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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.
  • “The Good In Us”

    “The Good In Us”
    Jan 11 2026
    January 11, 2026: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. Now, if you have been here these past few weeks of Christmastide and the Feast of the Epiphany, you would be right thinking that Jesus sure grows up fast, I mean we just celebrated his birth, then last week he’s a kid being visited by Magi, and now he’s a grown man! I mean, at this rate, a week from now should be Palm Sunday, right? Wrong. Well, sort of – Ash Wednesday is coming up in just a few weeks, so buckle up. Still, you couldn’t be blamed for feeling a bit of lectionary whiplash right about now. Kinda the way you feel the day after Christmas when there’s stuff in the stores for Valentine’s Day, which I do NOT appreciate given that happens to be my birthday, and there is no need to rush it. But, back to the texts we heard today from the Gospel of Matthew and from Isaiah. In the gospel we here the story of Jesus’ baptism. Left off of what we heard today, is what Jesus does just afterward. He is led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit where he encounters evil. And in the wake of all that has happened in our nation this past year, and most recently, this past week, it would seem a message we very much need today. I will speak more about that in a minute, but it is important to first underscore what we are hearing in today’s texts – about Christ’s baptism, yes, but also about our own. Our collect today, the prayer we offered at the beginning of this service, was this: “Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made…” This isn’t just a dunk in some water – this is a contract with God – a covenant we make in the name of Christ, and that is sealed by the Holy Spirit. And in our passage this morning from Isaiah, we hear some of what that covenant requires of us. About the prophet, God says “I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” Now, think about that…and then hear again the vows we all make at baptism either for ourselves, or was made by our parents, and Godparents, and we later confirmed. We promise to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves, and striving for justice and peace among all peoples, respecting the dignity of every human being.” See, the thing is…when we are baptized, we are baptized into something…or really baptized into someone. It is an identity that comes with a calling – the calling to free the captives, fight for justice and peace, and to love and serve. We are baptized into a life of Christ – because we are the body of Christ alive in the world today. And as the body of Christ, we don’t just leave the waters of baptism, grab a towel, and continue as though nothing happened. We do as he did after his baptism – we live the life we are called to live – a life of ministry in a broken world – a life of wilderness moments when we are challenged, and pushed to the brink. And Lordy, we are in the wilderness now. This past week our government continued its horrific, unconstitutional, racist, and cruel violence against the people of our nation. Renee Nicole Good, a US citizen and young mother of three, was gunned down while in her car by an ICE agent in Minneapolis this past Wednesday. Her wife, Becca Good, is left to care for their 6 year old son. The video of the attack is brutal to watch, and the lies about her and the incident by our government just add to the horror. Renee is not the first to be killed, or tortured, or imprisoned unlawfully. She sadly will not be the last. In fact, on Thursday, the very next night, two more people were shot by ICE agents in their vehicle in Portland. These are very dark days for our nation and for the world. Like many of you, I have been at more than one vigil in response – one of them just down the street from my home on the Newton Green– which is in the middle of a very red part of our Garden State. Like the other vigils, it was a community gathered in love amidst tragedy and hate. Sadly, even as we stood together, someone shouted out from a passing truck “ICE, ICE, Baby!” The cruelty of our President and his followers seems to be the point. Yet we were not deterred, and continued to stand together to be a witness to the horror that has taken yet another life. One of the things I have said at these vigils is that our faith is one that follows a man who preached love and peace, and was executed by the government because of it. Yet his resurrection taught us all that light will always overcome darkness, life is stronger than death, and love will always defeat hate. It is the only thing that can. Renee Good understood that truth. Her wife, Becca Good, said in a statement after her murder, said: “I am now left to raise our son and to continue teaching him, as Renee believed, that there are ...
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    17 Min.
  • A Visit From The Wise Guys – 2026

    A Visit From The Wise Guys – 2026
    Jan 5 2026
    Feast of the Epiphany (trans.) – January 4, 2026: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. The actual feast is on January 6th, and today would be the Second Sunday after Christmas. Still, this year, the story of the magi’s visitation to Jesus would have been a part of the text choices for today, so all good. Now, this feast, which occurs on Tuesday, ends our Christmastide – our twelve days of Christmas. So, as I said in previous years, don’t let anyone give you a hard time about still having the tree up. Besides, they can be thankful you don’t celebrate Christmas until Candlemas on Feb. 2,nd as some do! Every year we tell the story of the Magi who travel from the East to bring gifts to the Christ child, and as it is good to repeat each time the origin of this story of the three wise guys. Matthew, the only gospel account of the magi, never tells us how many there were, or even if they were all men. But since Matthew mentions three gifts, later Christian tradition came to identify three of them. And in the late sixth century Armenian Infancy Gospel, the Magi are even given the names-Melkon or Melchior, Balthasar, and Gaspar. But just as we don’t really know the names of the people who wrote the gospels, we also don’t know the names of these folks, so call them whatever you want – Larry, Mo, and Curly –really up to you. This story is one that is celebrated not only because of gifts, but as a symbol that the child born to us at Christmas was for all the people of the world, because the sages came from lands so very far away. Whatever you name them, we know you can’t call them “on time.” As we hear today, Jesus was not a baby anymore, but a child, and living in a house. Apparently, Waze or Google Maps was not available to these Eastern travelers. Well, even if they were late, and brought really weird gifts to a young child, each year we like to tell the story of their visit… Loud Knock Heard From The Back Ceremonial Music Plays As King Approaches King 1 presents Mother Diana with gift. Mother Diana opens the box, inside is a snow gauge. Mother Diana reads the scroll aloud – “We saw a star and were guided by its light to the Christ child. As we moved along, we needed to always check that we were still on the right path. The truth is – While being too restricted is not good for anyone, taking an occasional measurement on your life journey does allow you to be sure you are still on the right path. His life should be the measure you use.” Mother Diana rolls up the scroll and says, Thank you great sage! While I love a beautiful snowfall, let’s hope I don’t need to use this too often. Now, as I was saying… Loud Knock Heard From The Back Ceremonial Music Plays As King Approaches King 2 presents Mother Diana with gift. Mother Diana opens the box, inside is Bluetooth speaker, and a scroll. Mother Diana reads the scroll aloud – “We stopped along the way at the palace of King Herod. He told us to return and tell him where we found the Christ child. Yet we were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and went home by another way. The truth is – There is a lot of noise in the world, and many voices will try to tell you who you are, where you are to go or what you are to do. Be sure you are listening to the right one.” Mother Diana rolls up the scroll and says, This is sooooo cool! I can’t wait to set this speaker up. Now, as I was saying… Loud Knock Heard From The Back Ceremonial Music Plays As King Approaches King 3 presents Mother Diana with gift. Mother Diana opens the box, inside is a wreath of bird food, and a scroll. Mother Diana reads the scroll aloud – “We brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the baby Jesus. Impractical? Perhaps. But a symbol of who he was to be for the world – King, God, and Sacrifice. Yet he was clear about the gift we are to bring in his name, and it was none of those things. The truth is – Food is essential for life, and the law of God in our time, and yours now, is to care for the stranger among us. How you feed others is the gift of love you bring to Christ.” Mother Diana rolls up the scroll and says… Wow – thank you great sage – I am so excited to think about this gift – it looks so pretty. Let’s see…three magi, three gifts, I guess we must be done. So… Loud Knock Heard From The Back Ceremonial Music Plays As King Approaches King 4 presents Mother Diana with gift. Mother Diana opens the box, inside is a mixing spoon and a scroll. Mother Diana reads the scroll aloud – “The star awakened us to something important happening in the world, and Christ stirred us to new life. The truth is – There are important things happening in the world now too, and Christ desires us all to come to him, to follow him, to be him in the world. This is a time to be ...
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    16 Min.
  • “Ponder This”

    “Ponder This”
    Dec 28 2025
    Christmas Eve – December 24, 2025; May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. This is the most wonderful time of the year, or so we are told by Johnny Mathis and others. It really is though, even if the turkey didn’t thaw out in time, the kids are hyped up on sugar and dreams of Santa Claus, and the in-laws are about to send you to a therapist’s couch. Yet sometimes when we think about Christmas, we get caught up in the Hallmark version of it – the lights, the carols, the cookies, and the gifts, that when we hear the story of that first Christmas, whether here at church or from Linus in A Charlie Brown Christmas, it seems so far away from who we are that we lose sight of what it means for us. But the thing is, this story isn’t as foreign to our lived reality as we sometimes make it – and that knowledge helps us to see something we need to know now. The author of Luke, from where Linus and we get the birth story we usually hear on Christmas Eve, sets the scene for us in the midst of human history – it was when a certain ruler was in charge and had commanded a census of “all the world.” Now, just for context, things were difficult in those days – they were indeed a people who walked in darkness (though the prophet Isaiah was speaking about an earlier time). The empire’s taxes were hard, and most labored for their own food. Poverty was crushing most of the people, while a small elite profited off of them and lived lavishly. And there was political unrest caused by an appointed ruler, Herod, a larger than life sort, who the people viewed with suspicion because of his ties to the empire. This is the setting into which God chooses to enter, and there is a lot we can all resonate with in it to be sure – but more on that later. Back to the story itself – this census moves Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem, a journey of nearly 100 miles (with no trains, planes, or automobiles to get them there). It also likely meant a lot of others were making similar journeys, so as the song goes – there may be No Place Like Home for the holidays, but the traffic really is terrific! And then there is the problem of trying to find places to stay along the way. I have to wonder if Joseph and Mary made their place in Nazareth an Air B&B, given all the folks traveling in the opposite direction. At any rate, all that travel must sound familiar to a lot of folks today who stood in long TSA lines, navigated bumper to bumper traffic, or was trying to figure out where to put everybody who made it home for the holidays. Add to all of that is the fact that Mary is very pregnant! Lordy – that’s gotta be a tough trip. So, back to our Holy Family – they get to Bethlehem, and there is “no room for them in the inn.” Now, that may mean Joe forgot to make reservations (you know that meant a big argument later – right?). But it wasn’t like they had to go to a barn somewhere on the property. Likely, because other guests already took over the host family’s guest rooms, it was sort of like telling them they had to sleep on the old lumpy sofa in the unfinished basement. Homes in those days had a lower level where animals were brought in for the night and in cold weather. That is where the host family had to send Mary and Joseph. If you can imagine that for a moment – it means the house was filled with people – all there for the census taking one supposes. That is a made for Hallmark crazy time moment for sure, that many of you here likely know far too well. And for this couple, who already had a lot going on, sleeping among the animals may have been the most peaceful part of their days – a respite from upstairs where perhaps Joe’s crazy Uncle Roy was getting into it with Grandma Lucy, who had a bit too much eggnog. At least the animals aren’t likely to break out into a fight over politics. From the animals point of view though, this was a nightmare. I mean, first this couple comes down, takes over two of their beds of hay, and dang it – then they have a baby (what a noisy mess) and worse – they put that little human on their food in their manger – yuk! The animals were probably like – What the heck! And as for the birth, you know that was crazy time at the OK Corral. Women upstairs likely came down to help, making things a bit crowded; and birth scenes, even for the virtuous like Mary, are typically not quiet events, despite what the hymn says. Giving birth then, and even today is joyous and noisy. Sadly, it is also dangerous – for both the mother and the child. And after all that – shepherds arrive to tell them that angels appeared in the sky and confirming what the angel had said to Mary at the beginning of this journey. No wonder she pondered it all in her heart – before nodding off for a much needed nap. What a wild family story this probably became over the years, right? I mean, can you...
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    16 Min.
  • “The Power Of Love”

    “The Power Of Love”
    Dec 16 2025
    December 7, 2025: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. You’all know I love Hallmark Christmas movies. However, there is nothing quite like the ultimate story we hear at this time of year – A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. And as much as I love Hallmark, they just do not compare in their remakes of that classic, to the ones that star Alister Sims or Sir Patrick Stewart. Now, we are in Advent, not Christmas, so why do I bring this classic tale of Christmas up? For the same reason I did many years ago when I was preaching on the texts for this Sunday – especially the one from Isaiah, because Dickens knew how to create a setting. And, the truth is, while the movie adaptations are good, nothing is better than the actual book in telling that important part of the story. I mean, isn’t that nearly always the case – Lord of the Rings trilogy, Dune, the Chronicles of Narnia – I know, I am showing my fantasy/scifi side. Even the Harry Potter movies, while really good, were not as good as the books. The same is very true for A Christmas Carol. The opening paragraph of this Dicken’s seasonal classic makes one thing absolutely clear. It reads, “Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it: and Scrooge’s name was good upon ’Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail. Mind! I don’t mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country’s done for. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail.” So, I guess Marley, old Scrooge’s business partner, was very much dead? Or, as we get from the coronor in The Wizard of Oz – Marley is “…not only merely dead, [he’s] really most sincerely dead.” Clearly we do not need to ask, in our best Monty Python voice, “Is he dead yet?” Marley is dead. Got it. But why all the fuss – why all the repetition? Well, as we continue in the story we realize that if we weren’t quite sure about Marley being dead, than it throws off the basis for the very strange set of Christmas Eve visitations that result in a miracle of new life for Scrooge. And it is this new life that is an important part of our Advent journey. The life that grows out of death. Now you might be thinking, isn’t that Easter, not Advent? Well, it is both, as will see in the passage from Isaiah, and also from St. Paul in his letter to the Romans (who quotes the very scripture in Isaiah we heard today). The passage begins with this: “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” That branch, the passage continues, is the birth of a new leader – one who is righteous and faithful, who has compassion for the poor and the meek. Oh, how we yearn even today, for that. Now we often hear these words and think of Jesus, but Jews then and to today know these words as applying to King Hezekiah of Judah. Still, everyone all over the world yearn for this type of leader – one who has compassion for her people, and knows they are not God, but are there to serve God’s people. The prophet’s words remind all of us what is expected of those that lead the people of God. And it is a proper metaphor for the incarnation too. So, let’s get back to that stump, that leftover remains of a very dead tree. A tree that, as Dickins would likely say, is as dead as a door nail. Why is this imagery so important to the people then, or us now? Well, remember last week? The prophet was speaking of a vision of a new world where swords would be turned into plowshares? Well, that hasn’t come about yet. The Assyrians were still a threat to Jerusalem, and had destroyed many a city in Judah and Israel. In fact, in the chapter before the one we read from today, we hear about those rulers who oppress the people, turning aside the needy from justice, and robbing the poor and vulnerable. It was a time of darkness for the people, where hope was far gone and everyone seemed like the walking dead. The stump is a metaphor for the people who felt dead inside. The shoot is the birth of a new leader who is righteous, faithful, and good. That would be a miracle to those so worn down by the reality in which they lived. But the passage doesn’t stop there. This new life is beyond anything anyone has ever experienced – beyond even swords being made into plowshares. It is what we have come to call the peaceable kingdom…where “The wolf shall live with the ...
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    15 Min.
  • “Live Without Fear”

    “Live Without Fear”
    Nov 26 2025
    November 23, 2025: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. For some, this is a day called Christ the King Sunday, but as I say every year, that is not a title he would have ever claimed. As we heard in the Gospel, it was a title given to him by the oppressors who crucified him. No, Jesus would not be happy with this King business I believe, Jesus is Lord is enough, and was for centuries for his followers, as Christ the King wasn’t even a thing until 1925. So, not Christ the King…but it is Advent. And we have practiced the original seven week Advent here at Christ Church since 2016, and as then, it seems so appropriate now, because Advent is about a people walking in darkness, but not a people without hope. The people are in crisis. Many live in fear. The country is divided against itself. People don’t know which way to turn, how to take the next step, what to do, because the leaders have failed them. Certainly, this sounds like it is a time of darkness, and even very familiar – but I am not talking about the events in this country, at least not yet. I am talking about the passage in Jeremiah we heard this morning. If you were in doubt about whether Advent, from a lectionary point of view, is seven weeks long, just look again at our reading today from Jeremiah and the Canticle. Jeremiah begins with a stern warning from God for those in power that because they have abused their people, because they have not care for their flock, they will meet with God’s wrath. Jeremiah had been speaking about the failure of leaders in the time of the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 587 bce. And the passage ends with a very Advent-y verse “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch…” God clearly was not happy with the shepherds who failed their sheep. One of the things that our faith, our scriptures, make abundantly clear, is the importance of shepherds. And being a shepherd is about never forgetting that the focus of your work must always be on the welfare of the sheep. This is true, not only for those who watch over flocks, but for all kinds of leadership positions – from President to parent, from CEOs to church leaders. We don’t have to have lived in the Ancient Near East to understand what can happen when shepherds fail in their work. We have borne witness to this in our lifetimes. Today, we can certainly understand what it must have felt like back in the days of Jeremiah to be a people divided, scattered, fearful of our leaders, and not sure what tomorrow will bring. Our own nation’s leaders have not only failed to be good shepherds, it is far worse than that. They have actually turned on the sheep. Our country – once a beacon of freedom and democracy to the world – has entered into the dark shadows of oligarchy and systemic oppression. The President has put masked troops in the street shooting tear gas and pepper balls into crowds of citizens, and callously throwing people, including clergy, onto the pavement – arresting them for the crime of free speech. He is responsible for the execution of over 80 people without due process of law through drone strikes on boats in international waters. He has had thousands detained, including zip tying children (let that sink in), again without due process of law, and even deported many of them to foreign prisons notorious for their human rights abuses. He has dismissed the concern of over a thousand female victims of a child sex predator to protect his own hide, calling their abuse a hoax. And his government has stolen affordable access to healthcare for the poor to give money in tax breaks to the rich and powerful. And while some may feel this is less important – it goes to his misogyny and eroding of the freedom of the press – the silencing of those who courageously try to protect the flock from predators. He told one woman reporter who dared ask him a question, “Quiet Piggy!” Then he held a meeting at the White House with Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, known for his brutality, including the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a US citizen, by having him chopped up while still alive. When the President was asked about meeting with him by another reporter (also a woman) he called her “insubordinate.” Insubordinate – as though he is a king who cannot be questioned. And to another who asked directly about the murder of Khashoggi, he said “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.” Things happen? Sure, a guy walks into a bathroom and things like a bone saw just kinda happen to him. Seriously. You can’t make this stuff up. These are dark days we find ourselves walking in, to be sure. And it could make anyone feel like just pulling the covers over their heads and praying that things will ...
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    18 Min.