A Positively Poetic Priest

 "Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation." wait... did I just hear what I think I heard? the scriptures say, be at peace while waiting??? well, that is easier said than done. If I think about all the waiting I have done in my life I can say that much of it has not been the most peaceful. Anticipatory excitement or anxiety usually get to me quickly. The theme for the second Sunday of Advent is peace. The word peace shows up in two different verses in our lectionary scriptures. Once in the Epistle, 2 Peter 3:14-15a, as we heard and also in the psalm, number 85, verse 8 "I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, * for he is speaking peace to his faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to him." There are so many conflicts going on in the world. In the news a couple make the headlines in any week, yet still hundreds of conflict...

Today has been a plain outfit day, but that is because the focus today has not been on fashion, its been on the International Day of Peace ! The Franklin Rotary Club, of which I have been a part the last couple of years, installed a Peace Pole at the Franklin Fire Department and had a little ceremony today with white doves. (The Peace Pole is in the garden in this picture.)  

Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Fifth Sunday in Lent BCP 219) Entropy is a scientific concept ranging throughout all varieties of scientific endeavor. Entropy describes the state of disorder in a system and its movement away from order. If left to themselves, many systems move towards greater disorder over time. Humans have this problem too. Without some guiding forces or values in our lives, our desires and wants can lead us into disorder, both personally and communally. If left unchecked, our increasing desires can lead us right down the path of entropy into sin. Being in relationship with God gives us the values a...

Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany BCP 215) Sometimes we human beings are none too subtle. Take this prayer for this coming Sunday for example. We pray for God, who we admit is in control of all things, to hear our prayers and grant us peace. Yet, we don't just ask for God's peace when we are dead or when God feels is best for us, we ask for God to grant us peace in our time. We recognize the reality that God's time and our human time don't always line up, and we really need peace in our time, not just God's time.  It is not a subtlety to say that we need peace in our time though. We desperately need God's peace in many ways. As many of us are facing the long effects of uncertainty an...

Merry Christmas! Today is the last day of the twelve days of Christmas. Have you all seen the Home Alone movie? The movie focuses on Kevin, the youngest of the family and the cousins who gets left home by accident. The family was going to Paris for Christmas to visit relatives and there was an accident and the parent's alarm didn't go off. They were woken up by the doorbell ringing with the bus pick up service. Kevin, asleep on the third floor, after being sent there as punishment the night before doesn't hear the hustle and bustle when they all run to the buses to get to the airport to go on their vacation. The oldest of the kids is told to do a headcount, but she comes up with the right number because she accidentally counts the neighbor boy who has come to see them off. It's not until they are on the plane over the ocean does his mother realize they don't have Kevin with them. She screams his name and passes out. I can imagine...

This past Sunday, the Epistle reading in the Revised Common Lectionary was from the book of Ephesians, Ephesians 6:10-20. Since this passage is paired with the Bread of Life discourse from the gospel of John, the number of times one preaches on it is few and far between. This passage is rather well known for a passage from Ephesians, because it talks about putting on the armor of God. The author of the passage outlines some items of clothing which followers of Jesus should put on in order to fight against the spiritual forces of evil in this world. Belt of Truth Breastplate of Righteousness Shoes of Peace Shield of Faith Helmet of Salvation Sword of the Spirit It sounds lovely. But there are a few things I noticed about this passage this past week. While there are some very good reasons for the pieces of clothing mentioned, I realized that if I drew a diagram of the armor of God, it leaves some portions of my body rather uncovered. It also leaves out a few aspects of the fait...

This week has seen its fair share of storms. Thunderstorms. Power outages. Flooding. More shootings. Political outrage and debate. Families torn apart. The world is a stormy place. Thankfully, Jesus offers peace in the midst of the storms. We all know this story from the Gospel of Mark. Jesus and the disciples get in the boat to cross the Sea of Galilee to get some time away from the crowds. Jesus is exhausted and along the short journey, he falls deeply asleep. Naturally, that is when a storm arises, lashing wind, waves pushing against the sides, scaring the disciples into thinking they were going to sink.  Of course, they over exaggerate.  Since most of the disciples were fishermen, they probably all knew how to swim and the sea of Galilee isn't that big.  Nor are there any sharks or crocodiles in the sea (again, too small), It would be a long swim to shore, but not impossible, so while the boat might have sank, they mo...

stated simply a turn of phrase an old cliche for those who care with conscious bare apologizing for others' sins daunting to change ignorant to mend a peace offering when all you have in exchange is vulnerability making its way from eyes to eyes (5/28/17)

Palm Sunday After another week with another school shooting, I sit here listening to the Passion story with a heavy heart. Why must we feel the need to act out on our fear and anger by killing other people? Hasn't the human race grown out of this behavior yet? Alas, we have not. The senseless violence of the Passion story is all too evident. Even Pilate asks, Why crucify him? What evil has he done? Jesus indeed had not committed any evil. He stood for peace, for relationship with God for caring about the poor and oppressed he stood for love and grace and mercy. And we gave him no mercy. In our human fear and anger we sentenced to death a man who wanted to teach us a new way of living, which scary and vulnerable as it is, is also one of peace, justice, and eternal life. Palm Sunday is a day of tension in the Christian life and story. Traditionally, we start this day with the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the...

3 April 2016 Easter 2C John 20:19-31 Eternal God, who sent your only begotten Son Jesus Christ into this world, that we might know your love for us, and so that we might believe in him and join with you in eternal life, Amen. I really disliked math when I was a kid, for one very specific reason. Math teachers never seemed to explain why things were the way they were. We learned all sorts of equations and ways to do things, but they never explained why they worked or why things were done that way. It wasn't until I hit college mathematics that they started explaining why. And then I became hooked. I always wanted to know why. I know I drove my father crazy asking him why so often. Why? Why? Why? So when I looked at the gospel passage from John this morning, I was immediately struck by the fact that he explains why he is including this story about Thomas and Jesus. "These are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that...

Today is an overflowing day. The price you pay is willingly reading more questionable poetry.  Peace A bar of soap is slippery and always slightly undefined When cut it is as designed  sharp edges holding shape But the only way it stays Is packaged on the shelf  Unused Once taken out  It immediately is eaten By the water and the grime Giving it it's very purpose meaning From time to time we fancy ourselves In need of punishment  Distastefully reminding us  Of simpler days Soap is of necessity  It's basic principal  Cannot be held by human hands We feel drawn To dirt to mess to wayside train wrecks Barely pulling ourselves away Peace as soap Stands no chance Nuclear Fusion Ah! The bitter ripples of the fountain pond Gleaming in the midnight's unnatural glow We missed the chain reaction of water into snow  Changing all that of which we were fond Relationship Our identity A beloved child of God See God has no taste We wish special we Forgetting ...

O God of peace, you bring tranquility into our conflicted lives. You raised Jesus from the still tomb; yet we continue to be entombed behind the closed locked doors of our fear. Open wide our doors and windows to the fresh air of new life. As Jesus showed his disciples his hands and feet, may we show ours to those waiting for our love. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen   Shalom aleichem. Assalam alaykum. Peace be with you.   What do you think of when you think about peace? Lack of war? Lack of stress? I would like you to close your eyes for a moment think about your favorite place to relax. Remind yourself of how you feel when you are there. The happiness, the undisturbed feeling. The beach, the mountains, the lake. The vacation home, the smells, the wind in your hair, let your muscles go for a moment ... relax   Now if you'll rejoin me and return to this room.   Was that peac...