 By Dan Carew, Lay Preacher
Today’s Gospel selection from Luke might be filed under “Stories About Rule Keeping vs. Rule Bending.” This encounter between Jesus, the religious leader and the woman with a crippling, and likely excruciatingly painful, physical ailment takes place in “one of the synagogues on the Sabbath”. This concept of the Sabbath is central to this story. What do we need to know about the Sabbath to make sense of this interaction between Jesus and the religious leader? First, observing the Sabbath is a long held Jewish custom dating back to Moses, Mt. Sinai and the ten commandments from Exodus chapter 20 (and again in Deuteronomy Chapter 5). In the list of commandments, “keeping the Sabbath” is the fourth commandment, and has its roots in the creation story from the book of Genesis. On this day, the 7th day, God commanded the Israelites not to do any work; no one in their family and none of their livestock, as well as “the resident alien” in their towns. During the Sabbath there are a number of forbidden labors - such as kindling a fire(Ex. 35:3), carrying a load (Jer. 17:21-22), making bread and acts of construction. The purpose of the Sabbath is to emulate God, who after “working” six days, rested on the seventh day. It is a time for remembrance, reflection and consideration of God’s Covenant; a time to be with family and community; and a time to gather in the synagogue. All noble things and if you are a faithful follower, you would want to adhere to the guidelines set forth to preserve the sanctity of the occasion, or because you feared imminent demise, or a combination of both. And so our first point of tension in this encounter - What is allowed on the Sabbath? So, here on this Sabbath day, Jesus is teaching in one of the synagogues. This is nothing out of the ordinary for Jesus or for the Gospel of Luke. Where we are in the timeline of Luke’s writing, we are in a new account of Jesus’ ministry, as prior to this encounter, Jesus had been speaking to crowds, and was chipping away at superstition, sin, and ill-fated circumstances; in this account in the synagogue, he is definitely chipping away, or rather tearing down something, but we’ll get that in just a bit. During this time of teaching, a woman appears and is described as having a “spirit” that had “crippled” her. She was “bent over”, “unable to stand up straight”, and had been suffering this ailment for 18 years. In our modern day medical definitions she might be diagnosed with an inflammatory bone disease, something that poses great mobility challenges. According to the account, it seems she did not come seeking Jesus or taking any action to get his attention, nothing out loud and publicly that we know of. However, imagine how her gait and posture would’ve looked as she moved about along the fringes outside of the synagogue, at the edge of those gathered - she might catch one’s attention. This may be the cause for Jesus’ response, as he pauses his teaching to take action and call her over; our second point of tension in the encounter - a rabbi calling a woman to him … in the synagogue … a woman with a crippling disease … oh, and on the Sabbath. At this point, the tension is palpable. There she is, right in front of Jesus. He speaks to her, “woman, you are set free from your ailment”, lays his hands on her, and then she immediately stands up straight and praises God. There is beauty in this interaction. He makes no commentary about her salvation or the cause of her ailment, only that she has been set free from it. This beautiful moment is quickly soured by the leader of the synagogue. Who has become “indignant” - you know being angry or annoyed at unfair treatment! Then things start to get ugly. The leader turns to the crowd - not to Jesus and not to the woman, but the crowd, a classic marker for people who are passive aggressive. He complains to the crowd about Jesus’ infraction against the Sabbath and the woman’s intentions to be cured. Did you see what Jesus did? He cured that woman! On the Sabbath! That’s not right! It’s unfair! That’s not what we do! We cure on the other six days, not on the day of rest! Let me be clear, the way power-hungry people respond to any sort of threat to their status, power or privilege manifests in nearly the same way. Regardless of whether we are talking about a human interaction 2000 years ago, or in recent history, there’s always some sort of gnashing of teeth, inciting of a mob, scapegoating, avoiding responsibility, or spinning the narrative so they are the victim. It is no different as we see with this religious leader. He rebukes Jesus for “working” on the Sabbath, and the woman for not coming on the “other six days” to be cured. Hearing this religious leader’s response makes me indignant! And maybe like me, you want to grab him by the scruff of his robe and give him a piece of your mind. But we can take a breath because Jesus comes with the verbal smackdown. “You Hypocrites!” We heard this phrase last week in the Gospel selection, and I think while it is to be taken as a rebuke to the actions of the religious leaders, I would also like to think that it is Jesus’ way of saying to the passive aggressive leader, “How ‘bout you say that to my face?”. It also should be pointed out that Jesus is responding in the plural - it is no longer one individual. Perhaps there are other religious leaders present, or he is including the crowd in this rebuke as they’ve become complicit with the leader. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water?” This part of Jesus’ response is the first part of a rabbinic tool known as Qal Va-Ḥomer, which is used for interpreting scripture logically, and means “light and heavy”. Here Jesus is pointing out a minor case where there is an exception to a rule in order to justify a major, or “heavier” case. In this instance, is it ok for you to provide for the needs of your livestock on the Sabbath? Is it ok for you to do something in your own interest? Something that benefits you? Jesus might’ve had in mind the passage we heard read this morning from the book of Isaiah, “If you refrain from trampling the Sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the LORD …” Continuing with the verbal smack down … “And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?” Here Jesus closes out the Qal Va-Ḥomer logic with the “major” response. If you can give your livestock some water on the Sabbath, surely this woman, a “daughter of Abraham”, you know one of us, who has been suffering for 18 long years, doesn’t need to wait another day. She can be cured today, right now. Her value is greater than that of your livestock. I would also like to note that I do not believe the woman is “demon-possessed” but rather suffering a physical ailment. In his commentary on this Gospel passage, Ira Brent Driggers states, “Luke goes so far as to call her condition a form of Satanic bondage (verse 16), which is an ancient apocalyptic way of saying her condition violates God’s will for her life (and is not her own fault!). To be clear, she is not demon-possessed.” 1 This response from Jesus is very much in sync with a couple of other instances where he challenged the conventions of the Sabbath. Earlier in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus encounters a man with a crippled hand. During that encounter he questions the religious leaders whether it is “lawful to do good or to do harm” on the Sabbath. In a similar account in the 12th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus proclaims “how much more valuable is a human being than a sheep!”(v.12) and, “the Sabbath was made for humankind, not humankind for the sabbath…”(v.27). And in another encounter with the religious leaders, documented in the Gospel of Matthew and Mark, where Jesus and His disciples pick and eat grain from a grainfield on the Sabbath, Jesus responds to their rebukes with “something greater than the temple is here” (Mt.12:6). Where do we go from here? In a revamped version of Sunday Bloody Sunday, (in the documentary Stories of Surrender), Bono sings, “Is religion now the enemy of the Holy Spirit guide?” I think that is what Jesus is trying to point out in the encounter in Luke as well as others in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. In that time in history, the religious leaders (and followers) allowed the following of regulations, laws, cultural norms, and mores to supersede the value of human life and dignity. This still happens today. In the harassment and exclusion faced by our LGBTQIA+ siblings. In the targeting of our siblings from other countries residing here legally and illegally. It is happening to nearly every person on the margins, and outside of power, prestige and privilege. We should be seeking a greater good by continually reflecting upon ourselves and the institutions we ascribe to, asking is it good for someone else and others? Or just me and my beliefs? Me and my community? Sometimes the “rules” we follow for ourselves are not the “rules” everyone else should follow. In his commentary on this passage of Luke, Emerson Powery states, “We must be diligent to recognize what theological ideas we hold dear that disallow full participation from others…And, do religious traditions help us to become that kind of community or do they hinder our desires?” 2 We should operate from an abundance mindset versus a scarcity mindset by emulating the God described in Psalm 103. We should be “full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and of great kindness.” I haven’t always been Episcopalian. When I was in high school, I was attending a church of a different denomination and was relatively new to the Christian faith. I had decided that I wanted to be baptised, which was the full immersion type. However at that time, I was the only one in my family attending church - I was quite serious and intent on it. I did not have my driver’s license, and my mom was unable to give me a ride. I also think I was somewhat embarrassed to ask someone else for a ride… to my baptism. So, I did something I had done a number of times before - I asked if I could take the car to the church for the baptism. My mom said yes with one stipulation, if I got caught she would claim that I had stolen the car. So, I drove myself to the church, got baptised and drove back home, incident free, feeling more committed and closer to God. I willingly broke a “law of the land” to pursue something that I felt spiritually was the next step in my journey towards closeness with God. And while what I did was ultimately between me and the Maker, we as God’s people are called to love, care, and support others. So, are there actions we should be taking that are Christlike and very much in line with God’s vision for humanity revealed through Jesus, actions that go against some regulation of the church or the state or some government entity? To quote the prophet Micah, it's always a good time to “Do Justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God” (6:8). Amen. 1 Driggers, Ira Brent, Commentary on Luke 13:10-17; https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-21-3/commentary-on -luke-1310-17-4 2 Powery, Emerson, Commentary on Luke 13:10-17. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-21-3/commentary-on -luke-1310-17-3  Today’s gospel passage is one that can make us uncomfortable.* Jesus is speaking to a large crowd, that includes his disciples and religious leaders.** He says to them, “I came to bring fire to the earth…”
In our context, we may hear ‘fire’ and conjure up negative images of fire and brimstone. For that, we can thank the fourteenth century writer Dante, and his Inferno, as described in the first part of his Divine Comedy. Most of our modern imagery of heaven and hell comes from this text, which drew upon pieces of scripture and tradition, and expanded them into something much more robust. Thankfully, we can set Dante’s fire and brimstone aside, because the reference to fire would likely have stirred up something entirely different for this crowd. Moses, the leader of ancient Israel, first encountered the living God when he heard God’s voice speak to him through a burning bush.*** To this crowd, fire would have symbolized God’s presence. So to hear Jesus say, “I came to bring fire…” would tell them he has come to bring God’s presence into the world. It would have affirmed the rumors floating around that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus goes on to say: “...how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!” Jesus is longing for this fire to catch, to sanctify the earth from selfishness, abuse, and hate. He wants his listeners to feel and know God’s presence; to understand God’s dream for this world, and the ways in which we must turn everything upside down if we want to make things right again. This passage takes place as Jesus is travelling to Jerusalem, where he knows a baptism of trial, suffering, and crucifixion await him. Behind these words, we see Jesus’ humanity and vulnerability. His heightened awareness that time was running out. The stress, and the urgency behind that knowledge, wore heavy. All of this may be why Jesus implored for his listeners to understand: “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." Jesus is not telling us he is in favor of conflict, violence, and war. Nor is he telling us about the natural realities of conflict in family systems. Rather he is imploring his followers to understand that if we choose to follow Jesus we are choosing to spend the rest of our lives in pursuit of God’s dream. This will inherently lead us to experience division, conflict, and fractures within our family and friends. With time, these divisions are compounded by the wildly different ways the gospel is interpreted. We are seeing this today with the rise of Christian Nationalism, a vision that is truly at odds with what we understand of God’s dream. It’s helpful to remember Jesus was not looking to start an entirely different religion. He was looking to bring reform to his own Jewish tradition. Unfortunately, his message was not well received by some religious leaders. In fact, many of them were getting pretty frustrated with him. In an earlier verse they are described as feeling ‘very hostile’ towards Jesus.**** I can’t help but empathize with these frustrated religious leaders. Here they have this young leader, who is reframing how to interpret scripture, completely disrupting current norms. He’s doing this in a public setting, in a way that draws crowds and challenges their authority. I am sure some of these hostile religious leaders were folks who let their own self-serving ambition corrupt them. But I also imagine many more were something like middle management. Caught in a system that they’d never really examined, and never really considered thinking about differently. Jesus was holding up a mirror for them and speaking truth to power. It meant those in religious leadership had to decide whether to dismiss him in hostile annoyance, or to consider his teachings as truth. When we are the ones asked to do this kind of self-reflection, our response is often resistance. We yearn for permanence, even as everything about this life demands that we notice the impermanence of nature. When we refuse to engage in honest self-reflection, we bypass learning resilience and the growth that comes from it. Even worse, we purposely distance ourselves from God’s abiding presence. So what do we make of this passage as followers of Jesus? Jesus was reminding his followers of his purpose, and in turn our purpose. As the Church, we have to remember our why, our mission and our purpose, if we want to remain devoted to bringing about God’s dream for this world. Otherwise we risk losing sight of the priorities God has set before us, and we get distracted, and in turn, lose our effectiveness. In the back of the prayer book, is the Catechism, a loose framework of the Episcopal Church’s teachings in question and answer form. On pages 854-55, there is a section called “The Church”, and I want to point our attention to the last three questions: Q. What is the mission of the Church? A. The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. Q. How does the Church pursue its mission? A. The Church pursues its mission as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love. Q. Through whom does the Church carry out its mission? A. The church carries out its mission through the ministry of all its members. Each and every one of us, I might add. Here at James and Andrew, we articulate this understanding of our mission in this way: We believe God is calling us to cultivate a community of love, joy, hope, and healing. Jesus is our model for a life of faith, compassion, hospitality, and service. We strive to be affirming and accessible, welcoming and inclusive; we seek to promote reconciliation, exercise responsible stewardship, and embrace ancient traditions for modern lives. It is imperative that we keep this mission before us. While we are in this together, it’s not easy to hold up God’s dream of love. A dream that values love of neighbor over profit. A dream that values love of creation over convenience. A dream that values love of reconciliation over being right. Each week we leave worship, empowered and equipped to be the Church. To speak truth to power; to stand in solidarity with those on the margins; and to find the inherent dignity in each and every person. This means we need to see each and every human being as made in the image and likeness of God, and we need to love them. Call to mind for a moment the person that makes our blood boil, or the person who has caused us the most pain, or who simply drives us nuts. Our calling is to love them. Not be best friends with them. Not to condone their words and actions. We are to love them. And in order to love them, we need to remain in relationship with them. This requires keeping the door open. And it’s probably worth noting, keeping the door open doesn’t mean keeping the possibility open that we can ‘fix’ them and convince them we’ve been in the right all this time. It means seeking out the dignity within each and every person, and loving them, knowing they are made in the image and likeness of God. Remembering their humanity, remembering we don’t know everything about their story or the ‘why’ behind their actions and beliefs. It means showing up to the relationship even when we disagree. It means increasing our tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty. Because we trust that God is in this with us. Following Jesus’ Way of Love will bring us into division. It’s not a matter of if, but when, and how much. And we could choose to let that division be an ending of relationships, or we can take that division and reassess how we are engaging in those relationships. Doing what we need to be healthy and well, but keeping doors open. Praying for them, entrusting that God can see the bigger picture so we don’t have to. Accepting the ambiguity and the discomfort as a natural outcome of keeping the door open for reconciliation, justice, peace, and love. As we prepare to head back out into a divided world, I would invite us to do some reflecting this week.
* Luke 12:49-56 ** Working Preacher Podcast for 10 Pentecost / Proper 15 *** Exodus 3 **** Luke 11:53-55  By Steve Houghton, Lay Preacher
Good Morning. I would like to begin with a paraphrase of New York Times columnist David Brooks as I heard him on NPR’s 1A on July 7, 2025. Mr. Brooks said; Over the last twenty years, we've seen a rise in mental health problems, a sharp rise in suicide. Thirty six percent of Americans say they feel lonely much of the time Forty five percent of high school students say they're persistently hopeless and despondent. The number of Americans who say they have no close friends is up by fourfold since February. And so we've become sadder as a country, and more distrustful. Social trust and interpersonal trust have been collapsing over the last two generations. And so when you feel sadder, you feel meaner because your loneliness is a form of insult to your dignity, and so you wanna lash out. And so I think our politics sort of flow directly out of, the decline we've seen in people's social, relational, and spiritual lives. End of paraphrase. Let me repeat that last line of David Brooks, “and so I think our politics sort of flow directly out of the decline we’ve seen in people’s social, relational, and spiritual lives.” We are here this morning to reverse that decline in our spiritual lives. We are here to re-assess how we are relating to the world and if we are, in fact, following the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. We are here to reacquaint ourselves with the love and togetherness that Jesus always spoke of. In Hebrews, Paul is teaching us that the obedience of Abraham, Jacob and Issac was rewarded with God’s blessing and an abundance of descendants. Paul goes on to explain that even though they died before seeing the complete fulfillment of God’s promise they had faith that God would do what was promised. They recognized that they were strangers on earth and that “they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one.”(Hebrews 11:16). Do we have faith in that promise and do we desire a better, heavenly country? Jesus uses bridesmaids and servants in many of his teachings as examples of the importance of being prepared. His kind of being prepared is not a passive thing but is very active. “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit.” I really enjoy the gospel when Jesus calls for action. There’s no personal salvation here. As Paul said this is a call to action in forming a new country, a heavenly one, a coming of the kingdom. So the question comes to us, what does it mean to be ready and to be dressed for action and have our lamps lit? That is really what I want to focus on in the readings this morning “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit.” Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis puts it this way. “I can see a bold new path led by a vision of the sacred goodness of humankind and the abundance of the planet’s resources…. You and I are the ones we’ve been waiting for to create better lives for ourselves and our communities and to build a better world—together. All we need is the courage to imagine, and the will to make it be so.”( Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World (Harmony Books, 2021), 14, 15.) Rev. Dr. Lewis’ words roll easily off the tongue but can be a bit less easy to execute. Early on in my involvement with Emmaus Companions and early in the prayer corner at Second Helpings I was sitting at our prayer corner when a guest I will call Bob came to me just before folks were called to get their food. I need you to understand that this was back when we would call individual tables to the service line and we expected folks to come when their table was called to keep the line moving efficiently. I started getting nervous since there didn’t seem to be enough time to get a prayer in before they started serving the food. Bob went on for several minutes describing how and why he wanted prayers for his daughter who was ill and living in another state. I started to cut Bob short and explained that food was being served. He looked me in the eye and told me that if he wanted food right away he would have waited in his seat but he came to me to pray for his daughter. To say I was embarrassed and caught up short would be an understatement. I quickly recovered and was able to lead Bob in a prayer for his daughter. Driving home I realized that I had put my need to keep things moving, to maintain the protocol of the meal, ahead of what our ministry was about; sharing Christ’s love. I had tried to approach serving others through a perspective of maintaining the established system. Fortunately, Bob, like many we serve, was not shy and quick to redirect my focus. And doesn’t that happen with most of us? We set out to help build a new country with an attitude focused on maintaining the status quo. One of the guidelines of Emmaus Companions is to shut up and listen. We need to hear what our companion is asking for or looking for. Focused on not stepping out of our comfort zone will cause us to misread or completely miss the other person’s need. How often have we joined the express lane in the supermarket only to see someone in front of us with a full cart? Stage whispered observations of “which checkout is this” and how “some people don’t know how to count to fifteen”, don’t really demonstrate having our lamps lit. It is possible that the customer with the oversized load is trying to get home as fast as possible to take care of a sick child. Perhaps being prepared will help us to smile and take the edge off that mom or dad as they red faced leave the supermarket. I was in the Energy Park with a number of folk including one gentleman I will call Mike. Mike had been homeless for over thirty years in several cities and towns in Massachusetts. He was looked up to by the people on the margins and saw himself as a mentor and guide to those newly homeless. We were talking about homeless experiences when he suddenly turned to me and demanded what right I had to be with this group of people. In the four or five seconds it took me to respond my mind went in a million directions. This is where the Holy Spirit usually steps in and saves my butt and this was no exception. I looked Mike in the eye and said something to the effect of “There was this teacher in ancient Israel who said all people were my brothers and sisters and I believe him.” Mike looked at me for what seemed like an hour but was really only about fifteen seconds then declared that he guessed that I did have a right to be there if that was the case. People have a right to challenge us when we are trying to do good works and it is important for us to have an understanding of what motivates our actions. If I had been caught up in trying to justify myself I am sure I would have failed in Mike’s eyes. I know that standing in front of a 6’ 4” man with a thousand foot stare that burns like a laser into the back of your head trying to make friends and offer a helping hand isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but for Alicia, Charlie, Dennis and I it is and if any of you think it might be for you also just talk to one of us. The reality is that none of us has to do huge, great, splashy things to help bring about a new country. One of our reflection group members shared that simple things have a big impact on us. She shared that a person let her proceed first at an intersection and that gave her hope that there were still good people in the world. Now that says two things; one, our culture is so screwed up that a simple gesture of kindness has a great impact and more importantly two how easy it is to make a change toward the better. I think Brian McClaren sums it up well when he writes: “Our choice is clear from the start: If we want to be his disciples, we won’t be able to simply coast along and conform to the norms of our society. We must choose a different definition of well being, a different model of success, a new identity with a new set of values…. ” (Brian D. McLaren, We Make the Road by Walking: A Year Long Quest for Spiritual Formation, Reorientation, and Activation (Jericho Books, 2014), 128–129) So the task before us is pretty simple in action and very profound in impact. Whether it is curtesy at intersections or praying with a friend in Page 15 need, we need to seek Jesus’ love as we build a new country, a heavenly one. If we are to be salt and light, I wonder, how will we dress for action and light our lamps in this coming week? Amen  By Rev. Heather J. Blais, Rector
Our gospel lesson begins with someone in the crowd asking Jesus to tell their brother to split the family inheritance with them.* This was in spite of a clear and well known law from Deuteronomy which gave the oldest son a double portion.** Jesus clarifies matters by saying, Friend, you are setting me out to be a judge or arbitrator. He then warns the crowd against greed and from accumulating possessions. To further his point, he tells the crowd a parable. A rich man’s land had produced abundantly. A truly delightful problem. As he considered how to store the harvest, the answer came to him: Of course! I’ll take down my current barns, and build even larger ones! This would allow him to safely store his many crops and goods. Then he could finally say to himself, Now that I have ample goods laid away for many years I can finally relax. It’s time to eat, drink, and be merry! Now, there is nothing wrong with eating, drinking, and being merry. In fact, it’s considered a proper response to God’s good gifts when we look to the Hebrew Scriptures.*** The problem with the rich man’s response was: 1 - These goods seemed to be for me, myself, and I. 2 - It turns out that the man would die that very day. God showed up, and in what I imagine was a tone of sorrowful pity, said to him: You fool - this very night your life will come to an end. And now, whose will these things be? Jesus ends the parable by saying:“So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” In nearly every waking hour of our lives, our culture asks us to live in a way that is at odds with God’s values. We work, so we might earn an income that will allow us to pay for the necessities. Except we are inundated with images and falsehoods that if we really want a better life, that we need to work even harder, so we can produce even more, and earn an even higher income ... all so we can consume even more. This devastating cycle does not believe there is such a thing as “enough”, and it costs us everything. It harms our overall health and wellbeing, because it leads us to forget the Sabbath. It harms our relationships, because work and things replace quality time together. With our loved ones, and most especially with God. On top of this, the cycle wreaks havoc on God’s creation as we take increasingly more to meet the demands of this cycle. So how do we navigate lives of faith where we are rich towards God? We might begin by noticing just how often we are being inundated with messages telling us we need more. Even once we notice the intensity and frequency of this messaging, we will still sometimes be compelled to buy non-essential goods or services. What if instead of clicking ‘buy now’ or ‘sign up’ we write the idea down on a list. Often when we go back to the list we realize it would be nice, but not necessary. The simple act of delaying gratification is a tool to help us be more intentional and faithful in how we use the resources we have been blessed with. To go a step further, how often do we go through our belongings and examine which of these treasures we need to keep? When we do, and realize something is no longer meaningful or useful, might we freely give that item to someone else in need of such a resource? We spend a lot of time buying and selling things when they can be shared and exchanged. The reward of giving our things away is a delight in knowing someone else has just found a treasure they will cherish. Sharing our riches shows our neighbors there is another way to live, a way that points towards God’s dream for this world, where there is always enough. Now taking the idea one final step further, what about the precious resources of our time, energy, and money? How are we sharing these riches with God? In scripture there is an idea that we offer one tenth of our riches back to God, often referred to as a tithe.**** Some of us tithe; others are working towards it; and still others are working towards giving a double portion back to God. Each individual and family determines what that looks like - and does so holding the delicate realities of ensuring there is enough food on the table, student loans to be paid, and busy schedules to navigate. We give this one tenth of our precious resources as an act of thanksgiving for God’s abundance. For the many riches and blessings of our lives. Historically these gifts went to our local churches, but there are now other good community or humanitarian organizations that benefit from our support as well. Our family primarily gives to Saints James and Andrew. But we also regularly support community organizations we care about. When we stop to truly consider God’s abundance in our lives, it is humbling, and it spurs us to offer freely of our abundance in celebration of God’s good gifts. It is easy to lose track of the abundance of God’s blessings as we are inundated with messages to produce and consume in nearly every waking hour. Contrast that with the one hour we gather together for worship each week, plus our own private time in prayer. Our culture’s message is so much louder and in our faces. It means we have to be very intentional about regular ongoing reflection. Considering how we are doing at using the resources we have been blessed with in a way that aligns with God’s values; values we choose for ourselves in our baptism. Now, to return to the issue at hand in our gospel - the predicament of the rich man - what happens to our belongings when we die? Because let me tell you this - they don’t come with us. Will they gather dust in some barn? Or be purchased by strangers at an estate sale? Or - might we take the time to create a will or trust and be explicit in how we will share our riches with loved ones, friends, our faith community and other organizations we care about? And if we’ve done that before - when was the last time we revisited it to ensure it reflects our values today? When we arrived at former St. James in early 2013, we were preparing to celebrate our bicentennial. To celebrate we launched a legacy giving program called the Third Century Society, a fund to help our parish thrive in the next 100 years. I’ll never forget how the Chair of the Stewardship Committee, Dennis O'Rourke, asked each committee member to sign up for this society, so we could say the entire ministry team were founding members. It was a great idea. But frankly, my immediate response was not such a generous one. We’d been living in Greenfield for about 2 months, and I was here as part of a 3 year Priest-in-Charge letter of agreement. I was a 29 year old newly ordained priest, saddled with student loan debt, with a baby and a young preschooler at home, and our family was living on a single salary. Suddenly we had to take the time and spend the money on meeting with a lawyer to craft a will so we could remember the Third Century Society in our will? For a job at a church we weren’t sure we’d even be at in 5 years? (Obviously God has had a laugh about that!) Deep down, we knew having a will was the responsible thing to do, so we met with a local estate attorney to create a will, and remembered the Third Century Society. While we were somewhat resistant when we began the endeavor, by the end we felt liberated by completing our will. We were filled with peace and joy at knowing our treasures would go on to our children, loved ones, to now Saints James and Andrew, and other organizations we care about. When we revised our will a few years back, we experienced the same liberation and joy. Creating a will also prompted us to plan our funeral services, tucking those files away and revisiting them every few years to update. So saints of James and Andrew, have you created a will or trust? If so, have you revisited it recently? Have you considered remembering our parish in your will? Our budget is highly subsidized by our endowment, which is largely built upon memorial gifts. Whether people set aside 2%, 10%, or 30% of their estate to the church - it has made all the difference. It pays for a portion of our staff, a significant amount towards our building's ongoing care and maintenance, freeing us up to engage more fully in mission and ministry. When we choose to remember Saints James and Andrew in our will or trust, we are giving a gift that will touch generations of the faithful, and make a long term difference in a community we cherish and love. It is also our one final act of acknowledging God’s abundance in our lives. If you have questions about legacy giving, the Third Century Society, estate attorney’s, or burial planning, please reach out to me. As we prepare to head back out into the world today, I invite us to do some reflecting:
* Luke 12:13-20 ** Deuteronomy 21:17 *** Eccl 8:15; Tob 7:10; 1 En 97:8-9 **** Leviticus 27:30-32 |
Mission
We believe God is calling us to cultivate a community of love, joy, hope, and healing. Jesus is our model for a life of faith, compassion, hospitality, and service. We strive to be affirming and accessible, welcoming and inclusive; we seek to promote reconciliation, exercise responsible stewardship, and embrace ancient traditions for modern lives.
Office HoursTuesday 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Closed holidays Our gardens and grounds are open from dawn to dusk for the community to pray, rest, be. Please help us take care of this sacred space by following the outdoor ethic & principle of “leave no trace.” |
Contact Information
|
Worship Times10 a.m. In-Person Worship & Livestreamed
View worship services. We would love to have you join us soon! |