Author Archives: PRP

Welcome to Advent!

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Welcome to Advent! The season of Advent is one of my favorite times of the year…I wish it was a little bit longer, and perhaps it could be a bit longer if we are able to devote ourselves to the season until the Magi arrive on the feast of the Epiphany. Advent asks much from us – Advent asks us to patiently wait while the world urges us to hurry up; Advent directs our attention to the hope filled future while grounding us in the now while the world tempts us to focus our energy on the here and now (as the catch phrase “You only live once” YOLO promises); Advent points toward holy ground while the world calls us to the shopping malls. Advent is an invitation to spend time in reflection of God’s many gifts of grace: the grace of Christ’s presence among us, the grace of the earliest Christians’ courageous devotion and faith, and the grace of our gifts as God’s children. These gifts of grace can be challenging to discover in our “noisy” world, and I invite you to consider taking up a few practices to quiet the noise and discover God’s grace among you. Throughout this season there will be many opportunities for corporate worship, study and reflection, but these are just a few among the many ways to find God’s grace in this holy season. Throughout this season, I will try to offer a few thoughts for prayer and reflection…an Advent discipline I hope to keep!

“May He whose second Coming in power and great glory we await, make you steadfast in faith, joyful in hope, and constant in love. Amen.” (Advent blessing from Book of Occasional Services, p. 22)

Pulling back the weeds from the Saints of God

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All Saints Day (Matthew 5:1-12)  11/01/2014

Last weekend was my first opportunity to participate in the gathering of delegates at Diocesan Convention. The experience was a great day for me filled with wonderful opportunities: sharing stories on the ride to convention and back, meeting new people throughout the diocese, listening to the Bishop’s annual address, and doing the important work of the church. One presentation that really made an impression on me was the report of the Youth Group, introduced by the diocesan missioner for Christian Formation, The Rev. Hilary Bogart-Winkler. Several youth of the Diocese attended the Episcopal Youth Event in Philadelphia this past summer. The event is a week long gathering of youth from across the country and is held every three years. After the week long gathering, there is an opportunity to remain in the area and participate in a three day urban mission experience. The group of young adults from our diocese took up this work and were assigned to work at St. John’s Church in Norristown, PA, (an urban town northwest of Philadelphia). Soon after arriving the group discovered they had been assigned to clean up the church cemetery, which was in need of some general cleanup and care. The group was surprised to be sent out to the cemetery, thinking they would be assigned to take care of other areas more central to the mission of the church. However, after spending several hours working in the cemetery, the importance of the cemetery became more obvious and the value of their work of cleanup and care became more obvious as well. I can appreciate their story of summer mission work because during the past few years I have taken up the hobby of researching my family history, a hobby that has many twists and turns. Often times, the research requires one to leave the library and spend several hours walking through cemeteries in search of elusive family members. As I have traveled to many different cemeteries, I have discovered beautifully maintained landscapes and I have discovered places that seem to have been long since forgotten. One small cemetery in central CT is one of those “long since forgotten” places; probably selected for its once beautiful landscape of rolling hills, it now sits at the edge of an industrial park with a railroad track just feet away. As I stepped over broken branches and pushed back the overgrown weeds, I read the names of my ancestors from more than 200 years ago. I have since returned a few times to clean up the fallen branches and pull up the weeds and moss from the stones that tell the names of those that lie beneath. And as I performed that work, I was reminded that the cemetery had its own story to tell. The overgrown and forgotten state of things seemed to speak of the separation we can experience with each other, while the work of cleanup and care seemed to speak of the restoration of relationship that God hopes for us. As I did the work of cleanup in the cemetery, I read the stones and remembered their stories, their joys, their sacrifices and I felt connected to them in new  and personal ways. Continue reading →

Wolves, Rivers, and changing God’s World

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Pentecost 19A (Matthew 22:15-22)  10/19/2014

“Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” (Matt 22:17), said the disciples of the Pharisees, along with the Herodians, to Jesus as they stood in the temple. An interesting question posed by an interesting group of people; a strange group of “friends” you might say. The Pharisees were more concerned with religious “correctness” and righteousness, while the Herodians, supporters of the royal family of Herod, would have been more concerned with political power. But these strange friends found common ground in their challenge to Jesus…a question that by its very nature had a lose-lose response: if you suggest paying tax to the emperor, you are a friend of Caesar and the Roman empire which was set against the Jewish people; and if you suggest withholding your tax payment, well you are a religious zealot and a dangerous insurrectionist. These Jewish authorities had been listening to Jesus teach the crowd about the kingdom of God and they seem to have had enough of his rhetoric…they were determined to entrap him with a unanswerable question. The problem for the Jewish authorities, however, was that the question is only a trap if you think in black and white, right and wrong: the Roman empire or the kingdom of God, devotion to my worldly life and its success or devotion to God and all that God invites us to be. In this black and white world, the question posed to Jesus was fraught with challenges beyond belief! Jesus’ response to their tricky question might appear black and white in our hearing: “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matt 22:21b) But Jesus does not live in this black and white, earthly or divine world; Jesus lives in the fullness and abundance of God’s creation, and his response amazed the authorities and sent them away as they considered all that was given to them from God; and how their lives would change if they listened to Jesus. Continue reading →

A Holy Patience

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Pentecost 18A (Exodus 32:1-14)  10/12/2014

Several years ago I was on a business trip to Cardiff, Wales (this occurred many years ago, in a land without smartphones and GPS…imagine that?). I had been to Cardiff a few times before this trip, but always a short trip during the middle of the week. This time around I arrived on Saturday and had a good part of the weekend free before starting work on Monday. I thought this would be a great chance to see Llandaff Cathedral, the cathedral church of the area and a place that has been holy Christian ground since the early sixth century. Sunday was a beautiful fall day and I decided to set out right after lunch. I decided it might be nice to walk to the cathedral on this beautiful day, so I asked the man at the front desk if the cathedral was close by…”yes, the cathedral is just down the road,” was the cheerful reply. Wonderful, a nice walk to the cathedral! My only pair of shoes were leather dress shoes, but the nice man at the front desk said the cathedral was “just down the road,” so I was sure I would be just fine. I walked through the city center and began walking down a road that led to a large park. After about 20 minutes of walking, with no cathedral spire looming in the near distance, I decided to ask a passerby if I was headed in the right direction; “Oh yes, the cathedral is just down the road,” pointing in the general direction I was headed. As I continued on my pilgrimage, I must admit I began to think more about a taxi than the beautiful cathedral that was promised to be “just down the road.” I was also beginning to think my definition of “just down the road” was significantly different than the nice Welsh people I had met along the way. After nearly three miles of walking, I finally passed through a clearing and the grand walls of the cathedral stood just beyond a cluster of trees, quietly sitting in a little neighborhood of its own. A beautiful spot for a cathedral church nearly 1000 years old, but not a good place for finding a lift home! My cathedral pilgrimage had just started and I found that I was already a bit confused, tired, and short of patience from the long road traveled. Continue reading →

Witnessing God’s love in Community

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Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Matthew 18:15-20)  9/07/2014

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These last few days there has been a lot going on in the world, both near and far; the news media would say, “it surely hasn’t been a slow news day!” There has been continued unrest in the Middle East, with continuing reports of extremist activity; there has extreme weather, with tornadoes as close as Worcester; and of course, there is the busy time of packing up the summer vacation period and heading back to school. As you might imagine, even with all the activity going on, I cannot help but be preoccupied with the idea of community. Yes, that’s right, the change of communities and the community of St. Francis in particular. And as I have considered this topic, I have wondered…how is it that we are “community” in the Christian sense? Some characteristics of community are obvious, while some are not so obvious. The obvious ones might be easy to pick out: we gather in the same building for worship and meetings, we support the same ministries, and hopefully we are setting our future in the same direction. The “not so obvious” ones may be a bit harder to plainly see: we faithfully pray for each other, our lives are transformed by the presence of others, and our communal presence transforms our broader community and the world in grace filled ways. And some characteristics of community can be just plain hard to do, like forgiveness and open-hearted conversation. These last characteristics, these challenging characteristics are the ones on the mind of Jesus today in our Gospel lesson. Continue reading →

Trinity Sunday: In relationship with a loving God

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Trinity Sunday (Matthew 28:16-20)  6/15/2014

A little more than a week ago, many people throughout the world took a moment to pause and remember the 70th anniversary of a day we call D-Day. This day continues to hold great significance in our common history; significant because we may personally know people who were present on the beaches of Normandy that day, significant because of the sheer scale of the event and its importance in world history. In remembrance of this day, Brian Williams, NBC News Anchor, presented a special broadcast titled, “Journey to Normandy.” His news story highlighted the lives of four men, all near 90 years old, who were returning to the same beaches they encountered 70 years ago, at a time when they were just a few years removed from their high school days. As they traveled back to Normandy they remembered their first trip, an experience that was beyond words in many ways, and they shared their memories of that day and the many days that followed. As I listened to these brave men share their thoughts about their upcoming visit to that far away beach in France, I was quite moved by the men’s stories and the hopes they had set for their visit. One man hoped to finally discover the future of a wounded teenager he had seen those many years ago, another simply wanted to throw a flower into the water where a dear friend was lost forever, and another brought his family along so they would understand his story in a deep and personal way. Their hopes and dreams, after all these years, were rooted in relationships with others: some relationships were only momentary (like the wounded teenager), while others were life-long relationships of family and close friends. The hopes of these veterans reveal an important truth for all of us: the spiritual connections we share with God and with each other are nurtured by our relationships. These brave men’s stories, begun in the crucible of the frightening moments on a distant beach, continued and was transformed to something profound and valuable due to their intimate relationships with family, friends, and God. Each transformation was made manifest in their personal story, the story of the past 70 years since that first day on the Normandy beach. Continue reading →

No worries, just be a Witness!

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Seventh Sunday of Easter (Sunday after the Ascension) (Acts 1:6-14)  6/01/2014

“As they were watching, Jesus was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven?'” (Acts 1:9-11) These three short verses of Scripture from the Book of Acts are among my favorite verses in the Bible, for many reasons. Just prior to this description of the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, we are told of the many post-resurrection appearances of Jesus and the final lessons he hoped to give to his followers, teaching them how to spread the Good News of Christ. But now the time has come for Jesus to leave them, and leave them he does…and they are left standing by themselves, filled with awe and more than just a little worry in their hearts. Suddenly, two heavenly beings burst into this dramatic moment with a question: “Why are you standing there looking up to heaven?” I really love this question because it is so simple, yet so challenging at the same time. I feel some kinship with the disciples as they gaze to the heavens with their mouths hanging open, the universal sign of “my goodness, what’s next?” The Ascension of Christ marks the 40th day of Eastertide, and in those forty days Jesus continually prepared his disciples for the next chapter of their ministry in the world. And we have heard throughout these past weeks that the disciples often did not really understand Jesus’ lessons to them; again, I feel some kinship with these earliest followers of Christ! And now, Jesus has departed from their midst; their great rabbi, their teacher, has ascended and left them to carry on…a bit overwhelming! What should we think of this story; what can we say about our first class of Christians? Should we understand the Ascension as a graduation story or something else entirely? Continue reading →

Hear my voice and follow me

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Fourth Sunday of Easter (John 10:1-10)  5/11/2014

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“Can you hear me now?” These words might be familiar to you if you remember the Verizon Wireless ads from a few years ago, or maybe you’ve heard those words if you have called me on my mobile phone while I was inside the stone walls of the church! Sometimes we struggle to clearly hear the words of those around. This reality is among the lessons Jesus aims to teach us this morning in our Gospel lesson. “The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice…and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.” (John 10:3-4) But, can you hear me now? The author of John’s Gospel account tells us, “No,” the disciples did not understand Jesus as he spoke this parable to them. I recently heard a wonderful story about a young girl who lives in northern New England; her parents raise Shetland Sheep for the beautiful wool of these animals. The young girl spends hours and hours among the sheep, she knows every sheep of the fold for their unique markings and color and their individual personality. And the sheep know her by voice, just as Jesus told in his story to his followers. The sheep know her because she is among them and cares for them in deep and personal ways. Continue reading →

New birth and a living hope – transformed by Christ

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Second Sunday of Easter (1 Peter 1:3-9)  4/27/2014

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Last week I mentioned the important meaning of this year’s Boston Marathon, especially in light of the tragic events of last year’s race. The Boston Marathon is significant in many ways for those who run the race. There is, first and foremost, hundreds of hours of training…an act of dedication on the part of the runner. Although I have never run a full marathon, I have spent a few months training with friends who have run marathons and I can attest to the commitment they put forth. After countless hours of training and preparation, the day of the big race finally arrives. This year’s Boston Marathon included more than 35 thousand runners (the second most in the race’s history) and was blessed with beautiful weather! Cheering fans lined the streets of the 26.2 mile course and provided excitement and support to all those who pass by. As the moments passed by and after the elite runners quickly ran past, the cheering fans remained to support the competitors who run because they love it; for many runners, the Boston Marathon is a very special moment in their lives. This year, there was a man from Massachusetts who was running in the race and he had nearly reached the 26 mile point, just a few hundred yards from the finish line…and he found that he had run out of energy, the muscles in his legs giving up on him. It is not uncommon to see runners taking a rest during the race, but with just a short distance remaining this man collapsed to his knees, unable to move. I can imagine his lonely agony, surrounded by thousands of people, yet feeling alone in the moment as he slumped to his knees unable to move. Runners continued to pass by, focused on that line just ahead, but there was one man from Illinois who did something surprisingly different – he stopped and supported the slumping man by lifting him under his arm. And then another man from Texas stopped to support the other arm. As the three runners moved slowly forward, unable to sustain their forward movement, two additional runners stopped as well, a man from Minnesota and a woman from Seattle. The group moved toward the finish line, a weary man supported by four exhausted runners: time didn’t matter, the rules of the race that prohibited assisting others didn’t matter, nothing mattered except helping each other, and in helping each other, everyone was dramatically transformed.[i] Continue reading →

Maundy Thursday: care & compassion for others

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Maundy Thursday (John 13:1-17; 31-35)  4/17/2014

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Earlier this week many people took time to remember an event that took place one year ago; a tragic event that ripped through the streets of Boston and ripped through the lives of many, many people. We wish we need not remember days like these, but there is some powerful truth about our common life together that is unlocked and exposed for all to see as we experience events that are beyond our control. The bombing at last year’s Boston Marathon was a day that held this truth for us. The marathon in Boston is not just another sporting event, not just a special day for people who like to run distances that immediately make the rest of us wonder where we left our car keys. No, the marathon is a special part of Boston’s character and spirit; run on a celebratory day that remembers the town’s unique place in the struggle that led to the birth of our nation. The bombs did not simply create the tragic deaths of three people and the injuries of hundreds more, but they shattered the peaceful patterns of people’s understanding of a day that had been celebrated for generations. In the immediate aftermath of the bombs’ destructive force, both people and the community’s sense of peace lie in agony. And if that were the end of the story, it would certainly be a story we would hope to soon forget, but that moment was only the beginning of the larger story that continues to this day and beyond. The larger story is the story of the powerful truth about our common life together, and this is the story we must not forget, this is the story we must remember as we gather together in later days. As the Governor of Massachusetts said to those gathered in Boston this past Tuesday, “There are no strangers here. We are all connected to each other, to events beyond our control, to a common destiny.”[i] The powerful truth of that common destiny is that we are called to serve each other, in times filled with joy and in times filled with sorrow.

Continue reading →