Category: Church of the Good Shepherd

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2011 ~ An Introduction

Unity among Christians has been a concern of mine since I was a teenager. The annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity seems to sneak up on us every January and doesn't get the attention it deserves. So, this year, I've decided to put together an online opportunity for the observance. The materials contained herein are drawn entirely from materials that are jointly prepared and published by The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and The Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches and are available in their complete form HERE. Other resources from Graymore, such as the image displayed on this page, are available HERE. RDP+

Introduction ~ The Search for Unity: Throughout the Year

The traditional period in the northern hemisphere for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is 18-25 January. Those dates were proposed in 1908 by Paul Wattson to cover the days between the feasts of St Peter and St Paul, and therefore have a symbolic significance. In the southern hemisphere where January is a vacation time churches often find other days to celebrate the week of prayer, for example around Pentecost (suggested by the Faith and Order movement in 1926), which is also a symbolic date for the unity of the church. Mindful of this flexibility concerning the date, we encourage you to understand the material presented here as an invitation to find opportunities throughout the whole year to express the degree of communion which the churches have already reached, and to pray together for that full unity which is Christ’s will.

2011 Theme ~ The Church in Jerusalem, Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Two thousand years ago, the first disciples of Christ gathered in Jerusalem experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and were joined together in unity as the body of Christ. In that event, Christians of every time and place see their origin as a community of the faithful, called together to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Although that earliest Jerusalem church experienced difficulties, both externally and internally, its members persevered in faithfulness and fellowship, in breaking bread and prayers.

It is not difficult to see how the situation of the first Christians in the Holy City mirrors that of the church in Jerusalem today. The current community experiences many of the joys and sorrows of the early church; its injustice and inequality, and its divisions, but also its faithful perseverance, and recognition of a wider unity among Christians.

The churches in Jerusalem today offer us a vision of what it means to strive for unity, even amid great problems. They show us that the call to unity can be more than mere words, and indeed that it can point us toward a future where we anticipate and help build the heavenly Jerusalem.

Realism is required to make reality of such a vision. The responsibility for our divisions lies with us; they are the results of our own actions. We need to change our prayer, asking God to change us so that we may actively work for unity. We are ready enough to pray for unity, but that can become a substitute for action to bring it about. Is it possible that we ourselves are blocking the Holy Spirit because we are the obstacles to unity; that our own hubris prevents unity?

The call for unity this year comes to churches all over the world from Jerusalem, the mother church. Mindful of its own divisions and its own need to do more for the unity of the Body of Christ, the churches in Jerusalem calls all Christians to rediscover the values that bound together the early Christian community in Jerusalem, when they devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. This is the challenge before us. The Christians of Jerusalem call upon their brothers and sisters to make this week of prayer an occasion for a renewed commitment to work for a genuine ecumenism, grounded in the experience of the early Church.

Four Elements of Unity

The 2011 prayers for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity have been prepared by Christians in Jerusalem, who chose as a theme Acts 2:42, ‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.’ This theme is a call back to the origins of the first church in Jerusalem; it is a call for inspiration and renewal, a return to the essentials of the faith; it is a call to remember the time when the church was still one. Within this theme four elements are presented which were marks of the early Christian community, and which are essential to the life of the Christian Community wherever it exists. Firstly, the Word was passed on by the apostles. Secondly, fellowship (koinonia) was an important mark of the early believers whenever they met together. A third mark of the early Church was the celebration of the Eucharist (the ‘breaking of the bread’), remembering the New Covenant which Jesus has enacted in his suffering, death and resurrection. The fourth aspect is the offering of constant prayer. These four elements are the pillars of the life of the church, and of its unity.

The Christian Community in the Holy Land wishes to give prominence to these basic essentials as it raises its prayers to God for the unity and vitality of the church throughout the world. The Christians of Jerusalem invite their sisters and brothers around the world to join them in prayer as they struggle for justice, peace and prosperity for all people of the land.

Acts 2:42-47

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (NRSV)

The Themes of the Eight Days

There is a journey of faith that can be discerned in the themes of the eight days. From its first beginnings in the upper room, the early Christian community experiences the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, enabling it to grow in faith and unity, in prayer and in action, so that it truly becomes a community of the Resurrection, united with Christ in his victory over all that divides us from each other and from him. The church in Jerusalem then itself becomes a beacon of hope, a foretaste of the heavenly Jerusalem, called to reconcile not just our churches but all peoples. This journey is guided by the Holy Spirit, who brings the early Christians to the knowledge of the truth about Jesus Christ, and who fills the early Church with signs and wonders, to the amazement of many. As they continue their journey, the Christians of Jerusalem gather with devotion to listen to the Word of God set forth in the apostles’ teaching, and come together in fellowship to celebrate their faith in sacrament and prayer. Filled with the power and hope of the Resurrection, the community celebrates its certain victory over sin and death, so that it has the courage and vision to be itself a tool of reconciliation, inspiring and challenging all people to overcome the divisions and injustice that oppress them.

The readings, commentary, and prayer for each day may be downloaded.

Day 1 sets forth the background to the mother church of Jerusalem, making clear its continuity with the church throughout the world today. It reminds us of the courage of the early church as it boldly witnessed to the truth, just as we today need to work for justice in Jerusalem, and in the rest of the world.

Day 2 recalls that the first community united at Pentecost contained within itself many diverse origins, just as the church in Jerusalem today represents a rich diversity of Christian traditions. Our challenge today is to achieve greater visible unity in ways that embrace our differences and traditions.

Day 3 looks at the first essential element of unity; the Word of God delivered through the teaching of the apostles. The church in Jerusalem reminds us that, whatever our divisions, these teachings urge us to devote ourselves in love to each other, and in faithfulness to the one body which is the church.

Day 4 emphasises Sharing as the second expression of unity. Just as the early Christians held all things in common, the Church in Jerusalem calls upon all brothers and sisters in the church to share goods and burdens with glad and generous hearts, so that nobody stays in need.

Day 5 expresses the third element of unity; the Breaking of the Bread, which joins us in hope. Our unity goes beyond Holy Communion; it must include a right attitude towards ethical living, the human person and the whole community. The Jerusalem church urges Christians to unite in “the breaking of bread” today, because a divided church cannot speak out with authority on issues of Justice and Peace.

Day 6 presents the fourth mark of unity; with the church in Jerusalem, we draw strength from spending time in prayer. Specifically, the Lord’s Prayer calls all of us in Jerusalem and throughout the world, the weak and the mighty, to work together for justice, peace and unity that God’s Kingdom may come.

Day 7 takes us beyond the four elements of unity, as the Jerusalem church joyfully proclaims the Resurrection even while it bears the pain of the Cross. The Resurrection of Jesus is for Christians in Jerusalem today hope and strength that enables them to remain constant in their witness, working for freedom and peace in the City of Peace.

Day 8 concludes the journey with a call from the Jerusalem churches to the wider service of reconciliation. Even if Christians achieve unity among themselves, their work is not done, for they need to reconcile themselves with others. In the Jerusalem context this means Palestinian and Israeli; in other communities, Christians are challenged to seek justice and reconciliation in their own context.

The theme of each day has therefore been chosen not only to recall for us of the history of the early church, but also to bring to mind the experiences of Christians in Jerusalem today, and to invite us all to reflect upon how we may bring that experience into the lives of our local Christian communities. During this journey of eight days, the Christians of Jerusalem invite us to proclaim and bear witness that Unity – in its fullest sense of faithfulness to the Apostles’ teachings and fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and the prayers – will enable us together to overcome evil, not just in Jerusalem, but throughout the world.

January 18, 2011
Sermon at Church of the Good Shepherd ~ January 16, 2011

Read Sermon for January 16, 2011

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January 16, 2011
The Search for Authenticity

The vestry of The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Lexington, where I am serving as Interim Rector, is accepting applications from its members to serve on the Rector Nominating Committee. This committee will guide the process from a parish self-study all the way through to the time when they will present nominations of two or three priests to the vestry, which will extend a call.

The search for a rector is a process of mutual discernment. Just as the Rector Nominating Committee and Vestry will be looking at potential rectors, those potential rectors will also be looking at the parish. In fact, we have to assume that a number of people have already been looking at the parish and diocesan websites.

Just as the parish hopes the priest that is finally called will be who he or she claims to be, the parish must also hope to be the parish it claims to be! In this mutual discernment, parish leaders and prospective rectors will not be looking for perfection, in the sense of being complete and without errors or flaws. What everyone will be looking for is authenticity!

The serch for authenticity in the discernment process is sort of like peeling back the layers of an onion. Nobody can predict the outcome of this discernment process. Permit me to share an example of how unpredictable the process of calling a spiritual leader can be.

Fifty-seven years ago, two Baptist congregations that were looking for a new pastor both wanted the same young man, a recent graduate of Boston University School of Theology. They wanted to meet him and listen to him preach. He asked each committee, “About what shall I preach?” They both responded, “Preach about your dreams and visions.”

When the people from the First Baptist Church in Chattanooga heard him, they did not believe his vision for the City of God and rejected him as a possible pastor. Although surprised and shaken, the young man did not lose confidence in the dreams and visions God had given him.

When people from a Montgomery, Alabama congregation heard him preach, they believed his vision, called him to be their pastor, and he accepted. Within a few months, a black woman of that city named Rosa Parks, refused to go to the back of the bus and the African American leadership of Montgomery turned to their newest pastoral leader, The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. of The Dexter Avenue Baptist Church for leadership. He led a crusade to tear down the walls of legal segregation. His authentic witness to what he had seen and heard cost him his life in 1968. But because of his witness, others heard and saw the vision, dreamed the dream, and continue to carry on the work.

The right pastor at the right church at the right moment in history. Who could have predicted it? Who could have predicted what would happen two millennia after a young Jewish carpenter invited a dozen average people in the remote hills of Galilee to follow him?

This is for certain: the disciples, the people of Dexter Avenue, and Dr. King were listening when the call came and they responded in trust and authenticity when they heard it. They knew they weren't perfect but they trusted God to empower them to do what needed doing and to make them the people God was calling them to be. And that’s the task that lies ahead of any community of faith that is in transition and any member of the clergy who is under consideration to be their new spiritual leader.

"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God" (Hebrews 10:31) but when in trust we place ourselves in God's hands, God forms us, shapes us, and does more with us than we can possibly do with ourselves. God With Us makes authenticity possible.

January 13, 2011
Tucson – Moment of Silence and Prayer

The President has called the nation to pause for a moment of silence today at 11:00 a.m. eastern standard time to remember the victims of the shootings in Tucson.

Here are some resources that may be helpful to you.

January 10, 2011
Sermon at Church of the Good Shepherd ~ January 2, 2011

Read the Sermom for January 2, 2011

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January 2, 2011
What I Am Giving God This Year ~ Glory and Praise

During the Advent season, I shared some of the things I want to give God this year:

1. Undivided Attention
2. Authenticity
3. Trust
4. Obedience

The fifth item on my gift list for God is this: Glory and Praise.

Christmas calls us back to the Judean hillsides and sits us down among those shepherds who heard the angels’ song: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and goodwill to all people." God still tears open the skies for us. The angel host sings to God "glory!" And, to us they sing "peace and goodwill." It's a simple song and a simple message: Glory is for God and peace and goodwill is for us.

When we forget that, which from the looks of things happens quite often, we tend to get the tables turned so that we think we get the glory and God is entitled to peace and goodwill in the heavenly places with all those souls we no longer have to cope with. This year, I want the tables to be turned back to the way God intended.

People who wanted glory crucified the Word made flesh. In our own quest for glory, we still do that. Theologian Nathan D. Mitchell offers a sobering reminder that the Christ of the Crib is also the Christ of the Cross.

Christmas calls a community back to its origins by remembering Jesus' own beginnings as a human child, a prophet of God's reign, a judgment on the world and its projects. What the parish celebrates during this season is not primarily a birthday, but the beginning of a decisive new phase in the tempestuous history of God's hunger for human companions. The social concerns of the season are thus rooted in Jesus' proclamation of God's reign: the renunciation of patterns that oppress others and the formation of a new human community that voluntarily embraces those renunciations. It is an Adult Christ that the community encounters during the Advent and Christmas seasons: a Risen Lord who invites sinful people to become church. Christmas does not ask us to pretend that we were back in Bethlehem, kneeling before a crib; it asks us to recognize that the wood of the crib became the wood of the cross.

This year, I want to be sure to give God glory and praise. And, as always, God wants to give all people on earth peace and goodwill. That is the essence of salvation! Maybe if I get out of the glory business there'll be room for us to live and work together more effectively for peace and goodwill.

If you will join me in giving God glory and praise, a mystery will occur. The heavens will light up and we will be drawn closer together in communion. In this communion we will experience peace and goodwill. We will know for ourselves the meaning of salvation.

The Word did not become a philosophy, a theory, or a concept to be discussed, debated, or pondered. The Word became a person to be followed, enjoyed, and loved! So, let us dance with delight in the Word made flesh and let our hearts be filled with rejoicing, for eternal salvation has appeared on the earth. Glory to God in the highest and peace to God's people on earth. Alleluia!

December 30, 2010
The Last Day of Advent: Living on the Verge

The season of Advent is ending. It is a season of waiting, expecting, hoping, preparing. But for what?

We’ve been hearing a lot from the prophets during the past four weeks, telling about those who were expecting God to send a Messiah to deliver the Jews from their oppressors. Even tonight, Christmas Eve, we will hear such a message.

Maybe we have been waiting, expecting, hoping, and preparing for one whose revolutionary activities tend toward the liberation and redemption of folks on a more philosophical, theological, or psychological basis. If so, we may have come to this day with some anticipation that something is going to change inside us. Maybe after tonight’s service we will finally “feel” the spirit of Christmas that the soundtracks and displays in the malls haven’t been able to stir up in us. Maybe our Advent has been about getting to this night so that something can happen on the inside of us, "the peace that passes understanding."

As we reach the end of Advent, expectation turns to fulfillment. “Jesus is coming” turns to “Jesus has come.” When that happens, expectation becomes assignment. And we begin to realize that the new world order, the peace that passes understanding, and all the frenetic activity finally converge in this night and in a babe lying in a manger, who grew up to make some pretty serious demands upon us. We’ve been living on the verge of something and here it is!

A bishop once spoke of a priest who “spent forty years living on the verge of ministry.” Forty years “on the verge.” The bishop said, “He kept waiting for the perfect church. Of course, the perfect church never came. At congregation after congregation, he always found something wrong and never quite up to his expectations. He just never got to the church where he could minister. Forty years waiting, forty years complaining, forty years on the verge,” lamented the bishop.

How many people do you know who spend years “on the verge” of being a disciple of Jesus the Messiah? “One day, some day,” they say, “when we get the right church, when we get the right priest, when we get the right feeling, when we get the right answers, when we get everything right, then we’ll finally find fulfillment in our Christianity.

Advent is about being on the verge of something. It’s about being on he verge of the Christ event. It’s
about being on the verge of making some real, tangible changes in the way we live out our discipleship. It’s about being on the verge of knowing the peace which passes understanding. It’s about being on the verge of having the kind of church, the kind of clergy, the kind of resources, the kind of world, the kind of family, and the kind of constellation of emotions to finally DO something about THE thing Advent is all about. Namely, it is about discovering at the end of the journey what the shepherds and wise men and parents of the Holy Child all discovered that first Christmas.

Advent is about coming TO the manger. Christmas is about what we take away FROM the manger. The shepherds went away rejoicing and telling others what they had seen and heard. The wise men returned to their country by another way, amazed by the wonder of it all. Mary and Joseph had to figure out how to raise the Child. And, for you and me, who have arrived at this point to hear the good news, receive the gift, struggle with the mystery of the Incarnation, Christmas happens when we can’t live on the verge of it all any more. We finally, once and for all, have to go out and do something about it.

This is Christmas. This is the fullness of time. This is the night when we exchange our expectation for an assignment. The Incarnation means that God has come to us in the flesh. The Incarnation also means that when we know that, we stop living on the verge of ministry and roll up our sleeves to make the Word flesh in the living of our lives. When he is born in us, the political scene changes because he empowers us to become peacemakers. When he is born in us we find inner peace because we stop trying to be imitators of Christ and become innovations of Christ. When he is born in us we discover a way to cut through all the frenetic activity of life and focus our greatest hopes and energies on the one thing that makes it all meaningful.

O Holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray.
Cast out our sin and enter in.
Be born in us today.

And may your birth, Holy Jesus, transform the world around us and the world inside us so that your kingdom may come and your will be done, on earth – in and through us – as it is in heaven.

December 24, 2010
What I Am Giving God This Year ~ My Obedience

Of all the aspects of our relationship with God, perhaps obedience is the biggest issue with us.

Consider Joseph. He was upset about Mary when an angel came to him in a dream and brought him a message. Joseph heard the message and responded in obedience. "He did as the angel of the Lord commanded him" (Mt. 1:24). He was obedient to the message he received.

Consider St. Paul. His apostleship to the Gentiles was for bringing about obedience to the faith. Hearing or obeying, then, is used in the closest relationship to faith, not as two distinct acts, but as one and the same response. "Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17). Obedience of the heart leads to a right relationship with God.

So, obedience is something I'd like to give God this Christmas! That involves two things: hearing and responding.

Firstly, I need to listen to the message. It comes through scripture – read and proclaimed. It comes in the Holy Eucharist. It comes through prayer and reflection. It comes in many ways. If I never listen to the message, I am not likely to ever hear and understand enough to do something about it.

Then, I need to respond to the message. My response will affect my participation in the ministries of the Church, relationships with others, stewardship of God-given resources, and my entire approach to life.

Those moments when we become obedient can be life-changing experiences. As a youth, my parents instructed me to call home if I was going to be out later than expected. I had trouble doing that and often discovered tired, worried, unhappy parents when I finally arrived home. I'll never forget the first time I tried calling in as they had instructed me to do! They were glad to hear from me. They actually trusted me but were concerned for my safety. They had good reasons for expecting my obedience. Once I understood that, I never hesitated to call them when I was running late.

When we listen to God and live according to the divine will, we enthrone God as sovereign of our lives. This is true prayer. This is faithfulness. This is discipleship.

I’m giving God my obedience this year.

December 23, 2010
What I Am Giving God This Year ~ My Trust

I'm reflecting on the custom of gift-giving, which is grounded in God's greatest gift to us. We spend a lot of time selecting just the right gifts for our loved ones. And what shall I give to God? Advent provides me with the opportunity to consider that question.

Today, I'm thinking the gift of my trust is something God would value.

John the Baptizer had the task of pointing others to a greatness into which he himself did not enter. That required a great deal of trust on his part. In a Bible study course on the gospels, when we came to Matthew 11:2-11, the passage where John sends his disciples to ask Jesus if he is the Messiah, the question arose, “Was John having second thoughts? Did he have doubts that Jesus was the long-awaited anointed one?”

I don’t think John was having second thoughts about Jesus. I think John realized his particular task was just about complete. His fate was sealed. The last thing he needed to do was to send his own disciples to Jesus so that they could join in following him. It was not John but John’s disciples, therefore, who needed convincing that day. So they said to Jesus: “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And, Jesus reply was meant for them that they might believe – as eyewitnesses to his Messianic work: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And, blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”

Someone tells of how from the windows of his house every evening he used to watch the lamplighter go along the streets lighting the lamps. But the lamplighter was blind. He was bringing others light that he would never see. Like the lamplighter, John had to trust that his work had a purpose beyond what he could see with his own eyes.

Trust! That’s something I want to give God this year. But it is a costly gift.

It is so easy to fall into doubt and fear. It is so tempting to back away and agree, “You’re right, it’ll never work, let’s take the safe way, the familiar way, the heavily traveled road.”

When I turn my life over to God, I give God leadership. Doing that means I will advance even though I do not know where God will lead me. It means I have to reshape my thinking to make my thoughts large enough for God to fit in! I have to let the size of my trust set the size of my aims and objectives in life so that my expectations match God’s abilities.

One of the things my Father and I always did together at this time of year was to string lights on the roof of our house. At first, my help was confined to checking the bulbs. Then, later, I could stand on a ladder and hang the ones under the eves. Finally, I was allowed to get up on the roof. But that required assistance. I needed a boost getting up and help getting down. The booster and the helper was my dad. If I wanted to help put up the lights, I’d have to trust him not to drop me. Because of that experience, I knew Dad could be trusted not to drop me.

The everlasting arms of God are even more trustworthy. They undergird all of us. They boost us up and they keep us from falling. Blessed are we when we trust God above all others.

I’m giving God my trust this year.

December 16, 2010
What I Am Giving God This Year – A Life That Bears Delicious Fruit

I'm reflecting on the custom of gift-giving, which is grounded in God's greatest gift to us. We spend a lot of time selecting just the right gifts for our loved ones. And what shall I give to God? Advent provides me with the opportunity to consider that question.

John the Baptizer came preaching repentance, saying, “Bear fruit worthy of repentance. . . every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Mt. 3:8, 10). In other words, “Give God a life that tastes as good as it sounds!” That’s one of the things I want to give God this year, a life that bears delicious fruit. How do I do that?

I have to recognize the need for change and growth. A plant that stops changing and growing stops producing fruit. Things happen to people that cause them to stop changing and growing and their lives are not fruitful. A life that tastes as good as it sounds knows the necessity of change and growth.

I also have to learn to recognize good from evil. Have you ever bitten into a beautiful piece of fruit that has no flavor or is bitter? When dealing with fruit, it doesn’t take much more than a taste to tell the difference between good and bad. Why is it more difficult in dealing with the fruit of our lives? A life that tastes as good as it sounds recognizes the difference between good and evil. But then…

I have to make a choice. We may not be able to choose our parents or color of our skin or land of our birth. But we must choose how to respond to the people and the conditions around us. To give God a life that tastes as good as it sounds, we’ll have to change and grow, discern between good and bad, and make some responsible choices.

Our tradition includes both John the Baptizer and Jesus the Messiah! With only John, I’d know I am a snake, an unproductive bush. But with the Messiah, I know I have divine help.

Christian Baptism is not so much the dedication of a person’s life to God as it is the dedication of God’s life to a person and to a community of persons. John baptized with water for purification. But Jesus brought a baptism that included fire and the Holy Spirit. In Baptism, we are incorporated into God’s life, provided opportunities to turn to God, warned that being a faithful witness is costly, and given the Holy Spirit to help us live a fruitful life that tastes as good as it sounds.

December 9, 2010