March 17, 2024

Lent 5: Justice and Peace and Dignity

 In Lent we are looking at the many ways the Baptismal Covenant calls us to serve Christ in each other. Fellowship, prayer, repentance, evangelism, and service are all ways to show and share the love of God. Jesus told his disciples, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

The final question in the Baptismal Covenant asks, “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?” Striving is a word that we don’t hear much now. In fact, it often has the negative connotation of causing fights. The root of the word is from the French estriver and estri, meaning to quarrel. However, it also means endeavor or try really hard.

We are called to work for justice and peace. Sometimes that can seem like an overwhelming task. There seems to be so much injustice and violence in the world. Certainly, we are confronted by it daily in the news and social media. We know about the least little disturbing event in the farthest corner of the world almost immediately. Probably there aren’t more awful things happening than years and centuries ago, we just know about all of them. And we are bombarded by the various ‘spins’ that politicians and social media impose in an attempt to influence our minds. We have to be careful what we believe and who we follow.

When we are rooted in the promises of the Baptismal Covenant, we have a roadmap for Who to trust and how to respond and act. O Zion Haste (#539 in the Episcopal Hymnal) gathers much of the Baptismal Covenant into beautiful word. As the hymn suggests, when we are engaged in our mission of sharing the story of peace, redemption, release, and love we are in fact our “mission high fulfilling.” 

O [Christians], haste, your mission high fulfilling,
to tell to all the world that God is light,
that he who made all nations is not willing
one soul should perish
, lost in shades of night.

The hymn ends with the stanza that calls us to Proclaim to ev'ry people, tongue, and nation/ that God, in whom they live and move, is love;/ tell how he stooped to save his lost creation/ and died on earth that they might live above. The refrain tells us how to do this proclaiming Publish glad tidings, tidings of peace,/ tidings of Jesus, redemption and release. We are to tell the Good News of God’s hope and love even, and especially, in the face of injustice, war, and dehumanization.

You can hear the words on YouTube, along with some lovely images:

The Christian church has not always done a good job of proclaiming glad tidings without driving rough-shod over those we are sharing the Good News with. Much evil has been done in the name of religion and continues to be done. We can repent that history and strive (that word again) to do better in our lives and work.

In the Gospel this Sunday (John 12:20-33) we hear of some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” These Gentile (non-Jews) want to know more about Jesus, just like much of our hurting world does. Jesus responds that the disciples must lose their life in order to live fully dedicated lives. He says, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Too often we don’t want to lose our life—to give up control of the result—in our work for and in God’s Beloved Community. We forget we are seeds being planted and may never see the fruit. The seed is changed and dies so that a new crop can sprout. It’s human to want to make the outcome the one we want, even in our work for justice and peace. However, not everyone has the same definition of justice or even of peace. My way may not be the best way to accomplish a birth of justice or peace. I may think I am respecting someone’s dignity, but due to cultural differences, I may accidentally be insulting them. All we do must be done in and for Love, nor for recognition or gain.

As Philip does in the Gospel, all we need to do is introduce people to the true loving God who, as we heard last week “so loved the world” that Jesus became incarnate and lived a human life. Next week is Palm Sunday, then Holy Week, when we hear of the triumph and tragedy of Jesus’ final days on earth. He kept love as the hallmark. We would do well to do the same.

Where am I being asked to die to control so that something new might be able to sprout?

How might I live so that God’s love is seen in my life as an invitation to see Jesus?

March 10, 2024

Lent 4: Serve Christ in All

Jesus told his disciples, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

As we continue looking at the Baptismal Covenant in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer as a way through Lent, we are asked a difficult question. “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?” How we respond is the way the world knows that we are followers of the One who said “love one another.”

It is a hard question and a difficult command to live into. The good news is that Jesus has paved the way. The Gospel this week states, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)

God—Creator of all that is, LOVED the world—each and every bit and person, so much that God became Human! God became Incarnate (in-flesh) so that the world might be [reconciled to God] through him. That’s both shocking and wonderful. How can the Originator of star dust and microbes and leviathans and humans DESIRE relationship so much that Creator becomes Creature? Hundred of pages of theology has been written about the hows and whys. But at the core is God so loved the world!


The fish in the sea is loved. The star in the sky is loved. The tiniest microbe is loved. I am loved. You are loved. The stranger on the corner is loved. The bomber is loved.

The Baptismal Covenant says we are to ‘seek Christ in all persons.’ Each of us loved by God. It should be easy to find Christ in and Love everyone. However, the truth is not everyone presents as lovable. It’s easy to love a baby or a sweet grandmother. It’s not so easy to love the grumpy clerk or the person that disagrees with your core beliefs. It’s even more difficult to love a school shooter or abuser.

As we saw last week, ‘love’ is not the soft, fuzzy valentine heart feeling. It is action that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (I Cor. 13:7) We chose to love, even when it is nearly impossible to do so. We make the choice to say, ‘you are God’s beloved, even if you are not a nice person.’ We chose to allow others their opinions and beliefs even if we cannot understand their point of view.

It's a personal struggle, for me, to love and accept and see each other as God’s equally loved child. (Often it’s hard to see myself as loved or lovable, too.) That’s why the reminder in the Baptismal Covenant is so important. “Seeking and serving Christ in All and loving neighbor as self”—not easy, but vital to creating God’s Beloved Community where all creation is accepted and valued and not harmed in any way. And that may require some giving up of ‘my way.’ It will require conscious effort.

In what way can I seek Christ in someone I may disagree with?

When can I choose love over division?

March 3, 2024

Lent 3: Proclaim Good News

 This Lent we are looking at the Baptismal Covenant in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer to see how we can more fully live as Followers of Christ and the love of God. We’ve seen that fellowship is helpful and that we often need to repent and change our life’s direction. Jesus told his disciples, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

The third question asked of everyone present at a baptism is: “Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?” Some would insist that means we have to go around waving John 3:16 banners or forcing everyone to believe in exactly the way we do. It’s far to easy to think that proclaiming the Good News means ‘my faith is the only right one and if you don’t believe like me, you are wrong and maybe even damned.’

What if we expanded our understanding of the Good News to be more inclusive and loving? Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church is fond of saying, “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God.”

Love is complex, as 1 Corinthians 13 notes, “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal…Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Cor. 13:1-7)

The desire to proclaim Good News in grand ways is very human. We want to be noticed and affirmed. However, St. Paul’s letter reminds us that love is both simpler and harder than signs and wonders. He says, now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor. 13:13)

Proclaiming the Good News in Love is complex. Sometimes, proclaiming the Good News involves standing up to authority, or standing with the disenfranchised. The Gospel this week tells of Jesus casting out the merchants in the Temple. Angrily, he stormed, take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace! (John 2:16)

More often, sharing “by word and example” is found in encouragement or helpfulness or compassion. Maybe it’s sharing an uplifting image or quote on social media or joining in a celebration. It could be a smile or hug or note for someone who is sad or hurting or lonely. Perhaps it’s recognizing the unsung accomplishments of a neighbor.

What first comes to mind when you hear “Proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ”?

How might you share the Good News of God’s love this week?

Who needs to hear of God’s love?

February 25, 2024

Lent 2: Resist and Repent

 The Baptismal Covenant in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer offers a road map for living a Christian life as we try to serve Christ in each other and share the love of God. Jesus told his disciples, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

Last week we looked at the first of the promises or vows we make at our baptism. If we are really young our godparents make these responses for us. Older children and adults make their own vows. We (the congregation and family) hear them and respond every time there is a baptism. We promise to remain in the “apostles teaching and fellowship, and the prayers.”

The next question might, and should, bring you up short. “Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?”

Last Sunday we heard the story of Jesus’ baptism and temptation in the wilderness. Perhaps you were reminded that we are all tempted by power and prestige and applause. These can be subtle ways that we slip into sin. This Sunday we hear that Jesus’ followers must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me…[because] what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? (Mark 8:31-38) Like Jesus in the wilderness, we are to refuse the temptations to be like everyone else or to be in control or to know it all or to have the most or… whatever it is for you.

That’s not easy in a culture that prizes ‘winning’ and ‘having the most toys’ above nearly everything else. And so, we return to our baptismal vow to resist evil. When we fail, and sin, then we are to repent and return to the Lord.

Repentance means a turning around to a new way of life. It’s turning away from whatever pulled us away from God’s love. What is that for you? It might be snarky responses on Facebook that are hurtful. It could be refusing to share what we have. It looks different for each of us. Maybe it’s being unkind to our family or ignoring a need right in front of us.

Once you have identified the evil or sin you want to repent of and turn from, then the hard work of making that happen, begins. Jesus point to the paradox of living into the Good News. It is in what seems like loss that we gain. It is in the loss of our insistence on ‘my way’ that we draw closer to God and God’s way of love.

In this season of Lent, the image of the cross is in the forefront because we know that what Jesus says in the beginning of the Sunday Gospel is true. The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. It is our call to accept our own cross of giving up our life for the Gospel.

What is the temptation to evil (sin) in my life?

How can I resist evil and truly repent.

In what way am I taking up my cross?

February 18, 2024

Lent 1: Fellowship

 This Lent, I invite you to walk with me through the Baptismal Covenant of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, as one way to live into John 13. Jesus told his disciples, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35) The Baptismal Covenant is our promise to live into that love for one another.

In the service, all present are invited to respond to a series of questions that outline the way to live as Christians in the world. After each question everyone responds, “I will with God’s help.” We vow to be true to our calling, recognizing we cannot do it without God.

The first question asks, “Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers?”

John Wesley is credited with coining the phrase “There is no such thing as a solitary Christian.” The first question in our baptismal covenant reminds us of that truth. We are called to remain in fellowship with one another. That is done, in part, through the sharing in the Eucharist and praying together. It also happens when we gather to study scripture (apostle’s teaching) or to share a potluck or just have a conversation with a fellow traveler.

Western Christians can believe the cultural idea of individualism that says, ‘I can do faith on my own’ or it's all about 'personal salvation. Jesus didn’t call us to be isolated or individual Christians. Jesus invited his first followers, and us, into a community—a family, to use St. Paul’s analogy.

St. John echoes this truth by saying, See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (I John 3:1-2)

For me, this image is a reminder that God stoops low and kisses us on the forehead. We are blessed and beloved—each and every one of us. Our baptismal covenant and life as a child of God means we are gifted to offer that grace, however incompletely, to others.

The Jon Byron song from the 1970’s says, “We are the family of God. He has brought us together to be one in him, that we might bring light to the world…Bigger and better is my love, that I’ve bestowed upon you. And now it’s for each one to share of, that all things might now become new.”

As children of God, integral parts of the family, we join together in prayer and fellowship and learning so that we can effectively be a little light in the world.

How can I remember this Lent that I am a child of God?

What can I do in Lent to build up the community I’m part of?

What can I do in Lent to share grace and blessing, ‘that all things might now become new’?

February 13, 2024

Ash Wednesday

 Throughout the season of Epiphany we’ve looked at what the 1895 book by Henry Van Dyke can teach us about living in the 21st Century. The Other Wise Man in his search for the Christ child, the King of the Jews, has many trials and adventures. Artaban sets out from Persia to greet an infant and ends up in Jerusalem in time to hear of a crucifixion. The thirty plus years of travel have aged him and his life-long work of caring for the poorest and least and ill has left him feeling that it was a life wasted. He thinks he has missed the chance to worship the King because he used his gifts of precious gems for other purposes. At the end of his life, Artaban discovers that the way he has lived his life and spent the wealth was service to God.

We are entering the season of Lent. Ash Wednesday is this week. Lent is a season of the church calendar where we look at our spiritual health. We ask ourselves if there are behaviors we need to repent, attitudes we need to change, actions we should stop or start, or spiritual practices we may want to engage in.

Between Ash Wednesday and Easter there are 40 days in which to try out new ways of living and worshipping, whether it’s adding a daily prayer habit or reading a new devotional. Some people give up chocolate or meat or Facebook as a way of reminding themselves that this is a special time of introspection. When we don’t log in to social media or forgo the burger, we are reminded that we are trying to focus more on God’s way of life and God’s love for us and all creation.

Toward the end of his book, Van Dyke asks, “is not love the light of the soul?” The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church is fond of saying “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God.” Artaban learned that his life-long actions of compassion and healing were ways of sharing that love and worshipping the One he sought.

It’s easy to think we have to do something grand to serve God. We are encouraged by culture to ‘make a splash’ and outdo each other. What if instead we tried to support each other in our hesitant and hopeful faith journeys? What if we had compassion on the ‘least of these’ and offered a smile or a bottle of water or a compliment instead of looking the other way? What if we sought to encourage someone who is sad or sick? What if we found less reason to argue and more points of agreement? What if we were less competitive toward one another?

All these are ways to serve Christ in each other. All these are ways to show and share the love of God. Jesus told his disciples, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)


Artaban learned that it was in the spending of his wealth, and his life, that he found the King. He learned to love God in each person he helped.

How will you share God’s love this Lent? Is there something you can take on, or give up, to make it easier to love your neighbor or love yourself?

February 4, 2024

Epiphany with Artaban: Pearl of Great Price

We are coming to the end of our Epiphany journey with Artaban, the wise man whose story is told by Henry Van Dyke. Artaban missed his meeting with his fellow magi because he paused to help a dying Hebrew outsideof Babylon. Even though he went straight to Bethlehem on the advice of man he saved, he missed the Holy Family. He was able to save a child from Herod’s soldiers by bribing the captain with the ruby meant for the Prince.

He spends the rest of his life in a seemingly fruitless search for the Child, now a Man. In the final chapter of the short book, we meet him after 33 years. “Worn and weary and ready to die, but still looking for the King, he had come for the last time to Jerusalem.” He learns from someone in the crowd that they are going to Golgotha to witness the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth who Pilate sentenced because he claimed to be “King of the Jews.” Artaban wonders, “It may be that I shall find the King…and come in time to offer my pearl for His ransom…” Instead, he is confronted by another dilemma as a young Parthian girl pleads for him to save her from slavery.

Van Dyke asks, “Was this his great opportunity, or his last temptation…it was inevitable…does not the inevitable come from God?...and is not love the light of the soul?” He gives the final gem, the pearl, to the girl as her ransom.

As an earthquake shakes Jerusalem, Artaban and the girl huddle together. Artaban comes to the realization the “he knew all was well, because he had done the best that he could, from day to day.” A tile from the roof strikes him, and as he dies, he hears his King, “Verily I say unto thee, Inasmuch as thou hast done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, thou has done it unto me.”

In a sermon for the coming Sunday, the Rt. Rev. Frank Logue, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia focuses on the first part of the Gospel for Sunday (Mark 1:29-31). As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 

Bishop Logue notes that it can seem off-putting that as soon as she is healed, Simon’s mother-in-law begins to ‘serve them.’ However, he points out the word translated ‘serve’ is diakonos the root of the word deacon.

Logue states, “Her service was not a one-time, over-and-done-with action…the meaning of her actions was transformed by Jesus’ healing touch. She did not serve and minister to them because of some duty. She served out of love. Simon’s mother-in-law became as much a follower of Jesus as any of his disciples…Mark describes her using language that makes her the first deacon in Christianity. She was the first person to have their ordinary diakonos, or service of others, transformed into servant ministry.”

Artaban’s life was filled with that servant ministry, that way of diakonos. Like Artaban we can only respond to the opportunity in front of us. We can respond with the Love of God, as Artaban did when he gave spent the sapphire to further his journey, used the ruby to save a child, and rescued the Parthian girl with the pearl. Throughout his quest, he cared for many in large and small ways. For that he heard Jesus say, “you have done it as to me.” His servant ministry, his diakonos is ours as well--to serve in the name of love.

Van Dyke asks, “is not love the light of the soul?” What is your response?

The film A Case for Love, mentioned last week highlighted many small ways that ordinary people are shining the light of love. In what way do you shine that light?

As we move closer to Ash Wednesday (February 14) and Lent you may want to consider what diakonos opportunity you will find in that season.

Lent 5: Justice and Peace and Dignity

  In Lent we are looking at the many ways the Baptismal Covenant calls us to serve Christ in each other. Fellowship, prayer, repentance, eva...