Year A 3rd Easter 2020 All the Way Home

Year A 3rd Sunday of Easter, 29 April 2020
Video from St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA
“All the Way Home”

Collect: O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

1 Peter 1:17-23
If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.

Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.

Luke 24:13-35
Now on that same day two of Jesus' disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Friends, good morning. I will be short today, but I hope that we will give you something to chew on, at least in your spiritual cud. 

The road to Emmaus is one of the profound stories of the Church, we share it often and readily because many of us have had that epiphany moment when we see Jesus made clear to us. It may have come from a worship service, a profound life event, a slow emerging over days and weeks with someone who modeled a Christ-like lifestyle in their own way. We identify readily with Cleopas and the other guy.

I so wish we knew the name of the other guy, and if we do some cross-Gospel investigation the other guy may be female. And if they are female, they are probably Cleopas’ wife who would be Mary who witnessed the crucifixion, and most likely the mother of St. James the Less. Pretty cool. I had never heard this possibility before, and being the Church of St. James the Less I would love to think that his parents were the disciples who had their eyes opened hours after the resurrection.

So all that being said, and one of the key things in my shifting into a more sacramental theology is the phrase: “Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

But we do not have that for us. We have been separated from the bread. This is a hard time for those of us for whom the Altar of Christ means so much. I ache for it.

One of the things that this Bishop has asked of the clergy is that we also forego the Eucharist. We already have limitations on having Eucharist alone, but surely we could celebrate with our families. We could. But we don’t. If the people are having to fast from the Eucharist, we are called to be one with them. So no cheating on our part. I look forward to the time when we can celebrate together, once we are all together again. And we all pray that that will be soon.

But today I want to emphasize the other part of the story. The bread is the easy part, the comfortable part. But we gloss over something just as significant when we jump straight to the breaking of the bread.
Jesus walked with them all the way home.

That is what I am holding onto today. It is a simple message, but one that has helped us for generations. A few weeks ago, we had some fun in response to one of our Facebook posts asking about favorite hymns. “In The Garden” was an obvious favorite. You may know the chorus:

And he walks with me, and he talks with me, and tells me that I am his own.And things we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.

And just as important, and a bit less sentimental, is the end of the Gospel of Matthew, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Jesus walks with us. We are not on these paths alone. We take these sad sojourns, but through it we can gain clarity. He can point out what was before, and what it means to us now. He can point to obvious things we missed.

I cannot say how much comfort I find in that. Friends, none of us knows when or how this will end. But this I can say, that even in this Jesus is walking with us. 

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:38-39]

When God called Moses one of the ironic things that God says in the conversation at the burning bush is something that is applicable to all our faith walks. 

He said, ‘I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.’ [Exodus 3:12]

Now the applicable part of that is not the details but rather the understanding. We cannot see the whole thing, the big picture. The God’s Eye Point of View is God’s job, not ours. God calls us to take the next step, and to have faith. Moses was asked to bring one of the mightiest nations on earth to its knees by way of its slaves. No small task. And the proof, when it is all done you will see that I was with you when you worship me back here.

Faith is a proposition. With each other, and with God. When the followers on the road to Emmaus walked with Jesus the invited him into relationship. Their preconceptions would not allow them to see him for who he was, but he stayed with them anyway. And at the end of the road, their faith came to fruition.

Friends, Jesus is walking with us. We may not see it till the end of the road. But even if you cannot see it, feel it, or believe today, I believe it. And I trust that you can one day to, if not today. As Peter says in today’s reading, “live in reverent fear during the time of your exile.” Not fear as in scared, but reverent fear like awe-filled respect. Even in our exiles, Jesus is with us, and will be ALL THE WAY HOME. Amen.

Year A 2nd Easter WED 2020 All In

Year A 2nd Sunday of Easter WEDNESDAY, 22 April 2020
Video from St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA
“All In”

Collect: Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

I Peter 2:9-10 (End of read passage, vv. 1-10)
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
Once you were not a people,
   but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
   but now you have received mercy.

John 15:1-11
‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

I am reading Amazing Grace about the amazing Englishman who fought and defeated the slave trade in the British Empire, which led to its disestablishment worldwide. Yesterday afternoon I read the chapter on his conversion. Known for his intellect, wit, singing voice, and tiny stature, William Wilberforce was a powerful politician driven and ambitious who became a complete and total sell-out to his faith. In college he had refused to sign a statement of ascent to the Nicene Creed. But after a trip with a powerful thinker and clergyman, he begins to find that he is believing the very things he renounced just a few years before. What Wilberforce came to realize was that if he truly believed what he found himself believing, that it would have to play out in his life. It could not be halfway, or lip-service only. For him to believe his life would have to show it. His best friend happened to be the Prime Minister, William Pitt. And once he knew he truly believed he would have to step down from his position in Parliament and devote his life to this new reality.

In our reading today, we see Peter recognizing a new reality in Christ. 

you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.Once you were not a people,   but now you are God’s people;once you had not received mercy,   but now you have received mercy.

We are God’s people. We have received mercy. As the old hymn intones, “No turning back, no turning back.”

As I mentioned in my email article yesterday, I feel that we have crossed a cultural Rubicon. I feel that after this plague, most especially in the USA, we will need to be different. There is no longer a choice. The pace, the animosity, the divisions served no one, and the culture of convenience has created an underclass we now deem “essential” when before we treated them as disposable. (And we still do.) God forgive us!

I hope and pray we can move to the culture that Jesus described as the Kingdom of God/Heaven, and that Martin Luther King, Jr. described as the Beloved Community. I am praying and focusing on what is to come. If all of this goes by and we are unchanged, what a waste. What a sinful waste.

What are you feeling God is saying to you about what is to come? What do you feel God may be asking of you as we emerge from this season?

Kasey and I were talking the other day, and I shared with her my favorite quote. It is always funny when we get to know new people and we get to share the things we hold most dear. It is a slow process, and what I take for granted, she found new and refreshing. William Blake has a poem with this line:
And we are put on earth a little space,
That we may learn to bear the beams of love...
And part of that “little space” is this little space we find ourselves in is an opportunity for us to learn to bear, and SHARE, the beams of love we receive from an everliving, everloving God. God bless us. What are we willing to let go because we truly believe this, like Wilberforce? Amen

Year A 2nd Easter 2020 Trials of Faith

Year A 2nd Sunday of Easter, 19 April 2020
Video from St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA
“Trials of Faith”

Collect: Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 1:3-9
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith-- being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire-- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

John 20:19-31
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Yesterday I was a bit like Thomas. I went out.

I went out despite the fears and worries. I went out because we needed to get some more essentials. Was Thomas on a food run, too? Because of refrigeration it had been weeks since I had made the last one. Woohoo. But I think similar feelings were there. We know that Thomas was not hidden away with the other apostles. But we know that he was out.

Was he in disguise? Was he fearful? Not so long ago it was illegal to wear a mask in public, and now it is not only recommended it is the new norm. I took off my shoes before I came in the house. So many new ways of doing things. So different.

The disciples, who for three years handled crowds and were in the middle of it all, are now hiding away from the Romans and the religious leaders. And Thomas goes out into it.

I am trying to envision my family telling me when I got home that something world-changing had taken place in the hour and change I was gone. How would I respond? 

God calls us all to faith. God wants us to be a part of this NOW. Doubts are natural, and they are part of the process for faith to grow. To build up our faith muscles, we exercise our doubts. Or should that be exorcise? God does not want our doubts, but I think God understands. Jesus is very patient with Thomas, inviting him to stick his fingers in his hands and side. I do not see Jesus being facetious here. He is taking it to as simple a place as it needs to be. “Here, Thomas, check it out…” Notice Thomas believes much sooner than that. 

Each and every one of our doubts are our own. We all have things that we believe easier than others. As Frederick Beuchner said (and was made famous by John Irving in A Prayer for Owen Meany), 
“Without somehow destroying me in the process, how could God reveal himself in a way that would leave no room for doubt? If there were no room for doubt, there would be no room for me.”
Our doubts are uniquely our own. And God works through them to get us to where we need to be.

That is what Peter is getting to in today’s New Testament reading. I want to pick this apart a phrase at a time, from I Peter 1.

You… are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 

Peter is telling us that no matter how things are now, ESPECIALLY NOW, that God is with us, molding us in preparation for eternity. Now we are so fixated on timing, saving it, wasting it, prolonging it, for it is precious. But when we enter Eternity, time is meaningless. “We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’ve first begun.” In eternity, we have just as much 1,000 years into it as day one.

In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith...

We go through things, trials of our faith, and in so doing, our faith is refined and is strengthened. Now do not see God as causing the trials. Too much to get into all of that today. Life hands you lemons, not God. But God helps you make lemonade out of the stuff that Life hands all of us. In those instances, and we all have them, we can grow. We do not suffer so that we can grow. We all suffer. That is life. We are all waging a war, mostly unseen, unknown. Ian MacLaren reminds us: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” Going on… 

the genuineness of your faith-- being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire-- 

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 Our faith is refined in the crucible of Life. And our Faith is our learned response. When Steph and I have faced hard days, I knew I could count on two things. I could count on God, and I could count on her. Like calluses on my hands from hard work, they come through work and only through work. Faith is like that. It is easy to say we believe when things are easy. But true faith, genuine faith comes from refinement by trial. 

[Our faith] may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 

We would not want to be found wanting when Jesus comes again. I saw a button once, meant as a joke, but its implications are not funny. “Look busy, Jesus is coming.” But in our faith, it is so much more than “looking busy.” Our faith is real when it has been worked and tried. When we face the insurmountable or the impossible with a calm resolve that God is with us. Will God change things for us? Probably not. But in the chemo wards and prayer closets, in our ICUs and IOUs, God is with us. When Jesus comes again, we want to praise and glory with sincerity and joy when Jesus shows up.

Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 

We wait in patience. We would have to be patient. We have been waiting for a hundred generations for his return. But will he find us faithful when he comes? We have not seen him, but we love him. But my whole life, and maybe a hundred generations more, we look with anticipation for his return and the “indescribable and glorious joy.”

for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

And here we have it. Our reward. We keep the faith, and the outcome of that faith, the salvation of our very souls. The only thing that we can take with us. The only thing that is truly our own. Every single thing you think you own. Every single relationship that is so important. Every single moment and place and thing that you cherish will one day be stripped away. All that you have is your soul. 

And friends, like Thomas, our faith is tested. We all face trials. We all have doubts. We all are invited to take a step further into faith. We are invited to take those trials, and transform them by applying our faith. Do we choose to see through the dark and the shadows and envision the light? Do we embrace the light in the midst of the storm? That is our choice. That is faith.

One of the strange things that our technology has enabled, that now is a hindrance, is my phone. It is designed to look at me, literally, and through recognizing my face it lets me into my phone. On my quick trip to the store, I tried to check my phone for my list to make sure that I got everything I needed. I am so used to just picking up my phone, there is a muscle memory built in. I do not think about it, because I do not have to think about it. It just happens. But not with a mask on. It was not designed for these times of masks. That is what we are getting at. We were not designed to live in our doubts. We were designed to live in faith. With God, we can take off the protective layers of our doubts and see things for real, eye to eye, face to face.

Friends, in these uncertain and fear-filled days, have faith. Have faith in the one who loves you through your doubts and in your doubts. God has faith in you, that one day your faith will be genuine. God loves you so much that God is willing to play the long game, and work us patiently with us, even through our doubts. Thanks be to God! Amen 

Year A Easter Sunday 2020 Tucked Away

Year A Easter Sunday, 12 April 2020
Video from St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA
“Tucked Away”

Collect: Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Colossians 3:1-4
If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

Matthew 28:1-10
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”


When I was a child, my dad had built me a little indoor slide, basically a box, with a ladder on one side and a slide coming off the other. As much as I loved that, just as much if not more so, there was a round hole that let me climb into the box. I would crawl in, curl up, and just sit. Tucked away in there I felt safe. I am not sure what I was afraid of, but tucked up in there, I felt nothing can get to me. It was my hiding place.

In the many summers I spent at camp, there is a praise song based off of Psalm 32:7. Sitting around a campfire, singing this, gave me such a sense of peace.

You are a hiding place for me;    you preserve me from trouble;    you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.     Selah

Even King David, who wrote the Psalm, cherished that felling of being tucked away.

A lot of us feel tucked away right now. Hidden. Some feel safe. Some feel isolated. Some are flaunting going out. We have a range of emotions all over the map. Jesus was tucked away as well.

The officials thought that they had rid themselves of a dangerous nuisance.

The disciples thought that this man that they had devoted their lives to for three years was gone for good.

The women who went to care for his remains, expected there to be a body, a body of someone they adored beginning the slow decay of mortal remains.

But while they thought Jesus being tucked away was a finality, for him and for us it was the Beginning. From those three days of silence and sorrow, the greatest event in human history transpired. The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I miss you. I really do. I miss seeing you, especially on this day of all days. This is a day to dress up. This is a day for candy and laughter. This is a day for kids looking for eggs in long grass. This is a day for community.

Alleluia! The Lord is Risen!
The Lord is Risen indeed!

I miss hearing you respond back. This place should be echoing in the joyous exuberance of THE LORD IS RISEN INDEED!

But it is not. It cannot. It is what it is. We are apart because we love and live for the Least of These. We are all doing what we can to care for those for whom this would be a death sentence.

Just like Jesus. As we sang in the beautiful hymn:

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!What wondrous love is this, O my soul!What wondrous love is this,That caused the Lord of bliss,To bear the dreadful curse,For my soul, for my soul,To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

Think of what Jesus did for us, out of love. And you can tuck that away.

Speaking of tucked away, that is where I want to spend the rest of my time this morning. We revel in the Resurrection this morning. This is the lynchpin of our faith. And from that EVERYTHING else emerges.

That is what can lead St. Paul to say what we read in our New Testament reading, Colossians 3:1-3:

If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Sisters and brothers, we are the Children of the Resurrection. That is what brings us together in the family of God. Through faith in his Son, we have been adopted into the line of Faith that goes back to Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekkah, Jacob and Rachel. That lineage of faith, through Christ, continues in us, and through us.

In these days of either dismissal or fear, we need not run to either extreme that our cultural divide drives us to go toward. For if we are in Christ, we seek that which is above. Some of you have heard me say it this way, Jesus invites to reframe and step up. We look at what is, not from our narrow biased or partisan perspectives, but from God’s point of view, all-seeing, all-knowing, all-loving. And with that we can rise above the situation we find ourselves in and raise to a higher level of existence.

Again, “If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above...” In a world that is going crazy: stir-crazy, fear-crazy, enraged-crazy, whatever, we need to rise above the level of these problems. We set our minds on the things above, and in that and because of that we need not fear. Come what may, we are confident that this world is not our home. “Our life is hidden with Christ in God…” What is most real, what is most our home, is our life hidden in Christ.

In these days of hiding from, I am inviting you to reframe and step up. We are not quarantining and self-isolating to save ourselves. Our lives, if we are in Christ, are not our own. We are in Christ, and so we need not fear. We are in Christ, claimed in his Resurrection. Promised Rebirth through his Resurrection. We could view our predicament as dire, or dreaded. But I claim the Resurrection.

While I am tucked away here and now, I know something far greater than anything we face, come what may. I may be tucked away in isolation, but this is for but a season. I am tucked away with Christ in God FOREVER.

I am tucked away with Christ in God. Nothing can take that away. Nothing will ever take that away. The Cross could not take that away. Pilate, Herod, the Sanhedrin could not take that away. Hell itself, when Jesus descended to the dead, could not take that away. Friends, we are tucked away in the very hand of God and nothing or no one can ever snatch us out.

We do not know what tomorrow may bring, but the Resurrection promises to all of us we are safe and secure when we shall find ourselves home. Our lives, our true lives with Christ, have already begun. Tuck that away. It is more sure than the sun coming up in the morning. Amen

The Liturgical Name For What We Are Going Through

A Liturgical Name For What We Are Going Through
By The Rev. Rock Higgins

This year many of us are fearful and grieving our way through Lent. My children joked with me that they never knew that we were giving up church for Lent. As a priest, the loss is deep. For many of us, clergy or not, it is profoundly felt. My greatest vocational joys are leading God’s people to connect personally and collectively with the Almighty. Now, though, we are seeking ways to do that without direct connection, without the spontaneous feedback of body language, dialogue, touch. I grieve the loss of our community, in its gatherings anyway. Added to that, I am an extrovert, and topping off my energy levels is another aspect of this time which is tangible and missed. We have the loss of joint liturgy. I can say the words, “The Lord be with you!” over Facebook Live, but the words ring hollow with the lack of any heard response. The different responses of each parishioner when I place the bread in their hand during the Eucharist . An intimacy develops between priest and parishioner that is unspoken, unknown to anyone else, each person unique. These things help establish a sense of normality in our lives. They are gone. The grief is great.

When our Bishop rightly made the call to cease public worship, my first thought was for Holy Week. My favorite liturgies in the whole year are the Triduum. Each and every liturgy, beautiful and haunting in its own right. All four. Yes, all four.

As I have been thinking through these emotions particularly towards Holy Week, though, I have gone through the liturgies and collects in my head, and it struck me that we actually do have a rite that speaks to where we are. We often ignore it. For me, since I started as the Rector in my current parish, it became my practice to include it. A faithful eight or so actually join with me. It is so overshadowed by its counterparts that it is ignored at best, unknown to most.

Slipped in between the horror of Good Friday and the eventual joy of Easter Vigil is a quiet service that sits with our grief and our fear; it recognizes it and honors it. It is the liturgy of Holy Saturday.

Think of the feelings that the disciples shared as given in Scripture. They were between the known, which was horrific, and the fearful unknown, that ended up being far greater than they could hope for or imagine, but they sat in ignorance of what was to come. We have heard with great trepidation what we have heard about Wuhan or Italy or emerging hot spots here in the States. It is on its way, if not already here. Those looming feelings of dread so closely mirror the disciples’. What might that tell us? In our liturgies we have the gift of Holy Saturday.

In the Book of Common Prayer, it sits on pages 283. That is all. A single page. A collect with 6 readings, 2 of those optional. It speaks to the isolation, the fear of the unknown, the potential death waiting outside our door.

The Collect speaks to the historical events, while conveying the emotions that are all to applicable to our times:

O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the
coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

We are in this In-Between Time. Death is lurking at our door. For the Disciples it was the authorities, religious and Roman. If they could do it to Jesus, it could happen to them. For us, we may have the virus and not even realize it. We isolate. We quarantine. We await the coming of resurrection. But will that resurrection from our self-entombment be for us?

Just as we skip this service, USAmerican culture does not deal with sorrow, grief, or fear well. We ignore it. If we do not recognize it, like some fantasy-filled child in their imaginings, it is not there. Holy Saturday demands us to see and know that death has come, and it could come for us, we just do not know. And that unknowing is the rub. The reason that Governor Cuomo of New York said in a press conference on March 22 this: “The goal for me: be socially distanced, but spiritually connected. How do you achieve [being] socially distanced, but spiritually connected.”[Source] That is where the Church’s call is today, and giving this season a name is a way to begin the response.

We do have a name if we choose to use it, and a liturgy that reminds us that resurrection is coming. But it is not just a day or a single liturgy; we find ourselves in an unintended Season of Holy Saturday. And for many of us recognizing and dealing with these fears and the associated feelings is something entirely new.

This year we will not have the distractions of coloring eggs, or preparing outfits on Holy Saturday. We have no details to fuss over about a huge family dinner. We are sitting in the unknown, awaiting the unknown. So many variables, many terribly negative, only up the anxiety. But as we sit here, we can be the hope of others that can help get them through.

Our liturgies’ strength is through their disciplines. The daily readings in Lent work well for us. They point to Lent’s focus on self-discipline, repentance, and mending of ways. And they direct us to making that connection to God throughout the good times and the bad. One of the readings from Holy Saturday ends with this, which could not be more appropriate:
The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. I Peter 4:8
Focus on your prayers. Maintain your love of one another. Socially distanced. Spiritually connected.

We can lead people to embrace what is, recognize the realities of their worries and their worries’ cause, and guide the people to look forward in hope to the Easter that is to come.

One caution though, we are not spiritualizing our self-distancing as a retreat or spiritual time-out. I have seen much of that online. This undesired time to turn into spiritual retreat is a privilege many of our most fearful elderly and newly unemployed will not be able to see. That is why this shift to a Holy Saturday approach is so important. NOBODY chose this. NO ONE wanted this. But it is here. And as we sit in that reality, as we process those emotions, Holy Saturday gives us words, and meaning, and hope.

Another part of our liturgy is that EVERY Sunday is considered a little Easter. In that spirit, whenever we gather again, and it may be months from now, we will have an Easter celebration with greater meaning, purpose, and joy. I so look forward to that day.

Lastly, in the Holy Saturday liturgy, we are instructed to pray the spoken anthem from our Burial rites. As the Holy Saturday liturgy directs, I close with it here as well.

In the midst of life we are in death;
from whom can we seek help?
From you alone, O Lord,
who by our sins are justly angered.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy and merciful Savior,
deliver us not into the bitterness of eternal death.

Lord, you know the secrets of our hearts;
shut not your ears to our prayers,
but spare us, O Lord.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy and merciful Savior,
deliver us not into the bitterness of eternal death.

O worthy and eternal Judge,
do not let the pains of death
turn us away from you at our last hour.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy and merciful Savior,
deliver us not into the bitterness of eternal death.

During this imposed season, may we look to the one who is with us always, even in pandemic.

Year A Maundy Thursday 2020 Sacramental

Year A Maundy Thursday, 9 April 2020 
Video service from St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA
“Sacramental”

Collect: Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean."

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord--and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

"Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, `Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

Tonight we are in some strange times, and in a strange place. We are a sacramental church. We believe in Two Sacraments, and 5 more sacramental practices or spiritual markers that shape our path.

Our Anglican tradition recognizes sacraments as “outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace.” (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 857) Holy Baptism and the Eucharist (or Holy Communion) are the two great sacraments given by Christ to his Church.
In the case of Baptism, the outward and visible sign is water, in which the person is baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; the inward and spiritual grace is union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God’s family the Church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in the Holy Spirit. In the case of the Eucharist, the outward and visible sign is bread and wine, given and received according to Christ’s command. The inward and spiritual grace is the Body and Blood of Christ given to his people, and received by faith.
In addition to these two, there are other spiritual markers in our journey of faith that can serve as means of grace. These include:
Confirmation: the adult affirmation of our baptismal vows
Reconciliation of a Penitent: private confession
Matrimony: Christian marriage
Orders: ordination to the diaconate, priesthood, or episcopacy
Unction: anointing those who are sick or dying with holy oil 

(From the Episopal Church webpage: https://episcopalchurch.org/sacraments)

We enact the actions of the church. Now in our approach, we step into the Scripture and enact the stories. Then is Now. We see ourselves in the story by doing what they said they did. During the liturgy, you may see me, or Becky+, or Harrison, bowing when we say or hear Jesus. “At the name of Jesus every head shall bow, every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Philippians 2:10) We do it in faith that it is true, was true, and will be true.

Tonight we have two embodiments that we are missing.

We have been offered to bathe one another’s feet. Physically. Literally. Water, towels, loving and intimate. We are vulnerable and exposed. If you are like me, very ticklish, too. We do it because Jesus did it to show us how to treat one another. We become “like Christ” to one another. That is what Christian means, “little Christs.” We become the one being like Christ, AS WELL AS receiving directly from Christ.

The other one, that we do far more than once a year, is the Eucharist, when we take simple bread and simple wine, and we use it to commune with Christ and with one another. We come to receive the bread, for we see it as Christ’s body. We take the cup, for we see the wine as Christ’s blood. He told us to do it, and when we do he meets us there. I so miss sharing this with all of you. It is the most humble and awe-inspiring thing I do. Weekly I pray for my ego to go away, and for those brief moments with each of you I pray that Jesus work through me in the sharing of the bread. You all receive it differently. Some bow their heads. Some say thank you. Some look me in the eye. Some stroke my thumb, or rather the thumb of the one sharing the bread. Christ, that is. It is not me.

Tonight, we do not get to do either of these. Out of love and reason we have foregone the normal sacramental so that we can protect others and ourselves.

But in our liturgies every Sunday we have have two parts, the Liturgy of the Word, and the Liturgy of the Table. The Word is not the Scripture. The Word is not the preaching. The Word, the pre-incarnate Word, is Jesus. Read John 1. The liturgy points us to Jesus, and Jesus meets us there. The Table is the same, but for now we are removed from that, but WE ARE NOT REMOVED FROM JESUS!

The word Sacrament that we use makes more sense when you see where the word comes from. I know, I know, etymology again, but it makes so much clear.

Sacrament is: Middle English: from Old French sacrement, from Latin sacramentum ‘solemn oath’ (from sacrare ‘to hallow’, from sacer ‘sacred’), used in Christian Latin as a translation of Greek mustērion ‘mystery’.

Even in our time tonight, the mystery is here.  Pause now. Take off your shoes if you want. Picture Jesus now, kneeling before you, and taking the warm water and bathing the stains of the world off your feet. Picture him getting between your toes. Then he takes the meager towel wrapped around his waist. In humility he dries your feet, getting the last drip from between those squeaky clean toes. The mystery remains. The Sacrament is here. Whether done physically, or in our mind, Christ is present. He is, was, and always will be.

When we think of bread and wine, next time you are fed, think of Jesus sitting down with you. Eating, breaking bread with you, laughing and sharing stories with you. He is present whether you see him or not. One of my favorite slogans is “Bidden or unbidden, God is Present.” [VOCATUS ATQUE NON VOCATUS DEUS ADERIT] Carl Jung made it famous, but it is from Erasmus. When we stop and give thanks next, pause, and let that Spiritual Communion be real. See Jesus there with you. Maybe even set a place. That can be Sacramental, too. It is all mystery. As is life, especially these days. Tonight as we contemplate these sacraments, we find that we can find God anywhere and everywhere. The Psalmist promises us this:

If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
    if I make my bed in Sheol [hell], you are there. (Psalm 139:8)

And as St. Paul affirms for us in Romans (8:38-39):

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Friends, being apart, know that Christ is not at the Church. Christ is in you, with you, and working through you. Christ is bigger than our troubled times. Christ is bigger than this pandemic. Christ is with us, even in this, especially in this. And soon we will be together again, embracing the sacraments, embracing each other. Thanks be to God! Amen

Year A 5th Lent WED 2020 Truth Will Set Us Free

**Apologies, accidentally forgot to post last week. We are all extra-distracted these days. Blessings during this time.**

Year A 5th Lent WEDNESDAY, 1 April 2020
Virtual Morning Worship from St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA
“Truth will set us Free”

Collect: Almighty God our heavenly Father, renew in us the gifts of your mercy; increase our faith, strengthen our hope, enlighten our understanding, widen our charity, and make us ready to serve you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

John 8:31–42
Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.”
They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are indeed doing what your father does.” They said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me.”
“You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

People use that phrase all the time. Many, if not most, these days are unaware that this phrase comes from Jesus. In these days of relative truth (my truth and your truth as opposed to “The Truth”) it may be hard for us to imagine that the Truth will set us free.

One of the deeply disturbing things from recent years has been the arguments over what is basic truth. It is hard to find common ground when we cannot agree on what is the ground.

Jesus found himself in a similar position. The religious authorities of his day were offended, not that he had a truth that was counter to theirs, but that he alluded to the idea that they were not free. It was like they were saying, “Why be born again when we were born right the first time?”

They found their freedom in their birth and lineage, being descendants of Abraham. Jesus was looking at a greater bondage, one to sin which brings death. He urges them to find the truth, his truth, which was not about lineage, but obedience.

In the Old Testament reading, Hananiah, Misha'el, and Azariah obeyed God. That is Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego if you use their false Babylonian names.  Drives our Jewish brothers and sisters crazy when we do that. Hananiah, Misha'el, and Azariah mean respectively, "God is gracious," "Who is like God?", and "God has helped." They stayed true to God, and the disciplines that they had learned in their youth. It was not without a price. They were thrown in a fiery furnace. And in their midst appeared one like unto a God. They were delivered unharmed.

You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.

By staying to the truth, they were delivered. They knew the risk, and that God might not let them go. That did not matter. Staying true to the truth they had found was what was most important.

In these days, we have a lot of worries and anxieties. But most of us know the truth. We know what we have been taught, and what we should do. We know that there will be a tomorrow, and on Easter or much later there will be a resurrection. We will emerge from tombs of self-exile, and walk amongst the land of the living again. Or we will not. Either way we reside in the truth that we have found. And in that truth we find our true freedom. We may not know what tomorrow may bring. But we reside in the truth that forever will bring.

Morning Prayer puts the Collect later, so you have not heard today’s yet. It is so appropriate for these times.

Almighty God our heavenly Father, renew in us the gifts of your mercy; increase our faith, strengthen our hope, enlighten our understanding, widen our charity, and make us ready to serve you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
We need not fear. We need plan. We need prepare. We need care for our sisters and brothers, especially the most vulnerable by staying apart. But we need not fear. And that truth can set us free. Amen.

Year A Holy Week Wednesday 2020 Bitter Herbs

Year A Holy Week WEDNESDAY, 9 April 2020
Video Service from St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA
“Bitter Herbs”

Collect: Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

John 13:21-32
At supper with his friends, Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, "Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. One of his disciples-- the one whom Jesus loved-- was reclining next to him; Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "Do quickly what you are going to do." Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the festival"; or, that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.
When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once."

We are in the final day before the Triduum, our three holy days. And we are given a glimpse of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. Now many would argue whether what we see in the Scriptures during what we call the Last Supper and  the foundation for our Eucharist is a Passover Meal or not. What we have alludes to that, whether it is describing it or not. I will leave that debate to others.

A few times in my life I have been blessed to participate in a Seder. If you go back and look at the book of Exodus (12:8) and Numbers (9:11), the Hebrew children are given very clear instructions on how to eat this memorial meal, recollecting their deliverance from slavery.

Now part of that meal is the dipping of the unleavened bread, the matzoh, into the Bitter Herbs, the maror. It is also dipped in salt water as well. This happens earlier in the meal.

But the dipping of the bread into the maror is significant. It is to put on the tongue the bitterness of slavery. It even says, as the tradition continued and was established, that you had to eat at least as much as the size of an olive, a big one. And you could not just swallow it. It was to sit on the tongue, so the bitterness could be felt.

And remember the part of the story:
[The disciple Jesus loved] asked him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "Do quickly what you are going to do." ...So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. 

We know from John’s Gospel that the plot to kill Jesus began after the anointing of Jesus’ feet. Judas may have felt put down over complaining of the waste. Maybe he just wanted the money to skim off the top. Whatever the reason, some bitterness had sprung up in his heart. And it came to fruition. Jesus knew it. “Do quickly what you are going to do…”

Judas may have betrayed Jesus, but Jesus was able to make a point. The bread, I believe, carried that sting of maror, the bitter herb, when Judas put it to his lips. That taste of slavery. That taste of resentment. It was already there, but in making this point, Jesus took this instructed requirement (if it was a Passover) and dramatically escalated its meaning. That slavery in Egypt was one thing. But there is a slavery that entraps so many of us still.

Anger, resentment, unforgiveness. And it is bitter. Resentment is a poison that we take, thinking it will kill another. Forgiveness is about wholeness. Wholeness for me. Wholeness for relationship. Wholeness of community. The person I am forgiving could receive it, or not. But it is not about them. It is about letting nothing hinder my following of Jesus. And Resentment ALWAYS gets in the way when it is present.

When you see the sprig of Resentment growing in your heart, nip it in the bud. Life is too short. Like one of my favorite blessings states: “Life is short and we have too little time to gladden the hearts of those who travel the way with us. So, be swift to love and make haste to be kind… and the blessing of God Almighty: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen (Henri-Frédéric Amiel) Friends, in these uncertain times, if there is someone with whom you have withheld forgiveness or who holds a grudge against you, know this is a season where some good, solid, Christ-filled bridge building can take place. Do not leave with the bitter herb on your tongue. Amen