“Emily Dickinson is a famous American poet who lived a rather unusual life. As an adult she rarely left her home and during the time that she lived “hidden away” she preferred wearing white dresses. She wrote nearly two thousand poems, but she hid most of her poems away as well. Only five of her poems were published during her lifetime. After she died her sister found her poems and they were published into books of poetry. How fortunate for the world that her poems were found and that others valued them enough to see that they were published. All of the poems of Emily Dickinson have now been published and thousands of readers take pleasure in the beauty and rhythm of her words” (Richard Donovan).

In today’s Gospel, each disciple is given a sum of talents. A talent in Jesus’ time was a very large sum of money. Multiply your annual income by 15 and you will have a relative idea about the value of a talent in the first century. The first steward is given 5 talents. He is able to double the money before the man returns from his journey. The second steward is given 2 talents and also doubles the value while the man is away. The man says to the first steward, “Well done good and trustworthy servant, you have been trustworthy in a few things, I put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.” The man says to the second steward, “Well done good and trustworthy servant, you have been trustworthy in a few things, I put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.” The man has the exact same response whether the stewards make 2 or 5 talents. What is important is what you make of what you’ve been given. The third steward is given 1 talent and is so afraid of the man, he hides the talent and gives it back to the man when he returns. The man is very disappointed with the third steward and takes away what he has and throws him out in the cold. Our lesson for today is that living in fear can hold us back from God’s plan. Perhaps Emily Dickinson did not think her poems were worthy of publishing. Thank God that her sister knew the value of her gift.

In today’s Covid environment, we are tempted to live in fear and not continue with our mission or our ministry at St. John’s. Jesus tells us that we all have been given gifts and talents and we are called to use our gifts and talents in God’s service. When everyone is deepening their relationship with God and one another, we are following God’s plan. Zoom services are not like being at St. John’s. I miss giving the Holy Eucharist to all our parishioners. I miss the pancakes and the feeling of family at St. John’s coffee hours. I miss all the kids running around at church. I will miss not being with my brothers, nephews, and nieces on Thanksgiving. But we must focus on our ministry and mission at St. John’s to insure that we are healthy when we come our of this pandemic. Please send your pledge card into the church this week so the vestry can make plans for next year. I know times are tough, but we really need every member of our church to share their time, talent, and treasure in 2021. Our mission is to know Christ and make him known. Together, we can be steadfast in our mission in St. John's 276th year.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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Just below are the words of a song written by Linda Snow to an old English folk tune. Please read the song before you continue.

You are beloved branches, I am the Vine.

Abide in me, my people, my gifts are thine.

Drink of my living water and be refreshed.

I will fill you with my Spirit, and give you rest.

Without the vine, the branches will never bloom.

They'll bear no fruit or flowers, they'll wither soon.

Without my love dear children, you'll do the same.

You need my living water as flowers need rain.

Let my words live within you, and there I'll be.

To glorify my Father, abide with me.

Whatever you shall ask me, it shall be done.

My joy shall be within you, and all my love.

Yes, my joy shall be within you, and all my love.

You will notice immediately that the singer of this song is Jesus and that the ones who are addressed are his followers, are you and me.

If you are not fortunate enough to hear this music at a service this morning, then you will need to absorb it from within because Jesus is singing about you and me, about us, about Saint John's, about how his people are living out his commission to know him and make him known. Now the song is certainly more than about us and our parish, individually and corporately, but it is not less. He sings about a relationship between himself and us, a relationship of such intimacy that we are his people, beloved branches nourished by that water that issues from the one who is the true Vine.

One of the things we learn in the gospels is that Jesus is not aloof, not just paying us a casual visit from some far off heaven light years away; rather, he is tabernacling among us; he is the light shining his glory in Saint John's and to its people and, in one of Tom Wright's best metaphors, we have become angled mirrors reflecting joyfully that glory back to him. Linda Snow is not hesitant to reveal the real intimacy that Jesus desires with each of us. We are beloved branches who are grafted into him; all of his gifts are accessible and available to us and the people of Saint John's have used those gifts to feed the homeless, clothe the poor, proclaim the gospel, refresh others with the living water that has been given them; and so many have prayed—daily—for others—so that the joy of the living Lord that lies within them may refresh others. As we sang on All Saints' Day, we rest in the sure and certain hope that our Lord is our Captain in the darkness drear of this world, the one true Light.

Linda has Jesus sing to us in the last verse, Let my words live within you and, if you do, there I'll be. In the midst of fear and chaos, in the midst of civil strife and violence, in the midst of plague and natural disaster, why are Saint John's and its people thriving? Because Jesus has promised that those who have chosen to follow him, to believe and trust in him, to drink of his living water, will be refreshed and fulfill his commission to be filled with his Spirit and be for others what he has been and is for them. I don't think that Tom Wright knows either this song or this parish, yet he summarizes succinctly what is transpiring in Linda Snow's composition and at Saint John's: “The living God is going to make his home, as Jesus promised, not just with us, but actually in us. We are the branches extending out into the world, brought to life by God's Spirit so that we too can feed the lambs and tend the mother sheep.”

Under the Mercy,

Fr. John+

The Vine & the Branches: Alex Pryrodny, piano

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Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

(Matt, 5:3-10 NRSV).

In 1980, I met a ninety year old neighbor named Old Man Stokes at our apartment complex. He used to love to listen to the Commodores and would ask me to turn up my stereo so that he could hear it from his balcony. His favorite song was “Unchained melody.” I used to talk to him about what it was like to grow up in the south at the turn of the century. He grew up doing the jobs that nobody else wanted to do to make a living. My favorite story that he used to tell was when he was a well digger as a young man. He would dig a hole about five feet in diameter and about twenty five feet deep. He would use a pick and a shovel to fill a bucket that was tied to a rope. They would use boards on each side to prevent the walls from collapsing, but that was always a danger. When the water was up to his waist, he would yell to his buddy to pull him out and they would fill the bottom of the well with small stones. Now those of us who are a little claustrophobic, ask, “How do you get out, if the walls cave in?” His answer was that, “you are completely dependent on the person holding onto the rope. Since they took turns digging, they needed to have faith in each other and to pay careful attention at all times to their buddy in the hole. If you have ever come to a situation in your life when you are looking up from the bottom of a hole, I hope you pray today’s Gospel from Matthew. Jesus offers us comfort in times of need.

The translation of the beatitudes in the Message also offers hope to all who are persecuted, sick, or in trouble that we might emerge from our experience with an even greater faith:

You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom (Matt, 5:3-10).

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

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They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

1 Timothy 6:18-19 NRSVA

This week, we sent out our annual pledge cards so that the vestry could plan the budget for next year. I humbly ask you to pray about your stewardship at St. John’s, fill out your pledge card, and send it to the office. Stewardship should be a joyful celebration of giving back to God what God has already given us. “God’s initiative is always to bless, and that blessing is never earned, it is freely given. Christians primarily know the blessing of God’s grace in the gift of our baptism. The Book of Common Prayer tells us that in our baptism the bond that is established cannot be dissolved. We share the same blessing given to Jesus in his baptism: 'This is my beloved, in you I’m well pleased.' By virtue of our baptism, we are blessed to be a blessing. We, in turn, bless God by offering praise and thanksgiving for the goodness of gifts given. To worship God is to offer something of value. We offer praise and thanksgiving not only with our lips but with our lives. The annual pledge campaign can be an opportunity to bless God and bless the community from the offerings of the labor of our lives. Through our commitment to proportional giving, we offer a pledge of thanksgiving for all we have received and for all we will become as we grow into the image of Christ” (Blessed to be a blessing). 

Give of your time, talent and treasure to God because you truly believe that Christ died that you might have abundant life. When a heart is filled with the love of God, the desire to give a portion back comes from deep within, not from a rational sense of obligation. We use the gifts that God has given us to do the work God is calling us to do. God will never ask you to do anything unless God provides the means for you to do it. You should give proportionately to God what God has given to you. If you have time, give of your time. If you have talent, give of your talent. If you have treasure, give of your treasure. God wants to bring you to wholeness in your life. Give from your heart and St. John’s will serve this community with generosity as we have for the past 275 years. Both for the individual and for the community, stewardship is a joyful act for the sake of God's world. Please give joyfully from your heart. God is well pleased when we give in this manner and will provide everything we need to do the work that God calls us to do.

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 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.

In Christ’s love,

Rev. Duncan Burns

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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” (Philippians 4:4-7).

Paul asks us to pray for one another in times of trouble. The early church had strong divisions very much like the divisions that exist today in our church and in the nation. We are asked to do everything in thankfulness. Each day I give thanks for this community and the way we support one another and the folks that live around us. While many are fighting with one another, we must press forward in the love of God. Bishop Curry tells us that, “The way of love is a commitment to seeking the good and well-being of others” (Love is the Way p.242). We all know the bible verse, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son” (John 3:16). This word love is translated from the Greek word agape. Bishop Curry defines agape love as “sacrificial love that seeks the good and well-being of others, of society, of the world” (Love is the way p. 14). He goes on to tell us that love is a verb that is meant to be fierce. Jesus told us that, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s own life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). We are starting our second session of Sacred Ground and I am thankful for all those that have continued to support this program as we continue on our journey to becoming a beloved community. This month I ask all parishioners to support our Harvest Fair any way you can. Buy your raffle tickets, donate a basket, help mark the White Elephant merchandize, buy some Vermont Cheese or St. Hilda’s handmade gifts.  

Today’s Gospel invites all of us to the heavenly banquet, but warns us to be wearing a wedding robe. A white robe represents our intention to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord, respect, and follow him by changing the way we live our life. We do this not for the church, but for our soul. Jesus offers forgiveness to all those who turn from sin. John Wesley said that all are called to glory, but we have a claim to glory only through the righteousness of Christ. Only through our faith in his redeeming grace, can we be saved from sin, made holy, and find everlasting life. We know that we are invited to the banquet, but how do we put on this wedding robe so that we will be holy in God’s sight at the heavenly banquet? We begin with the understanding that we were formed in the image of God’s love and given the whole world into our care. Unfortunately, throughout our history we have turned from God and each other. The Good News of the Gospel is that God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life. God has forever shown his unconditional love for us and we are invited to attend the heavenly banquet by following the way of love. Presiding Bishop Curry asks us to walk in newness of life through the love of God, through the redeeming grace of Jesus, and through the power of the Holy Spirit. “Love can help and heal when nothing else can. Love can lift up and liberate when nothing else will. May God love you and bless you" (Love is the Way p. 248).

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

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And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death-- even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians10-13)

In bible study this week, we studied the profile and praxis of a prophet. N.T. Wright tells us that “if we are to follow Jesus as Lord, we must know more about the one we are to follow.” Jesus says in the temple, “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners.” (Isaiah 61:1). Jesus explains the coming of the Kingdom of God through parables and more importantly, shows us what the Kingdom of God looks like by his actions. N.T. Wright says, “What Jesus was to Israel, the church must now be for the world.”

In today’s Gospel, we hear, “a man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go” (Matthew 21:28-30). Like the second son in the Gospel, many of us in the church want to do the right thing, but often we just get distracted. There are many factors to distract us today. If only one good thing comes out of this pandemic for you, I hope it is a rekindling of your faith in Jesus Christ. God brings us from bondage into freedom, from sin into righteousness, and from death into life.

You can bring the Good News to others by proclaiming that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Our church can bind up the brokenhearted by visiting one another or calling each other on the phone. Invite those you do not see on Sunday back to church again either on zoom, Facebook Live, or in person. We can proclaim liberty and release by letting our friends know that they are loved by God and forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ. We can clothe the naked by sending items from our Thrift Shop to Central Islip. We can feed the hungry by donating rice, beans, pasta, and other items to the local food pantry. We are bringing racial reconciliation and social justice through our Sacred Ground Program. Most of all, we can work together for our Harvest Fair on October 24, 2020. Please participate in any way you can. Buy raffle tickets, make a raffle basket, donate an auction item, volunteer to mark some white elephant items, or just pray that we will be able to support local charities and this church’s ministries as we have in the past. This COVID pandemic has made life and business very difficult for many of us in our community. Let us each do what we can to help one another get through it. Jesus taught us that if we share a little of what we have, there will be plenty for everyone. Jesus also taught us to love God and our neighbor. Loving everyone is difficult, but possible through the grace of God.

I give thanksgiving for Jesus Christ, who taught us to love one another as God loves us. I give thanksgiving for Coral, Claire, Fr. John, Jen, Alex, our nursery school teachers, and all our parishioners at St. John’s. I give thanks to all our parishioners, thanks to the ECW and Chris Boccia, thanks to Spirituality and Patti Aliperti, thanks to the Thrift Shop and Nancy Feustel, thanks for Laundry Love and Sue Cronje, thanks to Huntington Rapid Response, thanks to Racial Reconciliation and Social Justice and Heather Kress and Pat Ahmad, thanks to Sacred Ground and Bill Kiley, thanks for EFM and Leslie Valentine, thanks for Bible Study and Fr. John Morrison, thanks for St. Hilda’s Guild and Janice Burnett, thanks for Morning Prayer and Earl Matchett and Claire, thanks to the vestry and wardens, and thanks to Samantha Burns and Barbara Burns.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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On the surface, today’s Gospel is about fairness. The landowner hires workers early in the morning and agrees to pay them a full day’s wage. He goes back in the early morning and hires more workers. At midday and in the afternoon he hires more workers. Even at the eleventh hour, he hires more workers. The landowner asks the steward to pay all the workers the same wage beginning with the ones that only worked for an hour. When the steward finally began to pay the ones who had worked all day, they were fuming mad. The fact is that we can be easily annoyed with trivial matters that we deem as unfair. Jesus gives us a prime example. The laborers in today’s Gospel got paid one day’s work, regardless of how long they worked. Those workers who worked the longest earned a fair wage, but they were upset by what the others received.

God turns our world upside down. Jesus is creating a community where the last are first and the first are last. The world isn’t fair and maybe God helps to even things out a little. Have you ever felt God’s generosity when it is unearned and undeserved? When the generosity of God exceeds our expectations, we are surprised in a way that fills our heart with the peace that passes all understanding.                         

When you understand life to be an incredible gift, God’s grace and mercy flows over us like a river. Jesus is teaching parables that turn our world upside down. Suddenly, everyone is eligible for God’s love! It is no longer just the outwardly religious folks that find God’s favor.. The workers that were hired late in the day might have needed money to buy food for their families. When they received their pay at the end of the day, they must have been elated. “Maybe this is the break I have been waiting for,” says the unemployed person trying to get back in the work force. “Finally,” says the child that is back at school with their friends. Someone shows up with cases of water after a wildfire because someone half way around the world heard their cry while praying to God. Someone remembers those essential workers that have served our needs right through this pandemic. We remember those who gave their lives on 9/11 and pray for those who put their lives on the line for our safety.

Have you ever felt blessed by God? When we receive our fair wage it feels right, but when we receive more than we deserve, it is a blessing from God. I give to this church because God has blessed me in so many ways. I receive blessing upon blessing. They just keep coming. I am blessed by my beautiful children, my lovely wife, my mom, my brothers, my friends, by our Morning Prayer group, for my home in this wonderful town, and by the ministry of St. John’s. The list goes on and on for me. I love my ministry and my call to St. John’s. Today is my sixth anniversary of serving at St. John’s. The year 2020 has been tough for all of us, but I believe that God will get us through it. We will begin Eucharist in October and slowly and safely, we will get back to church. I pray that God will bless me with many more years of service at St. John’s. Please join me in giving praise and thanksgiving to God every Sunday. We have an outdoor service at 8AM. We have an indoor service at 11AM. There is an 8 AM zoom Morning Prayer and a 9:15 zoom Morning Prayer with incredible music. If you have not joined the M-F Morning Prayer community at 9 AM, I highly recommend this service of praise and prayer. If you have been away for the summer we invite you back. If you are new, we invite you to be a part of our community. We are blessed at St. John’s and God calls us all to be a blessing to each other.

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

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In August of 2014, Susan and I sat in the packed church of Saint Mary the Virgin in Oxford and listened raptly to Baroness Caroline Cox speak about the persecuted church and the forgiveness extended by those persecuted to those who tormented them, sometimes to the point of martyrdom. Rather than comment, I will let these brief synopses speak for themselves and I hope that the witness will compel us to come to grips from within, not just as theory but in practice, with our Lord's command to forgive those who sin against us as we have been forgiven.

On the night before he was murdered, Martin Luther King, Jr. preached his “I have been to the mountain top” sermon.” His last words were “I have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” The Rev. Fleming Rutledge preached on Dr. King with these words: “It was not human happiness that he felt. It was not human hope that he held. It was not human promises that he trusted. It was God that he trusted, the God who makes a way out of no way. He trusted that God's glory would be shown forth in his weakness as he 'shared in the sufferings of Christ.'”

In October 2000, 21 year old Pastor Liu Haitao was beaten to death by the police in Henan province, China.

As he died, suffering injuries from torture, as well as denial of medical treatment, he told his mother: “Mum, I am very happy, I am fine. Just persist in our belief and follow him to the end. I am going now, Mum. Pray for me.” His final word before he died was a very weak, but unmistakable 'Amen.'

In the historic Armenian land of Nagorno Karabakh, Baroness Cox met a man who had vowed revenge for the death of a child, but when the opportunity arose he broke his vow. An American responded by saying that for the first time he understood what was meant by “Vengeance is mine saith the Lord”; thank you for the dignity you have shown.” The man responded, “Dignity is a crown of thorns,”

In Jos, Nigeria, the Most Reverend Benjamin Kwashi was away from home when militants came to kill him so instead they brutalized one of his sons and his wife. After visiting his wife in hospital he wrote that “we praised God that we had been found worthy to suffer for his kingdom; and we prayed that all Gloria's pain, humiliation, and anguish would be used for his kingdom, his glory, and the strength of his church.” Then he gave this challenge to the wider Christian Church: “If we have a faith worth living for, it is a faith worth dying for. Do not you in the West compromise the faith for which we are living and dying.”

Finally, the following poem, written by David Aziz, is a chilling illustration of “faith and forgiveness which shines like a light in the darkness.” The poem was published in a pamphlet entitled The Coptic Christmas Eve Massacre: A Youth Perspective—Please God, be our Guide, You decide/You are there as I die and my mother cries./I was looking forward to the fata,/But now I'm getting colder and wetter./l lie on this blood-stained road,/With my lifeless body on show,/I wanna be free, I wanna be free,/I wanna be free from this body, ye/I wanna be free, let my spirit roam free,/Lord please receive my spirit from within me,/I am filled with lead but I survive,/And though I am dead I am still alive,/I don't hate those who shot me so please don't be bitter (bold mine),/'Cos life with Christ is much better./But this is for the best,/When your faith is put to the test,/But it's all over now and I rest,/I said it's all over now and I rest,/...I can rest.

There are many other illustrations in Baroness Cox's little book The Very Stones Cry Out and, in its own way, each story cries out: How ready am I to respond to my Lord's command to forgive? How ready are you?

-Fr. John+

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