A Positively Poetic Priest

O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (The Last Sunday after Epiphany BCP 217) “Life is this simple: we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time. This is not just a nice story or a fable, it is true." Thomas Merton This coming Sunday we can catch a glimpse of the magnificence and glory which is really true in this world. Each year, on the last Sunday after Epiphany and before Ash Wednesday, we are shown Jesus in true splendor on top of the mountain, shining for all the world to see. Before the valley of shadows that can be the season of Lent, we are given this glimmer of what is t...

"Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen." (First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of our Lord, BCP 214) As we move into the season after Epiphany, the seasonal emphasis of Jesus as a baby in Christmas changes to seeing Jesus start his ministry as a young man. We will hear the stories of Jesus starting his ministry, in starting to show the world who he really is. This coming Sunday we will hear the story of Jesus being baptized by John in the Jordan River. In some ways this story is quite appropriate for the beginning of a New Year. Jesus starts out his new ministry, and we start a new year again. Both are the beginnings of journeys which will take us furthe...

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (The Feast of the Epiphany, BCP 214) This coming Sunday is the Feast of the Epiphany, which starts the season of Epiphany. Epiphany is a season of seeing God, seeing Jesus as truly divine and truly human, seeing God in creation, seeing the Holy Spirit in others. While seeing is one of our five basic senses as humans, in the Christian tradition, we talk about seeing going deeper. We see with our hearts, especially when it comes to God. Being able to see beyond what is right in front of you is a gift from God. Having a vision of the future or of a ministry is a gift, not only personally, but also communally. In this season of Epiphany, I invite you into a season of visioning. Seeing bey...

"Do you ever look at someone and wonder, what is going on inside their head?" - Joy, Disney Pixar's "Inside Out" One of the things I wonder the most about is what is going on inside other people's minds. I find my own mind fascinating and I imagine that what goes on in other people's minds is fascinating too. As I have grown older, I have learned so much about what goes on in my mind and how it impacts what I do, who I am, and how I respond in certain circumstances. I am surprised how often I have epiphanies about my own emotions which lead to better understanding of other people's actions. The season after Epiphany is a time of learning new things. The lectionary takes us through stories of the disciples having epiphanies about who Jesus is and why he does what he does. Some of this learning takes place in seeing something new of Jesus, some of it takes place through examining their own understandings of themselves and Jesus. Through the...

Happy Feast of the Epiphany! Otherwise known as  the Feast of the Three Old Wise Guys... You know, John Wayne, Quentin Tarantino, and Clint Eastwood Oh! wait, not those wise guys! While we have no idea if the magi who showed up to honor Jesus as a little child were men, or wise, or kings, or other political or religious officials or even if there were three of them, Traditionally, the Magi are  Casper from Arabia,  Melchior from Persia,  and  Balthazar  from India. And of course, we don't know how the three of them ended up together, or at least, showing up in Bethlehem around the same time. Yet, we celebrate this story of Epiphany because it is the first  in a long, long, series of stories about people recognizing Jesus as the Son of God, the Savior. And it has such valuable political ramifications that it has been used in situations  over and over again as a story of the subversion of...

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (The Feast of the Epiphany, BCP 214) Come and celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany with us this Sunday. During the formation hour (9:00 am), we are going to be putting on a pageant for anyone and everyone to participate in and enjoy. Hear and see a story about the Three Magi, or Wise Men, who journey far to see the Son of God as a baby. Help put together House Blessing Bags for everyone to take home and bless their houses. Taste the deliciousness of King Cake and perhaps find a special treat! I hope you'll join us in celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany. Seeing Jesus can be very hard through all the difficulties, troubles, and hatred in this world, yet, Jesus is with us. Re...

Epiphany 3A Matthew 4:12-23 We tend to think of being arrested as a bad thing. In many cases, this is the truth. However, for a number of people throughout the world, being arrested was the necessary catalyst for changing the world.  Every movement has a catalyst. A  precipitating event that causes the rest of the story to happen. We know this well. For Martin Luther King Jr., the precipitating event that turned him into a national civil rights leader was the Montgomery Bus Boycott, sparked by Ms. Rosa Parks, an African American woman, being arrested for not giving up her seat on a bus for a white person.  In Jesus' case, according to the gospel of Matthew, the catalyst was his cousin's John's arrest. John's arrest proved to be a little bit of a wake up call and a time of acknowledgement of the risks of what he was doing. Jesus probably knew that his ministry was not going to be easy. Spending forty days in the desert to prepare yourself for the task is...