Aug 08, 2021 |
Strength for the Journey
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane
Strength for the Journey
"This reading from First Kings to me is what Eucharist is like. We come and we receive a gift that we need. When we've had enough, when we give up, when we can't do it anymore. All of this. All of this that's going on in the world. We can't do it anymore. And we put out our hands. We receive a gift of grace. We come here to be what we see and to receive who we are. The body of Christ. We gain strength for the journey in a shared meal, in a communion feast."
Aug 01, 2021 |
Thrust Into Uncertainty
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul
Thrust Into Uncertainty
"The testimony we have before us today and the testimony of our faith is sure and certain and clear and consistent. We hear time and again, as we did today, you will be thrust into places of uncertainty, discomfort, fear, and change. And in all of those places you will find God. You are not alone. We are not alone. We are not left to our own devices right now. In the times of great uncertainty and fear and change God, the God of love, the God of all creation, the God who great gathers all things up into heaven, is with us right now. Sharing life with us. And drawing us into deeper communion and connection with one another."
Jul 25, 2021 |
That's A Miracle!
| The Rev. Joyce Keeshin
That's A Miracle!
The presence of Jesus in physical form, physical human form is a continuous miracle throughout the gospels. Jesus’ very being is a miracle, both transcendent and grounded all at once. And the path of love Jesus teaches us and invites us to enable us to bear witness, in our own days, to the miraculous nature of love.
Jul 11, 2021 |
The Voice of the Prophet
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul
The Voice of the Prophet
"There's something really wonderful about saying, 'Oh yeah, God is love isn't that nice.' Without acknowledging that that means that if God is love and God has called me into life, into living, into being in this world that I am made for love. And then I’m meant to live in this world as if that's true. Well, that might require me to look at myself differently"
Jul 04, 2021 |
Along the way of Love
| The Rev. Gary Lubin
Along the way of Love
"Then along the way of Love, we hear in today’s Gospel
reading, Jesus sends out the 12 disciples to heal and teach like he had been
doing. Then later on, Jesus sends out 70 more disciples to do exactly the same
thing. So the Jesus love movement grew then and continues to grow even now because
Jesus’ followers say and do something in the name of love and for the sake of
love, even if it’s just a little thing. Just being grateful and faithful followers
of Jesus persuade us to speak on God’s behalf to becoming a beloved community."
Jun 27, 2021 |
Unimagined Miracles
| The Rev. Joyce Keeshin
Unimagined Miracles
“This is our very human dilemma, as people of faith. Like Jairus, we desperately want our loved ones to be healed. Like the woman, we want ourselves to be healed. We pray faithfully, and yet if we focus on what we think that healing looks like, we may miss the healing that is happening in our midst, the healing that already is.”
Jun 20, 2021 |
Peaceful Easy Feeling
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane
Peaceful Easy Feeling
"Sometimes my son's wisdoms wisdom falls short of his ancient namesake, who reminded us that humility is a flower which does not grow in everyone's garden. And what I realized in my son Aristotle's response was a real-life example of society and scripture in conflict. The world says to us, punch that storm in the face. But the gospel says to us, ask for help. The world says, be afraid. And the gospel says, keep the faith. The world says, take control. And the gospel says, some things are beyond you."
Jun 13, 2021 |
In My Mother's Garden
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane
In My Mother's Garden
"But in my mother's garden, the one that is wild and free with all the weeds growing in it, a conglomeration of cuttings from heirloom plants and pretty flowers from one daughter and hardy trees from another and exotic ground coverings from another and veggies to feed our friends and some flourishing throwaways that we rescued from the flower dump down the street. Among all of these, there in that place, the sign makes sense. Because that garden looks a lot like the world and that's where God is."
Jun 06, 2021 |
We Are Family
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul
We Are Family
"But the power of family, the power of blood, can do so many things to keep us in its thrall and make us feel like we've got to stay in something that is unhealthy. We've got to put up with abuse. We've got to put up with being less than God has made us to be. And Jesus has a liberating message for us in those moments: That our true family, our true belonging, is found in the God who made us, and our siblings and parents are the people who understand that God is love. And the community that is built on the God of love is meant to become our family."
May 30, 2021 |
Three Persons, One Love
| The Rev. Gary Lubin
Three Persons, One Love
"We are always becoming who we are destined to become. Your very being is a love prayer, melting away the restlessness of this life. And it's centered in God. In God. Of God. About God. For God. Enfolded, immersed in a love which cannot be broken by any dark power of hatred or violence in this world. Transcending inner and outer fear. Transcending anxieties. Transcending apprehensions and preoccupations. It is possible to live in the world yet not be part of it. To keep a loose hold on this world. To be centered."
Image: Icon of the Trinity by Ellen McGuckin. Used with permission.
Image: Icon of the Trinity by Ellen McGuckin. Used with permission.
May 23, 2021 |
What Does This Mean?
| The Rev. Joyce Keeshin
What Does This Mean?
"Looking back at that reading in Acts, Luke writes, all were amazed and perplexed saying to one another; What does this mean? But others sneered and said they're filled with new wine. The Holy Spirit invites us to notice and witness with amazement, with wonder. Whether the Holy Spirit shows up as a dramatic force or a source of guidance and truth. Or as a surprise of a loved one at the door. Or as the gentlest touch in the anointing on the head of the newly baptized. In all of these expressions, we are invited to respond with wonder, with grateful hearts, with love."
May 16, 2021 |
The Exclusive Reality of Love
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul
The Exclusive Reality of Love
"But after Judas’ death, the other eleven apostles get together. And they do something really beautiful. Peter says, you know Judas was one of us. He was one of us. He was part of who we are. And we actually can't go forward until we have another person to take that place because we are incomplete without Judas. Think about that for a moment. The beginning of this beloved community is founded in a place of love and respect and forgiveness and honoring of the place that Judas, of all people, had played in the life of that community."
May 09, 2021 |
Sing a New Song
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane
Sing a New Song
"God's love is not only like a father's love. God is also like a mother's love. Like the love of a sister, or a friend, or a neighbor. Or that old lady at church who plays peek-a-boo from the second pew. And yet, God's love is even more than this. God's love is like the gentle breeze on your skin on a hot August day. God’s love is an intricate snowflake on jet black hair. God's love is a cold drink of water for someone who has traveled many, many miles through desert lands in search of safety and sanctuary. God’s love surpasses our human understanding. And if we want our children to understand this, we must expand our language for God. We must open the gate of welcome to them and explore all that God has been, is now, and will be forever. For all of her children. How in the world can we expect to love one another as God loves us if half of us don't even see ourselves as made in the image of God?"
May 02, 2021 |
Founded in Love
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul
Founded in Love
"[W]e heard today that God is love and that those who love know God. And then when we love one another, we abide in God. Which is to say, we make our home in God and then God abides in us. Which is, of course, to say that God is making God's home in us and when we hear that this is true, then there is nothing else that can compare with this reality. God is love. This is a radical idea. A radical belief that God is love. It is not reasonable. It's not moderate, it's not something that you can stay calm, cool, and collected while receiving and trying to understand. It is inherently radical and changes your whole reality when you say God is love."
Apr 25, 2021 |
Experience Sheep
| The Rev. Joyce Keeshin
Experience Sheep
"We recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd, not only because we recognize the tone but also the content. There is a consistency of message and the message is one of love. Love God. Love your neighbor. Love yourself. Love one another as I have loved you. The message is of love.
Think of the loving relationships in your lives. The voices you immediately recognized resonate with. Think of this constancy of that current of love that runs through them. Sometimes it's expressed out loud. Sometimes simply known to be, an undercurrent even in difficult or conflicted times. We serve as shepherds and guides for each other. And we are shepherded too."
Think of the loving relationships in your lives. The voices you immediately recognized resonate with. Think of this constancy of that current of love that runs through them. Sometimes it's expressed out loud. Sometimes simply known to be, an undercurrent even in difficult or conflicted times. We serve as shepherds and guides for each other. And we are shepherded too."
Apr 18, 2021 |
Death is not the end
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul
Death is not the end
I’ve gotta be honest, I find this sometimes to be very dangerous territory. Because I get nervous about us looking towards the afterlife, in which I believe, looking towards that afterlife as a way to ignore what's happening here. That we have the capacity, when we go, “Well, that's okay, 'cause I know where I'm going when I die.” That we can use that the same way we could use drinking or drugs or something else to numb ourselves to the realities of here and now. To turn a blind eye from the darkness that we face here from day to day. “I know it's scary and hard here, but I've got a divine destiny and God's great Kingdom, so I'm okay” is not okay. And when we see people grieving the deep darkness of death, when we try to remind them of the life to come, sometimes that's helpful. Quite often it is a way to short circuit someone's grief and natural processing of the hard realities of the life that we live
Apr 11, 2021 |
The Mutuality of Love
| The Rev. Gary Lubin
The Mutuality of Love
Here we are, in this time and place. We have our own fears and our own unique challenges in becoming our own brand of beloved community. To listen to the mutuality of love. To be of one heart and soul and mind, so that there is not one needy person among us. To live together in diverse community. To achieve racial reconciliation and justice and economic equity. Recent current events demonstrate once again that we've got a long way to go on that count.
Apr 04, 2021 |
Don't Cling to Me
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul
Don't Cling to Me
Jesus is sending the Holy Spirit out to breathe the breath of God and inspire the whole world to live into the love for which every one of us is made. And as God blows that breath out, the Holy Spirit of the world, he is blowing all of us out. Out of this space. Out of our comfort zones. Out of that space of clinging and into a recognition of where God is in the world today. It will not look the way it did a year ago. It will not look the way it did a week ago. But God is at work. Hear your name. Recognize the love for which you are made. It is a love that cannot be killed. It is a love that animates all things with grace, mercy and justice. We are bound together in this resurrection. Not so that we can just cling to the things that we love. But so that we can pursue them. Follow them into this world and name God's blessing and participate in the work God would have us do.
Apr 02, 2021 |
What About Us?
| The Rev. Joyce Keeshin
What About Us?
This is a solemn night. Jesus told us it would come to this. Jesus forewarned us of the suffering he would endure. How he would be lifted up. We heard the words. But witnessing a loved one being killed is heartrending, heartbreaking and leaves us with unanswerable questions. What could we have done?
