Hot and Bothered: Following the Path with Jesus

Trinity Church in the City of Boston 
Proper 8, Year C 2025 
June 29,2025 

Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 
Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20 
Galatians 5:1,13-25 
Luke 9:51-62 

Welcome to summer, my friends! 

As our temperatures fluctuate from delightful to uncomfortably warm, I find myself delighting in sunshine and also seeking shelter from the heat. We shift from warming ourselves to attempting to find ways to stop the sweat from dripping down our backs incessantly. 

It’s that time of year.  

Similarly, our church year has shifted- from the reassuring Easter Gospels, where Jesus appears and reminds the disciples of his teachings. We have entered that time of year when we shift from the comfort of Eastertide to the just as affirming and yet some what uncomfortable gospels of Ordinary Time. 

Ordinary time is that season between the high holy days, From Pentecost and Trinity Sunday to the first Sunday of Advent. Some call it “the growing season,” the time when we often hear parables that talk of seeds, plants, sheep and goats, and our Gospels often conclude with consequences and the gnashing of teeth. If the heat weren’t enough, crossing these parables should make even the most faithful squirm. 

Now, this is not a fire and brimstone sermon, I am not here to frighten you- my words today are here to invite us into the ordinary time to listen deeper, to engage in the uncomfortable, to find the faithful path in the journey in the world where everything is heating up from the weather to the global tensions. 

Today we hear both in our Old Testament and Gospel readings that the leadership is focused on their final days. Elijah knows his work here on earth has come to an end; he is preparing for his own departure. He knows he will be departing, and much like the disciples later in the gospels, Elisha asks for what he needs when Elijah departs. Elisha desires to lead and lead well and knows the power of the Lord will guide and give that power and authority. Elijah knows that God will provide as God will provide. 

Leaping from Elijah and Elisha, we hear Jesus “turn towards Jerusalem” telling us that he too is focusing on his departure. Luke’s gospel has spent his first 5 chapters telling us of Jesus’ birth story, teaching and healing and now there is a shift- Jesus is heading to Jerusalem. This journey takes Luke another 15 chapters to tell the whole story and during these chapters Jesus’ tone shifts.  

Jesus teaches while walking, he shares parables with consequences, he articulates the hard truth of discipleship and at the same time confirms the endurance of God’s love and presence through hardship and challenge. All while doing the ordinary, going from one place to the other. 

Today, I picture the road that Jesus and the disciples are on is long road with many uphills. The temperature is warm, the people are not. It’s dusty and a pebbled walk.  

Jesus fills the time with looking forward. He does not reflect back on what an amazing job the work of God has done in people’s lives. He is not commending the disciples on their sacrifice and faithfulness following him.  

Jesus is doubling down, he is taking the disciples on the advanced course- they are diving into the deep end and realizing that they do not know how to swim in these waters. The disciples think they are ready for the olympic events and Jesus points out that their swimming is still a lot like dog paddling in the shallow end. 

Today we hear that a Samaritan town does not welcome Jesus. 

In response, the disciples want to retaliate by “smiting them”- it’s the first we heard that the disciples could do this (cool super disciple power, right?) and Jesus rebukes them. WRONG ANSWER. Keep walking my friends. 

Lack of hospitality, while a statement of lack of grace and countercultural, means moving on, not retribution. 

Then Jesus encounters three more people who want to follow Jesus and join in the movement BUT: 

One is told that following Jesus means being willing to move about and have no permanent residency. 

One is told to ignore family responsibilities (also counter cultural to the norm) in order to join the group. 

One more is told that you must come now, there is no going back to say goodbye to family. 

One could wonder, did the heat get to Jesus that day?  

Did the disciples ask one too many questions?  

Did Jesus need a nap?  

He surely isn’t sugar coating things as he describes and invites these newcomers to following God. 

Jesus’ words make me uncomfortable, the asks by the newcomers were simple and pastoral even. Caring for one’s family and closing up chapters in our lives makes sense to us and Jesus is saying …. this call is uncomfortable, immediate, and requires all of us- undistracted, focused, and 100 percent of our mind, body and spirit. 

Without any sugar coating Jesus speaks truth, both for the disciples and for these newcomers. God’s love is counter cultural, leaves things behind and at the same time goes beyond the ordinary to endure, re-create, and build up community. 

One of my favorite writers, Debie Thomas, states that Jesus is a horrible salesman. He sells “rejection and forbearance, inconvenience and hardship, disruption and disorientation. Come and Die with me, so we can live.”i  In his truth in advertising, Jesus is preparing his disciples for the road ahead and inviting the newest members into a countercultural path. 

So too, we are guided in this world today. In a world of rejection and violence, retaliation and revenge- we, too, are called into the uncomfortable truth that peace in this world requires counter cultural change. Leadership that will collaborate, building up community rather than arsenals, and leaving things behind. 

In the midst of the sweltering heat, we are uncomfortable with the fact that many in our community will be without shelter, that there are those who live in fear in our own neighborhoods, and those in the midst of wars globally, innocent people live in fear of surviving the night. 

This path of living faithfully, is hard, bewildering. There are sharp edges where families will disagree, countries will battle, people are left without homelands. 

In the midst of these divisions and uncertainty, we too, are like the disciples- people finding faithfulness amidst this ordinary time. The easy answer is wipe them off the map, (even the disciples themselves wanted to do so.)  

And yet.  

Jesus invites us into the deeper dive, the harder work. 

To persevere faithfully despite the hostilities. 

To pray, to stay in community, to invite others into a new way that is the harder yet more enduring way of love. 

With so many opportunities for seeking peace in prayer and action, we too continue walking the path together to gather, pray, be light in this world and know that much like the disciples- we, too can follow and witness. Through the disruption and disorientation of our times, God persists.  
There is an opportunity for being joined together in the unity of the spirit as our collect of the day persists. 

We gather for prayer for the larger world, we sing joining the songs of those who have weathered the wars and the pain of the past, we continue to have children, marry, and bury those whom we love- using what we have been given to strive to be part of God’s creation reconciling and restoring the divisions that exist. 

Even in the heat, even in the disorientation, we too walk the dusty hot road. 

Faithfully. 

Seeing the endurance of the faithful before us, around us, and those who are to come. We too, embark on this hot and dusty journey holding in common the love of God who created each of us, the sacrificial love of Jesus and the sustaining love of the Holy Spirit inviting us to continue on the path of hope and new beginnings. 

Amen 

Algorithms, Runners and Fishermen, There is no Try…just do.

Trinity Church in the City of Boston 
May 4, 2025 
Easter 3, Year C 

  • Acts 9:1-6, 7-20 

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. 

God who is with us 
in the locked room, in the empty nets, in our inner conflicts, 
help us to embrace our vulnerabilities, we pray. 
May we allow ourselves to be naked with you, 
all our weaknesses and flaws laid bare before our Maker, 
the One who knows and loves us best of all. 
Be our strength and our guide, 
as we determine how to place one foot in front of the other. 
Provide us with what we need for the journey: 
for our bodies, minds and spirits, 
and grant us the right companions 
to accompany us on the road. 
Amen.i 

This year was the first year where I experienced that divine astronomical occurrence… When the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox aligned with the same weekend as the Sunday before the third Monday of April. Otherwise known as Easter Day occurred directly before the Boston Marathon Monday. The pinnacle of the Christian faith and a massive event in the Boston and running community. 

It was a THING. 

And because of this THING, the algorithms in my social media were broken open with cheesy Christian memes and all things running. And the theme continues still today….. 

From cheeseey Jesus jokes about BRB to silly sign recommendations at the marathon like “Lamest parade ever”  

Even two weeks post these major events I am still getting this theme running through feed. 

One short clip had me laughing and thinking a bit further……  
The reel (a 45sec video clip with words or not words) proposed “What if”ii 

What if the relay baton was not a slim cylindrical metal tube. 

(Now as a distance Runner, Sprinters have always amazed me…  They finish quicker than I can actually lace my running shoes. In college, the distance runners actually willingly ran a relay. We only ran it once. We ran a Race of 4x10k. Our teammates who were sprinters were not amused. It was long, it was boring, and seriously holding onto a baton for 6.2miles is ridiculous- and you can rest assured that this will never become an olympic event) so with this mindset I leaned in… what are these sprinters going to do? 

What if the baton was……a bunch of balloons 

What if it was a traffic cone 

What if it was a watermelon 

What if it was a HUMAN 

With each one, you saw the word before the person came running onto the screen with the item. 
The typical baton was passed seamlessly between the two athletes who were serious about their task. They just did it. 

The Balloons gave some resistance, the hand off was exquisite.  
Wind resistance was real. 

The Traffic Cone- awkwardly passed with a small delay….forcing the person who would carry it forward to turn a different way. 

The watermelon—- the hand off included almost a granny throw and carry blindly behind the person (also it fell and splattered) 

The Human…. involved a third REAL person who held themselves very very rigid and they literally passed the person along, also resulting in a tumble and a lot of laughter. 

I was struck by the person who always carried it forward and the person who always received it…… no shock, no delay, just carrying things forward as best they could.  

Easter’s Empty tomb has been empty for 2 weeks and here we are..  

The JOYFILLED algorithm of God’s love is still in our minds, still in our memories, still popping up when we see the flowers around us, the days are beautiful and the challenges persist, the message of this journey still with us and also the unexpected as we process where God has met us in our midst. Where God calls us to carry forward the hope that a broken open empty tomb gives us. 

Today is one of those days where we have an abundance of riches in our scriptures to read, mark and inwardly digest. Stories of transformation, stories of God’s love and life carried forward in the most unexpected ways, the message of hope and love handed off to the next person in some of the most puzzling instruments. The normal is broken open into the next chapter. 

We begin with Saul – fresh and breathing threats and murder against the disciples- being passed the baton of love… not hate.  
Join them do not fight them.  
God striking Saul down literally, physically- passing a message of new chapter of his life. Persecution transformed into proclamation. I am pretty sure Saul did not see that coming as he passionately set about his day. 

Coupled with Ananias, the faithful man called to go and care for the very man the newly forming Christian community lived in fear of coming to their door. Ananias, also called by name to step out of his threshold, receiving the same message of God’s love to care for this murder breathing man, to carry the baton of love and then share it with the community around him. 

And like the two runners in the reel- seamlessly Saul and Ananias do it. In the midst of the awkward, “the who woulda thunk to do that?” God created a new way and they carried the message forward…..  

Today is a day where we hear that God interrupts and engages, and in so doing, disrupts and creates a whole new pathway. While it is a-w-w-kward…..  
the forward movement continues. 

And if Saul and Annanias weren’t good enough, in our gospel reading today we hear about Peter and the disciples doing what they know best. 

What are you doing in these past few days since those last days of Jesus’ life, since the tomb has been cracked open and found empty? The range of emotions are the roller coaster you are living in….disciples, what do you do? 

You do what you know to let your mind body and soul find some peace. 

They aren’t runners, they are fishermen.  
They go fishing. 
Go back to the water 
Go back to know what you know. 
Dropping the nets, watching the sunrise, sweating, doing something you knew how to do….. 

And in all that ordinary known-ness- Jesus appears. 
Waving from the coastline….  
Annoyingly, he asks “Did you catch any fish” (FWIW, You can literally SEE if a boat has caught fish by how high it is sitting in the water….. didn’t we talk about seeing and believing last week?) 
Finding their audible confession of No, Jesus says,  
“Do it again, this way.” 
Sigh……I can hear the exhaustion of the disciples….You want me to do what? 

 
And trying that new and different way, they achieve more than they can imagine.  
The fish are so abundant that the nets are breaking, the boat is swollen with the catch. While they met Jesus with fatigue and doubt, their joy and re-energized demeanors had Peter jumping out of the boat in wild abandon. 

They broke bread together.  
Breakfast on the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee. 
And Peter’s thrice denial is transformed into a threefold affirmation to leave fishing and be a shepherd-care and feed the sheep. 

Jesus is passing the baton of love, of God’s call and accompaniment on this journey, the gift that we in turn are to pass along too. The awkwardly creative, new pathway creating, passing of worthiness and wholeness that no other can provide. 

Today is a day of things being passed along and cracked open. 
The old way re-envisioned and carried forward. 
The love of God changing the ordinary and being shared with the unexpected. 

Being broken open within community. 
Being affirmed in community 
Being cared for in community. 
Being offered in new and different ways inviting each of us to carry the baton together. 

Today we (will) bless those in our community who are graduating this year and celebrate with them as they begin a new chapter in their lives. As their world of “known” are broken open in the next chapter and new ways are presented to know and be known. 

My words to them and to you are the same- to be broken open reveals God’s presence in our lives, even when we are exhausted, even when we feel unworthy, even when we have made the most horrible mistakes, even when what we are being asked into is so different- God says to us -”Do it Again” (a little like Yoda, there is no Try- Do”) 
“Go and care for”  
“Be with” 

To every “what if or Even when” God says “And” 

AND Saul gets a new name AND new community; he gets credit for writing even more letters than Dear Abby. 
AND Ananias did not die, gained a friend, AND survived. 
AND the disciples caught more than they could carry 
AND Peter was forgiven, affirmed, reincorporated, AND commissioned to lead. 
AND you, too, called by name, are invited to have your own heart broken open to receive the sometimes awkward, always creative, reliably present, love of God. 

AND to go and pass the baton to those whom you encounter. 

Be Creative. Be Loving, Be Kind. Be Unexpected. 
AND know that in each moment of being broken open, there – too- is the Easter moment, that the story is not over, we keep on this journey together. 

Like the bread we will share soon, in being passed the broken bread, we too receive forgiveness, affirmation, AND call to the hope that all is being transformed by the love we have received and we will too, will pass along to those we encounter. 

We too are called by name in the unknown times to share this baton, to let the algorithm of love govern our actions…..even if it seems the world is topsy turvey and stacked against us. 

Lace up your shoes and receive the love of God that has been passed from person to person since the beginning each time in a new and creative way. 

Amen. 

LOVE THAT DIRTY WATER

Trinity church in the City of Boston 
Easter Vigil, Year C 2025 
6pm 

Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21 [Israel’s deliverance at the Red Sea] 
Zephaniah 3:14-20 [The gathering of God’s people] 
Romans 6:3-11 
Psalm 114 
Luke 24:1-12 

O God, who made this most holy night to shine with the glory of the Lord’s resurrection: Stir up in your Church that Spirit of adoption which is given to us in Baptism, that we, being renewed both in body and mind, may worship you in sincerity and truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. 

I’m gonna tell you a story 

I’m gonna tell you about my town 

I’m gonna tell you a big fat story, baby 

Oh, it’s all about my town 

Yeah, down by the river 

Down by the banks of the river Charlesi 

Many of you might recognize these words as the words of “Dirty Water” written by the Standellsii and sung with wild abandon at Boston Sports events.  The chorus continues with  

I love that dirty water (I love Boston) 

I love that dirty water (have you heard about the strangler?) 

I love that dirty water (I’m the man, I’m the man) 

I love that dirty water (oh) 

I love that dirty water (come on) 

I kinda love that dirty water (come on) 

The song has a very interesting story. It comes not from a native Bostonian, not someone singing of a space that was home… rather it is written by Ed Cobb, the band’s producer. A native of Los Angeles, Cobb wrote this song after walking with his girlfriend down by the Charles river and being mugged.  An unfortunate event and from that event, comes this song acknowledging the wrongs and beauty of the dirty water that Boston surrounds. 

It’s home. 

It’s dirty, it’s full of all of humanity- gorgeous beauty and brokenness. 

And it’s beloved. 

Each day beginning new. 

Each day a chorus of I love that dirty water. 

Tonight, we gather to hear the story of water in our midst.  

And the water we here of is also murky, dark and muddy water. 

We are reminded through storytelling of God’s presence in the dirty water of humanity. 

The need for God to save us and lead us through the challenges and brokenness. 

We hear of the Israelites, given a pathway where none previously existed, through the dirty, muddy water of the Red Sea, parted for their path and trapping those behind them.  

Miriam gets out her tambourine, once they are safely on the other side, singing about the water through which they were saved, of God’s provision and coming to them in their midst. 

In our reading from Romans, we are reminded of Jesus’ own baptism that we too are baptized into. We remember John the Baptist baptizing Jesus in the River Jordan. A river that is really a muddy marshy, water way running through the land. This baptism was not with a font and lightly warmed water, the water was muddy, murky, dirty. In this water Jesus is baptized and we too, are baptized. 

Into the muddiness of life, into the muck of living in close proximity to one another, we are reminded of the story of God’s deep undercurrent of love calling to us, inviting us to be washed by this water and be in the midst of the messiness of being a neighbor and a beloved child of God. 

We are called by baptism to be in the midst, these candidates will soon commit themselves – as we too will renew our own baptismal covenant with them –  to being washed anew in the waters of baptism. 

Baptism doesn’t mean that any of us become perfect. While we are washed clean, we are reminded that each day we renew our promises to live faithfully as God’s beloved. 

Into the messiness, into the continued promises that God has given us to be present with us in our midst, calling us into community, calling us into relationship with those who are familiar and those who make us uncomfortable. 

On this holy night, in the most ancient of services –when the first baptisms of converts took place in the early church, we remember not only the story of God coming to save God’s people over and over again, we hear the culmination of the Easter story. 

From the waters of the Jordan river to the fresh dew of Easter morning, we see the completion of Jesus’ earthly ministry with the empty tomb. The messiness of the unexpected, the murky fog of confusion, the tears of disappoint and the unexpected revelation of God’s presence in their midst- renewing hope in a world of muddy water, brokenness and incompleteness. 

In that story we are invited and included through baptism. (it’s our home) 

Into that story we are adopted, each as children of God, no matter our age. (You are the child) 

Into that dirty water, we too sing  

I love that dirty water (I’m the man, I’m the man) 

I love that dirty water (oh) 

I love that dirty water (come on) 

I kinda love that dirty water (come on) 

For we understand where we are is imperfect and yet here we are- each day striving to live with God’s help into being the beloved that God has called us. 

It’s the rest of the story that we are invited into. 

Into the waters of baptism, into the waters of Easter Sunday, resurrection and new beginnings. 

We ring those bells with each alleluia and dance and sing together. 

Knowing that there will be more mud to wade through 

And we are together on this journey, we are companions- sharing story like Miriam, like the women who saw it first at the tomb, inviting others into the muddy waters of hard work and hope. 

I will with god’s help. 

You will say so too. 

In this muddy murky world, let’s remember the songs and story that have preceded us when we feel most stuck, reminding us to take one step at a time with Easter hope. 

Alleluia Alleluia 

Letting go to live more fully- Ash Wednesday

Trinity in the City of Boston 
Ash Wednesday, Year C, 2025 
March 5, 2025 

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

Create in us clean hearts Oh God and renew a right spirit within us. 
Turn our eyes towards you, our hearts and minds, that we know you with all that we are. AMEN 

Good morning/mid day/Evening on this Holy Day. 

As we begin this day and season, I want to invite you to think for a minute: 
When was the last time you looked deeply into someone’s heart and held time with them? 
When you held the gift of their brokenness and put your own needs aside to just be present. 
To see the other’s pain and belovedness? 

Not to fix, not to advise, not to judge.. 
Rather, to be present with, to listen to deeply,  
To remind the other that they are not alone, (without or without words) that there is God’s light and love within them despite everything else that is being said to them, despite the world falling on their shoulders, in spite of their own thoughts of inadequacy, that they are enough. 

Our world is filled with too much judgement, brokenness, and heart wrenching circumstances to ignore those around us….  

It is easy to fill our schedules with things that we think will make our hearts happy, make our hearts sing, or perhaps unintentionally bring more heartache. We can find ourselves doing things for the sake of doing things, over and over and over again.  
Dissatisfied and frustrated, numbed and isolated. 

St Augustine is attributed to saying that our hearts are restless until they rest in God.i 

Restlessness, that insatiable craving of something more, something else…… 

Each year we gather on this holy Wednesday to begin our season of Lent, to listen, to reflect, to pray and to pause…….  

Together we begin an intentional period of time for pausing, praying, and making space to see God in our midst and wonder how does God’s sacrificial love call to each of us? 

We slow down. (or attempt to) 
We change our habits… 
Our liturgy shifts…… 
Our music changes 
We take on things and we let things go 

And like our Scriptures today, we ask the question“why” 

Our reading from Isaiah today speaks volumes of the joy of our faith that we are called to..we are to shout with joy! (It is OKAY TO HAVE JOY IN LENT!) To sound the trumpets- those raucously joyful instruments that announce royalty, that punctuate our Christmas and Easter services, be loud with this sort of joy about the God you not only love but LOVES YOU more than you can imagine 

Isaiah continues, as any good prophet would, to share the how.  
Inviting his listeners, the writer speaks to the practices of the people.  

Let all that you do be done with love, otherwise stop what you are doing.  

God wants your heart’s devotion, not your mindless recitations. If your actions are not from the depths of your heart, perhaps it is time to change what you are doing.  
Give it up! 

Jesus speaks likewise, in his depiction of the tax collector and the Pharisee, Jesus illustrates to his disciples that your actions are not for others to see your piety and be full of awe of your works,  
Rather, your actions should be such that your neighbors, and you, might see God more clearly,  
that your heart be restored in right relationship with God.  
Do those things.  
Be seen not for the amount of church you go to, rather be known because of the faith and hope that you live out in the world. 

God looks to our hearts, to love us into transformation. 
God sits with our hearts, holding us deeply as we need to be still, to be known, to be loved. 

In this letting go and being still, we too are transformed. 
In the mini deaths, the endings, the things we let go of, we too can be reborn in the ashes and be a new creation, a new chapter, a new understanding of the God right in our midst. 

 
God, accepting us right as we are, in our brokenness, our feeble attempts to do right, also gently calls us to let go, to stop creating our own madness and live fully into our belovedness. 

My prayer for you is that in this holy season of Lent, the season may give you opportunities to make space to listen to the indwelling of the spirit in your own heart.  

May your restless soul find rest in God and may the practices you set upon this season nourish your relationship with God and those around you as you too embrace the trumpets joy of God’s Love. 

Amen. 

A light unto the Nations

Trinity Church in the City of Boston

Feast of the Presentation

Feb 2, 2025

Almighty and ever living God, we humbly pray that, as your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple, so we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts by Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Light from Light

A light to the Nations

Blinded by the light

It is the season of Epiphany- the in between time where we find ourselves waiting-

Waiting with fear?

With hope?

Waiting with the need for light.

A mere 40 days ago, we gathered in this space to light the candles of Christmas Eve as we sang “Silent Night” sharing the light from the Advent Wreath one by one into the congregation, from candle to candle. It’s the favorite part of the service for many…the beauty of the simple flame lighting this space as dim the lights. “Will we light candles as this service?” a young child asked me as they entered the space at the service. There was a joy in her expectant face—the glee about the chance to hold that small candle with fire- a holy amazement, joy and mischief was on their face.

They knew….. something would be trusted to them that night as we told the story one more time…..

A small little light…..

Thinking forward, we know that on Holy Saturday, the eve before Easter Day,  we will light the candles again, this time starting from the newly kindled fire on the west porch- to the the paschal candle, the light of Christ which illuminates the story of God’s salvific nature will be shared from one person to the next until the whole space is awash with the light of Christ’s resurrection. Listening intently from story to song, from Genesis to the Gospel….lights of hope burning brightly…

An ordinary little candle which gives light to such a large space, yielding a thin whisp of light that together with those around us assists in our seeing more clearly the words, the way, the hope.

Today we find ourselves in a special space,

Today is February 2nd.

Every 5-6 years February 2nd occurs on a Sunday which means that rather than reading “the rest of the story” from last week- we instead “interrupt this lectionary course” to celebrate the Feast of the Presentation, sometimes called Candlemas, we hear of the ordinary tradition of a couple presenting their first born male child at the temple.

Mary and Joseph, the travelers, 40 days after being in Bethlehem, return to Jerusalem as the law of their faith commanded them so to do. Returning to Jerusalem from Nazareth, they come to give thanks to God for the birth of their first-born child. This rite was twofold. Jesus was presented and Mary was allowed to return to the worshipping fully post birth. Mother and child, fully welcomed into the faith community.

Birth, naming ceremonies 7 days after birth, and now the presentation….. normal, standard, similar to the well baby check ins that are scheduled before you leave the hospital with your newborn child- the community checking in with you and caring for you, supporting you in prayer and in presence.

And yet, in this journey

This travel.

Something else happens.

Mary and Joseph arrive with their 40day old child and are greeted by Simeon, the respected and wise old priest who upon encountering the baby begins to sing and dance with joy.

Simeon KNOWS immediately that this is something more.

This is the light to the Gentiles and to your people Israel.

In one fell swoop Simeon declares this child is hope to all people.

A 40day old child

will be so much.

A child who will cause the falling and rising of many in Israel

A sign that will be opposed

And

   a sword will pierce Mary’s soul, too.

And if that weren’t enough, we hear of Anna also.

Anna, the widow.

Anna, the prayerful one

Anna, the one present everyday –

there to pray, there to care, also begins to sing and praise God.

She, too, sees this child as so much more

and shines more light upon what is to come.

The Feast of the Presentation is full of juxtapositions:

Keeping the law is both ordinary and can be incredibly transforming- while obligation and duty might bring us to a space, the Holy Spirit has this funny way of showing up and knocking the socks off of us sometimes.

Like Kit said last week- the divine is always present within and around us. I am pretty sure it took the divine to get Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem and it was the Holy Spirit that opened the eyes and awareness of Simeon and Anna.

We encounter the young couple with their first born who are greeted by the wise and respected, establish priest Simeon- who sees the light of hope in this newborn child and this young couple that will care for this child until he is able to begin his ministry.

And with Simeon we see Anna, the woman without a family nor children, who also announces and celebrates the presence of the Holy Family in their midst.

In this young child

an established people and empire will be challenged and transformed.

In this new beginning, death will also occur.

The Song of Simeon that we hear today is read or sung in every evening prayer, evensong, and compline service. The song reminds us at the close of the day that we let go of the day,

The hurt, the disappointment, the suffering

And at the same time, we like Simeon,

give thanks for the light we have seen in our day

and we know that God will provide.

We close the day, as Simeon did at the end of his life-

with hope, gratitude and grace.

Praising God for each moment,

even, as I am sure,

that Simeon still had to live through temple politics, hurt and threats to his own safety.

The joy of that moment reminded him that even in those dark days,

God was there,

in this baby,

This tiny light

in the life to come,

 in the space where they stood, prayed and did even the ordinary prayers at 40 days of life.

We go about the ordinary every day.

We get up, we go about our business, we encounter the good, the bad, and the godly……

In this “in between time” where the world holds its breath in fear,  

there is also hope.

I hold up for you the example of Mary and Joseph with Simeon and Anna:

In the midst of the routine a new beginning can occur in the most unexpected of ways.

Not matter how old or young you might be,

 there is a new beginning about to happen

An invitation to join the story

A reminder that sometimes you need to let go for a new beginning to occur.

There is a light to the nations,
to all of God’s people

As a people of faith, we know God’s endurance to be true through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and in all of his life, teachings, and love.

As we continue to mark time in the ordinary, and in the “in between”

be reminded of the amazement of Mary and Joseph

and the fullness of joy of Simeon and Anna…

The holy wonder of the unexpected transforming of the whole World.

May God shine the light of love in our own lives,

illuminating our paths to awash our world with hope in our midst.

May the light of the faithful light our own hearts with the fire of God’s love

A love that endures through suffering, through hardship,

through the challenging times

And is a light for others.

Lighting the path forward – one step at a time.

One light of hope, sharing the story, shedding a little light

A light for you and me

A light unto to the nations

When the world seems dark and dim,

look for the light

and see the reminder of God’s faithfulness in the darkest of times.

A baby, a man, a savior for this world.

Magi, Making Lists and Following Hope

Trinity Church in the City of Boston

II Christmas Year C

 Jan 5, 2025

The Collect

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Brightest and best of the stars of the morning,
dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid,
star of the east, the horizon adorning,
guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.
Hymn 117 verse 1&4

Happy New Year My friends!

And Happy 12th Day of Christmas

We sing and hear of the Magi today, this day before January 6th– the day of Epiphany. Leaning into the proximity of tomorrow’s feast day we celebrate fully this story in that greatest story told to us.

Let’s pause for a moment,

As we turned the page on 2024, I don’t know about you- but I kept seeing the invitation to create the “best of 2024 lists”- I saw the best books, the most read headlines, the events of the year.

With each list, we were given the invitation to pause and remember.

Now their lists, often times, were to encourage you to purchase something that you might have missed, to invite you into an acquisition, addition into your lives…..

I invite you instead-

to remember the connections, the relationships, the conversations.

In the final week of the year/ first week of the new year,  I often take a moment to sift through my digital archive of photos from the past year to remember the images of the events. The flowers, the sticks, the people who visited, the places we visited, the food, the events of the year…. It’s a journey of sorts and a bit of a gift to remember “that happened this year??”

Our annual journeys can be right in one place or take us physically traveling for work, for pleasure, for discernment, to visit family, to visit friends, to see those who are dying and those who are newly birthed. Of unexpected disasters and unexpected moments of grace.

Do you delight in the journey?

Growing up, car trips punctuated my life. We did not actually travel for vacation, we moved. Our car trips often were from one home to the next, packed to the gills with all our possessions, often my parents would pack us up and drive at night to decrease our distracting “HOW MUCH LONGER” and “I AM HUNGRY” wails.

Despite their intentional departure times, We would still awake as they attempted to stop for coffee and sneak a snack along the way.

We would be reminded we were on a journey, go back to sleep, rest, the adventure would be there when we woke up…

Getting older, driving to and from family for vacations and holidays became it’s own adventure. There was the year we surprised my mother for Thanksgiving driving from where my sister and I lived outside of Atlanta all the way to Detroit, Michigan. We called at each state line speaking in code to my father on speaker phone letting him know where we were. We showed up with bows on our heads and singing some song made up song about Turkeys.

My mother was indeed surprised and amazed.

In our journeys, we had people who had certain roles.

One person always read EVERYSIGNOUTLOUD.. a horrible habit that I became known for on college team road trips.

One person was in charge of snacks

One person counted noses (were we all there? Who was still in the bathroom or discerning their snack?)

One person was in charge of navigating

One person was in charge of actually driving (All else served this person)

Remembering our repsonsibilities was important and essential as a family, group, team.

Simple and yet community.

The Magi that we hear of today, travelled a long distance to meet the young Jesus. I use each of these words carefully. While our hymn sang of Three Kings- the Greek is actually more expansive.  Magi represents a less definite number- more than one and could be much more than two or three! While the noun is masculine, the plural is like other languages where if one male is present the whole group becomes masculine in grammar not excluding women but because grammar rules are grammar rules- the entire group becomes masculine in its grammatic identity….

This group of seekers following a star is a bit of an unknown mass who traveled for quite some time, following a star, they studied the skies not the prophets for this new beginning

……to seek this new King.

I wonder who was the navigator

Who read the signs

Who was in charge of the snacks?

Who reminded them to rest?

Who was the annoying one who made up songs along the way to keep them amused?

Who counted noses?

Who stayed behind and worried about their arrival and return?

Who KNEW that they had indeed arrived at their destination?

Who doubted the whole trip and still wasn’t quite sure they were there?
Who did not want to go at all but felt they HAD to go?

Who forgot all the bad things but delighted in each moment as it arrived?
Who reminded them of all the bad things and still kept one foot going at a time?

Who remembered to tell the story and reconnect them to where they came from and where they were going?

Today is the 12th Day of Christmas, the final day of the season- the day where the final greens of the Christmas Season are taken down, if they are not already removed.

And we turn the page on a new season of the Church year.

With January 6, we begin our journey in the season after the Epiphany.

And the traditions of Epiphany are many, ways to mark this part of the journey.

In Spain the “three kings” are celebrated by giving of gifts on this day.

Many will bless the house with the chalking of the door frame, inviting God’s blessing on this new year for all those who will travel through the threshold.

January 6th, Epiphany Day, begins the season of Mardi Gras, king cakes are baked and devoured as we celebrate the joy and delight in the celebration of hope in a world of brokenness.

Epiphany begins a season in the church year that emphasizes the birth of Christ and the punctuation of light in the darkness. The manifestation of God in our midst. In this season, we will hear of baptisms, calls to discipleship and new beginnings.

The Magi traveled to a distant and foreign land, they risked their lives because they believed that there was something more calling them through the desert, through the danger of life on this earth- principalities and authorities.

We too, live in a world where the wildness of life might seem overwhelming. Where the threat of violence and uncertainty can overwhelm us. And yet, we begin this season again- following like the shepherds and magi did- with hope, wonder and amazement. Showing up just as we are, bringing what we have to share with Jesus.

On this journey in this new year

We remember where we have been and where we are going.

We remember that we must pause and rest in the midst of the travels that the year has brought and will bring.

We remember the names of those who have died and those who are just beginning.

We remember to break bread together

We remember we are not alone on this journey

We remember to read the signs (out loud or in your head)

We remember to visit with family (biological or chosen)

We remember that the journey is long and can be full of surprises

We remember, too, that our plans may change.

The magi returned to their homes, by a different route- changed, taking home with them an experience that welcomed them as they were and changed them completely.

This group of outsiders were invited into Jesus’ home and welcomed fully by Mary and Joseph.

Matthew is the only gospel writer who includes the Magi and it is a reminder to us that all are invited to hear this story, even this group of outsiders who followed a star, not the prophets of old, to encounter Jesus.

Remember their moment of awe,

Remember the moment Mary and Joseph opened the door and said welcome.

Remember these moments of light as we grow in faith this coming year and travel the road that will be by following in faith – finding the unexpected and experiencing welcome as we too

Open the door and say welcome

Stand and the door as the outsider seeking welcome.

Together we are family, together we follow the light, in this new year.

Together we bring our own unique gifts to glorify the Lord.

And together we will faithfully acknowledge the power, the life, and the hope of who God is in our world, even on the darkest of nights-

We too will follow the star of hope.

Amen.

Sweet Baby Jesus, Lying in a Manger- Advent 1: Vulnerability: Love Laid Bare

Trinity Church in the City of Boston

Advent 1 Year C

December 1, 2024

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Born thy people to deliver, born a child and

yet a king born to reign in us forever,

now thy gracious kingdom bring.

Hymn 66 v. 3

In Love enfold us. Hymn 53, V. 2

Congrats Ya’ll we are here, we made it through the first of many holiday gatherings.

Just as we are, fully human, fully exhausted from the cooking and eating of the Thanksgiving Holiday or perhaps still aglow from the time around the table of laughter and gathering.

Here we are.

Regardless of if you ate pumpkin or pecan pie,

we gather here.

Today.

Gathering around the table we share a common meal,

At our feasting tables, we make the recipes we delight in and the dishes that bring back memories and stories.

For some of us gathered here, this year’s holiday revealed to us the sharp pangs of those who were not around the table for the first time, whom we love and see no longer.
Our tables were filled with guests even as they may have included empty places of members who were not there.

Each Chair, revealing to us where our heart’s love lie.

Perhaps we had a quiet peaceful holiday, perhaps it was too busy and full.

Perhaps it was a dull ache or a marvelous celebration….

Here we are today.

The flip of a calendar.

The first Sunday of Advent.

The First day of December (the year where our Advent Calendars match with December 1 as the first day and thankfully only 20 more days until our daylight starts to return minute by minute)

The twinkly lights shine more and more around us,

brightening our days,

brightening our pathways and revealing to us that even in the darkness,

the hard times, there is light, hope, peace and joy.

The winter season is a season of vulnerability.

Trees lose their leaves and we enter into the Season of Sticks…

Things lie bare, silhouettes of their former selves.

The knots and branches of tree trunks are revealed without foliage to cover it.

The imagery carries over to our own understanding of self, too.

We, too, become vulnerable. Not only because it is colder outside and we put on layers, but we are coming to the end of the year and we look back at the year past and the year to come.

We feel this vulnerability within the changes of our lives: the empty chairs that once were filled at out tables, the uncertainty in the change in politics, the changes in our own lives with the progression of age or annual checkups where we literally stand in our birthday suits- awaiting wisdom from those who know more than we do about our own health.

To be vulnerable is to stand revealed,

willing to risk judgement and hoping for community,

putting all of our trust in those around us.

Vulnerability takes courage- the baring of one’s heart- to share the most important things in our lives with those gathered around the table with us. Those who are invited to hold that treasure with us and BE with us in that midst of whatever emotional swirl that might invite you into.

Being vulnerable is scary. When I worked with youth on summer mission teams doing home repair, the thing that made me most afraid were the words, “we need to take up for the floorboards and repair the joists.” In the heart of South Carolina, this was akin to “let’s go ahead and redo it all.”

Every time that we took away the floor boards, that outer protective layer… laying bear the essential framework of the foundation of the house, we found that not only the joists needed replacing but so did x,y,z and oh by the way while you are there Q needs replacing too due to the humidity.

Taking up the floor boards revealed sooo much more work to be done.

My anxiety about the work came from a place of fear, of not knowing what to do and completely forgetting that in community we are not alone in the work that is to be done. We are with each other. While we might not be able to fix the problem all in one fell swoop, all at once,

 In revealing the challenges, we were able to help along the way in the ways that our gifts and talents could be used. I came to realize that my part of the story was to be present, listen, and take one step at a time. The homeowner vulnerably opened their home to us and shared all that they had with us trusting us to build it back up with them.

In the season of Advent, we hear prophets speaking of hope, speaking of what is to come. Their words peel back the layers of work that is to be done. Many of our readings will be apocalyptic. Apocalyptic is the Greek word that literally means “revealing”— and what is the purpose of these readings? To strike fear? To make us anxious?

I do not believe that this is God’s intention to make us afraid, rather these readings reveal God’s presence in creation, revealing our roles in community and reveal that vulnerable encompassing love of God who wants to enfold humanity.

God’s desire to be in community is revealed in the risky birth of his Son, as a baby. A vulnerable, trusting, fully exposed human baby- love fully enfolded in the arms of humanity. A manger, a young family, shepherds and innkeepers (and before I get in trouble for preaching a Christmas sermon and not an Advent sermon)…. Advent is all about the preparations, the revelations we have right in front of us –that God is at work in God’s kingdom.

A full-grown Jesus speaks to us about these preparations in our gospel reading today. We can see the signs around us about when to plant or cut down trees, and yet, why is it when we are faced we hardships we question where God is? Why do we think that we have been abandoned and not see community and where hope and new chapters can begin?

Jesus reminds the people of the physical seasons around them and that even if visible fruit is not being born, this delay doesn’t mean that it won’t bare fruit later. Jesus is speaking not to scare the disciples into believing but to remind them that even in the darkest of times, God is there.

God in the form of the most vulnerable.

God in the form of a king born in a manger, lived amongst us, and turning everything upside down- showing love in the most ultimate form- love that through vulnerability reveals community, salvation, and triumph amidst the darkness.

Jesus gathered around so many tables.

So many tables where people did not agree with him.

So many tables where the courage to ask questions and reveal their curiosity and opposition was welcomed.

Jesus stood, sat, and sauntered about in this community reminding us that in community we can be builders of the community in the midst of the most challenging times.

We may not have the answers or the talents for fixing the challenge but we do have the heart and the presence to be with each other. To hold the treasure of one another to seek wholeness as we peek at what all of the world reveals to us, bidden and unbidden.

In this holy season of Advent may the revelation of God’s hope for you, and for us,

hold us together in common,

seeking to “guard out hearts so that they are not weighed down”

rather that we might carry them together.

As we sing in our opening hymn, O Come O Come Emmanuel, God be with us, reveal in us that we too are yours.

Amen.

Red Light, Green Light- The Need for seeing the possible in the impossible.

Trinity Church in the City of Boston
November 3, 2024

All Saints’ Sunday Year B

Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 24
John 11:32-44

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

O blest Communion, fellowship divine!

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine

Yet all are one in Thee, for all are thine.[i]

Let it be so!

Amen.

Do you remember the childhood game of Red light Green Light?

The game has one person who stands as the “stoplight” and when their back is turned the light is green and you can move as fast as you can to get to tag the “stoplight.” Of course, the person who is the stoplight can turn towards you at any time and when they do, it is RED LIGHT and you must freeze. And if you move erroneously, you are dismissed from the game. The game continues until the person who is the stoplight is finally tagged, usually not without several quick turn arounds and bending so that the nearest person cannot possibly tag them.

And of course, the words “red light” and “green light” must be said at the loudest volume possible.

The game gives the illusion that you can stop time,

freeze people in their tracks

and

prevent something from happening.

Having watched stoplights here in Boston and people running redlights like they don’t exist, I am not under the illusion that the solution to the world’s problems would be if we could control time.

And yet, as people of faith we live in space where we are able to stop.

When we enter into this space we seek sanctuary, space to pause and lean into God’s time, Kairos verses Chronos (the sort of time that our clocks track). We remember backwards and think forward together. We aren’t quite time travelers and yet we live in this holy “in the midst” of the communion of saints that have been and the saints here and now and those to come.

In the past three weeks you have heard my colleagues preach about the lives of the faithful. Two weeks ago, Morgan spoke about how we will live through this election season as people of faith and the need to work together after the election is complete. Last week, we heard of the beauty and hope that we have in the liturgies we pray daily and weekly as we hold those who are dear to us who have died. That lovely Book of Common Prayer that we hold and pray together in common transforms and changes us, assisting us in learning more about the grace and love of God that binds us together, that connects us when everything else seems to have been lost and divisions seem more prevelant than union.

For we live in a world where we need stoplights, places to stop- reflect, look around, hold all of our emotions, joys and sorrows, frustrations and ineffable joys, so that we can move forward.

Today’s gospel is Mary and Martha and Jesus, again. This is the same Mary and Martha who had the competitive “who is the better disciple” redlight greenlight game going on when Jesus was in their house. A bit of a “Who can get closer to Jesus and be the best” competition and Jesus says “stop” to them then—

Today, though, today, They aren’t competing to be the best disciple, their competitive aspirations are replaced with grief. Mary and Martha both stop Jesus in his tracks, they stop him and demand answers.

RED LIGHT Their actions and words shout to Jesus.

They demand that he hear and see both their faith and their grief.

And Jesus stops.

The Son of Man and Son of God halts in his tracks.

Listen to those words again, when hearing that his friend and their brother has died, he is “greatly disturbed and deeply moved.” He has the same compassion he has when the multitudes are hungry, he is not numb to their emotions.

He stops.

He weeps.

He is with them.

AND

He moves.

In the midst of this red light given by Mary and Martha, both in their own ways, Jesus reminds them that there is still a path forward.

In the midst of the grief, there is life- “changed not ended” as we were reminded last week with our requiem services…..

Now, I am not sure how Lazarus felt about being brought back to life to live with his sisters again. I have two brothers and my sister and I, while not named Mary and Martha, are pretty competitive—I could imagine that my brothers might be ready for a break from us…. You know,
“For all the saints who from their labors rest”[ii] and all….. but that is not the point,

the point, here, that Jesus gives us, is that Lazarus is restored to life.

In the midst of this story of grief, and when the path might seem ended completely, Jesus reminds all that there is a way forward, the impossible is possible despite all odds.

Life is given.

“Open the tomb, unbind him.” Jesus says.

Jesus’ words remind us that we are agents in this world. We are involved in the new chapter, the directions have been given, we are engaged, and commanded to be a part of this new thing.

Today we celebrate new chapters in 5 beloved children of God’s lives. We will baptize them into the household of God and at the same time renew our own baptismal covenant. We don’t just watch and say “good luck folks,” and send them out on their own. Rather, we promise to walk with them, support them, cry and laugh with them (and their parents and godparents). We will make those promises again with the response “I will with God’s help.” We will break bread together and we, too will be given the green light to go back out into the world to “go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”

We, too are engaged in this holy work of living out our faith, those promises made at baptism, in our schools, our workplaces, our lives as elections unfold—because we too, know that there is a way forward together- seeing each other fully, feeling deeply with one another and moving forward “with God’s help” so that we might live into our identities as citizens in the kingdom of God, building up our community to respect the dignity of every human being.

Grounded in God’s Love which is what we hold in Common, may we remember all the saints this day- the past, the present, and the ones to come as we too look to earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast and praise Father Son and Holy Ghost.[iii]

[i] For All The Saints verse 3 https://hymnary.org/text/for_all_the_saints_who_from_their_labors

[ii] For all the Saints verse 1 https://hymnary.org/text/for_all_the_saints_who_from_their_labors – why do them in order, that is silly! 

[iii] For all the Saints verse 6 https://hymnary.org/text/for_all_the_saints_who_from_their_labors

Hurricanes, Rivers, and Crumbs…that all might be fed, healed, and loved.

Trinity Church in the City of Boston

Proper 18, Year A,

September 8, 2024

Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Psalm 125
 Mark 7:24-37

Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

God is love, and love enfolds us, All the world in one embrace;
With unfailing grasp God holds us, every child of every race.
And when human hearts are breaking under sorrow’s rod,
then we find that self same aching deep with in the heart of God.

We live in a busy and full world.

It’s September, the streets are full of students, of people visiting, of things to do. Our fall routines have returned and at the same time it is a time to reflect on why are our schedules so full? What have we filled our days with?

Last week we celebrated baptisms, we re-remembered the words of Song of Solomon of God’s deep love for each of us and call for transformation in our lives, we shared in the water of baptism and our own baptismal covenants.

I am reminded of how water can transform, slowly and quickly.

The long transforming power of water being a contributing factor of creating the Grand Canyon in the past 5-6million years ago, creating a long slow beauty.[i] Weaving it’s way creating a chasm that mystifies us still today reminding us of long slow transformation.

Having lived in Florida for eleven years, Labor Day held a special space in my ordained life. In my first Labor Day in Tallahassee, we were hit by a category 1 hurricane. 45minutes inland, Tallahassee rarely saw actual hurricanes, rather they typically got rain and winds. But that year, the entire city was hit hard. Old Oaks lost limbs, power went out and we came out of our homes in the humid aftermath to assess and to recover.

Tears were shed over lost beloved trees, the needs of loved ones, and then there were the simple joys of cooking everything in our freezer on the grill and inviting the neighbors over to feast. Confronted by lack of electricity, we created community on our lawns and spent the days assisting others. Communities coming together. Unexpected things from unexpected places.

As we settle into our fall program year, we have 11 weeks until Advent begins and in those 11 weeks we will walk slowly, chronologically through the Gospel of Mark. We will take our time, as much as Mark allows us (since everything moves quickly in this gospel), letting the words one after another sink in and transform us. A longer slower progression, letting the words wash over us. Today we hear of healings which occur immediately after last week’s gospel of speaking about what should be found in the heart.

And today we hear of the hearts’ desire, to continue that theme.

In Two stories.

We hear of hearts yearning for re-connecting, re-membering into the community.

Two stories that speak of healing that is both long needed through winding journies and also swift in transformation.

Stories of faith from the most unexpected places and spaces.

Today we hear of the Syrophoenician woman. We are in the region of Tyre and we can credibly believe that Jesus was tired. He has been teaching healing and he has gone into a home because he wanted to be away from the crowds. Tyre is important to note because it is in a region of the Greeks, the gentiles, the “other.” This is not his home turf. He is the unexpected in this space.

Amidst the “other,” he seeks to be alone.

To Pause.

Instead of rest, he receives an uninvited, unexpected woman in need.

Her arrival is not like the faith filled Jewish hemorrhagic woman who two chapters previously in Mark who reaches out for her own healing, grasping the corner of Jesus’ garment in the midst of a crowd. NO, this woman today strides right into the home and demands healing for her daughter.

She demands change, swift and immediate. Much more like a hurricane than the Colorado river, she is swift.

She could be seen as the Patron Saint of demanding change. [ii]

She won’t back down.

She meets Jesus where he is and wrestles with Jesus word for word.

For every exclusionary term she embodies (not Jewish, a woman, not of the right space or time) she counters with an opportunity to think bigger, to expand and grow, to live more abundantly.

For Change. The encounter is not comfortable. Jesus’ words are not kind.
She does not back down.

It’s amusing to think for a minute of the 5 weeks of “living bread” gospels and now our gospel is arguing about crumbs— Crumbs: hard to get rid of, even these small morsels are important.

Remember how many baskets those crumbs filled in that feeding of the 5,000?

Swift and unexpected demands for change.

And there is change.

The woman’s daughter is healed by Jesus from a distance by the request of her mother, demons- those defiling the daughter from within are released and this young girl, beloved daughter, is released from her suffering.

Change that would affect her whole life to continue.

The thing about our Gospel today is that is not JUST about encountering the Syrophoenician woman, rather, Jesus continues from Tyre back to Galilee… and while we are being given a geography lesson here (Jesus did not always go the shortest route, by the way) we find Jesus healing a deaf man that was brought to him. And Jesus takes him aside, touches him with the most mundane of resources, his own spit.

Water, touch and the words “Be Opened.”

And indeed- healing is given.

Similar to those healed in Chapter 5 of this gospel we have juxtapositions of gender, location, distance and proximity. Each detail is significant. Again, we see the similarities, healing given to both individuals because of their receptivity.

Healing given within community.

Change in the unexpected and for the long term.

Change demanded.

IN aggressive and passive ways.

Where do we find ourselves when change is demanded of us in unexpected ways?

Where do we look back and see that we, too have been formed slowly, changed in the space that we have been within?

Soon, we will continue out worship- not only with gathering around this table to be fed with the spiritual nourishment of our Savior’s body and blood. We will then go downstairs and put together meals for those in our community- that they too, might be fed. Boxes of ingredients measured, poured and repackaged to be sent out to those who are hungry.

It’s a process downstairs, a weaving pathway to accomplish the work to be done.

And during that atypical space you will be transformed (hairnets and gloves are amazing–they give everyone a new identity) and we will work shoulder to shoulder, beside a new neighbor to accomplish this task.

Each person with a story and a part of this community.

Each with a role to accomplish the task.

There is a space for you at that table, too. Each of you.

And while our Meal packing event today will not solve all of the hunger in the city of Boston, the impact will matter to those who receive the meals.

And we will continue to strive to listen to the voices that demand to be heard.

With a lot of grace and striving to meet each other just where we find ourselves.

As Jesus commands, “Be Opened” to hear and see

In the familiar and in the new spaces we find ourselves.

In the fullness and stillness of our worlds.

Using the simplest of things that we have around us, water, presence, crumbs and voice.

The winds and water of this world might swirl around us, they also change and transforms us to see God in our midst.

God, who can take our arguments, our demands, and our needs.

God who is both living bread and in the crumbs.

God who takes water and restores both hearing and sight.

In the midst of the swirl and tempest, the fullness of this fall, we, too, become the beloved community of God together.

Make space to listen, to hear, and to be transformed.

Amen.

[i] While Tectonic Plates also contributed, river erosion is very much a part of the story, too. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/nature/grca-geology.htm#:~:text=Uplift%20of%20the%20Colorado%20Plateau,Colorado%20Plateau%20occurred%20is%20puzzling.

[ii]I love Padraig O’Tuama’s reflection on this woman in his commentary here: https://www.spiritualityofconflict.com/readings/327/24th-sunday-in-ordinary-time

Choir Camp, Croissants, and Finales of Bread Week

Trinity Church in the City of Boston
Proper 25 Year B

August 18, 2024

1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
Psalm 111
John 6:51-58

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Bacon Eggs and Buttered toast, Praise Father Son and holy ghost. Amen

That is one of the blessings that I learned when I was a camp counselor at Camp, the rule was always be ready to pray…. This prayer distilled the core elements down to a T, bless God and the food, let’s eat!

Having just spent 5 days with our Choir Camp in Connecticut, I could not help but be reminded of this blessing. Simple and blessed, all around our breakfast table.

Standing, Joy-filled with sleep a bit in our eyes, Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost for a new day.

This past week, our Choir did not use this blessing (though I was ready with it just in case), instead, they sang one of the most beautiful songs by William Byrd[i]

each day.

No Nobis

Non nobis Domine Domine,
non nobis Domine,
sed nomine sed nomine,
tuo da gloriam!

At each meal to remind us “to god be the glory.”

 Before we headed into our breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Far more elevated and a bit more reverent than the super man blessing and the aforementioned Bacon Eggs and Buttered toast blessing….

This simple harmony encouraged living into a different beat,

a pause to give thanks for those made breakfast for us to devour, for the fact that we did not have to make breakfast, nor do anything more than eat and clear our dishes.

A beautiful beginning to a day.

To God be the glory.

Now, I am a visual learner and each morning this lovely song was sung from memory and in repetition which means I sang which ever part I chose and also whatever words I chose or grabbed onto…. No Nobis in my little brain often made me think of Dona No Bis Pachem[ii]– the only other latin choral piece that I know….

In return to city life, my daily singing this beautiful tune does not create an amazing breakfast to appear at my table.

Instead, we all know that here in Boston, Boston runs on…….DUNKIN

With three Dunkin’s within .25miles of us here, coffee and donuts are in abundance (and mildly confusing by app if you are not careful!)

We love our regulah coffee- with 2 milks and 2 sugars ….

waking up with a bit of a different cadence…on the go.

Sipping my dunkin regular since my return from camp, I am still basking in the afterglow of the Olympics that just concluded in Paris. Wondering just how many croissants were on those breakfast tables, appearing each morning …

Do Olympians even eat croissants? Surely at least the fans and their families do!

While Paris perfected the Croissant, it’s origin was not French.

The Croissant was first created in Vienna Austria and was called the Kipferl- or Crescent due to it’s shape- the viennese roll was more similar to a bagel- yeasted wheat dough and is often served with sugar and almonds. Legend dates this first form of the croissant began back to the 17th  century and others back to the 13th century- regardless it is Vienna where the Kipferl began.[iii]

And it is not until the 19th Century that the French took the Kipferl and made it their own and into what we now call the Croissant. (using the French word for crescent due to its shape)[iv]

Now a croissant is a curious thing.

It’s Flaky (in a good way)

It’s light and airy

It is delicious.

AND it is quite a process.

Croissants are not a quick and easy and done.

Rather the notes of flavor, complexity of texture takes time, energy and precious.

You see with croissants, first you create a dough and THEN you literally fold the dough over cold butter and then press the dough flat and then fold, fold, fold, and the put it away in the refrigerator to rest.

Then repeat and rest,

and repeat and rest.

All of those layers are because someone took the time to fold, fold, fold, and refold the dough and then took the time to rest.

Patience, embracing the task, practicing.

This folding process is called “Lamination” and once it is completed, the dough is cut and shaped. (Adding Chocolate in the roll shaping process gives a little more fun and a new name) shapes and sizes can be made and the final product is cooked in the oven.

When baked the butter creates steam which in turn creates the air pockets and layers… and the croissant is created.

The key to a beautiful croissant is temperature, folding, resting and repeating or practicing.

As we head into the finale of our “bread week” gospel series, I could not help thinking about the both the history and the discipline of the croissant, the energy that is needed and the patience that for the finished project.

Jesus is repeating himself over and over again, turning a corner, seeing a new group, talking about the same concept: his ultimate sacrifice for all of humanity in his ultimate rising from the dead. (Sorry, the puns were rampant at camp!)

Think about it though,

We are told the same stories all of our life, every three years we hear the same gospel read to us and yet each time we hear this gospel, the story we hear is enfolded into our lives in a new way, embraced and resonates with a new layer into our being. The context where we are met is different than three years ago and yet our need for grace, mercy, and love still remain.

We rest in this knowledge of love and promise.

When Jesus speaks, he knows that he will have to repeat himself.

He knows that the disciples will not fully understand.

He invites them to be embraced by what he is saying.

Jesus invites the disciples to rest in that embrace.

Jesus, himself, takes moments to step away and rest himself.

Jesus knows that it takes time to understand what he was saying, to sink in and become one or abide.

He knows that we are all projects being transformed by new teachings, ones we have heard for the millionth time to the very first time.

Jesus invites all of the disciples, and in turn us, to listen one more time, to turn towards him and to abide in the knowledge of the love of a God who comes so close to you that you are embraced, wrapped up and in becoming one, become more than you can alone.

In times of loneliness, in times of sorrow, God in your midst, creating in that empty space a place for love to be developed, to know you are surrounded by others who know the same.

We hear of breaking bread constantly through scripture.

God is in the business of providing bread for his people. From the bread needed for Elijah as he was tired, to the manna – just enough for the Israelites each day, to Jesus’ explaining that while bread of today is going to fill your tummies for now, the nourishment our souls really need can be found through the imperishable love that Jesus has lived and died for.

And while sometimes the project might feel tedious and taking too much time and we just want to run on donuts or the quick and easy Bacon Egg and Buttered Toast blessings, let’s let this year’s reading in bread week remind you that each layer builds upon the previous layer and each moment matters.

For God loves you.

Has spent time with you in the valleys and the mountain tops

And will continue to be with you in this walk of Faith.

God wants us to understand and feed our faith in ways that allow us to taste and see that life is good and death is not the end.[v]

God wishes us to make sense of our communion and allow us to taste and see the grace and mercy and love that is our midst.

Amen.

[i] A Simple Recording can be heard here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbOogwu6NOA

[ii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fhJ6XrZ4jg

[iii]https://www.google.com/search?q=kipferl+word+meaning&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS977US977&oq=kipferl+meaning&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCAgBEAAYFhgeMgkIABBFGDkYgAQyCAgBEAAYFhgeMgoIAhAAGA8YFhgeMgoIAxAAGIAEGKIEMgoIBBAAGIAEGKIEMgoIBRAAGKIEGIkFMgoIBhAAGIAEGKIE0gEINDUzOGowajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[iv] https://www.ice.edu/blog/brief-history-croissant

[v] Spiritualityofconflict.com