A Devout Episcopalian?

A Devout Episcopalian?

Obviously, I have a blog and a website. I don't "Tweet" very much and occasionally folks contact me on Linked In. My middle son uses Instagram; he has an amazing eye for photography. But Facebook; ah, now that's my preferred social medium by a long shot. I have over 1000 "friends" there, many from congregations past and present, those who follow my sermons, social commentary, and poetry and so on. I've developed quite a following, many of whom happen to be Episcopalians.

One of my friends on Facebook refers to himself as a "devout" Episcopalian. I confess, that the first time I saw those two words placed together I was a bit taken aback especially after all we've been throuogh as a denomination. Devout Episcopalian? It almost sounds like a contradiction in terms.

Look what we've been through

1. Civil Rights struggles. I remember when John Burgess was elected black bishop in the Episcopal Church right here in the Diocese of Massachusetts. Some of my white colleagues were somewhat uncharitable in their comments at the time even here in "liberal" Massachusetts.
2. Vietnam and war and peace. Every time we go to war, and there have been many, we divide ourselves between those who favor military intervention and those who oppose it.
3. Litugical renewal. The revision of the Book of Common Prayer took a considerable toll on us. And as we continue around the Anglican world to innovate and create liturgical life to reflect local customs and settings. Such revisions always play to mixed reviews. 
4. The ordination of women was a controversy for many and still is. Especially in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. We lost some members and even some congregations over that one. The decision to eliminate gender as an automatic disqualifier to ordination has strained relationships in the throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion.
5. And then of course, the Consecration of Gene Robinson, the ordination of LGBTQ folks, and the question of Marriage Equality continues to raise lots of questions as to who will contine with us or against us. We've lost a few dioceses in the American Church and our place in the Anglican Communion has been called into question. Interestingly enough, the pope welcomed a dozen of our bishops to Rome; some women, some men, some black, some white and even one who happens to be in a life long same sex relationship.
6. Conflict in two of our major seminaries and some rather scandalous behavior in some in our schools, among some bishops, clergy, and laity all strains our community relationships.

None of us have been left unscathed in all this or so it seems, and yet life somehow goes on. As I've often said, the surest proof that there is a God is that there is anything left of the church after all we've done to it.

In the midst of all this controversy and bruhaha over one issue or another it is refreshing to see that there are people who are willing to call themselves "devout Episcopalians".

If ever there were a time when the church needed "devout Episcopalians" it is now. We need to see beyond the issues that divide us and remember that what we've actually done is to forge a bond of deep affection, like feuding brothers and sisters do over a lifetime. We may fight like cats and dogs within the family, but God help you if you attack the family. That's when we stand together as one.

We stand together on the Gospel. "The Son of Man came into this world to serve not to be served". Exactly! We are here to serve those in need. This is how we are to organize our life as a church, around human need. I mean the poor, the homeless, the outcast, the sick, the dying. I mean everyone. There are no exceptions to God's extensive, comprehensive and inclusive love. When Isaiah said "My house shall be a House of Prayer for all people", he meant "ALL PEOPLE". 

What we are putting to the test in all our controversies, I believe is whether we really mean that. After all, this is the verse Jesus used when driving out the money changers from the Temple precincts "My house shall be a house of prayer for all people," weilding a whip of chords, "but you have made it a den of robbers". 

Over the great west doors of the National Cathedral these words are written in stone. This church is dedicated to the universal notion that God made this whole world and all that is in it. It is in short "A House of Prayer for all people".

I cannot help but think of the magnificent words from the Book of Job before us today. Job and his friends have gone on and on throughout the first 37 chapters of this portion of the Biblical Narrative legitimately and sincerely exploring the  universal mystery of suffering. And then comes God's universal answer;

"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell me, if you have understanding.

Who determined its measurements-- surely you know!

Who has put wisdom in the inward parts,

or given understanding to the mind?

Who has the wisdom to number the clouds?

Good questions, don't you think?

To me its all of a piece. All of our controversies over a lifetime. In all our inclusion/exclusion exercises that are part of any comunity's dynamic. Who's in? Who's out? Who's included? Who's excluded? By what race, ethnicity, class, gender or sexual orientation do we classify folks loved by God and those not? Thankfully, in this one tiny corner of the world of faith there are no more pidgeon holes. True the growing denominations are those who will exclude some based on a few verses out of Leviticus or a misreading of some Pauline theology. But not no, not here. Not in this church. 

In the Episcopal Church we believe that as God is one so all God's people are one. What passes for Christianity in many quarters simply does not square with who I know God or people to be. 

I cannot help but think of the wisecrack Tallulah Bankhead made once about the church. She was considered by many to be an agnostic, and certainly much of her personal life was less than exemplary. As she once quipped; "I'm as pure as the driven slush!" Still she loved to go to the Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin on Broadway in New York. "Smokey Mary's" it is called becaue of its pageantry, elaborate ritual, and generous use of incense. Some of the theatre you will see there is as good as any as you will see in that part of Manhattan. A reporter spied her coming out of church one day and is reputed to have asked her if she was a "Christian." She fired back as only Tallulah Bankhead could; "Heavens no darling, I'm not a Christian, I'm an Episcopalian."

Eileen Kitteridge and I have been visiting recently as she approaches the throne of heaven. We spoke yesterday of what it means to be a "devout" Episcopalian. She and I both have loved ones who happen to be gay, and neither one of us understands what difference that makes in God's great plan of salvation to tell you the truth. Some of the most loving people we know happen to bee "that way". So what? The only thing that matters to her right now, she says to me with a smile on her face is whether there will be a thrift shop in heaven where she can continue her work pricing items for sale. I assured her that as a mustard seed is all we can see in this life compared to the reality of what is in store for us in the next, the heavenly thrift shop will likewise exceed her wildest expectations. Her face radiated pure joy as she thought of it.

She said to me on one of our visits recently, "Oh I must not forget to tell my son to send my envelopes in to the church. After all, the church expenses go on. We must do what we can do for as long as we can do it." This too is what it means to be a "devout" Episcopalian. 

You see, what matters is the Resurrection of Jesus. What matters is the forgiveness of sins. What matters is whether we will love one another as God loves us, unconditionally and to the end and beyond. These are the things that matter. All of the issues we've fussed about throughout our lives pale in comparison to the Gospel. 

The disciples wanted Jesus to do for them whatever it was they asked him to do. Jesus reminded them that is not for him to grant. It is like many I've known, myself included when staring into the face of life's many mysteries especially our share in  the suffering of Job or the suffering of Jesus. We think that we will be the ones to ask questions of God.

In the 38th Chapter of Job, God settles things in a whole hurruy up. These ringing words set the record straight. 

"Then God answered Job out of the whirlwind; Who is this who darkens counsel without knowledge? Gird up your loins and stand up like a man. I'm the one who asks the questions; and you are the one who will give the answers. (paraphrase)."

Our visits are pleasant ones;; the visits I've had with Eileen and Louise. God blesses you for all your visits. You bring the sacrament of love and joy to those who are in the midst of long and difficult days. Thank God for you all.

As we concluded our visit Friday afternoon, Eileen asked for a prayer and a blessing. Then she lifted her hand and pointed toward me. Remember "devout" Episcopalian. 

The Catechism teaches us now what it has always taught us; "To work, and pray and give for the spread of the Kingdom of Heaven."

The idea of praying for "all sorts and conditions" of human folk is no innovation. It is as old as the Prayer Book itself, in fact the idea, comes down to us in the Prayer Book Heritage from the Great Litany written over 600 years ago in 1535.

In my ministry and my lifetime, let me tell you I've met all sorts and conditions of humankind and sometimes it takes some doing to love them all. But that is the moral mandate we are under. For the One who stands over us continues to stretch out his loving arms on the hard wood of the cross so that all may come within the reach of his saving embrace.

And now may the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen.

Fr Paul.

Living Up to Jesus' Moral Absolutes!

Living Up to Jesus' Moral Absolutes

How is it possible to live up to Jesus's standards, especially after reading today's Gospel?

It is fascinating to note that those who follow the founder of our faith often use passages such as this as yet another opportunity to judge others and not as an opportunity to proclaim forgiveness.

The Pharisees were just trying to catch Jesus up in his own words, as was their custom. And instead of asking about Jesus’ teaching on marriage they asked him about his teaching on divorce.

The ensuing dialogue sets the stage for Jesus’ proclamation of one of the Bible’s clearest ethical absolutes; “If you promise to love someone, then, by God, keep that promise. If you don’t, there’s no way around it, you commit adultery!”

Many have been hurt by this kind of ethical absolutism, but there it is in black and white. My mother was turned away from the church in 1956 some years before the canon on marriage was changed to allow for remarriage in the Episcopal Church.

Still, if we know the biblical record, we can press a little deeper. When we come to a parallel passage in Matthew (Chapter 19), we see there that the Pharisees are still pressing Jesus on the issue of divorce. Again he proclaims his ethical absolute, but leaves a little bit of wiggle room and creates an exception in the case of unchastity. So here then you can divorce a woman in case she commits adultery. No mention of equal treatment for men, mind you! Matthew was written about 20-30 years later than Mark, so some editor may have felt it expedient to ascribe some flexibility to Jesus’ teaching on marriage and divorce. We even hear Jesus tread into the very dangerous territory of gay marriage. in this chapter. It is no wonder he ended up crucified!

But consider this; Jesus’ ethic on marriage seems to be absolute, except in two rather outstanding cases.

The first and all time winner in the exception department is the story of the woman caught in the very act of adultery. (John 8:1-8) Here the elders of the Temple haul this poor woman right up to Jesus and cite the Law of Moses in the manner of Pharisees and Biblical literalists.

“The Law requires that such a woman is to be stoned to death.” Correct! That’s what the Law says. In fact, whether it is Mosaic Law in Judaism, Sharia Law in Islam, or The Biblical Law for fundamentalist Christians, all the literalists insist on a letter of the law approach when it comes to judging somebody else’s ethical behavior!

But Jesus was not so fast to judge, you may remember. Jesus knew a set up when he saw one. Here they were, bringing the woman before Jesus who had been caught in the very act of adultery. So if they brought her up to him, why hadn’t they brought the man? After all the Mosaic Law requires both to be stoned to death.

Then Jesus did an interesting thing. He wrote something in the sand. We have no way of knowing what it was he wrote. But given the situation, I wonder if he had written the name of the fellow who had done the deed with her. God knows he was Jesus, God knows the secrets of all human hearts and obviously knows what we’ve been up to behind closed doors, so I suspect he knew who it was.

So then he said; “Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone.” He continued to write in the sand, and one by one, beginning with the elders of the congregation, they went away.

Do you think that those who set up the whole scene may have been involved in that act of adultery? Given the nature of hypocrisy, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if any number of the Temple elders and authorities had been involved in the very activity.

The other exception involves the Samaritan woman at the well. (John 4) Jesus asks her to bring him a drink of water and then there follows a marvelous discourse on the “Living Water” that Jesus can provide to the sinner. It is the kind of water that wells up from within to bring abundant forgiveness and abundant love.

Then he asks her to bring her husband to meet him. And she allows as how she has no husband. To which Jesus replies that indeed she speaks the truth because she has had five husbands and the one she has now is not her husband. Immediately, she gets it. This fellow is a prophet because he knows all her secrets and still he offers her God’s forgiveness and God’s love.

When the disciples come back they are astonished to see that he is talking to such a woman as this. 

It is astonishing to meet Jesus in the Gospels. His ethical standards are absolute. But so is his compassion, his forgiveness, and his love; they too are all moral and ethical absolutes.

How wonderful is Jesus. 

How wonderful is God.

This is the Gospel. God’s absolutes!

On Thursday of this week we blessed the animals at the Villa. Seniors and children brought their cats, and dogs, and stuffed animals for a blessing. In honor of Blessed Francis of Assisi, he who taught us so much about the love of God's creation and God's animals. It made me think of the story of St. Francis and Brother Leo. After all, we are asking the question; "how it can be possible to live up to Jesus standards?"

Saint Francis and Brother Leo

One day Saint Francis and brother Leo were walking down the road. Noticing Leo was depressed, Francis turned and asked, “Leo, do you know what it means to be pure of heart?”

“Of course. It means to have no sins, faults or weaknesses to reproach myself for.”

“Ah,” said Francis, “now I understand why you're sad. We will always have something to reproach ourselves for.”

“Right,” said Leo. “That's why I despair of ever arriving at purity of heart.”

“Leo, listen carefully to me. Don't be so preoccupied with the purity of your heart. Turn and look at Jesus. Admire Him. Rejoice that He is what He is—your Brother, your Friend, your Lord and Savior. That, little brother, is what it means to be pure of heart. And once you've turned to Jesus, don't turn back and look at yourself. Don't wonder where you stand with Him.”

“The sadness of not being perfect, the discovery that you really are sinful, is a feeling much too human, even borders on idolatry. Focus your vision outside yourself, on the beauty, graciousness and compassion of Jesus Christ. The pure of heart praise Him from sunrise to sundown.”

“Even when they feel broken, feeble, distracted, insecure and uncertain, they are able to release it into His peace. A heart like that is stripped and of self and filled with the fullness of God. It is enough that Jesus is Lord.”

After a long pause, Leo said, “Still, Francis, the Lord demands our effort and fidelity.”

"No doubt about that,” replied Francis. “But holiness is not a personal achievement. It's an emptiness you discover in yourself. Instead of resenting it, you accept it and it becomes the free space where the Lord can create anew. To cry out, ‘You alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord,' that is what it means to be pure of heart. And it doesn't come by your Herculean efforts and threadbare resolutions.”

“Then how?” asked Leo.

“Simply hoard nothing of yourself; sweep the house clean. Sweep out even the attic, even the nagging, painful consciousness of your past. Accept being shipwrecked. Renounce everything that is heavy, even the weight of your sins. See only the compassion, the infinite patience and the tender love of Christ. Jesus is Lord. That suffices. Your guilt and reproach disappear into the nothingness of non-attention. You are no longer aware of yourself, like the sparrow aloft and free in the azure sky. Even the desire for holiness is transformed into a pure and simple desire for Jesus.”

Leo listened gravely as he walked along beside Francis. Step by step he felt his heart grow lighter as a profound peace flooded his soul (Brennan Manning, pages 209-211).

And this my friends is how we live up to Jesus standards!

May your heart grow lighter and may God's profound peace fill your soul!

Fr. Paul

A Welcoming Heart!

(Note: We did an Every Door Direct Mailing last week and the response was, as you might say, underwhelming! Still we did have a few visitors on Sunday, and I articulated this welcome. If we are to be the People of God we'll need to be a People of the Warm Welcome. In such a wise we welcome God and God's people into our lives. That's not a bad way to live!)

A Warm Welcome!

Welcome to St. Gabriel’s Church. This week we sent out a direct mailer to every household in Douglassville and several surrounding mail routes. We have opened our doors to give folks a chance to discover a little about  the church. So then whether this is your first visit to a worship service here or whether you’ve been coming here all your life, welcome!

You will notice that we are a church of ritual. We sing Hymns. We have a Book of Common Prayer and we follow a set formula for worship. The shape of our liturgy has its origins in the early church’s custom of remembering the night before Jesus died. This death was for the forgiveness of our sins and as a gift that leads to eternal life. He took bread and wine, thanked God as any family would at Grace, and especially as a Jewish family would at Passover in the Liturgy of the Haggadah, literally “telling the story of our deliverance from slavery”. At one time or another we have all been slaves. At one time or another many have held slaves. Either way, God seeks to deliver us from slavery.

We read a set of scriptures every week from the Old Testament, the Psalms, the Epistles, and the Gospel to put us back in touch with with God’s Story. These readings are intended to be explained by the preacher.

So then, you are subjected to a sermon. In it, the priest/preacher is charged with the responsibility of building a bridge between what happened in ancient times to what is happening today in our shared life stories. Various clergy do that with varying skill.

Today for instance, we have a Gospel reading in which the Disciples are making their way through Galilee in that dry and rocky land underneath the heat of an oppressive noonday sun in that inhospitable place. And Jesus tells them yet again, for a second time that he, the Son of Man, will be betrayed into human hands, he will be killed, and then on the third day, he will rise again. He said this plainly.

But the scripture says they did not understand him. The first time Jesus talked about this, Peter rebuked Jesus, you may remember, but Jesus went right back at Peter and said “Get behind me, Satan. You think like people think. It is time for you my followers to put on the mind of God, and think like God thinks.”

There were hurt feelings, of course. But on they went. He healed people of physical and mental disorders. He did do some very extraordinary things. Miracles seemed commonplace with him. He had a way of teaching they found compelling, and most of all he had a way of loving people, ALL people, even sinners, even the unwashed, outcast and rejects of the day. Rich or poor, he loved them. 

So then they had time to kill and a fight broke out among them as to who was the greatest. I remember playing “King of the Mountain” when I was a boy. I was actually pretty good at the game. I had a low center of gravity even then, so I was able to hold my ground.

So the Disciples of Jesus were playing “King of the Mountain” too. Having been upbraided by Jesus, they probably shrugged their shoulders and began to wonder, half joking, who was going to be the greatest among them when this “Jesus Kingdom” finally came.

So Jesus asked them; “So what were you arguing about”? Of course he knew, he could read their body language, and he may have had good hearing too. And besides all that, he was Jesus, so he knew anyway.

I do hope you know that the secrets of your hearts are indeed open to God. And he loves you very much, even with all those secrets being disclosed to the heart of God.

Well they were embarrassed about admitting that they were playing “King of the Mountain”; just a silly child’s game.

So he sat down: the posture of the teacher in the ancient near eastern world.  Whoever wants to be first, he said must be last and moreover must be the servant of all. Jesus would later reinforce this idea by washing their feet on the night before he died for them. Then he took a child. There are always children wandering about in the Middle East even today. They are desperately poor then as now. They were trying to peddle thing then as they do now. Post cards, water, cheap trinkets. They are often dirty from the constant kicking of dust. Water is way too expensive for the poor to use in such an extravagance as frequent washings.

So he took one of these children and set him or her in their midst. And then taking the child into his arms, he told them whoever welcomes such a child welcomes Jesus and moreover whoever welcomes Jesus welcomes the One who sent Jesus.

Suddenly, Jesus had taken an ancient child’s game and turned it upside down. This is not about becoming “King of the Mountain”. This life is about becoming a servant to humankind.

Now for those of you who are new to St Gabriel’s, I suspect that even you know that we have organized our life around the needs of Senior Citizens. We have played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Keystone Villa. And then we incurred significant debt by building the Parish Life Center. We house the Good Shepherd Learning Center, and  we provide for the needs of younger families in the community and tend to their children in a safe, clean, and educational environment. The Boy Scouts meet here. There are seven recovery groups that meet in the building. We feed the poor at the Community Center in Birdsboro, and we make lots of soup for the food pantry housed up at St. Paul’s.

Now you know as well as I do that we cannot rest on our laurels. That’s why we’ve invited you to gather with us here at the church today, at St. Gabriel’s church. There are so many human needs for the followers of Jesus to tend to. That’s why we are here. We are here as Jesus said, to be child-like servants one of another.

When St. Gabriel came to Mary yea all those many years ago, he told her; “Mary, I have news for you. You are going to have a baby. And not just any baby.” She was hardly a girl herself and her betrothed Joseph was going to have a hard time with this story.

But Gabriel had a message for her as well as for the rest of us. God cares about the people. All God’s people. And God was sending Jesus into the world to show how much God cares; how much God loves all these people.

So, then week after week after week, we re-enact in our liturgical worship that supper Jesus had with his friends. We break bread together. We remember Jesus not just as we would a historic figure. We invoke Jesus into the present as Jesus told us to do. This is how we remember him. This is my Body. This is my Blood. Jesus becomes present to us in this Liturgical offering.

So welcome to St. Gabriel’s Church. Whether this is your first Sunday with us or whether you are a cradle Episcopalian, this is your church anytime you need one. You are welcome at this table, all of you always. When Jesus fed the multitudes on the hillsides of Galilee, he didn’t check anybody’s membership cards, he didn’t check on bank accounts, race, ethnicity, age, theological orthodoxy, gender or even orientation.

To Jesus if we were human beings we were children of God. And as the Son of Man he welcomed us to God. And so on this day I welcome you to God as well. Draw near to God, as today’s Epistle lesson says, and God will draw near to you.

May you be filled with all the fullness of God this day. 

Fr. Paul

Arrest that Bishop Again and Again!

Gotta Love This Bishop

Every once in a while there is a Bishop worth the Name!

A Priestly Prayer

A Priestly Reminder

There is a prayer I say from time to time when I feel a need for a spiritual "jolt".

Today when the bishop visited, I could not help but remember my own Confirmation, Ordination and then of course when I was "Installed" as Rector of my several congregations though out these forty plus years.

At the "Celebration of a New Ministry" this prayer is recited by the new priest. I have always loved this prayer and share it with you now. Clearly we are all "ordained" to care alike for all those entrusted to our care.

The new Minister, if a priest, may then kneel in the midst of the
church, and may say

O Lord my God, I am not worthy to have you come under
my roof; yet you have called your servant to stand in your
house, and to serve at your altar. To you and to your service
I devote myself, body, soul, and spirit. Fill my memory with
the record of your mighty works; enlighten my understanding
with the light of your Holy Spirit; and may all the desires of
my heart and will center in what you would have me do. Make

me an instrument of your salvation for the people entrusted
to my care, and grant that I may faithfully administer your
holy Sacraments, and by my life and teaching set forth your
true and living Word. Be always with me in carrying out the
duties of my ministry. In prayer, quicken my devotion; in
praises, heighten my love and gratitude; in preaching, give me
readiness of thought and expression; and grant that, by the
clearness and brightness of your holy Word, all the world may
be drawn into your blessed kingdom. All this I ask for the
sake of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

     from the Book of Common Prayer, page 562

Blessings,

Fr Paul

A Tale of Two Sundays

This Week the Bishop

Next Week the Invitation

It is just one thing right after another at St. Gabriel’s. Just when we thought things were getting busy enough, they go right on getting busier. The Bishop comes here today and next week we are inviting 6,000 households to St. Gabriel’s!

I know that the very mention of the Bishop’s visit can make many anxious. But add to that an invitation to 6000 local households! That’s enough to take your breath away with anxiety if you are responsible for running the Sunday School or the Youth Program, or the whole church, for instance.

So let me first remind you and me to breathe deeply. In and then out; breathe!

Breathe in and then out; in and then out and continue doing so. 

"All shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well."

This is how the Holy Spirit comes to us.

She comes to us in our Breathing.

In Eastern Christianity, the word "Sophia" means “Wisdom”. Wisdom becomes the feminine dimension of God, in a very important sense.

The Center of the Eastern Church for over a thousand years was the Church of the Hagia Sophia or “Holy Wisdom”.

Those who seek to live in Wisdom must practice their breathing.

To inspire is to take a breath.

To be inspired it is necessary to practice breathing.

So then, breathe.

It is at the root of prayer and meditation to breathe well and to breathe deeply.

Thus we learn of God’s Wisdom, and God’s inspiration.

The word “spirit” and “inspire” share the same root in English, Greek and Latin; all the great languages of the Western Church.

So then the Bishop comes to us this morning.

The visit of a Bishop is a signature moment for Episcopalians since it is in the very name of our church that we describe ourselves as a church with Bishops.

There’s that Greek language again; “Episcopos” being the root word. It means “overseer” or “superintendent”, one who has responsibility for a grouping of congregations in a unit we call a “Diocese”.

In fact the basic building block for the church is not the congregation if we look back historically at our own church or even as we look back at the majority of the Christian Experience.

The building block for the church is the Diocese.

The Bishop is the Defender of the Faith.

He or she represents our Unity in Christ

Our Apostolicity is resented to us in the Bishop in the sense that the Whole of the Church is represented to us in the office.

Thus, for instance, when we come to the Bishop for Baptism, Confirmation, Reception or Reaffirmation, we proclaim our faith to the whole Church.

The Bishop becomes much more than a person and the Church becomes more than an organization.

Understood correctly the Bishop represents our physical and spiritual connection to Jesus.

I used to tell that to my children, since my priest told me the same thing. 

When the Bishop lays hands upon your heads, it is symbolically as though Jesus himself lays His hands upon you, because in an unbroken Apostolic Succession, that Physical and Apostolic presence comes down to us at the hands of the bishops of the church.

And too the Church is more than just an organization. We become members of Christ as we gather with our Bishop and as we gather with one another.

We are the blessed communion of all faithful believers. And I believe this Communion crosses denominational boundary and even crosses beyond life and the grave and unites us to all the faithful of God, living and dead. When I go to communion, I gather with all the beloved of God.

And that brings me to next week too. Over the next day or two almost 6,000 invitations will be extended to every household in Douglassville. We are doing an EDDM an; an Every Door Direct Mailing. Much like the local Pizza Parlor or Chinese Restaurant, we too need to announce to the community we live in that we are in business.

We are in the business of God. And yes, that makes us busy. If we are to be busy with the business of God when visitors come to our door, lets do so with a warm welcome. And lets remember that it is always our business to proclaim Christ’s Victory over sin and death. Our sins are forgiven. Life doesn’t end, it changes. It changes at our Baptism, it changes at our Confirmation, it changes as we gather with one another week after week. It changes as we are gathered to God one after another unto our ancestors.

And what we are learning too in the Episcopal Church is this; God loves us without distinction just as blessed Peter the Apostle said in his now famous Easter Sermon;

Acts 10:34,35

The “Outsiders” Hear the Good News

Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.'

And Blessed Paul the Apostle also stayed on message when he said the following.

Galatians 3:28

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

I know full well that there is a spiritual brouhaha over sexual orientation, gender identity, class, race and ethnicity. And one after another we, in the Episcopal Church, have come to believe that Jesus makes no distinctions and neither should we. And yes, I know that there are passages in Leviticus where you can  condemn for certain kinds of people, but when the Chief Priests and the Pharisees challenged Jesus to sum up the Law, Jesus did not begin to tick off those we could exclude from God’s Salvation Plan. You and I know full well what he said:  he picked the “Shema” that Verse from Deuteronomy that says:

Deuteronomy 6:4,5

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God is One and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.

This, Jesus said, is the first commandment. And the second is like unto it. His mind searched the Scripture in an instant and he said this;

Leviticus 19:18

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

The two become one congruent law with the other. Love God and love your neighbor. You cannot love the One without loving the Other. God and neighbor are interchangeable as it were. Jesus then sent us out to do the work that God has given us to do. And a hard piece of work it is too, when we think of those who mean us harm, or even those within our families with whom we feud.

But now, getting back to next week, I doubt very much that 6000 folks will come to our doors next Sunday. I have no idea how many will carelessly toss our invitation into the recycle bin. But I pray that some will be moved to feel that tug within the heart that says; "Maybe, just maybe these people down at St. Gabriel’s will welcome me into the Holy Place and allow me to meet God and explore what it means to love God and serve God’s people".

So, keep breathing. Breathe in and breathe out. 

God will be with us in all things!

Fr. Paul

Holy Cross Day

A View from Heaven

Salvador Dali was an amazing artist. This view of the Christ of John of The Cross is among my favorites, because it comes from my heart and from heaven at the same time. I have argued before that it is within the human heart that we meet God.

I would argue further that it is also between human hearts that we meet God. There we meet love, forgiveness and reconciliation. In that space between and among us we meet Justice and Peace. This is very hard work!

As a child, I often cried myself to sleep at night wondering what happened to my father. He died at Christmas when I was a child. I tried to pray but there was only silence. Nothing happened!

But I did not give up. I kept on praying. The Silence was absolute, and persistent. But I was a stubborn child and demanded more.

Months and months went by. There were the night sounds. A distant church bell stuck the hour and the quarter hour. Street cars squealed mournful sounds. Sirens wailed to the heavens.

But for me there was only a Silence. I hope you notice I capitalized the word "Silence". I begged and pleaded with it to answer me night after night. But the cruelty of the Silence merely let me cry into my pillow.

Then one night my grandmother told me a story from the Bible. She was a marvel of a storyteller. She could have been on stage and screen. She commanded all the drama of a fine Shakespearean actress. She read the story of the call of Samuel that night.

I still love the story.

"Samuel, Samuel" the Voice called to the boy
And the boy ran to Eli, the old priest; "Yes, you called me".
"No", the old priest said, "I did not call you. Go back to bed"
"Samuel, Samuel" the Voice called again.
And the boy ran to Eli, "Yes, you called me".
"No" my son, I did not call you, go back to bed"
Then a third time the Voice called to Samuel; "Samuel, Samuel"
The boy insisted to Eli that he had called him.
Then finally the old man "perceived" that God was calling the boy.
Eli told the boy to go back to bed and when the Voice calls again, he was to say;
"Speak Lord, for your servant listens."

My grandmother looked into my eyes deeply, and I perceived something.
I asked her if God could call even children into servanthood.
"Yes", my grandmother, of blessed memory said, and may Peace be upon her.

When I went to bed that night, the Silence then became a Presence.
In the stillness, nothing.
The Presence became a "place" that existed above my bed, perhaps 4-6 feet away. (I was a child. That's how I "sensed" the Presence).
I spoke to it.
I poured my heart out to it.
I cried to it out of a paroxysm of grief.
And it became God for me at some point.

Still, I heard nothing at all. The Silence was exquisitely perfect. But now it was Presence to me.
And it has become my Constant Companion all my days.

Heaven for me is within my heart, and one day it did speak to me.

Yes. It actually spoke to me. I had wondered about my dad. Religious people said my dad could not go to heaven because he did not go to church. I thought that religious people could be mean.

My grandmother didn't go to Church either. But there was no question that she knew who God was and IS.

So I heard this message. It was no voice. No sound. Just a sense beating within my heart. But it spoke as clearly as if my beloved wife were to speak to me as plain as day.

This is what I heard;

"Don't you know that there is a special place in my heart for your dad?"

I stopped dead in my tracks. I was on my way home from church at the time. I remember that it was a sunny, sunny day in September.

I listened but there was only that Silence still. That Silence that had become so abundantly Present to me.

This time I gave the Silence a voice. I spoke right out loud on behalf of the Silent Presence; "Don't you know that there is a special place in my heart for your dad?"

I ran home as fast as I could. I burst into the kitchen where my grandmother stood over her cast iron skillet, peppering our dinner to taste...

"Ma, is there a God?"
"Of course there is!"
That was easy.

"Ma, is there a Heaven?"
"Of course there is."
Also an easy question and answer.

"Ma, is my daddy there?"

That was a bit more problematic. My dad was Irish. My grandmother was English. And she didn't like the Irish (or my dad for that matter) one bit.

There was a hesitation, albeit very brief.
But she looked into my eyes and saw a plea from Heaven.
She knelt down. She embraced me, and held me very close.
I can still smell the aromatics of her hair as I write this.
And then she said;
"Of course he is!"

That was when I decided to become a priest.
This is when I saw Jesus holding out his arms on the hard wood of the cross so that EVERYONE might come within the reach of his saving embrace.

I later learned that this embrace included my mother with her three marriages, divorces and her abortion (the coat hanger kind), and my gay uncle.

I learned this at an early age and have been working out all the particulars since. All this gives this day special significance for me. This is what my priesthood means to me. It is a matter of some urgency that we get the message out; that the Holy Cross is God's embrace for EVERYONE!

Happy Holy Cross Day!

"Fr Paul"

A Membership Drive?

You Are Cordially Invited!

Unheard of! Impossible! In the Episcopal Church!!!

This may be so. We have been losing members for so long, I don't know if we could even entertain the very idea. I've never heard of any Bishop, Priest or lay person even mention such a thing. The Evangelicals do it. The Right Wing Fundamentalists do it. Good heavens, even NPR and PBS do it.

But the church? Our church? A membership drive? Unthinkable!

Until now, at least at St. Gabriel's in Douglassville PA. We actually have a very healthy congregation with a fabulous Sunday School and Youth ministry program. But even we have enough stresses and strains in the human and financial resources available to us, that we could certainly use a shot in the proverbial arm.

So, we are doing an EDDM; an Every Door Direct Mailer. We are inviting over 6,000 folks to church on September 23rd for Sunday School/Youth Ministry Registration. At fist, folks were a bit excited by the idea, but now as we come closer to the the time, our anxiety levels are rising significantly.

What if 6000 people come to the door? Unlikely...

But what if 50-75 come to see what we're up to?

After all, we've been in the news. We now no longer keep folks at arm's length because of orientation, gender, class, race or ethnicity.

We've come up with this curious notion that we are all one in Christ; Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, just as the Scripture says.

We believe that we are a "House of Prayer for ALL People" just as Scripture says. (By the way, read the rest of Isaiah 56 and note how God treats the foreigner and the eunuch, those whose sexual orientation is "different".)

Most of the world of faith rejects such a notion.

And Science rejects most of the world of faith because it is a demonstrable fact that we are all one blood without regard to all the false categories so many people organize us into.

So, I wonder what would happen if this emerging "Rainbow Church" were to actually "Invite" people to church?

In some ways it is a frightening notion. 

But for me the Episcopal Church is worth saving and worth breathing life into. We've pretty much run out of internal struggles to battle over. It is settled. We are now inclusive of all. Period.

So won't you consider this? 

Just give us a try.

Go to the Episcopal Church nearest you and try it on for size...and all you Episcopalians out there. Here's a thought: For God sake's run a Membership Drive. If you need help, give me a call. I'll show you how.

Bless us one and all,

Fr. Paul