This morning we gathered to celebrate the life of a wonderful lady, taken from us far too soon. The many gifts and gracious moments of her life serve as a reminder to us that the many miracle of God’s grace are found in the everyday miracles of our common life together. The sermon delivered at her service of Christian Burial is below:
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
Palm Sunday (Matthew 27:11-54) 04/13/2014
As we come into the presence of God, whether alone or in a group as we do this morning, there are many varieties of worship and prayer: sacred music, the reading of Scripture, intercessory prayer, or meditation to name just a few. A month ago I spent a few days at the Holy Cross Monastery and joined the brothers of that Order in their time of silence in the presence of God. Extended periods of silence are sometimes hard to find these days, and there are certainly those for whom this is good news…I will admit, silence is not for everyone, and fortunately we have many varieties of worship and prayer. But silence holds a particular power and silence is something we experience this morning as we listen to the dramatic story of the Passion of Jesus Christ. Continue reading
Fifth Sunday in Lent (John 11:1-45) 04/06/2014
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A few years ago my family and I spent a fun and exciting week on vacation in Nevada and Arizona, the highlight for me being our visit to the Grand Canyon. During our time there we spent a day rafting down a river that cut through the Glen Canyon, an area just north of the Grand Canyon. Floating down the river was a spectacular experience, watching the multitude of vibrant colors paint the canyon walls and seeing the many layers of rock and sediment, each layer reaching out into the present, telling its own story of the past. Beyond the rugged beauty of the place, there was a deep spiritual element that seemed to pervade the entire canyon. The canyon seemed to be what many people have called a “thin place;” a place where the separation between heaven and earth is so narrow the face of God seems to be just around the corner. I do not mean to suggest God has some peculiar preference for a few spots on earth over others, but there is some tangible power and mystery to certain holy places. The manifestation of this holy presence, in these thin places, is the foundation of the Christian discipline of pilgrimage. Pilgrims often set aside their cares of the world and take up a journey to seek these thin places, to seek an experience with God in new and mysterious ways (our J2A pilgrims are very familiar with this idea and can attest to its power). We are nourished and nurtured in powerful ways as we come into the presence of the God; powerful ways that sustain us in times when we might feel more distant or perhaps more challenged to be close to the presence of the holy. Continue reading
Second Sunday of Easter (John 20:19-31) 04/07/2013
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Several years ago, as a member of the US Navy Reserve, I had the opportunity to participate in a multi-national naval exercise in the waters just south of Ireland. As we prepared for the exercise I learned that I was assigned to be an observer on a German U-boat, a submarine 150 ft. in length with a crew of about 20 people; an up-close and personal experience for sure. The participants of the exercise gathered on the coast of France to discuss the details of the coming week at sea, and after the meeting I met the Captain of the German submarine. He greeted me in perfect English and after a brief introduction he asked me where I had learned to speak German. I told him that, unfortunately, I did not speak German. He was quite surprised at my answer and said, “Do you realize that you will be at sea for more than a week in a German submarine…and you do not speak German?” I assured him that I did realize this was about to happen and that I really did not speak German…I could say “hello,” “goodbye” and “thank you.” “Why would the US Navy send an officer aboard a German submarine who cannot speak German?” he replied. “Because we’re Americans and sometimes we do crazy things,” I answered. He laughed, and did not believe a word of what I said. We arrived at the submarine and he introduced me to the crew, telling them that I did not speak German, but that they should be careful because he did not believe me and I might be secretly collecting information. Several times throughout the first few days the Captain tried to trick me by giving directions or telling funny jokes in German, all to his great disappointment. He struggled to believe the truth of the story that was before him. Continue reading
Easter morning (Mark 16:1-8) 4/8/2012
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A few days ago I sat in my house looking out a window and reflecting on the Gospel reading we just heard from Mark’s Gospel account. As I stared out the window I noticed a truck towing three large trees pass by and stop at the center median just a few hundred feet down the street. There was a police car close behind and as they began to spread orange cones around their work site I was reminded of a conversation I had years ago. Shortly after I moved to the Chicago area I asked a friend of mine if she found the landscape of the Midwest to be monotonous. I asked her this question because I found the flat terrain and prairie vegetation to be lacking as compared to the rolling hills and beautiful trees of the Northeast. She dismissed my preferences for the Northeast, telling me that she not only loved the Midwest’s landscapes but she was glad to not have to worry about all those trees hanging over her head. “Give me open spaces and big sky any day!” she told me. I laughed at her suggestion that the beautiful trees that imitated natural covered bridges and flowered arches would fall from the sky. At least, I found her suggestion to be laughable until last October. The late fall snowstorm that unleashed unimaginable destruction and lasted for days (that turned into weeks) made something that always seemed unlikely become incredibly real. Continue reading
Easter Day (Matthew 28:1-10) 4/24/2011
Happy Easter to everyone! We have now all traveled the 40 days of Lent. I hope that your Lenten journey was a time of rest, reflection and renewal. Throughout this season, I hope you were able to discover all that you were in search of and that you accomplished all that you set out to do. But most importantly, I hope that you were surprised. If even for just one small moment, I hope that you were unexpectedly swept off your feet with your mouth wide-open and your senses tingling, surprised. I hope that you were surprised because God has so many gifts to give us that our human expectations struggle to imagine the wonder and abundance of God’s love and grace. Continue reading
Proper 28C (Luke 21:5-19) 11/14/2010
“Jesus said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’ They asked him, ‘Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?’” (Lk 21:6-7) We should not be surprised that Jesus does not provide a direct answer to his followers, but instead describes a list of events that nearly every generation since the 1st century can understand…and all too well identify as their own. Today we live in a world of post 9/11 warnings and updates of terrorist activities throughout the world. These events are not new to world history, but how they manifest themselves today is certainly new to us. There is a feeling of uncertainty that is tangible and as we draw to the end of the year, the days remaining on the calendar are running out. And when time runs out, we come face-to-face with the tough questions. Are we good enough? Have we forgiven enough? Have we loved enough? These are questions that we carry with us each and every day, but as we approach the end of the year the many questions of our lives stand squarely in front of us…and we want to break through the uncertainty that surrounds us. Like Jesus’ disciples, we find ourselves asking, what will be the signs to point us through the time of unknowing. What should we know and what can we do to be prepared. Continue reading
Easter Morning Yr C (Jn 20:1-18) 04-04-2010
Among the many learning opportunities that are required of someone going through seminary training, I found that the 10 weeks I spent serving as a Chaplain intern especially rewarding. I spent the summer with some wonderful people at a continuing care retirement center in VA. After some introductory training, I was told to spend some time visiting folks in the assisted living and nursing care areas of the center. The vast majority of my visits were made to folks who lived alone, but there was one couple who lived together in one double room. This couple had been married for more than 60 years and I was looking forward to meeting them. I was told that they both suffered from varying degrees of dementia, in addition to other physical challenges, but I would be welcomed to visit them and the nurses were sure I would have a nice visit. As I entered the room, the man warmly greeted me as the woman slept in her bed next to him. He invited me to sit down and we started a nice conversation about many different topics…and throughout our conversation I noticed the room was full of many beautiful and interesting pictures and works of art. I suppose when you condense 60 years of life together in one room, only the most memorable pieces are selected. I asked the gentleman about one particularly beautiful wood carving of a Native American Chief riding on a stallion. He looked at the carving, agreed it was beautiful and then nodded his head toward his sleeping wife. He said, “I guess the carving his hers, I don’t know where she got it from.” I said, “Oh, your wife bought the carving.” He replied, “My wife, oh no, that’s not my wife. I have never seen her before they put us together in this room. I don’t know where my wife is right now.” I was struck by his reply: not because he couldn’t recognize his wife of 60 years – that was caused by the dementia. I was struck by his comment because this man and woman, after more than 60 years together, now lay in this room together, and he had lost his wife. Continue reading
Padre Ryder's Journal 