The Eloquence of Silence

The Eloquence of Silence

Silence.

Amen. 

Jesus died and then there was a long, long silence. The silence of his death leaves us uncomfortably bewildered.  

Yesterday, during the March For our Lives, Emma Gonzales stood before the hundreds of thousands and myriads more on Television. She described in excruciating detail the death of the 17; their names and their  “nevermore”.

Then there was a very long awkward and bewildering silence, like the silence in the aftermath of a school shooting.

When my dad died, it was Christmas. I was eight years old at the time. I was bewildered by his death and simply didn’t understand I would never see him again. When I went to bed at night there was nothing but silence. Long, long hours into the night, I cried myself to sleep afraid; “if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take”.

The Death of Jesus.

Death at Parkland.

My dad’s death.

The long, long bewildering Silence.

Christians still March for our Lives showing forth Jesus’ death until he comes again.

Young people March for our Lives until the adult world hears them and protects them from violent death.

I Marched on for my own life, wondering if I would ever see my dad again.

To this very day, Christian folk March for our Lives around the globe with Palm Branches in their hands. I loved church palms when I was a child. I loved gathering with the church in the garden where we blessed the palms then marched around the block and into the holy place.

Years and years ago I marched for civil rights and an end to a senseless war.

And yesterday millions marched and myriads more on Television witnessed the dawning of a new day in American History.

And Emma stood there in silence, perhaps the most eloquent silence ever spoken in the history of American oratory. 

Years ago as a child, I cried myself to sleep in Silence as I prayed. There was no answer. Until one day on the way home from church I pulled a solitary leaf off an unkempt city hedge and pressed my thumb mindlessly into the girth of that leaf. As I looked down at the chlorophyll stain left of my thumbnail, I realized, that leaf gave its life for me and that’s when I heard it.

Something in my heart of hearts; no voices, just a sense within me seemed to say; “Don’t you know there’s a special place in my heart for the love of your dad!” It was then that I gave voice to what I heard in my heart; I spoke out loud. “Don’t you know there’s a special place in my heart for the love of your dad?”. 

Of course, I checked it our with my grandmother; who was the ultimate authority in theological matters in my young life. And so it came to pass that I decided to become a priest.

And to this day, I will tell all who will listen to me and many who won’t; “Don’t you know there’s a special place in God’s heart for you and those you love.? No exceptions. Period!”

There is a long, long bewildering Silence at the death of Jesus, or students at Parkland or my own father.

If you listen closely to the Silence, the Eloquence of God’s Voice will speak. But you must be still, absolutely still to hear The Voice of God. 

It speaks to us from the Cross.

It spoke to us yesterday in Emma’s Silence.

It spoke to me when I was a child on the way home from church one Summer Sunday. 

Be still and learn with me that the Silence has a Name.

I learned that the Name of the Silence is God.

I learned that the Name of the Silence is Jesus.

I learned that the Name of the Silence is The Holy Spirit.

Silence.

Amen. 

Fr. Paul

The Gate of Heaven

The Gate of Heaven

Faith is a matter of life and death. When we look at the prospect of death we may not see beyond it. We are children of a secular society and children of science. This is a good thing. We are tethered to the truth and as the scripture says; "The truth shall make you free." But questions that science cannot deal with involve matters of experience that go beyond things we can measure or predict. As we explore the mystery of our total human experience, there are things we simply cannot account for merely by observation. As Shakespeare said; "There are more thing in heaven and earth than you can dream of, Horatio!" A few days ago my brother and I were on the phone catching up and he was telling me of a friend who is nearing the end of his life. He was deeply saddened. His friend was afraid. I reminded Bob; "Don't forget to guide him to the Gate of Heaven!" As a parish priest, I am responsible for walking with folks right up to the Gate of Heaven. I told him of the many times I do this, simply because that is the nature of the work I do. 

When I was at St. John's Church in Sandwich, it happened that a dear woman in her 90's was informed by her doctors that there was nothing more that they could do. Now, St John's Church has an amazing Thrift Shop. If you are ever on the Cape stop by and browse around for a bit. There's an impressive collection of brick a brack to explore. Well, Irene's job was to price all these items. The nice thing about the Thrift Shop is that it helps folks buy things they need in an affordable way. And the proceeds all go to support the mission and ministry of St. John's Church. When she discovered that her time was approaching all she wanted to know was that there would be a Thrift Shop in heaven where she could price God's items for sale for God's poor. I assured her, after some prayer, that there indeed was such a place for her. After all, "In God's house there are many mansions!" As it happened one cold winter's night we had just arrived home in Lynn, when I received a phone call from the head nurse in a Falmouth Nursing Home that the end was now near for Irene. Cindy, we have to head back to the Cape; I said. She was such a sweet and gracious woman. When I arrived members of the staff were gathering around to comfort her. I said the Prayers at the time of death. And then I sang to her in her ear. She was far gone, but remember this dear friends; the hearing is the last to go so watch what you say in those last sacred moments. I sang to her; "Jesus loves me this I know". 

Ultimately my friends this is what Palm Sunday is all about. Yes it is about the suffering and the death of Jesus. It is about the suffering and death of our loved ones and all others of the human family. But we are called to look beyond that which we can see in the observable world. We are called to guide one another to the Gate of Heaven. 

In the church calendar Palm Sunday is also known as “Passion Sunday”. The word “passion” in the liturgical context does not carry its contemporary or modern meaning. The word “passion” comes from the Latin “passio” and refers to the Suffering of Jesus. 

This is what we have just witnessed in this Passion Narrative. We are continuing witnesses to the suffering of Jesus. But not just his suffering but all human suffering. Even now, too many of our friends and loved ones suffer. Children have had unspeakable suffering inflicted upon them in warfare as you know all too well. Chemical warfare and then driven from their homes they become refugees, unwanted in their own country or anywhere else for that matter. Human suffering is all too much a part of everyday life. We see more of it than anyone would ever want to see. Our mission in life as a people of faith is to lessen this suffering. It is to organize our life as a church around that suffering and to become the healing presence of Jesus on behalf of all.

This is what brings us to the Highest Holy Days of the Christian year. The suffering and death of Jesus. The suffering and death of many many more. But what makes these sacred and holy days the heart of our faith is that the sin, violence, and death of all these innocent is not the final fact of our existence. 

Underneath all this suffering and sorrow is the Victory of Jesus over all sin and death. The reality of warfare, violence, prejudice, hatred, bigotry, bullying in all its forms may seem like the final word in all of life. But God has the final word my friends. And in our Gospel proclamation that word is Jesus. In just a few short days we will gather back here in our church, Christians the world over will gather in their churches and there will be a celebration of joy such as can hardly be described. 

Think of it for just a moment. We begin Holy Week today as we read the Passion Narrative. Maundy Thursday we will gather and remember that the night before Jesus died for his friends, he washed our feet to remind us that we are to serve one another as he served us. He gives us a new commandment; love one another. NO EXCEPTIONS!!! He breaks bread blesses wine and in sharing this sacrament he declares that his living body will always be within and among us. Then Good Friday we will rehearse the trial and the execution, the death and burial. Because we are to remember that as his resurrection is real, so is his death and burial. Holy Saturday at the Great Vigil of Easter we kindle the Holy Flame, and from the darkest moments of our despair we will light that one candle that reminds us that the hope of God is never fully extinguished, even in the very darkest moments of our life. Then Easter Sunday we celebrate the Risen Jesus and his power over sin and death. The great question of our faith when we face the reality of Sin and Deaht is not who do we blame or who do we hate. The question is who do we forgive and who do we love. How to we find our way toward Peace, Reconciliation and Justice with Freedom for all. 

The memory of Palm Sunday is indelibly imprinted in my memory because it was on this day in 1978 that I proposed to Cindy at the old Cafe Budapest in the Copley Square Hotel. I had Beef Stroganoff, and ordered a fine Hungarian wine; “Egri Bikaver” it was called; and translated; “Bull’s Blood”. There was a violin, a lovely bud vase with a red rose, and then I posed the question! She said yes, believe it or not and here we are all these years later.

How appropriate now that I think about it. My life, your life is about God's love for you. Your love for one another. It is about the Triumph of the Cross of Christ over all that sin and death can do. We are all called to point one another to the Gate of Heaven and not just at the moment of death but at the most joyous moments of our life as well and everything in between. From the day of our engagement to now there has been a great deal of life including three children and a dozen churches. That's a lot of life. I've seen my share of joy and sadness. But the long and short of it is that the whole of my life and yours is an invitation to see the love of God because it it through that love that we come to the Gate of Heaven. This is the Alpha and the Omega of our Life. This is who Jesus is to me. The Alpha and the Omega; the beginning and the ending of my life.

In the Name of God; the Most Holy, Undivided and Everlasting Trinity.

Amen

Fr Paul

Passion Sunday Now and Then

Passion Sunday then and Now

At the moment of his death Time stands still!

The Sunday of the Passion of our Lord, Palm Sunday, has always meant a great deal to me. I loved getting my Palms as a child, the festive procession into the church, the wonderful music, and of course the dramatic reading of the Passion Narrative. It is a moment in the church year when time itself stands still and we contemplate the mighty acts by which our Salvation is given unto us.

It is also the Sunday I asked Cindy to marry me. I have often thought of how appropriate it was that we would happen to become engaged on that particular Sunday; Passion Sunday.

To tell you the truth there was a lot on my plate that year as there is every year for a parish priest. I was preparing all the Holy week services and I just didn’t need one more thing piled on. 

And so I said; “Just let me get past Easter and I’ll ask you then.”

To which she said; “A little less talk and a little more action!”

At which point I remembered the old English proverb; “The faint heart never won the fair lady.”

So I took the train to Boston and it was during that ride that I was shaking like a leaf. And I remember taking the escalator up to the 5th floor of the old Jordan Marsh department store where the wedding rings and the engagements rings were on display.

And I remember this all like it was yesterday. Behind the counter there was a diminutive lady by the name of Kelly, and I asked to look at the engagement rings.

She said; “Oh Father, you don’t want to be looking at those rings!”

Realizing then that I was wearing my clerical collar I said; “Oh this,

don’t worry about that, I’m an Episcopal priest.”

Mrs Kelly crossed herself and said; “Thanks be to God!” and breathed a generous sigh of relief and helped me find a nice ring.

I made a reservation at the Cafe Budapest, at the time, one of the finest restaurants in the City of Boston. I asked Cindy to go to dinner with me after church on Palm Sunday, and I think by now, she had a good inkling of what was a in the offing. 

And so it was, that after church that day we drove into the city and there was a lovely table set us with candles and a bud base and a red rose to greet us. We ordered dinner and a violinist came to the table and played exquisitely for us. 

I had put the ring into a Diamond match box so there wouldn’t be a bulge in my jacket pocket. Then I produced the ring and told her of my love and asked her hand in marriage. 

There was no hesitation, but a simple and uncomplicated declarative; “Yes.” We ordered a bottle of wine; “Egri Bikaver”, a popular Hungarian wine, the name of which means “Bull’s Blood”. I had  the Hungarian Goulash and the whole meal was a marvel.

When we got back to Cindy’s home to break the news to the family, Cindy’s little sister, Susan, just over 10 years of age at the time was alarmed at the news and said; “Oh no Cindy! Does that mean you’re going to be Irish now?”

That was 36 years ago.

Time stood still for us in that moment and for me, that moment still stands as the signature moment of my life. And the Passion we declared for one another bound ourselves to one another that day and since.

And we’ve seen each other and many others through many moments of joy and suffering since. As many of you have, through life and death, marriage and divorce, well being and illness. We stood with our son during his stroke and in the aftermath of his recovery. We’ve stood with parents at the death of their children. And life with all its joy and all of its suffering goes on. 

Time stands still for all of us with a love like this.

And Time stands still when we look to Jesus and a love like his.

We look to Jesus today and remember his Passion a latin word whose root meaning is to suffer, in the sense of a very intense feeling of devoted love. No doubt in his Passion you will see how much he loves you. It is a love so intense that we are bound to the Beloved in this Passion for all time. As two young lovers may do in their youth, or when they nurture and rear their children and then send them off into the world and then grow old together and eventually commend one another to God.

Time stands still for us in our Passion for God and God for us and in our Love for one another.

This Passion of our Lord binds us together forever.

Yes he suffered our of his love for us.

Yes he died.

Yes he is risen

Yes he will come again. 

And until he does we will come to this Table week in and week out where the candles are lit, the flowers are set and the music plays on. We will break this Bread and pass this Cup.

His Body and His Blood.

Received into our Body and our Blood

And we are bound together as those who love one another.

Hosanna Lord hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the Highest.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of The Holy Spirit. Amen

Fr Paul

Holy Week and Easter

Holy Week and Easter

We come now to the Holiest time in the Christian Year: we enter Holy Week. On Palm Sunday we greet Jesus with Palm Branches and joy at his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. And then moments later we read the Passion Narrative and contemplate the mystery of his life and death.

On Maundy Thursday we commemorate the Institution of the Lord’s Supper and reenact the “maundy” or the foot washing of the disciples’ feet by Jesus. Here Jesus turns the world upside down by telling us that the greatest among us is also to be the servant of all. The “Jesus Theme”; the first shall be last and the last first is acted out before our very eyes. And then the church is put into darkness as we strip the altar and prepare for the reality of Good Friday which no one will ever escape.

The Cross stands before us on Good Friday as a stark and yet glorious reminder of God’s power over sin and death which Jesus accomplishes in his Passion. The Love of God is triumphant in the Cross of Christ, as the haunting melody repeats itself each year; “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”.

At the Great Vigil, we watch with all those in every age have watched with those who have died in the hope of the Resurrection. Jesus is the first fruits of that hope. The Paschal Candle is lighted and carried into the church. From this single candle the Light then fills the church with its radiance and then bursts forth with a blaze of glory. 

Easter Day! Jesus Christ is Risen today! Welcome Happy Morning! And the host of saints in heaven and on earth break into song. 

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!

The Lord is Risen indeed, Alleluia!

Our Holy Week schedule is as follows:

Palm Sunday Services

5pm, Saturday, March 28

8am, Palm Sunday

10am, Palm Sunday

Maundy Thursday

7pm Holy Eucharist, Foot Washing and Stripping of the Altar

Good Friday

Noon; The Way of the Cross

7pm: Solemn Collect and the reading of John’s Passion Narrative

The Great Vigil of Easter

7pm: The Lighting of the Paschal Candle and Celebration of the First Eucharist of Easter

EASTER DAY

8am Easter Day Eucharist with Choir and Music

10am Festival Holy Eucharist

Everyone Invited!

Many of you know of somebody who has not been to church recently. Here’s an idea. Extend a simple invitation. Tell someone how much you love your church and of how important this time of year is to you. Extend a welcome invitation to someone in the family, among your friends or a neighbor.

If ever there is a time of the year to open the door of our hearts and our church this is it!

There are many ample opportunities for us to gather for worship this week. Make sure you take advantage of those opportunities.

And Happy Easter to one and all!

Fr Paul

In Human Form

The following is a meditation on the events of Palm Sunday, based on Philippians 2:5-11, and the Passion Narrative from Matthew.

In Human Form

Jesus found himself in human form and so do we. 

Jesus suffered and died and alas, so do we.

He emptied himself we’re told and became obedient even unto 

   death, and so my friends do we.

Our obedience and his were not of the sort that wills it.

Even in his obedience, he said;

“Let this cup pass from me” and 

“My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”

But he died like us praying that another way might be found.

Like a common criminal he was hung to die

Just like another unknown human form, except to God

For each precious soul is numbered to God and loved to the end

And so as he is exalted high above all heavens

As Jesus is given a Name above all Names

So God looks to every human heart

And exalts us to where he too has gone before

And then at the Name of Jesus

Every knee shall bow

Like mine today as I bend the knee of my heart

His precious death and passion

Told to us again, his precious band of followers

The lame, the halt, the blind, the poor, those outcast billions!

They spread their palms and coats and the Royal King

Comes to the Holy City on a donkey

Riding in Majesty and lowly Pomp

Ride on, ride on, to die; and so my friends do we.

God meets us in human form upon the Cross of Jesus

We suffer and die together, we are raised together

We ascend and reign with him in Glory,

Together.

Our lips speak with the children’s cry “Hosanna!”

“Jesus Christ is Lord and King to the Glory of God on High!
Hosanna Lord, hosannah!”

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Fr Paul