“Maundy Thursday: Humble service to others”

Posted on April 21, 2011 by PRP

Maundy Thursday (John 13:1-17, 31b-35) 4/21/2011

Many years ago, as I was preparing to become confirmed, I was required to complete a certain number of service hours as part of the program. After participating in many different activities, I had two hours of service remaining to complete my goal. As I considered how I might fulfill these final two hours, the thought occurred to me (as I looked at the snow outside) that I might offer to shovel snow for a few of my neighbors. I grabbed a snow shovel and started down the street. I soon approached the house of a neighbor who had not shoveled the front walk. I had occasionally talked with the folks that lived there (they were friends of my grandparents) but I did not know them very well. I knocked on the door and the man soon opened the door. “I would like to shovel your front walk this morning,” I said to him. “No thank you, I always shovel my own walkway,” he replied. “But I am providing community service for my Confirmation class and there will be no charge; can I shovel your walk for free?” I protested. “For free? I suppose you can shovel the walk for free,” the man agreed. I quickly began shoveling, hoping to quickly finish the very long walkway so I could find another walk to clear. One hour later, I had finally finished and I was so tired I decided to go home. I did not go back and tell the man I was leaving because the job was free and I didn’t think there was anything to say. A few days later we had another snowstorm (you know the feeling, right?) and I returned to the same house – one more time and all my service hours would be done. I knocked on the man’s door and asked if I could shovel one more time. He agreed, but asked if I would come back to the house when I was done shoveling the walkway. One hour later, I was done and knocked on the door. The man answered the door and asked me if I would like to come inside and join him and his wife for something warm to drink. We had a wonderful conversation and they showed me many pictures and souvenirs that they had collected during the past 50 years of their life together. My time with them was an unexpected opportunity to share some of their most important memories. Continue reading →

“Open my eyes and my heart”

Posted on April 4, 2011 by PRP

Fourth Sunday in Lent (John 9:1-41) 4/3/2011

“Where’s the beef?!” Nearly 30 years ago a trio of burger-loving ladies made this phrase very popular as they appeared in a number of Wendy’s restaurant advertisements. For Wendy’s restaurants – this phrase meant to highlight the small burgers they claimed that their competitors offered, but soon the phrase was incorporated into the political debates of that year’s Presidential campaigns. In the context of the debates, “where’s the beef?” was a phrase that was transformed into a challenge to others – a challenge to defend their ideas and support the substance of their answers. The phrase was an effective tool to put one’s competitors under careful examination. Throughout our lives, we too have questions and we seek answers, but how can we examine and accept the answers we receive, especially if we seek those answers from God. Continue reading →

“‘The King’s Glory’ – listen to Him and have confidence”

Posted on March 7, 2011 by PRP

Last Sunday after Epiphany (Matthew 17:1-9) 03/06/2011

(Transfiguration of Christ)

The amazing growth of hi-tech devices has created a number of ways to watch movies these days…and my usual preference is the fairly low-tech method of receiving a disc in the mail from Netflix. But this past Sunday, Carol and I decided to catch a movie in the theater before watching the Academy Awards that evening. We decided to go to “The King’s Speech,” a movie about the life and challenges of Prince Albert, the Duke of York. The movie dramatically tells the story of Prince Albert’s challenging life: challenges that would be faced by any member of Britain’s royal family and challenges that were unique to Albert – most notably the difficulties of public speaking for a man who suffered from a stammering speech problem since his earliest days. Everyone faces challenges throughout their lives – some challenges can be avoided or accommodated through the decisions we make; but some challenges must be faced head-on because these difficulties stand in the center of our road of life, they block the very path we must travel if we are true to who we are as individuals. Public speaking (for Prince Albert) was the immovable, center-of-the-road type of challenge. The story tells us that the Prince had already tried several methods of correction before he met a man who had a reputation for his success and for his unorthodox methods of correcting speech problems. The reluctant Prince is finally introduced to his new instructor and after some awkward conversation the teacher asks the Prince to try recording his voice by reading aloud from a book while he listens to music through headphones. Shortly after beginning the test, the Prince is not convinced his teacher’s methods have any merit and he abruptly leaves, but not before he is given a copy of his voice recording. The unhappy Prince returns home and soon his curiosity gets the better of him and he listens to the recording – to his surprise the recording of the bizarre experiment proved that the Prince read the book aloud with perfect speech. The story of Prince Albert’s struggle to overcome his speech problems had really just begun that day, but at the beginning of that long road was this recording – an amazing recording that seemed to be from some different place breaking into the “now” of today…a day that remained to be full of challenges and difficulties. Continue reading →

“Sharing Zacchaeus’ question: who do I want to be?”

Posted on November 1, 2010 by PRP

Proper 26C (Luke 19:1-10) 10/31/2010

The cold weather has returned, many houses are surrounded with cobwebs and scary decorations, and the wonderful Pipescreams concert was held this past Friday: all reminders that tonight is Halloween. Preparing for Halloween prompts us to consider the all important question – what costume should I wear; or in other words, what or who should I transform myself in to for one night of fun? Many years ago when my son was in the first grade he had great difficulty in deciding on his costume. Having exhausted all hope that his parents would be of any help to him, he decided to visit our neighbor across the street. Seeking guidance for the perfect costume, he asked our neighbor what his favorite costume was when he was a young boy – Batman was the answer he received. After thinking a bit about that idea, he asked, “well, what other costumes did you wear?” Batman, that was the only answer…when our neighbor was a young boy he was Batman for 5 or 6 years in a row. Unfortunately, his answer did not prove very useful in helping my son determine his final costume choice. Who should I transform myself to become – he was still faced with a big dilemma.

This morning, we hear that Zacchaeus was also faced with a big dilemma in his life. Continue reading →

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

Posted on October 4, 2010 by PRP

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 →

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

Posted on September 9, 2010 by PRP

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 →

“Is repentance enough? Forgiveness vs. Justice”

Posted on March 15, 2010 by PRP

Fourth Sunday in Lent Year C (Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32) 03-14-2010

At the beginning of this season of Lent, we gathered on Ash Wednesday and prayed for the observance of a holy Lent, “by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.” And throughout Lent we have started each service with the Penitential order, to remind ourselves that our repentance shapes our Lenten journey and brings us closer to God. We invest much hope that our repentance brings forgiveness for our wrong doings, but if we have been wronged, is repentance enough for us…or do we need something more? Do we desire some compensation for the wrongful acts that have been committed in order for justice to be served? This morning, we are asked to reflect on repentance and forgiveness…and how these charitable acts challenge our understanding of justice. Continue reading →

Padre Ryder's Journal

An exploration of religious and spiritual thought for daily living

Tag Archives: Jesus