Monthly Archives: September 2013

Flashes of Heavenly Light

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Pentecost 19 (Luke 16:19-31)  09/29/2013

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Abraham said to the rich man, “Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” (Luke 16:26) There are many, many images of heaven in the Bible; some images are glorious, open and expansive, while other images are rather foreboding and exclusive. This morning’s story of Lazarus’ place in heaven and the rich man’s tormented existence in Hades is of the foreboding and exclusive variety. We have a difficult time trying to state with great certainty what any place is truly like when that place remains so elusive, just beyond our earthly grasp. If we desire to know the secrets of the heavenly dwelling place of God, the many and seemingly contrasting images from the Bible do not help us create the one true image we seek. These images may be fruitful inspiration for the artists and authors throughout the centuries who have brought their talents to the fertile ground of capturing the secrets of heaven in their many forms of art and literature. But what about the rest of us? What about our practical daily existence as we live our days with the doors of heaven just beyond our sight? Roger Ferlo, an Episcopal Priest and author, recently edited a collection of thoughtful essays on this very subject in a book appropriately titled, Heaven. In the introduction of his book, Ferlo suggests an earthly method of searching for the mysteries of heaven: “Only by considering closely the things of this world can we have any clue about the things of the next. This is an ancient insight, what the medieval theologians called the analogy of being. It is the conviction that in the [very being] of God’s creation we discern, if only by analogy or metaphor or indirection, a glimpse of the divine beauty and the divine splendor, what the poet T.S. Eliot called ‘a wink of heaven.'”[i] Ferlo’s suggestion is that in the very world in which we live, there are flashes of heavenly light, undeniable moments of God’s grace breaking in to our world. These moments are there for our inspiration and understanding, unless we choose to look the other way. And this brings us back to the rich man and Lazarus. Continue reading →

Stealing some moments for God

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Pentecost 18 (Luke 16:1-13) 9/22/2013

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I am very happy to report that the Boston Red Sox have clinched the American League East and are heading to the playoffs! I like to say that football season does not officially begin until the Red Sox have finished playing for the year…so the NFL will have to wait a little longer. College football is a different story; college football seems to be an integral part of the beginning of fall. College sports retain various elements of the rich history and traditions of the school and watching the game allows us an opportunity to be connected with those who have gone before us. Just last weekend I was watching a Navy football game on TV, the first home game of the season: the bright blue and gold uniforms, the old cannon firing with every score, and the Navy goat dutifully standing on the sideline. The entire picture could be repeated at many colleges throughout the country, except perhaps for the goat…why a goat, you might wonder. We just heard last Sunday about the shepherd and the sheep, the lesson of how the shepherd know their sheep; but we have a goat on the sideline of the big game! As with many traditions, especially funny college traditions, there are many stories to tell. One story of the goat involves the very first Army-Navy football game, played at West Point in 1890. As the Navy football players approached West Point, they realized they were heading to a very important game and they didn’t have a mascot…every team needs a mascot! There on the side of the road, tied up next to someone’s house, was a goat…so they simply untied the goat and headed off to the big game with their new mascot. A bit dishonest perhaps, but the act of borrowing the goat showed some interesting insights, an understanding that the odd act of taking the goat might just rally the team. Certainly, the theft of a goat would not seem to be Navy Football’s finest moment, but the lesson is not too far from the odd story we find in the Gospel lesson this morning. Continue reading →

The Intentional Disciple

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Pentecost 16 (Luke 14:25-33)  9/08/2013

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Welcome to everyone as we gather together to begin a new program year and embark on our shared journey of growth, discovery and ministry this year. The time of summer vacations is now nearly over and I hope everyone has some great memories of these past few weeks. I have made several wonderful memories during this past summer. And during this past week as I have reflected on memories of summer fun and other events, I recalled one of the most strange memories I have of summer. As a young boy, my family would drive through Berlin on what is today Route 9, past a section of the town that contains many small ponds created by the old clay pits used to provide material to the local brickyards. In one of those small ponds sits an abandoned crane, with only the very top of the crane’s mast visible above the water. The image of the crane sitting in the middle of the pond always struck me as very odd and I wondered how that might have happened. Over the years I have heard many stories about the old abandoned crane: the operator uncovered a natural spring of water, or perhaps there was a strong rainstorm that appeared quite suddenly (as we experienced last week!), or maybe some mechanical failure of the crane made it nearly impossible to retrieve. Regardless of the cause, the crane’s mast remains above the water as a monument of a very bad day; a cautionary tale of the dangers of distraction. Continue reading →