Easter Sunday Sunday, April 12, 2020

First Reading: Acts 10:34-43

or Jeremiah 31:1-6

New Testament: Colossians 3:1-4

or Acts 10:34-43

Gospel: John 20:1-18

or Matthew 28:1-10

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

“Why are you weeping?”

Jesus (from John 20)

Early and dark, Mary Magdalene went to the burial place of Jesus and found it different than she expected. It was as if she thought God to be on a time table and certain that God’s power is suspended and thwarted by tragedy and grief.

As Mary moves through her grief to the space in the Earth where Jesus would be contained, she finds the sepulcher vacated and her empty feelings of loss multiplied as the Unexpected One comes and speaks to Mary with in her grief.  Her tears, cries, and emotional pain are all impacted upon Jesus, who subsequently calls her by name, and renders the impact of these forces void.

Resurrection Sunday suspends my feelings of tragedy and grief similarly, as I am invited to reengage again with the One who conquers all of the “bad,” imperfect, traumatic injustices of this world. I am reminded yet again that it is within the dark, damp tombs that God provides dynamic wombs for new life and living, always!

We must continue to turn from our old ideas, old expectations, and former traditions that have sufficed, and totally consider, embrace, and imbibe the invigorating, ubiquitous way of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Jesus will wipe away our tears when we chose to turn (repent) from anguish and anxiety to clarity and wholeness.

We too, like Mary, can enjoy, not just today, but for the next 50 days the new vision within and without, so we can proclaim we have seen the Lord, too. I am convinced that in the Resurrection encounter with Mary, Jesus gives and makes her solely the Church’s only one who is a witness to the resurrection and the Resurrected One. Had it not been for Mary’s tears and turning she would have missed this glorious moment.

Let us with haste consider our tears and listen for Jesus to calls us away and out of our blindness into the eternal hope of Easter. God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes, and Resurrection Sunday is the certainty that Jesus has already begun to do so.

Happy Easter!

The Rev. Dr. Tommie L. Watkins, Jr.

Holy Saturday Saturday, April 11, 2020

Old Testament: Job 14:1-14

or Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24

New Testament: 1 Peter 4:1-8

Gospel: Matthew 27:57-66

or John 19:38-42

Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16

Muslim cosmologists described a universe between the zenith, its highest possible point, and its counterpart, the nadir, the lowest possible point in the universe. Today, we relive the lowest point in our remembered history as Christians — the day that our crucified Lord lay dead in a borrowed tomb. 

Today evokes memories of two days when I stood in the tomb of Jesus. Pilgrims to the Holy Land quickly learn to distinguish between the places where events happened and the places where these events have been remembered by pilgrims for ages. 

In the diminishing Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, I stood in a queue of UN soldiers waiting before the towering structure in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher — waiting to stand for a moment in the ancient sepulcher remembered as the tomb of Christ since Constantine. At the bottom of the stairs, illuminated by dozens of candles, a stone slab covered the ancient tomb. 

Years later, with a group of tourists, I went to a garden on a hill outside the walled city. In the late nineteenth century, General Gordon decided that this hill, overlooking the Old City across the central bus terminal, was actually Calvary — Golgotha. An ancient tomb, resembling the description in the Gospels, was named the Garden Tomb. After an unhurried look into the old rock cut tomb, we gathered for a Presbyterian sermon preached in a proper Scotch accent.

More important, in the rhythm of our liturgy, we stand at this nadir every year — now, on this day, in the midst of chaos and conflict. The lesson from Job echoes our darkest anxiety: “A human that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.” In such a world, Job’s only prayer on behalf of humankind is “turn your eyes from us, leave us alone, like a hired laborer, to finish our day in peace.”

However dark our present reality is, as this day moves to sunset and then to the rise of a new day, St. Paul’s words from the epistle for the burial of the dead undergird us for all tomorrows: “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The Rev. Dr. Roy Wells

Good Friday Friday, April 10, 2020

Friday, April 10, 2020 Good Friday

Old Testament: Isaiah 52:13-53:12

New Testament: Hebrews 10:16-25

or Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9

Gospel: John 18:1-19:42

Psalm 22

Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP 221)

Good Friday is not the end of the story. 

We know that Easter is coming bringing resurrection. I wonder if that knowledge doesn’t lead us into the theological trap of thinking that Jesus is only present with us somewhere in the future instead of right now or that we have to endure pain or sorrow or despair alone. Perhaps, the best way to understand the message of this day when Jesus “was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross” is to try to forget that we know Sunday is coming.

Those who witnessed the events of the Passion could only have known despair. As far as they knew, that Friday was the end. Their hope had been nailed to a Roman cross. Uncomfortable as it my be, entering into the grief of Mary the Mother of Our Lord, the Beloved Disciple, Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimathea, and Peter rather than jumping ahead to the joy of the resurrection can teach a valuable lesson. On the worst days we can imagine, during our most painful experiences, Christ draws especially near to suffer with us, to grieve with us, even to angrily pray the Psalms with us crying out as often as necessary, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus has been where we are, and his presence makes all the difference. He sustains us. He helps us to endure. He teaches us to hope even on the worst day. Above all, the presence of the Risen Christ reminds us of the one thing that it may be easiest to forget when all we can see is grief, pain, anger, and despair. 

Good Friday is not the end of the story.  

The Rev. Jeff Evans

Maunday Thursday Thursday, April 9, 2020

Old Testament: Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Gospel: John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Psalm 116:1, 10-17

“Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” John 13:34

In high school, I once missed soccer practice to acolyte on Maundy Thursday. One of my friends thought I was making up some fictitious holy day. As I walked out of school, he protested, “That’s not a real thing! You’re making it up. What’s Monday Thursday?” I remember mumbling some reply about the Last Supper. Today, I’d like a chance to redo my response.

Maundy (not Monday) Thursday comes from the Latin word mandatum. It means commandment, and from that root we get the word “mandate.” On this day, always the Thursday before Easter Sunday, we begin the holiest days of our Christian year (the Triduum or Three Days) by celebrating Jesus’ new commandment for us. What was Christ Jesus’ commandment? “Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”

On Maundy Thursday, we remember Jesus’ words to love one another, but more importantly we recall and rehearse his actions. On this night, the whole Church universal will take part in the embarrassing act of servanthood that is washing one another’s feet — just like Jesus did. What might be the most powerful aspect of Jesus’ action though gets left out of our selected text from John. 

In John 13:30, we read that Judas was at supper with Jesus, received a piece of bread from him, and left to go betray him. This means that Judas was present earlier in the evening during the foot washing. This means that Jesus stooped down and washed Judas’ feet. This means that on top of humbling himself to the place of a servant, Jesus did this for his betrayer. Come to think of it, all of Jesus’ disciples, in the end, deserted him. While Jesus lovingly serving these misfits might shock us, it is overwhelmingly good news! 

Our Lord’s humiliating act of servanthood wasn’t meant simply for ones who persevere. It wasn’t only for the followers who got it right or stuck with it. Instead, Jesus modeled a radical love for us — one that included him loving betrayers, deserters, and enemies. Then on top of that, he commanded us to love everyone in that same way PERIOD. Yes, love your family, friends, and neighbors. But, also love your betrayers and deserters, the cowards and the losers, the unloving and the unloveables. Love EVERYONE! That’s what this day is all about.

It’s the day when we remember Jesus’ love by taking part in the same embarrassing act he did. It’s the day when we see Jesus model what radical, inclusive, self-giving love looks like. It’s the day when Jesus commanded us to love everyone — even our most bitter enemy — in the same way he did, by becoming a servant of one another. Just as Jesus has loved us, we should love one another. By this everyone will know that we are Christ’s followers, if we have love for one another.

The Rev. Seth Olson

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Old Testament: Isaiah 50:4-9a
New Testament: Hebrews 12:1-3
Gospel: John 13:21-32
Psalm 70

“… Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” Hebrews 12:1

A pioneer is someone who goes ahead into unexplored country; this is dangerous business. I don’t have any experience trekking across large swaths of wilderness, but I did grow up playing Oregon Trail in elementary school computer lab and I can tell you many are the perils that beset my digital family. From typhus and smallpox to bears, robbers, and floods it took a stalwart third grader to navigate that game of strategy. In real life, not every pioneering expedition ended up like the Donner Party, but we can bet that they were almost always difficult.
However, the challenges of pioneering life had an impact: when brave pioneers opened new lands others soon felt emboldened enough to follow and make a life for themselves. Jesus is our pioneer; He goes ahead of us — through his sacrifice He goes ahead of us into the future and beyond death. When we are brave enough to follow Him, we find that with every step on our earthly pilgrimage we trust more and more that He is guiding us to the fullness of life. And with each act of trust our imperfect faith is being perfected through Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.


The Rev. Geoff Evans

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Old Testament: Isaiah 49:1-7

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Gospel: John 12:20-36

Psalm 71:1-14

“Consider your own call, brothers and sisters….”  1 Corinthians 1: 26

So, here we are at Tuesday in Holy Week. The church this week focuses much of its energy on the events that once took place in Jerusalem. Jesus was in the holy city. Many of his friends were also there. They were daily visiting the Temple mount. Jerusalem was filling with people coming from all over Israel/Palestine and much of the Mediterranean area. 

The high holy days are again coming soon for both Jews and Christians. And so, in our own faith tradition, it might be the right time for us to pause for a few moments for spiritual reflection on this Holy Tuesday by listening to the words of Paul the Apostle… words spoken long ago to the small Christian house church in Corinth. These are also words to be spoken to the small parish of St. Andrew’s this holy week. So, let us listen to these words for just a few moments.

Paul the Apostle wrote to the church in Corinth… “Consider your own call, brothers and sisters.” Paul went on to say that most of the people would not consider themselves to be wise or powerful or even noble. But, he told the people that God had indeed chosen the foolish and the weak and the despised and the lowly to walk with God. And Paul reminded the small church in Corinth that God was the source of life in Jesus Christ, the very same source for all of our wisdom.

Now, consider your own call… that is something important to think about today. What is your call? What is the call for each and every one of us? Where are we today and how did we get to where we are now? How do we pray and what might we say to the God of Jesus? When do we keep silent so that the God of Jesus can speak to us? These are the questions that we might reflect on today when we think about our own call from God. While each of our calls are different, each of us are equal before the face of God. Each of our calls have come at a different time in our lives, but each call deserves the same value. Each of our calls might be viewed by others in a different manner, but each call carries with it the same worth. Some of us might sit up front and near the altar and seen by all while others sit in the back of the church and noticed by a very few. Did Jesus not tell us that “the first shall be last and the last shall be first.” (Matt. 20:16)

It is all of the calls by God that form the spiritual foundation of the community which we call the parish church. Authentic calls from God never divides the faith community, but rather any authentic call strengthens the entire faith community. This Holy Week is a good time for each of us to think about our own perceived call from the God of Jesus and how we can embrace our call from within the midst of our worshipping community.

God speaks to us all in very different ways but the voice of God is never far from any of us throughout our entire lives. Listen for the call of the God of Jesus that is coming our way. It is a gift not just for you or me, but also for the entire community in which we live our spiritual lives.

“Consider your own call, my brothers and sisters.”   

     

 (Note: The term “God of Jesus” is a term used by Henri Nouwen in his book, Home Tonight, Further Reflections on the Parable of the Prodigal Son.)                

The Rev. Bill King

Monday, April 6, 2020

Old Testament: Isaiah 42:1-9

New Testament: Hebrews 9:11-15

Gospel: John 12:1-11

Psalm 36:5-11

“Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” John 12:7

We are now at the start of a slowly unfolding Holy Week. As a community, and individually, we have gone through five long weeks of Lent. At Ash Wednesday services, Fr. Tommie invited us, using words of our Book of Common Prayer, to “the observance of a holy Lent by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.”

Some of us went through lengthy introspection. Some of us rued our bad habits and recognized downright wrongdoings. Some of us prayed, fasted, and gave up (or took on) foods, drinks, actions, or certain people. Some of us pondered scripture. Some of us did all of this. Some of us did none.

No matter the preparation or lack of it, we are all steadily moving toward the Crucifixion. John’s reading for today tells the story of Jesus’s visit to the home of Lazarus when Judas Iscariot scolds Mary for anointing her master’s feet with an entire pound of pure, expensive perfume. Jesus rebukes him saying, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.”

Jesus’s beating, hanging on the cross, brutal death, and committal: Holy Week has a dark solemness, a deep sadness, an overwhelming heartache to it. Intellectually, we know we will come out through the gloom to a glorious Resurrection. But it doesn’t feel that way now in our hearts or guts.

Startlingly, the other readings for this day are joyful. Isaiah says (like our Stewardship theme), “See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare.” Hebrews 9:14 exhorts, “Christ’s blood [the very blood about to be spilled] will purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God.” And Psalm 36 remind us that God is the well of life, in God’s light we see light, and God’s love reaches to the heavens. Somehow, say these passages, God always wins. Our view of Reality may be limited, but God’s sight is expansive, eternal.

As The Most Rev. Michael Curry said in his 2017 Easter message, “Jesus came to show us there is another way. The way of unselfish, sacrificial love. That’s why he entered Jerusalem. That’s why he went to the cross. It was the power of that love poured out from the throne of God, that even after the horror of the crucifixion would raise him from death to life… That not even the titanic powers of death can stop the love of God. On that Easter morning, he rose from the dead, and proclaimed: love wins.”

Barbara Sloan

Palm Sunday Sunday, April 5, 2020

Old Testament: Isaiah 50:4-9a

New Testament: Philippians 2:5-11

Gospel: Matthew 26:14 - 27:66

or Matthew 27:11-54

Psalm 31:9-16

Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem was a perfect moment of civil disobedience. He entered through the same gate as the victorious generals of the Roman army but instead of a golden chariot with a prancing stallion and marching soldiers he came riding on a donkey led in procession by the poor, the outcast, the unwanted. They cast palm leaves before him because these were available to those who could not buy the flowers that would have lined the path of the Roman leaders. Jesus came as a “man of the people”…. no power to wield… no social status to demand attention. He was the Son of God but his glory was not revealed in power rather in humility and love. He tried to remind the people of God’s desire to be with them… intimately, compassionately, immediately accessible. Immanuel… God with us. 

In that moment of Jesus’s grand entry into the City, he embodied all of the desperate hope of those who followed him. They had waited for generations for God’s chosen Deliverer to come and here he was… the means of their liberation from years of oppression. The people projected on Jesus all of their expectations for a militant Messiah who would lead their revolution. The spectacle of this charismatic man welcomed by cheering crowds of those who existed at the fringes of society… the bottom rungs of the social ladder must have caused terror to rise in the hearts and minds of those in power, both the religious and political leaders.  

But the structures of authoritarian society can be indomitable, held in place by the power of the oppressors and the accepted powerlessness of the oppressed. In a brief moment the shouts of joyful “Hosanna” became angry, cries of “Crucify him.” This Messiah was just another in a long line of disappointments. He did not rally the people to strike against the powerful. Rather he spoke of his own death… of sacrifice…. of the true cost of love. He spoke of peace to a people who craved violence. He spoke of forgiveness to a people who wanted vengeance. God had come among them but he was not as they expected him to be, so they rejected his message of hope and transformation. 

We live in a time of social chaos… an age of political and religious polarization…. of disinformation and a narcissistic obsession with being famous. Jesus’s lessons of humility… of self-sacrifice…. of unconditional love are either unappreciated or perverted into a false religion where wealth and power are considered evidence of God’s approval. We still attempt to create a Messiah in our own image… We want the emotional high of that grand parade but turn away from the suffering servant as he makes his way to Golgotha.

My prayer is that as the Church gathers together to remember this day… as we wave our palms and sing our hymns of praise… that with eyes and hearts wide open, we truly perceive the man who leads us…. in all of his humility… his sacrifice… his love. And that we have the faith and the strength to continue to follow him… even when the crowds have dispersed and the shouting has ceased … and we stand on a lonely hill in the shadow of a Cross.

The Rev. Robyn Arnold

Saturday, April 4, 2020

Old Testament: Ezekiel 37:21–28

Gospel: John 11:45–53

Psalm 85:1–7

“I will make them one.” Ezekiel 37:22

Since Christmas I have sung my child to sleep with the sweet Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” I do not know all 7 verses, so I take my lyrical liberties with faith that the Creator of all allows some creative work on my end. Of all the verses though, it is the 7th that touches my heart every time: 

O come, O king of nations, bind 

in one the hearts of all mankind.

Bid all our sad divisions cease

and be yourself our King of Peace. 

It seems odd leading up to Holy Week that our reading from Ezekiel would harken back to lyrics from this classic Advent hymn. Ezekiel’s prophecy involves gathering a divided people into one as God saves them “from all the apostasies into which they have fallen, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” 

It feels difficult to hold this encouraging and reassuring text next to today’s Gospel reading where Caiaphas calls for the killing of Jesus almost flippantly. Who is helping to “bid all our sad divisions cease” and where has the “King of Peace” gone? Following the bright high of Jesus raising his dear friend, Lazarus from the dead (right before today’s text), the Gospel has taken a dark and fearful dip. What now?

As we walk into Holy Week, may we intentionally enter together, laying down our sad divisions, remembering our hearts are tightly knit together in God, our King of Peace.

Kimberly Meuth Olson

Friday, April 03, 2020

Old Testament: Jeremiah 20:7–13

Gospel: John 10:31–42

Psalm 18:1–7

The gospel for today delves straight into the fire of what it means to inhabit (and be inhabited by) God. Jesus tells the men with stones to “believe the works” even if they cannot believe in their divinity. He is making a case for wonder and awe as a vehicle into faith. 

For how can we believe miracles without being enticed by the miraculous? How can we speak of Christ without tumbling into poetry?

Undevastated Sanctus

with Simone Weil

Because winter arrives. 

Advent’s parched undertow

humbles herself, mid-throat. 

Table set for a fist of white iris. 

If liberty is this ability 

to choose, I lack formal instruction. 

Hobbled by swollen tonsils, I watch 

the season’s intimate malefice reorder the room. 

Ignore the song for the sight 

of mother wren assembling a nest 

without socialization: 

I don’t know how we know. 

Or whether. 

Success: too frail 

a construct for the weight of life 

breaking open. 

A beak’s silence shawls me. 

We stake so much on what 

seems natural.

And who can believe

a black bear gives birth 

to live cubs without 

waking from sleep?

Alina Stefanescu Coryell

Thursday, April 2, 2020

Old Testament: Genesis 17:1-8

Gospel: John 8: 51-59

Psalm 105

“...The fact is, before Abraham was born, I AM.”  John 8:58

I AM who I am, with no beginning and no end. It is I (God). I AM that I am (God). I AM is God, the Great I AM.

I AM is a subject and a verb. A linking verb, it links “I am” to (fill in the blank).

I am that I am. I am who I am. I am God. So who are we, you and I? We should recognize who we are at our beginning and our end with the great I AM.

We are chosen. We are God’s children. We are loved. We are forgiven. We are born of the great I AM. We are given much, and all he asks is that we obey his commandments.

I will give you this land forever, and I will be your God. Genesis 17:8.

How is it possible to obey his commandments when life is so very hard? It is possible because we were born of the great I AM. We need only? to

Depend on the Lord for strength (and to) always go to him for help.  Psalm 105:4.

He is ours at our beginning and our end. He is I AM.

Faye Knopf

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Old Testament: Daniel 3:14–20, 24–28

Gospel: John 8:31–42

Canticle [2] or 13

“Nebuchadnezzar said to them, ‘Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods and you do not worship the golden statue that I have set up?’” Daniel 3:14 

I’m compelled to begin this meditation with an account of how my cousins’ dog came to be named Nebs. The name Nebs came from a character in today’s reading, King Nebuchadnezzar. My cousins, aunt, and uncle weren’t regular churchgoers. They lived out in the country, but somehow came to know this Old Testament story and were impressed by the King’s name. My aunt Martha is the likeliest candidate for the name choice. 

After I had read the passage a few times, I began to be impressed with The King as well. From what we know, he had total power in the land, and with considerable ego had ordered a gigantic gold statue to be made which would serve the need for pagan worship. So then this statue was placed in the plain of Dura in Babylon and King Nebs ordered his subjects to worship said statue, or else. I believe the statue was his alter-ego, and for the King, served his need for a sense of permanent adoration from his subjects. 

Enter Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Jews who held positions of authority in Babylon and would be held to obedience of the order to bow before the gold statue. In fact, the king told them if they did not worship his likeness, they would be thrown into the fiery furnace. Word gets back to the King that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego aren’t doing as ordered, and King Nebs has them brought in so he can make sure these valued fellows understand that the order applies to them, same as all the others. 

Well, you might know how this plays out: they refuse to follow the King’s order, are thrown into the furnace, heated seven times greater than is customary, and yet, are spared a burning death, protected by Yaweh. 

Here is the point that I am impressed with concerning the king. Humans with authoritarian inclination and powers do not appreciate being subjected to another power, especially one greater than their own. When King Nebs is faced with the disobedience of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and is shown the saving power of Yaweh, he finds it possible to change his mind. What an amazing act of self-awareness this is! He saw the events that had transpired before his eyes, and accepted the reality that what he had come to believe about himself was not the final truth. He made room in his reality for something outside himself that he didn’t fully understand.

    I pray that, during Lent and ever after, we all may grow in self-awareness, becoming more conscious, leading us to greater compassion and peace. 

Roger Conville