Members and Disciples

First Sunday after Epiphany/The Baptism of Jesus, Yr. C, January 13, 2013

Isaiah 43:1-7; Psalm 29; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

            Today we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus.  And our gospel reading is a reminder of the story of his baptism in the account given by Luke.  At our clergy bible study this past week there were several Episcopalians and probably just as many Baptists.  Baptists celebrate a “believer’s baptism”, a baptism that is chosen by the individual when a boy, or girl, is old enough to make that kind of decision for themselves.  Some of their children decide on baptism when they’re adolescents, while others come to baptism as an adult, some not at all.  Their baptism is modeled after the story we heard this morning. 

John had set himself apart in the wilderness.  He was calling people to repent and return to God.  People came to John to be baptized.  Jesus was one of them.  They all made a conscious choice to come to the river.  Episcopalians are among those Christians who baptize infants, even though infants are not mature enough to understand what is being committed for them … even though we have no idea what decisions they may make for themselves in the future.  Why do we do that?  Why do we “seal them as one of Christ’s own forever”, when we have no idea what they may want as adults?

The Journey

Feast of the Epiphany, Yr. C, January 6, 2013

Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

            In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?  For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 

            Every journey begins somewhere.  Every journey has a beginning, something that marks its purpose, something that nudges us out the door, something that prompts that first step out.  For the wise men, who were more likely wandering astrologers or members of “a priestly class of Persian or Babylonian experts in the occult”,[1] it is no different.  These pagans were following a star, a star that moved against the natural pattern of east to west, a star that was leading them to a king.  They weren’t the kings in this story.  They were seekers of a king, not just any king … but the king of the Jews.  Gentiles were looking for the very king that the Jews hadn’t yet discovered themselves. 

Our Songs

Advent 4, Yr. C, December 23, 2012 

Micah 5:2-5a; Magnificat; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45 (46-55)

Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

            When I was first at Two Saints and we did both the Christmas Eve services there, we still made the early service especially friendly for children.  When we did the crèche blessing, we usually sang a few verses of Away in the Manger.  The kids would come up and join us at the crèche at the front of the church, most without any leaflet with them.  Many too young to read it if they had it.  When it came time for the carol, we expected the children to join in the singing because they would know it.  But that never happened.  They didn’t know it.

            As a child, I remember going caroling in nursing homes with my Girl Scout troop, and in the neighborhood with friends.  I remember hearing Christmas Carols on the radio and singing them in school.  I remember being sick of them by the time Christmas arrived.  We sang them and we sang them and we sang them … all the time! 

A few days ago, as I was thinking about the service of Lessons and Carols we will do next week for the Feast of St. Stephen, I began to wonder how many of the songs my daughter would recognize.  So I asked her. 

Whose Brood?

Advent 3, Yr. C, December 16, 2012

Zephaniah 3:14-20; Canticle 9; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-18

Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

            So here we are again on the third Sunday of Advent, listening to John the Baptist rail against those gathered at the river.  That crowd of people had come out to be baptized by John, to be washed clean,  purified by a baptism of repentance, a baptism intended to re-orient them to God.  I imagine them standing there in that crowd eagerly awaiting their dip in the muddy waters of the Jordan.  Standing ready to take that plunge and make that commitment.  Instead of cheers and congratulations, they are met with name calling and accusations.  “You brood of vipers!  Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor.’”  I wonder how many baptisms we’d have at St. Stephen’s if that’s the way I greeted people at our baptismal font?  How many would continue on?  How many would leave angry … or run away in fear? 

Got Hope?

Advent 1, Yr. B, December 2, 2012

Jeremiah 33; Psalm 25:1-9; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36

Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

            I’ve been talking a lot about hope lately, and today won’t be any different.  Notice the banner that’s up on the wire this week.  Our first candle in this new season of Advent, a season of “coming” is also about hope.  This is the beginning of our looking forward to a future event that happened 2000 years ago, the birth of a man who had the capacity to live in full communion with God in every moment of his life.  As grim as life in first century Palestine could be for many, Jesus proclaimed hope.  Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God was at hand.  The advent of the Day of the Lord was upon them.   Just watch the signs, he told them.  Stay steadfast in your faith, trust in God, don’t let your fears and worries get you down.

            I imagine there were many people who couldn’t see the possibilities themselves, and despair was a ready friend to them, a trap that could catch them and refuse to let them go. 

The Reign of Christ

Last Sunday after Pentecost, Yr. B, November 25, 2012

Daniel 79-10, 13-14; Psalm 93; Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37

Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

            The readings from Daniel and Revelation are part of the apocalyptic literature in the Bible.  We tend to think that this type of literature is all about retribution and annihilation.  It portrays a kind of end time that most of us don’t particularly look forward to, an end that ushers in the victory of God by means of a great war between the forces of good and the forces of evil.  There have been times in my life when I felt that these writings weren’t particularly helpful to my spiritual life. 

            But as I look around in the world today, and I see so many of our young adult males, particularly males of color, dying in our streets, and as I look up the names of those killed in our military every week now, I find myself seeing these stories from a different perspective.

Give for Hope

25^th Sunday after Pentecost, Yr. B, November 18, 2012

Daniel 12:1-3; Psalm 16; Hebrews 10:11-25; Mark 13:1-8

Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

            In a short time, we’ll be coming up to the chancel step and offering our financial pledge for 2013, a pledge that will support the life and ministry of St. Stephen’s Church.  That pledge is an offering of life and love.  Money is the symbol of our life’s labor, and all the blood, sweat and tears that we put into our vocation.  Our pledge is a gift of life.

            I had a friend in Lake Placid who was quite wealthy, and also quite generous with that wealth.  His faith was important to him, and he took to heart the idea that he was a steward of all that he had been given.  He was also a businessman, conscientious and practical.  He wanted his gifts to also be good investments.