Holy Spirit Textile Quilt Design by Linda Schmidt, Dublin, CA
Good morning! Our post today is From the Archives. Be Blessed!
Our festive celebration today, Pentecost, is in commemoration of the formation of our Christian Church by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit given to the disciples by Jesus, the resurrected Christ. It is a high feast day in our faith, one just as important as Christmas and Easter.
The word Pentecost derives its’ meaning from Hebrew means, “the fiftieth.” In the Jewish tradition, it was one of the major festivals along with Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles. It was called Pentecost because it fell on the fiftieth day after Passover putting it usually at the first of June. This Jewish feast day had significance as it related to the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai, as well as an agricultural meaning related to the readiness of the first crop of barley that was offered to God in the form of two loaves of bread.
In the Christian tradition, Pentecost represents the fifty days after the Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, when he appeared to his disciples filling them with God’s Holy Spirit.
As they gathered in that upstairs room, fervently praying, the Risen Christ is reported to have said, “Shalom” (or “Salaam”) meaning, “Peace be with you.” After repeating it again to the startled disciples, he is reported to have continued with these words: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” He then breathed on them saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Christ invested them with God’s work, imbuing them with God’s Holy Spirit so that his spirit might continue in them.
St. Paul elucidates our understanding of this momentous occasion even more by telling us that the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit Jesus brought to the disciples, also came with a variety of gifts as a manifestation of the Spirit that was for the common good of all used to share the love of Christ. As you can hear, our celebration of Pentecost is different from the traditional Jewish festival. Instead of honoring the Law given to Moses and an agricultural appreciation, both of which are important in our own faith heritage, we celebrate the Spirit of God flooding through the very beings of those who faithfully followed Jesus throughout his ministry on earth.
The Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit, did not just come into existence at the time when Christ breathed the Spirit into the disciples. The concept of the Spirit of God existed from the beginning of creation when God breathed life into the universe. The Hebrew word used in the Old Testament is “Ruach Kadesh” that has several meanings: Holy Breath, Sacred Wind, Consecrated Life, Devoted Spirit, Sanctified Soul or Mind, and Pure Passion. It was thought of in terms of the wind of God
blowing about like the dust of the ground landing on whomever or whatever it might - giving animation, inspiration, and life.
What meaning does the Holy Spirit have for us today? The presence of God’s Spirit in our lives binds us together with Christ and his early disciples, binds us with one another in our belief of the Risen Lord. The Spirit supplies the personal connection that makes it possible for the works of Jesus Christ to be continued in his name by his followers – you and me! Through the Spirit the apostles received the power of Christ to heal, to forgive, to judge, to love, to serve, and to be witnesses to Christ. Thus, the Christian Church was born, a God inspired community that lives today.
The Holy Spirit brings us into communion with all Christian believers, forming us into God’s family to care for one another and to witness to the truth and power of Christ. The Spirit guides us, grants us courage to deal with difficult or painful situations, gives us power to more adequately cope with life’s stresses and temptations. The Holy Spirit fills us with the words to share Christ’s love, to feel the joy of his presence, and to bring us the peace he left with his disciples.
The Holy Spirit is as alive this morning in our hearts and in our lives as it was when Christ breathed his life into his disciples in that upper room. We have only to call on God’s Spirit to bring us into union with the Glorified Christ to experience the mutual indwelling of his love. God’s Sacred Breath surrounds us still, bringing us hope, quickening our hearts, and renewing our lives. We who bear witness to Christ are truly blessed with the Gift of Spirit. Amen.
The Rev. Carol Sims
Pentecost, 2011
Acts 2:1-21, Psalm 104:25-35, 37, John 20:19-23
36.877011
-76.267573
Good morning! This post comes From the Archives! Be Blessed!
Our Lectionary moves us from the Gospel of Mark, with its Greek influence, to the Gospel of John with its influences from the region that is now Turkey. And it contains a story that is painfully familiar to clergy. It’s the story of Jesus throwing the money changers out of the temple. Clergy get this quoted to them by someone every time money is mentioned in church. It’s just one of those “clergy things” for which we brace ourselves. After a few years, clergy learn that people who quote this to them are usually people who never give a penny to support the parish. But I have to give YOU credit. I think I’ve only heard it once at Epiphany, and that was at a yard sale, when someone thought she shouldn’t have to pay for something she wanted. You’ve really been very gentle about this.
Well, this is a popular story, but there’s a lot more to it than appears on the surface. At the time of Jesus’ life, the temple was a very powerful institution in Jewish society. But, there was a lot of conflict going on in the temple, especially between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the temple was quite a business operation.
One of the demands that the temple put on her people was that they offer sacrifices to God to celebrate important events in their lives, or, as an element of their being cleansed, or, anything that the temple could think of to require a sacrifice. Now – in order to offer that sacrifice, you had to have the proper animal to be used in the sacrifice, and this was determined by a careful reading of the Torah. And this became big business for the temple. The temple kept a stock yard of animals – everything from oxen, to goats, to pigeons – to be sold as sacrifices. If you were going to the temple to offer a sacrifice, you didn’t take your own animal. You had to buy your sacrifice from the temple. You then had to pay someone at the temple to properly slaughter the animal, then pay someone to properly prepare it; and finally, you had to pay a temple priest to offer the sacrifice for you. It all became a rather expensive ordeal.
Now, the money of the day was Roman. And, of course, the temple wasn’t about the take Roman coinage. So they had “money changers.” The money changers sat at tables at the entrances to the temple, and they would take your Roman money and convert it to temple money so that you could pay for your sacrifice. The problem was that the money changers took a rather significant cut when they exchanged your money. The temple really had a racket going. And if you did something to break ”the law”, as interpreted by the Pharisees or Sadducees, you would have to do penance, then be cleansed (which is what baptism was) and then go to the temple and make your atonement (at one ment) with God, by offering one of those very expensive sacrifices. And if you didn’t have the money, you just stayed “cut off” from God and society until you found the money. That’s the way it worked in Jesus’ day.
So – this is why when Jesus went to the temple, he found cattle, sheep, and doves being sold. They were being sold for sacrifice. And the money changers, whose tables he overturned, and whose coins he dumped out, were there to change Roman money into temple money. And Jesus’ problem with them was that they weren’t being honest in their exchange. They were cheating the people in the name of God, and he found that offensive to God.
Well – aside from the interesting view that they story gives us of the temple, it’s important for two other reasons. First, it was through this event that the writer of John shows Jesus setting himself against the Pharisees and Sadducees. He crossed the whole temple structure, and that wasn’t a very politically correct thing for him to do, as a young rabbi, just beginning his ministry. And because of it, he had to deal with the hostility of the Pharisees and Sadducees the rest of his life, even through his trial, and eventually his execution.
But more importantly, in this temple event Jesus challenged the whole idea that God demands sacrifice for the atonement of sin, and THAT IDEA was basic to Jewish theology of the day.
So, not only did Jesus set himself up against the political structure of the temple, but also the basic theology of the temple. And the rest of Jesus’ teaching followed this “break” with the temple. I can’t think of one instance in Jesus’ ministry where he ordered someone I make a sacrifice to heal his/her relationship with God. Instead, he told them things like, “Go – your faith has made you well.”
This was a major progression in the understanding of human kind’s relationship with God. No longer did people have to pay the temple big money to get “right with God.” As Jesus saw it, it’s up to each individual to maintain his/her relationship with God, as best as he/she can. Now, this is a very freeing thing, but it’s also a very demanding thing. In some ways, it’s a lot easier to pay someone else to get me “right with God”, than take responsibility for it, myself. And this is what makes the teaching of Jesus so hard for some people. Each person has to search his/her heart, look at his/her life, take inventory, and do what’s needed to maintain a “right” relationship with God, And what’s “right” for me, is not necessarily what’s “right” for you. It takes work. And that is why some of our other denominations and mega churches are so popular today. They will tell you exactly what “to do” and “not to do” to “stay right” with God. You go down the check list and do what they say, and you’re “right with God.”
Anglican theology is different. We have to work on it for ourselves. We have to look at our lives, and look inwardly at our souls, and see what’s right for us, individually. And that’s hard to do. That’s why our church offers seasons like Lent – to help us stop, and look inward, and see where we are with God and with our fellow man, and what we can do, personally, to work on our “at-one-ment” with God.
I have one other thought about all of this.
Once Jesus threw the money changers out of the temple, and broke with the temple, he “set a course” for his ministry, and he would never be able to back out of it. The course that his ministry would take was “set” in that event, and from that point on, it was irreversible.
I think the same thing happens in our personal lives.
Maybe it’s getting married to a particular person, or changing jobs, or moving, or making other important decisions. All of us, on occasion, make decisions that set a course for our lives, and once that decision is made, we HAVE to “live it out.” Sometimes it’s wonderful and easy, but sometimes it’s not. It wasn’t easy for Jesus to set his course, and it isn’t always easy for us to set ours. Sometimes it can be very hard. If you look at what got Jesus through it all, it was his faith- what he believed was right, and his total trust in God. The same is true in our personal lives. Every once in a while, each of us throws the money changers out of the temple, because we know it’s the right thing to do. And it takes faith in ourselves, faith in each other, and faith in our God to get us through some of these things.
We can’t back out of history. Life would sure be easier if we could. But when a course is set, we have to “ride it out.” So this Lent, take a look at your history. When have you made a decision that set a new course for you – that could not be reversed? We all do it. And are there decisions you NEED to make, money changers you need to throw out? Lent is a time to look at these things, and then, do what we need to do, in faith. It’s not always easy, but when you’ve done the right thing, it’s very empowering.
I wish you a Blessed Lent, this special season.
Amen.
Richard Bridgford, Rector, Church of the Epiphany, Norfolk VA
John 2:13-22
March 11, 2012
36.851000
-76.278000
Good morning! This post is From the Archives. Be Blessed!
A couple of weeks ago, I came into the office on Wednesday, and Sara said, “In a couple of weeks you’ve got “lost sheep” for a gospel theme. “I’ve been working on art for the bulletin.” I fell in love with the first one she showed me and it’s the picture on our bulletin this morning. It just really struck me funny. I don’t know a lot about sheep, but that one is the “most lost” sheep I have ever seen.
Sheep are herd animals. They don’t go wandering down the road by themselves unless they are lost – I guess. And this one looks lost.
There was just something very whimsical to me about that picture. That one sheep looks like I feel when I’m lost. In Biblical times sheep were very valuable possessions. They were expensive to buy and pretty hard to take care of. But they provided almost everything you needed to live a fairly comfortable life: wool for fabrics, milk & cheese for food, leather, meat, and even more sheep. If you had sheep life could be pretty good. And if you lost one you had big problems. You would HAVE to go find it and you WOULD rejoice once it was found.
Well the Gospel tells us that this is a parable. And it’s pretty obvious that the parable is intending to talk about people – not sheep.
All of us from time to time have to deal with “lost sheep” in our lives. They may be friends , kids, spouses, parents, neighbors, people we work with. Almost anywhere there are people – there are “lost sheep.” We’ve all known them. We’ve all taken our turns – at trying to help them find their way. If you really want to experience this come to the NUOM Office and answer the telephones for a day. You will experience “lost sheep,” good people who have lost their way. Their lives are a mess. They don’t know which way to go. And they are heading down that road on the front of our bulletin, alone and confused and lost. I haven’t been to the Recovery Center where Carol works but she knows exactly what I’m talking about.
Well – sometimes you and I are in a position to step in an offer some help. None of us can help everyone but sometimes we can extend a helping hand. And sometimes we see those lost sheep find their way. Sometimes, it’s kind of a rare event, but every once in a while one of our lost sheep will get his or her act together , find his or her way and it is ALWAYS an event to be celebrated!
Now – there’s another element to this. Sometimes WE are the lost sheep. There have been times in my life when I’ve been so lost, so confused, so befuddled , that I just wanted to sit down and quit. And I’m a pretty upbeat, positive person! But there have been a few times when I’ve felt very, very lost. And when I saw that picture on the bulletin cover I knew exactly how that sheep felt.
“Get me back to where I’m supposed to be.”
“How did I get into this mess?”
“I should have been paying more attention.”
“Somebody show me the way”
“I’ll never let this happen again.”
We’ve all been there. Maybe finances, and charge cards, and bills, maybe relationships, maybe bad business decisions. We can get lost in a lot of ways. But when we find our way; when someone steps in and gives us a hand; when we get moving again; it is time for celebration! Well – our Gospel continues the parable by linking repentant sinners – with the lost sheep. I wish the writer hadn’t done that because not all of the lost sheep I run into are lost because they’re sinners. When I’ve been “lost out there” it wasn’t always because I sinned. Sometimes life can just throw some really tough curves at us. I don’t think anyone gets through this life without a few really tough times. We’ve all been down that road trying to find out where we are.
And sometimes I think those are the times that make us strong: the times that teach us faith, the times when we find each other, as either the shepherd, or the lost sheep.
They are special times in our lives, painfully hopeless at the time, but we’re stronger on the other side. Well – all of this is kind of heavy. The parable does say that when the shepherd finds his lost sheep he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And he calls together his friends and neighbors and he says: “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Every once in a while it really happens and it is something for everyone to celebrate.
Sometimes our biggest “problem” “gets it together” and really surprises us. Not always – but sometimes. And sometimes I wish we were still living together in small tribal communities so we could gather everyone together and so we could say “Look! I have found my lost sheep. Celebrate with me.” If we can just remember that all of us are presented opportunities to lend a helping hand – to be that shepherd pointing the way for that lost sheep. If we can realize that these are wonderful , holy opportunities that are put before us. If we can really try to help each other when and where we can. It will really be something for everyone to celebrate!
Amen.
Luke 15:1-10
The Reverend Richard O. Bridgford
September 12, 2010
Church of the Epiphany, Norfolk, VA
36.877011
-76.267574
“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder. for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg.
We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg.
We must be hatched or go bad. “ C.S. Lewis
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
36.877011
-76.267573
He is risen, he is risen! Tell it out with joyful voice! He has burst his three days’ prison, let the whole wide earth rejoice:
death is conquered, we are free, Christ has won the victory!
May Almighty God, who has redeemed us and made us his children through the resurrection of his Son, our Lord,
bestow upon you the riches of his blessing. Amen.
May God, who has bought us out of bondage to sin into true and lasting freedom in the Redeemer, bring you to your eternal inheritance. Amen.
And the blessing of God the Creator, God the Redeemer, and God the Sustainer be upon you and remain with you for ever. Amen.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
36.877011
-76.267573
The contrast between the stark cross that emerges after Palm Sunday worship, and the living, flowering cross of Easter Sunday provides a fragrant, and colorful reminder of the promise of New Life through Jesus Christ.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Photos courtesy of J. Rochelle
36.877011
-76.267574
The first course of our Lenten Program Series, “Feeding our Bodies and Souls” was wonderfully satisfying! Kelly Harvey, speaking on ”Finding Your Manna,” got us off to a great start with a lively discussion as we brainstormed what “manna” might have been. The idea was to think of foods that provide complete nutrition, everything a person would need in order to survive! Next we learned some new and interesting things about how to combine foods, and get the full benefit of the healthy foods we do choose!
The Lenten Series continues each Tuesday evening through March for a wonderful Pot Luck Dinner followed by a program. The whole evening lasts from 6 to 7:30 PM so it’s easy to fit into your schedule! The next program will be on March 13th, and Kelly will be speaking on “Mindful Eating!” Join us!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
36.877011
-76.267573
Alleluia
though we cherish and would chant evermore,
Alleluia
in our singing, let us for a while give o’er,
as our Savior in his fasting pleasures of the world forbore.
Latin, 11th Century, translated John Mason Neale sung in plainsong Mode 2, Urbs beata Jerusalem
On the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, we sing our Alleluias,
and then we bury them through the season of Lent,
and do not give voice to them again until Easter morning
when in joy at Christ’s resurrection
we sing Alleluia with fresh purpose and renewed understanding!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
36.851000
-76.278000
Break open a cherry tree and there are no flowers,
but the Spring breeze brings forth myriad blossoms.
Ikkyu Sojun
On Sunday, February 26th, a dogwood tree was planted on the grounds of the Church of the Epiphany to commemorate the life and ministry of John Roberts,
Choirmaster and Organist, and friend.
A wonderful time was had sharing memories of John, and easing the loss of his presence in our lives.
Special thanks to the Hampton Roads Men’s Chorus for their contribution to this memorial event.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
36.851000
-76.278000
Well, this morning is the 1st Sunday of Advent, which means that we have made it through Black Friday. For those of you in the congregation who are younger, and by that, I mean under 60, Black Friday is a fairly new event, and don’t confuse it with Good Friday. The names would make much more sense if they were reversed. The day after Thanksgiving has long been a big shopping day, and within recent years it’s taken on the name “Black Friday” because businesses hopefully make enough money to show a profit, which turns the red ink of their ledger to black – but if you’re under 60, you probably don’t understand ledgers, and red ink, and black ink, either. Just remember, it’s the day merchants are supposed to make enough money for their businesses to last another year.
But Black Friday really has taken on a life of its own, just within the last few years. In recent years a few nuts have camped outside stores to get in early and take advantage of limited bargains. But it reached a new height of insanity this year. They interviewed one guy who had set up camp at the door of a store on Wednesday – and he had his son with him. His wife was going to bring them Thanksgiving Dinner in line. This was the 3rd year he’d done this. Some stores put porta-potties outside for the people camping in line.
And then, this year, there was the woman with the pepper spray. She apparently couldn’t get through the crowd to get what she wanted, so she hosed down the crowd with pepper spray to clear herself a path. On the one hand, it’s all so bizarre that it’s kind of amusing, but on the other hand, it’s kind of sad and disgusting. To me, it seems to be the worst of consumerism, sort of gone mad. Sadly, quite a few people around the country were injured in the mob rushes, and a couple of people were killed.
NPR spent some time yesterday analyzing what Black Friday has become. A few sociologists blamed it on the economy. People are so broke that they have to behave like this. If you’re that broke, you shouldn’t be in line to get some monster TV, at any price. A few others claimed that it was generated by businesses who had just gone too far in creating a really dangerous situation. The deals were too good for people to resist. I didn’t hear any of the experts blame stupidity and greed. If you choose to eat your Thanksgiving Dinner in line at a big box store, three years in a row, to get some video gadget cheap, I think you have a problem.
From our Reading of Isaiah this morning:
“We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. “
“Yet, O Lord, you are our Father, we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand. “Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,
and do not remember iniquity forever.”
I’ve always loved that passage. To me, it’s what Advent is all about. I love the imagery of God forming us with clay on the potter’s wheel. Every time I see someone using a potter’s wheel, I think of this passage. The potter uses his/her hands to form the clay. And in my head, I can see God using holy hands to form me, and you, and each of us – making us holy vessels to carry life, and love, and healing, and light into a dark and sometimes hurting world. I think every person is formed on the potter’s wheel with that mission.
Well, that all sounds good, but it didn’t work. The powers that drive the insanity of Black Friday still overpower us. So God tried something else. God created a special child on his potter’s wheel, who would walk this earth, and try to show us how to do it right. Human kind made a mess out of that – too.
But God still didn’t give up. And here’s where Advent comes in. God ordained that the spirit, the love, the hope, the caring, the passion of that special child, would revisit the world over, and over, and over – but this time, in OUR hearts – yours and mine. And it would come upon us at Christmas.
There’s a wonderful piece of music – “Love came down at Christmas.” The love of God will re-enter every one of our hearts this Christmas.
And now, we must get ready for it. And we don’t do it by pepper spraying a crowd that’s blocking our way to something we want. To me, the “pepper spray thing” represents the selfishness, and the greed, and the lack of respect, and the animal behavior that stands against everything that Advent and Christmas represent.
You and I have 4 weeks to get ourselves ready to again welcome Christ into our hearts and souls. We need to think about this. How are we going to do this? And this has nothing to do with Santa, and Jingle Bells, and all that stuff. This has to do with soul and spirit – our souls and our spirits – what drives us deep inside, where and how we touch “The Holy.”
We prepare for medical procedures. We prepare for school exams. We prepare for a new baby. We even prepare for death. But right now, we are called on to prepare for the Love of God to reenter our souls again, anew, afresh.
ANYTHING you can do to get yourself ready for this – do it! It’s important. It’s holy. It’s Advent. Amen.
Richard Bridgford, Rector
Church of the Epiphany, Norfolk, VA
Advent I, 2011
36.877011
-76.267573
