Poem for Easter Sunday

Now the green blade riseth from the buried grain, 
wheat that in dark earth many days had lain;
love lives again like grain that sleeps unseen:
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green.

In the grave they laid him, Love whom hate had slain,,
thinking that never he would wake again,
laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen:
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green. 

Forth he came at Easter, like the risen grain,
he that for three days in the grave had lain,
quick from the dead my risen Lord is seen:
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green. 

When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain,
thy touch can call us back to life again,
fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been:
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green. 


– John Macleod Campbell Crum
(The 1982 Hymnal, Episcopal)

Notes from Easter Sermon

John 20:1-18

Come and See

· It is a simple invitation, but it means so much more

· In this invitation is an expectation of sharing something special, something amazing

· Many of us here today have come because someone said to us come and see

· Recurring theme in the Gospels, especially in John’s gospel

· This is at the heart of our gospel story today, Mary asks Peter and the disciple that Jesus loves to come and see what has happened

We need to come and see because our expectations and ideas are being challenged.

Expectations

· Mary is shocked that when she arrives at the tomb, things are not as she expected

· Jesus constantly defies expectation

o Says things that are unexpected - love your enemies and pray for them, turn the other cheek...

o Does things that are unexpected - opens the eyes of the blind, have friends who are sinners, he followed God’s will to his own death, even when he could of turned away

· The way to learn about Jesus is to come and see

Followers

· Can we, as followers of Jesus, be different from what the world expects of us? We are different, we are changed by the resurrection of Jesus.

o The world tells us that we need to have the most stuff, step on others to get ahead, exercise our power and authority at the expense of others, me...me...me...

o Jesus tells us that we need to love others as he loved us, serve others as he served us, for if we do these from a place of genuine love then we are reflecting the love that God has for us

So as we go out into the world today, may we invite others to come and see that Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen indeed!  Alleluia!

Easter Vigil - St. John Chrysostom's Easter Sermon

St. John Chrysostom's Easter Sermon

Christ is Risen!
If anyone is devout and a lover of God, let him enjoy this beautiful and radiant festival. If anyone is a wise servant, let him, rejoicing, enter into the joy of his Lord. If anyone has wearied himself in fasting, let him now receive his recompense.
If anyone has labored from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If anyone has come at the third hour, with thanksgiving let him keep the feast. If anyone has arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; for he shall suffer no loss. If anyone has delayed until the ninth hour, let him draw near without hesitation. If anyone has arrived even at the eleventh hour, let him not fear on account of his delay. For the Master is gracious and receives the last, even as the first; he gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour, just as to him who has labored from the first. He has mercy upon the last and cares for the first; to the one he gives, and to the other he is gracious. He both honors the work and praises the intention.
Enter all of you, therefore, into the joy of our Lord, and, whether first or last, receive your reward. O rich and poor, one with another, dance for joy! O you ascetics and you negligent, celebrate the day! You that have fasted and you that have disregarded the fast, rejoice today! The table is rich-laden; feast royally, all of you! The calf is fatted; let no one go forth hungry!
Let all partake of the feast of faith. Let all receive the riches of goodness. Let no one lament his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one mourn his transgressions, for pardon has dawned from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Saviour's death has set us free.
He that was taken by death has annihilated it! He descended into hades and took hades captive! He embittered it when it tasted his flesh! And anticipating this Isaiah exclaimed, "Hades was embittered when it encountered thee in the lower regions." It was embittered, for it was abolished! It was embittered, for it was mocked! It was embittered, for it was purged! It was embittered, for it was despoiled! It was embittered, for it was bound in chains!
It took a body and, face to face, met God! It took earth and encountered heaven! It took what it saw but crumbled before what it had not seen!
"O death, where is thy sting? O hades, where is thy victory?"
Christ is risen, and you are overthrown!
Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!
Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is risen, and life reigns!
Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in a tomb!
For Christ, being raised from the dead, has become the First-fruits of them that slept.
To him be glory and might unto ages of ages. Amen.

Poem for Holy Saturday

Letting Go of What Cannot be Held Back

Let go of the dead now.
The rope in the water,
the cleat on the cliff,
do them no good anymore.
Let them fall, sink, go away,
become invisible as they tried
so hard to do in their own dying.
We needed to bother them
with what we called help.
We were the needy ones.
The dying do their own work with
tidiness, just the right speed,
sometimes even a little
satisfaction. So quiet down.
Let them go. Practice
your own song. Now.

—Bill Holm

Poem for Good Friday

The Uses of Sorrow

(In my sleep I dreamed this poem)

Someone I loved once gave me
a box full of darkness.

It took me years to understand
that this, too, was a gift.

—Mary Oliver

Poem for Maundy Thursday

Variations on a Line from Shakespeare's Fifty-Sixth Sonnet

Watched and well-known to the police, he walks
The Garden of the Oil Press. The great trees
Sweat in the mist, their moisture-swollen trunks
Fleshlike to touch. The cup
Of nausea for man being filled up
And emptied now, he goes
To wake eleven sleepers
Lest they lack sight to see Iscariot close
As lithely as a springe for garroting sparrows.

This is the man.     This is the arch-traitor
To land      bread      progress      family
Israel      Rome      and every other power

Whose action is stronger than a flower,

In time and just in time turning the minor
World we live on like some lost airliner
Back to the course direct, till every eye
Center by two crossed sticks stuck in a skull
Between a criminal and a criminal
The power

Whose action is no stronger than a flower.

—E.L. Mayo

Poem for Holy Wednesday

The Judas Tree

In Hell there grew a Judas Tree
Where Judas hanged and died
Because he could not bear to see
His master crucified

Our Lord descended into Hell
And found his Judas there
For ever hanging on the tree
Grown from his own despair

So Jesus cut his Judas down
And took him in his arms
"It was for this I came" he said
"And not to do you harm

My Father gave me twelve good men
And all of them I kept
Though one betrayed and one denied
Some fled and others slept

In three days' time I must return
To make the others glad
But first I had to come to Hell
And share the death you had

My tree will grow in place of yours
Its roots lie here as well
There is no final victory
Without this soul from Hell"

So when we all condemned him
As of every traitor worst
Remember that of all his men
Our Lord forgave him first

– D. Ruth Etchells

Poem for Holy Tuesday

Tenebrae

We are near, Lord,
Near and at hand.

Handled already, Lord,
Clawed and clawing as though
Your body of each of us were
Your body, Lord.

Pray, Lord,
Pray to us,
We are near.

Wind-awry we went there,
Went there to bend,
Over hollow and ditch.

To be watered we went there, Lord,
It was blood, it was
What you shed, Lord,

It gleamed.

It cast your image into our eyes, Lord.
Our eyes and our mouths are so open and empty, Lord.
We have drunk, Lord.
The blood and the image that was in the blood, Lord.

Pray, Lord.
We are near.

—Paul Celan

Poem for Holy Monday

Ich lebe mein Leben in wachsenden Ringen

I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not complete this last one
but I give myself to it.

I circle around God, around the primordial tower.
I’ve been circling for thousands of year
and I still don’t know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?

—Rainer Maria Rilke

Reflection for Family E-news

Lent is here! Watch this short video for a refresher on why this is such an important season in the church.

Peace,
Lauren+

Love Life Day 1

Where can you know abundant life? Where can you still grow?

I experience abundant life through hugs. The embrace of friends, old and new, allows me to physically experience God’s love.

I can grow by embracing the “other” more. I am comfortable with my friends and family, but I need to extend my comfort zone so that I can share hugs with more people.

Ash Wednesday Sermon

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17, Psalm 103:8-14, 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

At first glance, today’s gospel reading feels a bit odd. Why are we being told to be wearing of practicing our piety in front of others on the day that we get ashes placed on our forehead? Why is the idea of practicing our faith in secret mentioned so many times on a day where we show our faith outside of these church walls?  Why?

It’s because Jesus is not telling those who first heard these words, or us, that we should not practice piety. He is not telling us to stop praying or fasting or giving alms. Instead Jesus is reminding us to be careful to make sure we are doing these acts for the right reasons. 

We should not give alms so that others think highly of us, but we should give alms for the work of the church or to those in need. We should not pray just so others can see us pray, but we should pray because that is how we can converse with God. We should not fast so that others tell us how great or strong we are, but we should fast from the things that lead us to rely or focus solely on ourselves rather than God. 

Jesus understood what it meant to be human, what it meant to be like us. He lived in the world even though He was not of the world. I say this to remind each of us that Jesus knew and loved people just like us. People who felt busy all of the time. People who loved God. People who sinned. People who tried their best but sometimes struggled. And because Jesus was in the world, God knows what it is like to be human. God knows what our struggles are and what our gifts are. God knows our outward motivations and our inner thoughts.

            Today marks the beginning of the church season of Lent. In this season we are invited to live an intentional life. We are invited to reflect on our need for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Notice I said need not want or desire. We need prayer, fasting, and almsgiving so that we can more clearly see who God is and who God wants us to be. And as our scriptures remind us, we need to reflect on our motivations for our actions.

So how will you be living an intentional life this Lent? Will you be giving something up or trying to do something new?

Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple Year A

Malachi 3:1-4, Psalm 84, Hebrews 2:14-18, Luke 2:22-40

Did you know that in England they have a saying about today’s feast day?  It’s very similar to our classic saying about Groundhogs Day. While we look to Punxsutawney Phil to find out how long winter will last, in England they say “If Candlemas be fair and bright, Winter has another flight. If Candlemas brings clouds and rain, winter will not come again.”[1] Funny the silly things we have in common.  What is interesting about both of these sayings is that they both deal with darkness and light.

In each case it is the opposite of what we might think. Normally we associate darkness with cold, hopelessness, and harshness; conversely we associate light with warmth, hope, and love. In these sayings if light is present today then winter will remain, whereas darkness foretells of an early spring. Regardless of this apparent contradictory imagery the people who first devised these sayings were looking for a sign, something to give them hope that the cold dark winters would be over and the warmth and beauty of spring would be ushered in soon.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple. It is this day that two prophecies intersect to show God’s light and love being sent to us in a specific time and place, and that God continues to let light shine through us.

Mary and Joseph were at the temple that day for two reasons. The first was because it was time for Mary to offer a sacrifice for her purification after giving birth. It was ritualistic custom that a woman who had given birth was not allowed to step into the temple until after forty days had passed. When the forty days were up they would have to make a sacrificial offering for purity. Now Mary and Joseph were not rich and could not afford the customary sacrifice of a lamb. Instead all they could afford was two pigeons. Even though that is all they had they were determined to follow the Law of Moses. The second reason Mary and Joseph were at the temple was because as the first born son, Jesus was to be dedicated to God. It is in observing these important rituals, handed down by God to Moses in Sinai that they unexpectedly ran into two prophets, Simeon and Anna.

Epiphany 2 Year A sermon notes

Isaiah 49:1-7, Psalm 40:1-12, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, John 1:29-42

       

Today we hear a different perspective of last week’s gospel.

• Last week - from Matthew, from Jesus’ perspective, focused solely on Jesus

• This week - from John, from John the Baptist’s perspective, focused on Jesus and followers

• New part changing of Simon’s name

Names

• The names are so important. They tell who we are and how we relate to the world.

• family history, job, relationships

• For example: parent’s named me Lauren Michelle Lenoski - Michelle after my dad Michael, siblings call me sister, teaching Miss L, now Reverend Lauren, soon Mrs. Schoeck

• same person and yet different in each relationship

• Jesus is known by so many names: Rabbi, Son of Man, Good Shepherd, Messiah, Emmanuel, Son of God, Prince of Peace... just to name a few.
  

Reflection for Family Ministry e-news

This Sunday, Family Sunday School will be a bit different from what we usually do. Instead of having stations with different crafts or projects we will have prayer stations. Each station will focus on a different type of prayer and each will be experienced in different ways. At one station we might represent our prayers with pipe cleaners, at the next we might light incense, at the next we might put our hands into sand... my point is that each station will be unique and useful for children and parents alike. To get ready for Family Sunday School please share these 5 words for 5 types of prayer with your children.

Wow! Oops. Thanks! Gimme. Why?

Wow! Prayers of adoration, or perhaps more easily understood as praise. These are prayers that we make when our hearts are soaring and we feel the presence of the Spirit around us.

Oops. These are prayers of confession and reconciliation. We pray an Oops prayer together every Sunday morning and many of us include these in our personal prayer lives as well.

Thanks! Prayers of thanksgiving are an ancient and essential part of the life of the people of God. And they're just good manners.

Gimme. Perhaps the most common of prayers, those of petition, when we ask things of God. Don't let the word Gimme put you off. After all scripture tells us that it is in asking that we shall receive.

Why? Lament. A part of life and an essential type of prayer. It's not always easy, but God is big enough to handle our questions and our anger. And still love us no matter what.

So whether you're 2 or 62 these five words will help you remember 5 important types of prayer. See you Sunday at 10am in Manning Hall to experience these types of prayer!  

Peace,

Lauren+