A Positively Poetic Priest

O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. (Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Sunday after Ascension Day BCP 226) The gospel stories tell that forty days after Jesus was resurrected, Jesus ascended into heaven. Luke shares two slightly different versions of Jesus' Ascension in the books of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. (Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11) However, then there are another nine days until Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit. In the medieval church, these nine days were considered preparation days for the coming of the Holy Spirit and special prayers were created for preparation. This is where we get the term Novena, pertaining to nine days of preparation. Later tr...

O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such  love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Sixth Sunday of Easter BCP 225) When parents, grandparents, family, and friends hold a newborn child for the first time, there is always an outpouring of undeserved love. The newborn infant hasn't done anything to earn love, but we offer our love for the baby anyway, usually with some other unasked for promises and desires for them. We wish good health and happiness, wisdom and strength, and sometimes things like wealth and a good job on the little ones. None of this is understood by the baby of course, all the baby wants is sleep and food and warm comfort. Naturally, as we grow up, we learn and grow...

I'm sure some of you are wondering what this week's interesting engagement bit is going to be, right? Or maybe not. Well, in your pew you will find a bowl with a little capsule in it. Do you know what the capsule is? If you do, you might be able to figure out what the theme is for today. Any guesses? In the passage from Revelation today, John hears God say that God will give a gift of water to all those who are thirsty from the spring of the water of life. The spring of the water of life is a symbol of new and refreshed life. Not quite the same as the fountain of youth so longed for  by the medieval kings and queens of old. God's water grants resurrection life, God's water is the living water of Jesus Christ. I'm going to walk around with a pitcher of water here and all those who are "thirsty" or simply curious as to what is going to happen, hold out your bowl, and then drop the colored capsule in it. It is re...

Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Fifth Sunday of Easter, BCP 225) The Call. Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life: Such a Way, as gives us breath: Such a Truth, as ends all strife: Such a Life, as killeth death. Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength: Such a Light, as shows a feast: Such a Feast, as mends in length: Such a Strength, as makes his guest. Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart: Such a Joy, as none can move: Such a Love, as none can part: Such a Heart, as joyes in love. From The Temple (1633), by George Herbert I believe that God has given us free will, the freedom to make our own choices, in this world. For better...

Not many of us probably use the word salvation on a daily basis. Perhaps the word save, or saving, savings, or other variations. Yet, salvation is a big part of the reason humans have religion. We long for salvation.  We long to be saved, from all the mistakes, mess ups, pain, hurt, sorrow that pervades our world.  We want salvation,  but we don't always understand it.  Both fortunately and unfortunately, Salvation theology brings lots of great vocabulary with it. Preservation, protection, deliverance justification, atonement... and all this theological vocabulary can be confusing. At its base, salvation is all about how much we need help, and how we get it. Naturally, because none of us wants to admit that we need help, in any way, we find lots of dressed up, finessed, Gothic ways of talking about salvation, but the end result is that we have to rely on God to save our  ...  necks. There are many reaso...

Many of you will know this song... Or at least you've heard it somewhere. By Pharrell Williams. (play music) Happy by Pharrell Williams.  (clap along) (do a twirl) As he says in the song, if you listen to the lyrics, he is going to be happy no matter what news you give him, because as Pharrell says "happiness is the truth" I would say, "joy is the truth" God wants us to be joyful, in all circumstances. God wants us to celebrate and rejoice in all that has been made and done for us. Joy has nothing to do with our circumstances or our current mood. Joy is something deep inside which is part of how we see the world. Happiness is rather fleeting and usually has to do with what is going on in our lives or something we have acquired. Joy has to do with knowing who we are and whose we are and celebrating being alive. Thankfully joy can be learned and it can be practiced. It starts by simple celebration for all ...

O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen (Third Sunday of Easter BCP 224) During the season of Easter we are told many stories of Jesus appearing to his followers after his death and Resurrection. We hear of Jesus appearing in the upper room to the disciples. We hear of him appearing on the road to Emmaus, and this Sunday, the gospel passage will tell us the story of Jesus appearing on the beach of the Sea of Galilee for breakfast. In all of these stories, Jesus appears seemingly out of nowhere. A shock to all who experience him in that moment. Many times in my own life, Jesus seemingly appears out of nowhere. Not in flesh and blood, but in presence or understanding. While I feel like I should be used to it by this point, I am still surprised and sometimes shocked...