Imagine That...

There are many groups and individuals who are getting prepared for Holy Week. It's easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of it all, but we must remember that as we approach this solemn and sacred occasion we are to move slowly, prayerfully and in a deep spirit of reflection. Our movement through Holy Week is not merely an intellectual exercise, but is deeply emotional. We are invited by the Church to enter into each celebration by tapping into the emotion of the original event. We must make every effort to FEEL Holy Week.

PALM SUNDAY

 



On Palm Sunday, we should allow ourselves to get swept up in the fanfare of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Much like a ticker-tape parade for World Series or Super Bowl Champions, we gather with enthusiasm at the sight of the Messiah. Our palm branches are waved with vigor, our spirits are uplifted and our souls soar at the thought of a victorious Messiah! We do not rush to the end of the story that awaits us at the end of the week. There will be time for that. The hope and promise that Jesus brings is believed and embraced.

 

MAUNDY THURSDAY

 



On Maundy Thursday, our imagination takes us into the Upper Room. We gather around the table with Jesus and his disciples. We witness and experience the command that Jesus gives to wash one another's feet. We are reminded that discipleship means that we are called to serve, not to be served. The great act of humility unfolds before us - not only the humility of washing another's feet, but of allowing Our Lord to wash our feet! To wash and to be washed fills us with an emotion of great joy and reverence.

When the bowls and towels are put away, our attention shifts to the breaking of bread and Jesus' institution of the Holy Eucharist. In that moment, Jesus gives us the New Covenant, a covenant that we celebrate and acknowledge 2,000 years later! The depth and breadth of His presence is made real as we acknowledge His Body and Blood in the Eucharist.

We then walk with Jesus and the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. It is there that Jesus invites us to pray with him. We envision Jesus' spiritual torture even before his physical one begins as he sweats blood and begs God to "allow this cup to pass" from him. It is easy to imagine the disciples exhausted from their shared meal and the stress of the weeks leading to this moment. They fall asleep. We, however, devote ourselves to remaining awake with Jesus. By signing up for one hour, we sit with our Lord in prayer, anticipating the crucifixion. We hear the guards coming for Jesus and watch with horror as Judas kisses Jesus on the cheek, the triumph of Palm Sunday evaporated into a fog of deception that leads to the next moment...

 

GOOD FRIDAY

 



Good Friday is a day of great solemnity. It is not a day for work or errands or parties. By all accounts, it's a sad day as we imagine that Jesus has been handed over by one of his friends the night before this moment. Jesus is tried, handed his cross, and executed. This is the day that Jesus died for our sins. It is such a difficult and painful day that, if we enter into the experience with the fullness of our imagination and emotion, the word "good" in its title gets caught in our throats with the mere thought of its ironic use.

We reflect and acknowledge that Jesus died for the sins of humanity in general, but the real pain enters our soul when we admit that Jesus died for our individual sins as well. We should be pained by his pain. "Passion" means suffering. That's why it's known as the "Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ." If we have a sense of "Com-Passion" then we "suffer with" Christ on the cross. It is there that we quickly recognize that Christ suffers with us in our pain and suffering. We are never alone!

EASTER VIGIL

 

 

We have spent Good Friday focusing on our sins, communal and individual. The pain of watching Jesus suffer has been great. Like Mary Magdalene, we run to the tomb at the earliest possible moment. We discover that it's empty! The tomb is empty! Our sins - my sins- did not put an end to the final victory that belongs to Christ. The darkness of sin that shrouds the world is shattered by the light of Christ!

 

A fire blazes outside. A candle that will burn brightly through Pentecost and with each baptism and funeral will represent the power of that fire. The church remains dark through the readings as we sit with the reality of our world. After hearing scripture passages that tell the story of humanity, we sing the Gloria with gusto and fervor. The lights come on. The bells are tolled. Holy water is sprinkled to remind us of our baptismal promises. We are invited to say "Alleluia!" at the top of our lungs.

 

We imagine the confusion that the disciples had on Easter morning, but we know something that they don't at that point. We know the meaning of it all. We know what it means. And it's so magnanimous, that we no longer pretend to be ignorant of what's happening. We rejoice. We celebrate. We give thanks, praise and glory to God for the raising of His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

 

Alleluia!

 

Can you imagine such a thing? Then, let's do so together!

 

 

 

Our human frailty and imperfection demands a certain sense of humiliation. This humiliation of imperfection leads to sincere humility. "Humility" means that we are "ground down" (think of the word 'hummus'). In this "grinding down" we come face to face with the nature of our dust-edness.

 

This humility can lead to a recognition and acknowledgment of who God is in comparison to who we are. Reminding ourselves that we were formed out of dust and unto dust we shall return is a way of acknowledging God's status as creator and ours as created. It reveals our dependence on Christ Jesus as our savior.

 

Let us not miss the coming opportunity this Lent to abandon our need to be in control, even in control of our own spiritual lives. We mustn't "do" anything spectacular or extraordinary other than to admit that God does all in us and for us. If we "do" anything, it's simply remaining faithful to our Covenantal relationship with God by living the gospel through care for God's sons and daughters in need and showing up for prayer or services.

 

May we each have a Lent that grinds us down into the dust so that Jesus Christ, our Savior, can raise us up out of that dust into a glorified body!

 

 

SHROVE TUESDAY

a.k.a. FAT TUESDAY

a.k.a. MARDI GRAS

 

 

From The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church:

 

Shrove Tuesday -

The day immediately preceding Ash Wednesday, so named from the 'shriving',

i.e. confession and absolution, of the faithful on that day.

 

 

For more information,

find the Wikipedia link here!

Book References

In my sermon on Sunday, February 23, I read an excerpt from a book titled "Understanding Difficult Scriptures in a Healing Way" by Matthew Linn, Sheila Linn and Dennis Linn. The excerpt I read came from a chapter that addressed the gospel of the day which was Matthew 5:38-48 where we hear Jesus teach us about the law of "Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth." If you are interested in purchasing the book, you can find it through Amazon.com here or through your favorite bookseller.

In that sermon, I also mentioned another book by the Linn family titled "Good Goats: Healing Our Understanding of God." This is the book that I often reference as having changed my life and my relationship with God during a difficult, painful and vulnerable time. If you're interested in finding this book, you can do so through Amazon.com here or through your favorite bookseller.

Presentation of Our Lord



Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple. In my sermon, I referenced a website which outlined the Jewish purification laws for women who have given birth. It's a fascinating article and I hope you'll click here to find the link: chabad.org.

ANNUAL MEETING

 

 

On Sunday, January 19, 2014, Emmanuel Episcopal Church of Rapid City, South Dakota held its Annual Meeting. The gathering was a huge success!

 

We reviewed the year 2013, discussing the many changes and accomplishments achieved in the past year while also envisioning what might come in 2014.

 

To read the Parish Annual Report, click here.

 

For more information on Emmanuel Episcopal Church of Rapid City,

visit our website by clicking here.

 

'TO KNOW OUR LORD, AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN."

THE BANANA BELT!

There has been great concern for me and my family since our arrival in Rapid City, South Dakota. It does not take a doctorate in Meteorology to know that the weather differential between Louisiana and South Dakota would be considerable. Being sensitive to those differences, we were assured over and over again that this part of South Dakota is known to be part of "The Banana Belt." That term is an attempt at explaining the unusual weather patterns during the winter which have seen 70 degree temperatures on Christmas Day! It's a way of informing outsiders that the images conjured from watching the movie "Fargo" do not apply here.

We moved here in mid-August and discovered a wonderful climate, especially considering that we left 100% humidity and temperatures to match. While we bragged to our friends and family back home that we were chilly in the mornings, they perpetually peppered us with preparatory warnings that "winter is right around the corner." Their tone suggested a sense of retaliation in their ability to brag when their temperatures were mild and ours were extreme. We did not have to wait long for them to get their just due.

In October, Southwest South Dakota experienced one of the worst early-season blizzards on record. At least that's what everyone told us. It warmed up and things seemed to return to normal. Then the last several weeks we've had temperatures that have remained below zero for several days. The snow hasn't yet melted. Everyone keeps insisting that what we're experiencing is unusual for this time of year. In fact, everyone keeps apologizing for the weather!

Then we have a day like today. Forecasted highs are in the 40's. It's amazing how warm 40 degrees feels when it's been below zero. (It's amazing how warm 10 degrees is when it's been below zero!).

Many people continue to try to explain, justify or apologize for the weather. The funny thing is that we LOVE it! We find it remarkably bearable (with the right clothes). The air is crisp and fresh. The smell of fireplaces throughout the neighborhood is a special treat. Hot cocoa tastes better and coffee warms the hands and stomach.

My wife, Alison, and I are Cajuns in the truest sense. Alison's mom has traced our genealogy back to our roots with the Acadians of Nova Scotia and France prior to that. It gets cold in Nova Scotia. And France is known for its cold winters also. Cold weather, therefore, runs in our veins. It might not be part of our South Louisiana experience, but cold weather, snow and frost, and all of the wonderful things that God affords us here are part of our heritage and genetics!

We meet the title of "Banana Belt" with a bit of skepticism, but whether it warms up now or later doesn't matter to us. We are Acadians. As long as Alison's gumbo is on the stove, we're home...even in the Banana Belt of Rapid City, South Dakota.

Sunday Readings for November 17, 2013



Malachi 4:1-2a (some bibles have it listed as Malachi 3:19-21)
Psalm 98
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Luke 21:5-19

Malachi:

"(Malachi) was composed by an anonymous writer before Nehemiah's arrival in Jerusalem (455 B.C.). Because of the sharp reproaches he was leveling against the priests and rulers of the people, the author probably wished to conceal his identity. To do this he made a proper name out of the Hebrew expression for 'My Messenger' (Malachi), which occurs in 1:1 and 3:1. The historical value of the prophecy is considerable in that it gives us a picture of life in the Jewish community returned from Babylon, between the period of Haggai and the reform measures of Ezra and Nehemiah. It is likely that the author's trenchant criticism of abuses and religious indifference in the community prepared the way for these necessary reforms."

 

- introduction to Malachi from The New American Bible

 

 

2 Thessalonians:

 

 

"Traditional opinion holds that this letter was written shortly after 1 Thessalonians. Occasionally it has been argued that 2 Thessalonians was written first or that the two letters are addressed to different segments within the church at Thessalonica (2 Thessalonians being directed to the Jewish Christians there) or even that 2 Thessalonians was originally written to some other nearby place where Paul carried out mission work, such as Phillipi or Beroea. Increasingly in recent times, however, the opinion has been advanced that 2 Thessalonians is a pseudepigraph, that is, a letter written authoritatively in Paul's name, to maintain apostolic traditions in a later period, perhaps during the last two decades of the first century. In any case, the presumed audience of 2 Thessalonians and certain features of its style and content require that it be read and studied in a Pauline context, particularly that provided by 1 Thessalonians. At the same time, and especially if the letter is regarded as not by Paul himself, its apocalyptic presentation of preconditions for the parousia (2:1-12) may profit from and require recourse to a wider biblical basis for interpretation, namely Old Testament books such as Daniel and Isaiah and especially, in the New Testament, the synoptic apocalyptic discourse (Mk 13; Mt 24-25; Lk 21:5-36*) and the Book of Revelation."

 

 

-introduction to 2 Thessalonians from The New American Bible

 

*Note how the introduction to 2 Thessalonians makes a connection between the letter itself and our Gospel passage connected with it this weekend: Lk 21:5-19+.

The Altar of Consumerism

For years we have been warned that it was coming. Each year "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving and the unofficial start of the Christmas Shopping Season, has inched earlier and earlier. The usual opening time was not enough to beat the competition, so stores began to open at 7:00 a.m., then 6:00 a.m., then 4:00 a.m., midnight,  and then 11:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving night, and earlier.

Now, it seems, stores have decided to disregard the holiday altogether and make the day one for shopping and commerce by opening at 6:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning.

Is nothing sacred any longer? Has the family in the Norman Rockwell painting died only to be replaced by mobs of people crushing one another to get the best deal possible under the guise of "generosity" at Christmas? Are we to believe that the people who are pushing each other down for a 52" TV are buying that item for someone else? And even if they are buying it for someone else and not themselves, does that effort at "generosity" preclude stopping to give God thanks for what He has provided us as a nation and people? Isn't it ironic that people who are "buying for their loved ones" choose to skip giving thanks with those very loved ones on Thanksgiving? And what of the forced sacrifice of those who must work? Are they not allowed a day with their families?

The scenes we see each year of people lining up at the doors, pushing and shoving, crushing (and sometimes killing) one another are sickening. When is the last time we saw that kind of rush to get at Jesus in the Eucharist? What would our world look like if, instead of mobs going out in the middle of the night for the best bargains, those mobs turned their hunger, desire, efforts, enthusiasm, determination, and convictions towards meeting God in the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist?

We must pray for our world and never lose faith or hope. We are called to be a light set atop a lampstand in an otherwise dark world. We do so without judgment or condemnation, but through example and joy. Our invitation to the world must be filled with the Love of Jesus Christ, always inviting and encouraging.

There are two things we can do. First, is we can gather and pray on Thanksgiving Day. Our Eucharist will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day and will include the Baptism of a new Christian. We can be a family of faith who witnesses through prayer and attendance.

The second thing we can do is to pray for those we see on TV when the news reports come out. Identify faces in the crowd, pause the TV if you can, and focus on one or two faces for whom we might pray. It's a simple act, but if we can begin to imagine their needs we can enter into their shopping frenzy in a different sort of way.

Let us give God thanks for his abundant gifts by slowing down and praying for one another...with one another.

Who are the Godparents?

"Holy Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ's Body the Church. The bond which God establishes in Baptism is indissoluble...Each candidate for Holy Baptism is to be sponsored by one or more baptized persons. Sponsors of adults and older children present their candidates and their intention to support them by prayer and example in their Christian life. Sponsors of infants, commonly called godparents, present their candidates, make promises in their own names, and also take vows on behalf of their candidates. It is fitting that parents be included among the godparents of their own children. Parents and godparents are to be instructed in the meaning of Baptism, in their duties to help the new Christians grow in the knowledge and love of God, and in their responsibilities as members of His Church."

-Book of Common Prayer, p. 298

 

Too often there is confusion about the role of godparents. Some believe that godparents take responsibility for raising the child if something tragic happens to the parents. Others believe that being a godparent is simply an honorary title that affords them a front-row seat on the day of the baptism.

 

In actuality, the role of godparent is a sacred trust between those being baptized, the parents of the baptized if the baptized is an infant and the godparent(s) themselves. Godparents should be chosen for their moral character and upright living. Godparents are to be an example through their faithful way of life to God and His Church. Godparents and parents work in collaboration with one another and the Holy Spirit to ensure that the child is provided with the necessary instruction, counsel, guidance and example so that they may grow into Christ's love without delay.

 

 

When choosing a godparent, choose them after much prayerful consideration and never out of familial obligation. The newly baptized Christian deserves role models who will be an example, not of perfection, but of fidelity to Christ and His Church, the People of God.