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Christ Episcopal Church

Christ Episcopal Church

Von: The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
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 An Anglican Church Growing In Faith ~ Serving Our Neighbors ~ Creating Community Christentum Spiritualität
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  • “Armonia”

    “Armonia”
    Feb 8 2026
    February 8, 226: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. You know, when I left Minneapolis and the -35 windchill weather, I did NOT remember packing that cold air to bring back to New Jersey. Lordy! I had hoped to leave that behind, but it is smacking us in the face now, isn’t it? I am glad to be inside this time, rather than out in it for hours marching down the street. I am also grateful to those of you who ventured out into this insane cold to be here this morning. Perhaps we all have a better appreciation for the people of Minneapolis and all they do in weather colder than this. So, given all the ice that is around these days, on the sidewalks and armed in the street of our cities, I was glad to hear the texts for today. In the gospel we are hearing part of the sermon on the mount. After the familiar “Blessed are those…” statements we call the beatitudes, Jesus then says “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.” “You are the salt of the earth.” “You are the light of the world.” Well, that’s good news – considering both will melt ice (come to think of it – maybe that is an appropriate acronym then for that armed band of hate enforcers – it shows just how vulnerable they really are). But here’s the thing about this proclamation of Jesus…he isn’tinviting us to those things. He is telling us that we already ARE those things. This isn’t a choice folks. We are salt. We are light. Then he offers absurd comments about salt losing its saltiness and hiding a light under a bushel basket. Jesus did have a sense of humor, and clearly his sarcasm is showing here, because salt cannot lose its saltiness, and no one would put a basket over an open flame, which is what a light would be in those days. Both scenarios are ridiculous, but then again, Jesus wasn’t trying to offer a science or fire safety lesson. He is preaching and being a bit cheeky to make a point, as he sometimes does. So, what was Jesus trying to tell his followers – then and now? I am reminded of two sayings by the Buddha: “Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” And, “There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.” Some have suggested that Jesus studied Buddhist principles in India during his early adult life, but whether he did or he didn’t, he is certainly preaching them here. He wants humanity to understand a fundamental truth – our very essence – in the hope that we will honor that truth within ourselves, allowing God to shine in us and through us. We can turn away, we can forget, we can get lost…but the truth of who we are cannot be hidden – not to God anyway. And, as the Buddha says, the path to understanding that truth is only impossible if we don’t try, or we stop trying. But still, what does it mean for us to live this truth – what does that look like in our lives? Well, maybe we need to think about what salt and light do, particularly for those in the time of Jesus, to understand how important it is for us to be what we were born to be. The thing is, we are so far removed from what these things would have meant to the people in the Ancient Near East, that the meaning of Christ’s metaphor may be lost to us. We have refrigeration and electricity. But they did not. Salt was a way to preserve the life of meat and fish, and to enhance its flavor, and it was used in health regimens. It was so important to them that Roman soldiers were sometimes paid with salt – hence the word we use today – salary – sal being the Latin for salt. And light – well, in these dark days of winter, even with our electricity, we can understand the value of that, but imagine living where there is no electric light. It is hard for us now, but if you think about it – in the long history of the world, there has been less than 150 years of light bulbs. In the time of Jesus, and up until 1880, there was the sun, and then there were oil lamps, candles, fires, moonlight, and torches for the night. Light then and now makes it possible to see dangers in the night, to keep warm, and to thrive, and without the light of the sun, life would be impossible. Jesus is telling us that we can enhance and preserve life and overcome darkness for the world. But note – not for ourselves alone. Salt’s very purpose is to enhance or preserve life. The purpose of light isn’t to shine for itself, but to illuminate other things, to dispel the darkness. If we are the salt of the earth, and the light of the world ...
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    18 Min.
  • “We Will Make It After All”

    “We Will Make It After All”
    Feb 1 2026
    February 1, 2026: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. Tomorrow there’s this pesky groundhog that is supposed to tell us how much winter we have left, and I swear, if that rodent sees his shadow I’m gonna go have a word with him, and it won’t be pretty. This has been a rough winter – bitter cold, lots of snow, and darkness that is cutting us to the core. But the groundhog isn’t the only thing that happens tomorrow. February 2nd is primarily, for catholics, Roman or Anglican anyway, the Feast of the Presentation, which is the final day of Christmas – for real this time – despite the stores telling you that Valentine’s Day goes from December 26th– February 14th. Now, you may have noted that our gospel today is from Luke Chapter 2, and we are clearly still in the birth narrative, as Jesus is all of 40 days old. He isn’t even out of onesies or eating solid food yet. It’s a bit of whiplash, since he was just walking around as a 30 something calling his disciples in the gospel we heard the last time we were able to be here on January 18th. But as it is such an important moment in his life, the church marks it as a special feast day on February 2nd.. Now, the church expects us to only celebrate this feast on the actual day. But, because so many do not attend special weekday services, this day, like other feasts – of the Magi, for example – will get ignored if we do not celebrate them on a Sunday. So, as we did last year, today we will celebrate the Feast of the Presentation today. It is also a day on which candles are blessed for use at home and the church, so it is called Candlemas. The scriptures of this moment feature so much in our daily lives for those of us who pray what is known in our church as the Daily Office. It also is part of our parish’s history, with two prominent stained glass windows associated with it – the center window of the Tiffany triptych in St. Mary’s chapel, and this one up there in the main tower. The chapel window shows the scene, and the tower windows have the words of Simeon, which we heard in the gospel reading. Now, let’s get to this story, because it is offers something important for us in the context in which we live now. In the verse just before what we heard today, we find that Jesus is going to a bris, and unfortunately for him, he isn’t the one bringing a gift. Joseph and Mary have him circumcised and he is named. Then we get to this story today, where 40 days after his birth, they bring Jesus to the temple to be presented to God in accordance with the law for her purification and his redemption that we get in that fabulous book that everyone loves – Leviticus. All this to say that Jesus is raised in the knowledge and adherence to Jewish scripture and law. There’s a lot going on in these verses, but I want to focus on two people – Simeon and Anna. Now first we need to set the scene. The temple isn’t like the size of our churches today. This place is huge – many times larger than our largest cathedrals. So, you’d think no one would really pay any attention to this little family walking in. And yet, against all odds, two people did notice them – Simeon and Anna. Simeon was, according to the text, a righteous and devout man who had been told by God that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. He is guided by the Holy Spirit to come to the temple that day, and he listens and goes. There he sees the child Jesus, and takes him in his arms and says what is known in the church as the Nunc Dimmitis, Latin for the first words “now depart.” I will use the version we say in Evening Prayer, which differs slightly from the wording we heard today: “Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised; For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see: A Light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.” He then foretells to Mary the destiny that awaits this child, and that it will pierce her heart. Then Anna, a prophet, sees the baby Jesus, and also proclaims the destiny that awaits him and what it will mean for the people of Israel. Of course, Simeon gets the focus in our prayer book, and Anna is essentially forgotten – what else is new, right? So, what does all this have to say to us? Well, let’s go back to our righteous guy Simeon. He says “…these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see: A Light to enlighten the nations…” To be sure, this is about far more than bringing light into the darkness – which, of course, is a powerfully important thing to do. But this is also about that light casting aside ignorance and bringing knowledge to the people – specifically, the knowledge of God. Jesus would do both. His presence among the people was the light that overcame the shadows of darkness, and he ...
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    19 Min.
  • “Now Is The Time!”

    “Now Is The Time!”
    Jan 18 2026
    January 18, 2026: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. Twelve years ago tomorrow, I celebrated the Eucharist here for the first time as your Rector. It was January 19, 2014 at 10:30am. I remember it well. I knew way back then I had been called into something amazing – a new relationship with all of you. And so, twelve years ago today I stood here by God’s grace and nothing for me, and I pray for you, has been the same since. That is why the date of January 19th at 10:30am is something I will never forget. It’s the way it is with life altering events, right? Folks remember the day a child was born, the first date we had with our spouse (and of course the day of the wedding itself – or we better!). And, on a sadder note, the day a loved one died – their saint day, as we like to call it in the church, is a day each year that doesn’t go unnoticed. We remember too moments that changed the country or the world – the day Pearl Harbor was attacked, WWII broke out, President Kennedy was shot, Astronaut John Glenn put his foot out onto the lunar surface, the Challenger spacecraft exploded, the 9/11 terrorist attack, and the January 6th insurrection. And, those who were around for it remember too when the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “Dream” speech to the thousands gathered for the March on Washington for Freedom & Jobs…and where they were when they heard the terrible news that he had been assassinated. These moments changed us – challenged us – demanded something of us. And we were never the same from those points forward. And so when we hear in the second part of the gospel of John read today this story of people’s first encounter with Jesus, it should not surprise us that the community that wrote this gospel noted something about it. The gospel account says “The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” …where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. That’s a kinda funny thing to write down, don’t ya think? What was so special about it being 4pm? Something tells me it wasn’t the first century version of “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.” Clearly the community that wrote this fourth gospel knew that the lives of first disciples would be changed so much in that initial encounter with Jesus that they would never forget where they were and what time it was when it happened. That is what call does. It stops us in our tracks for a moment, and we are forever changed as we accept Christ’s invitation to come and see. I suppose the question for each of us now is – do you recognize that moment for you and what will you do about it? Because Christ is calling us to come and see in this life altering moment for our community and in this country. As we watch ICE agents, sent by our President only into cities that did not vote for him, terrorize people regardless of citizenship status – wounding and killing children of God as they drag them without warrants out of their homes and businesses, shatter the windows of their cars with children inside, attack those who dare to peacefully protest with tear gas, pepper spray, and flash bombs, as well as using lethal choke holds (like the one that killed George Floyd) on those they detain. As this country fails to support those who are laying their life on the line for democracy in Ukraine, while the President imitates Putin, calling the US to invade Greenland, a sovereign territory of Denmark, and threatening NATO allies that have sent military and financial support to Greenland to prevent it. As we read the social media comments of people who think ICE agents have a right to abuse, kill, or deport people without due process because they are “illegals,” in a land where none of us are originally from here, save those of the indigenous tribes. As we find that our nation’s highest court, in defiance of precedent and the US Constitution, affirms the right of ICE agents to target people based on the color of their skin, their accent or the language they speak, or their place of work. As we mourn the 32 killed by this administration ICE enforcement action in 2025, including Jean Wilson Brutus, who died while in custody at Delany Hall in Newark. As we hear our President refer to the countries these people come from as s-hole countries, while saying that we need more people from places like Norway – translation – he wants less people of color or Asian descent and more white people. As we ...
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    17 Min.
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