job as our administrator, Alex our talented musician and choir director, Jenni, our St. John’s Nursery School Director, and our wardens, Rob and Sean, who have led this parish with our vestry and committee chairs. May God continue to bless your ministries!

This week our service times on Sunday are 8:00am and 10:00am and we will have our annual meeting after the late service in person only! We will elect one warden and four vestry members. Our theme for this year’s Annual. Please live out your Baptismal Covenant by coming to church, worshiping with us on zoom, helping those in need in our community, donating to our Thrift Shop, volunteering in our Thrift Shop, striving for justice by supporting our racial reconciliation and social justice committee, and getting involved in a ministry of St. John’s such as our Altar Guild. 

I ask each committee to personally invite new members to join their group. If you are a new member or would like to help out please consider joining our Altar Guild, Thrift Shop, EFM, Racial Reconciliation and Justice Committee, HiHi, ECW, Lay Eucharistic Ministers, Youth Group, Christian Education, Readers, Spirituality Group, Nursery School Steering Committee, Ushers, Lay Eucharistic Visitors, Prayer Shawl Ministry, St. Hilda’s Guild, Laundry Love, or one of our other committees. Our mission team met this week to prepare for our trip to Puerto Rico in April. We are also planning a trip to Iona, Scotland in late September. This will be a restful and wonderful pilgrimage with Leslie Valentine. We still have 2 spots open!!

Our Sunday school starts at 9:45am and we will have confetti cake and ice cream cake after class. 1st Communion classes are beginning on Thursday, March 2nd at 5:00 and 1st Communion will be April 16th at the 10:00 service. Next Week, February 12th is the Souper Bowl of Caring and our Youth Group is collecting donations to fight hunger in the Huntington Community. If you are interested in volunteering for the Thrift shop on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Saturdays, please drop by on one of those days from 12-3.

In Christ’s love,

Rev. Duncan Burns

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The Spirit of the Beatitudes

“The feast of Epiphany invites us to listen to the voice of God and step forth on a spiritual pilgrimage; to enter a new secular year forgetting all that lies behind and ignoring all that seems reasonable today; to trust in the possibility of God’s dream…” (John H. Westerhoff III, A Pilgrim People)

We continue our epiphany journey - pilgrims listening to and learning more about God, as God is revealed to us through Jesus. What does the Kingdom of God look like and how can we grow more fully into Easter people.  Before Easter, however, we must make our way through the darkness of Lent. Growth is never easy. Our pilgrimage path may not be clear or straight. You may remember experiencing physical growing pains as a child. But even as adults, we are being called to step out of our comfort zones – out of safety to trust that God’s plan through Jesus is one in which we as individuals become blessed. We do not do this alone. We are called to grow into Christ’s likeness within this blessed community – to pay attention for God’s activity in and around us, making it possible to reveal the present reality of God’s Kingdom to others in our midst.

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus chose to preach his longest sermon on a mountain top? Moses also ascended a mountain to receive the Ten Commandments. Those commandments were about creating social order in our world – important and necessary. The eight Beatitudes, however, bring us to a different level of consciousness revealing the idea of grace. How to grow in humility as we seek to become a blessing to others. Who IS this Jesus. What IS His kingdom all about? Important enough to preach from the mountaintop – not just to his recently called disciples, but to all within hearing. We remember mountaintop experiences.

All of us have been called by Christ – or we wouldn’t even worship together in this beautiful and hospitable community called St. John’s. But as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians, while none of us is perfect, God does call each of us, imperfect as we are to point us in the direction of Christ crucified. Skill and wisdom that seem so important to the world do not get us into the Kingdom – simple faith does. Christ is the one who has made us acceptable to God.

The Beatitudes open for us a vision of the Kingdom of God that moves beyond the 10 commandments. They are counterintuitive to the ways we operate in the world. We have been called to be humble and faithful. As we pay attention to and follow Jesus more closely we too will go beyond the letter of the law to its more profound spirit to develop the habit of thinking, acting, and loving like Jesus. We will forgive one another, give up our own need for power and control and make space for all peoples. When it seems impossible, be reminded that all things are possible with God. May you be blessed!

“Sometimes I need only to stand where I am to be blessed.” (Mary Oliver)

Peace as we journey together!

Deacon Claire

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The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian (Isaiah 9:2-4).

Fr. Dan preached last week on the season of Epiphany, The season is not a time for complacency between Christmas and Lent.  Jesus calls the disciples out of their comfort zone into the Kingdom of God. In this week’s Gospel Jesus says. “Follow me.” Fr. Dan reminded us that Jesus will draw us out through the beatitudes to places that we may not want to go. There is no better example (in my opinion) of this than this week’s Gospel. Jesus says, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Jesus asks us to turn from idolatry and selfish desires and follow the path of teaching, healing, and proclaiming the Good News.

As we prepare for our annual meeting on February 5th after the 10:00 service, let us think about how we might follow Jesus Christ in 2023. We have been listening to women’s voices for the past eight weeks. Will God raise up a woman to be our next warden? Will God raise up a deacon in our congregation? What new ministries lay before us? If we refurbish the kitchen, will there be volunteers to help our breakfast committee and will we make meals again for the homeless? Who will represent us in the movement for creation care in Huntington and who will speak up against hate in our town? Will our Thrift Shop continue to flourish? The answer from our Baptismal Covenant is, “I will with God’s help.”

Last week Fr. Dan asked, “What kind of God do you want?” This week I ask the question, “Will you follow Jesus even if he draws you out where we can never return?” Fleming Rutledge asks us to look for God in his Word. The world has become a dark place. Lots of folks see the cross as foolishness. We are a parish in an ever secular, fast moving, polarized, and violent world. Yet there is a small, still voice that asks, “Give us grace, Oh Lord, to answer readily the call.” At St. John’s, we can witness to our faith by coming to church, worshiping and praising God, caring for God’s creation, striving for justice, and being sent out to the community to love and serve Christ. Please be confident that God has the strength to bring us to the Kingdom, that place where heaven and earth intersect, if we will only allow ourselves to see the light of Christ and be drawn out to where we can never return.

"Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return" (Annie Dillard).

In Christ's Love,

Fr. Duncan

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Martin Luther King, who we celebrate this weekend, helped a whole generation see where the ways of heaven begin to get an unlikely foothold on this earth. He helped us remember that walking with Jesus means working for justice--revealing in our midst already a world where love reigns, a realm of God's shalom--of wholeness--where nothing's broken and no one's missing, where a table is spread and all are welcome. We are called, just as the disciples and Martin Luther King Jr. were called to point to the living truth that through living the Gospel, in the love of Jesus Christ, we can overcome hatred, racism, sexism, homophobia and greed. We are called to go out into the world and shine the light of Christ to the world. We need to be confident that the path that Christ chose is the path that we are to follow. We need to see that the path of greed in our culture is eroding our souls and leading to a long term distortion of our values. Only in the light of God’s love can we change our path. By giving of ourselves for the sake of the poor, we can deepen our faith and point to Jesus Christ.

Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus Christ. Who was and is and will forever be, the Son of God. John points to Jesus and says, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ...and John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, `He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God."

The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi,” "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah.” God, John, and the disciples all point to Jesus and exclaim, “this is the Son of God, the Messiah.” The Epiphany season begins with the appearing or manifestation of Jesus Christ. I pray that each of you will have a deepening faith and that you can point to the manifestation of Jesus Christ among us.

In 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, the issue of the day was forced segregation on city buses. Pastors gathered at a local Baptist Church--strategizing. Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white person and moving to the back of the bus. They tossed a few ideas around, but couldn’t settle on a single strategy until a young pastor volunteered to lead a boycott and civil disobedience against the culture in power. This culture gave white people a better seat on the city bus and segregated everything from the school to the drinking fountains. Martin Luther King Jr. was not a perfect person, but when he accepted his marching orders to a path of truth, he radically changed this country. He was called by God to lead the people of this nation to a new place and it wouldn’t come without a cost. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “It's alright to talk about streets flowing with milk and honey, but God has commanded us to be concerned about the slums down here, and his children who can't eat three square meals a day. It's all right to talk about the new Jerusalem, but one day, God's preacher must talk about the New York, the new Atlanta, the new Philadelphia, the new Los Angeles, the new Memphis, Tennessee. This is what we have to do.” King knew that his words might lead to his death and yet his words have led to a better life for millions of African Americans. He glorified God through his words and actions. His boundary crossing, self-giving love is exactly what Jesus was talking about. How do you manifest Jesus Christ through your action?

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.

This Sunday, our church celebrates The Baptism of our Lord. Lectionary-wise, this is kind of a strange jump for us; the last time we checked in with our infant Lord, we had just celebrated the eight days following his birth. So we had the infant birth, circumcision, the three wise men who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And so, naturally (that was sarcasm), we jump over a quarter of a century later to Jesus, in his mid/late twenties. I must say, to me, this really makes no sense. 

Many, if not most of us, were baptized as infants. A majority of us in church this Sunday will not remember the baptismal promises that were made, as they were made on our behalf by god parents. As some of you may know, my sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl just days before Christmas and as a Christmas gift, I was gifted a Christmas ornament with a picture of the movie title screen from The Godfather. As I mentally pieced together my gift, I was moved to tears and in awe of my gift, as this brought me so much joy and bliss. As I look at my new niece Hazel, I am reminded of the importance of bringing this child into the faith.

Many of us take for granted the gift of baptism in our lives. Some view baptism as membership into the Christian club. It’s how we sign up for donation envelopes and get onto the Parish Register where we can receive weekly emails, like this one. Some are afraid of baptism for this reality - and I proclaim: this is not the meaning of baptism! 

Baptism is one of two sacraments handed down to us through scripture, by Jesus. The other sacramental rites in our Book of Common Prayer are important: Reconciliation, Confirmation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick, Ordination; but the two that Jesus teaches us firsthand by his actions are Holy Communion (which we celebrate each Sunday), and Baptism (that we hear in our scriptures this Sunday morning). 

Jesus showed us by his example at the River Jordan with his cousin, John, that this was a new rite that in fact initiated Jesus’ public ministry. It was the proclamation in thought, and word, and deed, that Jesus belonged to God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. We may explain away the connection with baptism to Jesus’ birth narrative because of our modern-day practice of baptizing infants. Another way to look at baptism is within the parallel of how a child looks at the world with awe and openness, is in fact the way God wants to have a relationship with us - with the faith and openness of a child.   

Children are quite remarkable in that way - they trust what is told to them. Why do they have any reason to doubt? I challenge us all this week, as we prepare to hear about baptism this Sunday, may we have the faith of the littlest members of our community, whom Deacon Claire gives our dismissal with on Sundays at our 10:00 am Eucharist. As adults, it is challenging to imagine the heavens opening up and the Holy Spirit descending like a dove. I believe children can see this much more clearly with their imaginations and unconditional trust in the Divine, as God has known them since God knit them together in their mothers’ womb. 

God calls us to new life in Him, through Jesus Christ and through baptism. Do we have the same openness to relationship with Jesus as adults, that infants do for new life? How do we get back to having the faith of children? How do we dwell there? How can we proclaim in thought and word and deed that we belong to God?

Your sibling in Christ,

Fr. James