Author: vicar

2010 Sermons

Pentecost 3 June 13, 2010

Post author By vicar
Post date June 13, 2010
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2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

Luke 7:36-8:3Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

My grandfather lived in a little coalmining town in Pennsylvania. Across the street lived a couple who never spoke to one another. They communicated through a married daughter who lived down the block. Theyâ€™d divided the house between them: she had the kitchen, the back porch and a little room where she slept. He had the living and dining rooms, the front porch, and upstairs. They ate all their meals sitting on opposite ends of a table placed in the doorway between the dining room and the kitchen, he on the dining room end, she on the kitchen end. Theyâ€™d lived this way for years. My grandfather said theyâ€™d long ago forgotten what theyâ€™d fought about.

For most of us, most of the time, forgiveness when we think about it is probably just a little footnote in our lives, like saying please and thank you, excuse me, I beg your pardon. But for God and for Jesus, forgiveness is one of the center points of life.

Tags forgiveness, Lord's Prayer

2010 Sermons

Pentecost 2 June 6, 2010

Post author By vicar
Post date June 6, 2010

1 Kings 17:17-24 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â June 6, 2010

Luke 7:11-17Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â John L. McCausland

The Bible is peppered with poor widows. Like the two in the readings today, they are almost all nameless. Women in general in biblical society were without rights, including the right to own property. Indeed, they were themselves property, property of the men in their lives: first of their fathers, then of their husbands, then of their sons. And if they were widowed, they depended completely on their children, particularly their male children, to support and protect them. So these two stories tell us something important when they explain that in each case the widows had only one son, and that son was dead. Here we have two women utterly without earthly security, as good as without identity or meaning.

Why is the Bible so fond of these poor widows? I think itâ€™s because you and I, all of us, are in reality just a few steps away from poor widowhood ourselves. Yes, of course, we have legal rights and a social safety net and material comforts beyond what all but a tiny few enjoyed in the time of Jesus. But for all of that, we really donâ€™t have much control over our lives and the world. We have little idea what the world will be like in 50 years, whether there will even be human beings on the earthâ€™s face. And in the shorter range, we donâ€™t know about our own health five years from now, or the security of our children or grandchildren. So the poor widows of Scripture are Everyman, Everywoman, the human condition stripped of illusions — us.

Tags Elijah, healing, Jesus, resurrection, trust, widows

Happenings Now

Annual Barbecue and Yard Sale Photo Album

Post author By vicar
Post date June 5, 2010

Nancy Stehno and Dani Bond-Ishak trades laughs over watermelon and rolls.

Old tools, always of interest to guys at the yard sale.

Yardsale faces: Abbie, soon to be a Florida coed.

Yardsale faces: Aidan and Ian, boys of summer.

Kitchen crew: Cathy Arredondo and Dani Bond-Ishak.

Down South they call it the "gospel bird."

A wll-earned rest. — A well-earned rest.

Tags barbecue, yard sale

Happenings Now

Parishioners Share Emmaus Moments

Post author By vicar
Post date June 1, 2010

On the Sundays during Easter this year, Holy Cross, Weare, members shared â€œEmmaus Momentsâ€ with the congregation. The project, which was received with warm appreciation, grew out of Holy Crossâ€™s experience in recent years with â€œMinistry Minutesâ€ during the fall pledge season. Like Ministry Minutes, Emmaus Moments were about 3-5 minutes long, offered right before the Peace. Where Ministry Minutes deal with peopleâ€™s feelings about the parish and what it means to them, Emmaus Moments have a broader focus.

The name comes from the passage in Luke 24:13-35, in which two dejected disciples are walking away from Jerusalem on the afternoon of the first Easter. As they go, they are joined by a stranger, who explains how Scripture anticipated the crucifixion of Jesus. Inviting this stranger to dine with them when they reach their destination, the village of Emmaus, they realize â€œin the breaking of breadâ€ that he is Jesus himself. So Emmaus Moments are accounts of times in peopleâ€™s lives when the God of Jesus Christ seemed to break through and be particularly close to them.

The participants in the Emmaus Moments project chose very different moments to share with the congregation. Marge Burke led off with the feeling of Christâ€™s intimate closeness and reassurance she had received on learning of her motherâ€™s terminal illness. Her husband Donald shared his experience of overcoming fear while sailing through a hurricane on a Navy LST. Will Townsend talked about the new understanding heâ€™d gained of the presence of God in Scripture after reading a book by Bishop John Spong, which had opened his eyes to a non-literalist way of receiving biblical authority. High school senior Abbie Stehno talked about the trip she made with classmates during spring break to work with Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans, where in nailing siding next to people who would be occupying the house they were working with, she realized that she was not just building a house, but a home. Her spiritual reflections on the trip were consolidated as she sat for three hours by the roadside in New Jersey on the trip home after the bus broke down! Tina Compagna talked about how God was revealed to her through the suffering of her mother from chronic illness. Laura Starr-Houghtonâ€™s Moment had to do with the birth of her son, suffering from a serious birth defect; it was particularly poignant because Connor, now a healthy 6 foot 4 inch high school junior, was being confirmed that afternoon.

Tags Emmaus Moments, faith sharing

2010 Sermons

Trinity Sunday May 30, 2010

Post author By vicar
Post date May 30, 2010
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Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

Romans 5:1-5Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

John 16:12-15

I have good news for you. You have inherited a magnificent mansion â€“ in fact, a palace, a castle, an estate of enormous expanse and magnificence beyond your wildest dreams. Itâ€™s very old, filled with art treasures and beautiful antique furniture. But itâ€™s also been renovated, brought up to date with new wiring and plumbing and all. Youâ€™ve been given the key to the front door; youâ€™re free to wander and explore; there are servants eager to show you about and attend to your needs and desires.

Iâ€™m talking about the Holy Trinity, and with it the whole theological and ecclesiological edifice that weâ€™ve inherited as Christians and Anglicans.

Tags doctrine, tradition, Trinity, Trinity Sunday

2010 Sermons

Day of Pentecost May 23, 2010

Post author By vicar
Post date May 23, 2010

Acts 2:1-21Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

Romans 8:14-17Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

John 14:8-17, 25-27

Our celebration of the Day of Pentecost at Holy Cross today is one of our periodic â€œCome With Joyâ€ Sundays. Six or eight times a year we do these, incorporating elements of art and drama into the liturgy, playing a little loose with the order of some of the parts of the service, involving members of the congregation (especially teenagers and children), and opening the homily time to discussion. Like most clergy, Iâ€™m pretty much a law and order guy myself when it comes to liturgy, so Iâ€™m always a little anxious about these occasions, but almost without exception theyâ€™ve come off well. We just have to understand that we can worship God in many ways, not just the semi-monastic, cathedral-style worship that Anglicans have traditionally been accustomed to.

Tags Acts, liturgy, peace, Pentecost

2010 Sermons

Easter 7 May 16, 2010

Acts 16:16-34Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-171, 20-21Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

John 17:20-26

â€œI just had a general question for you,â€ said the email I got last week. â€œIs it possible to not believe in God, but to believe in Jesus Christ andÂ in good vs. evil?â€

What a wonderful question â€“ and always good to get questions from people, especially ones like this that go right to the heart of things. And a specially wonderful question for this Sunday, which I like to think of as â€œGod has gone awayâ€ Sunday. This is the Sunday in the Christian year between the Ascension, last Thursday, and Pentecost, next Sunday. The Ascension celebrates Jesus going up to heaven after the resurrection, to â€œsit at the right hand of God,â€ as the Creeds put it. Pentecost celebrates the sending of the Holy Spirit of God to be with us here on earth. So, in between, God has in a sense gone away.

Tags Ascension, believing, belonging, doubt, God, Jesus, Pentecost

2010 Sermons

Easter 6 May 9, 2010

Post author By vicar
Post date May 9, 2010

Acts 16:9-15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

John 5:1-9

Last Sunday Jude Desmarais, our breakfast chef, was out of town, attending his daughter Carinaâ€™s graduation from the University of Michigan. So the whole responsibility for breakfast lay on Kourtney Williams, the high school junior whoâ€™s been working as Judeâ€™s assistant. She was nervous, but she pulled it off beautifully.

Talking with her about it, I told her of a story that Iâ€™d read when I was little in a childrenâ€™s magazine we got, Jack and Jill. The story was about a little girl who had to prepare dinner for herself because of some emergency absence of her mother. The girl had fixed dinner with her mother present, but never alone. So she went up to the attic and brought down a dressmakerâ€™s dummy â€“ something common back then when more people made their own clothes. She put one of her motherâ€™s dresses on the dummy and pretended her mother was there, giving her cooking instructions. And she cooked her dinner all by herself.

Â â€œDo you want to be made well?â€ Jesus asks the man in the gospel this morning. The man had been ill for 38 years and was lying by a pool in Jerusalem noted for its healing powers â€“ powers attributed to angels who stirred up its waters from time to time. The problem the sick man had was that no one was there to carry him into the pool at the crucial moment, and when he tried to drag himself in he was always crowded out by others waiting to enter the waters. And what does Jesus do about this? He says to the man, â€œStand up, take your mat and walk.â€ Which the man does, and he is healed. Then comes the cryptic statement: â€œNow that day was a sabbath.â€

Tags healing, responsibility, resurrection, Sabbath

2010 Sermons

Easter 5 May 2, 2010

Post author By vicar
Post date May 2, 2010

Revelation 21:1-6Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

John 13:31-35Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

Â Â â€œI give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.â€

— John 13:34

Â â€œIf you love me,â€ says the teenager in the parked car to his girl friend, â€œyou will do what I want.â€ â€œOh, I just love myself!â€ gushes the woman on the total make-over show as she admires her new face, new clothes and new hair in a mirror. â€œLove makes the world go round,â€ runs an old song. And of course, â€œDonâ€™t you love those Red Sox?â€ Love, love, love.

Talk about love puts me in mind of the Supreme Court Justice who wrote in an opinion that he couldnâ€™t define pornography, but he knew it when he saw it. I canâ€™t define love, but I know it when I see it. We donâ€™t see it all that often â€“ not real love. But we see it in Jesus. â€œJust as I have loved you,â€ he says, â€œyou also should love one another.â€ Church is not about a bunch of ideas, concepts, rules and regulations, even biblical texts. Church is about a person: Jesus. About learning to see ourselves, to see all life, in terms of the love we see in Jesus.

Tags bread, come and see, Jesus, Judas, love, resurrection, Revelation

2010 Sermons

Easter 4 April 25, 2010

Post author By vicar
Post date April 25, 2010

Acts 9:36-43Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

Revelation 7:9-17Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

John 10:22-30

Sheep metaphors arenâ€™t what immediately come to my own mind when I think about my life, but mulling over this passage from Johnâ€™s gospel, I realize that a lost sheep is exactly what I feel like a lot of the time as a priest in the Church today. And what Jesus in the gospel has to say to me is welcome comfort. So maybe it is for you too.

We live in a hard time to be committed Christians, faithful Church members. The climate of the culture is against us. We have dozens of other claims on our time. In coming to church on Sunday, most of you are choosing not to do something else â€“ particularly if you bring your kids, because sports and dance and sleepovers pay no attention to Sunday being church time. You may also very well be leaving your spouse or children at home, because in many families not everyone is a church-goer.

Tags Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, confusion, Good Shepherd, Jesus, John's gospel, science and religion, St. John