Sunday's sermon

 

Sunday, 10-3-2021

       A preacher should know who their speaking to.

       I think I know you well enough now to imagine that today’s gospel is somewhat unsettling to many of you.

       Mark’s Jesus is straight forward in his condemnation of divorce.

       Some Christian churches still do not recognize civil divorce, including the largest Christian denomination in the world—the Roman Catholic church.

       (But, as a Catholic, if you ‘know someone’ high enough up or are willing to pay for the service, the Church will provide you with a Papal ‘annulment’ so you may leave your spouse behind and remarry! That seems a tad ‘two-faced’ to me….)

       The Episcopal Church recognizes divorce and re-marriage. It would be ironic if the church, having come from the Church of England which came into being in 1550, breaking from the Roman church so King Henry VIII could divorce his wife Catherine and marry Ann Boleyn, would not have a more open view of divorce and remarriage!

       The re-marriage of a divorced person must come as a request from a parish priest to the Bishop of the Diocese, who makes the final decision.

       I must tell you, in nearly 40 years as a priest, I have never had that request turned down. (However, as some of you know, the most recent marriage I did, permission did not come until the eve of the wedding day!)

       Would I have done it anyway? Most likely I would have and let the Bishop’s ire come on my head.

       In Jesus’ time, women were considered ‘property’ by Jewish law. ‘Property of their father from birth and ‘property’ of their husband after marriage.

       You notice when the Pharisees come to Jesus, they ask, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” No mention of a woman divorcing her husband since, as Jesus gets out of them when he asks what Moses said, they answer: “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.”

       For his time, Jesus was a great defender of women. We see it over and again.

       But in the gospels, men were described by where they came from: Saul of Tarsus, Jesus of Nazareth, like that.

       But women were described as related to their husbands or their sons: Mary, wife of Joseph or mother of Jesus—in John’s Gospel, on the Cross, Jesus tells his mother that the beloved disciple is now her son. He does that to give her and identity since Joseph is dead and Jesus is dying.

       The only woman in the gospels named for where she comes from is Mary of Magdala.

       (I have a lot to say of Mary of Magdala, but not today!)

       So, we could see Jesus’ rejection of divorce as an act in defense of women.

       At any rate, divorce is not the issue for us.

       For human beings, when something is ‘broken’, we either fix it or get rid of it.

       When my car broke down on Route 8 South, leaving here the third Sunday I was with you, I had it fixed and drive it still. But the day will come when it can’t be fixed and I will trade it in.

       The same of marriages. My first advice for a broken marriage would be to ask the couple to try counseling and re-conciliation to ‘fix’ it. But, if that doesn’t work, the best idea for both people is to move on.

       All of that said, the Gospel ends with Jesus taking children in his arms and declaring, ‘whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”

       Lord knows, children make mistakes. It’s how they learn and grow.

       It is the same with we adults—we learn and grow from our mistakes.

       Even when the mistake was a marriage.

       Our mistakes teach us humility and makes us like little children again open to the kingdom of God….Amen.

        

Third jab

 Today I got my Covid booster shot by simply walking into Rite-Aid and asking for it.

I feel safer already.

Don't get me started on the anti-vaccination folks....

Get the damn shot!

I saw a school teacher in New York on Youtube today who was going to quit teaching instead of getting the vaccination as her school board mandated.

She was a young Jewish woman who had a "religious exemption".

But when pressed by the CNN reporter. she could not define what the religious belief was that made her avoid the vaccine.

Most religions I understand teach us to respect and protect one another. I can't think of how a religious belief could keep us from taking a shot to protect, in her case, the children she taught.

Most religions also warn us to take care of ourselves and not put ourselves in danger.

Denying the vaccine puts you and those around you in danger.

So quit, young woman, that at least will protect your students, but the part about taking care of yourself is up for grabs.

She was an emotional young woman, torn to bits by having to quit teaching children she loved.

But I felt no sympathy toward her. None at all.

Get the shot and keep teaching, for God's sake....and your own!

I usually hate the internet

I'm a devout Baby Boomer, so I am not tech savvy.

I usually hate the internet, but sometimes it can do wonders.

Like today.

For a week I've been trying to remember a rhyme I've known for years.

It goes like this: "I never saw a ??? I never hope to see one. But I can tell you right now, I'd rather see than be one."

So I go on line and find out what I've never seen.

A purple cow.

It's a poem by Gelett Burgess written in the 1890's and admired by Emily Dickinson.

Go figure.

Pondering something you don't quite remember--go on line and remember....

 

I probably ruined my favorite shoes

I got out of the car at a supermarket today and stepped in a puddle.

My shoes felt weird after that.

My feet moved around too much.

They were my favorite shoes.

If I ruined them, I'll go on line (or, rather, Bern will) and find another pair.

I wear them everyday and love them.

I've hung them up to see if they'll dry out.

I pray so.

Should one pray about shoes?

I'm not sure.

You should ask a real priest....

 

Trash and Treasure

I'm sure you've heard the old saying: 'one person's trash is another person's treasure.'

Nothing makes that clearer bulk trash time in Cheshire!

People but out there trash and other people drive slowly around town looking for something they want.

I've seen a couple of dozen cars on our street in the past week.

They've taken about half the stuff we put out--two old grills, a radio and speakers we haven't used in 10 years, even a bunch of old pots for plants.

The family across the street put out the good stuff first and that all went away. Then they put out stuff they thought no one would want and some of it is gone.

The city waits a couple of weeks knowing lots of the stuff will be taken away and they don't have to!

Trash or treasure?

 

Funeral today

Today I did a funeral at St. John's in Waterbury of a woman I don't remember.

She was a life-long member and I was there for 21 years--but I didn't remember her.

There was a photo board with dozens of pictures. I looked at them all before the service.

But I didn't remember her.

Was I just not paying attention?

Or was she one of those folks who showed up a lot but didn't do anything else and I just didn't know her?

It bothers me that I don't remember her.

A niece gave a remarkable 6 minute reflection that told me a lot about her.

But I still didn't remember her.

That made me sad, but I talked to her only child, her son, and his three children and they appreciated the service so much it made me feel better.

But I'm still sad that I don't remember her.

 

 

This sunday's sermon

September 26. 2021

        At the end of today’s gospel, Mark’s Jesus tells his disciples—AND US!—“Salt is good; but if salt has lost it’s saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

        The next part of this sermon will be a lecture on Sodium Cloride—what we call “salt”. You might want to take notes.

        (Just kidding….)

        Salt is one of the most marvelous and useful substances on earth. It comes from salt mines—usually where a salt lake has dried up. There were lots of them, eons ago.

        Salt prevents fruits and vegetables from turning brown by putting them in salt water. You can also peel potatoes the night before them and save them in salt water and they won’t lose their color.

        Salt is an excellent exfoliant and deodorizer—that’s why your skin feels so good when you come from the ocean beach.

        Salt water relieves itches from bites and stings.

        Salt is great oral care—salt and baking soda make a great organic toothpaste and gargling salt water heals sores and freshens the breath.

        Keep salt nearby you stove or grill for grease fires.

        You can scrub with salt on burned on debris.

        Salt removes stains from fabrics—even blood and wine. Salt in washer keeps clothes fresh and bright by removing sweat stains and odors.

        Salt down your sink ends odors.

        Remove water marks from wood with salt water.

        Put old sponges in salt water overnight to give them new life.

        Of course, we all know, salt removes ice from roads.

        Store cheese in napkins soaked in salt water. Cheese makers have done it for many decades.

        Salt sets colors in fabrics when ¼ cup is added to first few washes—also prevents them bleeding on other fabrics.

        Put salt on paper and run your warm iron over it to clean smudges from the iron.

        Many plants and creatures live in salt water that couldn’t survive in fresh water.

        Finally, though it’s not for everybody—salt Tastes Great! It gives flavor to everything it touches.

        How wondrous salt is!

        And Jesus tells his disciples—and US, my beloved—to have salt in ourselves and be at peace with one another. But we must not lose our saltiness for we won’t be able to re-season ourselves.

        If we have salt in ourselves, we can give healing, we can clean up messes, we can preserve what is good, we can give flavor to the world and give life to others who need it.

        We must keep our saltiness to do all that and be at peace with one another.

        We must keep our salty faith to do all that and be at peace with one another.

        Be salty, my friends. Be salt for the earth.

        Shalom and Amen.