…and they're off!

I will not be posting a sermon this week as I will be away with our Vestry for our annual retreat at the Valle Crucis Conference Center. My thanks to the Rev. Jane Smith for supplying for me while I am away. 

Every year our vestry goes away for a planning retreat, beginning on Friday evening and ending on Sunday morning. Both vestry members who actively served in 2013 and those new vestry members who will begin their terms in January 2014 are invited to attend. We get to know one another and we get to dream and plan for the future of St. John's.

This year Mahan Siler will again be our facilitator. He really helped us last year as we planned for my sabbatical and prepared for the possibility of my being elected Bishop. I wasn't elected but had I been, St. John's would have had a plan and moved forward without pause. 

This year there is no sabbatical or bishop election so we will focus our thinking on "What's next?" What's next for St. John's? Where do we want to go and who do we want to be by the end of 2014?

What projects do we want to accomplish? What goals do we want to set for ourselves? What will help us worship joyfully? What will inspire us to do Christ's work in the world? How can we be better stewards of our resources?

Friday and Saturday are spent looking to the future and developing a plan for how we will implement our dreams. On Sunday morning we will worship together with each vestry member taking part of "preaching" the sermon for Advent 3. Our worship connects us to the worship which is happening back home at St. John's. After worship we have our regular vestry meeting, wrapping up details for the year.

The retreat closes with lunch together. (I know some prayers have already been said hoping for fried chicken!) After lunch we wind our way back down the mountain, filled with dreams and hopes and the love of God and excited to share with the congregation.

Time away, either on our own personal retreat or shared with a group for planning, is so helpful. It is good to step away from the day to day--both day to day schedules and day to day environments--and intentionally ponder, pray and plan in God's holy presence.

Sermon for Year A Advent 2 2013

INVENTORY

I did a quick inventory this week of what I have in my car.
In the front side pocket
I carry a Bible and a Book of Common Prayer.
(You might expect that a priest would have those, right?)
There’s also a pitifully out of date church directory
but it generally gets me your phone number and street address
if I need to be in touch while on the road
or trying to find your house to visit.

There is an assortment of maps in the other side pocket,
even though I haven’t looked at a map in two years.
Now I just say pick up my phone and say,
“Siri, I need directions to....”

There is a first aid kit that has come in handy,
a toolbox my son gave me when he was in middle school,
a coat hanger in case you need my help to get your car door open
if you lock your keys inside,
an assortment of CDs,
my mileage book,
some quarters for the parking meters downtown--
and umbrellas.
Big umbrellas, little umbrellas.
I counted five.
Travel with me and you won’t get wet.
I like to be prepared.

So why did I take this inventory of my Subaru’s contents?
Because of John the Baptist.
Didn’t you hear ?
He says PREPARE...
PREPARE the way.

Last week we heard in the scriptures BE READY.
This week we hear PREPARE THE WAY.

Advent is a time of preparation,
a time of hopeful preparation.
though I don’t think John the Baptist was talking about multiple umbrellas.

Prepare the way.
Make the paths straight.

Advent is not a penitential season like Lent
but John does call us to repent.
And that word,
metanoia in Greek,
means to turn around, to go a different way, to make some changes.

We like that theologically.
But oh how hard it is to change our paths.
The old ways get so comfortable, so easy.

Our path starts to wander
and before we know it,
we have built stone walls to keep the path
from every changing or being straightened.

John calls us to a different way.
John is a feisty fellow.
He certainly seems capable of tearing down a wall or two.

Look at the way he is dressed.
Camel hair and a leather belt.
Did he even wear sandals or just go barefoot?
I think John would be very comfortable in Asheville.

Look at what he eats.
Locusts and wild honey.

(I don’t think he will be approached to host coffee hour,
but he would certainly be comfortable with the slow food movement).

John lives a simple, bare bones life.
He knows what matters.
John is getting ready.
John is preparing for the One who will come.
Prophets see the world in a different way.


I heard a marvelous interview on NPR this week
with a young pianist, Yuga Wang.
She was speaking about Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3--
she referred to as “Rach 3”.
She describes it as the most famously difficult piece of piano music
there is.
But she loves it.
She says,
“I am always amazed by improvisations
because of how they turn around a motif
and can just be all creative about how everything is connected.”

How everything is connected.
I think this is what the prophets saw.
I think this is what John the Baptist knew.

We need to be prepared because we are not in this world by ourselves.
We are connected to everything and everyone
and there is One to come
who is the ultimate connector.

I love the way Presbyterian minister Tom Long describes John the Baptist.
He writes:

As the door to a new era swings open, John the Baptist is the ideal hinge. He is dressed like the old age, but he points to the new. His preaching style is vintage Old Testament; his message paves the way for the new Israel. He appears to have wandered out of some retirement home for old prophets, but he announces the arrival of one who is even greater than the prophets. He baptizes with the water of the ancient Jordan River; he promises the coming of one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. Everything is about to change. The old is passing away, the new presses in. The long, lost night of hopelessness is coming to an end, and John the Baptist is the rooster who awakes the sleeping world with dawn’s excited cry.

Everything is about to change.
This is where we stand in this advent season.

John the Baptist is preparing us for this
and we are called to prepare ourselves.
Everything is about to change
but the good news is,
just like the Rach 3 piece of piano music,
everything is interconnected.

The kingdom of God will soon appear in the flesh.
A baby.
Imagine that--the Messiah coming into the world as a baby.

Jesus is going to be a very different Messiah
than anyone had imagined.
Even John the Baptist is going to be surprised.

This Messiah will not come as a powerful king
with a sword and fiery judgment.
This Messiah, this Jesus,
will come offering peace and love and mercy.
The war against the powers of evil and oppression will be waged---
but In such unexpected ways.

Even though John may not be completely prepared for all the details,
John knows that the change is a big one
as this kingdom of heaven draws near.

It is not just about making a few tweaks and improvements on one’s life.
It is about seeing the world in a radically different way
and embracing a new way of life.

I love these two icons of John the Baptist.
One is more traditional.
Brought to me by some friends who took a trip to Greece.
In this one John looks rather fierce--
I especially love his hair--
it’s unruly as if to say,
“What?! You think there’s time to worry about my hair out here in the wilderness!??!!”

And then there is this icon.
By a Latino artist (Br. Arturo Olivas, SFO)
John looks a bit loopy.
But in a good news, joyful sort of way.
This John is saying that once we make those paths straight
it’s going to be better than we ever hoped.
He holds his hand pointing to the One who is coming
as if to say,
“This guy who’s coming--
He is awesome!
Just you wait and see!
Prepare the way!”

Both these images of John
let us know that something is about to happen
that is BIG.
Really big.

And that is good news.
That is not news to frighten us
(Well, that burning the chaff is a wee-tad frightening)

But Advent is about hope.
As cantankerous as John the Baptist may sound to our 21st century ears,
he is filled with hope.
Everything--EVERYTHING---is going to be made new.

Advent calls us to prepare the way, to straighten the paths,
to make room --
to make room for something new to be born in our lives.
And John the Baptist tells us
what is coming
is beyond our wildest imaginations.

Way, way beyond our most wonderful dreams!

A wonderful source for icons is Trinity Stores:  https://www.trinitystores.com

Sermon for Advent 1 2013

Be ready

My father was career Army.
When he said we were leaving on vacation at 8 am on Saturday morning.
you better be ready and standing by the front door,
your little suitcase in hand,
because the car was backing out of the driveway at 8:01.

I guess I could say my dad was a man
who would have liked the season of Advent.

Advent is about being ready.

Have you noticed, there are certain people in this parish--
you may be one of them--
who often back into their parking spaces.
I commented on this once
and was told
this was so they could make a quick get-away!
This type of parking
is sometimes called “back in, head out" parking.

We might also label this type of parking
“advent parking.”

Advent calls us to be ready.

Advent  is a word that comes from the Latin adventus
which means “arrival” or “coming”.
The liturgical season of Advent refers to
the coming or arrival of Christ into the world--
referring to both Christ arriving as a baby,
who will be named Jesus,
and the second coming of Christ into the world.

Who is coming?
Jesus.
When is he coming?

Well, our scripture readings today tell us we don’t know when.

Now some of you might argue with that
and say,
No, he’s coming on December 25th.
That’s his birthday.

And you are right.
Sort of.
We don’t really know the date Jesus was born.
There is no date or even time of year mentioned in the Bible.
Scholars argue this widely
but we do know that by the year 400,
celebrating on December 25th had become the norm.

And what about Jesus coming again?
We may have some different theological views on that as well.
But we do proclaim Jesus coming again.
We say it every week when we celebrate the Eucharist.

Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

Christ WILL come again.

The scriptures for this first Sunday of Advent are all about time.

Isaiah says--”In days to come...

Paul’s letter to the Romans tells us
“You know what time it is....”.

Then Matthew’s gospel somewhat contradicts that
and says
“But about that day and hour no one knows”
Not even the angels.

But the true message is clear--
whether we know what time it is or we don’t have a clue,
the message of advent is this:  be ready.

Whenever.
Wherever.
Be ready.

Advent is a season which focuses our attention on time passing.
Each week in church we light one candle on the advent wreath.
On Christmas eve we will light the white candle in the center.
We are getting ready.

Some of us use special advent calendars.
Each day you open a little door or color a picture or do something special.
Our son makes an advent calendar each year for his children.
Each day there is a card and it has some activity they will do together
as a family.
It may be as simple as making blueberry muffins together.
It might be to load up their pick up truck
and take a load of firewood to an elderly neighbor.
But each day--from December 1st to December 24th they do something
as a family.
They take time to step away from iPhones and legos and television
and daily chores
and be present.
To joyfully celebrate what is right before them.
When we learn to be present--fully present--with one another,
we also learn to be present with God.

Jesus is telling us in Matthew’s gospel,
don’t assume you have an endless amount of time.
Keep awake.
Keep awake and be ready.

Not everything that happens in our lives or in the world
is joyful and happy.
Sometimes it does indeed feel like a thief has broken in
and stolen or damaged what we treasured.
There are things we cannot change.

But there is One that never changes.
That one is God.

Remember, the word Emmanuel
means God with us.
Remember that Advent is the season when we sing the hymn,
O come O come Emmanuel.

God with us--always.


Advent is a season of preparation.
Unlike Lent which is a penitential season,
Advent is a time of joyful preparation.
A time of waiting in hope
for all that will come and all that will be.

What will you do this advent to be ready for Jesus?
What will you do to make room for God in your life?
What are the hopes you have and want to nurture?

How will you answer the door,
when there is a knock and you are asked,
“Do you have any room here for something new to be born?”

Do we have any room for something new to be born?

Sometimes we get so busy and overwhelmed with all the stuff--
both physical and emotional clutter--
that we can’t even find our way to the door--
much less open it.

Advent is a season of preparation.
To seize the day and to make room in our mangers.
To get ready for whatever and whenever the knock comes.

That knock is not something to dread or to fear.
That knock is something to be excited about, hopeful.

So keep awake.
Carpe diem.
Park your lives “back in, head out.”
Be ready.
Be ready for the light to break through the darkness.

Sabbath Day

Sabbath Day

I was very fortunate to have a three month sabbatical this past spring.  Part of that sabbatical was going away for an eight-day Ignatian silent retreat at Eastern Point Retreat House in Gloucester, Massachusetts. During those days of silence (broken only by worship and a daily meeting with a spiritual director) I realized how much the silence and the time away from busy-ness renewed me. I decided that I needed to take one day each week as my sabbath day. A day when I did not do work, did not run errands, did not make plans, but just had a full day set aside to pray, to write, to paint, to be, to rest, to open myself to the presence of God. 

I am somewhat surprised but I have managed to keep a weekly sabbath day quite faithfully. Yes, there have been some interruptions (a dentist appointment that could not be scheduled any other day, travel, pastoral emergencies, etc.) but overall Mondays have become my sabbath time.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I look forward to these Mondays. I sleep so well on Sunday evenings. I do not set an alarm clock for Monday morning. 

I try to begin my sabbath at sundown on Sunday evenings and end at sundown on Monday evenings. The rhythm of this day of rest has become part of my spiritual practice and one I dearly love. Of course, I realize that I do not have small (or even large) children at home or other demands which would make such a day difficult if not impossible. I feel fortunate and blessed to have a full day. It has made a real difference in my ministry.

Some sabbaths are better than others. By that I mean, there are some sabbath days that I rather fritter away the day. Other days I feel very close to God and am able to enter a space and time of deep prayer and reflection. I feel that I will continue to get better at keeping the sabbath and offering it to God to be made holy. For it is God that makes any day and every day holy; I am not the one that does that.

Stopping for a day, reminds me. None of this is about me. All of this is about God. For that I am grateful. Immensely grateful.

This was sent to me by a friend. How I could I not love this!!??!!

I love this image of squirrels playing leapfrog. It speaks well to how I feel right now--the need to leap over a lot of empty time on my blog.

It is what happens to my blogposts every year as Holy Week approaches. The truth is my blogposts usually dwindle…or come to a complete halt.  As a parish priest there are too many sermons to write, services to plan and all else that seems to join the whirlwind about that time in the liturgical year. Plus there is that need to stop and listen for the still, small voice.

So…I have delayed posting on my blog because of the obligation I felt to post the sermons I had written or preached but hadn't taken the time to post. I was in the midst of posting about writing an icon and then everything stopped.

So rather than try to catch up (I will one day get back to the icon process) and post months and months of sermons, I decided to take the advice given to me by a bishop about 6 years ago, " Just go forward."

Forward I go. Leaping over the empty months without a posting and going forward with joy.  I just posted the meditation I offered at our Diocesan Convention and will make an effort to post at least weekly now. If you're still hanging around my blog, thank you for waiting.

Elephants

Elephants

Matthew 16:13-20


13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ 14And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ 15He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ 16Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah,* the Son of the living God.’ 17And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you, you are Peter,* and on this rock* I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ 20Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was* the Messiah.*

Today’s reading from the gospel of Matthew is all about elephants.

That’s right---elephants.

Who do you say I am?

Jesus is asking his disciples. Asking us.

This is a bit like the old folk tale of the blind men and the elephant. 

The men cannot see the entire elephant. 

The entireness, the wholeness, of the elephant

is a complete and unseen mystery to them.

They reach out into the small world that is theirs

and they touch and they feel and they try to make sense.

All they each know is one part--

just the ear of the elephant, or the leg or the trunk. 

And each one believes they know.

Each one believes they know 

what an elephant is.

Who do you say I am?

We are too often like those blind men trying to define an elephant.

We grab hold of the part that is right in front of us--

the part that most interests us,

the part that is most familiar,

the part that mirrors where we are in our journey.

Maybe that part is liturgy or justice and outreach

or evangelism or Christian formation or stewardship.

All worthy parts. All important.

but not the whole elephant.

Who do you say I am?

Music! Youth! Valle Crucis! Kanuga! Lake Logan! 

Money! Preaching! Moral Monday! College ministry!

Small churches! Big churches! Emergent churches!

We grab hold of that one part 

and try to convince everyone around us that this is THE elephant. 

This is Jesus.

This is what matters the most.

Jesus loves me 

This I know,

Of course Jesus loves what I love the best!

Oh my.

You mean there is more than just this one part?

You mean you want me to look beyond this ear that I know so well?

To connect the dots between my part and your part

and his part and her part...

The whole elephant, huh?

Who do you say I am?

Jesus is the elephant in the room.

We know he’s here.

But sometimes we pretend he’s not.

Sometimes we pretend that we are the only one in the room.

Our needs, our desires, our loves.

Jesus is the difficult truth we don’t want to face.

Jesus is the truth we are afraid to speak to those in power.

Jesus is the truth we run from and hide.

Jesus is the one we try to bind up here on earth.

The truth is so big. So strong. Like an elephant. 

We look every which way and keep our blinders on 

for fear.

For fear

of the wholeness of Jesus,

of what he really knows, 

of what Jesus really knows about us,

(now there’s a scary thought)

of how Jesus might ask us to follow, to take risks, 

to speak up, to treat people differently.

To become real truth-tellers, 

gospel spreaders, 

church builders,

God lovers.

To let loose 

the wholeness of Jesus.

Who do you say I am?

You are the Messiah.

You are the Son of the Living God.

You are my all in all.

You are everything.

Who do you say I am?

You are the whole shebang, Jesus.

You are the entire elephant.

So big.

So mysterious.

So alive.

Right here. 

Right now.

Right in this very room. 

+           +        +

A meditation on Matthew 16: 13-20

offered at the Annual Convention of the Diocese of Western North Carolina 

Morning Prayer, Friday, November 15, 2013

The Rev. Jeanne Finan