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For you yourself created my inmost parts;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

Doctors often give us the advice that we need to listen to our bodies in terms of our physical (including mental!) health. But this weekend in the readings, I sense that God is asking us to listen to our bodies in terms of our spiritual health. Our spiritual life and our physical life are always connected, each part is what makes us human beings. Perhaps we think more often of how our physical life impacts our spiritual life and rarely about how our spiritual life impacts our physical health. This is, of course, a two way street that should be heavy with traffic because they are so well connected.

So how does our spiritual life impact our physical life? Our lives are influenced daily by the world around us. I think we understand how and when this occurs, and certainly I’ve preached here already on this topic. When we sin, Paul teaches, our bodies are affected. And as the Psalmist declares, our God knows everything about us. Like the members of our prayer shawl ministry pray over their shawls, God knitted us together in our mother’s womb and prayed over us, declaring who we are. “Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb; all of them were written in your book.” (Ps. 139:15a) Yet the world is alright with using you and me and discarding the rest. Our careers, our schedule, the media, heck even church if not properly prioritized (i.e., know when to say yes and when to say no), can all have negative effects on our physical health.

To remember we are God’s can be a daunting task because we may feel like we do not need him. But we are not ours only, we are not only our parent’s child, we are children of God. We are God’s own; our bodies are meant to be loved and cared for by Him. They are temples to be used for God’s glory who gives us the strength to endure. No spiritual life is perfect, but when regular rhythms of prayer and reflection are introduced, they absolutely play a part in one’s physical and mental restoration.

You want to know your body and soul better? Seek God and all these things will be added unto you.

In Christ, 
Fr. Zach

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“How do we as a community encounter the living presence of our risen Lord? How do we celebrate that presence in the midst of our heterogeneity—together as one people of different ages, genders, political parties, races, sexual orientations, ethnic and cultural backgrounds? How do we incorporate that presence into our daily routines? How do we act on that presence through our baptism? How do we live out our relationship with Jesus joyously and take its baptismal responsibilities seriously? In other words—How do we live mission?” (Rock Schuler)

John the Baptist is proclaiming that the Messiah is coming to liberate the people from sin and death and to baptize them with the Holy Spirit. John baptizes Jesus in the river Jordan. God acts through the water. As Jesus comes out of the water, the heavens are torn apart, the spirit descends on him like a dove and a voice from heaven says to Jesus, “You are my Son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased.” At that moment of Mark’s Gospel, at the age of thirty, Jesus’ ministry begins. Jesus is anointed by the Holy Spirit as Messiah to lead us out of death and into everlasting life. As Jesus comes out of the water, the heavens tear open.

Mission is the inertia behind healthy, dynamic congregations. When we are empowered to live this vision—life-changing ministry happens. Jesus’ baptism is a moment of literal divine intervention into the realm of this world. Jesus will come to challenge the status quo and centers of political and economic power. Isaiah and other prophets promised justice for the poor and disenfranchised, and Jesus came from heaven to proclaim God’s justice and to show us what the peace of God feels like. Jesus comes out of the river, still wet from the waters of baptism and goes to the margins of society. He heals the sick, gives hope to the poor and in other words—Jesus teaches us how to do mission. Jesus then teaches how to give your life for the sake of others. Jesus doesn’t worry about what the rich and powerful are going to do to him, he prays and heals everyone he meets with a broken heart, every person that is lonely, sick, hungry, alienated and suffering. Jesus gets into the muddy waters of our messy lives and shows us the way to new life. God up in heaven loves us so much, that God shows us this path of emerging from this water into new life.

Our mission at St. John’s is to know Christ and make him known. We do this through our mission in the community. Please join us making meals for the homeless through HIHI on January 5^th and 26^th, February 13^th and 16^th and March 1^st and 9^th. We also bring gift cards from Dunkin, McDonalds, Burger King and Taco Bell. Join us in the Thrift on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 12-3 pm. We also need lightly worn winter clothes, boots, gloves and hats. Our ECW meets again on January 28^th at 11:15 am in the Guild Room where they will plan a whole year of outreach and ministry.

This year we will be traveling to Sedona, Arizona and Bluff, Utah to do mission work with the Navajo. Please let me know what dates work for you, if you are interested. St. John’s is also providing opportunities to deepen your spirituality with the Lord this year. We will travel to Holy Cross Monastery for a retreat from March 19-21. The cost is $220 for lodging and meals. On May 6-8, we plan to travel to the retreat center of Trinity Wall Street in Connecticut. Please consider joining us this year by contacting Coral or by reaching out to one of our clergy. Space is limited on all trips.

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

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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