Sermon: C 3 Epiphany 27 January 2013

Ne 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Ps 19; 1 Cor 12:12-31a; LK 4:14-21

For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Amen.

“Thank we those who toiled in thought…each a word from G*d repeating; till they came, who told the story of the Word, and showed his glory. Praise we G*d, who hath inspired those whose wisdom still directs us; praise G*d for the Word made flesh.” We’ve just sung that and it’s the Epiphany theme: “Jesus began to teach in Galilee’s synagogues, was praised by everyone, went on to Nazareth and there read from Isaiah, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor” and more, and then “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’”

Sermon: C 2 Epiphany 20 January 2013

Is 62: 1-5; Ps 36: 5-10; 1 Cor 12: 1-11; JOHN 2: 1-11

Almighty God, grant that your people may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory. AMEN.

As Epiphany continues, we arrive at the third of the familiar season’s narratives. First there’s the arrival of the Magi, second the baptism of Jesus, and then today’s account of the wedding at Cana. Again, someone, some group, sees, understands that Jesus is G*d’s incarnated word by some visible event. Even in this Luke year, Year C, this portion comes from John’s Gospel—and John’s Gospel almost always layers in theological underpinnings to its narrative.

Sermon: C Baptism of Our Lord 13 January 2013

Is 43: 1-7; Ps 29 1-11; Acts 8:14-17; LUKE 3: 15-17, 21-22

Gracious G*d, grant that those baptized into your Name may keep the covenant they have made. AMEN.

This morning we celebrate three distinct occasions, all connected through the presence and revelation of Jesus Christ, and also each connected to us in the here and now. First it’s the season of Epiphany, the season of light, when each week someone or some group understands that this baby, this particular person, is, in some way, in such close relationship with G*d that he made and makes real, an experience of G*d, with G*d, to those who are in these weekly stories. Second, the Sunday after the Epiphany is always the baptism of Jesus, and so we’ve heard that account. Since it’s Epiphany Season and the Baptism of Jesus, the Church has selected this as one of the liturgical dates appropriate for baptisms in the church. We are honored and blessed to be baptizing two children Theo Gray and Arthur Patrick Watson to welcome them into the church, this congregation of St. John the Evangelist, this parish of the Episcopal Church, the larger Anglican communion, and the whole Christian community—and with the human family reaching towards a connection with the eternal and Holy.

Sermon: C The Epiphany Sunday 6 January 2013

Is 60:1-6; Ps 72:1-7, 10-14; Eph 3:1-12; MT 2:1-12

Lead us to your presence, O God, where we may see your glory face to face. 

AMEN.

“Those magic men, the Magi,

Some people call them wise

Or Oriental, even kings

Well anyway, those guys

They visited with Jesus

They sure enjoyed their stay

Then, warned in a dream of King Herod’s scheme

They went home by another way” Timothy Mayer and James Taylor’s freely adapted today’s Gospel here, while we also hear, “Arise, shine for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”

meditation for the Epiphany “Arise, shine, your light has come.”

A couple of my neighbors plaster over their entire houses each Christmas with so many lights and  blinking Santas and glowing nativities that it’s like having a little bit of Vegas on my way home each night. Others have just a string of colored lights around their porch, or electric candle decorations in their windows.

All these thousands of years later, even in the form of all this cheap plastic and LED spectacle, I find profound hope knowing that humans have not lost their instinct for following the light. The wise men found the Christ by no magic or special knowledge other than this: the entirely primitive, entirely human fascination with lights in the sky. We share this instinct with almost every other living creature on earth, including plants and algae. We find God by doing what life does: looking for the light, and growing toward it. And behold, in awe, along with the Magi: the source of all light, shining in the darkness, is here. Arise, shine, your light has come.

Leonart Bramer: Journey of the Three Magi to Bethlehem. Credit: Wiki Commons. Click on the image to enlarge.

Event: When Cancer Strikes a Friend . . . How to Help

An event sponsored by the Cathedral of the Diocese of Massachusetts and the Church of St. John the Evangelist:

When Cancer Strikes a Friend: What to Say, What to Do, and How to Help

Rev. Bonnie Draeger, a cancer survivor and the executive director of Friends & Cancer, has spent a decade researching these questions. Her new book, When Cancer Strikes a Friend: What to Say, What to Do, and How to Help, includes the advice and expertise of over forty professionals, as well as the experiences and wisdom of hundreds of survivors/family/friends.  Find out more.

Wednesday, January 16th, 7:00 p.m., Hunnewell Chapel. Free.

Sermon: C Christmas 1 30 December 2012

Is 61:10-62:3; Ps 147; Gal 3:23-25, 4:4-7; JOHN 1:1-18

The Word was made flesh & dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. AMEN.

Annie Dillard wrote in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek: “If creation had been left up to me, I’m sure I wouldn’t have had the imagination or courage to do more than shape a single reasonably sized atom, smooth as a snowball, and let it go at that.” “Tempting,” according to the Synthesis Commentary I often read, “So, when we come to John 1, it is tempting simply to read the verses aloud and let them evoke the proper awe in what they say—since we certainly can’t match them.”