Trinity Church in the City of Boston

Proper 24 (Adapted) Year A 2023

October 22, 2023

Ephesians 3:14-21

Psalm 99

Matthew 22:15-22

Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Come, Lord, come to us.
Enter our darkness with your light,
Fill our emptiness with your presence,
Come, refresh, restore, renew us.
In our sadness come as joy, in our troubles, come as peace,
In our fearfulness, come as hope, in our darkness, come as light,
In our frailty, come as strength, in our loneliness, come as love,
Come, refresh, restore, renew us.
By Eleanor Daley (b. 1955)

How often do we sit in curiosity?

Sit wondering without presumption, to be present and to learn?

How often do we ask a question as a litmus test, testing someone’s stance on a subject?

How often do we risk being fully alive by opening our eyes and hearts to listen deeply?

The questions we ask, matter.

The questions we are asked, matter.

How we receive an answer matters

How we answer matters.

In High School, I remember spending a lot of time asking questions, learning learning learning. In an environment that encouraged questions, I loved to hear people’s stories and listen, craving more. Sometimes this dialogue led me to forgetting time and having to run to my next thing.

I remember one evening being exactly where I was supposed to be on my boarding school hallway, in my room, but pushing every other boundary. I was hanging my head into the hall to finish the conversation that we had not quite yet finished… but I was IN my room.

At that moment, the dorm mother came up to me and asked me point blank, “Abi are you in your pajamas?” And I looked down at my jeans and sweatshirt and knew I was doomed. I was in trouble regardless of my answer. If I answered “Yes”- it was clear I was going to sleep in street clothes, which was a bold-faced lie. If I answered “No”- well, then I was also going to hear some sort of “why aren’t you in your pajamas?”

Which I also thought was a dumb question, CLEARLY I was finishing a conversation… I was stuck. My wise dorm mother knew the answer to the question before she asked it and I felt trapped. There was judgement coming.

While the tension was all of my own doing and preventable, I felt stuck….

And yep, I shushed my mouth and changed into my pajamas……

We can ask questions to which we already know the answers.

We can ask questions to test people.

We can also ask questions to be curious, to wonder, to walk alongside of and become one with the other.

Curiosity and wonder invite the unimagined and refocus our attention in a new way.

Today we read the next portion of the gospel of Matthew’s Chapter 22, immediately following last week’s gospel. The tension is building in the community. We are 22 of 28 chapters of Matthew completed. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem with only a fraction of his life left to live on earth. Jesus’ parables and teachings are building tension.  Each parable has consequences, often in the gnashing of teeth. People have questions. Jesus has lived a full life and is speaking about matters that are ruffling feathers.

The Pharisees today were not curious.

They were not wondering with Jesus and imagining a new way of living.

They have come to trap Jesus.

They ask a question that they know he will be stuck answering.

The Pharisees want to hear Jesus speak out against God’s law or the Empire’s law.

They, like men of today, could not stop thinking about the Roman Empire, either!

And Jesus is not trapped.

Jesus does not choose between right and wrong.

Jesus redirects the Pharisees’ understanding.

In what they thought was a Yes or No question, Jesus reminds the Pharisees to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.

And to God, give to God.

The image of Caesar on the coinage reminds everyone who claimed authority, led the army, build the roads, that profile on the coins was a visible reminder.

But in the face of the person beside you, you see the face of the one true God. God who created all of what we have to begin with, setting all that we have in motion.
Give to God what is God’s. Live your whole life belonging to God, first.

You see, this image of God that is more than you can imagine and requires each of us to come together to more fully see the image of God.

Give to God what is God’s.

We live in this world, governed by man, and we are to commit lives to God- living out our fullest in relationship with one another and striving to preserve the dignity of every human being.

I think the Pharisees were afraid.
I think their tricky questions came from a place of fear of losing control, fear that God would actually love the world so much that God could actually reconcile the world through love and relationships, proving their places of authority misplaced and often flawed.

I think the Pharisees did not want to be wrong but wanted to be right, to gloat and show their wisdom and obedience to the law. The Pharisees did not have a desire to get it right.

And yet, here is the thing, in a world where judgement was the motivation and fear the underlying cause. The last line of our gospel is that they were amazed.

Rather than humiliated and shamed, they, too, were transformed.

Amazement
Wonder
Curiosity

The Pharisees were left wanting to know more

Wanting to ask more questions, questions that deepened understanding.

Questions that would build up relationship rather than increase distance.

Questions that would fill ones soul up with the indescribable yet fully experiential love that Jesus stood in their midst to give.

Have you ever walked into this space with someone who is seeing Trinity for the first time?

I love walking in here with friends and bringing them in from the side and listening to them as they sharply intake their breath as we stand in the back absorbing all of the beauty in this space.

There is a glow about them, an awe.

You can describe the space all day long but in coming in and experiencing this space for yourself, you see the divine at work through the art, the space, and after I tell them snippets of what is where and why, through each of you.

This space is beautiful, but this space is only a historic landmark if we do not talk about the people of Trinity coming together to pray, to break bread, to act in the world as the hands and feet of Christ.

Coming together creates the image of Christ for this greater world. Each of us is the image of God and a part of this body, sharing the gifts and talents that we have been given to be the living household of God.

And that household of people is more than we can imagine, but each day we have a chance to glimpse it in our midst. Sometimes through that friend who realizes sees the holy for the first time in our familiar space and sometimes it is in the questions we ask, even when we think we know the answer.

God will meet us here and invite us to go deeper.
We are always in the right space at the right time to be the love this world needs.

In our fearfulness, come as hope, in our darkness, come as light,
In our frailty, come as strength, in our loneliness, come as love,
Come, refresh, restore, renew us.

Amen.

Trinity Church in the City of Boston

Proper 19 Year A

September 17, 2023

Ephesians 1:1-14

Psalm 114

Matthew 18:21-35

Collect for Proper 19

O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

O Most High, all-powerful, good Lord God,
to you belong praise, glory, honor and all blessing.
Be praised, my Lord, for all your creation. – Canticle of Creation by St Francis[i]

What is in a name?[ii]

These familiar words come from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Juliet is complaining about Romeo’s last name. A family connection that means nothing to her because her love for the individual exceeds any family hatred that has occurred before their relationship.
And yet there are Households divided.

The only thing that can reconcile them is the transformational powet of love.

We each receive names in our lives, names by birth, names given at baptism, sometimes these names are given because we are unable to say the full name presented to us at a young age, or perhaps a name was given to us because of traits that we have.

My grandfather went by the name Red, because of his red hair.

My maiden name is White.

So, yes, his name was Red White.[iii]

When I was growing up with this last name, I gave quite a bit of thanks that my parents did not name me Lilly or Snow.

And of course, in marriage I became A White Moon and my husband and I thought about all the names we would not name our children: Waxing, Waning, Harvest, Full, Blue, etc etc.

A name matters, given or bestowed, a name establishes relationships and connects us with the past and what is to come or even what we might have to overcome.

When you hear the name Mary, you might think of the mother of our Lord or perhaps your favorite Mary in your life: a Choir member (I think we have three?), a wife, sister, mother, a great aunt.
Whoever it might be, you are connected to that person and memory….by a name.

It is through Mary that we trace Jesus’ lineage and his connection with humanity.

Naming in the bible established a relationship.

From “Adam,” the name given from God to humanity as it is formed from “primal elements” (as our eucharistic prayer will soon say.)

To Adam and Eve naming all of the animals of creation- establishing community and relationship with all that existed.

Community, togetherness, the household of God.

And they all exist in the garden of Eden, that perfect community.

Until.

Humanity does what it unfortunately does best.

Humanity forgets to trust the love of God.

Humanity falls from grace,

Humanity returns love with brokenness…

and community becomes divided.

The story repeats itself over and over again.

Love is given, love is received.

Love is forgotten and brokenness is remembered.

Divisions are established.

People are cast out.

Names are taken in vain

and love is hungered FOR rather than received.

In the letter to Ephesians today, we hear Paul writing of our adoption into a household that adopts us through a sacrificial love that can mend all of humanity’s brokenness. A household that accepts us for who we are and loves us into community. This household shows us the way to live and invites us to live in community with others. We are named and beloved.

The household to which Paul speaks redeems the earthly households we might be a part of that leave us wanting more.[iv]

In both Disney’s Snow White and Cinderella the lead characters are craving acceptance for who they are. They have been left behind or lost and they find friends in the most unlikely of places. Animals have names and seem to work beside these humans to make the household a better space. It’s a harmony that is loving and playful. Who can forget Gus Gus, the mouse in Cinderella, who never quite got the task correct but was very much a part of the beloved family.[v]

With this same loving and cheerful spirit, St Francis speaks to our relationship with creation in his own time of being cast out of his own family. While he, too, sought his place in the community that rejected him, he writes his beautiful Canticle of Creation. Francis speaks to God’s love and humanity’s relationship with creation. You can almost hear the conversation and joy he has for brother sun and sister moon (please don’t ever call me that.) in creation.

Eric Doyle remarks that the canticle speaks, “to love is to be in relation with another, creating a bond between the self and a part of the world, and so ultimately between self and all creation. If one person can love one other person, one unique animal, one flower, one special place on this earth, there is no reason in principle why that love cannot stretch out to embrace every single creation to the furthest reaches of space.”[vi]

Love that stretches is the love that we have been given by God.

In creation, we see the circle of care and community.

We seek to stretch to share the love that we have received and are promised. 
We are to call by name the flowers, the birds, the water as we recognize that we, too, are in relationship or kinship rather than consumer-ship with creation.

In our Gospel reading today we hear of debts forgiven and debts demanded.

Peter asking “How generous must I be with how much forgiveness that I give?”

To be fair, what Peter offers in the number “seven times” is quite generous.
It’s more than the policy of three strikes and you are out.

Jesus says to Peter, “friend, you should forgive not just seven times but seventy seven times”…..essentially, Peter, your forgiveness should stretch more than you can count on your fingers and toes put together.

Love for community is bigger than seven.

A legacy of love digs deeper than keeping score,

love invites changed relationships, transformation.

Jesus’ following parable illustrates the way forgiveness should be shared not counted. Rather than tracking tit for tat, forgiveness should be given as God has given to us, in uncalculating love.[vii]

The forgiveness of the King in our parable today should be emulated not exploited.
The slave should share the grace that was given to him, not create further division in subsequent relationships.

Share what has been received.

Break the cycle.
Think Beyond preserving self only.

And so it is as we live in this household, named as beloved children of God.

We, too are called to see the need that creation, all of it, has for reconciliation.

In seeing creation as community, we too, can be stewards of care.

Seeking to change the cycle,
rather than taking the easy way and only taking what we have been given.

With fires, earthquakes, disastrous flooding, 90degree temperatures in Boston in September, hurricanes threatening Maine, it is hard to ignore the changes that are occurring in creation, in our world.
We must work towards building up practices that build community, that celebrate creation and community together, recognizing the fragility of all of creation and stretching beyond our own immediate needs.

We need to pause and contemplate our own actions and responsibilities towards how we walk amongst the garden we have been blessed with and how then, we too can see God’s own love at work, opening our eyes to see both the beauty and our responsibility of care.

For the next three weeks we will be continuing a season of Creation Care, I invite you to go deeper with us in Prayer, Learning, Acting and Sharing as we recognize our own habits of creation care and division. We will take the time to name our connections and creations’ belovedness. We will seek to reconcile the two, reclaiming and working to restore that garden of Eden relationship where all of humanity began.

You, too, are called by name to this work.

We, too, are called to speak by name the work that is to be done, together.

And our answer, just like at baptism, is “I will with God’s Help.”

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[i] As we begin our 3-week Creation Care sermon series and educational forums, I could not resist sharing a small portion of St. Francis’ Canticle for Creation. To read the whole canticle you can find the rest of the canticle here: https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=3188

[ii] I love digging deeper into phrases we use, often without remembering when it was first coined, https://nosweatshakespeare.com/quotes/soliloquies/whats-in-a-name/

[iii] My grandfather was a really interesting fellow. I am totally not biased. He does have his own wiki page (I did not create, by the way.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Kermit_White

[iv] For those of you reading the Revised Common Lectionary, you might be wondering why we are reading Ephesians. As we begin our 2023-2024 program year at Trinity Church, our theme of “Companions in the Household of God” is taken from Paul’s writings to the Ephesians. We began our reading of Ephesians September 10^th and will focus our Adult Education Forums on Ephesians starting October 15^th. Now is the chance for you to dig into this book of the Bible with us!

[v] More on Gus, the mouse. https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Jaq_and_Gus

[vi] Care for Creation: A Franciscan Spirituality by  Ilia Delio O.S.F. Keith Douglass Warner O.F.M. Pamela Wood; page 88

[vii] From George MacLeod’s prayer “The Chaos of Uncalculating Love” http://bobhostetler.blogspot.com/2008/08/chaos-of-uncalculating-love.html

Trinity Church in the City of Boston

Proper 12 Year A 2023

Genesis 29:15-28
Psalm 105:1-11, 45b
 Matthew 13:31-33,44-52

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Jesus,

 steady one,

How you lived your life,

With those burdens and beliefs,

We do not know.

But we know this:

You kept your heart steady,

And were distracted neither by fame nor fury.

May we keep steady,

Pursuing that which will help us,

Not harm us;

What will dignify us,

Not destroy us.

Because you did this,

And in you,

We see a life lived

With the deepest love.

Amen.[i]

“Hold Steady”

Do you remember when this was last said to you?

I remember these words being said as splinters were being taken out of my finger.

I remember these words being said when a dress was being hemmed.

I say these words each time I am on the highway and find myself with large trucks on both sides of me.

Hold Steady……and the splinter will be removed, the pins on the hem will be in place, you will get through this narrow space and all will be well.

Hold Steady, be faithful,

keep going forward, breathe and we will get through this together.

So friends, let’s steadily plunge into our readings today.

As we continue the story of Abraham and Sarah’s descendants, today we have a love story gone a bit awry.

This story brings up so many cultural differences that we must talk about.

First, culturally the women had no say in this marriage.

Thankfully, in our culture things have changed.

Second, to work as a farmhand to earn the right to marry a daughter.

Again, thankfully, dowries are no longer required, and women are not seen as property in this way.

Third, Jacob the trickster has met his match with his Uncle Laban. Jacob, for once, is tricked!

I do feel like that with some simple pre-marital counseling, safe church practices, and better communication, some of this story could have been avoided.

I feel for Leah who knows that she was never the first love of Jacob, even as she is the one who is steadfast and faithful through and through.

I wonder how she felt being a pawn in her father’s plan.

There are so many things in this story that we can wonder about….

And they deserve some of our attention and we can reflect also on the steadfastness of love.

Jacob’s love keeps him honoring his commitment to both Laban, to Leah, and to Rachel. Love makes him steadfast, carries him through and keeps him faithful to his commitments. (Perhaps, he also checked the vail when it came to marrying Rachel, too!)

Hold steady, do the work, and seek dignity not fame nor fury.

Jacob, Leah, Rachel, let love motivate your daily life, your daily space,

Grow in love and relationship….

Hold steady, the pain of rejection will pass,

the adjustments to the space will be made, and this uncomfortable space will pass.

I am not sure that life was ever easy in Jacob’s household.

Remember, Leah’s boys and Rachel’s first born, Joseph, do not get along.

Remembering how the marriages all began, you can’t blame them.

We have come a long way from this story. Hold Steady…Yesterday, July 29^th, was the 49^th anniversary of women’s ordination in the Episcopal Church, Barbara C. Harris – the first woman ordained bishop was an acolyte at the service in Philadelphia. And while there is still work to be done for equality and all voices to be heard and represented in the church, we hold steady, faithful in love and working for the kingdom of heaven.[ii] During my own ordination, I could feel the weight of those hands placed on my head- praying to hold steady to respond to the call of love in my life and to share that in this calling each and every day.

During the liturgical season of Ordinary time (the time between Pentecost -way back in May, 50days after Easter- and Advent-which begins 4 Sundays before Christmas Day) we have two different scriptural threads going on.

We have the personal histories of the families of the Old Testament and we have settled into the parables of Matthew. 

Parables told from the son of a carpenter, usually about farming, while standing on a boat or by the water and concluding with a fiery hell and the gnashing of teeth.

Today is no exception.

We hear of a mustard seed, yeast, hidden treasure, the flawless pearl, casting a net into the sea, and the master of the household.

Jesus, the consummate teacher is inviting his listeners to keep wondering about the Kingdom of heaven.

Each parable, even as short as they are, tells that the Kingdom of heaven can be found right here and now and demands our engagement.

Like a mustard seed, a weed that is undesirable and yet can become so much more.
A life of steadfast faith encompasses all things and endures even through the weeds.

Like the small amount of yeast that can transform the largest amount of flour with time and patience. Steadfast love has the power to change all that it is around.

Like hidden treasure and the perfect pearl that, when found, inspires you to abandon everything to secure that piece of perfection. Love motivates and moves you.

Like a net that pulls up all the fish, even then there is work that must be done by all of us.

The kingdom of heaven is steadfastly revealing itself in the old and the new as needed in each situation.

Jesus steadfastly lives and tells of the kingdom of God. A space that is “on heaven as on earth” as we pray in the Lord’s prayer requires all of us to be part of the story regardless of what befalls us.

All of our readings today point us towards the mysterious and astonishing love of God. Every time we think we can fully describe God’s love and kingdom, the lives we live demand that we should keep holding steady to learning this vocabulary of steadfast love again and again.

The men and women in our lives who have shown us what steadfastness looks like, model the gift of taking one steady step at a time, in love, not for fame nor fury but for the love of God that has lit a spark in their loves and inspired them to do the same.

The Traditions of enduring steady love set the example for us to unravel how God is still engaged in our current lives.

Steadfast, faithful.

Hold Steady friends.

In this midst of this heat.

In the midst of rejection

In the midst of challenging times.

Seek the pearl.

Seek the hidden treasure

Keep casting the net

Because the kingdom of God is in our midst, inviting us to find it, to seek it out and to know this love, steadfast love of God.

Hold Steady.

Keep breathing.

See the path ahead.

Live a life with the deepest love.

And as our closing hymn sings, “Grant us wisdom, grant us courage for the living of these days, for the living of these days”[iii]

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[i] https://www.spiritualityofconflict.com/readings/263/eighth-sunday-after-pentecost As you can tell, this is one of my favorite resources for prayers and direction. This project opens up scripture in a whole new way!

[ii] Lots of history to tell! https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2023/07/28/church-prepares-to-mark-49th-anniversary-of-womens-ordination-to-the-priesthood/  https://www.episcopalarchives.org/house-of-deputies/women/ordination   and here This Movie tells the story! https://vimeo.com/797111253?fbclid=IwAR0v3xYnG_LhAX_i5DpZebhjl7VLxvISkx08Xc1nton7_vUeQgUe3AWM0_4

[iii] Our closing hymn is one of my favorites, a chorus that stick with you! https://hymnary.org/text/god_of_grace_and_god_of_glory

Trinity Church in the City of Boston

Proper 11 Year A 2023

Genesis 28:10-19a
Psalm 139: 1-11, 22-23
Matthew 13:24-30,36-43

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Storytelling Jesus,

Annoying your listeners and followers with parables

 that irritate and questions

that interrogate the faithful.

Irritate us,

Displace us from the centre

 when we tell stories that demand

others for our own comfort.

Because you told stories in the hope that action would follow.

Let Action Follow.

Now and now and Now and Now.[i]

Happy Summer Friends!

Here we are in the warmer temperatures, settling into the end of July and what I love about summer is that there is a time for story telling, story listening, the reminder that we are connected to a larger narrative.

If you have been paying attention in the past several weeks, you have noticed that we are hearing the story of old Abraham’s call, Abraham’s complicated family, the birth of Isaac, the childhood of Isaac, Isaac’s finding a wife, and now Isaac and Rebekah’s sons….twins who wrestled each other even in the womb. Jacob who wrestles his brother out of a birthright and then a blessing (later.) Who said family drama was something new?

Each of these stories remind us of God’s call through the ordinary, the complicated, the dramatic, through all of our lives.

Each summer that I was in college, I served on a camp staff of an episcopal camp. While I did not grow up going to camp as a child, this camp was a second home to me during my college years. Each summer we spent the weeklong sessions sharing the Story of God’s love within and outside the ordinary. We sat around the campfire and told the story, we gathered around the cafeteria tables to share meals, and we sang. We sang old songs our parents sang at camp, we sang songs I had never heard of before and ones that after we sang once, would never leave our head.

One favorite song that seemed to stick perniciously, is one that was written by Henry Pritchett (an episcopal priest who served in both the deep south and NYC.) and it was called “God is a Surprise”

Well, surprise, surprise,
God is a surprise, right before your eyes. 
It’s baffling to the wise.
Surprise, surprise, God is a surprise.
Open up your eyes and see.[ii]

And the verses of the song told the story of the people of the bible who were delightfully surprised by God. From Moses and the surprising burning bush to Peter called from fishing to Jesus, mortal man and yet divine son of God. Each person telling the surprising love and call of God in their lives. Each with their ordinary interrupted.

Today our readings remind us that God is indeed surprising in when and where God will meet you. Both readings have surprising things occur at night.

Night time when we read stories to our loved ones before bed.

Night time when we let go of control and rest.

Night time when we have to be vulnerable in order to receive the restoration we need.

IT is in the night that Jacob takes a rock and places it under his head to fall asleep. To let go of the dreams of a wife, the strife of a brother, the consequences of his actions, the beloved-ness of his mother and the guilt of betraying his brother and father.

Amazingly, despite all of those things, sleep comes to Jacob and there he dreams. He dreams of Angels, he dreams of God, he delights in visions of being connected with God.

And God, speaking to him says “I’ll stay with you, I’ll protect you, I’ll bring you back here. I will stick with you until all has been accomplished”- what an amazing dream, to hear God say to you- “You are not alone” “You are beloved” “You are a gift.”

Surprise! In the midst of all this chaos, the pressure, the betrayal- YOU are loved, you are not alone, you are still God’s child. It’s baffling to the wise, but open up your eyes and see.

Similarly, Jesus is telling his disciples a story about a nighttime planting.
Surprising things grow in this garden.

Now, when we moved to Boston a year ago, we inherited a yard of amazing things. Green things everywhere. Overgrown, lush, blocking my path. In the past year I wanted to cut it all down and reshape the chaos and instead, my husband said to me- let’s just wait and see what comes back after the winter.

Irritating! I had time, I had desire, let’s fix this…. But no, let’s wait. And sure enough… overnight, it seems like,  all the things that died and went away during the winter have popped up and then bloomed, weeds that looked like they were choking other plants flourish alongside of a tree that revealed itself as a lilac tree, tulips emerged and now are replaced by lilies. Shasta Daisies have come up where nothing once was.

Our parable today tells of a different overnight activity. Last week we heard about the Sower and the seed (sometimes how I feel our Boston garden was planted) and this week we hear about a diligent thoughtful farmer who planted in rows and then the enemy comes in and plants weeds, one translation says “Thistles.” Surprise, two plants start growing in the farm land…… and what should one do?

Surprise! Wait and let them both grow.

The optimist in me says “OH, maybe it’s a partnership? They both will flourish and help each other out!” the pessimist says “BUT they will choke each other and no one will flourish”— and if we focus here we miss the surprise.

While the Sower last week was ridiculous in his scattering of seeds, today’s emphasis remains on the planting and seeds that were planted.

Surprise! The action here is not to eliminate the enemy’s work but to strive amidst those weedy thistles.

Surprise, our role is not to weed but to tend our garden, strive towards planting seeds, nurturing those seeds and growing towards God.

In the most ordinary of ways, in the most surprising places.

God took the most ordinary, even grumpy, people- who constantly lied, cheated and broke their promises and called THEM into being vessels of transformative love.

Jacob was a trickster, literally wrestling with an angel one night, he constantly saw the worldly things as most important and yet- God promises, surprisingly to us perhaps, to always be present and always protect Jacob.

God’s love for God’s people has been constant despite destroying our own best interests. In God’s ultimate desire to restore our relationship, he takes on the form of a human and plants himself right in our midst. Rose among thorns, inviting each of us in to learn, to hear one more parable with a surprising ending, to grow in a new way, to lean more towards the Son of God and experience a sacrificial love that leans more towards us that we can even imagine.

God is a constant surprise if we expect a limited understanding of God.

If we only imagine a God who could stop loving us, a God who doesn’t care for us, we will always be surprised.

The God of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah and Rachel (next week my friends!) continued to surprise them in the moments when they were most vulnerable, most doubtful, most empty.

The God of yesterday, today and tomorrow invites us in our own weakness, doubt, and uncertainty to be surprised by the deeper love of a God who “pitched his tent” among us and knows the pain of losing a friend, of betrayal, of unplanned shocks and says again and again to each of us “I’ll stay with you, I’ll protect you, I’ll stick with you.” And you will still flourish.

So my friends, know that you too can rest in that embrace and be surprised as God shows up again and again in our own lives.

Just Open up your eyes and see…sometimes even by closing them and resting.

Amen.

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[i] Prayer from https://www.spiritualityofconflict.com/readings/263/eighth-sunday-after-pentecost

[ii] http://frankdunnsblog.blogspot.com/2013/12/surprise.html

Trinity Church in the City of Boston
Proper 8 Year A

July 2, 2023

Genesis 22:1-14
Psalm 13
Romans 6:12-23
Matthew 10:40-42

Did you know that there are more than 40 million donkeys in the world?

Genus named Equus africanus asinus, found in mostly in developing countries, they are used principally as draught or pack animals. [ii]

What do you know about donkeys?

First, they are a part of the horse family.

Second, if you are thinking “all I know is the Word Jack Ass comes from donkeys”- you are correct.

A male donkey is called a jack ass or jack, did you know that female donkeys are called jenny’s?

Third, mules are when a male donkey and a horse are cross bred.

Donkeys are famous for being faithful, load bearing, stubborn animals.

Remember Eeyore- the slow-moving, wise speaking, often glum donkey of Winnie the Pooh?

Remember the Donkey in Shrek? Faithful side kick, sassy, and speaking truth despite his best friend is an ogre (Able to squash him a in a second?)

You may be thinking about political parties, the democratic donkey- did you know that the donkey was affiliated with the party after Andrew Jackson was called a Jack Ass, rather than refute it as an insult, he embraced the image and it’s qualities of stubbornness and faithfulness. [iii]

AND

The bible is full of donkeys. LITERAL Donkeys. (Well, and some figurative ones too.)

Faithful, load bearing, stubborn people and donkeys.

Did you know that the bible mentions Donkeys nearly 100 times?

Whenever someone is called to move, they load up their donkeys. (not saddle up your horses)

Samson is compared to being like a wild ass

There is Balaam whose donkey actually speaks to him.

Mary and Joseph travel by donkey to Bethlehem

The donkeys at the stable at Jesus’ birth

Jesus requires a young donkey (depending on your translation) to ride into Jerusalem.

And today.

Today, Abraham takes a donkey with him to carry the wood to go with Isaac up the mountain.

Faithful, load bearing for the master, stubborn.

When I read the readings for today I stopped at “Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there;”

My heart and my soul cried out.

I just want to wait with the donkey, too.

You and I both know where this story is going.

We know the “God why on earth would you ask such a thing?”

“What on earth were you thinking Abraham?!”

We cringe in the moment of innocence with Isaac who trusts his father and lets himself be bound.

We, too, are faithful …We know the moment of relief will come with God interrupting Abraham and providing the lamb for the sacrifice.

I am not going to lie, I want to stay behind with the donkeys and avoid this whole story.

I want to pretend it didn’t happen. I want to skip over it.

The questions of why why why repeat and echo in our hearts and our brains.

And yet, even Eeyore would remind us, “A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.”

Donkey from Shrek would tell us “Abraham, you jack ass, you need to listen”

If we stayed with the donkeys and the young men

….. we would miss the miraculous moment of provision of the lamb.

If we avoided the difficult stories we would miss the moments of deep healing through the seemingly impossible.

Now a point of clarity,

Donkeys are not passive in the bible.

The donkeys in the bible carry so much.

They in themselves are God bearers

– bringing people and all their baggage to where God is calling them.

They very rarely stand still and when they do, it’s holding steady for when their masters return.

They listen and are always companions on the way.

Right beneath, beside, along with their masters.

And ultimately it is a donkey who brings the lamb of God into Jerusalem.

Jesus talks about the lion and the lamb lying down in peace with each other in the kingdom of heaven.

Personally, I think it’s the donkey and the lambs.

We all have a bit of faithful stubbornness in us that has to be still.

We all want to be the kind, gentle, cute lambs and the reality is that we are the donkeys.

We are faithful and stubborn.

Sometimes for the best reasons

and sometimes we miss the boat and are stubborn for all the wrong causes.

And God uses the donkey and the lamb in each of us.

God welcomes each part of us into community and expects us to do the same.

Eeyore was just as much a part of the Winnie the Pooh community as Christopher Robin.

The Donkey in Shrek was as much an outward conscience to Shrek as Jiminy Cricket was to Pinocchio.

There are over 40 million Donkeys in the world today because they are faithful, reliable, sturdy and go the distance.

Today we sit in the in between of holidays- Juneteenth and Independence Day.
Both important days in our history as a country.

Festivities abound on both days.

Both holidays remind us sharply of the road that we, as a community, have to travel and the work that we still have to do.

Both remind us of sacrifice and being bound up, the need for freedom and transformation.

We have to work with our baggage alongside of us.

Moments when we, like Abraham, thought we were following God’s will only to be interrupted and shown the better way.

Moments when we knew better and should have acted better.

Moments where we say “We welcome you” and simultaneously slam the door in someone’s face at the same time.

Moments where we must remember that our citizen ship does not lie within a party that has a donkey or elephant as a mascot.

Rather, our citizenship lies within in god’s kingdom that reaches beyond political parties.

Reaching even us in our stubbornness.

Reaching us when we forget to look for the lamb in the midst of challenging times.

Reaching us when we feel like we are less than loveable and inviting us into a community.

Inviting us to see others’ stubbornness and faithfulness as a space for love and community to invite into rather than avoid.

Providing us welcome just as we are.

Expecting us to share the same abundance of welcome rather than hoard it for ourselves.

We are all donkeys.

Oodles of us, ordinary, creatures of God.

Ready to be companions.

Open to walk beside each other

Ready to do as the Lord requires.

How will you this week show your faithfulness, steadfastness and companionship to build up the kin-dom of god?

How will you walk through the hard times and strive towards building a community of love

How will you strive towards better rather than accepting what is now?

How will you have grace with the person you encounter along the way?

The answer my friends, is “with God’s help” just like we say at baptism.

We will with God’s help

One story at a time.
One person at a time

One Donkey at a time.

---

[i] Sarah Bessey

[ii] Yes, googling was quite fun on this subject matter. My esteemed sources were https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey

[iii] Who knew, right? https://www.history.com/news/how-did-the-republican-and-democratic-parties-get-their-animal-symbols

Trinity Church in the City of Boston 
Year A Proper 7 

June 25, 2023 

Genesis 21:8-21 
Psalm 86:1-10 
Matthew 10:24-39 

O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

God of the Whisper and the yell, of peace and of fury,  

Guard us this day and this night as we seek clarity within chaos. 

May we embrace contradiction as a signal that what is in front of us, really matters- 

And so leads to deeper commitment to understand the other, 

To desire to push through paradox 

Until we land gently on truth- 

Truths that are bundled up in the tiniest of moments 

And the smallest of sparks  

Which we sing from the “tip” of our lungs in Jesus, name. 

Amen.ⁱ 

Forget about it… 

You have heard the phrase before (and pardon my horrible attempt at impersonating a New Yorker) 

It’s a phase meaning, “no worries”, it’s water under the bridge,  

it wasn’t a bother 

And perhaps deeper still…. If deeply meant, it means 

“I have let go of any pain it might have incurred, let’s move on together.” 

Forget about it. 

Sometimes “Forgetting” is easier said that done. 

AND YET 

Sometimes forgetting is the worse thing to do. 

Forgetting is too short. 

Forgetting something is too quick, the situation swept under the carpet can mean unresolved misunderstanding, pain and festering. Moving forward too quickly can just be cheap grace. 

Forgeting about “it” can be avoidance rather than digging deep and working to moving forward together. 

There are so many things we just want to forget about it. 

The spilled cup of coffee, the unintentional insult, the unintentional faux pas. 

There are bigger things that we wish we could rewind time and Start fresh. 

AS we begin the summer here in Boston, those involved in school are quite ready to forget about deadlines, homework, and school buses for the summer. We press pause on the daily to do list and requirements demanded of us. We can “forget about it” for a while, live into summer, into a different schedule, the weather is warmer and those blue skies are more prevalent that the gray skies. 

And yet we are still in community.  

We still function in our families, we still have expectations for the days and moving forward. Our desire to be loved and belong still exists even as our schedule changes. 

We find ourselves in the midst. 

We can press pause on things of the academic year,  

we can take vacation and yet we are still in the midst of community  

where ever we might be. 

And there in that midst we, too, will still need forgiveness, forgetfulness, and a whole lot of love to continue to grow closer to God. 

Our readings today remind us to forget everything BUT the love of God. 

Really, truly. 

In our Old Testament readings, we hear of Hagar, Sarah, and Abraham. A story of a mother who followed her community’s demands, has a beautiful son, and yet is cast out of her community.  

Sarah in jealousy and competition refuses to keep Hagar in the household.  

Abraham, listening to his wife crazed with jealousy, sends Hagar out. 

Hagar is found today alone with her son, with nothing.  

No community, no food, nowhere to lay her head. 

Abandoned by all…. Forced to forget her family, the promises that were made and yet, God is there with her in wilderness when everyone else has forgotten about her.  

There, God says, “I have not forgotten you nor your child.”  

God provides where humanity has failed.  

While Hagar’s life is not comfortable, her call is still present and God provides what is necessary for moving forward. God always chooses to love wherever our brokenness casts us. 

In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus is encouraging his disciples. He is rallying them to know that being a disciple will not always be easy nor comfortable.  

“Forget about comfort,” he says.  

Remember though, remember the core value that unites a community is love and the knowledge of God. 

If small birds are important to God as a part of creation, how much more are we beloved to God despite our brokenness?  

If we focus on God’s call, we will find the common ground together. 

Think for a moment in the gospels, how Jesus meets each and every person where they are. God’s love encounters the poor, the lame, the pharisee, the tax collector, the men, the women, the children, the tall, the short- all.  

The Descriptions we label each other with- forget about them- the only label we need is “beloved child of God.” 

When we focus on identities other than “child of God” and prioritize them over our God given identity, we polarize and fraction. We become competitive rather than collaborative and we forget whose we ultimately are.  

The world wants us to be distracted. The world wants us to compete, to argue, to lose track of each other and put ourself first.  
To seek power rather than be powerful together. 

Jesus speaks to his disciples and reminds them.  
You are beloved, you are loved, God is there with you.  

Be in community but do not let individuals distract you from God’s call and love.  

If this means you will be in conflict, so be it. 

If this means you will disagree with your family, so be it. 

God is there beside you in the disagreement and, even in the direst situations of wilderness, God provides the water and shade to carry on. 

Jesus, himself, had sharp words not only to those who needed redirection (from Pharisees to Pilate), he also had those sharp words to the disciples when they, too, fell under the spell of who will be seated on the right hand and receive all the glory. 

And in the midst of those contrasts, he lands gently on truth- 

Truths that are bundled up in the tiniest of moments 

And the smallest of sparks  

That we see the beloved child of God in the midst of the hailstorm of division and controversy. 

The truth of the matter is that I am not well unless you are well too. As a community, we can’t forget the call of love that God has in our lives in the smallest and grandest of ways. 

We should forget about the things that distract us from God, the shininess of consumerism and allure of accumulating power for power’s sake. 

We should never forget the love that God has for each of us, the steadfastness that God is present with us even when it is uncomfortable, unexpected and painful. 

We are entering into summer and we have just experienced the longest day of the year with more sunlight for us in the northern hemisphere than any other day of the year. A reset as we now turn towards the second half of our year. 

How will you spend your summer forgetting about the things that need to be let go of- the distractions and false guidances and remember the words of encouragement and nourishment from God and others? Words that remind you that you are indeed a child of God, right here, right now. 

In a world of contrasts and competition, how will you proclaim the different, sacred, and common ground that requires deep love for one another? 

May the work of our lives  

Be a way to share 

In your perfect Love For Your World  

May our rest 

Be a way to discover and remember 

Your perfect Love for us, 

Your Beloved. 

Amen. ⁱⁱ 

Trinity Church in the City of Boston
Sixth Sunday after Easter
Year A 2023

• Acts 17:22-31
• John 14:15-21
• Psalm 66:7-18

O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Ya’ll I have a confession to make.

Yes, I know this is the Eastertide.
You will notice that during the great 50days of Easter we light the paschal candle,

wear white stoles, we say Alleluia a lot,

AND we omit the confession in our liturgy.

All of this being said, I still have a confession to make.

I broke Jesus.

Let me explain.

In my former parish, we had a nativity scene that had all the figures.

Angels, Shepherds, donkeys, sheep, Mary, Joseph and Wisemen.

The tradition in this parish for each week of Advent to put a new figure into the nativity. While awaiting their turn in procession, the figures reside in a que in a cabinet in the sacristy where the altar guild could keep an eye on the holy family and keep them neat and tidy as they awaited their turn to arrive.

One day, I was coming in RIGHT ON TIME (maybe a little late and flustered is a more accurate description) for a funeral that was happening in our chapel. In my surveilling the chapel, I realized we needed a book that was stored in the same cabinet as the nativity figures.

In my haste to grab the book and also have more time to polish my homily,

I secured the book and also managed to knock sweet baby Jesus off his shelf out of his manger.

Yep, our lord and savior on the floor.

And dear sweet baby Jesus did not bounce.

Instead, he broke in two places-

I had just knocked his head and knees clear off.

Mortified, ashamed, needing more time, and clearly more love of Jesus in my heart, I looked at sweet baby Jesus lying on the floor, said I was sorry and put him on the counter and Scurried off to get vested and greet the family.

The sacrament of anointing and healing was going to have to wait for baby Jesus.

My needing more time and inadvertently causing harm.

When we are blinded by our need for more how often do we miss what is right in front of us?

More and More…

We always seem to want more.

We want more time to perfect the paper, the sermon, the relationship.

We want more connections

We want more THINGS

We want more clarity on what to do next, who to spend time with, how to get ahead, how to change.

The staff, this week took a tour with one of our docents.(I highly recommend this, no matter how long that you have been or not been a member here!) Our tour went well over our allotted time because we wanted to know more and more about why is this space is designed the way that it is..

How, to the glory of God, this space was designed to invite more and more people into the pews and balconies to lift their eyes to the heavens, to tell the story of scripture in windows, paintings, and inviting your story into this space, whatever your story might be….

Inviting you and your own flaws and brokenness into this space to be accepted fully for who you are and right where you are.

To let you find your home here, more and more.

The disciples in our gospel this week want more.

And they continued to be invited into relationship by Jesus, just where they are, as they are, to know more.

Last week you heard Morgan speak about the questioning that Jesus receives at the dinner table. After 3 long years and so many talks, so many intimate explanations, the disciples want more and more. More answers, more time.

They have just broken bread with Jesus.

They will soon be a part of the breaking of his body on the cross.

Today, Jesus says to his disciples, “here is the thing…. I am going to be with you more and more.”

I will be with you forever in the form of the Holy Comforter, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit.

More and more as you understand bit by bit.

More and more than you will understand.

Know this, I will not leave you abandoned, orphaned,

you are family, you are beloved, you are with me as I am in you.

Jesus says, this concept is more than you can imagine now.

Have faith, take your time to listen,

to see and to not just know more,

to be more of the beloved child of God that you were created to be.

Keep walking in faith, together….

In the Episcopal tradition at Confirmation, the liturgy where the promises made at baptism are confirmed by the individual in the presence of a Bishop, the prayer said with the laying on of hands is the following, “Defend, O Lord, your servant N. with your heavenly grace, that he may continue yours for ever, and daily increase in your Holy Spirit more and more, until he comes to your everlasting kingdom.  Amen.”

Echoing both the disciples’ desire and Jesus’ promise, we live in a world where we want more. Our prayers and liturgies reflect our desire for more and deeper understanding met by Jesus’ even more deep love for each of us and invitation to know more.

Jesus is asking more of our hearts, more of our lives, inviting us to be transformed by prayer, by reading scripture, by fellowship and the breaking of bread.

To listen more and let our feet and hands be guided more by our faith than by the world.

Things will be broken. Things will fracture.

We will get hurt,

Acting in love, we will break

In this brokenness, you will see how god’s love can heal and bring about a new thing.

Making haste does not bring salvation.

Love, time, and walking together with one other brings salve to our souls and brings us together to be transformed, building up a stronger community and bolder kingdom.

Now, you may be wondering the rest of the story about Sweet Baby Jesus….

Never underestimate these two things: Jesus saves and the Altar Guild does too! Turns out before I could get back to the sacristy, the altar guild had already restored baby Jesus’s body to one piece and he was lying in the manger bound together with a little bit of Super Glue and a whole lot of grace and forgiveness to their priest.

This past year when that same little figure was processed forward on Christmas Eve, my sweet goddaughter dropped sweet baby Jesus on the way up to the creche scene.  She was mortified and immediately began to cry. Her mother, who has heard my story before, leaned in and said, “it’s okay, Jesus still loves you and this too can be fixed, I have seen this sort of healing happen before. You are not alone.”

We are not alone in our brokenness, the Holy Spirit restores us more and more each day.

All in God’s Time.

Alleluia, Alleluia. Amen.

Trinity Church in the City of Boston
April 23, 2023

Year A, Easter 2

• Acts 2:14a,36-41,
• Luke 24:13-35
• Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17

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.

Triune God,
you call us into relationship
but you never told us how hard it could be.
Guide us to be connectors in our fractured communities.
Provide us with the words to tell our stories
and the patience to listen to the stories of others.
Prepare the way for bridges to be built, as we graft together,
Help us to let the little things go,
as we focus on loving, forgiving, inviting and accepting.
Walk with us Lord Jesus. Amen. [i]

My favorite seminary professor had a habit of always being on the move. A literal walking encyclopedia of information he was always enroute to something. If you needed a conversation with him, he was famous for saying – “Sure, Come walk with me.”  And then get ready, his speed was not a walking and wondering pace, rather you jumped onto the treadmill already in a fast speedy pace, moving quickly, getting to the heart of your conversation and halfway to his destination at the same time. You were along for the ride and while moving, accomplishing a small cardio workout alongside of seeking your answer to whatever matter needed theological or practical advice.

No matter who you were, his answer was, “Come walk with me.”

Our gospel reading today is one of my favorite stories for several reasons, first- there is food involved. I am always hungry for a good feeding story and secondly, this story reminds me that in the midst of our mess, God is faithful amidst our wonder and our own blindness.

Today’s gospel is the “rest of the story” of Easter Day and it is a story of movement.

Much like our own second Sunday after Easter, where we might find ourselves remembering the flowers, the music of easter, we are wondering what to do with all that we have experienced. How will Easter Sunday not fade like the flowers, how with the holiness of walking Holy Week stick with us, transform us? We find ourselves much like the disciples on the way of Emmaus. Recalling the events of Holy Week and wondering about all of the questions unresolved, the events that took place, the empty tomb and now—now what? Life has resumed.

Cleopas and his friend, with and without words, are working out the events they have just experienced. A person comes up beside them and asks them about their story and they say, “Come walk with us.”

And they share their story. Their perspective, their joy and their shock. Their hopes and what they had hoped. Openly they pour their hearts out in the aftermath of this unexpected death in their lives.

And the stranger listens, receives, embraces them where they are.
The stranger walks alongside of Cleopas and his friend, invited in fully.

And then they listen to the person they invited into their walk. Listened to this stranger who reminded them of the bigger story, the teachings they knew by heart and could not remember because of their pain, shock, their grief.

Without judgement, the stranger reminds them of the familiar, the endurance, the transformation that has been constant throughout all of creation and the reminder that in each of those moments, God interrupted the expected and transformed expectations.

Cleopas and his companion receive the stranger’s story with wonder. They listen with their hearts, fully receiving this alternate view of their despair and they want more. They want their walk to continue and recognizing a desire to also stop to eat and rest for the night, they invite this stranger in for a meal together.

After a long day of confusion, walking and wondering, they also crave to sit, share a meal- the most common and intimate of things- together. To listen and be with each other a little bit longer, to know more.

And it is there that these two disciples/followers of Jesus “get it.” They literally see the face of Christ in the stranger because that is exactly who he is in his resurrected form. Right there, on their walk, at their table, reminding them of that last time they were gathered around a table together before. And now After.

After being reminded of what they already knew.
After receiving their story and their grief
After listening
After receiving

Acknowledgement and Transformation.

Come walk with me and be transformed. It’s a walk that will leave you changed. Remember Jacob? Wrestling with the Angel? After his experience he not only got a new name, his walk was never the same.

Cleopas and his friend, would never walk that road the same way again, I wonder if they wondered if they would run into Jesus again on their walks that would take them near and far?

And the answer is yes.

On each walk we take we encounter the risen Christ, in the most unsuspecting ways. We might not realize it until we have spilled our guts and flooded out all of our emotions and paused to listen to the other, not realizing our misunderstanding, our misinterpretation, our blindness.

Each day we, too, have the opportunity to listen to the stories around us. Be transformed and strive towards understanding one another more fully to be drawn more fully to the fuller understanding of who God is and what God’s beloved community looks like.

Last weekend, I lived in the midst of the aura of the Boston Marathon. Running in college, I had classmates who qualified for Boston and made it here to run the race… they filled me with awe and accomplishment. There was awe and wonder.

Living here amongst the building up of the weekend was an experience in and of itself and seeing friends who came to town for the race was also exciting. On Saturday, I cheered a friend on in the 5K and saw some of you as you ran alongside, too… if you were near the Four Seasons Hotel, you could hear my cowbells….. and after the 5k my friend invited me to join her for the rest of her afternoon.

Come and walk with me. And we ducked into speaker events and running events, listening to story, walking alongside of each other and sharing our own stories, catching up on life. It’s amazing how the running world and the church worlds echo each other. They both have rivalries, competition, invitation and both worlds stem from a deep hunger to be understood and to belong.

In both the church and running, it is clear that invitation does not always mean welcome.

The Boston Marathon has a long, interesting history and has a lot of work to do to continue to celebrate each runner fully and equally. From the exclusion of women and people of color to the discrimination with cheering fans at this past week’s race.[ii]

We live in a world where action is our first impulse rather than listening more deeply.
Fear overwhelms us amidst the stranger. Where is the anonymous trust that Cleopas and his companions had for each other? [iii]

Where is the world where we invite the stranger to “Come walk with us” and where we listen deeply to each other? Where is it that desire to understand and come alongside of one another?

I think that world begins with each of us. We each have the opportunity to invite someone to walk or have coffee, to break bread together, to share a cuppa coffee together, to better know each other, to listen without interruption and to be transformed by those conversations- recognizing the belovedness of God in each person that we encounter.

Lord, be known to us in the breaking of bread, open our eyes to see you in all that we do. Help us to transform this world one step at a time. Feed our hearts with your bread of hope and life rather than fear and anxiety.

Amen.

---

[i] Page 272 What Were You Arguing About Along the Way?: Gospel Reflections for Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter by Pat Bennett (Author), Padraig O Tuama

[ii] https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/04/19/metro/boston-marathon-running-diversity/

[iii] https://the.ink/p/kaylin-ralph-and-the-death-of-anonymous?utm_source=direct&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&fbclid=IwAR2EzGxz-wezEZkTT7l6ilLyId3g-fnermEVATyBUUI75jrwoEz_czk3uW4

Trinity Church in the City of Boston

Lent 5 Year A

March 26, 2023

• Romans 8:6-11
• John 11:1-45
• Psalm 130

Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

God of all time, we ask, we weep, we wait, we die, we hope, we live

We carry on, we pick ourselves up, we try to understand,

We misunderstand, we learn, we ask again,

We wait for an understanding.

In all of these may prayer be a companion, not a torment.

May we find in prayer the consolation

That sustains us through all things,

Knowing that some things change,

And some things remain the same.

Amen.

 (Prayer by Padraig O’Tuama: What Were You Arguing About On The Way p.126)

“You just don’t understand.”

When was the last time you said this phrase?

When was the last time you said this phrase, yourself?

From the cry of the child whose parent clearly does not understand their need for those red shoes and not the sensible boots for the snow

To the teenager who is in the midst of all of the new and exciting options of friendships, academics, extra curriculars and immediate needs and will not get in the car in a timely manner.

You don’t understand mom, dad, grandad, grandma.

YOU

It can hurt to hear these words.

They are pointed and sharp edges.

They say that some one seems irrational and obtuse.

When these words are spoken, they indicate a potential break down of relationship.

A division of YOU and Me.

One person doesn’t seem to get the WHY of what is going on,

It is perceived that they cannot see what the other is seeing.

A wall can go up.

Irreparable damage can occur.

At the same time, these words CAN be the invitation to dig deeper into the relationship.

The reply, “You are right, I don’t understand” speaks a truth aloud in the midst of tension, of division, of misunderstanding.

With these same words, a new pathway can be found.

In the Peace Corps, each volunteer attends a 3month long orientation session. These sessions invite each peace corps member to respect the culture around them and to listen and learn. Orientation attempts to teach you the big cultural norms and then you learn the rest of the norms through living life in community. You are transformed by those around you.

As a dedicated and eager volunteer I, too, tried to learn from those around me. In our orientation, we traveled as a group to learn how to do the trainings we would in turn lead on our own later in in our service. By this time in our training, we all had attempted to blend a bit with our clothing. I attended this gathering with a beautiful new traditional skirt called a payne. I was delighted to see the same fabric on my counterpart and that I might blend a wee bit (despite my blinding white skin and red hair.- not common in my region) and as we gathered in the rural community, immediately I realized something was not quite right. Murmuring ensued and some giggling. A few people pointing and many stares.

And then.

Like a magnet drawn to another, the entire village of women circled around me and took care of the problem.

My beautiful skirt was made of the correct material BUT there was a major misunderstanding. What I did not understand was that HOW one wrapped the skirt mattered. If the skirt was wrapped to the right, it indicated that you were an upstanding respectable woman. If wrapped to the left, well, it was the indication that you were -how shall we say- available. Rather than let me remain in this fashion, these women circled around me and solved my misunderstanding quickly. They, otherwise known as orgami professionals, rewrapped my skirt before I realized what was happening. Out of hospitality and pastoral care they quickly transformed my outward appearance and wrapped my pale white legs into a suitable presentable attire so that our training could continue.

I did not understand.

These women enfolded me and said, “You do not understand. Here is the way.”
We will show you the way.

I don’t understand, help me to understand.

The gospel of John reminds us constantly how confused the people are when they see and hear Jesus speaking, teaching, healing.

Remember the first miracle in Cana?

Jesus turns water into wine when he ready and then asks for silence about this extraordinary act.

Remember the parables that Jesus told and the Disciples say “I don’t understand.”

Remember Nick at Night, Nicodemus not understanding what this being born again means?

Remember the Woman at the well not understanding the living water that Jesus offers?

Remember Peter understanding and saying “You are the Messiah” and then misunderstanding what that meant and saying in the next breath “stop talking about this death and suffering stuff”

Jesus says, “You don’t understand.”

AND “let me show you the way.”

Let me help you wrap your head around this bigger meaning.

Today we encounter Mary and Martha, Jesus and then Lazarus.

Jesus, while with his disciples, hears that Lazarus is sick.

His disciples know how close that Jesus is to Lazarus and say, “Let’s go now, we want you to have this time with Lazarus.”

Jesus says, “this illness does not lead to death, rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

By now the disciples are pretty use to Jesus’ curious and sometimes confusing statements.

They think they understand.

Perhaps Jesus is taking his time because life is dangerous right now, perhaps, the disciples think, there is something else to be done.

Perhaps, if Lazarus is just sleeping, perhaps he is just getting rest and did not die.

Misunderstanding.

Jesus stops them in their tracks.

And sets the record straight, “Lazarus has died.”

Jesus tells them, “We are going there, through the danger of those who want me dead too, we are going to be there, you will see.”

Mary and Martha meet Jesus on the road.

Community gathered around and they too tell Jesus personally that Lazarus has died.

Jesus asks them, do you believe that I am the resurrection and the life?

Do you believe, do you put your trust in me?

Jesus is saying, let me re-wrap your understanding of what being resurrection and life means, let my love and grace embrace you and open this new path of understanding.

This is a new understanding where when only death was seen before,

life can actually be transformed.

Let me show you a new way.

Mary, the prayerful one, says “I believe.”

Martha, the practical one- “it’s gonna smell pretty bad, but I put my trust in what you say.”

The disciples are also doubtful and curious.

Lazarus seems to be the only one who understands.

Jesus says, YOU don’t understand what it means to be the way, the truth, the life.

AND Jesus continues.

Rather than leaving this as a stand off of emotions and “you just don’t get me,” Jesus surrounds them and calls Lazarus out to be unbound.

Unwrapped.

And like the blind man who can now see, the woman at the well who has experienced living water, the crowd begins to understand more fully the deeper invitation to listen and be present with Jesus.

They believed, or trusted in, this man- more so than before.

The story of Lazarus is an invitation to a deeper understanding. An invitation to those who gathered around, and to us, to unwrap what we think we understand about death and instead be transformed by the love that surrounds us and invites us into a deeper understanding of the depth of love that God has for god’s people.

Jesus, fount of wisdom, patience, knowledge and mercy,

reminds Mary and Martha and those around him that in death

there is sorrow, there is gnashing of teeth, there is anger

and also… there is hope.

Hope

because in death there is transformation,

there is the reminder that we are not in control.

We have hope because we are not alone.

The God we believe in and put our trust in is:

A God who understands our deep pain when we feel like no one understands us. (Jesus Wept.)

A God who sits with us in our own misunderstandings. (Jesus redirected Peter and loved him.)

A god who invites us to see these moments of death as moments of new beginnings where grace and mercy transform and rebuild.

After all, this God of ours created us and knows our innermost beings and loves every part of us.

Perhaps we should let go of the divisive part of our misunderstandings and lean more into this Holy time we are livingin  and be bound up in God’s love and mystery rather than being wrapped in our misgivings.

Be Opened to hear more fully the deep understanding of each other and God in our midst.

Amen.

Trinity Church in the City of Boston
Lent 2 Year A
2023

• Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
• John 3:1-17
• Psalm 121

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Do you remember the children’s game, “Simon Says?”

The game where one person tells you exactly what to do.

The game is designed around listening to instruction and who has told you what to do.

How many of you were tricked after commands of “Simon Says touch your nose, Simon Says Jump Up and down, Simon says sit down, Stand up” and you stood up.

We got into the habit of following command after command and then….

We forget how specifically we are to do what we are doing!

As a camp counselor, I will admit, this exercise was often used to fill time, spend some energy, and to see who was listening.

Sometimes the wrong thing was done because the camper just wanted to move on.

In this exercise, though, you are always given the way forward to progress.

By listening and obeying.

It’s also very clear about what the direction is.

This game did not promote strategy

nor deliberation.

There were no questions or dialogue permitted

The game is simple, Simon says it or Simon did not.

While the game has several purposes (as I have mentioned),

it is very concrete, black and white. Easy to do.

Follow in this way (End POINT) or you are out.

The game is straightforward until we have questions,

Who was Simon?

Why does Simon get to be the authority?

Why do we all willingly play this game?
What sort of community are we building if the game is all about our own success and not building each other’s listening capabilities?

Did you know that the first time the game Simon Says was mentioned in print was in 1842 in the Boston Morning Post? April 25^th to be exact! The paper mentions:
Simon is a great talker; sometimes he says “up,” sometimes he says “down,” and sometimes he says “wiggle waggle.” It is always cheapest to do as Simon says.[i]

Chasing this rabbit trail a little further, other sources say the game goes back to Roman times to Circero (1^st century BC). “Statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero said to do something, you did it.”[ii]

Curious, right?!

Well, we are no longer subjects of Cicero and we don’t wiggle waggle much any more… and yet we play along and follow this Simon and what he says.

In this spirit of questioning, we find in our Gospel reading today, a fellow seeker of the “why” of all things, Nicodemus.

Nicodemus, as a pharisee and faithful Jew, has been following the teachings of the Torah all of his life. He has followed and obeyed.
In short, he has been faithful.

Unlike the disciples, we do not know who Nicodemus’ people were or what they did.
We do not know when Nicodemus first heard Jesus speak.

Curiously, Nicodemus also only appears in the Gospel of John.

Today’s reference is the first of his two appearances.

The fact that he is named in this Gospel means that he was known in the community.

Nicodemus comes to visit at night.

I have a friend that says, “Nothing good happens after 9pm” – which is often true in this day and age. So, it is easy for us to think that Nicodemus was visiting with a not so genuine intent.
In Jesus’ time, though, to arrive at night allowed for conversation, deep listening and teaching. The sort of teaching where you had time to hear the familiar stories shared in a new way.

The tv channel, Nickelodeon, called their nighttime programming Nick at Night- the time when the classics came out.

Today, our “Nick (Nicodemus) at Night” comes to discover more about the why is “Jesus saying these things and doing these things” and unpack these teachings.

Nicodemus comes to Jesus and asks “What do you mean” by this being born again?

Nicodemus engages Jesus with respect as a fellow teacher. He engages in the Jewish banter of rabbis asking questions to learn more and to dig deeper, to discover, to find the way forward.

What should he, Nicodemus, do next?

In what manner should his life be shaped?

Has all that he has learned in his life up to this point meant nothing?

Nicodemus comes with wonder, curiosity, and tenacity.

Unlike Cicero or Simon, Jesus speaks in the gray.

Now don’t get me wrong, throughout the Gospel, Jesus speaks directly about how to love each other, giving direction concretely to his disciples.

To Nicodemus, Jesus knows that this is a moment to breathe in and invite this wise and learned teacher into a new space.

Into a new way.

Instead of mapping out the path to salvation with a series of decisions, Jesus invites Nicodemus to think beyond the brain’s knowledge
and to be transformed in heart and soul by water and the Holy Spirit.
To be born again, to remember again, being one with God.
To reconnect with the one who loved you from the beginning, even as the breath of God hovered over the water, even as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness grumbling and doubting.

To reconnect with the God who is present here in our midst- just as much as we know the wind exists because it is felt within the rustle of the trees and seen in the bending of limbs.

The way to go forward, Jesus says, is to let go and be loved in the manner that God is showing the world through Jesus’ life, teachings, death, and resurrection.

In this manner, God loved the world, that ALL might come within god’s embrace.

And what manner is that?

A life of love.

A life that met the curious like Nicodemus at night and answered his questions,

A love that met the socially excluded like the Samaritan woman that we will hear about next week,

A love that met the antagonistic scribes with grace and humor,

and those who were threatened by Jesus (even Pilate and Herod) a manner of life that includes rather than excludes.

A manner of life that invites rather than casts out.
A manner of life that hears the brokenness in the midst of angry words and looks beyond those angry words to seek new beginnings and transformation rather than destroying community.

A way of life that engages not just our minds but our hearts and hands.

In this manner, Nicodemus, God loves us and we are to live.

In this manner God has loved God’s people into community, from wandering in the wilderness to the heart of the city of Boston.

Each day inviting us to find a way to re-imagine how to love in the manner that God has first loved us into who we are.

“What is the way?” Thomas will ask this later in the Gospel of John. Again, Jesus says- my life here shows you the way, the how, the root of each day.

Love.

This manner of love is a different way, different from simply taking a job and getting promoted, achieving success in society’s eyes.

This manner of love invites you at the end of the day to sit with Jesus and look at the loving embrace that God has given both to you and to those around you.

You, too, are invited into conversation in the midst of the stillness and quiet of the night to ask your deepest questions of “why” and “for how long” and “what do you mean?”

Jesus says to you, as he said to Nicodemus, “You already know.”

In the wind, in the air, in the midst- you have seen my love for you present and deeply WITH you.

God loved the world so much that God is always in the process of restoring us in relationship, All of us, in the most imaginative and sometimes invisible way.

Nicodemus appears for a second time in the gospel of John, at the time of Jesus’ death. Nicodemus is one of the men who, in John’s Gospel, prepares the body of Jesus for burial- bringing the spices to care for the dead, as one would for a beloved family member. Nicodemus wasn’t told to do this action. Rather, out of love, he came to care for this teacher who met him where he was and in turn Nicodemus acted in love for this beloved companion.

As we continue in our journey of Lent, how will you, too, live in this manner of love? Inviting others to walk with you?

Inviting others to know the embrace of Jesus’ loving arms?

Caring hearts and hands with arms outstretched?

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[i] https://alexaanswers.amazon.com/question/6S9V7cXYW0g0Z5nyb6y3uq#:~:text=this%20game%20is%20centuries%2Dold,do%20something%2C%20you%20did%20it.

[ii] https://alexaanswers.amazon.com/question/6S9V7cXYW0g0Z5nyb6y3uq#:~:text=this%20game%20is%20centuries%2Dold,do%20something%2C%20you%20did%20it.