This week's sermon

Love is all we have—January 30, 2022

          I don’t always title sermons, and even if I do, I don’t always share the title with the congregation.

          But I did title this sermon and want to share that title with you.

          This sermon is called “Love Is All We Have”.

          I get it from an Emily Dickinson poem of the same name. The poem is very short.

          Here it is:

“Love is all we have/Is all we know of love/ It is enough, the freight/ should be proportioned to the groove.”

Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth is the total definition of love.

Listen to pieces of 1^st Corinthians 13:

“If I have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal….if I do not have love, I am nothing….If I do not have love, I gain nothing….For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now Faith, Hope and Love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is Love.”

Love is greater than Faith.

Love is greater than Hope.

          “Love is all we have….”

          English is a simpler language than Greek. Take it from someone who studied Greek for two years at Harvard Divinity School!

          For one thing, translating Greek into English is sometimes difficult.

          For example, there are three totally different words in Greek that are all translated as ‘love’ in English.

          The first is EROS.

          You probably already figured out that is the root word of ‘erotic’. EROS love is romantic love. The love of passions.

          The second word is PHILIOS.

          It is the root word of ‘Philadelphia’—the city of brotherly and sisterly love. PHILIOS is the love we feel for family and friends.

          The final Greek word we translate into English as ‘love’ is AGAPE.

          AGAPE literally means ‘the love that gives itself away’. It is the ‘love’ of God for us and all creation. It is the ‘love’ of Jesus who literally ‘loved’ us by giving up his life. It is the ‘love’ that says, ‘I will die to keep you safe’.

          Not surprisingly, the Greek word translated as ‘love’ in Paul’s letter, is AGAPE.

          AGAPE is stronger than Faith.

          AGAPE is stronger than Hope.

          AGAPE is Faith and Hope put into action.

          You are welcome to have EROS and PHILIOS in your life. More power to you.

          But we are called by Paul, by Jesus, by God, to feel AGAPE love for all the world.

          We are called to ‘give ourselves away’ to fight global warming, to champion those in need, to work for peace here in Litchfield and around the world, to give voice to the voiceless, to work for social justice and equality, to love everyone—even our enemies and those who wish us harm.

          Love is all we have to offer to God and to the world.

          “Love is all we have/Is all we know of love/It is enough, the freight/should be proportioned to the groove.”

Amen and amen.

 

 

Top 10 reasons for Being an Episcopalian

 I was sure I posted this before, but couldn't find it when I searched my blog.

I have a red tee-shirt with the Episcopal shield on the upper left side in front and the Top 10 (by Robin Williams, who was an Episcopalian) on the back.

I got it, I suspect, at the National Cathedral, which is the only place it seemed to be available.

10. No snake handling.

9. You can believe in dinosaurs.

8. Male and female, God created them; male and female, we ordain them.

7. You don't have to check your brains at the door.

6. Pew aerobics.

5. Church year is color coded.

4. Free wine on Sunday.

3. All of the pageantry, none of the guilt.

2. You don't have to know how to swim to get baptized,

1. No matter what you believe, there's bound to be at least one other Episcopalian who agrees with you.

All true!

 

Trinity, Milton

Trinity's annual meeting was after Eucharist on Sunday.

(No coffee hour, which are great, because of Covid.)

The meeting was fine--though I hate meetings--but I love the people so much I can put up with meetings!

But I've loved the people everywhere I have served, unlike many priests I know.

Maybe, I'm just a great priest--or, more likely, I've been very, very lucky!

The music at Trinity is remarkable for a small church--for any church, for that matter. Michael, the music man, is the best I've ever worked with--and I've worked with some great ones. And Jordan, the singing leader is in a league by himself.

The people are so smart and friendly and kind--couldn't ask for more than that.

They do a lot in the community--like every church I've served.

And that's what churches are for--to inspire people to reach out and help others.

So, I'm very secure and settled and happy at Trinity.

Long may we work together.

 

zoom mreeting

I did a three hour zoom meeting for the Board of the Mastery Foundation this afternoon.

Three hours is a long zoom.

Yet it was great!

I got to see people I hadn't seen in over a year.

The Foundation does great work--more than just the Making A Difference workshops I lead.

The conversation was great.

But the best part was 10 minutes of centering prayer--something every part of the Mastery group does.

Amazing what being quiet and centering can do.

Ask me about it.

That's worth doing. 

 

Sunday's Sermon

 

January 23, 2022

        Today is Trinity’s Annual Meeting.

        There are two things an Annual Meeting should do.

        Look back on what has come before and look ahead to what comes next.

        Today’s readings give us guidance on both those things we should do.

        Paul’s letter to the Christians in Corinth tells us how to look back.

        We are the Body of Christ in this world and Paul asks about the Body.

        Every part of the Body is necessary and important. No matter what role they play in the Body they are necessary and important. The most humble part of the Body makes the Body whole.

        So there are many parts of the Body of Christ that must be honored. From the Brain and the Heart to the finger and the toe.

        As I see it, Trinity honors all it’s members and folks who are on the edges. I am sure you do that.

        We are one Body here at Trinity and we should celebrate and appreciate that.

        Truly.

        Looking forward, the Gospel speaks to what comes next.

        Jesus, at the synagogue in his home town, read a powerful message.

        Listen:

        “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

        Because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

        He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

        And recovery of sight to the blind,

        to set the oppressed go free,

        to proclaim the year of the world’s favor.”

        He rolled up the scroll and said, “today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

 

        That’s what is ahead for Trinity.

        To care for the poor, release those in the bondage to the past, to set those who are oppressed free.

        To do Christ’s work in the world.

        Trinity already does that.

        But we must be more committed to that.

        And we must reach out to those unchurched to offer them safety in our community.

        We are called to fulfill the scripture in our community.

 

        What the gospel today leaves out is that after that moment the people in the synagogue began to doubt the ‘Joseph’s son’ could do these things.

        They became enraged and put him out of the synagogue.

        So, doing the work we must do may bring judgement on us.

        We may be criticized.

        But we are the Body of Christ.

        We must stand for change.

        We must do the work God has given us to do.

        No matter what others may think or say.

        We are the Body of Christ.

        We move into a new year together, destined to do the work of Christ in this world.

        Please stay for the Annual Meeting and please be part of Christ’s Body in this world.

Amen.

More about the COLD

 I'm sure you are tired of hearing me complain about the COLD.

But complain I will.

When I got up this morning it was zero on our back porch--and I didn't  get up until nearly 9--an hour after Bern walked Brigit and almost fell down. I can't imagine how that went.

Right now it's 10 degrees on our back porch (almost 6 p.m.).

The bank thermometer up the road is always 5 degrees warmer than our back porch one--but anything below 60 outdoors is cold to me.

We keep our house at 70 (or, I do, Bern turns it down to 67 when I'm not constantly checking!)

But the last few days she's left it where I set it.

Maybe I should try to push it up to 72?

I've always hated the cold, but as I age, my hatred increases.

Just another thing about aging....

MAD again, maybe

I've been helping lead the Making A Difference workshop for close to two decades.

We've had no workshops for two years.

But maybe in June at Holy Cross Monastery in upstate New York, overlooking the Hudson (a beautiful place of Episcopal monks).

Didn't know Episcopalians had monks and nuns?

Surprise, we do.

I've been a good leader, I believe, but I can't for the life of me remember what goes on in the workshop!

Two years without doing it, my mind is blank.

We do Centering Prayer in it, several times a day.

And the workshop is magic.

I was considering renouncing my priestly vows when I took it and here I am, almost 30 years later, still a priest.

(So, I've been helping MAD for almost three decades!)

If you want to hear more and let me seek to enroll you in June's workshop send me an Email at Padrejgb@aol.com.

l'd love to share it with you and make a difference for you to make a difference....