“Now Is The Time!” Titelbild

“Now Is The Time!”

“Now Is The Time!”

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 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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