 By Rev. Heather J. Blais, Rector
In just a few minutes David Santiago will be baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And today is Trinity Sunday, where we celebrate the Trinitarian nature of our God as three distinct beings in one, and one in three. As the early Church shifted from a grassroots movement into more of an institution, those in leadership spent a lot of time debating the metaphysics of the trinity. And while I imagine that is an interesting course of study, it’s not actually what matters. We don’t need to understand how it works, but we can understand why it works. Our God, the creator of the heavens and the earth is a relational being. With creation, with all living forms, and with us, humanity. Fragile and tender, innovative and creative beings made in the image and likeness of God. Yet before that relationship comes God's relationship with their child, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. These three in one are in an eternal relationship with one another, and we, and all creation, have been invited into that relationship. From the get go God has been concerned about our relationships. With them, with one another, with this fragile earth our island home. It shows up in every verse of scripture. It shows up in God taking on human flesh to live as we live, and love as we love, in the life of Jesus. And it shows up in the Spirit, whose wisdom and gifts guide us. Throughout our faith journey we may connect with one being of the Trinity more than another - or - one may show up more clearly during particular seasons in our lives. As a small child, with a wonderful mother and an absent father, I experienced God as an encompassing parental God, who was a comfort and a strength. Especially when things were uncertain. Now I’ll admit, in my mind’s eye, this parental God, who I did think of as Father, looked quite a lot like Michelangelo's depiction of God in his painting on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. An older guy, with a long beard, floating around, maybe on a cloud, and pointing his finger to make things happen. When people would describe God as harsh, condemning, and judgmental, and lift verses from scripture to make their point, I wouldn’t argue with them, but knew in my own heart it wasn’t true. In my own experience, our parental God - whether we think of them as a Father or Mother - is much more akin to parables Jesus told in the gospel. A father running to his long lost child, to embrace him in arms of love - no matter what had transpired before. What mattered was his child was ready to return to being in a relationship. Or a mother hen, protecting her chicks. These characteristics of love and a desire to parent and protect us, are the attributes that have always struck me as most essential about God, our Parent. As a young person, who struggled with what I knew to be true of God and what some of the adults in my life said was true of God (harsh, judgemental), I found myself shifting to Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus so clearly depicts God’s dream calling us to be in relationship with one another. He comes alongside the odd ducks, weirdos, and messy people and calls them into the most intimate of friendships, walking alongside one another until his death and resurrection. In a world where we so often feel like the odd duck, the weirdo, or the screw up, it felt so very clear that Jesus accepts us and celebrates us for who we are, as we are. Jesus doesn’t want the mask we put on for everyone else. Rather, Jesus sits beside us and shares a meal with us as we are our most authentic, messy, and fragile selves. And thanks be to God. These characteristics of radical love, acceptance, and friendship, are the attributes that have always struck me most about Jesus. A friend who is also our teacher and mentor, showing us what is possible when we live and love in community for the greater good of God’s world. In early mid-life, I began to take such a comfort in the Holy Spirit. Who for me often shows up as that peace that surpasses all understanding, or that strong sense of urgency and call to take action, whose very presence is inescapable. She is with us, guiding us forward, healing us, softening our hearts, and helping us to discern the gifts God is asking for us to share with one another. The Holy Spirit is the being of God that I see most clearly in our shared common life. Here at James and Andrew, the Spirit shows up in countless ways each week. Though some of the most notable moments have been when our two parishes merged to become James and Andrew, when we resumed in person worship after covid, and the experience of walking through Holy Week together and discovering the empty tomb on Easter morning. The Holy Spirit is what knits us together to be the body of Christ, right here, right now, and She is what knits us to all who have gone before, and all those who will come after us. These characteristics of discernment, peace, gentleness, guidance, healing, softening, and weaving people together in relationship are the attributes that have always most struck me about the Holy Spirit. This is my take, but every person of faith has their own lived experiences with the Trinity - our three in one and one in three. I wonder, how have each of you experienced the Trinity? Which of its distinct members have been easiest to relate to? Which ones are the most challenging? Why do we think that might be? Wherever you are in your own relationship with the Trinity, I would invite us to hold onto the most essential piece - relationship. Our Triune God longs to be in relationship with us, and longs for us to be in relationship with one another. As a whole our society does not seem to value genuine and authentic relationships. Instead our society places value in things, information, money, power, and status. Even more concerning, is we allow ideologies - conservative and liberal - to divide and end relationships. And it brings such devastating consequences as we saw yesterday when Minnesota Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed, while Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette were attacked and injured separately. Whatever our individual beliefs and ideologies, we must put relationships first. We don’t have to agree, but we need to try to remain in conversation with one another. That means continuing to try and be in a relationship with loved ones, friends, and acquaintances who voted for someone that we did not vote for. Or who believe different things about God, and every other justice issue we care about. I know this is a hard ask, but it is what our Triune God asks of us. When I was in seminary, the question of marriage equality was having a second go-round in Maine. We were living in a town and attending an Episcopal Church that were both known as safe havens for same-gender couples. Our priest and his partner lived in the rectory, and they were the only out couple doing so and it had been a big deal at the time. I felt fiercely protective of them, their love, and the love of many other couples in our parish family and community. But my best friend at the time, really believed marriage equality was a sin. I tried to be in conversation - well, I tried to help her understand why she was wrong. But her heart was hardened on the matter. And so was mine. At the time, I didn’t have the emotional intelligence or internal capacity to hold such ambiguity. For me it was all or nothing. And so I walked away from that friendship, and years of joyful memories. Sadly, my friend would have been willing to stay in a relationship, to stay in conversation; but it was all or nothing for me. While I will always stand on the side of love, and feel the same fierce protection for anyone marginalized by our society, I’ve learned it is a mistake to end relationships for ideological differences. Because how can we ever find common ground if we can’t even be in conversation? I imagine I’m not the only one who has made this kind of mistake. What friend or family or church member have you avoided or stopped being in a relationship with because of ideological differences? What would it look like to pray for the Spirit, for the Triune God, to soften our hearts towards those persons? How might we be changed by walking alongside those we disagree with? How might we help bring about God’s dream by walking in Love with all our neighbors, especially those we disagree with? Amen. Lectionary Readings or Canticle 13 (or Canticle 2)  By Rev. Heather J. Blais, Rector
Our lesson from Acts features Paul and Silas on their missionary journey. They are traveling through what is now modern day Turkey, with the hope of spreading the Jesus Movement. Except they encountered a small hiccup. The Holy Spirit has forbidden them from speaking the Good News in that region. Imagine for a moment what that must have felt like for these missionaries. Here they are, eager and ready to be Jesus’ hands and feet, yet the Spirit stops them. This experience may have been akin to when we have a tightness in our chest, and a sense of caution in our gut; knowing that we don’t know why, but we need to listen to what the Spirit and our bodies are telling us. When the Spirit tells us to stop, we are wise to listen; and to trust She will surely show us a new way forward. She comes to Paul in the form of a vision, where a man stood in what is now modern day Greece, pleading with him to come and help them. So they left that region behind and soon arrived in Philippi, a city that was a Roman colony, where they remained for several days. On the sabbath, Paul and Silas went outside the city gate by the river. They had guessed there would be a place of prayer there, and they were right. The Jewish community in Philippi was only newly formed, and they did not have enough members to have their own synagogue, which required at least ten people. (1) This particular location afforded them a bit of quiet, being outside the city, and allowed them to wash, maintaining purity rituals. (1) The missionaries found some women gathered by the river, and they sat down and entered into a conversation. This is when we meet Lydia of Thyatira (thai·uh·tee·ruh). Right off the bat, her name tells us: she is an outsider. Lydia is from Thyatira in modern day Turkey, but she has moved to Philippi. She and her household moved during a time in history where people didn’t really move from their hometowns. (2) This would have required some level of financial means. The city of Thyatira was located in a key point along major trade routes. As a result, numerous trade guilds developed there, such as, coppersmiths, tanners, leatherworkers, dyers, wool workers, and linen workers. (3) The city was particularly well known for wool and textile, and for the production of purple dye. (3) Acts tells us that Lydia brought this trade with her when she moved. This was an incredibly unique skill set. The purple dye was made from a, “carnivorous sea snail mucus”. (4) The dye was obtained through the laborious task of either milking the predatory sea snail by poking it until it spat out purple mucus or gathering several of the sea snails and crushing them together to make a larger amount of purple mucus. (5, 6) It took 12,000 snails to dye the hem of a single garment. (5) The work was onerous, and produced very little dye, which caused the textiles to be so expensive they were largely only sold to royalty. The specific recipe that was used back then has been lost to history. (5) In many ways, Lydia is a double outsider. (7) She is not only not from another region, but she is also a ‘worshipper of God’. This phrase was used to describe a Gentile, someone who is not Jewish, and is involved in a Jewish community, or expresses an interest in Judaism, but has not converted. (7) As a worshipper of God, Lydia would have been accorded a level of respect by the Jewish community, but would not have been treated as a full member. (8) Lydia, and those like her, observed as much Jewish law as they could, but hadn’t converted, which may have been because there was no synagogue. (1) When Paul and Silas sat down and began to speak with the women, the Lord opened Lydia’s heart to listen eagerly. She was so moved by Jesus’ Way of Love, that she volunteered to be baptized, along with the rest of her household. She then insists that the missionaries stay with her while they are in the area. While Lydia only appears in scripture once, she has left the Church an enduring legacy. She is widely considered the first Christian convert in Europe, and was canonized a saint. In the Orthodox Church, she is known as Saint Lydia - Equal to the Apostles. (4) In the Roman Catholic Church, she is known as the patron saint of dyers and all fabric workers. (5) In the Episcopal Church, we commemorate Lydia on May 21 each year, and this prayer was written just for her: Eternal God, who gives good gifts to all people, and who grants the spirit of generosity: Give us, we pray you, hearts always open to hear your word, that, following the example of your servant Lydia, we may show hospitality to those who are in any need or trouble; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (8) In many ways, it was the act of Lydia’s conversion, hospitality, and generosity which allowed for the church in Philippi to be born, and we hear more about their church in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. Lydia may have felt like a double outsider, yet she used her unique experience and perspective to help transform her community. And she did this by sharing from her prosperity. Giving not because she had to or was expected to, but out of a recognition she had been entrusted with an abundance of resources. She was acutely aware of the many gifts God had given her, and was eager to use these gifts to help others experience Jesus’ Way of Love. Lydia’s example invites us to reflect on our own sense of blessedness.
Last week I mentioned the clergy of our diocese gathered for our annual clergy conference in early May. Another wise colleague who serves two churches, parents two young children, and walks alongside her clergy spouse caring for his own church community, reflected on her decision to view the joys and challenges of her life through the perspective of abundance. Instead of I have to, she has embraced reframing: I get to.
St Lydia very well may have done the same. Talking with other women who were worshipers of God, as they reflected:
St. Lydia probably had no idea how her generous and hospitable nature would impact the Church. She got to be part of founding one of the first Christian communities in Europe. She got to be an example of female leadership in the early Church. As one Lent Madness blogger wrote, her very existence as a leader proclaimed: “...what it means for gender roles in the early church: men and women were called, men and women were baptized, and men and women led in ministry.” (5) In our context, where we now understand gender not as a box to tick, but a spectrum, it means, all genders are called, all genders are baptized, all genders lead in ministry. In our current cultural climate, when we hear scripture being used to dehumanize and marginalize others, we can remind ourselves and those around us of leaders like Saint Lydia. (9) A woman whose very life, leadership, and spirit of generosity helped the Jesus Movement to flourish, grow, and spread in that region. The scriptures are full of stories like Lydia’s, where we are reminded - again, and again, and again - that our God is loving, liberating, and life-giving. So as we prepare to head back into the world today, I would invite each of us to reflect on God’s abundance in our lives, and how we can share that abundance.
Amen. Lectionary Readings: Acts 16:9-15 Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5 John 14:23-29 or John 5:1-9 Psalm 67 References: (1) https://www.lentmadness.org/2022/03/james-theodore-holly-vs-lydia/ (2) https://www.lentmadness.org/2014/04/lydia-vs-harriet-bedell/ (3) https://academic.oup.com/book/41960/chapter-abstract/355229316?redirectedFrom=fulltext (4) https://www.lentmadness.org/2014/03/lydia-vs-moses-the-black/ (5) https://www.lentmadness.org/2014/04/lydia-vs-john-of-the-cross/ (6) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolinus_brandaris (7) Working Preacher Podcast for 6 Easter (8) Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2022 (9) https://medium.com/@lbloder/the-story-of-saint-lydia-2d31242c28bf  By Rev. Heather J. Blais, Rector
How does the world know we are followers of Jesus? It’s not a rhetorical question; let’s talk about it for a minute. How does the world know we are followers of Jesus? <worshipers respond> Love. They will know we are Christians by our Love. Jesus says it quite clearly in today’s gospel. “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34b-35). The context of this commandment makes it even more striking. Jesus and his disciples have gathered for their last supper. Judas has left; betraying Jesus. He knows what Judas has done, and that the cross awaits him. In light of such knowledge and pain, Jesus gives the disciples one final lesson. When the powers of this world strike down the vulnerable, we are us to respond with love. Because that love is how we will be identified to the world as Jesus’ followers. We are called to walk in love, proclaiming in our words and action a Love that is stronger even than death. Unfortunately, right now there is a large movement of people in our country who self-describe as Christian. Yet many of their behaviors and actions are not grounded in love. Jesus' name is being used as a weapon to spread fear, scarcity, hate, and lies. Something that surely devastates and angers God, and puts a stumbling block before the Church’s mission and ministry. The Episcopal Church leans upon scripture, tradition, and reason, which have taught us that God is the ultimate Source of Love. We witness God’s Love whenever we engage with creation, or look to the life, death, and resurrection of God’s precious child. God’s Love is on every page of scripture. It leaves many of us wondering, how are we called to respond to Jesus’ name being co-opted in such a harmful way? How do we respond to this stumbling block? Let’s start by remembering this is history repeating itself. There is a long history of people in power - particularly from within the Church - who have taken Jesus’ name and used it for their own personal gain. In the Middle Ages the Church in Europe undertook a military campaign known as the Crusades to resecure control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Later, the Church granted permission for Europeans to take and settle land in the Americas, causing generational harm to the Indigenous tribes whose land we stole. So while what is unfolding is painful to watch, it’s helpful to remember the long and harried history of Jesus’ name being used to justify unjust practices. The week before last, the clergy of our diocese gathered with the Rev. Dr. Canon Stephanie Spellers, one of the Church’s leading thinkers around 21st century mission and ministry.* She spent some time reflecting with us on what the rest of the world calls Christian Nationalism, and she calls Christo Nationalism. This shift may be a small difference, but what it does is blatantly make clear that this movement that has taken hold in our country, is anything but Christian. A colleague I deeply admire went on to reflect - while we don’t use this language anymore, Christo Nationalism is heresy. The early Church faced a variety of heresies as Jesus’ followers navigated how to make sense of Jesus Christ. One heresy was Docetism; which was the idea that Jesus Christ did not have a real human body, and only appeared to have one - like a ghost. Or Tritheism; which is the idea that there are three Gods rather than one God in three persons. I found the idea of Christo Nationalism as a heresy incredibly liberating. Whatever we call it, let’s acknowledge what it really is, a heresy. A belief or doctrine that is presented as Christian, but is deemed false by more than one denomination or branch of the Jesus Movement because its teachings are contrary to the teachings of Christ.** Then the question becomes, how do we help the rest of the world know there are followers of Jesus who reject the heresy of Christo Nationalism? Stephanie Spellers suggests we need to boldly reclaim our identity as the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, which is: “…the ongoing community of people who center their lives on Jesus and following him into loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God, each other and creation.”*** We are known as Jesus’ disciples by our Love. So what does it look like to be people of Love? Spellers suggests Love looks like: Generosity. Gratitude. Freedom. Resilience. Curiosity. Joy. Bringing these qualities into our day-to-day lives helps us to be in tune with the loving, liberating, and life-giving God that took on human flesh in the life of Jesus and taught us how to live. When we can do this, we are a Church that looks and acts like Jesus.*** Whether people grew up attending Church or not, the wider culture has a general understanding that Jesus primarily taught about love. Many people within the wider culture see how Jesus’ name is being co-opted to spread hate and fear. To deny gender affirming healthcare, to try and take land that is not ours, and to come like a thief in the night to steal people away for deportation. They do not need to have read scripture to know: this is not Jesus’s Way. We know this is not Jesus’ Way. So how do we bridge that disconnect? How do we help the world know there is a Jesus Movement, and branches like ours in the Episcopal Church, which strive our best to look and act like Jesus? We begin by grounding ourselves in prayer. There is one prayer that is proclaimed both on Good Friday and Easter Vigil, because it is a truth we as the Church need to know and feel in our bones. O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.**** This is a prayer that asks us to lean into our faith and the greater truth that God is guiding us, and will help us to be brave and bold, even when it feels impossible. Empowering us to be agents of God’s Love. We cannot afford to be half-hearted about God’s Love. We can’t be kind to the person in the next pew, and then go to the grocery store and dress down the clerk in the checkout line for not satisfying our needs. We need to be Love everywhere, with everyone. This is hard work. There are some behaviors it is hard to see past, to remember underneath that behavior is a fragile person, made in the image and likeness of God. In times like these, God calls on us to double and triple down in our prayer lives and spiritual practices. The Jesus Movement needs us to remind the world what God’s Love looks like. As a community we seek to offer Love to the world through the beauty, healing, and spiritual nourishment of our shared common worship life. We strive to embody God’s Love in our feeding ministries, our companioning ministry with those marginally housed or unhoused, our essential’s pantry, and through our fiber skill-share program. On June 7, we get to proclaim God’s Love by standing outside at the Pride Parade and cheering for all of God’s beloved across gender and sexuality spectrums. In our private faith journey we need to routinely reexamine our priorities. As we prepare to head into the rhythms of summer, now is as good a time as any to enter that season with intentional reflection. Asking ourselves: Do we feel nourished by God’s love or are we exhausted, lonely, and heartbroken? If it is a time when God’s Love feels far off, we might simplify our daily routine, minimize our digital engagement, spend time outside, and lean on our faith community. If it is a time when God’s Love feels accessible, we might reflect further on where we are practicing generosity and gratitude, where we see freedom and resilience in our faith, and how we can continue to cultivate joy and curiosity. Because if we are going to be Love, we need to dwell in God’s Love all the more. What if each of us at James and Andrew were to bring a shared intention into this summer? A shared commitment to show the world what the Jesus Movement of Love is all about. In the morning, before we rise, we can prayerfully ask: How could my words, actions, and heart reflect the loving, liberating, life-giving way of Jesus?*** And in the evening, we can ask with genuine curiosity and no judgment: When did I see myself or others being loving, liberating or life-giving today? Where do I wish I’d seen or practiced Jesus’ Way?*** Let us collectively in our worship, mission, and ministry be discerning how we at James and Andrew can continue to find ways to together share the Good News of God’s Love with a world aching for it. Amen. Lectionary Readings for 5 Easter: * https://stbarts.org/connect/clergy-and-staff/member-detail/1651780/ ** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_heresies *** https://www.episcopalchurch.org/jesus-movement/ **** https://www.bcponline.org/  By Rev. Heather J. Blais, Rector
Alleluia! Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen indeed. Alleluia! Whose voices were the first to cry out this song? Luke tells us it was, the women. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women, whose names are known to God alone. These women, and their faithfulness, changed everything. Throughout Jesus’ ministry these women were consistently, and quietly, ministering in the background. They followed Jesus from Galilee into Jerusalem. They watched as Joseph of Arimathea lovingly took down Jesus’ body, and laid it in a new burial tomb. As the sabbath was beginning, the women returned to their dwelling, and prepared spices and ointments. Then they rested, according to the commandment. I imagine this divinely imposed pause was agonizing. Their teacher and friend had died before their eyes, traumatically and unnecessarily, on the hard wood of the Roman cross. They yearned to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. This was the final gift they could give him. Yet their communal practice of resting on the sabbath meant they were to slow their bodies, and be present to God, one another, and their aching grief. When the new day finally dawned, the women gathered their prepared spices and ointments, and made their way to the tomb. Having remembered God’s command to honor the sabbath, these women were now regrounded in their faith, and ready to tend Jesus’ body. Except when they arrived, the rock blocking the tomb had been rolled back. When they looked inside, they were shocked to discover there was no body. Their minds raced with questions. What happened? Who would do this? Why? As the women grappled with these questions, two strangers in dazzling clothes suddenly appeared beside them. They were terrified, until one of the strangers asked:“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again” (24:5-7). Luke tells us, “Then[,] they remembered…”(24:8). Jesus had told them what was to come. This encounter, these words, shook everything loose, offering the women a razor sharp clarity that we so often long for. Once we discover that ‘aha’, we hold onto our clarity, anxious not to lose it. We hurry to share our good news. This was what the women tried to do. Hurrying back to where the disciples were gathered, they told them about this life changing news.But they did not believe the women. The Greek word that is translated into English as ‘believe’, does not mean ‘belief’ as we might think of it, as rational or intellectual.* Instead it means something more akin to ‘trust’ or ‘faith’.The disciples did not trust, or have faith in the women’s report. As Amy Jill Levine writes, the disciples did not accept the women’s news because they did not expect Jesus to rise.**In spite of Jesus’ having told them otherwise. They had forgotten. Then something happens for Peter.Maybe he is trying to resolve the disagreement, maybe he’s truly curious. The text only tells us that he ‘...got up and ran to the tomb’ (24:12). When he stooped down and looked inside, all that remained was the linen cloth. He then went home, amazed at what had happened. In Luke’s gospel, we do not actually encounter the risen Christ until two disciples meet him on the road to Emmaus. That said - they don’t recognize him. They are feeling discouraged, and have lost all hope. After spending the day walking and talking with this stranger, they share a meal. They’d seen him and heard him, all without recognizing Christ. It was not until they broke bread together that these disciples remembered. They remembered. All this is to say, encountering the resurrected Christ is not what truly matters in Luke’s telling of the resurrection. It is remembering. Which means, what matters for us today, is that we, too, remember. Remember Jesus’ life and ministry; the values he repeatedly sought to instill in his followers, and the dream of God that he proclaimed. A dream that seeks to heal this world, turning it from the nightmare it is to so many into a world grounded, guided, and driven by Love. We are called to remember that when God became incarnate, it was not to embody power over people, control, or selfishness. If that had been the case, God would have become incarnate to a woman in a wealthy and powerful family. Instead, God chose a peasant family who lived on the margins of society. This was no mistake. It was and is a clear statement of God’s values. Just in case anyone didn’t get that memo, Jesus furthered God’s proclamation by spending his life and ministry walking alongside prostitutes, tax collectors, and sinners. He routinely pushed people to reconsider whether they cared more about the letter of God’s law than the spirit of God’s law. He expected those around him to bring intention and faith into their day to day lives, setting aside the fear that so often drives us. At every possible opportunity, he lifted up those our society seeks to marginalize. Which is to say, Jesus embodied in his life and death, that God will always, always stand first and foremost with those on the margins. Those the rest of the world deems not good enough, unworthy, dirty, ugly, and broken. Those who have been told by those in power that they have the wrong skin color, the wrong religion, the wrong immigration status, the wrong gender, the wrong sexuality, the wrong personality, the wrong ideas, the wrong everything. These are the children God will go out of her way to ensure have a prime seat at God’s ever expanding table. This goes against every societal norm, and that is exactly the point God is making in and through Jesus. In every generation, there are some in power who will actively seek to co-opt Jesus’ message of love, and manipulate it for their own gain. Even worse, they will use the scriptures to oppress the very one God has come to liberate. Which is why it is ever so urgent, that every generation remembers. We must remember. Jesus’ ministry was meant to show the world what the reign and rule of God truly looks like, and it is like no earthly reign this world has ever known. God’s reign is messy, complicated, and imperfectly perfect. God’s reign meets people where they are and loves people for who they are. God’s reign, as embodied in Jesus, is Love. Pure and simple. Love is the Way, and it is truly the only Way. As one guest shared on the Episcopal Church’s becoming beloved community podcast: “...all of holy scripture is always pointing us towards God is Love. And our job is to reflect that to the communities we meet. In a world that really, really needs love. We need community, we need love, we need connection and we’ve already been given all of it. It’s already ours. And it is just ours to share.”*** Like the women, like the disciples, like the early Church, we must remember.God’s way is the Way of Love, and it is our call to share that Love. This Easter, let us remember. Let us remember the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and the values he tried to help us better understand and embody. Then, let us be agents of God’s Love through small acts, caring words, and with great intention - in our families, in our places of work, in our neighborhoods. Collectively, these small acts tell the world there is a better dream for our lives and this world than some would have us know. Our world needs these signs of hope and courage, and we can lead the way. And don’t tell me that it’s too hard, because even our little ones at James and Andrew know there is Good News to be shared, and they are ready to embody it. Just last week, little Georgia ran down the aisle at the end of our service, boldly proclaiming at the top of her lungs: Thanks be to God!! Thanks be to God!! Thanks be to God!! We can do this too, if we remember. As we prepare to head back into the world today, I would invite each of us to do some reflecting:
Let us the women, Georgia, and all of God’s little ones. May we leave here today, remembering that we belong to God, and join in Jesus’ ministry of proclaiming and embodying God’s dream for this world. May we run, skip, jump, walk, wheel, or hobble out into the world today, proclaiming: Thanks be to God!! Amen. * Sermon Brainwave Episode 1019 https://www.workingpreacher.org/podcasts/1019-resurrection-of-our-lord-apr-20-2025 ** Jewish Annotated New Testament, p. 165 *** Prophetic Voices: Preaching and Teaching Beloved Community - Easter Vigil 2025 episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkltLLtrarA |
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.
Summer Office HoursTuesday 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Thursday 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.” |
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Worship Times10 a.m. In-Person Worship & Livestreamed
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