This morning's Gospel is the sort that might make easily one of David Letterman “Ten Best” pieces that appeared on his show now and then, this time in the category of “The Ten Things You Wish Jesus Had Never Said.” Jesus wonders out loud whether people thought he came to bring a fabricated peace, the peace that would free the Jews from the hated Romans, the peace that seems to end every war, until the next one breaks out. Instead, he tells us that he brings division and it arises when we answer his call, and such an answer is very unnerving as we, who used to sleep in on Sundays or head off to the golf club, all the while telling the local pastor “I can be as close to God on the course as you can in church.” For sure, as you hand over another $20 to your opponent on the second hole and are heard to mutter, “O God”; as we, with, with smiles on our faces and a song in our hearts, leave to attend church.

At ten o'clock we will sing Linda Snow's wonderful hymn “Journey Into Freedom,” a hymn which is a call, a hymn which is sure to bring division if we take it seriously and not merely as a way through the service, but a hymn in which the refrain offers an astonishing truth.

Come with me, journey into freedom,

I am always with you follow me.

Come and drink my living water,

I will set your spirit free.

If you take the time when the service is over to ponder this song and not just dispose of it, you will discover some awesome insights.

Have you ever considered the possibility that the divine author who wrote you into the drama of salvation has created a role for you and “calls you to be who he alone knows you can be”? If you have, then you most likely know that often tacit response to your decision to follow Jesus is a something like “that's nice dear” followed by an inaudible mutter, “not to worry, he [or she] will grow out of it.” But perhaps not you or me. We have heard and responded to two words that changed the world—“Follow me.” And what follows? Ridicule? Division? Loss of respect? Mere lip service? Contempt? But even in this world of ever so many truths, hold fast to the truth of Jesus because he will “give you everything you need.” He is the only one who will never let you down, who, if you fail him will forgive you, who has paid the price for all your sins, who has breathed his last breath for you.

At the end of his wonderful book The Call, my friend Os Guiness makes the following observation at the end of the Introduction: “Answer the call of [God] and see all life as an enterprise transformed by his call. Count the cost, consider the risks, (remember the divisions that will come), but set out each day on an adventure that will multiply your gifts and opportunities and bring glory to God and add value to our world.” My dear, dear friends, come join with me and “journey into [the] freedom” of the risen Christ.

All blessings,

Fr. John+

I am reading for the third time since mid-July a book by Alister McGrath, the Christian theologian and apologist who holds two doctorates from Oxford University and occupies the Chair of Professor of Science and Religion and directs the Ian Ramsey Centre (sic) for Science and Religion at Oxford. The book, one of many by Dr. McGrath, is titled Mere Discipleship: Growing in Wisdom and Hope and many of his observations dovetail nicely with the two cartoons in The Chalice. Professor McGrath also relies heavily on the wisdom of the ages past and following are several citations for you and me to ponder this week and beyond, to “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest.” I offer them for you to consider far beyond the limits of this morning's sermon; I have already placed them with my prayer list so that I will hold them before me each day.

1.  “The mind needs to be enlightened by light from outside itself, so that it can participate in truth, as it is not itself the nature of truth. You will light my lamp, Lord.”--Saint Augustine, Confessions

2.  “It is only with the heart that one sees rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”--Antoine Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince

3.  “We see through the Church of Christ as a man sees through the telescope to the stars.”--Austin Farrer, The End of Man

4.  “Alonso of Arragon was wont to say in commendation of age, that age appears best in four things: the old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.”--Francis Bacon, Aphorisms and Apothegems

5.  “The only true voyage of discovery is not to travel to new landscapes, but to possess other ages, to behold the universe through the eyes of another, of a hundred others.”--Marcel Proust, The Prisoner

The summer begins to draw to a close so I invite you to make or to continue with me on a :journey into freedom,” into the freedom of looking through a different lens, the lens of Christianity, and see the world in sharper focus and increased depth. Try on the spectacles of C. S. Lewis and enter into that realm that Father Duncan has cited so often: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not because I see it but because by it I see everything else.” It's good to be home.

All blessings,

Fr. John+

While Jesus is teaching his disciples, someone in the crowd brings a request before Jesus. What he wants is a simple settlement of an inheritance dispute with his brother. “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me,” he says to Jesus. He wants more than he is legally allowed and wants Jesus to get him more than he deserves. Jesus rebukes the man, saying, “Who appointed me to be a judge over you?” Then, he brings up the topic of spiritual integrity. He tries to give the crowd a new understanding of possessions and their relationship with God. The rich fool built larger barns and filled them with his crops, he is finally satisfied and tells his soul to relax, eat, drink and be merry. It makes good business sense, and there is nothing wrong with enjoying what he has–good wine, good food and all. The trouble with the rich fool in the parable is not his possessions and his enjoyment of them. But, in storing up his possessions for himself, he has forgotten God. What we have here is a portrayal of a man who is so self-absorbed, self-centered, and self-sufficient that he believes he has complete control over his possessions and his life including his soul. He has deceived himself to think that the abundance of his possessions can satisfy the hunger and thirst of his soul. At this moment the rich fool dies and his possessions become a moot point. Quality of life isn’t found in the things we amass, but in our connection with God, our families, and our neighbors. John Wesley once said, “Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” Matthew said, “Where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.” Our legacy is not what we leave in our barns, but what we do with the resources we have while we are still here.

St. John’s is embarking on our 275th anniversary year celebration with many initiatives. One major focus is to build and increase our two endowments to provide for the future of our church: The Capital Building Fund and the 1745 Endowment Fund. Our parish is asking you to make a pledge. The suggested giving levels are Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze, $27,500, $11,000, $5,500, $2,750, respectively. Any amount will be accepted and greatly appreciated. You will also be recognized in the program for the St John’s Gala Event which will be on Saturday, June 6, 2020 at the Huntington Country Club. Pledge sheets are available in the back of the church or in the Parish Office.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

"The irony of the recent national debate over who should stay in this country as a real American is not lost on those of us who were always here. It would be easy to make the joke that we Native Americans gather secretly at an undisclosed location on the reservation, bring out the drum, and begin chanting: send them home. That's funny because it illustrates the historical fact that no person of European ancestry can claim to be an owner of this land except by right of conquest (which is what this recent spectacle is really all about). It is not about who is a real American, since only a handful of us can make that claim legitimately, but about who dominates, who has the power. It is about control as much as it is about color. The same tragic need to exercise power over others through racism that fueled white colonialism is still alive and well and seeking to control everything around it. That is what we, as indigenous people, would like to see go away: that sad need to control rather than to share. So if you want a Native American view on the recent situation, here it is: you all can stay, but let racism and injustice be banished from our midst once and for all. That is what is un-American."
—The Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston

I was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and a Native American Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston. I enjoy reading Bishop Charleston’s weekly meditations because he speaks the truth in an easy to understand way. This week, his lesson speaks to racism and injustice in America. It might be a little off putting at first, but before you shift to your political pole, I ask you to not only listen to what he said, but allow the truth of what he said to change your heart. This is the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We pray that we might hear the truth and change our hearts to align with God’s plan for humanity. Jesus teaches us that through self-sacrifice we can bring the world to the Kingdom of God. Jesus gave his life for our sins that we might be forgiven of our sins (and the sins of our ancestors).

In today’s meditation, Bishop Charleston forgives the trespasses of the white European colonists, but does not forgive the controlling, self-indulgent behavior that is fueled by racism and is still causing injustice in our nation. We are called in the Gospel of Luke to question cultural norms, to break boundaries, and to change our heart to the love of God. The past few weeks Jesus has taught us to love our neighbor, taught us who our neighbor is, and asks us to pray and listen to the Word of God. In this week’s lesson, Jesus is teaching us to pray to God for what we need. I believe that if racism and injustice are ever to be banished in this nation, we need to pray that we might have the love, mercy, and compassion of God. My prayer is that the Gospel will move our hearts to the truth and that each of us is willing to change.

Last week I read the book, White Fragility and I was shocked that the author blamed white progressives for the racism that exists in our nation. I thought progressives were the ones wanting to make change, but the author said that without structural change, racism will continue. Words alone are simply not enough. Structural change will only come when we understand the deep injustice that exists in our world and when we are willing to change it.   

I sometimes get the feeling that nothing can change the political divide, the racism, and the injustice that exists in our nation. But today’s Gospel tells us that we must pray to God with all our hearts, with determination, and with persistence. God answers our prayers, beginning with our own hearts if we are willing to change. Will you pray with me, listen to the Gospel, and be open to change?

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

“Mostly evangelism is not what we tell people, unless what we tell is totally consistent with who we are. It is who we are that is going to make the difference. It is who we are that is going to show the love that brought us all into being, that cares for us all, now, and forever. If we do not have love in our hearts, our words of love will have little meaning. If we do not truly enjoy our faith, nobody is going to catch the fire of enjoyment from us. If our lives are not totally centered on Christ, we will not be Christ-bearers for others, no matter how pious our words” (Madeleine L'Engle).

Last Sunday in my sermon, I talked about warming hearts in our worship and hospitality to our guests as the two key ingredients to our evangelism at St. John’s. When our worship warms our hearts we are filled with joy and peace. When we welcome a guest or stranger in our midst and treat them with kindness, we bring the Kingdom of God near.

This Sunday Jesus teaches us another lesson on how to treat our neighbor. We all know the story of the Good Samaritan. A lawyer asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, so Jesus tells him a parable. A man is robbed and beaten on the road to Jericho and neither the Priest nor the Levite stops to help him. A Samaritan went to him, bandaged his wounds, took him to an inn and took care of him. Jesus tells us that this is what it means to love our neighbor and that we should do likewise.

In today’s Gospel you are asked to love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself. The question that Jesus asks us is, “Who is your neighbor?” The point of the passage is that Christ calls us to deepen our relationship with God so that we might understand what it means to love our neighbor. This story is not just about helping others, but about mercy and compassion that can only come from God above. Our hearts are warmed when we help others, but we create barriers like racism, sexism, and homophobia to retain the privilege that we enjoy. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the lawyer that he must break down the prejudices that we all have in order to love our neighbor as God intends.

Jesus Christ died on a cross for our sins that we might understand the love, mercy, and compassion of God. When we follow the way of the cross through self-giving love we feel the peace that passes all understanding. The lesson from Deuteronomy tells us that when we love God and our neighbor we receive the “abundant prosperity” of God. While some would say this means fame, money, and power, I believe that God's abundance is the warming of the heart. It is the joy of following God’s will that brings the Kingdom of God near to us. Maybe the most important person that you can evangelize is yourself. Deepen your relationship with God and love your neighbor and you will receive riches that cannot be measured in dollars. You will be blessed with strength from on high that will get you through all of the valleys that are sure to come in this temporal life and you will surely inherit eternal life.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

This Sunday we will not print the Sunday chalice and insert it in the bulletin. Our warden, Rob Wheeler asked for a Sunday to reflect on God’s creation and our responsibly to sustain it. My hope is that we could be more conscious of the need to protect our environment. I realize that saving 150 sheets of paper will not make a huge impact on the environment, but I want to make the point that we should all be moving in that direction. We could make an impact if we all strive to reduce energy consumption, waste generation, our dependence on fossil fuels and production of greenhouse gases. At St. John’s, this means recycling more, using less paper, using less electricity, caring for our lawn and gardens, and eliminating single use plastic such as water bottles, coffee stirrers, and straws. This is clearly not a political issue, but a God issue. God created the world and gave us the responsibility to take care of all creation:

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it”
(Genesis 2:15).

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Rev. 4:15).

 “The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands molded the dry land.” (Psalm 95:5).

The Breakfast Group will meet this summer to find ways to be more environmentally responsible.

The Garden Committee will meet each month to care for our gardens and property.

The Thrift Shop is a wonderful way to participate in this effort. Please consider volunteering, shopping, and donating cloths.

The Building and Grounds Committee is insuring that our solar panels are functioning and that we are reducing our energy consumption. You can help by turning off lights and AC when you leave the building.

The Vestry will make environmental stewardship a part of every vestry meeting.

Please share your own ideas with Rob, Coral or myself, or join one of our committees and help them to put a focus on environmental sustainability.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25)

Jesus and the disciples have set their sights on Jerusalem. Jerusalem represents the self-giving love of Jesus Christ who died on a cross that we might have life and live it abundantly. I think we often set our sights too low in the church. We are happy to get a few more people in the pews and to be able to pay the bills. We look back at the times when the church was thriving or at times that were difficult instead of looking forward to the cross in Jerusalem. Jesus says that if we are to enter the Kingdom of God, we must look forward. If you are driving a car and look down to text a message or answer your phone, you cannot keep the car straight. Jesus tells us to stop texting and keep our eyes on the road ahead. If we are to give hope to the poor, living water to the thirsty, end racism in this country, and protect our environment for future generations, we need to follow Jesus Christ and to be guided by the Holy Spirit. As Jesus crosses boundaries in the Gospel of Luke, I ask every member at St. John’s to open their minds to the path that Jesus has put before us. Jesus will always bring you across new boundaries to a place where you can never return again to former times. If you are not sure if you are on the path look for the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control).

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples to commit their lives fully to God. “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4). We are called to walk in newness of life, but we have established a pattern of how we live our lives that is very hard to change. Will racism, sexism, poverty, homophobia, bullying, terrorism, domestic violence, and human trafficking end on our present path in the world today? Does the Christian Church live in the fruit of the Spirit and lead the path to a new heaven and earth? The church needs to stop tip toeing and start striding towards the Kingdom of God and put our trust and faith in God.

Today’s Gospel asks us to make a full commitment to Jesus Christ, who gave his life that we might have eternal glory. Last week in my sermon I mentioned that God is always reaching a hand out to us and we need to respond. “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 107). The power of God is working in many ways at St. John’s. Deacon Anthony is approved for ordination to the priesthood, the ECW is working with St. John’s Hospital, the mission trip to Puerto Rico was a total success, the Thrift Shop is thriving, the building repairs look great, the 275th Anniversary Capital Campaign is underway, and our relationship with St. Augustine’s, Brooklyn is being celebrated with Friendship Day today. Please give yourself fully to God and set your sights on Jerusalem.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:27-29).

I am very excited about Friendship Day and Hymn Sing that will take place on June 30th. Alex met with the St. Augustine choir director and Deacon Anthony and created a wonderful event. We will host the St. Augustine’s choir at the 10:00 am service on June 30th and they will worship and sing praise to God with the St. John’s choir and congregation. At 11:30 am, St. John’s will host a potluck brunch (Please sign up to bring a dish to share). The Puerto Rico Mission Team will then present a slide show about our recent trip. At 1:00 pm we will host a Gospel Music Workshop. There will be a bible study at 1:00 pm from chapter 16 in The Path. There will also be an opportunity for our guests to shop at the Thrift Shop or stroll Huntington Village. At 4:30 pm we would like our congregation to return to St. John’s for a Hymn Sing with the choirs that attend the workshop. We will have a brief reception at 5:30 pm and finish by 6:00 pm. 

Our relationship with our sister parish, St. Augustine’s, Brooklyn is a model for parishes in the Diocese of Long Island to follow. We have enjoyed worshiping in Brooklyn, exchanging rectors in the pulpit, hosting workshops and guests, and we especially appreciated the steel drum band from St. Augustine’s joining our Taste of the Caribbean Event to support our Puerto Rico Mission Trip. Your attendance is really important to our choir, Alex, your rector, and Deacon Anthony.   

Paul asks us to cloth ourselves with Christ. Today we will sing (at the 10:00 service), “In Christ there is no East or West.” In the third verse the lyrics are: “Join hands, disciples of the faith, whate'er your race may be. All children of the living God are surely kin to me.” Our Racial Reconciliation and Social Justice Committee is trying to break the boundaries of racism that most of us don’t even see. But if you stop to listen to our African American brothers and sisters you will hear that we still have a long way to go to eradicate racism. 

I ask each and every member of this congregation to treat all brothers and sisters in Christ with respect and to offer the hospitality that St. John’s is known for. We can be the new heaven and new earth that are promised to both rich and poor, black and white, north and south, east and west, high church and low church, and to us and them. 

Last week in my sermon I said, “The world is filled with brokenness and separation. When the distinction between us and them dissipates, we enter into the peace that passes all understanding. When their hope and prayers become our hope and prayers, something amazing is about to happen.” Next Sunday something amazing is going to happen and I am asking each of you to gather together to show your support for the relationship we have developed with St. Augustine’s, Brooklyn. 

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

I pray that you put your slippers way under the bed tonight, so that when you wake up in the morning you have to get on your knees to reach them. And while you’re down there, say thank you for grace, thank you for mercy, thank you for understanding, thank you for wisdom, thank you for parents, thank you for love, thank you for kindness, thank you for humility, thank you for peace, thank you for prosperity. Say thank you in advance for what’s already yours. So that’s how I live my life, that’s why – [where I am today]. Say thank you in advance for what is already yours. True desire in the heart for anything good is God’s proof to you sent beforehand to indicate that it’s yours already. True desire in the heart, that itch that you have whatever it is you want to do, that thing that you want to do to help others and to grow and to make money that desire that itch, that’s God’s proof to you, sent beforehand, already to indicate that it’s yours. And anything you want good you can have, so claim it, work hard to get it. When you get it, reach back, pull someone else up, each one teach one. Don’t just aspire to make a living. Aspire to make a difference. Thank you, Denzel Washington

I remember my first day at St. John’s. Ford invited me to a Youth Group pool party at the home of Chris and Ann Wenk in 2014. The turnout was fabulous, the hospitality was wonderful, and I knew right then that St. John’s was my calling for many years to come. That fall I taught confirmation class and worked with the youth group on Sunday nights. Today, we congratulate these terrific youth that have now graduated High School (and College). I can’t tell you what an honor and privilege it has been to be your pastor these past 4 1/2 years. I know that each of our graduates will do extremely well because they have been touched by the hand of God. I need them to know that God loves them on both good days and bad days .I have shared Denzel Washington’s commencement speech because it speaks the truth that God has cleared a path in our lives and that we can make a difference in this world.  

Last week a mission team from St. John’s traveled to Puerto Rico. My sincere thanks to all the members of St. John’s that supported us during our trip to help people recovering from Hurricane Maria. It was clear from the start of this trip that God was using our team to bring the hope and love of the Lord to some people that really needed it. When we become the hands and the feet of the Lord, we enter deeply into relationship with the Lord. As the Son loves the Father enough to follow his will, we enter into that bond when we follow the path set before us. The result is that the people that we served in Puerto Rico felt the blessing, love, and hope of God through our mission work.

I would also like to thank our Sunday school teachers and parents. We had another fabulous year and we thank you for helping to show that “our children are our treasure” at St. John’s.

My heartfelt thanks to the parents of our graduates, our youth leaders, our missioners, and to this wonderful parish that does God’s work in so many ways. So let us praise and worship our Lord, who died for our sins and calls us to make a difference in the world.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

God bring us into a new life of beauty and goodness in your creation.
Jesus, Redeemer, renew us through your Gospel by teaching us how to be in relation with others.
Holy Spirit, Sustainer, strengthen and guide us in unity.

The concept that we are all one in Christ in this community is demonstrated by the relationship in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The theology of the Trinity is mysterious and confusing. “The first person of the trinity is God the Father, creator, the unoriginated origin, source, Father of the only begotten Son, breathing out the Holy Spirit. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father, receives the divine nature, essence and substance from the Father, consubstantial with the Father, the Word, image and sacrament. Holy Spirit, proceeds, consubstantial with the Father and the Son, breathed out.”

Saint Patrick is said to have explained the Trinity to the Celts by using a shamrock, three individual leaves, yet still one plant. Augustine said the Trinity was best understood as the Lover, the Beloved, and the love which exists between them. Tertullian used the metaphor of the Trinity as a plant, with the Father as the deep root, the Son as the shoot that breaks forth into the world, and the Spirit as the force which spreads beauty and fragrance on the earth. Author, David Cunningham explained the Trinity with the Father represented as underground water, the redeemer as the spring that leads to the source, and the Holy Spirit as the water that we drink. “In some ways the Trinity is the first community, the model for how we are called to connect with one another, without prejudice, without inequality, without competition, and always with perfect love.”

Saint Augustine once told students who studied the doctrine of the Trinity, "Lest you become discouraged, know that when you love, you know more about who God is than you could ever know with your intellect." Jesus said, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” Abide in God’s love by loving one and all. Love your families, love your spouse or partner, love your fellow parishioners, love your neighbor, love those who are different from you, and love those who hate you. Abide in God’s love by caring for the elderly, caring for the orphan, caring for the poor, caring for the sick, and caring for the oppressed. Strive to change the systems that perpetuate negativity, violence, racism, homophobia, and sexism. But most of all continue to draw one another into community through the self-giving love of Jesus Christ.

I am in Puerto Rico this morning with a mission team from this church trying to love some people who have not recovered from a devastating hurricane. We are trying our best to help some folks that have really struggled these past several years. The weather report calls for rain all week. We will build a cement foundation for clean water, repair and seal a roof, teach Vacation Bible School, and bring food and love to individuals who really need some help. Please pray for us.

In the love of the Holy Trinity,

Fr. Duncan