Author Archives: PRP

“Reflection of the Daily Office: humility, gratitude & love”

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Daily Office for 10/07/2010:  Gospel – Luke 7:36-50

This morning we join Jesus dining at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. In the midst of the invited guests, a “woman of the city” (a sinner) enters into the home of Simon and displays great affection toward Jesus – washing his feet with her tears, kissing his feet and anointing his feet with ointment. Simon and his invited guests watch the woman’s display of hospitality with a critical eye, knowing she is a sinner; and they question Jesus’ ability to perceive her true character due to his acceptance of her hospitality. Simon and his dinner guests soon learn that the difficulty in perceiving God’s will rests with them.

Jesus tells a short parable story to highlight the truth of forgiveness: the one who experiences forgiveness of many sins is also filled with much love. The first step in the woman’s journey toward Jesus is recognizing that she has sinned. This is also the first step in our journey – recognizing that many of our actions are centered in what is best for us; our priorities are developed with an internal focus rather than the outward love of others. We can discover great benefits from simply recognizing this condition and opening ourselves, in prayer, to how we might approach our lives differently. Even if we do not begin with actions, but only in reflection, we soon discover that honest reflection leads us to hear Christ’s Gospel with open ears. Hearing the truth of the Gospel and reflecting on our lives leads us to humility, gratitude, and love.

“Reflection of the Daily Lectionary: Do not remain in the Darkness”

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Daily Lectionary 10/06/2010 (William Tyndale):  Gospel – John 12:44-50

Today, we remember William Tyndale, English theologian and one of the most influential biblical translators of the 16th century. Tyndale spent much of his life in hiding, as King Henry VIII of England and those loyal to the king searched for Tyndale throughout continental Europe in hopes of ending his efforts of translating the Bible into English. Those who sought Tyndale eventually achieved their goal and he was captured in 1535 and put to death in 1536. Ironically, the earliest English Bibles (approved by King Henry VIII) owe much of their content to Tyndale’s work.

Today, we reflect on a passage from John’s Gospel account that tells of Jesus’ mission to humanity – to come as a light to the world so that we would not remain in the darkness. Tyndale’s work was focused on bringing the Word of God out of the unavailable languages of Latin, Greek and Hebrew and helping the common English Christian to read the Bible in their native language. Our passage from John’s Gospel account reminds us that we are responsible for reflecting on God’s Word and opening ourselves to the power of God’s message in our lives, as well as serving others as Tyndale did – helping others to come out of the darkness and into the light of God’s love.

“Reflection of the Daily Office: The power of Faith”

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Daily Office for 10/04/2010:  Gospel – Luke 5:12-26

Today’s Gospel reading presents us with many lessons…and a rich complexity of issues woven together throughout the story. Among the lessons offered in Luke 5:12-26, the power of faith seems to jump off the page. Jesus is in the midst of a busy crowd and has just healed a leaper and the crowds persist to surround Jesus. The crowds are so great that a paralyzed man cannot come close enough to Jesus to have his healing touch change the man’s life.

“Just then some men came, carrying a paralyzed man on a bed. They were trying to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; but finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. When he saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”” (Luke 5:18-20)  Illustration by Graham Kennedy

The Scripture tells us that Jesus saw “their” faith and healed the man. The power of faith has certainly healed the paralyzed man: faith in Christ’s ability to heal body, mind and spirit; and faith in his friends’ ability to get the man to Jesus regardless of the obstacles. The power of faith brings us closer to Christ and places us in the center of the community of believers – only through community are we known as the Body of Christ. Who has carried you to the feet of Christ and who relies on you to break down the barriers that separate them from the healing powers of Jesus?

“The gift of Faith – renewed and rekindled by our actions”

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Proper 22C (2 Tim 1:1-14 and Luke 17:5-10)  10/03/2010

John Westerhoff, an Episcopal priest and theologian, shared his understanding of faith development in his book, Will Our Children Have Faith? Westerhoff opens his book by stating, “It is a truism that Christian faith and education are inevitable companions. Wherever living faith exists, there is a community endeavoring to know, understand, live and witness to that faith.”[i] Throughout the remainder of Westerhoff’s book, he clearly explains that his definition of education is not limited to the classroom. The companionship of faith and education is most profoundly experienced as we learn in the fullness of our journey through life. Last Sunday morning at our forum, the St. John’s J2A pilgrims shared highlights from their trip to Scotland and those in attendance heard their profound experiences – experiences that will shape and inform their journey through life. Throughout the forum, each pilgrim came forward and shared some concerns they had before the trip (the potential difficulty of living without electronic gadgets, the discomfort of living on a vegetarian diet, and the unease of traveling with people that you barely know); and they also shared their understanding of life after the trip (garden grown vegetables are not so bad, traveling without electronic gadgets fosters conversation and friendship, and the beauty of the Scottish landscape revealed to them the presence of the holy). The pilgrimage was a profound experience for those who made the trip, but as members of this community, as people who witness the pilgrims’ journey, we encounter the holy and we are profoundly changed as well. Profoundly changed in our understanding of life and profoundly changed in our understanding of faith. The gift of faith, freely given to us from God, but a gift that is ours to grow through our discovery; our determination; our wonder of the holy. Our faith must be “rekindled” as the author of Paul’s letter to Timothy tells us this morning. Continue reading →

“Shrewdly seeking God’s grace”

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Proper 20C (Luke 16:1-13)  09-19-2010

A few years ago when my family and I moved from the Chicago area to the suburbs of Washington, DC, we quickly realized that the traffic was going to give us an opportunity to practice our patience and we also realized that an early start on the morning commute would be a necessity. Because the traffic was also unpredictable, an early start often meant an early arrival at the seminary, so I became a regular at the Student Lounge. Like many of the commuter students who frequented this convenient gathering place, I became familiar with the bad coffee, the uncomfortable furniture and the dismal gray walls. And because we were quite certain that the traffic was not going to end any time soon, we decided that we should make some changes to the lounge so our time there was more pleasant. A few pillows on the furniture and some good scrubbing on the coffee machines made a big difference, but those dismal gray walls were still very depressing. We thought a cheerful yellow paint would make a great difference on everyone’s attitude. We assumed that painting the lounge would require someone’s permission, so we asked several school officials for the name of the person in charge of the lounge. In every case the answer was the same: I don’t know who is in charge of the lounge. After an unsuccessful search for the person in charge, we finally decided to do the only reasonable thing: we bought some paint and woke up early one morning to quietly paint the lounge before anyone discovered our plan. With paint and brushes in hand, we prepared the room, covered the furniture and were only minutes from starting when the Manager of the book store came in to the lounge and told us that one of the school officials had heard we might be painting and she wanted to see us in her office right away. With only minutes to creatively save our plan, we quickly painted the smallest wall in the lounge. With a bad feeling about our future, we headed up the hill to explain our secret painting project.

The property manager in our Gospel lesson had a bad feeling about his future as well – called to the master’s house to give an accounting of his actions. Continue reading →

“Challenging ourselves to follow Christ beyond the boundaries of our world”

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Proper 18C (Luke 14:25-33)  09-05-2010

When my family and I moved from the Chicago area to Alexandria, VA, we searched for the familiar among the unfamiliar of our new surroundings to soften the transition. As we thought about our new home, we realized that Alexandria is the home of T.C. Williams High School, which was familiar to us from the movie “Remember the Titans.” The movie was released approximately 10 years ago and is a popular sports movie about a high school football team. The story deals with the racial integration of the team and the challenges faced by the coaches and the young players. The players and coaches face the difficult road of coming together as a team, both on the field and off, yet they must live among the pressures associated with the society of Alexandria, VA in 1971…a society with the cultural norms that had yet to fully embrace the idea of racial integration.

This morning in our Gospel lesson we hear of the large crowds following Jesus as he slowly makes his way toward Jerusalem. The large crowds prove the popularity that Jesus has attained, making him as popular and as well known as a modern day sports figure of our time. And as is often the cause with famous people, the people have made some assumptions about Jesus and have formed their own opinions of him and what their life should be like as one of his followers. However, Jesus takes some time to address the large crowd and tell them his understanding of what their lives have in store for them: “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” (Lk 14:26) Continue reading →

“Through humility and mutual love, some have entertained angels”

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Proper 17C (Luke 14:1, 7-14)  08-29-2010

Yesterday my family traveled to Long Island for the day, participating in a visit day that is part of my daughter’s college search. With the exception of the Hutchinson Parkway, the entire day was a great experience. And my all-knowing GPS unit quickly handled even the Parkway, so even that part of the day was just fine. Participating in the college visit day reminded me of the entire process of selecting a college. This is a big decision and the process should be a reflective exercise of what is important and an exploration of why certain items hold greater significance than others. And visiting is important also because being in a certain place and experiencing the people, the atmosphere and the surroundings is important.

However, the college selection process is also a two-sided street. Prospective students are not the only ones who get to make decisions – the college admissions offices get to make some decisions too. College applications must be filled out and submitted for review. Prospective students must write essays and list many facets of their academic, work and general life experiences. Reviewing college applications reminds me of my volunteer experience of interviewing prospective students for the US Naval Academy. After talking with the students for a bit about general information, I would ask them to describe one or two of their extracurricular activities. After listening to their description, I would ask them why the activity was so important to them…what was particularly important to them. As I listened carefully, sometimes their answers surprised me. Continue reading →

“Persistence in prayer – Drawing close to God”

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Proper 12C (Luke 11:1-13)  07/25/2010

Jeremy Taylor, the 17th century Anglican bishop and theologian wrote in a letter, “Pray frequently and effectually; I had rather your prayers should be often than long.”[i] This morning we hear Jesus teaching his friends a lesson about prayer. Prayer is one of our most powerful and personal connections to God. Prayer is the conversational connection that nourishes and strengthens our relationship with God. And if we seek relationship with God, or anyone else for that matter, we need to be in regular conversation.

More than 30 years ago, a young man sat among a group of his peers and celebrated his college graduation: a day that recognizes the culmination of many hours of hard work and a day that celebrates the graduate’s relationship with others – family, friends, and professors. After throwing his cap in the air and receiving the congratulations of his family, the young man searched for his favorite college professor. He found his professor and thanked him for his wisdom and his friendship throughout his college years. The professor was fond of the young man and asked him if he would please stay in touch throughout the years ahead – and the young man promised that he would stay in touch. The young man then began his journey in the world, searching for all the success the world had to offer him. As the days after his college graduation turned to months and the months turned to years, he finally achieved the success he sought, but he never did keep the promise he made to his old college professor. He drifted away from him, pulled by the strong current of the pressing cares of the world…until one day when he heard his professor’s name on a late night television show.[ii] Continue reading →

“There are no boundaries to the one we call neighbor – love with great mercy”

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Proper 10C (Lk 10:25-37)  07-11-2010

“Who is my neighbor?” An important question for us to consider and, as we hear this morning, the answer has consequences for our actions. Last weekend, Carol and I spent the first part of the long July 4th weekend in our yard, pulling up weeds and putting down mulch. A lot of hard work, especially in the heat, but our yard looks much better and hopefully our neighbors are happy with the improvements. Who is my neighbor – in this case, the people who live in the area near our house. After working in the yard, we spent the remainder of our weekend at the beach and enjoyed the cooler temperatures and the annual festivities of the July 4th weekend. During our visit to the beach we met many of the same people who are there year after year, but we also saw many new people – visitors we had never met before. For the duration of the weekend, we enjoyed some rest and had the opportunity to share fun and fellowship with others – and all of these people were our beach neighbors. But as the weekend came to an end and many of the visitors began to go home, the focus of attention along the beach turned to a rather large tree. Continue reading →

“No mighty acts – instead, an invitation to pray with God”

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Proper 7C (1 Kings 19:1-15a)  06/20/2010

Last weekend I was very happy to be part of the group of volunteers that represented St. John’s Church at Celebrate! West Hartford. Although the rain did dampen the turnout of people for a time on Saturday, we had a great experience and met many people – friends both new and old. And we had many fun events: drawings for gift cards; colorful wristbands; face painting; and the ever challenging “guess how many jellybeans are in the jar” contest. As I watched the people come and go from our booth, the jar of jellybeans was among the most fun to watch. Throughout the weekend, I observed many different types of people. There was the “just guess because your first thought is the right answer” person; there was “pick up the jar and shake the jellybeans” person; and there were several mathematicians of all ages, who carefully counted the jellybeans within a selected area of the jar and then carefully applied various equations to achieve their answer. And as interesting as all these approaches were to watch, my favorite jellybean guesser was a young girl, probably about 3 or 4 years old, who was perhaps just an inch or two taller than the table that held the jar of jellybeans. She approached the table with great confidence and stared intently at the looming jar of jellybeans before her. After a few moments of intense examination, I asked her if she knew how many jellybeans were in the jar and if she would like to write her guess down on the entry form. She told me that she did know how many jellybeans were in the jar, but she did not know how to write the number. I told her if she could tell me her guess, I would write the number on the paper for her. She agreed and with both hands shooting into the air she joyfully exclaimed, “my guess is infinity!” Continue reading →