August 30, 2023

Earlier this year Bishop Sutton had diocesan clergy read, Do I Stay Christian? by Brian McLaren.

You may have heard of him. He was raised in the Evangelical tradition of Christianity and over time left that branch to align with a more inclusive form of Christianity. He was also big in the emergent church movement. He has also written over 15 books that deal with inclusivity of all kinds and calling into question (or simply renouncing) simplistic black and white answers that focus more on following rules and punishment than in pursuing God's love of all people.

At various spots in the book he makes some of the following statements:

“I must renounce all forms of Christianity that claim to defend supremacy, privilege, domination, and violence.”

“Nobody is born a religious jerk. It takes a religion to help someone become that way.”

“The Christian community still remains largely ignorant of or in denial about its detestable history of anti-Semitism.”

“When you observe the passion and persistence with which [conservative Christians] speak out against LGBTQ equality, and the nonchalance with which they seek to eradicate abuses of power by their own, you have to wonder.”

There are many other quotable lines in there coming from a place of inclusion and a place of regret in having been part of a system that looks to punish people in the name of God.

As I read the book, it occurred to me that, without knowing it, Brian was quoting from the Book of Common Prayer. The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God, not to separate them into the blessed and the damned. All people are created in the image of God, therefore we must love our neighbor as our self. Because all people are created in God's image, we must strive for justice and respect the dignity of every human being.

These things Brian is saying are things that the Episcopal church has been saying for a long time. So it both amuses me and frustrates me that our overall position of inclusivity and equality seems to be generally ignored while someone like Brian McLaren can write about these things and garner a following.

The Episcopal church has been on this bandwagon, as I said, for a long time. We have fought our own internal battles over the full inclusion of women, LGBT people, and minorities. We have come to a place where who you are or how you define yourself is generally less important than whether or not you work to follow Christ, resist evil, and proclaim the Good News of God in Christ.

We have good news to share.

Saint John's Day is Sunday, September 10, and the theme is “Bring a Friend.” You have a week and a half to think about how and whom you will invite to church that day so they can experience here at Saint John's the same thing that Brian McLaren has been writing about – inclusivity and equality are gifts from God.

Blessings,

August 23, 2023

Have you noticed the morning change?

Over the past few days the mornings are cooler than they have been. The sun rises incrementally later each day, adding to the length of time it remains cool. Driving into the office with the windows down feels good. And I can almost catch the faint scent of autumn in those few early morning hours.

But it doesn't stay that way for very long. At least, that wasn't the case late last week and into Sunday and Monday of this week. Very quickly the temperature rose into the upper '80's and the humidity also rose. I spent most of Monday in my car, driving from one meeting to the next, and from one visitation to the next. The A/C would just start to get the car cooled off when I had to park and make my visit; only to climb back into a car that felt like it was 110 degrees. By the time I got home I was exhausted from dealing with the heat.

In the big picture, things don't seem to have changed. It's still hot and humid, and summer, while winding down (school starts next week), still has a hold on us and the weather. Last trips to the lake or the beach are still being made. Children may still be running through sprinklers. It still feels like summer overall.

But there are moments when we catch a glimpse of a seasonal change. There are moments when we think, “Fall is in the air.”

God works in a similar way. We look around and it seems things are as they always have been. Sometimes things are hot and humid and it's difficult to move through the oppressiveness. But then there are small signs that a change is coming. There are small, incremental moments when we catch a glimpse of something new, or of some coming relief. When the change comes, we are most often taken by surprise.

We need to pay attention to those small indicators that can make us aware a change is coming. Whether that is a little cooler weather in the morning or something that made you stop for a moment, if we don't pay attention it'll take us by surprise.

What would it be like if we weren't continually taken by surprise, but, instead, if we paid more attention to incremental signals that let's us know God is doing something different?

So pay attention, because you just might notice God working in your life sooner than expected.

Blessings,

August 16, 2023

What do you think Communion is? – Question asked on a social media account by an Anabaptist who will “likely be preaching on Worldwide Communion Day in October.”

One person responded that Communion is a Christian ritual based on the Passover, gathered together, in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice and the new covenant of which we are a part, and a sense of being part of the body of Christ, not only with those gathered, but with those gathered in other places and stretching back to the Last Supper and, ultimately, the Exodus.

I responded that it not only stretches back, but it also stretches forward. It's a foretaste of the heavenly banquet where we join with angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven, and it's a moment in time when all that was and all that will be now is.

Holy Communion is a sacramental and sacrificial act that connects us with the body of Christ throughout time, binding us together with saints before and saints after, with angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven in a moment when God, the Great I AM is present in a moment in which we ARE. Additionally, Holy Communion is not something which we take, for that implies force, but is a gift of God which we receive.

Holy Communion is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. When consecrated, the bread and wine become body and blood, not through a change in substance, but through a substantial change in which Christ becomes present in the elements. As we reflect on that, we believe that we, also, are substantially changed to reflect the presence of Christ in our lives.

Holy Communion is THE central act of our Sunday worship. It unites us with Christians past, present, and future. It unites us with Christians who are participating in this holy meal at that time all over the world. It brings us to the table with all the heavenly host.

As you approach Sunday and prepare yourself to worship God in the beauty of holiness, spend some time reflecting on this question: What do you think Communion is?

Blessings,

August 2, 2023

And while Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. – Luke 9:29

This coming Sunday, August 6, is the Feast of the Transfiguration, the time when Jesus' appearance changes and he meets with Moses and Elijah. It's also when a cloud overshadowed those three along with the disciples, and they heard a voice say, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”

This story has a parallel in Exodus 34 when Moses, also on a mountain, experiences a transfiguration in which his face shines so intently that he has to cover it when around people.

The question we should always ask ourselves when reading/studying Scripture is this: How does this passage or story affect me/us today? With the story of the Transfiguration just a few days away, how does this story (or these stories, if you're looking at both the gospel and the reading from Exodus) of Jesus and/or Moses being changed to such an extent that they radiate brilliance affect me today?

Looking at it with that question in mind might lead us to understand that the story isn't necessarily about Moses and Jesus being transfigured before our eyes, but that the story is about how an encounter with God changes a person. And not just a physical change, because I have seen people who have had a close encounter with God and seem to have a certain glow about them. That glow, though, if you read the full stories, is short-lived.

How would an encounter with God change us? How does our encounters with God – daily prayer, Sunday worship, etc. – change us?

We encounter God at least on a weekly basis. Are we allowing ourselves to be transfigured in such a way that people can recognize we have had an encounter with God?

May you see your time with God not as something normal and expected, but as something amazing that overshadows you and changes you in such a way that others notice you have been touched by the presence of God.

Blessings,