Natural Systems Theory tells us that all institutions are at risk, by their very nature, of eventually subsuming the original mission. Self-preservation becomes the priority – no matter how earnest and selfless the mission of the institution may have initially been. Could Jesus be aware of this? Would he have us resist such systematic change?
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
O God, who before the passion of your only begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lessons You can read the scripture for February 5, 2017 here. Audio Roughly nine months prior to my call to serve here at Church of the Ascension, Hurricane Sandy struck, hitting the Jersey Shore and a great number of locations on the shores of the five boroughs. The storm hit very hard. At the time I was serving in a small mission parish situated
Lessons You can read the scripture for January 22, 2017 here. Audio Interesting times. It’s safe to say we live in interesting times, is it not? In fact, I’m feeling much in agreement with Thomas Paine who, in December of 1776 wrote the words, “These are the times that try our souls.” (Well, he wrote “men’s souls”, but times have changed – and women’s
Lessons You can read the scripture for Christmas 2016 here. Audio One of the divas currently reigning at the Metropolitan Opera is a supremely gifted soprano with an enormous vocal range. Her name is Joyce DiDonato and I was fortunate enough to attend her recital at Carnegie Hall a little over a week ago. The evening was entitled “In War and Peace: Harmony through
Lessons You can read the scripture for December 4, 2016 here. Audio I’m unendingly amazed at the ways in which the Holy Spirit moves in the world. She’s been at it a long, long time. I say “she”, in part, because Judaism has a long history of recognizing “Wisdom” as both feminine and co-eternal with God. But the gender assignment is not the point.
What are we celebrating in our observance of the Reign of Christ? The very words suggest magnificence and great power – the grandeur of a king whose rule exceeds all others.
Then why this gospel text?
These last few moments of Jesus’ life seem, at first, to run counter to all we might value in the world, let alone a royal ruling over it all.
To be with Jesus in this moment on the cross – as we celebrate his reign – invites us to consider the ways use of the language of royalty and ruling risks missing the whole point of the gospels, because of the way “king” or “ruler” might connote a fixed sense of order, rather than a dynamic sense of God’s action on earth.
Lessons You can read the scripture for November 6, 2016 here. Audio The structure of today’s gospel passage is four blessings contrasted with four woes, all of which serve the purpose of encouraging believers to “look heavenward” during trial and tribulations. What does it mean to look heavenward? And, if we’re able to discern such meaning, what good does it do? So many of
What would it take for me – or for you, for that matter – to find, deep inside, the kind of humility expressed by the tax collector in today’s gospel story? Is some kind of major upset required? Sometimes, if I’ve made a big mistake, I find myself somehow seeing more clearly how much I need God’s grace and forgiveness. Sometimes surviving a trauma, or even a grave disappointment of some kind, can draw us into a state of such vulnerability we cannot help but feel a need, deep in our souls, for mercy from God…