Alleluia! Christ is risen. (The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia! ) These are the words of Easter, the joyful, hopeful, beautiful words of Easter. We come together today to hear those words anew. They were first uttered by the earliest Christians 2,000 years ago, and we hear them afresh every Easter morning. And this Easter we are especially eager to hear them. We see Good Friday everywhere we look. So how are we to be Easter people in this Good Friday world? How can we give voice to Christ’s resurrection and all that it means, love and compassion, peace and forgiveness, courage and justice? How do we live as people of the Resurrection when the counter forces of evil are very much at work, the voices of hatred and violence, lies and vengeance, injustice and cruelty?
Read MoreThere is no doubt that Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday, is one of the most paradoxical liturgies in the Church year. We begin with the jubilant liturgy of the palms, rendering all glory, laud, and honor unto Jesus at his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But then, before we have had a chance to settle into the joy of the occasion, Jesus is crucified.
Read MoreAs we go marching, marching, in the beauty of the day,
A million darkened kitchens, a thousand mill lofts gray,
Are touched with all the radiance that a sudden sun discloses,
For the people hear us singing: Bread and Roses! Bread and Roses!
This is the opening stanza of a poem by James Oppenheim, penned at the height of the labor movement and women’s suffrage movement at the turn of the 20th century. This famous slogan “bread and roses” had become a rallying cry for women and workers and it encapsulates a particular philosophy, a theology even, of what is necessary for human flourishing. Daily bread, or food and water, is of course, the bare minimum required to sustain human life, and each day that we have food on the table is a blessing from God indeed, which we know is not afforded to every human being in this world. However, it is also true that even when this lowest common denominator of being fed is satisfied, living hand-to-mouth is a far cry from life in abundance.
Read Moref there is one story that communicates the essence of the Gospel, it is the Parable of the Prodigal Son. This story is absolutely stunning in it’s beauty, it’s poignancy, it’s power, and most importantly, it’s truth. It’s deep truth about us and about God.
This parable is particular to the Gospel of Luke. Luke has been called the portrait painter of the Gospel, and for good reason. His storytelling creates clear images in our minds. And not only clear images but images that evoke powerful emotions. It is little wonder that Rembrandt, the Dutch master who was perhaps more effective than any other painter in history at expressing the depth and complexity of human experience, chose to portray today’s story in breath-taking splendor. Rembrandt was a master of color and light. In his painting of the Return of the Prodigal Son, he shows a repentant son, kneeling at his elderly father’s feet. The son’s clothes are tattered, his head is shaved like a slave and he is barefoot. The father looks upon his son with absolute love and forgiveness, and he lays his large, gentle hands on his son’s shoulders. The father and son are bathed in a warm, glowing light, a light that shines not just ON them, but comes from deep WITHIN them. The painting captures a moment of stillness, grace, and profound gratitude. This son was LOST but now is FOUND.
Read MoreHow do we respond when tragedy befalls us? The answer Jesus gives is to repent. What in the world could our good Lord mean? I do think our initial shock at this answer comes from a misunderstanding of what it means to repent, which is what I’d like to explore with you today, because I think repentance is really a remarkable gift, not a punishment.
Read MoreOne day God asked the Archangel Michael to give a report on the state of things on earth. After conducting his research, St. Michael sheepishly shared that things were not going very well. 90% of the people on earth were behaving very badly and seemed to have little confidence that God could do anything about it. The other 10% were doing pretty well. They were trying their best to live a godly, righteous and sober life but were feeling discouraged and unsure of what God’s will for them was. So God, in His infinite wisdom, came up with a plan. He told St. Michael to send a group text message to the righteous 10% with instructions on what to do so that the other 90% would have a chance to amend their ways and follow him. And do you know what that text message said? I don’t know, I didn’t get it either.
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