The Fourth Sunday in Easter: The Good Shepherd

by Fr. Bill Garrison

Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.

Stained glass: Alfred Handel, d. 1946[2], photo:Toby Hudson / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Stained glass: Alfred Handel, d. 1946[2], photo:Toby Hudson / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

—John 10:1-10

It’s Good Shepherd Sunday. Today we are going to talk about the relationship between a shepherd and the sheep under his care in order to better understand the 23rd Psalm and the Gospel just read. Part of that understanding is that the sheep recognize the shepherd’s voice. And in that light I thought I would tell a quick funny about hearing voices.

The time is right after this pandemic and a popular donut store is reopening. On each table is a nice table cloth and some donut holes as a special gesture to the customers. Towards the end of the day a fellow came in and sat down after getting a cup of coffee.  Mulling over his day, he heard a high-pitched voice say, “That shirt looks great on you!”

The man looked around, doesn’t see anything, and returns to his coffee thinking nothing more of it. But then, a moment later, the voice returns, this time offering, “You seem like a really cool guy!”

Again, the man looks around, sees nothing, and returns to his cup of coffee, meanwhile wondering if he should get checked out by a professional. Finally, when his nerves have settled and he believes the voice is gone, he hears, “I bet your parents are really proud of you!”

He slams down his cup and looks around wildly. Frustrated and finding no possible source of the voice, he calls over to the clerk saying, “Hey lady! What’s that voice I keep hearing?”

“Oh, those are the donut holes,” she replied, “They’re complimentary.”

It occurs to me that perhaps it was time to think again about what a good shepherd is all about. It is knowledge that would have been common place in ancient times, but today most of us our removed from tending sheep.

Let’s take a look at a couple of the lines in the Twenty Third Psalm you may find interesting. As we think about this psalm it is also important to remember that Jesus would have read it often too and he was undoubtedly completely familiar to him with its cadence and meanings. It might even have inspired him to use the metaphor of the shepherd as often as he did. The thought of that fascinates me.

“He makes me lie down in green pastures.” The good shepherd takes his flock out early and begins their day feeding on forage that is the most difficult for them to eat, knowing that in time the sheep will need to rest as the day progresses. As it gets warmer and later in the day, the shepherd will guide his flock to the best grass, the green grass, and rest his flock in the shade as they contently lie down and chew on the most nutritious of meal for them.

“He leads me beside still waters.” The good shepherd knows that his sheep will not eat from water that is bubbling, or running too swiftly. They will become afraid. So he finds quiet waters where his sheep are comfortable and will drink. He cares about their welfare.

“You have anointed my head with oil and my cup is running over.” The good shepherd is attentive to each sheep. At the end of the day as they enter the sheepfold, which we will talk about in a minute, they are closely inspected by the shepherd. He will lay his crook over the top of the gate and if he sees a sheep with a cut he will pull him to the side. He will take some oil and put it on the cut. Then from a stone jar containing water to keep it cold the shepherd will fill a cup to overflowing and allow the sheep to drink from it till she is satisfied.

I just love this metaphor of sheep and shepherd. It tells us so much about God and God’s love for us. And so Jesus continues with it in his metaphor of the sheepfold we find in today’s gospel.

As many of you know the sheepfold is an enclosure made of stone or wood in which the sheep are kept at night to keep them safe from harm. More than one herd may be placed inside the sheepfold. There is only one way in and one way out. Usually the shepherd sleeps in the opening to safeguard the sheep during the night.

There are no identifying marks on the sheep to tell one herd from another. None are needed. The sheep know the shepherds voice. The shepherd knows each sheep as an individual. The sheep will follow only their shepherd, no one else.

In the gospel today Jesus says he is the gate. Through his death and resurrection he has opened the way into the sheepfold for each of us. It is a place of safety. With our shepherd close we can rest comfortably, and be unafraid of those things that assail us in our daily lives, those other voices that compete for our attention, suggesting to us that our shepherd is not the right leader for each of us.

I think this morning we miss our sheepfold don’t we, our church home? There we are consciously close to God. We can easily hear God’s voice. We have each other.  We have the Eucharist. We hear the voice of God in the scriptures and so many other ways. Our paths are made clear as they are not in any other place. We understand our lives there as we can only understand them in the presence of the Good Shepherd.

But then again we do eventually have to leave. We can’t stay there forever. This is one of our longer absences from our place of security for sure. We find ourselves out in the loudly dangerous world outside the gate of our sheepfold, with all the voices that will once again compete with the Good Shepherd for our attention. And the question becomes how can we pick out the voice of the Good Shepherd amidst all the competition?

I remember as a kid waking up in the morning on the farm. The window right beside my head would be open with only a screen between me and the outside. There was a special quiet. I would hear the rooster’s crow. Maybe a dog would jog by. The slightest breeze could be heard as it brushed through the grass and the flowers beside the house. Maybe a flying insect would go by and I could hear that distinctive hum. I could feel the warmth of the sun as it came through the window heating the day. I might hear my grandmother softly walking in the kitchen, already well into her day. And then the stillest, smallest sound of all, the voice of God within me not really saying much at all, just being there with me, agreeing with me that everything was ok, that all was right with the  world. 

God speaks with us all the time if we will but be aware and listen. We are not alone in the world existing within a cacophony of bad advice. God speaks with us in our prayers for sure, but God also speaks with us in other ways too.

Where did that idle thought come from that gave you an insight into a thorny situation? Why did your friend choose just this moment to say what she did, or choose this moment to give you a hug when you needed it the most? Why did the sign up ahead just take on new meaning when you have seen it for years in another way? Why did that word in scripture or the passage in the book or the character in the movie seem as if they were speaking directly to you? Why, when you were sitting alone did it suddenly feel that you were no longer alone, but that in fact you suddenly just feel great about your world and your life and the loneliness has left?

Every day we encounter God in the everyday. We need only be aware. This is the voice of our shepherd we are hearing. This is the true source of our advice as we attempt to make our daily decisions and live our daily lives.

So my invitation to all of us who miss the sheepfold is this. Enjoy the memories of being there where we knew we were safe and loved and cared for. We have followed our Good Shepherd out through the gate into the world knowing the Good Shepherd is leading and caring for us as only the Good Shepherd can. We are never alone. We will never be alone no matter what. We can hear the voice of God every day in the everyday.

The Third Sunday in Easter: Recognizing Jesus

by Fr. Bill Garrison

Audio Block
Double-click here to upload or link to a .mp3. Learn more

Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.

Now on that same day two of Jesus' disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

—Luke 24:13-35 (NRSV)

The gospel today is well known to anybody who has spent any time in church. Please bear with me as I quickly summarize it. A couple guys were walking down the road away from Jerusalem. They met a stranger which turned out to be Jesus walking along who apparently hadn’t heard the big news of the day. They told him it was widely rumored that Jesus of Nazareth had been resurrected from the dead. After telling this stranger the news the stranger who we know to be Jesus used scripture to let them know that this event had been preordained. Then as it came to be late in the day they invited Jesus to have supper with them which he did. During supper he took bread and blessed it before breaking it. It was then they recognized the stranger as Jesus and went back to Jerusalem to tell everyone they had seen him.

The story asks some important questions. Here are a few. Why didn’t these men recognize Jesus since they apparently knew him on some level? Do we find Jesus or does Jesus find us? How important was it that they invited Jesus to have supper with them? What part does Eucharist play in the story?

Let me address the last three first. In scripture Jesus appears to always accept an invitation to someone’s home. On a couple of occasions he invited himself, but generally Jesus is a true gentleman. He usually only goes where he is invited. That’s a key for us. Jesus has “found” these men on the road and they had the good sense or manners to invite him in. We can do the same. These men found Jesus through simple hospitality and friendship. That is where we will find him too.

And then the reference to these men recognizing Jesus the moment he breaks the bread is important too. This is an obvious reference to Eucharist, our breaking of bread during the celebration of communion. This is where we can discover Jesus again and again in the breaking of bread and sharing of the cup.

Then there is the first and most obvious question. Why didn’t these men recognize Jesus, especially since they had known him on some level? Why didn’t they recognize him? I am going to tell you a story I last told six years ago that I think addresses the question. I hope you find some meaning in it.

Belen, New Mexico is a sleepy little town of about seven thousand people just south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It’s primarily a bedroom community. Most people live in Belen and work in Albuquerque, making the short drive of just a few miles back and forth. The only business in Belen from a quick glance out the window as you pass through at seventy five miles per hour is the church business. You can see several spires from the freeway.

One of those churches is St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church, an easy two blocks off the freeway. St. Joseph’s is a pretty impressive white stone structure with a capacity of about one hundred sixty people in its beautiful old sanctuary. Like most churches, attendance has fallen off from the hay days of the sixties, but for its’ two services at eight and ten the combined Sunday attendance is probably in the neighborhood of one hundred twenty people, not too bad in these days of shrinking churches. For Christmas and Easter they often push two hundred.

St. Joseph’s is famous for its outreach. They have a number of groups that meet there regularly like AA and the Boy Scouts, the sort of worthwhile groups most Episcopal Churches host. In addition, they have a food program providing canned goods during the week and sack lunches every Saturday. There is even a small amount of money available to help the homeless out with funds for bus rides and, once in a while, an overnight stay in a local motel.

St. Joseph’s is known throughout the area as an exemplary House of God, living out its Christian principles. Every place the Bishop goes she brags about St. Joseph’s and often suggests to other churches that they emulate some of the things being done there. And this is where our story begins.

On the third Sunday in September, Homecoming Sunday in fact, there were a couple new faces scattered about in the congregation. As most visitors do, they arrived without a lot of fanfare a few minutes before the beginning of the ten o’clock service and quietly found a place to sit. They even managed not to displace any regular members who, although there was no sign indicating so, seemed to believe that they owned a certain seat in the pews.

After the service the visitors were invited to that famous Episcopal tradition, the coffee hour, and some of them went. One visitor, a Latino fellow with a certain quiet confidence about himself, chatted with several of the longtime members, who later seemed to clearly remember him and the manner in which he spoke and carried himself. The Rector and his associate both chatted with him too and, though they would never admit it to anyone else, found him to be a little intimidating in some way they just couldn’t quite put their fingers on. Maybe it was the fact his name was Jesus, but then why would that have bothered them? Lots of Latino men are named Jesus.

As time passed Jesus kept coming to church and became more and more well known in the congregation. Both men and women were drawn to him and his welcoming personality. He was invited to any number events, many of which he attended. He especially seemed to like the pot lucks and he was a regular at Bible study.

He did have one character flaw though. He almost immediately started bringing unsavory people with him to church. This made everybody a little uncomfortable, especially at coffee hour. Some of them looked like they hadn’t changed clothes in a while. A few others weren’t always as quiet as you might expect a person to be in church. A couple of times he brought known community outcasts with him, people who were known trouble makers or had a bad reputation of one kind or another. Many of the congregants urged the rector to speak with Jesus about this issue but the timing never seemed right. Besides, Jesus was such a great guy and his friends never seemed to be a problem while they were at church with him. So the rector figured no harm no foul and left Jesus alone about this one issue for the most part. Ok he did ask Jesus a couple of times why he was associating with these people but it never went too far beyond that.

Here is where some of the real trouble probably began. You see Jesus knew his scriptures. It was almost eerie how well he did. It was much like he had been there for the actual events the stories were retelling. He pointed out things that were not in the center of the story, little things on the edges of the passage that turned the meaning just slightly and somehow made the scripture more personally meaningful to everyone in the room. If you didn’t know better you could almost sense that the Rector was becoming angry with Jesus, or maybe jealous with what he thought of as Jesus’ know-it-all attitude. He suddenly seemed a little stiff, and sometimes his words became a little sharp and snippy.

But it just couldn’t be true that this wonderful and popular rector was having problems dealing with his feelings about Jesus. He was just too nice a guy and being a Rector is a pretty serious and stressful business and that was probably the root of the issue. After all who could ever get mad at Jesus?

It all seemed to come to a head one Sunday, the third week in November, during the second service. A real pillar of the church was reading the second lesson in his normal, wonderfully schooled, baritone voice when he suddenly looked around wildly, made some strange strangling noises as he grabbed at his chest, and fell backwards from the lectern, to the horror of the entire congregation who looked on the events happening right in front of them in open mouthed wonder.

For a moment the place was frozen and time almost stood still, and then out of that silence, several people came back to reality and rushed to his aid. One of those was Jesus, who appeared to take charge of the situation, put his hands on Tom’s chest closed his own eyes as if praying, and then told Tom he was ok.

I kid you not. That’s what he said. “Tom you are ok.” And then he was. Tom sat up and glanced around with the strangest look on his face. He would swear later to anyone who would listen that he had been dead. He claimed he had died instantly of a heart attack, seemed to be traveling serenely toward the most beautiful light he had ever seen in the distance, and then suddenly found himself jerked back to St. Joseph’s and the lectern where the excitement had begun.

Jesus, for his part, asked people not to talk about what had happened and what they had seen. This, of course, did no good at all and the stories about him began to spread like wildfire throughout Belen and into Albuquerque. 

From that moment people began to see Jesus in another way. Just who was this man who did the things he did and acted the way he acted? People were split. Some believed him to be really special, maybe someone sent by God. Others thought of him as perhaps some sort of magician. Others said he was talented, a really nice guy, but come on, he was nothing extra special. Everything would eventually be explained and the world would move on to the next attention grabbing sound bite. And yet his fame continued to grow.

One thing for sure was that folks in the area were lining up on one side in support of Jesus or the other thinking him to be some sort of a menace. The local clergy in Belen became upset as folks left their churches and started going to St. Joseph’s hoping to meet this fellow Jesus. Local businesses, on the other hand, were happy to welcome the new visitors to Belen because it meant new income streams for them. There were even street venders selling little trinkets commemorating all the excitement that was building. 

Jesus however seemed pretty unfazed by the whole thing. All the questions he was being asked seemed to amuse him more than anything else. Even when the bishop of the Diocese of the Rio Grande, and some of her cronies, came to see him and grill him on his interpretations of scripture he just kept on keeping on. When the Bishop seemed to get a little miffed with him and stormed back to Albuquerque he took it all in stride.

And then one day he just up and left town. He didn’t say goodbye. His parting words to his closest friends were just asking that they love one another, and remember him once in a while when they sat down to have a meal. Perhaps he would return one day.

And so the story ends. They are still telling it in and around town. Just exactly who was that guy? Isn’t it incredible they never really figured it out?

         

 

The Second Sunday in Easter: Doubting Thomas

by the Rev. Carole Horton-Howe

Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

—John 20:19-31 (NRSV)

We are one week after Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday.  The day we celebrate  God’s gift to us of eternal life through the resurrection of God’s son Jesus Christ. It’s the ultimate good news of the gospel.  And what do we have today?  We have another story of witness to the resurrection. It’s quieter and intimate but startling and it is relate-able. We get to hear the story of Thomas, someone who puts some significant parameters around his acceptance of the resurrection.

This is where our own experience might overlap with Thomas and what makes him so relate-able. As much as we have celebrated the resurrection, we want to accept fully, we want to believe with every bit of our heart and mind, it’s so overwhelming that we too can fall into a place of having doubts. This too is good news. The freedom to doubt and wrestle with ideas about God and our relationship with God are important to our own formation just like it was for Thomas. 

We are creatures who crave certainty. We search for order to make sense of things, to understand the world, to organize all the data that comes to our awareness.  We want a logical explanation to solve the problems that we encounter. 

Faith defies that process.  Faith is a mystery of the heart that the mind wants to solve.  Still, we want faith to be shored up by certain evidences so that the leap of faith is a manageable one. 

In Easter season we celebrate the biggest mystery of faith: that Jesus died for the sins of the world and that he rose from the grave.  This last fact is the hardest one for us to grasp even compared with all the other stories we know about Jesus healing miracles, walking on water, evading danger from those out to trap him – the resurrection is the hardest thing for our minds to take in.  Nothing in life is more certain than death. Or more permanent.  For Jesus to be raised from the dead bogles the mind.  It just can’t happen. This is where Thomas is coming from.

History has not treated this disciple kindly. Thomas is routinely thought of as a spiritual ne’er do well because he placed conditions around belief. But that’s not giving him a serious look. 

Earlier in the gospel of John, we read of Thomas at his best. In John  Chapter 11, Jesus’ desire was to return to Judea to raise Lazarus from the dead. But the apostles were afraid for Him to go back, because that would likely mean His death — and their death. However, it’s not Peter, James or John who rallies the troops. It’s Thomas: “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”  Loyal and courageous Thomas would rather risk death with his Teacher than live without him.

And Thomas is the one we most often hear from in our burial liturgies.  When Jesus tells the disciples on their last evening together that he is going to prepare a place for them he says “you know where I am going and you know the way.”  How many of us have heard those words and thought “what does he mean? What way?”  I wonder if the other disciples that night sat by quietly and wondered the same thing. Thomas had the courage to speak up and say “what do you mean?  We don’t know the way.” Jesus answers him. I am the way, Jesus says, and the truth and the life. To know me is to know God.  

What we see in Thomas are acts of sacrifice and commitment. Is this is the same Thomas we’ve come to know as “doubting Thomas”? It is. He didn’t always have the answers. He wasn’t afraid to voice his doubt. But Thomas was a great servant. A better moniker for him might be Demanding Thomas, Defiant Thomas or Spiritually Ambitious Thomas.  What he wants here is a first-hand experience of Jesus’ presence and he describes that experience as both visual and tactile. 

If we think of Thomas as a model for a certain way of believing then he is a follower who craves intimacy with Jesus. 

And how did Jesus respond?  Jesus’ invitation was to touch, not just look and certainly not to belittle Thomas or deny him that intimacy that Thomas craved. Jesus sets for the disciples and for us the example of generosity by his offer of touch.  And Jesus’ offer to come and touch made real for Thomas the resurrection of Jesus and the reality of eternal life.  This is the resurrection story that we hear today.

Physical touch is often taken for granted, but scientists are finding it plays a vital role in healing. For some, physical touch is a welcomed gift. Hugs are a great way of offering hope and reassurance. It's a way of connecting without saying a word. Physical touch can communicate, "I feel your pain. I see you. I understand what you're going through."

I love Frederick Beuchner’s description of touch:  “I hear your words. I see your face. I smell the rain in your hair, the coffee on your breath. I experience you within myself just as you within yourself experience me. But we don’t entirely meet until something else happens. We shake hands perhaps. We pat each other on the back. At parting or greeting, we may even go so far as to give each other a hug.  And now it has happened.  We discover each other to be flesh and bone, 3-dimensional, solid creatures of reality. Through simply touching, more directly than in any other way, we can transmit to each other something of the power of the life we have inside us. It is no wonder that just the touch of another human being at a dark time can be enough to save the day.”

There have been many studies performed on the healing power of touch. Doctors have found, through laboratory tests such as MRIs, that there are evident changes in the patterns of brain activity during touch. Certain types of endorphins are released resulting in a sense of relaxation and peace.

It occurs to me as I was reading this in this time when we are together electronically that we are in a position of imagining touch and connection and connectivity with one another in a new way.  And that many of us are grieving that lack of ability to physically touch.  There’s no doubt that God made some of us huggers and the huggers are especially grieving right now. 

Part of grieving is the process of finding a new normal.  Those of you who have been through loss understand this.  It’s finding what in you is essential and feeding and supporting that essential part of you.

Bishop Jake Owensby had some interesting thoughts on this.  He pointed out that each individual life consists of habits. Habits of thinking, feeling, and acting. It’s our normal. And some of that normal—even good and beloved parts of it—must be left behind to allow something more to emerge. An old self must die so that a truer, more loving self can emerge.

Followers of Jesus are resurrection people. We’ve staked our lives on the promise that, as Paul puts it, those who are in Christ are a New Creation. And to be a new creation means that we not only accept but look for a new normal.

The Apostle Thomas understood that Jesus was talking about a new normal. Thomas saw that the new normal meant that he would have to let go of the comforts of the old normal. Thomas, it seems, wanted reassurance from Jesus himself before he let go of the old normal. Reassurance that letting go is the way to the new normal.

I’ve spent some time the last few weeks talking to people at St. Matthias.  And almost everyone is staying in contact with at least one or two others. People are attending worship, Bible study, just simply calling their friends who they miss seeing and talking to. Checking to see if they need anything.  You’re doing amazing ministry with each other.  You are finding a new normal – new ways to touch one another. You are making resurrection.  Resurrection is a daily celebration over fear; our most powerful enemy. Fear of tomorrow, fear of what shall become of us in these unprecedented crazy times. Resurrection replaces fear with touching in new ways of love.

This story is a great witness to us and for us.  We couldn’t be there in the room when the risen Jesus appeared to the disciples. But someone much like us was. Thomas with all his questions and conditions and needs to touch found resurrection that he could hold onto. My Lord and My God. May fearless, joyous resurrection today be every bit as real and compelling for each of you.  Amen.

Easter Sunday

by Fr. Bill Garrison

Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

—Matthew 28:1-10 (NRSV)

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

We proclaim this every year at Easter and then we get together with family and friends and have a celebration. Here is a cute little story about a grandfather and his granddaughter at an Easter get together.

The little girl was sitting on her grandfather’s lap. She loved doing that and he loved having her there. After a bit she began to gently touch his face. She followed the outline of some of the lines on his face and forehead. And then she asked a question.

“Grandpa did God make you?”

“Yes, sweetheart he did”, he replied.

“Did God make me too?”

“Yes God did”, he said.

She thought about it for a minute then said, “God is getting a lot better at it isn’t he?”

I have told that joke before. It’s one of my favorites.

Christ is Risen! Every Easter we make a new commitment to ourselves and God. Each year we decide we will do a better job of keeping our eyes on Jesus. And every year the cares of the world take over don’t they? Our commitment is drowned in daily living. You know what these issues are as well as I do.

This year we are especially challenged. We not only have the usual culprits that assail us, we are dealing with a pandemic. We are confined to home. We are afraid of catching the virus. People are sick and dying. We can’t go to the places we are accustomed and unbelievably we can’t go to church this Easter. What a mess.

And yet we know we will go on. We always do in spite of everything going on around us.

Those in the Holy Land at the time of the life of Jesus have a similar story. They spent time with him. They grew to love him. Their expectations of him were immense. He was their way out from under the thumb of the Roman Empire, or so it was commonly thought.

And then their hopes were dashed. Jesus was crucified. Everything had come to an end. Their sadness was deep and painful. Their sense of loss was overwhelming. For two days the world was dark and meaningless. But then God did something incredible, something unheard of. Jesus was resurrected from the dead. He was with them for several weeks afterwards.

And then he was gone again, returning to eternity.

Those that had known him closely or peripherally had a choice to make. They could choose faith, hope, and love, or turn to disbelief. They chose to believe. They chose faith, hope, and love. Why, we wonder?

They made that choice because it was true. Jesus Christ had risen from the dead. They were certain of that fact. They understood by that event everything had changed in an incredible way.

The foundation of my personal understanding of the resurrection is found in the writings of St. Paul. This is because they are historical documents, never meant to be part of some holy tome. They were letters written to communities he had founded speaking to certain issues that had arisen. We were never meant to see or hear them. And it is this fact that allows us to look through the window of history into the first century with great certainty.

My personal faith cornerstone is the First Letter from Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 3 through 8. I quote it now.

“For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me.”

Cephas, by the way, was Peter’s nickname and James was Jesus’ brother. This passage is a very clear statement of fact. Jesus had risen from the dead and a lot of people experienced that fact. If you hadn’t seen him yourself you knew someone who had. It’s clear and concise. Jesus rose from the dead. The case is closed and the prosecution rests.

Life today is currently tough. This pandemic is taking a toll in so many ways. People are sick and dying. We are stuck at home and don’t know when we will be able to get out. People are going broke, as are businesses. Life is a mess. I won’t sugarcoat it. We don’t know what the future looks like. We can guess, but we only know a few things for sure.

But here is one of thing we do know. Easter will keep showing up. Babies will be born for us to love. Music will fill the air and we will be touched by it. People will laugh and be relieved for a little. Old love will flourish and new love will blossom. The sun will shine. The stars will come out. Plants will grow and flowers will come forth from them. New life will be evident once again. And all these will be Easter moments, evidence that God is still here, the author of all beauty and life. God will continue to love us, and be there right alongside us no matter what we encounter.

And for each of us worshiping today we will continue to discover Jesus. We will find him in scripture. We will feel his presence in worship. We will see his face in each other’s countenances.

And whatever faith you have will be enough. Don’t beat yourself up over the doubts that all of us carry. No matter if it is only the faith of a mustard seed. God will use it and nourish it. God loves us too much to lose any of us.

And finally today I have a personal Easter story. It began on Good Friday during the seven pm service. Now Good Friday is miserable for me. Experiencing the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is horrible. Nothing could be darker. But at exactly nine minutes after seven I got a text from my daughter. Please forgive me for having looked at it. Had I been in church I would not have.

You see she was texting to tell me about an Easter event that had just happened in the middle of the darkness. The event’s name is Andrew, a seven pound, five ounce baby boy. Our family has a new member. My first great-grandson, had just been born.

God had caused light to shine in the darkness once again. Alleluia! He is Risen!

 

 

Guarding your Mental Health during COVID-19

By Ben & Sarah Corbitt

Many of you have probably found yourselves in the same boat as us lately. Life was fairly normal up through mid-March, and then suddenly we had much more free time on our hands due to COVID-19 and the stay-home orders and economic shutdowns the virus has brought into our lives.

As school psychologists, we spend a lot of time advising students about ways to guard their mental health during normal times. During extraordinary times, these concerns have become all the more important. While many of us are spending much more time in close quarters, here are some things to be aware of.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) advise to be on the lookout for stress during this outbreak, which can be accompanied by the following signs:

  • Fear and worry about your own health, or health of your loved ones

  • Changes in sleeping or eating patterns

  • Difficulty sleeping or concentrating

  • Worsening of chronic health problems

  • Worsening of mental health conditions

  • Increased use of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs

The CDC offers the following healthy advice to combat stress:

  • Take a break from the news. There is little value in repeatedly hearing the same information.

  • Take care of your body. This can include breaks for deep breathing, stretching, or meditating; eating healthy, well-balanced meals; getting plenty of sleep; avoiding drugs and alcohol; and exercising regularly. (Get creative with free workout routines on YouTube which require minimal exercise equipment.)

  • Practice enjoyable activities. Needlework, crossword puzzles, musical instruments, and other hobbies can keep your mind engaged while you shelter in place.

  • Maintain personal connections. Being at home doesn’t have to mean being isolated. Use phone calls, email, texting, or face-to-face technologies (Skype, FaceTime, Zoom, etc.) to keep in touch with those you love. Also don’t forget the value of an old-fashioned handwritten letter.

If anxiety, depression, or other stress-related symptoms continue to worsen, reach out to someone who can help. This might mean:

  • Your personal healthcare provider

  • One of our St. Matthias Stephen Ministers (contact Fr. Bill for more information)

  • Disaster Distress Helpline (1-800-985-5990, or text TalkWithUs to 66746)

  • Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)

  • In a mental health emergency, call 911

We are all in this together, even if it feels like we are dealing with this crisis alone. We hope to see you all again in person when this is over.

Photo by VisionPic .net from Pexels

Photo by VisionPic .net from Pexels

 

Is God Mad at Us? Has He Walked Away?

by Fr. Bill Garrison

We are mired in a pandemic, stuck at home with probably too much time on our hands. I have been expecting to hear the cries of those who theorize they understand the reason for what is happening and sure enough, they are beginning to make themselves heard. Here is the basic message. “God is mad or God is tired of being ignored and has left us to our own devices. We brought this on ourselves because we are bad people.”

To start our discussion here is a Bible verse speaking to just this subject.

“At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’”
— Luke 13:1-5

The message is pretty clear. What kind of people they were had nothing to do with their fate. Stuff happens. All are judged equally. Each of us need the forgiveness of God, none more or less than another. What happens in life has nothing to do with our character or our actions. Life can be wonderful and it can be hard, but God is not pulling the strings.

Instead I would submit that God suffers when we suffer. God cares deeply about us and, as Jesus did at the death of Lazarus, sheds tears in empathy and compassion during our sorrows.

God is on our side folks. God loves us in ways we cannot possibly understand. The pandemic is the pandemic. It has nothing to do with God other than the fact that God joins us in our sorrow for the suffering and those who love them.

The Fifth Sunday in Lent: Waiting for Jesus

by Fr. Bill Garrison

Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

—John 11:1-45 (NRSV)

This morning we are talking about waiting. It seems we do a lot of that but I suppose we are doing even more of that these days. So here’s a funny to start the conversation.

Three fellows were sitting in the waiting room of the hospital where their wives had gone into labor and the nurse walked out and said to the fellow sitting closest to the door, “Congratulations sir, you’re the new father of twins!”

The man replied, “How about that, I work for the Doublemint Chewing Gum Company.” The man then followed the nurse to his wife’s room.

About an hour later, the same nurse entered the waiting room and announced that Mr. Smith’s wife had just had triplets. Mr. Smith stood up and said, “Well, how do you like that, I work for the 3M Company.”

At that same moment the third fellow got up and started to leave. When the nurse asked him why he was leaving, he remarked, “I think I need a breath of fresh air. I work for 7-UP.”

Personally, I hate waiting, for anything. Folks who know me really well recognize that I am more than a little impatient. I try not to be as it’s a particularly unwelcome trait for a priest but there you go. Nobody’s perfect. But then after all these years together you are well aware of many of my imperfections.

Sometimes waiting is just a nuisance and sometimes what you are waiting for is so important that your heart is in your throat by the time the waiting is over. One of the things we all have to do occasionally is wait in a line. These days, even more often than in the past, we are made stand in line. I have now seen on two occasions incredibly long lines of people waiting to get into Costco. So, I thought I would do a little research on the subject of waiting.

Americans spend an estimated 37 billion hours waiting in line each year. On the other hand internet users are an amazingly impatient bunch. They are willing to wait an average of only two seconds for what they are seeking to arrive. After 5 seconds the abandonment rate is 25% and by 10 seconds half are gone.

When we are unoccupied the time seems to go slower. Therefore, waiting in line with nothing to do seems to make the time seem to almost come to a standstill. This promotes impatience, stress, and anxiety. So what do we see these days when people are waiting in line? They are looking at their cell phones.

On the other hand, what if we used these times to take a break and promote our inner peace and happiness? The Japanese have a term called “ma” which refers to a gap, a pause or negative space between things. Thinking about that concept can lead us to use these lulls in our lives for our inner benefit.

Here are some ideas about waiting in line. Smile at somebody. Take a look around and become aware of your surroundings while settling into the space. Let someone who is in a rush cut in front of you. Make a mental list of things you are grateful for. Take some deep breaths. Daydream. Send a kind thought to someone you love. Pray.

But then there are times of waiting that are excruciating. Most of us have experienced them. You have your own examples that are occurring to you right now. Today’s gospel story is one of those, I think.

It’s that famous story of Jesus bringing Lazarus back to life. We have all seen it on TV and at the movies. No decent Bible flick would be without it. But like in all the miracle stories much gets overlooked. One of those things in this story is the waiting.

In the gospel story Jesus has been asked to visit his sick friend Lazarus. When asked to come Jesus said that he would be ok, that he wasn’t going to die. By that we are led to understand that Lazarus wasn’t going to die.

But he did.

This is the first century. If Lazarus is sick, it’s serious. There are no drugs, no vaccines, no antibiotics. If you picked up a virus or another type of bug as often as not you were in deep trouble. Think coronavirus on steroids.

Now consider Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus and two of Jesus’ best friends. They have had Jesus in their home. They have witnessed some of his miracles. They know he is incredibly special, that God works through him.

Martha and Mary were positive that Jesus would be able to heal their brother. Can you imagine their disappointment when it is relayed back to them that Jesus said he was going to wait to visit them? What! Wait? He is going to die if you wait!

And he does die.

Can you imagine their sense of loss? Can you imagine their regret and, honestly, their anger with Jesus? Please remember the resurrection hadn’t happened yet. The immortality of Lazarus was not assured. The story hasn’t been written. Game, match, set, done. His life is over.

Finally, Jesus did get there. The mourning was in full swing. Martha met Jesus as he approached. Her words were accusatory. I can hear the tone in her voice. “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.”

Imagine her state of mind. Was she ready to dump Jesus? Had she lost faith in him? Was she angry with him? Was her grief magnified because she knew Jesus had delayed coming, that the death of her brother was unnecessary?

And then Jesus started to weep.

Weeping comes from deep inside. It comes from empathy, compassion, and grief. We are told that Jesus was deeply moved, disturbed in spirit. Jesus, who is the physical manifestation of God, is not some far removed deity, but rather a God that cares deeply, is moved to tears, and empathizes deeply with our pain.

And so we hear the rest of the story. Jesus brought Lazarus back to life. And I think it’s worth asking an important question. Why? Why did he do that?

The first answer is his great compassion. He was deeply troubled by the grief his friends were feeling. He cared deeply about their pain. It was the same compassion he had felt for the woman who had lost her husband and then her son and was alone in a first century world. He brought that woman’s son back to life too if you will recall.

But I don’t think love and compassion are the final reason he did what he did. You see pain and loss are never the end in God’s world. Resurrection is the end in God’s world. We are a people of resurrection, not resuscitation. People suffer a loss they think they cannot recover from but they do and enter a new life. We reach the end of our lives here on earth but find life isn’t over, only changed.

This pandemic is a great opportunity for all of us. We are all waiting for Jesus to get here, just as Martha and Mary were. But our time isn’t God’s time. Our ways are not God’s ways. Yet this we do know. Hang on. Jesus is going to get here. His tears are real for us are real. And we will have resurrection, new life. It’s how things are done in the Kingdom of God. It’s going to be ok.  

The Fourth Sunday in Lent: Making Ethical Decisions

by Fr. Bill Garrison

Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.

As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”

The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.

Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him. Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”

—John 9:1-41 (NRSV)

For her entire life, 48-year-old Madison Powell heard the constant refrain, “Stop being so indecisive!”

And she tried, she really did. As a child, she practiced making smaller decisions of lesser import, like choosing Cheerios over Raisin Bran for her breakfast - only to find herself plagued with doubts while eating her Cheerios, wondering whether the Raisin Bran, or even Corn Flakes, might have been more enjoyable.

As a single adult woman, her indecisiveness caused her relationships to suffer, as she pored over restaurant menus while on dates, sometimes taking 30-40 minutes to choose a dinner entrée - only to change her mind the moment the waiter asked for her order.

Her indecisiveness affected her professional success, too. “Getting dressed for work in the morning was a nightmare,” she confided. “Should I go with the black dress or the maroon sweater with the charcoal-gray pencil skirt? Patent leather pumps or the adorable ballerina flats? There are always so many wonderful options that, “it was sheer agony to choose just one.”

Things came to a head when, at the age of 45, Madison was forced to choose between two suitors. There was Keith, a successful and powerful advertising executive determined to bring New Age ethics to the business of psychological manipulation for profit. And then there was Greg, an introspective research scientist devoted to studying the habits of Japanese beetles.

“I couldn't do it,” said Madison. “I just couldn't do it. And at that point, I realized that indecisive was just who I was. Why should I have to make a choice?” So, she didn't. In effect, she became anti-choice.

That approach worked out spectacularly with Keith and Greg, who both grew so frustrated at her indecision that they dumped her - leaving Madison so happily single that she realized she'd never truly been in love with either of them (she's pretty sure).

“It's just like the Rush song says - 'If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.' That says it right there! I found that when you don't make decisions, life decides for you. And life sometimes comes up with some amazing ideas.”

For that reason, Madison decided simply to continue being indecisive. Immediately thereafter, though, she wondered whether in doing so, she'd just gone back on her decision. And if so, was that okay?

Madison's not going to decide.

Today lots of decisions are being made about the “virus” and everything surrounding it. Schools are closed along with churches and many businesses and other sorts of organizations. The government on every level is making decisions that impact everyone in society. We are being asked to make choices about staying home, going to work or play, and when to seek medical attention or not. As we think about decision-making this morning we wonder how we might make ethical decisions especially. What is an ethical decision? What goes into the thinking of an ethical decision? How do we arrive at the proper ethical decision?

Carole Horton-Howe and I were talking about seminary classes the other day and we remembered that we shared a professor for our ethics class. We took the class at different times but from the same teacher. I don’t pretend to be an expert in ethics but I am somewhat conversant in the subject, hopefully enough for our purposes this morning. Here is some of what I learned.

To begin with in my mind there are three primary schools of thinking when it comes to making an ethical decision. We will review them in an order that fits our conversation and fits the gospel which we will eventually tackle.

The first would be Utilitarian Ethics. This is making a decision that will benefit the most people with the resources available. As an example suppose this current virus situation outstrips our medical community’s ability to handle it. Who will get medical attention in that event and who won’t? Someone will have to make a decision eliminating some people so that the resources available help the majority. Perhaps those too sick to help will be abandoned. Perhaps those that aren’t very sick will not be treated. Or perhaps the decision will be some mix of each. Maybe another way of attacking the issue will be found.

The second school of ethical decision making is Deontological in nature. This means rules, decision-making governed by rules. We seek a rule for every decision to be made. The speed limit is thirty miles an hour. So stay at a lower speed. No exceptions. Give ten per cent of you income. No exceptions. (I thought that would get a reaction.)

So let’s say in the current virus situation the rule is that patients are served in the order they arrive at the hospital. This would work as the general rule of thumb wouldn’t it? Unless of course we have limited resources or someone has greater need or some other extraneous factor were present. Then we have to decide when to break a rule and what sort of a price we are willing to pay for having broken it. Is it ok to break the speed limit to get a pregnant woman to the hospital? Hmmm.

And then we have the third form of ethics. This is the one in which we have a lens through which we view a situation. The lens might be previous experience. It might be the advice of a respected person or council. It might be a religious leader. It might be a conception of God’s desires. Whatever the lens is that we choose to run our decision-making through we use that lens to help reach a final decision.

For the Christian the lens through which we make important decisions is Jesus Christ. As a result we are led to ask a famous and important question. What would Jesus do? What decision would Jesus make if faced with the same issue?

In the gospel today we heard a story about an ethical decision that Jesus made. Let’s set the story up with a little background, some of the same information we covered a couple of weeks ago. Here is a very quick review.

The Pharisees were students of scripture. They were the founders of what is called the Oral Torah. The Oral Torah was designed to flesh out the true meaning of the written word. It recognized metaphor within scripture and didn’t take everything literally as the Sadducees did.

The example to which we continually refer is the Sabbath day. Scripture says to keep it holy and not do any work, but what does that mean? Through the work of the Oral Torah the Pharisees had decided the answers to this issue and made up a list of does and don’ts. What you are permitted to do and what you weren’t. Referring back to our discussion of a few minutes ago we see that the Sabbath rules were Deontological weren’t they? Ontological ethics is all about rules. Rules work great until they don’t.

Today’s gospel takes place on the Sabbath and Sabbath rules were in effect. No work. Apparently healing someone was considered work and was on the list of don’ts. Jesus had to make a decision whether to heal the man or not. If he followed the rules he wasn’t allowed to heal him. He therefore had to break the rule if he was to heal him. Jesus broke the rule.

Why would he do that? The man had been blind since birth. Was one more day of blindness really going to make any difference?

Apparently for Jesus one more day was one day too many. He made some things apparent. Human suffering is more important than Sabbath rules and when suffering is encountered it is to be taken care of now, not later. Nothing is more important.

We say that if we want to discover the nature of God all we need do is study the life of Jesus Christ. This is also how we develop and focus our ethical lenses.           So what do we find when we do study Jesus? Please see if you agree with me. We find compassion for one, and intelligence for another. We find love, an incredible love that’s impossible to wrap one’s head around. Common sense abounds in everything he did. There’s more, but you get the point. Everything Jesus did pointed in the “right” direction.

The temptation would be to make lists of his virtues and use the lists much as the Pharisees used Torah. I am certain doing that would dismay him. And so here is the point. Christian decision-making is best understood as a combination of our intelligence and experience, the input of other human beings, and running all of that through the lens of Jesus Christ, as we ask the big question. What would Jesus advise us to do in this particular instance?

So I think our invitation in this uncertain time is to partner with Jesus all the time in our decision-making, but especially now. These are difficult times. Decisions are being made for us and we are making decisions for ourselves and others. Let’s remember to partner with Jesus for all of them. His input changes things sometimes and confirms things at other times. He is the difference maker as we travel down the road deciding which fork to take.

 

COVID-19 Update: Services and Meetings on Zoom

In compliance with California’s Stay at Home order, we will no longer be live-streaming services from the church. Instead, we have adopted Zoom, a teleconferencing service that offers a more interactive experience. This will allow us to include multiple speakers as well as music during the service. We will also be using Zoom for smaller meetings. (If you have questions about how your ministry or small group can use Zoom, please contact Andrea Schmid at andrea@stmatthiaswhittier.org.) Continue reading for more information about how Zoom works and how you can connect to Sunday services and Bible study meetings.

WHAT ZOOM ALLOWS US TO DO

  • The church, through our paid account, can host meetings of up to 500 people that last up to 24 hours. We will use this feature for Sunday services and longer meetings.

  • Individuals can create free accounts and host meetings of up to 100 people that last up to 40 minutes. We can use this feature for one-on-one conversations and shorter group meetings.

  • Those who sign in using a computer or smartphone with a camera can both see and be seen (though you can also choose to keep your own camera off while you watch).

  • Those who are unable to connect via the Internet can dial in and listen over the phone.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SUNDAY SERVICE

  • Take some time to prepare. Print out the worship bulletin for March 22 (though, due to circumstances, we will only use the first half) or look up the readings for the day at https://www.lectionarypage.net/ and have your own Bible and Book of Common Prayer handy. If you plan to use your smartphone, download the Zoom app.

  • A few minutes before 10:00 a.m., go to https://zoom.us/j/522608831 or dial +1 669 900 6833 and enter meeting ID 522 608 831.

  • When you join the meeting, your camera and microphone will be turned off.

    • Click the camera icon in order to allow the rest of the congregation to see you.

    • Your microphone will remain muted throughout the service unless the meeting host allows you to speak.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY (START DATE TBA)

  • Take some time to prepare. If possible, have your own Bible and Book of Common Prayer handy. If you plan to use your smartphone, download the Zoom app.

  • A few minutes before 10:00 a.m. go to https://zoom.us/j/778461428 or dial +1 669 900 6833 and enter meeting ID 778 461 428.

  • When you join the meeting, your camera and microphone will be turned off.

    • Click the camera icon and microphone icons in order to allow the rest of the group to see and hear you.

    • In order to avoid background noise, keep your microphone muted unless you are speaking. The meeting host may mute participants as needed.

COVID-19 Update: March 17, 2020

NEW INSTRUCTIONS FROM BISHOP TAYLOR

Just after noon today, Bishop Taylor sent out an email with the following guidance for the people of our diocese:

  • All in-person church services, as well as “meetings, Bible studies, fellowship meals, and other activities” are cancelled through at least Easter Sunday, April 12th.

  • Online worship via live-streamed services and other resources is strongly recommended.

  • Weddings and funerals should be postponed if possible, but may be allowed as very small private ceremonies as long as all participants are healthy and maintain appropriate social distance.

  • Service ministries, especially feeding programs, should continue if at all possible. “Volunteers and staff should be under 65 and healthy, practicing rigorous hygiene and social distancing. Hot meals served inside should be discontinued in favor of outside distribution of foodstuffs and bagged meals.”

You can read Bishop Taylor’s complete statement here.

AT SAINT MATTHIAS

  • Sunday services will continue to be live-streamed via Facebook at 10:00 a.m.

  • Weekday services during Holy Week will be live-streamed at their previously scheduled times.

  • The Soup Hour will continue to distribute sack lunches as scheduled.

 

The Third Sunday in Lent: Living Water

by the Rev. Carole Horton-Howe

Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.

Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”

Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” They left the city and were on their way to him.

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

—John 4:5-42 (NRSV)

There’s a small town of about 2,000 outside of Houston called Kemah. It’s one of those places where everyone knows everyone else.  So when a man that no one knows appears on a street corner that gets people’s attention. Everyone wants to know who he is.  He’s there every day, every night, rain or shine. He’s always there. He’s pacing around as though he’s looking for someone or something. And this goes on for nearly three years. People want to know but no one asks.   

Finally one day, a café owner named Ginger decides that she will ask. She figured that she had passed him at least four times a day in her comings and goings over the last three years.  And it was time to know what was going on with him. So she pulled up to him. And before she could say anything, he extended his hand and said “Hello, I’m Victor.”

At that moment he became a man with a name, a man with a story to tell. Victor struggled with mental health problems. He had never completely well. He lived with his mother in Houston.  When she reached the point where she felt she could no longer care for him she drove him out of town, to that corner, dropped him off and left.  And because he didn’t want to miss her when she came back, Victor stayed on that corner waiting and waiting and waiting for his mother to return. 

When Ginger hears this story, she gets ideas about how Kemah can wrap their arms around this stranger.  She gets the word out on social media that he needs everything especially access to doctors and therapists and medication. Victor gets what he needs. Victor was transformed – healthy and whole he was able to communicate.  He gets on his feet, gets a home and then needs a job. Ginger thinks “well, I have a restaurant” and puts him to work.  And Victor turns out to be one fantastic cook.  He’s good at it and people love to come and eat his food.

This all happened because one woman stopped in the midst of her life to find out what was going on with a stranger on the corner. The story of Victor and Ginger and the town on Kemah is a wilderness story and not all that different from the story from John’s gospel that we hear today.

Last week we heard about Nicodemus and his wilderness of being so concerned that the way to be in closest relationship with God was to follow the rules.  Along comes Jesus to show him the way out of his wilderness. Today we are at the opposite end of the spectrum – not a high ranking, respected Jewish Pharisee but a nameless Samaritan woman in a wilderness no less troubling to her than Nicodemus’s was to him.  We don’t know her story but it’s not a stretch of the imagination to believe that she’s no stranger to tragedy, rejection, desperation since it was difficult to survive as a woman alone. Her personal wilderness is likely very bleak.

The people in Sychar, Samaria had not expected  to see a Jewish Rabbi sitting at their well. To say that Jews and Samaritans didn’t get along is possibly the greatest understatement of the ancient world.  Samaria is between Galilee and Jerusalem but Jewish people went the long way around to get to the temple rather than travel a shorter distance through Samaria. That’s how deep and intense the animosity was between these two groups of people. But not Jesus. Jesus and his followers were in the midst of them.

There he encounters a Samaritan woman. He knows her story but he doesn’t shame her.  He doesn’t say what she should or shouldn’t have done. He doesn’t blame her for the situation in which she finds herself. Instead he tells her about “living water.”

Water was scarce and precious. Only a few months of the year did rain fall and the rest of the time the people survived on stagnant water that was stored in cisterns in the ground. So when rain did come, it seemed miraculous.

Without rain the hills would barren and brown, but after a season of rain there were green meadows and lush vegetation surrounding them.  Out of this experience, came the idea of living water, which refers to rain or flowing springs coming directly from God. It’s not water stored in cisterns or sea water that looked and felt refreshing but was poisonous to drink.

Living water was the very presence of God. This is what Jesus offers her in himself – this constant wellspring of life-giving presence of God that cares not one whit about what has happened in her past but desires only for her the blessings for forgiveness, mercy, compassion, love - if she will only accept it in humility and gratitude recognizing it for the gift that it is. No one has ever offered this to her before. This is her way out of her wilderness.

Her problems are not going away. She’s still a Samaritan woman with a need to survive. She will still have seasons of dryness in her life like those months without rainfall. But now, with living water flowing over her and through her, she has a power in her life to lift her and support her and guide her. The powerful love of God for us changes everything. This is her story, this is our story.  And it’s the story we need to tell.

We have an unexpected wilderness going on right now for ourselves: the virus.  We’ve had to take drastic measures around our activities together.  But at St. Matthias we always focus on doing the loving thing.  And at this time, being mindful of the health of our community feels like the most loving thing. 

It’s hard to know what to do when you don’t know exactly what you’re dealing with.  Avalanches of information from people with impressive scientific credentials and years of research and treatment experience give conflicting ideas.

Nebulous processes… risk of harm to those we love and ourselves… unknown outcome… worry about job status… can fixate us.  But there’s also grief over interruption of our routine… long anticipated plans for trips cancelled... visits with family and friends on indefinite hold.  Pastor Nadia Bolz Weber correctly calls it a “pandemic of human disappointment.” In this Lenten season, this is a wilderness in which we find ourselves. And that brings us back to water.

One thing all experts seem to agree on is the importance of frequently washing our hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water. They are addressing physical well-being. But as followers of Jesus Christ we understand the critical role of water as a way out of the wilderness.

Today’s gospel isn’t the only time we hear about living water: Water is a part of Jewish purification rituals. We baptize from flowing water as a sign of the work of the Holy Spirit that incorporates us into the community of believers. Jesus washed the feet of his closest friends the night before his death to demonstrate the importance of self-less service to each other.  We simply can’t live either physically or spiritually without water.

There’s something else about water. It’s calming. Have you ever soaked in a tub or taken a long hot shower at the end of a crazy day? It practically speaks to us, settling our nerves as it flows over us. I think Jesus knew that water is the perfect visual and tactile accompaniment to the exhortation we hear so often in scripture “do not be afraid.”

My prayer for all of us as we experience this wilderness is that we can acknowledge our fears and disappointments and then let them wash away leaving calm spirits, compassionate hearts and focused minds with the assurance that God is with us and loving us through every moment, in every water drop until we emerge on the other side.  Amen.


 

COVID-19 Update: March 12, 2020

SERVICES

  • Church services will continue for now.

  • Those at greatest risk of infection are strongly encouraged to stay home and participate in worship via the church’s live video stream.

  • Those who choose to attend church in person are to maintain a distance of six feet from each other to the extent possible. Touching is to be avoided.

  • Choir seating will be arranged to allow for additional space between choir members.

  • Communion will be done in stations, with the host dropped into the communicant’s hand by the priest.

CHURCH & COMMUNITY GROUPS

Through at least the end of March:

  • No church groups are to meet.

  • Community groups will not meet at the church.

SOUP HOUR

  • The Soup Hour will continue to operate as long as the six-foot rule can be strictly adhered to.

OTHER BUILDING OCCUPANTS

  • Building occupants are encouraged to exercise common-sense measures such as thorough handwashing while on church premises.

  • Building occupants are encouraged to limit guests and to take special responsibility for any guests whom they do bring onto the premises.

Our Children and the Child Within

by Fr. Bill Garrison

“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’ And he laid his hands on them and went on his way. ”
— Matthew 19:14-15 (NRSV)

This quote from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter nineteen, rings in my ears loudly and often. When I see the children gathering here at St. Matthias I am glad for their presence, and Jesus expects us to take good care of them. St. Matthias offers something for all children on the Lord’s Day. The youngest children have a nursery available to them run by our very capable nursery school teacher, Victoria. Sunday school is provided for kids from 4 to 18. Our classes are divided into K through second grade, third grade through fifth, and grades six through twelve. I design the curriculum each week, which follows the lectionary and is presented in PowerPoint format. Our parents are also intimately involved in every aspect of our ministry to the kids, including many valuable extra-curricular events. For further information, please see me or Dana Medina.

Photo by JoEllen Moths from Pexels

Photo by JoEllen Moths from Pexels

But this is only part of the story. In each of us exists a child, the child that has never changed; the child that has been with us since each of us was young. This little girl or boy knows God in a way that the adult can never know God. This little child can’t wait to talk with God, spend time with God, play with God, laugh with God, and this little person trusts in God in a complete and innocent way that an adult cannot.

I have mentioned before, and will again, how much God loves us and how God sees us. God sees the child within us all and God loves us as if we were still that little innocent.

I remember when I was small how excited I was when my father arrived home from work. I would run to him knowing I could share my day with him, all of my day, and I knew for sure how much he loved me. I would run and jump into his arms, never once concerned that he would drop me or reject me.

God will never drop us either when we run to him as a child would run to his father. So as we think about the care of our children, please remember the child that exists within us all. We are invited to reintroduce that little him or her to God, and then let’s all run and jump into the arms of God and feel the incredible love God has for each of us.

The Second Sunday in Lent: On Rules

by Fr. Bill Garrison

Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

—John 3:1-17

We are going to spend some time studying this morning and perhaps for some of us learning some new things, so I thought I would start off with a Sunday school funny.

One morning a Sunday school teacher decided to try to encourage her young preschool students, who might be a little confused about Jesus Christ, to think a little bit more about him. So she decided to ask them some questions about Jesus.  Her first question was, “Where is Jesus today?"

Steven raised his hand and said, “He's in heaven." Mary was called on and answered, “He's in my heart." Johnny, waving his hand furiously, blurted out, “I know, I know! He's in our bathroom!!!"

The whole class got very quiet, looked at the teacher, and waited for a response. The teacher was completely at a loss for a few very long seconds. Finally, she gathered her wits and asked Johnny how he knew this.

He answered, “Well... every morning, my father gets up, bangs on the bathroom door, and yells, “Good Lord, are you still in there?!"

I took a class a couple of years ago about spirituality. There were a few of us there from St. Matthias. Carole Horton-Howe was one of them. In fact, this is the class in which we met for the first time. Anyway, I was introduced to a concept for the first time in one of the books we read. I am sorry to say I cannot give the author credit. I wish I could.

Here is that concept in a nutshell. When we study the life of Jesus it is as if he has his back to us. On the other side of Jesus are people facing him, and facing us at the same time. These are people who knew him. They are the ones that speak to us. We hear about him from them. We have nothing that comes directly from him, no writing and no first hand words. Everything we know we learn from those that encountered him.

So as we think about those that report his life we are reminded of the New Testament writers. We hear about him from the gospel writers, from Paul, and from other writers who fill out the books of the New Testament. There are few sources outside of the New Testament for information about Jesus.

Today I would like to present a new viewing angle into our understanding of Jesus and see where it takes us. I want to consider the viewpoint of the Pharisees. How did they see Jesus? What did they think of him? What can we learn from their experience of him? Why were they interested in him?

Now I recognize that some may think me nuts for doing this. I have been accused by the folks in Bible study of having a bromance with the Pharisees. I keep refusing to accept the box within which most people place them, the polemic about them if you will. But let’s try this viewpoint out and see where it leads.

In today’s gospel we are introduced to Nicodemus, an important Pharisee. At least that’s what the gospel says about him. It says he was one of the leaders. The story says he went to see Jesus at night. Why we wonder?

Let’s talk about Pharisees in general before we go on. In first century Judaism there were three main sects. One was the Essenes, the famous writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls. They had removed themselves from society so we don’t really need to consider them. Then there were the Sadducees. These folks were important leaders and associated with the Temple and the life of the Temple. They read their scripture literally, what it says is what it means, and did not believe in eternal life. They were sad you see. (Note the joke?) Anyway if it said you should die for an offense in scripture they thought that death should be your fate.

The Pharisees were different. They did believe in eternal life and they were far more liberal in their interpretation of scripture than the other groups. They read some scripture as metaphorical rather than literal and thought punishment as an example should fit the crime. Born from their theological thinking was the Mishnah, the first writings and theology concerning scripture found in the Talmud.

The idea of the Oral Torah was born. Torah in a close definition is the first five books of the Bible. The Oral Torah is the interpretation of those books in ways that are not literal in nature. Torah is the law for living. The Oral Torah helps to make sense of the law in ways that literal understandings cannot.

As an example we think about the Sabbath. What does it mean not to work on the Sabbath? The Pharisees attempted to answer that question specifically. What was work? What was acceptable to do on the Sabbath and what was not? They constructed a list of do’s and don’ts as a result.

The Pharisees took Judaism out of the Temple and brought it to the Jewish people. Their goal was to infuse scriptural truth into every home so that people would and could live according to God’s laws on a daily basis. They asked the people to be responsible for their lives.

We think there were about 6000 Pharisees at the time of Jesus, a relatively small percentage of the population. They were made up primarily of Scribes and Sages, those immersed in scripture, often knowing every word and many interpretations. They kicked the ball forward through argument. Different teachers would advance their own understandings of specific scriptures as would others doing the same. Understandings would coalesce over time. This was the beginnings of Rabbinic Judaism.

And so along comes Jesus. What would the Pharisees have known about him? First of all Jesus was smart. He could read and write, something only about 10 % of the population could do. He was also extremely well educated in the scriptures, certainly as well versed as any Pharisee.

He was also famous for having radically different interpretations for many of the most important scriptures. It would have similar to Einstein coming along and debunking the physics of Newton. Einstein showed Newton was wrong. Jesus was in the process of upsetting the apple cart of first century scriptural understanding in the same way.

Let’s take Sabbath observance once again as an example. The Pharisees believed one shouldn’t work on the Sabbath and had arrived at many rules about Sabbath observance as a result. Jesus openly violated their Sabbath rules and asked a most important question. “Was the Sabbath created for humankind or was humankind created for the Sabbath?” Oh my goodness. One question undermined everything they thought to be true.

And so Nicodemus went to see Jesus. I have no doubt he had great respect for Jesus and his intellect. He wanted to understand where Jesus was coming from. He wanted to understand the teachings of Jesus. He wanted to compare his own understanding of scripture to that of Jesus. He wanted to kick the ball down the road if you will. Note that in the conversation Jesus even calls Nicodemus a teacher of scripture. This was a conversation between one who had the standard understandings and another who had broken through into an entirely new and more correct understanding of Torah, the laws for living one’s life.

Now let’s spring forward a couple thousand years. Have things changed all that much? Don’t we today have lists of things that are acceptable or not for every conceivable circumstance? Aren’t we especially that way when it comes to church and our ways of being in relationship with God and each other? I would submit to you that we are a lot like those Pharisees of ancient times.

They had the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Essenes along with some other groups I am sure. We have the Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox and the Liturgical worshipers along with the Evangelicals. And each of us is pretty sure we are right in our understanding of scripture and worship and everybody else is wrong. 

Don’t you wonder what Jesus thinks about our current mores of life with God?

And so I have a suggestion. What if we mimic Jesus when we make our determinations of right and wrong action or thinking? Why don’t we ask a question to flesh a controversy out? Was this, whatever it may be, created for us or were we created for it? Another way to put it might be this. Is this, whatever it might be, here for our benefit or are we here just to follow a rule?

Think about it. What might we ponder first?

Response to COVID-19

COMMUNION

Per Bishop Taylor’s instructions, at Saint Matthias and all Episcopal churches in the Diocese of Los Angeles:

holy communion.gif

  • “Communion wine may not be offered […] either for sipping or by intinction, until we can be confident that the danger of mass COVID-19 infections has abated.” Bishop Taylor reminds us that, “according to our theology of Holy Eucharist, the work of the sacrament is complete when taken in only one kind.”

  • “…All those touching communion wafers [should] wash their hands vigorously with soap and water immediately before their work at the altar begins.”

  • “Ministers distributing the host should drop it onto the communicant’s palm rather than placing it on their tongue.”

  • In situations where we might ordinarily stand in a circle and pass communion to each other, we should instead “appoint Eucharistic ministers to serve the consecrated host.”

SOUP HOUR

For now, Soup Hour meals will be distributed as sack lunches.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Wash your hands frequently with hot, soapy water for at least 20 seconds.

  • Sneeze or cough into the crook of your arm rather than into your hand.

  • During the passing of the peace, respect the wishes of those who prefer not to touch. Consider waving hello or giving the peace sign instead.

  • If you think you may be getting sick, stay home. You can watch the 10:00 a.m. service live on Facebook. (Note: You may be prompted to create a Facebook account, but one is NOT required in order to watch the videos.)

 

The First Sunday in Lent: The Voices of Temptation

by the Rev. Carol Horton-Howe

Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.

Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Matthew 4:1-11 (NRSV)

When I told a long-time friend that I was serving at St. Matthias, she surprised me by responding “Oh, Matthias!  He’s the one that stumped us!”  She went on to explain an early memory of Sunday school when they played a game called Shield. The teacher would ask all the children to sit in a circle with their Bibles in hand.  She would say “Everyone hold up your Shield!”  And all the children, would grasp their Bible in both hands and hold them out in front of them. Then the teacher would call out the name of a someone in the Bible, or a story or parable or verse.  All the children would get busy looking for it. The first to find it was rewarded with the chance to stand in the circle and read to the rest of the class. Matthias is only mentioned in a couple verses in the Book of Acts so my friend had had a hard time finding him. That memory of Shield was still with her. This idea of the Bible as our shield would be an interesting idea to hold onto today as we look a little deeper at the gospel.

We are in the first Sunday of Lent.  Lent always begins with Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus has just been baptized by John and is immediately led into the desert. The euphoria of the voice of God may still be ringing in his ears – “This is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” The lush riverbank is a memory, the vast expanse of desolation stretches out before him.  Is Jesus wondering what exactly this means for him? He had been ordained by God in the river, but his ministry had not yet begun.  And now we watch to see how God’s beloved will react to harsh extremes. Will it be like we as humans would?  Or in some divine way beyond our understanding?  How does Jesus deal with starvation and thirst both physical and spiritual?  And what can we take from this for our own wilderness experience?

There’s something about the desert that can suck all the self-confidence right out of us. So empty and quiet, you can’t help notice how small you are.  If you find yourself there, a life that seemed so certain just a short while ago is now just a big question mark.  You feel so alone, wishing you had someone who understood you that you could talk to about it. Have you ever felt this?  Has it gone on so long that you started to question God’s care for you and about you? That in spite of what you’ve always believed about God loving you and caring for you, you question why God doesn’t just fix everything and make the pain go away as God most assuredly is able to do. 

Survivors of 9/11 suffering the effects of their injuries long after the day of the attacks were interviewed years later and expressed feelings of abandonment by God – where was God, they asked?  “I’ve looked for Jesus. I’ve longed for Jesus since that day just like I’ve longed for air.” One man said.  “And I’ve struggled with anger. I’d like a little of that Old Testament God right about now – punishing the evildoers, destroying their cities, their towers.”

Whether you’ve experienced a high level of trauma as he had or not, I know you’ve had your wilderness too.  And a longing for God to just send a rescue team.  Why doesn’t God just fix all our problems for us?  I wonder if this what Jesus experienced.  Notice that all the temptations that the devil offers Jesus are along the same theme – that Jesus deserves better than what God is giving him.  Why should God’s beloved go hungry?

The voices of temptation don’t sound like a serpent hissing or a harsh demonic bullying. When they come, they will sound like the perfect thing to seduce you personally.  They’ll appeal to your greatest strengths and seduce you in moments of profound weakness. 

Temptation speaks to us in a language that is natural, that we understand, that is us.  I hear temptation in “Carole-speak.” You hear it in your own language.  If you are a linear person you will hear it as a series of building arguments. If you are a left brain person you will hear it as a logical, analytical thought process.  If you are a right brained person you will hear it as creative thought that will tug hard at your heart strings. And it will sound oh so perfect. 

So how can we test these messages?  How do we figure out if they are life giving? The only true test is how it effects our relationship with God. If these ideas are based on love and draw us closer to God they are to be trusted.  But if they put distance between us and God, if they have no basis in the words and teaching of Jesus, if they do not encourage us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind and all our strength they are not of God and will destroy us. 

This is where we see what being children of God truly means. The temptations we face day by day and at critical moments of decision and vocation in our lives may be very different from those of Jesus but they have exactly the same point.  They are not simply trying to entice us to commit one sin or another.  They are actually trying to get us to turn away from God and the path of servanthood. 

God’s word will uphold us.  That is the best defense that we have.  When we come face to face with temptation, we go to the word that empowers us, that gives us grace. We go to God who created us and gives our lives meaning.

Just last week, a few of us finished meeting together in a group called “Traveling with God.”  We showed photos and memorabilia from our travels and told stories of adventures. In all the stories I noticed that what we found was usually not what we expected.  And that was the best part. Without actually naming it, we were describing for each other the experience of pilgrimage.

Tourists go from place to place, sight to sight finding satisfaction in collecting those sights until they reach a final destination or a concluding sight.  They have some firm expectations and what they’ll see. 

Photo by FAICAL Zaramod from Pexels

Photo by FAICAL Zaramod from Pexels

But a pilgrimage is different. It’s more than a standard trip or journey.  While some go on pilgrimage with a sense of adventure, it almost always begins with a sense of call or a deep yearning, sometimes even a great urgency to get up and go.  Often the pilgrim is called to undertake physical travel although for some pilgrimage is about traveling inward on a journey of the heart. All call on us to be willing to try, to fail and try again. No two pilgrims have the exact same experience. But all pilgrimages call on us to be open to moving out of our comfort zone.

You may have a certain Lenten practice in mind or maybe you’ve already committed to a certain regimen.  If that resonates with you, embrace it.  But if along the way life happens or it loses its appeal, I hope you will be gentle with yourself.  I promise you will not be the only one on Palm Sunday with a journal half completed or a book of devotions partially read. They’ll still be there for you when you’re able to pick them up again.  But please be a pilgrim. Those life interruptions are precious chances to find God at work in ways that might transform you. They are chances to ask ourselves what God is inviting us to do, how we might lean on the word of God to respond to the startling and the mundane. 

We know our destination with Jesus. In little more than 40 days from today it is Jerusalem, arrest, suffering, death on the cross and the resurrection that will change the world and everyone in it forever.  Integral to pilgrimage is the journey home and the pilgrims’ need to integrate the life they have lived with the new insights gained as they return as changed persons. 

The survivor of 9/11 put it this way: “Ultimately I want a safer world. I want a more competent God. Then I remember that God's power is not a controlling but a redeeming power and the red blood of belief begins to return to my veins. I have faith. I lose faith. I find faith again, or faith finds me, but throughout it all I am confronted with the certainty that I am in good hands; love girds the universe; God will have the last word and that word is “love” in the form of his son Jesus.”

Allow God to speak tenderly to you, lead you, reveal God’s self to you. Remember you are called to bring God’s light into the world. Hold on to your shield. And say a firm “no” to the voices that want to lure you out of the light and into darkness.

Amen.

The Last Sunday in Epiphany: Inside-Out Thinking

by Fr. Bill Garrison

Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

—Matthew 17:1-9 (NRSV)

When last I visited with you I talked about catfish. I also talked about the cacophony of noise we endure daily, all the advice and direction we are given to help run our lives. Some of it is well meaning and some not so much. I called it outside-in thinking.

But then I introduced the idea of inside-out thinking into our conversation. Inside-out thinking emanates from our very being, our very essence or soul if you will. This is the part of us that is in constant relationship with God, ever in communion with our creator. And I posited last time to all of us that inside-out thinking is far superior to outside-in thinking since it takes into account who we are, and whose we are.

Here is a story that builds on that idea, one I haven’t told in a few years.

This is a story is about a little boy and his father. They were walking along a road when they came across a large stone. The boy looked at the stone and thought about it a little. Then he asked his father, “Do you think if I use all my strength, I could move that rock?"

Photo by Yogendra Singh from Pexels

Photo by Yogendra Singh from Pexels

The father thought for a moment and said, “I think that if you use all your strength, you can do it."

That encouragement was all the little boy needed. He ran over to the rock and began to push and pull on it. He pushed so hard. Little  beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. But the rock didn’t move — not an inch, not half an inch, not even a little.

After a while, the little boy sat down on the ground. His countenance had fallen. His whole body seemed to be just a lump there on the earth. “You were wrong," he told his dad. “I can’t do it."

His father walked over to him, knelt beside him, and put his arm around the boy’s shoulder. “You can do it," he said. “You just didn’t use all your strength. You didn’t ask me to help you."

When we are using inside-out thinking we are including God in our efforts to move the stones we encounter so very often, the ones we and our culture believe we can’t move no matter how hard we try.

I have had the honor of being the rector in this place for a good chunk of time now. We will be holding our 9th Annual Meeting since I arrived after this service. Together we have accomplished a lot in these last few years. We will be outlining some of those accomplishments in the meeting. But now is not the time to talk about accomplishments.

Now is the time to think about how to move the rocks we think are impossible to move.

It took me thirty years to follow God’s call to priesthood. And I had good reasons to resist. I had done a great deal of outside-in thinking on the subject. As a result I knew clearly what some of my many deficiencies were. You see I am not holy enough to do this job. I am not smart enough. I don’t have enough patience, understanding, or compassion. My prayer life is not up to par. Sometimes I can be lazy. I certainly don’t have the right sort of background since I avoided church as much as possible as a kid. And I have been around experienced a whole lot of clergy in action and I knew for sure I didn’t stack up to their standards.

But somewhere along the line I started thinking inside-out. I got over the fear of wearing a collar around my neck. I got over the implications of becoming a priest as I understood them to be. I stopped over-worrying (yes I still worry some) about what everyone else thought about the fact I was going to be a priest and about other people’s expectations of me.

Instead I turned inward to my being and my God. From that point everything began to change. I saw the world about me in a different way. I saw the process to ordination in a different manner and from that time on had a wonderful time enjoying the road I traveled. And I have learned since that outside-in thinking gets me in trouble and inside-out thinking never does, but in fact is my most certain source of information.

I suppose the Apostles are the best examples of this transformation in thinking. Considering specifically about today’s gospel we heard Peter suggest during the Transfiguration that they build booths for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. You see he was intellectually and spiritually lost and had no idea what to do with what he was seeing. So he did what the world might have suggested. Build some dwelling places for these incredible men. Inside-out thinking would never have brought him to the same idea.

I join with many Bible scholars who suggest that the transformation the disciples made from wild men to Apostles is one of God’s great miracles. As we think about it we realize the miracle happened along the way as they walked with Jesus. They were transformed in their thinking from outside-in to inside-out. As a result the door was open for them to be changed fundamentally.

We here at St. Matthias have experienced a renaissance of sorts over the last few years. There’s a lot of life here and a lot of new Christ Centered programs. It didn’t just happen. Like every person and organization we do our share of outside-in thinking. We can’t help it and it’s necessary. But we also spend a lot of time inside-out seeking guidance from our partnership with God. This is when the growth, the life, happens.

And so I think our invitation is to continue to consider from whence we receive our most important and effective guidance. Where do our clearest ideas about who we are come from? I submit they are from within. It doesn’t mean we stop listening to those around us. But it does mean we be more aware of who and whose we are, listening to the inner voice that speaks our own truth, a truth we cannot receive any other way.  

 

 

 

What to Expect from the Saint Matthias Annual Meeting

by Andrea Schmid

Like many of us at Saint Matthias, I didn’t grow up in the Episcopal church.

The church I grew up in had a congregational structure—one in which all major decisions were made by a vote of everyone in the church. Business meetings in my tiny small-town church could be tedious. They were held quarterly on Sunday evenings and sometimes went on for hours. Coming from such a background left me frankly unenthusiastic about attending anything that sounded remotely similar.

But that same small-town church also left me with a strong sense of responsibility toward my faith community, so after attending Saint Matthias for about a year, I found myself dutifully settling in for my first annual meeting. I was pleasantly surprised—for several reasons!

There was only one major vote, and it was unanimous.

Instead of voting on every issue the church faces, Episcopal congregations elect a vestry to handle most of the church’s business. The vestry typically includes twelve members who serve three-year terms, with just a few people at a time rotating on and off. At Saint Matthias, we elect our new vestry members as a slate. Well in advance of the annual meeting, the rector and vestry nominate people, speak to them regarding their interest in serving, and publicly post a list of names. That means that at the meeting itself, the only remaining step is to elect them.

Rather than focusing on business decisions, the meeting focused on helping parishioners get an overview of what was going on in the church.

Since the vestry handles business decisions at its monthly meetings, the annual meeting is more of a “state of the church” event. It includes an overview of the budget as well as reports from the parish leaders involved with the Soup Hour, communications, women’s ministries, senior ministries, youth ministries, and small groups. It’s also an opportunity for members of the congregation to ask questions and share ideas.

As a newer member, participating in the annual meeting helped me feel more connected to Saint Matthias and helped me put faces to names that I’d been hearing since I first started attending. It also gave me a chance to see how the check I put in the offering plate each month was being spent.

There was an atmosphere of celebration.

A major part of the annual meeting is thanking the vestry members who have completed their three-year terms and welcoming those who are just beginning theirs. There are gifts and applause. The celebration continues as Fr. Bill and the representatives of the various ministries report on what has been accomplished over the past year. Overall, it is a positive, encouraging experience.

It was short!

I really didn’t know what to expect from my first annual meeting, but I was prepared to have a very late lunch afterward. I was pleased to be out in about an hour. This year’s meeting should be even shorter. It will follow an abbreviated service and take place right in the sanctuary. Fr. Bill tells me he hopes to keep it to around thirty minutes.

Saint Matthias Thumbnail.jpg

If you’re uncertain about whether to participate on Sunday, I encourage you to give it a try. Not only do I think you’ll find it far less tedious than you might expect, but I think you’ll come away with a stronger sense of your place in our community and a deeper understanding of how Saint Matthias strives to be, as Fr. Bill often says, an address for the Kingdom of God.

 

The Sixth Sunday in Epiphany: Jesus Interprets the Law

by Rev. Carole Horton-Howe

Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.

The Sermon on the Mount - Carl Bloch

The Sermon on the Mount - Carl Bloch

Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.”

—Matthew 5:21-37 (NRSV)

UCLA School of Law Library Tower - Photo by Coolcaesar at the English language Wikipedia

UCLA School of Law Library Tower - Photo by Coolcaesar at the English language Wikipedia

The Law School at UCLA has an extensive library.  It’s three stories tall with a basement and takes up about a city block.  It’s impressive and overwhelming. It contains, according to their website, 600,000 print volumes and over 35,000 electronic titles. I’m going to estimate that maybe 10% of these are books that law out the law whatever it might be -- laws of the state of California and Federal law but all specialties of civil law: local regulations, criminal law, maritime, insurance, real estate, education, non-profits, absolutely everything. And everywhere in the world.  And the rest, the other 90%, are court cases with decisions and opinions about the application of those laws. From lower courts up through the Supreme Court. Some saying to lower courts you got this right or you got this wrong or partly right or partly wrong.

Every word of every sentence of every document is focused on one thing and one thing only: the answer to the question – how are we to live together? 

The legal system is filled with passionate, well-meaning people, highly skilled at what they do. There seems to be a natural pull towards figuring this out, a yearning for truth and justice. The problem is this: they are trying to answer the question of how are we to live together without application of the teachings of Jesus. But there is no provision in the laws of the land for the stirrings of the heart.

In the gospel today, Jesus addresses some of the laws given through Moses, possibly the ones that were of greatest concern in the lives of those listening to him. And almost 2,000 years later we struggle with them as well.  In last week’s gospel, Jesus sets the stage for what he’s about to say, for the epiphany that ah-ha! moment that can only come from him.

In the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us a description of the character of disciples fit for the Kingdom: those who mourn, who are meek, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who are merciful, who are pure in heart, the peacemakers and those who are persecuted so that virtue, integrity and uprightness win the day.

It’s important to understand that in each of these teachings Jesus is not contradicting the earlier statement. Jesus came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Jesus came to call and form disciples in a community devoted to the higher righteousness. He’s not instructing anyone to set aside the law. What he is doing is clarifying its true meaning.

Jesus says:  “You have heard that it was said to those in ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment.”

Jesus isn’t contradicting the commandment against murder, he is opening it up for us. He knows that even if we keep the commandment not to kill, we can still hate and despise others. We can follow the law, we can walk away from the actual act of ending another person’s life but if our hearts have not changed we still kill our relationships, still treat people as if they were dead to us.

The prospect of committing murder is pretty remote for most of us.  But anger is not.  Anger is something we fall into more often that we would like.  Or if we look back at some of our relationships with others we recall the intensity of being angry.

Jesus tells us that following this commandant against murder means we stop hanging onto the anger that also kills. 1 John 3:14-15 says “we know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another.  Whoever does not love abides in death.”

To nurse anger is to kill divine love. To kill love is to kill our human capacity to love.  When our hearts are clenched in anger they are shut tight against God and the healing God provides. The fulfillment of the commandment not to kill is the formation of our hearts and minds so that we look at others not with anger, but rather with love.

And even more is asked of us than that: the commandment is given not just so that we won’t kill each other, but so that we will be the type of people who will seek out someone who has wronged us and work to be reconciled with them. This is not just a passive attempt to let anger go, it’s an affirmative decision that we make to be in love.  Even when they are our enemies. Even when there is no chance that our love will be returned.

Let’s look at what Jesus says about adultery: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Again, Jesus isn’t contradicting the commandment, he is opening up for us. He knows that even if we keep the commandment not to commit adultery, we can still demean and belittle others. The lustful glance, the undressing with the eye, treating others as objects and taking advantage of the fragility of another person, even if it’s done at a distance. The true fulfillment of this commandment is a faithful heart that cherishes our partners and respects everyone we come into contact with.

Jesus says:  “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no.’”

Jesus isn’t contradicting the commandment against swearing falsely, he is breaking it open for us. Jesus knows that even if we can keep from those overt and not to overt tall tales, we can still manipulate others with our words.  We can make frivolous oaths in the name of heaven and belittle God’s holy name.

The command is not just about following the rule, but it is also about the formation of an honest character. The rule is followed not just for the sake of following it, but because by repeated attempts to follow the rule in our ever-changing circumstances, we become people who are disposed to act honestly.

Jesus shows us that the fulfillment of the law is not just to refrain from saying things we know are not true, but that the things we do say ought to be so reliable and honest. The better choice is to say “yes” and mean “yes” or to say “no” and mean “no.” Speak whatever you mean in truth and in love.

God gave us the commandments as guides and exhortations for the formation of our character, so that we might become people who are pure in heart and apply our hearts to all that we say and all that we do; so that we might love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind, and that we might love our neighbor as ourselves.

I spent 15 years as a paralegal. I went to the paralegal program at UCLA Law School which is where I got acquainted with the library. I, too, had that pull towards finding truth and searching for justice.  And as a paralegal, I found that there is a lot to be had from the legal system, but there just isn’t much overlap between the legal system and justice. The only true justice we’ll ever get is from God.  That’s not to say we should throw out all those thousands of volumes of laws. Not at all!  We need those to keep a well ordered society.  But it can’t end there. We can’t be satisfied with that. The letter of the law will never get us to the heart of God, will never shape our own hearts or offer the life that God desires for us.

A loving parent would say to a child “I love and cherish you. Every good gift that I know how to give is yours. I promise that nothing will ever change my devotion to you. Now go out into the rough and tumble of the world and live out your life with the knowledge of this love.”  This is the Epiphany light that Jesus gives us – making plain that the good gifts that come from loving God are a life where anger has no place and destructive human relationships cannot endure. And then he says “Now, go out into the world and live this truth of love about me and about you.”

Amen.