Reopening Timeline

April 16, 2021 Andrea Schmid

April 18 & 25 - The 10 AM service will be livestreamed from the church with clergy, readers, and a limited number of musicians present. Watch the service on the church’s Facebook page. A Facebook account is NOT required in order to watch. (The service will also be available on Zoom, but there may be issues with sound and video quality.)

May 1 - The church re-opens for the 5 PM healing service. Masks will be required.

May 2 - The church re-opens for in-person services at 8 AM and 10 AM. Masks will be required. The 10 AM service will continue to be livestreamed.

The Second Sunday of Easter: Doubting Thomas

April 12, 2021 Andrea Schmid

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.

John 20:19-31 (NRSV)

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."

Doubting Thomas - Giovanni Serodine, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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.

“I’ve always been a reluctant believer.” This is what a hospice patient told me during one of our visits. He said it softly and slowly, as though to give it oxygen would be to give it a life of its own that he couldn’t take back. He didn’t make eye contact. I was very surprised to hear this. This man was a retired priest, with a long life of compassionate service to others. He was a passionate advocate for the poor and homeless populations where he lived. He regularly received cards from former parishioners thanking him for the impact he’d had on their lives. I couldn’t imagine anyone ne less likely to have doubts than him. Now as he was suffering from a disease for which there would be no cure. And he was wondering – not for the first time - whether he could truly believe the resurrection promise.

He’s like Thomas in the room with the disciples hearing that Jesus has been there, has given them the Holy Spirit but still asking himself whether the good news is too good to be true. Is the resurrection of Jesus something we can be certain of and rely on for our own eternal life journey?

What Thomas is really after is an experience of truth. We don’t know where he was or why he wasn’t there when Jesus appeared to the disciples. But when he did return to them he wasn’t willing to accept as truth what they told him. He needed the same experience of Jesus that they had – and more.

If we think about it, the desire for truth winds all throughout the gospels. And the stories of Holy Week and Good Friday put an especially fine point on it. Friday morning Jesus’ trial before Pilate is a mockery of justice. Pilate questions Jesus and he seems disdainful of the whole situation. “YOU are the King of the Jews?” he asks Jesus. The Jewish authorities are hostile to Jesus more concerned with their own survival and with no legitimate charge against him. Pilate would prefer not to be bothered by this Jewish disturbance. He can’t figure out who Jesus is or why he’s even there.

Pilate’s parting question to Jesus, “what is truth?” hangs in the air. The irony was that Truth was standing right before him but he could not see it. What blocks our seeing truth can be our agendas based in fear, powerful narratives and anecdotes that we can’t overcome on our own. Many of us grew up with a narrative that doubt is sinful, that questioning shows an absence of belief and that belief alone that God wants from us. If we think of belief as what God wants from us then doubt and disbelief are experienced as sinful. So if we have doubt like Thomas’ did it is seen as an absence of faith.

But let’s look at what Jesus did for Thomas in his moment of disbelief. He came to him and offered him what he needed. He offered Thomas something denied to Mary and others. He asked Thomas to touch him so he could have his truth. And in this moment a sweet promise is made: God who knows our needs will meet us precisely at the point of our need. God who knows our hearts and minds and the condition of our need will be there for us as we continue to seek and continue to demonstrate a need for God’s presence.

The gospel tells us that a week later his disciples were again in the house and Thomas was with them. Despite his unbelief Thomas still gathers with them, still wants to be part of this group. And in the other disciples we see a second beautiful lesson of Christian friendship. It always has room for everyone, especially the doubters. They clearly welcome him. We hear nothing about their shunning him, or gossiping him. The disciples embody this sort of friendship. Jesus had done exactly the same for them. They loved Thomas as Jesus loved them.

Please know this: if you have doubts you’re in the right place. We get it. In this church you are welcome. We are together to support and lift each other up. That’s what true faith communities do and that’s what we do. You will never be minimized and told that your faith isn’t strong enough. You will never be excluded for having questions. You will be welcomed. We will sit with you, struggle with you.

Can we put our fingers in Jesus’ side and touch him? No. But can the stories of the resurrection experience make us feel as if we can? Yes, if we open our hearts to them. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. The story is alive because even a modest beginning of belief is all the Holy Spirit needs to make Jesus come alive for us, in us and through us to others. These stories we feel breathe on us the same way Jesus breathed on the disciples. They have the power to make us weep, rejoice, hope and act.

We believe not because we have seen his wounds or placed our hands within his side, but because we have seen Christ in the face of another, who has also not seen or touched Christ, but lives their life in such a way that Christ has been made present in our midst. It is in gathering together in loving relationships that Christ is made known and the experience of truth is ours. We are made to make a difference to be part of Jesus risen life on earth so that we may proclaim to all we encounter “we have seen the Lord” and have life in his name.

Alleluia! Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed! And so are we. Alleluia and Amen.

Easter Sunday: The Resurrection

April 5, 2021 Andrea Schmid

by Fr. Bill Garrison

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

Mark 16:1-8 (NRSV)

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Good morning. Hallelujah, Christ has risen!

This morning I have a couple of things I would like to chat about. The first is, do we think folks were surprised when Jesus rose from the dead? And the second is do we see clearly what is right there in front of us? Here is a little humor to start things off on those topics.

A police captain was interrogating three guys who were training to become detectives. To test their skills in recognizing a suspect, he showed the first guys a picture for 5 seconds and then hid it. "This is your suspect. How would you recognize him of you see him?"

The first guy answered, "That's easy, we'll catch him fast because he only has one eye!"

The captain said, "Well...uh...that's because the picture I showed is his side profile."

Slightly flustered by this ridiculous response, he flashed the picture for 5 seconds at the second guy and asked him, "This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?"

The second guy smiled and then gave an equally ridiculous answer. "Ha! He'd be easy to catch because he only has one ear!"

The captain angrily responded, "What's the matter with you two?!!? Of course, only one eye and one ear are showing because it's a picture of his side profile! Is that the best answer you can come up with?"

Extremely frustrated at this point, he showed the picture to the third guy and in a very testy voice asked, "This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?

The third guy looked at the picture intently for a moment and said, "The suspect wears contact lenses."

The captain was surprised and speechless because he really didn’t know himself if the suspect wore contacts or not. "Well, that's an interesting answer. Wait here for a few minutes while I check his file and I'll get back to you on that."

He left the room and went to his office, checked the suspect's file on his computer and came back with a beaming smile on his face. "Wow! I can't believe it. It's TRUE! The suspect does, in fact, wear contact lenses. Good work! How were you able to make such an astute observation?"

"That's easy..." the third guy replied. "He can't wear regular glasses because he only has one eye and one ear."

Ok, let’s look at the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the vantage point of the first century and then from our vantage point a couple of millennium later.

To see through the eyes of those in the First Century we look, not to the gospels, but to the Apostle Paul. You see we are privy to letters he wrote that he never meant for us to see. But we do get to see them and it’s as if we are looking through a window into the history of the first century.

Today I am speaking specifically about our second lesson from the first letter to the Corinthians. As an attestation to an historical event this passage is incredibly important. Let me quote a portion of it for you. I remove one word, “that”, in order to make it clearer for us.

“Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and ----- he was buried, and ----- he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and ----- 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 one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”

Ok let’s think about what we just heard. How do you think those folks felt seeing Jesus alive again? Can you get your head around it? Can you stand in their sandals? Take a minute. How does it feel to you?

It’s mind blowing isn’t it? If he has risen from the dead then his life takes on new meaning doesn’t it? We think back over everything he said and did in a different light. Now here is the big one. It changes our lives immeasurably too. If he conquered death, then so can we. He said it was going to be so, that we will have eternal life after he rose from the dead. He would make a way for us. Now I believe it. I have seen him with my own eyes.

Now, let’s fast forward to today, twenty centuries later. Life is certainly different. Society is loud, and in many ways, can be pretty obnoxious. We human beings think we have all the answers. The idea that someone can be resurrected from the dead is probably even stranger sounding now than it was then. And, to top it off, we don’t have anybody around that personally witnessed Jesus in the flesh after his death and resurrection. I wonder if anyone would believe them if we did.

If from time to time you wonder about the resurrection, whether it really happened or not, don’t be disappointed in yourself. We all have doubts occasionally. I know I do. Wanting to know more about Jesus Christ and the resurrection is a major reason I went to seminary. We all struggle from time to time.

And another thing, we aren’t all alike. One size doesn’t fit all. I suppose we could say that all of us are somewhere on a faith line between entirely head centered to entirely heart centered. For me I tend more towards the head. I envy those that are more heart oriented. They don’t seem to need to follow the same intellectual pursuits I do in order to keep their faith solid.

Sometimes in this modern world, especially for people like me, we have to go back to basics to assure ourselves of our faith. Thankfully we have Paul’s letters which in my view are the most important writings in the Christian scriptures. As I said a bit ago, they were never meant to be read by anyone other than the addressee. They had agendas for having been written. All letters do. But those agendas have nothing to do with the history they provide for us twenty centuries later.

Then we have the balance of the New Testament. We have secular writings about Jesus. We have Biblical and scientific scholarship. We have the history of Christianity. We have each other and our prayer lives, personal and corporate. And our church is based on the three-legged stool of scripture, reason, and tradition.

But, happily in the end, it really doesn’t matter. No matter where we are on the line between head and heart we wind up in the same place. What we believe is true. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He left behind a blueprint for living. He left behind an understanding of God. And the Holy Spirit, the advocate and comforter, is still with us helping us live our lives too. It’s all good news.

Hallelujah! Christ is risen. Have a great brunch, enjoy your loved ones and have a great rest of the day.

Maundy Thursday: The Washing of Feet

April 3, 2021 Andrea Schmid

by Fr. Bill Garrison

John 13:1-17, 31b-35 (NRSV)

Washing of Feet - Giotto di Bondone (Public Domain)

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord--and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

“Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, `Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Palm Sunday: Walking with Jesus through Holy Week

March 29, 2021 Andrea Schmid

by Fr. Bill Garrison

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

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’” They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

—Mark 11:1-11 (NRSV)

As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.” Then the chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate asked him again, “Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. Then he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah.” And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

—Mark 15:1-39 (NRSV)

Good morning. I normally start with a joke but Palm Sunday is a tough one for me to think with much humor. We start the service with the celebration of Jesus entering Jerusalem and wind up in misery at the cross. So please forgive me today. There will be no joke.

Holy Week begins today. In many ways it feels almost silly to spend the time and energy we are called upon to spend this week. A huge percentage of our brothers and sisters won’t be doing so. They might pay some attention to Easter day, but not much if any attention to what happens during the week leading up to it. For many, I am sure, the energy and time of Holy Week during this era of pandemic makes even less sense to them that it usually does.

These are tough times. Suffering is everywhere you look. As human beings we come to the party armed with few answers for the hurting humanity suffers. Left to our own resources we have few if any answers. These are the times when religion becomes especially important. Religion provides lenses in which to view the world and to attempt to make some sense out of what goes on within it.

I have had the honor to teach about the world’s great religions. I have found that each provides a set of understandings about God, addressing the fact of suffering, and provides ways of contemplating this most basic of human issues. They each provide a lens to look through. For the Christian that lens is the suffering and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In Holy Week, which we begin today, we live through the last few days of the life of Jesus Christ. We begin in celebration, experience terrible suffering, and wind up with the greatest triumph of all time.

We cannot take this journey together this year in the confines of our church. But we can still travel down this holy road together online and with our families. We can once more stare suffering in the face and experience the triumph of the resurrection. And we can look forward to being together again next year as we tell the story once more.

So, when we head into Holy Week what may we expect to encounter? Perhaps a quick primer and reminder is in order.

After compline on Monday evening, we find ourselves involved in the service of Tenebrae on Wednesday night. Now I am guessing that for most of you Tenebrae is your least familiar Holy Week service. So, let me explain it a bit.

The word Tenebrae comes from Latin and means darkness. It is a service of singing and prayer as numerous candles are extinguished as the service proceeds. At the end of the service a loud noise is heard. At St. Matthias we hold the service on Wednesday evening, also known as Spy Wednesday. That name derives from Judas Iscariot’s intention to betray Jesus. The service is centered in the Passion of Jesus Christ as we move forward with him towards the cross.

Next comes Maundy Thursday. It is the last Eucharist of the church year before Easter and everything is removed from the altar and the surrounding area after that last communion. In some churches there is foot washing. Here we normally have hand washing, but this year that will be a virtual event as we rest in sacred chanting. It is a beautiful and moving evening of worship.

At noon on Good Friday, we observe the Stations of the Cross. It is a relatively short and moving service as we travel with Jesus to the cross and experience his death. Frankly, this is the service I personally cannot get through without shedding a tear or two. I remind myself there can be no Easter without the pain of Good Friday.

Good Friday evening is a service of music, chanting and prayer. The emotions are much as they were for the Stations of the Cross earlier in the day. Again, there can be no Easter without Good Friday.

And finally, it’s Easter Sunday. Hallelujah, Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Pain and death no longer are foes to overly concern us. Jesus Christ has paved the way to eternal life. It’s the most important day of the Christian year, a day for celebration and thanksgiving.

And here are my final thoughts for for today. Many people will not be celebrating Easter and many more will not be walking the Holy Week road for whatever reason. We wish all those that do not accompany us well and they may rest assured that God’s love for them and for us will not waver.

Yet for us that choose to walk the road we simply do it because we can. We look to curry no special favor with God. Instead, we just want to be there with Christ. We want to feel the emotions once again. We want to feel the elation of his resurrection one more time.

You see whether a person chooses to walk the road or not does not change the facts, nor does it impact the incredible gift we have all been given. Jesus Christ traveled the Holy Week road, died on the cross, and rose from the dead. Jesus Christ changed things forever.

The Fifth Sunday in Lent: To See Jesus

March 22, 2021 Andrea Schmid

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.

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

—John 12:20-33 (NRSV)

It has been about a year since the world changed so profoundly. Even if our lives have stayed relatively safe and stable, current news and the social unrest of this past year have probably left us with the same request as the Greeks who approach Phillip in today’s gospel: “We wish to see Jesus.”

I had a wonderful New Testament professor in seminary named Greg Riley. I can’t say enough about him. He had encyclopedic knowledge and was an extraordinary teacher. And what he taught us was that it wasn’t a coincidence that immediately after some Greek men came asking to see Jesus that he told his disciples that his earthly ministry was ending. The Greeks were a special people who were known to be seekers, who sought out wise men and wanted to learn from them. And there was something else about them. They traveled widely. And so what Greek people learned they took with them and shared it wherever they went.

Isaiah prophesied that God would make Israel as a light to the nations that God’s salvation might reach to the ends of the earth. Jesus saw in these men as fulfillment of that prophesy and instruments of God. And Jesus’ embodiment of God’s love, mercy, justice and compassion were now on a trajectory throughout the world. So this was the time, his time, God’s time.

Jesus is troubled at the thought of this transition. But notice how quickly he sets those troubling thoughts aside. There is no night in the garden of Gethsemane here. The Jesus of the Gospel of John quickly discards the idea of appealing to God to let the cup pass from him. He is confident of what will happen. Life comes from death. Fruit grows from seeds that die in the earth.

Knowing when it’s time - time to let go, time to move on, time to move forward - is a great challenge. What can this gospel teach us about letting our old stories die and turning away from the safe path?

Rachel Naomi Remen talks about a literal new path. She purchased a home that needed significant repairs both inside and out. She had a choice about where to put the entrance to her home. She could put in a sidewalk that lead straight from the street up to the front door. Or she could create a path that wound around the side of her house, past an ancient oak and a spot where you could see an impressive view of the land behind her and then a few steps up to the door.

She consulted with architects who told her she should definitely choose the first option. It’s a basic principle of architecture, they told her, that people need to see where they are going from the start. The winding path to her door would not be welcoming, especially to first time visitors. In spite of their advice, Rachel chose the curving way. Thinking about it now, she says, knowing where we are going encourages us to stop seeing and hearing and allows us to fall into routine. No seed dies and no life begins.

But uncertainty of not knowing where we are going fosters a sense of aliveness and appreciation of what is around us. If you look back on some of the goals you’ve had and the paths you took to them, you might discover that the real goal your choices led you to was something entirely unexpected, something you didn’t even know existed when you started out. Important decisions in our lives – especially that most haunting question about what is God’s purpose for each of us -- are often complicated and have competing interests. We sometimes go around in circles trying to push away fear or fantasy.

I think we can take direction and strength from Jeremiah who says essentially that what really matters is relationship. Covenant with God and with one another means to simply love and live in the present moment, not holding on to a path that probably didn’t resemble what our memories have made of it anyway.

The very reason we are born, our greatest blessing or our way to serve may come into our lives looking like a safe, predictable choice. But God may have a new truth for us that we can’t imagine for ourselves and can’t see if we stay on a safe path.

Jesus is talking about a life of risk. We must be willing to die to self knowing that only by doing so will we have true, eternal life. Those who see their lives as all important will ultimately lose them by separating themselves from God. Only those who set aside the lives they’ve created in this world will have life in the next one.

Are we willing to take a risk? What would dying to our lives look like for each of us? What would seeing Jesus be like? He tells us but he speaks in metaphors. We must die as a seed dies, that we must set aside our lives in this world with all the security and comfort that we have worked so hard to accumulate.

We are coming to the end of Lent. The holiest week of the year begins next Sunday with Palm Sunday. On that day we commemorate Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem and the Sunday after that we will celebrate his resurrection. But the most amazing part is what happens in between. They are those very events in which seeds of life are planted. These are the events that form the core of our faith, the times in which we can so clearly see Jesus, when we encounter him in the most exquisite experiences of God’s love for the world.

Until now, Jesus has been telling his disciples and many others that his time has not yet come. Until now. Jesus who lived as one of us, suffered as one of us, loved as one of us, will lose his life. Jesus is preparing to make his way home and make a way for all of us as well so that our wish is granted and we will indeed see Jesus. Amen.

The Fourth Sunday in Lent: God’s Love for Us

March 14, 2021 Andrea Schmid

by Fr. Bill Garrison

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

Jesus said, “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. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

—John 3:14-21 (NRSV)

“Nicodemus and Jesus on a Rooftop” - Henry Ossawa Tanner (Public Domain)

Today we are thinking about darkness and light as metaphors for many things, among them the idea that we hide what we do not want others to know in the darkness and put into the light what we do want others to know about. I think everyone of us here knows exactly what I mean. We all have secrets. Here is an example of a secret being kept in the darkness by an Episcopal Priest.

Father Jacob woke up one Sunday morning, and realizing it was an exceptionally beautiful and sunny early spring day, decided he just had to play golf. So.... he called and told the associate pastor that he was feeling sick and convinced him to preach and celebrate for him that day. As soon as the associate pastor was off the phone, this priest headed out of town to a golf course about forty miles away. This way he knew he wouldn't accidentally meet anyone he knew from his church.

Setting up on the first tee, he found that he was alone. After all, it was Sunday morning and in that part of the country almost everyone else was in church! He began to line up his first shot on a par three hole.

At about this time, Saint Peter leaned over to the Lord while looking down from heaven and exclaimed, "You're not going to let him get away with this, are you?" The Lord sighed, and said, "No, I guess not."

Just then our priest hit the ball and it traveled high and straight towards the pin, dropping just short of it, rolled up and fell into the hole. It was a hole in one!

Saint Peter was astonished. He looked at the Lord and asked, "Why did you let him do that?" The Lord smiled and replied, "Who's he going to tell?"

Can you imagine the frustration? I haven’t played golf in years, but a hole in one and not being able to tell anybody? That’s cruel punishment indeed.

In an old Dennis the Menace cartoon, Dennis and his friend Joey are leaving Mrs. Wilson's house, their hands full of cookies. Joey says, "I wonder what we did to deserve this."

Dennis answers, "Look, Joey. Mrs. Wilson gives us cookies not because we're nice, but because she's nice."

If you are tired and in need of a nap that little cartoon is the entire sermon. I’ll wake you up when I’m done.

At the beginning of the Gospel, heard a moment ago, we find ourselves in the middle of a conversation Jesus is having with the famous pharisee, Nicodemus. He says to him that just as Moses lifted-up the serpent in the wilderness, so must Jesus be lifted-up so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. To understand we must return to our Old Testament scripture which was read a bit ago.

The Israelites were constantly complaining while in the wilderness. They were tired of walking. They were tired of the food. Many were saying they had it better back when they were in Egypt.

Well God finally had enough and sent poisonous snakes after them. As complainers will do, they forgot about how hard they were to deal with and begged Moses to intercede for them. Moses did and God told Moses to put a bronze serpent on a stick and raise it up. Whoever looked at the serpent would not die after being bitten.

Jesus used this story as a metaphor for himself. He is telling Nicodemus that he will be crucified and because of his death and resurrection the rest of us will have eternal life. The snakes will continue to bite us in this life, sometimes painfully, but we will have eternal life in which to look forward.

Then Jesus says the most famous lines of the New Testament to cap off this portion of the gospel and to emphasize the metaphor. "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.” Jesus tells us very clearly how much God loves us and to what ends God is willing to go to rescue us from ourselves and the snakes that we suffer with during this life.

Then, as he continues to teach Nicodemus, Jesus uses another metaphor, the metaphor of light and darkness, that finishes today’s gospel reading. Jesus says very clearly that he is the light. The world has been living in darkness and now Jesus had come into the world bringing light where it had not shown before.

At first blush this sound terrific, but we need to recognize that light is not always welcome. When light is shined in the darkness, where light has not been shown before, the things that prefer darkness will hide, and if they cannot hide, they will strike out. This is not news. We are all afraid to stick our hands where we cannot see.

The darkness contains the deeds everyone wishes to hide. Ask the public figures who have been exposed to the light. Look at all the evil that has been done in darkness. We could think of example after example. But let’s not go there. Instead let’s look inwardly.

All of us have our own darkness within us in which we have secrets that we do not want others to discover. We have issues we do not wish exposed. Especially tragic for each of us are the issues that we try to hide from ourselves, pretending they don’t exist. Denial is a great friend in the inner darkness. It helps us not to examine things too closely.

None of us wants our darkness illuminated. But that desire doesn’t work with God. We must remember that Jesus is the light. Wherever God exists nothing can hide from this light. We can hide our issues from others. We can hide them often from ourselves. But,we cannot hide them from God. The light of God penetrates every attempt to sneak away. The light of God penetrates every darkness and exposes all that exists within.

And yet, and this is the most wonderful news of all, God loves us anyway. We are always standing within the light of God, always exposed, yet God loves us even when we do not love, and probably cannot stand the sight of ourselves in that much light. We cannot stand the sight of ourselves, yet God can and does see us as we are, loving us in God’s most incredible way.

And so, we take a breath. We have two pieces of great news today. God has chosen to grant us eternal life and sees us for who we are, loving us anyway, showering us in every moment with love and grace.

It’s like the cartoon I mentioned earlier when Dennis and his friend walked away from Mrs. Wilson’s house with handfuls of cookies. We often say, "I wonder what we did to deserve this?"

The answer my friends is the same as why Mrs. Wilson gave the boys cookies. God gives us grace not because we're nice or deserve it, but because God’s nice and loves us so much.

The Second Sunday in Lent: Being Disciples

March 3, 2021 Andrea Schmid

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.

Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

—Mark 8:31-38 (NRSV)

Several years ago I worked as a paralegal. One of my jobs was to take notes at depositions. Many of these depositions involved asking witnesses to tell us what happened during a workplace event or accident where several people were present. I found it interesting that a group of people could be in the same place at the same time seeing and hearing the same thing and yet their accounts of what they had seen and heard could be completely differently. Each was absolutely sure of what happened. Some people were – to be charitable – fibbing. But most of the time they were sincere that what they were reporting was correct. How could that be? How could that happen?

I think the answer is not so much in what they experienced in that moment but in the experiences they brought with them. We are not robots, not walking, talking video cameras. We are complex. We have heads and hearts that act as filters. And we bring those with us into everything we do. I bring this up because it relates to the portion of the gospel immediately before this one. We don’t get to hear today but it helps us understand the portion that we do hear.

In the earlier verses Jesus has asked his disciples what the crowds are saying about him. Who do they think that he is? The disciples report that people are layering on those filters. They are thinking in terms of the past, of the heroes of their tradition. So they think he is a second Elijah or John the Baptist come back to life.

It’s Peter, though, that sees who Jesus truly is. Peter declares that Jesus is the one, true Messiah. He brings to that declaration every part of his experience with Jesus. Others don’t see it. But Peter does. And he is all in. All in with everything about Jesus. He left his life behind when Jesus called him. He’s followed him for three years. The thought of Jesus suffering and the ministry coming to an ignominious end is an unbearable loss for Peter and he lashes out at Jesus out of that pain and despair.

Jesus’ response to Peter resonates with us centuries later: the key to surviving through times of great suffering, will be to focus on what comes from God, on what is divine and not on things of the world. “For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things,” he tells Peter.

Turning heart and mind towards what God has created and not what humans have created: how do we do this this Lenten season? It’s a good start to choose to welcome the most basic parts of God’s creation, to make an affirmative choice to spend time with the most basic divine things we can think of – and stay there awhile.

God works in the basics. Give yourself time to sit quietly. Run your hands through soil, hold flower petals or weeds, feel the warmth of the sun, listen to the song of a bird or the wind blowing through the trees, take in a full breath of air. The presence of the divine is in all these things. You won’t find the constructs of people there. We let go of the influence and distractions of bright shiny objects of the world so that God can work in us.

That’s not to say that God doesn’t create through us. I believe God does. God sends us prophets and angels to shine a light in our darkness. Listen to the voice of a friend or watch children playing and you’ll see divine presence. If you think back on a time in your life when you were in despair, when life seemed too hard and the future so uncertain that you wanted to give up perhaps there was someone there for you that brought light or lightness, that gave you enough relief to get to the next day. God is at work in these times.

Maybe you are someone’s prophet or angel. Maybe you’re the one who listens to a friend or neighbor struggling with a loss. Maybe you’re the one who takes a meal to someone who is ill. Maybe you’re the one who offers words of encouragement. Maybe you’re the one who has a talent or a skill that can rescue someone from despair. God creates divine love through you.

A reference to carrying a cross filled ancient people with horror. They knew the reality of Roman cruelty. Later they would come to recognize Jesus’ words in their full context: “If you can recognize your own love affair with the world and then discard it, then you may follow me. If you understand that the life I call you to lead will likely cause you to suffer but have confidence in resurrection life, then you may follow me.”

Ancient people quickly learned what we are invited to learn every day. The life we are called to live as Christ-followers is filled with paradox. We gain by losing. We are saved by letting go of self-interest. The first become last. The last, the despised, become first. This is no happiness gospel. This is no prosperity gospel. But it is a true gospel.

We all have to make choices all the time, some big, some very small. Each choice reflects our own discipleship that altogether gives a telling picture of our commitment to love what God loves and set aside what God does not love.

How trusting and faithful are we? Can we do better? Let’s try during this Lent to be the disciples Christ calls us to be, disciples who truly choose what is of God and follow Jesus to the cross. Then nothing in this life can touch us for, as Paul says, “Neither death nor life, neither things present nor things yet to come, shall be able to separate us from the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Thanks be to God. Amen.

Jackawa Jackson Memorial Service

March 3, 2021 Andrea Schmid

The memorial service for Jackawa Jackson will be Saturday, March 6, at 3:00 p.m. at Rose Hills. It will be streamed live on the Saint Matthias Facebook page. Click here to download the bulletin.

Saint Matthias and Its People

February 24, 2021 Andrea Schmid

by Bob Howe

This video, featuring photos from the year or so prior to the pandemic, was created by Bob Howe for the Saint Matthias annual meeting on Sunday, February 21.

The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany: Learning through Living

February 7, 2021 Andrea Schmid

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 Jesus and his disciples left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

—Mark 1:29-39 (NRSV)

There was a fellow named Dave who was a single guy living at home with his widowed father and he worked in the family business. He knew that he would inherit a fortune once his ailing father passed away.

So, Dave wanted two things:

To learn how to invest his inheritance.
To find a wife to share his fortune.

One evening while attending an investment meeting, he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away. He was unable to pay attention to the speaker or take his eyes off her. At the break he sought her out.

“I may look like just an ordinary man,” he said to her, “but in just a few years, my Father will die, and I'll inherit at least $20 million dollars.”

Impressed, the woman requested his business card.

Two weeks later, she became his Stepmother.

Have you ever noticed the difference between the person that starts and grows a business and those that follow, people sort of like Dave in the story? Those that follow don’t have the same kinship with the organization that the originator does.

Whenever I am in Oklahoma, I see a brand of commercial we don’t seem to have much here in California. Featured in the commercial are the owner’s kids. This seems to be especially true in the car business back there. I admit I can hardly watch the kids parading around talking about what a fantastic organization they have grown up in. I can’t help but think about the employees of the business, often stakeholders in the business of long duration I am sure, who deserve to be making the commercials instead of the kids. I wonder how those employees feel. It just can’t be good for company morale, I would imagine.

You see those kids cannot possibly understand the business in the way the founder does. The founder took the big risks. The founder put in the hours, the sweat and blood, the sleepless nights, to begin and build the business. Unless you have been through the experience you can’t possibly understand the process or truly appreciate what has been created.

And when the kids take over more often than not the business fails shortly thereafter. There are exceptions of course, but historically I have found this to be true. They just don’t truly understand the ethos of the business, nor do they have the deep feeling of protection and care for the organization that the founder had.

You see we human beings learn through doing. We learn through our failures, our pain, and tough times probably more effectively than we do our successes.

I remember when one of my daughters was about two or three. She kept trying to stick her finger in the flame of a candle. I kept telling her no, hot. It didn’t matter. She just kept trying to stick her finger in the flame. So, please forgive me I probably failed as a father; I said ok, go ahead. She did and from that moment on she kept her fingers out of flames. It didn’t really hurt her, and she had learned a valuable lesson. By the way she gave me a really dirty look.

I think the gospel passage today alludes to this human reality. We learn through doing and are taught through the pain and suffering that comes with the experience. I know in my lifetime I have learned almost everything the hard way. I keep thinking I will start learning another way, but I don’t seem to. How about you?

Now this gospel is so rich with information I want to mention a few things quickly as I move toward the point. We learn that Jesus lives in Capernaum as does Peter and a couple other disciples. We learn that Peter (Simon) is married. We learn that his mother-in-law has a fever. Then as soon as Jesus heals her, and he does so on the Sabbath against the law as understood at that time, she does what women were supposed to do in the first century. She began to serve them. And then in the evening, when it was no longer the Sabbath the sick was brought to Jesus and he healed them.

And now we get to the point. Thanks for putting up with my digression. The next morning, really early, while it was still dark, Jesus want out to pray. His disciples found him and told him that folks were looking for him. Where had he gone? But, on hearing this information, instead of going back to town he said “Let’s move on to other towns and proclaim the message in those places. Let’s not go back.”

Now imagine how those in Capernaum felt. The guy that could heal them had left town with no warning. That same person who could also feed them had left town. They were getting used to having him around to take care of things. Why would he leave? What kind of loving fellow was this? He talked a good game but obviously didn’t love us the way we thought he did. Now we are on our own and we are going to have to figure things out for ourselves. What’s up with that? Some might have remained angry for the rest of their lives.

The answer I think lies in the relationship Jesus was hoping to have with us. As we discussed earlier, we learn through living and doing. We find wisdom in the pain encountered in life. We learn to appreciate the life we build just as the entrepreneur learns to care for the organization she builds. Depending on Jesus for our welfare would disrupt that growth process. Instead of doing everything for us God gives us the gift of God’s self. God partners with us in our struggles. Meanwhile we grow into the people God is creating us to be.

And so, we ask one more question as we close. What would have happened if Jesus had stayed in Capernaum? Each day the crowds would have grown and the decision to leave would have become tougher to make. And if Jesus never left there would be no Passion Week, no Good Friday, no Resurrection Sunday nor Day of Pentecost. All that would have been left might be a small booklet on the teachings of Jesus and the acts of his healing. Ultimately Jesus came to do more. He came to build the road to eternal life. He had to get up. He had to move on. There was work to do elsewhere.

The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany: What has Jesus to do with Us?

February 2, 2021 Andrea Schmid

by Rev. Carole Horton-Howe

Jesus and his disciples went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

—Mark 1:21-28 (NRSV)

The members of a small neighborhood church had gathered for the memorial service of a beloved church member. The priest who was officiating had only been there a couple weeks and was not yet familiar with members or their families. So when a man she didn’t know came up to the altar at the end of communion she thought he must be a friend of the family.

Suddenly he threw himself on the floor in front of the altar and began to sob uncontrollably. It was one of those moments that life just made an incredible pivot. The church was shocked. The priest was shocked. Even the men from the funeral home - who had probably seen it all - were shocked. And he kept sobbing. It was the kind of moment where you’re not sure if you should interrupt such grief or watch and honor it.

After what seemed like a long time, two ushers gently helped him up and to the back of the church.

This priest had never seen such profound grief and looked for him after the service. She found him in the parking lot with a few concerned parishioners. One of them handed her a note that he had pulled out of his pocket. It read. “My name is Martin. I live in Claremont. I don’t remember my name or where I live most of the time. If you are reading this, I am lost. Please call my wife Lucy. And it listed a number.

The police arrived and asked him what brought him to the church that day. It was a real mystery because he would have had to have walked many miles or taken a series of buses to get there. He told the police he came because he was looking for a woman named Patricia. He asked each of the women in turn, “What’s your name? Are you Patricia?” And finally he came to the priest whose name actually was Patricia although she goes by Pat. “Hello” he said brightly, “I’ve been looking for you all my life.” Then calmly and quietly he got into the police car and they drove him home.

Pat and her parishioners were left wondering what was that? What just happened? Whatever the name Patricia meant to him he went on his way from there calm and collected – healed in some way. She had no explanation but she knows in the midst of a collected group of compassionate community, it happened. God’s care happened.

It’s like Jesus in our gospel story today. He shows up at the synagogue and begins to teach not by quoting prophets or Rabbi’s as the scribes did but from his heart about God with whom he is intimately connected. This leaves them amazed. The encounter with the unclean spirit is sudden and unexpected. His authority to dispatch it causes more than amazement. What a sight the healed and whole man must have been when the evil spirit left him. Jesus’ reputation as a healer increases exponentially.

The healing ministry of Jesus is important in Mark. A few interesting statistics: in Mark’s short gospel of just 16 chapters, there are more miracles than any other gospel. And of the 18 miracles recorded, 13 involve healing and 4 of those are exorcisms like we hear today.

Hearing this story, we are taken into a world that is far from our way of thinking. In the world when Jesus lived, belief in demons as actual beings was real. And terrifying.

I hear the voice of this unclean spirit as a taunting one, tightening its hold while denigrating Jesus. “What have you to do with us?” Like it’s saying, “I’ve been working this patch for a long time spreading pain among the vulnerable and the innocent, you whippersnapper. Who do you think you are?” Faith healers were not uncommon at that time. This ugly spirit might have already faced down some pretenders to the kind of power that Jesus actually brought to bear. And as all in the synagogue watch, Jesus knows where his power is from and that he brings relief through love and life to all – including those suffering under the weight of disease. He doesn’t back down. He tells the spirit to be quiet and be gone.

The unclean spirit’s obedience in effect recognizes that its power over people is ended. Jesus has indeed come to destroy the powers that threaten and demonize that which is more precious to God than any other bit of creation – God’s beloved children, each one of us. This is the second teaching of Jesus. He and he alone has the authority to be at the head of God’s kingdom to say what will bless God’s children, to declare what will endure for them and what will not, what is goodness and what is love. And he demonstrates it with an act of compassion.

In our world of today, in which many forms of sickness are a growing and terrifying concern, these stories of Jesus’ command over sickness seem magical or bizarre to some. When it comes to conquering illness, our default setting is science and what can be accomplished in laboratories and surgical suites.

This morning I heard disturbing news: it is one year ago today that the first case of COVID was identified and diagnosed in the United States. We all know what’s happened since. Hundreds of thousands of people have suffered and died. I also received an email yesterday from a friend who is a chaplain in a large hospital who described what it’s like in a COVID ICU. She said that outside the door of each ICU rooms are the stands that are hung with bags of medications ready to try to bring healing. There isn’t much noise other than the sounds of machines as they cycle or the hurried footsteps of doctors, nurses and therapists moving quickly between the rooms. There are no visitors, no TV’s on, no conversation. It’s quiet. But there’s a lot going on. There’s the compassionate presence of Jesus at work.

I remember in my own days as a hospital chaplain I came to understand that hospitals are like cathedrals. They are sacred space. There are as many prayers launched from hospitals as churches - from the staff, from the patients, from the families - calling on Jesus, asking for his presence and power to summon out the illness and dispatch it. And he is indeed there. In every IV stand, every bag of medication, every bit of equipment embodies Jesus saying “be still and be gone.” Every nurse and doctor bending over a patient and working with skill and wisdom is Jesus saying “be still and be gone.” Every chaplain sitting with a patient or talking on a cell phone with a family to calm them or read scripture to them is Jesus present and saying “be still and be gone.” These are all moments of healing. It is Jesus’ presence in the most compassionate way through those called to the healing arts.

The outcomes are not what we always want. We’ve all seen video of folks leaving the hospital after weeks or months of fighting this monster, in a wheelchair, a little weak but flashing a peace sign or giving a thumbs up. Not all outcomes are what we want. The body can’t always recover. And here I’m remembering our beloved friend Marilyn Summersett. It is then that Jesus is most present, is offering healing by holding them close and saying to the evil presence, “Be still and be gone. He’s with me now. She’s with me.” This is the ultimate healing that God through God’s son Jesus offers us.

Nowhere does the flame of God’s love for us burn more fiercely than in the miracle stories. Nowhere do we see the depth and intensity of God’s compassion for us more clearly than in these stories of healing. God is with all who suffer in whatever ways that might be. God in Jesus steps right into our suffering and serves as a barrier of hope against despair.

What if we ask that question of ourselves and each other, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?”

This question is like a door in this Epiphany season. We go through this door with his followers. In the gospel last week Peter, Andrew, James and John answered “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” by leaving everything behind and following him. What are we willing to leave behind? Jesus, what do you mean to us? Are you at the heart of everything that happens in our lives? Does this question move us forward and invite us to consider who we are with our families, our friends with our God and one another, with strangers who wander into our lives. How does your teaching shape the way we live? How does the demonstration of your compassion to those in need shape our response to the people and situations crying out in need of our response?

As we read through Mark’s gospel and especially this passage today I think we are on notice that God’s call to us in God’s boundary-breaking, law-transcending, demon-dispatching, and compassion-showing Son asks us for our continual amazement. Amen.

The Third Sunday after the Epiphany: Answering the Call

January 24, 2021 Andrea Schmid

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 John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Photo by Emre Kuzu from Pexels — Photo by **Emre Kuzu** from **Pexels**

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

—Mark 1:14-20 (NRSV)

There’s a lot of talk about leadership these days and I am quite certain that one of the things great leaders are constantly seeking is good information with which to make decisions. Here’s a quick story about that.

A man was driving around the backwoods and he saw a sign in front of an old, shanty style house that said “Talking dog for sale.” So, he rang the bell and the owner appeared and told him the dog was in the backyard.

The guy went into the backyard and saw a nice looking Labrador retriever sitting there. “You talk?” he asked.

“Yes I do,” the Lab replied.

After the guy recovered from the shock of hearing a dog talk, he said “So, what's your story?”

The Lab looked up and said, “Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA. In no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping.”I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running. But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security, wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals.

“I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I'm just retired.”

The guy was amazed. He went back in and asked the owner what he wanted for the dog.

“Ten dollars,” the guy said.

“Ten dollars? This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?”

“Because that dog's a liar. He never did any of those things.”

I have had the opportunity to preach about today’s gospel many times. It has always concerned me that these four fishermen were willing to just jump up and follow Jesus. “Follow me”, he said, and they did. Really?

Now I have theorized many things. I have wondered if this was some sort of miracle. I have thought perhaps they already knew Jesus and were just waiting on the sign from him that things were about to start. I have wondered if Jesus was just that charismatic and people automatically did what he suggested. Unfortunately, the gospel writer doesn’t bother to flesh the story out. He just tells us that immediately they got up and followed Jesus with absolutely no explanation why. It has always bothered me since it makes little sense that they would do that.

But then I recently had a new thought. Perhaps that’s the point. Perhaps we are called by Jesus, our leader, and asked to do things without all the information. And Jesus hopes we will respond to the call based strictly on his request and our trust in his leadership. And sometimes we do.

And sometimes we don’t.

So why don’t we? Well, it seems there are many good reasons. Perhaps we are unsure the request is real or that it is truly coming from Jesus. Perhaps we are concerned with lifestyle questions. What might we have to give up or take on? Perhaps the request doesn’t make sense to us. Maybe we don’t feel we have the time. Perhaps it’s just something we don’t want to do. Perhaps we feel incapable.

Now we often envision huge issues when we think about a call from Jesus. Does Jesus want us to become an ordained leader in the church? Does Jesus want us to become a monk? Does Jesus want us to take on lay leadership? As part of the call, do we need to go back to school or jump through various hoops? What will be required of us?

Or is the call from Jesus something less onerous. Is it something we are being asked to do in place, right where we are? Is it something just for today? Is someone standing in front of us with a need we are being asked to fulfill? Are we being asked to drop everything we planned for the next couple hours and do something else? Not all calls are huge, but often they may feel like they are in the moment.

Ok, of primary importance of course is discerning the reality of the call. Is it really from Jesus? Does Jesus really want something from me? From me?

As we think about the reality of the call, we have a huge decision to make before going any further. We need to decide who is in charge if it turns out to be a real call. Is it us or is it God?

Here is a term we may have discussed before that applies to the situation. “Holy Indifference”. This means we want to know what the call is and we want to know if it is real, and most importantly, we have decided that we are personally indifferent. We are only interested in doing what God is asking, whatever it may be. We are going to maintain a state of “Holy Indifference”, waiting on God to make God’s wishes apparent.

We will pray about the call. We will visit scripture. We will share with our brothers and sisters as needed. And we will wait.

My experience is that life changing calls take time to discern. Little calls are pretty obvious. The other day I was walking up to the grocery store. There was a mother there with a small child and they had a sign telling the world they needed financial help. God clearly told me in that moment I was being called to help them. So, I did. It was an obvious call, quickly understood, and quickly followed.

The truth is God speaks pretty directly to each of us, rather regularly. Often, we aren’t listening, and even more often we say no. But this I am sure of: the more often we answer the call the better we become in discerning the voice of God as opposed to the noise that surrounds us. Try it out a little more often if you haven’t already. See if I’m right.

The Second Sunday after the Epiphany: God isn’t Simple

January 17, 2021 Andrea Schmid

by Fr. Bill Garrison

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

Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

—John 1:43-51 (NRSV)

I watch the news these days as I imagine do most of you. I can’t seem to take my eyes off the news channels. I would like to but I can’t seem to. They say people experience the same thing at train wrecks. And I have never seen so many experts on television before. Have you noticed? Know-it-alls are everywhere we look and they seem to be shouting at the top of their lungs. So, there is a little story I have always wanted tell and this Sunday seems like the perfect time to tell it.

A small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness to the stand in a trial--a grandmotherly, elderly woman. He approached her and asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know me?”

She responded, “Why, yes, I do know you Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a young boy. And frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a rising big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you never will amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.”

The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do he pointed across the room and asked, “Mrs. Williams, do you know the defense attorney?”

She again replied, “Why, yes I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. I used to baby-sit him for his parents. And he, too, has been a real disappointment to me. He's lazy, bigoted, he has a drinking problem. The man can't build a normal relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of the shoddiest in the entire state. Yes, I know him.”

At this point, the judge rapped the courtroom to silence and called both counsellors to the bench. In a very quiet voice, he said with menace, “If either of you asks her if she knows me, you'll be in jail for contempt within 5 minutes!”

I have only one question to ask. Where can we find that woman?!

Speaking about know-it-alls last Sunday morning I got up at the normal time, about five thirty. After a few minutes I walked out into the living room to find the television on. And what did I see? I saw my least favorite televangelist. I don’t know if this program was done to punish me or what. What a way to start Sunday morning.

You ask why he bothers me? Here is why. This guy, who will go nameless, knows everything. And what is really cool is he claims that if you do as he says your life will be just dandy. I guess I’m jealous, because I don’t know much at all apparently. I certainly can’t tell you what to do to make yourselves happy, rich, beautiful or handsome, and famous. Apparently, according to my television friend God is just waiting to shower what we desire upon us.

Somehow, I appear to be missing the boat.

In the gospel read a few minutes ago we heard a question being asked in reference to Jesus. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” And then we heard an invitation. “Come and see.”

Today let’s think about that invitation. Let’s go and see. And it’s the Epiphany season, a time for looking at things in a new way, seeing things as perhaps we haven’t before. So perhaps that will happen today.

I am a Christian and as such I look to Jesus to discover the nature of God and what our relationship with God truly is. What was Jesus like? What did he believe? How did he live his life? There are a ton of questions to be asked and just as many answers to be sought.

Yes, something good came out of Nazareth. And Jesus was real, not an idea, not a set of quotations. He was three dimensional, not two dimensional; complex, not simple. I believe we have a tendency to see Jesus, and God, as two dimensional and in doing so we tend to simplify God and God’s nature.

When I was in seminary I learned to beware of overarching narratives. What I mean by that are simple answers for complex situations. The one size fits all concept. If this, then that. We do this to God all the time. We attempt to put our understanding of God in a box, or on a piece of paper, so that we can say to ourselves and others that we understand God and can predict God’s actions.

By doing so we cheat ourselves in our relationship with God. Here are some examples of simplifying God if in our daily speech and beliefs.

If I am spiritual enough things will go great for me.

Everything happens for a reason.

You are exactly where God wants you to be.

Certain lifestyle choices are rejected by God.

I just need to give it to the Lord.

God helps those who help themselves.

If I change my behavior I will grow spiritually and God will like me better.

If I have God, I don’t need people.

Or let’s ask ourselves a question. Let me quote something attributed to Jesus. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those that mistreat you.” Is Jesus asking us to be doormats for others to walk on?

Every example I have just mentioned springs from a simplified, two-dimensional concept of God. When we allow God/Jesus a third dimension we immediately understand that the guidance God gives also requires our common sense to interpret in the moment and the situation.

Why were the Pharisees always upset with Jesus? Because he was constantly reinterpreting the scriptures by applying common sense to them, Sabbath observance and who Jesus hung out with being the most obvious examples. He was letting us know that compassion and love guide the use of the rules. Check it out. Every miracle Jesus performed came out of his love and compassion for the person or people being aided.

So, let’s consider. Let’s think about Jesus’ common-sense approach to the rules for living as represented in his love and compassion. It challenges us and reforms our approach to scripture and what we find there. Everything we read and think about God becomes three dimensional, rather than just words on a page.

Now it’s easy to understand God’s call to love others and have compassion for them. But for most of us it’s not as easy to understand God’s love for us and God’s hope that we will show ourselves that same love and compassion. If we think about it for a bit though doesn’t it seem that God wants that for each of us too?

So, here’s our invitation. Let’s try to think about God as three dimensional. God’s rules have some give and take in them, and are designed that way. Jesus proved that for us in his life and actions. The rules require the application of our common sense as we add love and compassion to the rule and the situation in which the rule is being applied. Try it next time when you come upon an oversimplification and see what happens. I guarantee it will open your eyes.

The First Sunday after the Epiphany: Living Baptismally

January 10, 2021 Andrea Schmid

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.

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

—Mark 4:1-11 (NRSV)

Today we’ve moved quite a lot further in the story about Jesus. His childhood is behind him. He is ready to step into his public ministry. And so he comes to the Jordan River to be baptized. Jesus does not hesitate to join the crowd at the river who are responding to John’s call to turn their lives around and seek relationship with God in the framework of Covenant and Law. Now Jesus has no need to turn his life around like them and like us. But in his baptism by John, the author of the Gospel shows us Jesus doing what God through Jesus always does: stands by us and stands with us, stands for us in our great need of God’s grace.

If we were able to be in the church together today we would likely be having a baptism to two. Like the baptism of Jesus, baptisms today are community events for all to celebrate. We participate by revisiting those promises made for us or by us. Through baptism, we are forgiven, loved, and free to become more fully who God has created us to be: living community showing what happens when divine love is at work in the world.

It’s a little like to story of the two guys traveling in Spain. It’s Sunday morning and they’d like to experience a worship service in one of the magnificent churches or cathedrals they’ve toured during the week. So they join a service – and quickly realize it’s in Spanish – and they don’t understand Spanish. Well, they think. No problem. They pick a guy in the front row and decide they’ll be safe if they just follow that guy’s lead – stand when he stands, sit when he sits. They’ll blend in and all will be well.

The congregation sits down following a hymn. The priest is speaking when they notice their guy stands up. So they do too. Everyone in the cathedral turns, looks at them and bursts out laughing. Embarrassed and confused they make their way out a side door. A little later, they’re having breakfast at a café and who should walk in but the priest who greets them in English. The kind priest asks them “do you know why everyone was laughing? We were having a baptism today and I asked the father of the child to stand up.”

As Christians we are called to stand up together and to live a different kind of life, a life set apart from the world around us and yet somehow also very much in its midst.: a life forever changed and forever changing things that are death-dealing into life-giving.

This what is asked of us in the Baptismal Covenant:

Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers?

Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?

Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?

Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

So our job is to live baptismally. And, living baptismally - what is that all about?

It’s about knowing that we have been forever changed by the acknowledgment of God’s working in our life. And each of those promises can only be kept living in loving community with each other. Each promise requires being connected to God and to all of God’s creation and each other. Living into these promises fully is God’s dream for us.

I can’t spend time with you today without referring back to what we have experienced and the scenes we witnessed in our nation’s capital last Wednesday. Like you I found them startling and disturbing. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I kept hoping that I was not actually watching breaking news but a movie channel. The things we saw unfolding right in front of us were more like B-movie fiction. But it was news and actually happening. It felt like we lived a whole year in a day.

Wednesday was Epiphany the day when we as a church recognize the arrival of the wise men at the manger, a time that men of great wisdom and devotion to the sacred finally see the prince of peace born under a star. But that’s not what we saw. We saw escalating violence that degraded what Americans hold sacred. Despair, anger, incredulity, every emotion was so close to the surface. So much was wrong about that day. We are and will live in its wake for a while.

And yet, nothing I saw on television was a disturbing as what I read on social media. Over and over again, I saw angry people telling their “friends” who hold a different point of view that they no longer wanted to be in relationship with them. The lingo is “unfriending” and it means they demand an abrupt and complete cut-off of all communication. It’s always amazed me how free people feel to express extreme ideas electronically that I’m certain they would never say to someone’s face. But electronically on a global platform they do. In the last year it’s gotten worse. On Wednesday it was painful.

Ending relationships is the great breaking of our baptismal vows. I can’t think of anything that God wants less for us than this breaking apart. We can have discussions about right and wrong, what is true and what is not. All those are valuable things. But we can only have them if we stay connected. What is important today is that we stay in relationship with one another. We cannot be close to God unless we are close to each other.

Here’s a hard truth – and I’m going to step outside the gospel reading for today and quote from Luke’s gospel. Jesus says:

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

We are asked to be in relationship with others especially when they are not like us, with people we don’t agree with, with those who don’t seem like our kind of people. But they are. Because all of us are created by God out of God’s love and concern. We all know this is hard. Very hard. God knows this is hard. That’s why the response to each of the questions in the Baptismal Covenant is the same --“I will, with God's help.”

I hope you’ve seen another image on social media. It’s not from Wednesday afternoon, it’s from very early Thursday morning. After the business of Congress was done, Congressman Andy Kim saw the garbage left behind by the mob. He grabbed a bag and joined those who were picking up the trash in the great hall of the capitol building. “When you see something you love, you want to fix it.” I don’t know anything else about Congressman Kim beyond this story. But that sure looks like living baptismally to me.

It’s going to get better. It’s going to be fine. We just have to stay together. By living into our baptismal vows we join Jesus and John and all those who come to the river. God sees us, the beloved, with whom God is well pleased. Amen.

Presiding Bishop Curry's Word to the Church: Who shall we be?

January 9, 2021 Andrea Schmid

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Michael Curry, has offered the following message to the church regarding the events of the past week. (To read the transcript on the Episcopal Church website, click here.)

The Second Sunday after Christmas Day: Parenthood

January 3, 2021 Andrea Schmid

by Fr. Bill Garrison

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

The parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem every year for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day's journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety." He said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

—Luke 2:41-52 (NRSV)

Good morning. The gospel chosen this morning leads us to chat about children. As a result, I went looking for something fun to share with you about the process of parenting in a pandemic. I ran across an article that carried real messages on twitter from parents. Here are my favorites of those I read.

From the mother of a 16- year-old: “I tracked 16’s phone to see if he was where he was supposed to be. He was not. So, I called 16 and asked where he was. He named the place he was supposed to be. I said oh REALLY? And the sound of his sighing realization that technology can be a dangerous issue for you literally made my whole day.”

From the mother of a younger child: “At my daughter’s 4-year checkup, the doctor said she should be eating a varied diet and to make sure she’s eating a good amount from each food group and I think she said a bit about trying new foods but not sure cause I got distracted wondering if she’d ever actually met a 4yo.”

From the mother of more than one child doing school online: “You can be a calm, rational person who doesn’t rage-eat potato chips before 10am, or you can be a parent of children doing online school. You cannot be both.”

Finally, the words of a parent who is about to become childless: “Thoughts and prayers for my son who thought it would be funny to tell me “I’ll get to it when I get to it, woman.”

Before we begin, I want to acknowledge something incredibly important. The drive to have children is overwhelming for almost everybody. Most of us have children easily and often. Unfortunately, there are people who struggle to have children, and some that are never successful. Their loss and pain is awful and overwhelming. I share their sorrow. All I can say is that every person that loves children makes the world a better place. Every child needs adults that care about them. And the more adults they have in their lives that love them the better. We must recognize that all the world’s children are all of our concern. We are all caretakers of children.

Today’s gospel story is the only story we have in scripture regarding Jesus as a child other than the birth stories. To me it’s an odd one, but on the other hand I think it is an instructive one. Some of the very same issues that are raised in the story are dealt with every day in the service of our children twenty centuries later.

As the gospel begins Jesus is about twelve and his family has gone to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. According to the story this is something they did every year and through that fact we know they were strictly observant Jews. In addition, we learn that the trip they were making to Jerusalem started in Nazareth so one more time we are reminded that Jesus grew up in Nazareth.

During the family’s time in Jerusalem the Passover observance came and went and Joseph and Mary started home, a journey that would take a few days. After traveling the first day’s journey they realized that Jesus wasn’t with them. The text tells us that Jesus had stayed behind.

So, let’s think about this. First of all, a twelve-year-old is making decisions for himself, and second his parents have gone an entire day without realizing he is missing. What’s wrong with this picture? First Jesus was apparently unaware of the stress that he would be putting on his family, and second his parents are apparently too busy with his brothers and sisters to realize he is missing.

Can you imagine the consternation and fear for his safety his parents must have felt on the one hand, and the embarrassment over having lost their child on the other? How many of us have been there? I know I have.

I cannot imagine anything more personally devastating than not knowing where your child is. I don’t care how old the child is, when you don’t know where they are it fills your veins with ice water. The fear for their safety is overwhelming and all consuming. It can also be embarrassing as you imagine people are thinking horrible things about you as a parent, never realizing or remembering you are far from alone. Almost everybody who has raised a child has been through it.

And then there is young Jesus. Fully human and fully divine. He has made a terrible decision. He has stayed behind without concern for what this would do to his family. His reaction to them, when they finally discover he is in the Temple, tells us he hasn’t given their welfare a thought. He is acting like a child. The son of God is doing the very thing our own children do. If Jesus is susceptible to making this sort of error how can we be too critical of our own kids?

So, they headed back to find him, a day’s journey back and then three days hunting for him in Jerusalem. That’s four days with their hearts in their mouths, worried sick.

Now the author tells us how amazed everybody was by the incredible insight Jesus was displaying, and the questions he was asking of the teachers in the Temple. Well, isn’t that nice? Big smile.

But come on. Let’s put ourselves in their shoes. I imagine pride for their child was not the first emotion his parents had. The first emotion after four days of searching for him would have been overwhelming relief, and then I am sure they would have liked to ring his neck. I know that would have been my reaction.

And so, they asked him some questions which I will paraphrase. “What were you thinking? We have been in great anxiety. Why would you do this to us?” I guess complex theology was more readily understood by him than was the idea that his parents had suffered as a result of his actions because his first words to them were, “you were looking for me?” Duh!

I am constantly amazed at the emphasis on the idea that Jesus would be “in his father’s house” and shouldn’t they have known that, rather than the fact he hadn’t given his parent’s feelings two thoughts. Again, if Jesus was in need of a little love and guidance and discipline then how can we not understand that our own kids need the same thing? This story underlines and emphasizes the universal need for the proper care and feeding of children. The good news in the gospel story is that apparently Jesus finally got the message because the story also says he went with them back to Nazareth and was obedient.

Now I am struck by the next to last line of the gospel. I quote it here. “His mother treasured all these things in her heart.” She treasured “all these things” in her heart. Really? You just spent a few days trying to find him, worried sick.

I guess I have to admit as I think about it that I get it. I have raised children, boys and girls, and I don’t have a single bad memory in regards to their behavior. And they each did some pretty interesting things. I won’t recount them here but just take it from me, they were pretty inventive. My thoughts of killing them in the moment have somehow evaporated and been replaced with pleasant thoughts about the same events. Sometimes I laugh out loud as I think about their capers. I find that fascinating and revealing about parenthood.

Do you suppose God feels the same way about each of us? After all God is the ultimate parent. As an example, God showers us with grace every day, even when we don’t deserve it. On top of that God must love us a lot because God made us eternal beings. God is stuck with us for all time. Imagine that. It’s incredible to think about isn’t it?

So, finally our invitation today is to think about God as the best parent ever. God wanted us desperately, created us, and loves us even when we are unlovable. God treasures all these things in God’s heart just like Mary it seems. Isn’t that great? Chew on that for a bit.

Christmas Day

December 28, 2020 Andrea Schmid

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.

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

—Luke 2:1-20 (NRSV)

Merry Christmas! It’s Christmas Day. And it’s time to celebrate the day when everything changed. This glorious morning we see both a sort of grand finale in God’s work through the extraordinary choices of humble people. And a grand opening of possibilities for them and for us.

Remember Mary who courageously said yes to God’s call to be the mother of God on earth at tremendous personal risk. And Joseph, a righteous man faithful to God, who could have abandoned her, but who listened to God’s angel and made the choice to take his pregnant fiance as his wife.

Today we hear about the angels appearing to the shepherds, announcing the birth of Jesus not to a royal court but to a few guys looking after sheep. In spite of being half scared to death they made the choice to leave what they knew for the possibility of something extraordinary.

Fr. Bill pointed out in his sermon last night that Jesus came at time when the Jewish people lived under systems of power and rules. Power of the Roman rulers whose harsh treatment left them poor and abused sometimes to the point of death of they refused to worship the emperor as their god. And rules – the rules of life that insisted on compliance in order to be good standing with God. And these too were difficult and oppressive. Their lives were one hardship after another in poverty and brokenness. God sees them, hears them, knows their needs and loves them. Into this world comes a tiny baby, God’s gift to mend their broken lives and offer them nothing less than salvation.

This process of mending reminds me of an ancient Japanese art called Kintsugi. A literal translation is “golden joinery” but a better understanding might be gold mending. It is the process of mending broken pottery with gold. The Kintsugi master sees flaws and imperfections, and applies precious gold to create an even stronger vessel, even a beautiful piece of art

I’ve asked Andrea to share a photo of a bowl that has been mended by a Kintsugi master. You can see that it’s pretty ordinary. Any of us that have eaten rice or soup in a Chinese restaurant have probably held a bowl like this. When it broke, though, it wasn’t discarded. Brokenness is part of its history to be seen, rather than something to disguise. Every break is unique and instead of trying to repair something in a way that covers or erases the breaks, kintsugi actually highlights the “scars" as a part of the design. And it’s a lovely work of art now.

When I was unpacking the figures for our own crèche I came across this little guy, one of the sheep. It looks to have broken in at least 7 or 8 pieces. He’s clearly been put back together. Maybe one of you knows the story. Maybe you were the one who it back together. It couldn’t have been easy. But here he is. It’s not fine gold, it’s more like Elmer’s glue from someone’s kitchen drawer. But it is whole and present along with all the other figures in the crèche. His presence is important.

Using this as a metaphor for our own healing points us to an important lesson: Sometimes in the process of mending what is broken, we actually create something unique and resilient. A mended Kintsugi piece is believed to be more beautiful, more valuable and stronger because it has been transformed by suffering out of suffering.

You might relate better to the beautiful Japanese bowl with it’s gold mending or the little lamb with globs of glue. But either one points us to God’s redemptive transforming love that is present in the manger on Christmas morning.

We are all broken because of pain. We have all been dropped and shattered in some way. For some, the shards are bigger than others but the brokenness is all the same.

What is on offer today is salvation. Not trying to wipe out or cover up our wounds but filling them in and becoming whole again. Salvation is wholeness. It isn’t perfection. The cracks and breaks aren’t going away, we’ll always have them. But if we lose ourselves in the joy of the coming of a savior we will be made whole – stronger, more resilient and beautiful.

Starting today, with this story, we have God’s qualities of forgiveness, joy, mercy, and compassion in the teaching and life of Jesus Christ that binds us back together with love. He makes us whole. He restores us. Because of his life, death, and resurrection, we have life on earth transformed and life eternal with God.

No matter how many times we hear this story, we can be always be amazed, feel the drama and passion so that our eyes may be opened once more to things we may not have seen or heard before.It is the unfolding story of the birth of Jesus, named “God is with us” and the start of our own story of hope, healing, wholeness and redemption through God’s loving intervention and presence. Amen.

Christmas Eve

December 27, 2020 Andrea Schmid

by Fr. Bill Garrison

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

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

—Luke 2:1-20 (NRSV)

Photo by Burkay Canatar from Pexels — Photo by **Burkay Canatar** from **Pexels**

It’s Christmas Eve. Here’s a little story to get things started.

A couple were Christmas shopping at the Mall on Christmas Eve and the Mall was packed. Walking through the Mall, the surprised wife looked up and noticed her husband was nowhere to be found and she was very upset because they had a lot to do.

She used her mobile to call her husband because she was so upset, to ask him where he was. The husband, in a calm voice, said, “Honey, do you remember the jewelry store we went into 10 years ago where you fell in love with that diamond necklace that we couldn't afford, and I told you that I would get it for you one day?"

His wife, crying with joy, said “Yes, yes! I remember that jewelry store! "

He said, “Well, I'm in the sporting goods store next to it."

When we think about why we love Christmas so much we naturally think about our precious memories of Christmases past. And then we build expectations for what this version of Christmas is going to be like.

We hope that the weather will be crisp and the sky full of stars on Christmas Eve as we head out to church. We can’t wait to see the inside of the church because of how beautiful we know it will be. The music we are certain will be just fantastic. We can’t wait to open presents with our family and friends, maybe share a mug of hot chocolate. Hugs and well wishes will be shared with everyone we see. The foods we love will be everywhere and plentiful. We will see family we only encounter on special occasions. What a great time we will have!

Oh, but wait. For the first time in any of our lives, things are going to be different. We won’t be at church. We won’t have hugs all around. We won’t hear the music up close and personal. We won’t see those loved ones that we look forward to seeing each year. The list of things that we love but that won’t happen seems to stretch on forever. It’s discouraging.

Instead, here we are on Zoom and Facebook, doing the best we can under the circumstances. Church is pretty, but it’s being experienced from home. There won’t be hugging at the peace. Instead, we will great each other in chat. The music we know is pretty, but it doesn’t seem as powerful experienced from afar. And we can go out, but honestly there’s nowhere to go and nobody to see. It’s sad.

But my friends I think God is presenting us with an opportunity tonight. It’s a chance to concentrate on the importance of Christmas rather than all the extraneous things we enjoy so much but which make the Christ child a little difficult to see.

I guess it is kind of like this. In the Gospel of Mark Jesus is constantly asking people not to tell others about the miracles he has performed. I am quite certain the reason he does that is he realizes the miracles overshadow the teaching. He wants people to learn about the Kingdom of God. Instead, they get lost in the miracles. Jesus knows the teaching is more important than the miracles but the miracles are causing folks to miss the teaching.

Well tonight God is providing us with an opportunity to get past the miracle of Christmas, and to see more clearly the impact the birth of Jesus has had on the world.

When Jesus was born, he was born into a culture of power and rules. How a person was to live in relationship to God and other people was very strict. There were rules, over six hundred of them about what to eat, who to be with, when to do what, and who to avoid at all cost among other things. The Hebrew scriptures, the scriptures for God’s chosen people, were being interpreted in a very strict way and God seemed far away and often angry. You earned your way to salvation by your life and deeds.

And so, God decided it was time to do something about that for his chosen, and while God was at for the rest of us too. God entered the world in the form of a baby and lived and died as one of us. It is the demarcation line of history. The birth of Jesus is that important.

One of the things that happened as a result is that when we study the life of Jesus, we encounter a blueprint for living. We see that Jesus prayed. He found time for himself. He was close to his friends. He had a sense of humor. He was compassionate. He was forgiving. He brought common sense to the rules found in Torah for living. His love for humankind was on display almost all of the time. He asked us to emulate him to the best of our ability.

More importantly we learn about the nature of God through the study of Jesus and some of God’s hopes for each of us. We find out for sure that God loves us in ways we can only begin to fathom. God hopes we will use our common sense and not blindly follow rules. God hopes we will forgive as God forgives us. God hopes we will be compassionate as God is compassionate. God hopes we will allow ourselves to love.

And then there is the biggest change of all and this pandemic we are suffering through is the best metaphor for it I know. We have been suffering with the virus for ten or so months now. An incredible number of people have gotten sick and way too many people have died. The vaccines to take care of things, stopping the sickness and the dying, have just arrived. We are about to find our way back to a healthy society over the next few months.

In the same way, human beings were suffering and dying before God broke the fabric of reality and entered the world. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ changed all that. Humans became eternal beings. God provided salvation for all of us.

In effect, God through Jesus Christ became the vaccine that stopped the pandemic of death. As a result, we no longer needed to fear death. The vaccine that is Jesus Christ made us immune. We had eternal life.

So yes, we aren’t having the kind of experience we would like this Christmas. But it turns out that it’s a gift of understanding we probably could not have received any other way. We get a chance to see the true miracles without the distractions that normally surround them. When things return to normal, perhaps we can remember this special experience too as we do all the others, like those fabulous cookies that seem to be everywhere.

Merry Christmas.

The Fourth Sunday of Advent: Calling

December 21, 2020 Andrea Schmid

by Fr. Bill Garrison

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

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

—Luke 1:26-38 (NRSV)

One of the curses of preaching is that most of us want to do something fresh each week, something that will astound and amaze. Of course, that is impossible, and certain times of the year remind us that well-worn shoes are more comfortable than brand new shoes. Seasonal stories that we repeat in Advent and Christmas are like well-worn shoes. They make us comfortable, kind of warm and fuzzy, every year. So, I have a well-worn story and some well-worn ideas and then a surprise to impart this morning. First the story that fits this gospel so well.

There were three fellows sitting on a bench in the park chatting with one another as guys will. They hadn’t mentioned it to each other but sitting on a bench about halfway across the park was a fellow that resembled somebody famous. Each of them kept looking over at this person as they talked and their attention was diverted more and more.

Finally, one of them spoke to the other two. “Do you see that guy over there?” His companions nodded.

“Does he look like Jesus, or what?”

Well, none of the three of them had wanted to be the first to bring it up but they all agreed he looked just like Jesus.

“Do you suppose?” “Naw, can’t be.” “Sure looks like him though.”

Well, they continued to sit on the park bench and conjecture with each other about who this person was and how much he looked like Jesus.

Finally, the Jesus lookalike stood up and began to walk towards them. In fact, he walked right up to them and stood there in front of their bench looking kindly at them. They were a bit taken-a-back.

Jesus reached over and touched Tom on his left arm and immediately Tom noticed a change. He said, “Oh my goodness, this shoulder has been stiff and sore ever since I hurt it. Now it feels great. I’ve got a full range of motion. Wow! Thanks a lot.

The next person anointed by Jesus was Bob. He was touched on his forehead. Immediately he felt different too. “You know I have just learned to live with a constant headache. I thought I would have it the rest of my life. The doctors have never been able to help me, but now I feel great! I just can’t thank you enough. This will change my life for sure.

And then Jesus looked at John. But John slid away from him and moved on down the bench. Then, continuing to move away, all excited and a little afraid he said. “Hey don’t touch me man. I’m on disability!”

The gospel this morning is incredibly familiar. Ultimately, it’s about saying yes or no to God. Is it historical or primarily metaphorical? I will let you decide the answer but first I offer a couple of thoughts.

Interestingly there is no pre-Christian Jewish tradition suggesting that the messiah would be born of a virgin. No one used the Hebrew scriptures in this way before the life of Christ. The only conceivable parallels are pagan ones, and these fiercely Jewish stories have certainly not been modeled on them. Luke would have known that telling this story ran the risk of making Jesus out to be a pagan demigod. So, here’s a question to ponder, “Why, would Luke take this risk of insisting on something so outlandish unless he believed it to be true?

At the very least, the story of Jesus' virginal conception affirms that Jesus was "born not of blood or the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God." It is a metaphorical affirmation of Jesus' identity and significance. Like the voice in the transfiguration story, it affirms, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him."

So, please let me summarize the story. The angel Gabriel is visiting Mary and giving her some interesting news. She had been sitting alone in her room and I would imagine his arrival scared her witless. Gabriel tells her that God has plans for her. She has somehow curried God’s favor. She is to have a baby, an important baby, the Christ child, and she is to name him Jesus. This baby is going to be the savior of the world. His reign will be forever.

That’s some unbelievable news for a young lady that was probably fourteen or fifteen years old. Her reaction is interesting. After the angel assures her that she need not be afraid, I mean this is an angel visiting her, she has a really important question. How can this be? I have never been with a man. And the angel answers her question by saying the Lord will overshadow her and this is the way she will conceive. Overshadowing is a Hebrew Scriptures way of describing God’s involvement in our lives in a way that does not completely overpower us. It’s often characterized as a light within a cloud. We know God is there and we are able to see God without dying.

Reality sort of held its breath at this point I am sure as she pondered the angel’s message from God. God never demands that we do anything. God always asks. That’s the way God set things up. It’s called freewill. So, Mary could have said no. But she did not. She said yes. “I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word.” What an incredibly important statement in the history of the world.

And this is the point in the sermon where I am expected to talk about the rest of us answering God’s call. A story or two would be nice and perhaps once again I could tell you about how it took me thirty years to answer God’s call to priesthood. But I am not going to do that. I am going another direction. Here’s the surprise I promised.

God has made God’s hopes for us pretty obvious. Check out the Ten Commandments or the extra commandments spoken by Jesus. Do the loving thing, Tell the truth. Don’t take other people’s stuff. You know the expectations.

On top of that each of us gets specific calls from God in certain situations to do God’s work. Sometimes we are aware of the call and sometimes we aren’t. Sometimes we answer the call and sometimes we don’t.

I am here to tell you that either way, whether we answer the call or don’t it’s ok. You heard me. It’s ok.

One of the things I have learned in life and the priesthood is that everyone is doing the very best they can under their specific circumstances. Their responses may not be our responses but we don’t get to judge them, or each other for that matter. And folks if we know this little tidbit so does God. God knows our circumstances and God certainly isn’t as judgmental as we seem to be.

God is going to love them and us anyway, no matter what. And since we are eternal beings, we will continue to get more chances to answer the call. It’s God’s gift of grace to each of us. So, give yourselves a break, and give your neighbor a break too. It’s about to be Christmas in the middle of a pandemic. We could all use one.