John 1:1-18

This Sunday's Gospel reading is from John 1:1-18,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own,* and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. 

Growing up, I considered John's Gospel my least favorite of the synoptic Gospels. He repeated his themes way too often and his Jesus was the least approachable and least human to me. As I matured and studied the Bible more, I think I am coming around to John. I see his Gospel as presenting the most theologically developed message and therefore I think that is consistent with the view that it is was written after Mark and Matthew. John repeats his themes over and over because he knows that his audience sometimes needed it to be pounded into them before they got it.

I once had a revisionist rector who declared that the Gospel according to John was his favorite. I never could understand that.

While I still prefer Luke/Acts, at least I can now read through the entire Gospel of John with both eyes open.

Pope Francis and His Christmas Eve Homily

This past Sunday, 24 December 2017, Pope Francis gave his homily for the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at the Vatican Basilica.  I have been trying to get my head around it because I think he is leading people into the "Joseph and Mary were refugees on Christmas Eve" trap in order to make a point about immigraton. Let me break it down for you. The Pope starts out with what might be an error of translation. 

"Mary 'gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn'” (Lk 2:7)."

Bill Muehlenberg over at his blog points out,

"Note that Mary and Joseph were already in Bethlehem for a while. And newer translations (in this case, the NIV) translate the Greek term in question more accurately as 'guest room'. The same word, kataluma, is used in Luke 22:11: 'Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?'”

The Pope is telling the people the story that they are used to hearing, and much of what he has to say rings true as he continues,

"In these plain and clear words, Luke brings us to the heart of that holy night: Mary gave birth; she gave us Jesus, the Light of the world. A simple story that plunges us into the event that changes our history for ever. Everything, that night, became a source of hope."

But he starts leading us down his rabbit trail subtly in with the following,

"Let us go back a few verses. By decree of the Emperor, Mary and Joseph found themselves forced to set out. They had to leave their people, their home and their land, and to undertake a journey in order to be registered in the census. This was no comfortable or easy journey for a young couple about to have a child: they had to leave their land. At heart, they were full of hope and expectation because of the child about to be born; yet their steps were weighed down by the uncertainties and dangers that attend those who have to leave their home behind."

The subtle introduction of the premise that they were forced to journey to a strange land is what I am talking about. Bethlehem was not a strange place to Joseph. I would suspect that he had family and friends there. The Pope continues with this premise,

"Then they found themselves having to face perhaps the most difficult thing of all. They arrived in Bethlehem and experienced that it was a land that was not expecting them. A land where there was no place for them."

Next, the Pope makes a leap,

And there, where everything was a challenge, Mary gave us Emmanuel. The Son of God had to be born in a stable because his own had no room for him. “He came to what was his own and his own people did not accept him” (Jn 1:11). 

And I always thought John 1:11 was referring to Jesus being rejected by the Jews and ending up being crucified.

I am not sure where the Pope got his information for his next statement,

"And there, amid the gloom of a city that had no room or place for the stranger from afar, amid the darkness of a bustling city which in this case seemed to want to build itself up by turning its back on others… it was precisely there that the revolutionary spark of God’s love was kindled."

Bethlehem, a city that wanted "to build itself up by turning its back on others..."? I didn't see that one coming.

I kind of get what he says next,

"In Bethlehem, a small chink opens up for those who have lost their land, their country, their dreams; even for those overcome by the asphyxia produced by a life of isolation."

Jesus' birth opens up heaven's gate for all who call him Lord, but Joseph and Mary had not lost their land, country, or dreams, so Francis is obviously trying to drag the modern controversy over refugees and immigration into the Christmas story, and he continues down that road,

"So many other footsteps are hidden in the footsteps of Joseph and Mary. We see the tracks of entire families forced to set out in our own day. We see the tracks of millions of persons who do not choose to go away but, driven from their land, leave behind their dear ones. In many cases this departure is filled with hope, hope for the future; yet for many others this departure can only have one name: survival. Surviving the Herods of today, who, to impose their power and increase their wealth, see no problem in shedding innocent blood."

Francis is starting to remind me of an Episcopal priest I knew,

"Mary and Joseph, for whom there was no room, are the first to embrace the One who comes to give all of us our document of citizenship. The One who in his poverty and humility proclaims and shows that true power and authentic freedom are shown in honouring and assisting the weak and the frail."

This next bit I have definitely heard before from pulpits in Episcopal parishes,

"That night, the One who had no place to be born is proclaimed to those who had no place at the table or in the streets of the city. The shepherds are the first to hear this Good News. By reason of their work, they were men and women forced to live on the edges of society. Their state of life, and the places they had to stay, prevented them from observing all the ritual prescriptions of religious purification; as a result, they were considered unclean. Their skin, their clothing, their smell, their way of speaking, their origin, all betrayed them. Everything about them generated mistrust. They were men and women to be kept at a distance, to be feared. They were considered pagans among the believers, sinners among the just, foreigners among the citizens. Yet to them – pagans, sinners and foreigners – the angel says: 'Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord' (Lk 2:10-11)."

Enough of the progressive message, mow he gets back to sounding reasonable,

"This is the joy that we tonight are called to share, to celebrate and to proclaim. The joy with which God, in his infinite mercy, has embraced us pagans, sinners and foreigners, and demands that we do the same.
The faith we proclaim tonight makes us see God present in all those situations where we think he is absent. He is present in the unwelcomed visitor, often unrecognizable, who walks through our cities and our neighbourhoods, who travels on our buses and knocks on our doors."

Oops, I spoke too soon,

"This same faith impels us to make space for a new social imagination, and not to be afraid of experiencing new forms of relationship, in which none have to feel that there is no room for them on this earth." 

Ack, there goes that "relationship" word again.

Francis ends with a call to "Open wide the gate for Christ" which I hope does not mean to open the gates for wolves to enter into the sheepfold.

"Christmas is a time for turning the power of fear into the power of charity, into power for a new imagination of charity. The charity that does not grow accustomed to injustice, as if it were something natural, but that has the courage, amid tensions and conflicts, to make itself a 'house of bread', a land of hospitality. That is what Saint John Paul II told us: 'Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ' (Homily for the Inauguration of the Pontificate, 22 October 1978).
In the Child of Bethlehem, God comes to meet us and make us active sharers in the life around us. He offers himself to us, so that we can take him into our arms, lift him and embrace him. So that in him we will not be afraid to take into our arms, raise up and embrace the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned (cf. Mt 25:35-36). 'Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ'. In this Child, God invites us to be messengers of hope. He invites us to become sentinels for all those bowed down by the despair born of encountering so many closed doors. In this child, God makes us agents of his hospitality.
Moved by the joy of the gift, little Child of Bethlehem, we ask that your crying may shake us from our indifference and open our eyes to those who are suffering. May your tenderness awaken our sensitivity and recognize our call to see you in all those who arrive in our cities, in our histories, in our lives. May your revolutionary tenderness persuade us to feel our call to be agents of the hope and tenderness of our people."

Pope Francis is a welcoming guy, and we should welcome those who wish to obey our laws and live in peace. Unfortunately, in today's world, we cannot assume that everyone wishes to do so. 

A Re-post: The Denunciation of the Annunciation

I posted this 3 years ago and thanks to the three-year lectionary cycle, I am dusting it off again.

In church today, many of us heard the story of the Annunciation.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her. Luke 1:26-38

This story is close to my heart. I was raised in a church of that name: "Annunciation". I held fast to that little church... literally. As children, we used to climb along a ledge on its outer walls pretending to be little cat burglars and little spidermen while our mothers performed their altar guild duties (until the sexton came outside and swatted us with his broom). I have circled the most difficult corner for us spider-people to negotiate.

I have held fast to Luke's account as well in spite of all efforts to sweep the story away.

I read one such attempt the other day at ReligiousTolerance.org, and I think it should be required reading because it shows what Christian apologetics is up against. The post is craftily worded and rather lengthy and will seem quite convincing to many modern readers (not that our youth are much into reading these days). I will only quote the conclusion because, in the end, this is where all such attempts to explain away the Bible wind up.

 "Instead of taking the nativity stories in Matthew and Luke literally, and thereby doing a disservice to historicity and rational thought, we should accept them as religious myths. They are beautiful legends embodying faith in the supernatural and the efficacy of prophecy. They are attempts by these gospel authors to put into words their conception of a momentous, divine event. And they do so in a manner consistent with what credulous people in ancient times expected.
Although we shall never be sure about the exact circumstances of Jesus' birth, we do know that about two thousand years ago, there was born in what is now called Palestine an extraordinary Jew who was to change profoundly the course of human history." - R.C. Symes "Myths surrounding Jesus' birth," as interpreted by Progressive Christians. 

They end in heresy.

In this case, Arianism?

In any case, the ultimate conclusion from any argument that attempts to prove that the virgin birth is a myth is to find that God is not omnipotent. The argument thus ends up saying that, "Here is something that God cannot do."

Heresy.

The above example of a denunciation of the Annunciation is just one of many attempts to discredit the Christmas story that you might see each year around this time. In my opinion, these are showing up with increasing frequency. They sometimes are heard within the walls of the church itself (case in point Bishop Spong). This increase means that the enemies of the Gospel are growing in power, and the apocalyptic part of me is concerned that the day is coming when the followers of the Gospel will be "bombed back into" the first century, maybe not with bombs made from explosives, but instead with the social bombs of discrimination, name-calling, and isolation.

If this happens, the Gospel will of course survive, but it will be up to determined defenders of the Faith to help pass it along to some future generation that will respond to its call.

And when revisionists have taken over the historic church buildings, it just might take a new generation of little cat burglars and little spidermen to break in and shatter the myths of the modern mythologists.

Have a Merry Episcopalian Winter Solstice Roundup

Each year I publish a list of a few of the winter solstice celebrations to be found in Episcopal parishes. I do not agree with these services, and I print these as a warning to others that if you see anything like this promoted by your church, run for the hills.

First off, a new church makes the list, and it is a surprise. How could you, Bryan Owen?

Longest Night Service Dec. 21November 14, 2017
The St. Luke’s Episcopal Church community invites all greater Baton Rouge area residents to attend “Longest Night,” a special service of remembrance and healing on Thursday, December 21. Coinciding with the winter solstice, the annual “Longest Night” service is designed to honor and recognize “a loss of some sort, whether it’s a person, a dream, no matter the cause,” notes Becky Williams, pastoral care facilitator for St. Luke’s. 
 
“The service is a service of hope, and acknowledging that this can be a time of losses coming to the surface, as not everyone has the ‘Norman Rockwell’ type of celebration,” continues Williams. 
 
Open to anyone in the community, the “Longest Night” service will begin at 6:30 pm on December 21 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, located at 8833 Goodwood Boulevard.

The healing theme must have been part of a workshop because Palmer Memorial Episcopal in Houston has one too,

 The Longest Night Service will be held on Wednesday, Dec 21st at 6 pm in St. Bede's. This service acknowledges the physical reality of the longest night and shortest day associated with the winter solstice and the darkness some feel emotionally in the midst of preparing for Christmas. If the holiday season finds you experiencing concern or sadness due to illness, grief, loss or personal and family issues during this season, come for a quiet time of worship and acknowledgement of our need for hope and the coming Light of Christ. Special prayers and a time of remembrance will be offered along with healing prayer, Holy Unction and the Holy Eucharist. Plan to stay a few minutes afterwards for holiday refreshments.

St Luke's Granville Ohio has this,

The Health and Wellness Ministry recently met and planned several events for the upcoming months.
On Thursday, December 21, at 7:00 pm, there will be a Solstice Healing Service. Jimi James is leading the coordination of this service. It will include music, prayer, and blessings in our beautiful candlelit church. More to come as this service is finalized.

Meanwhile, in Oregon,

Music & Meditation: Winter SolsticeDecember 8 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pmSt. Aidan’s Episcopal Church presents its second Celtic-themed Music & Meditation (Winter Solstice) on Friday evening, December 8, from 6 to 7 p.m. The Music & Meditation hour is filled with readings, poetry, music, with an open mic for an opportunity for anyone to present their own offering of poetry or music. Music & Meditation is a multi-ethnic, multi-faith, and intergenerational time. In the Winter Solstice tradition a Wassail Party will follow Music & Meditation.

And in East Lansing Michigan, All Saints Episcopal throws in the labyrinth this year,

Candle-light Labyrinth Walk, Wednesday, December 20, 6 - 9 p.m. As we approach the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, a self-guided, candle-light labyrinth walk will be offered in the church. 

From Frederick Colorado, we have a repeat offender,

 St. Brigit Episcopal Church invites the community to take a break from the hectic pace of the holidays and reflect on the cycle of nature. On Thursday, December 21, 2017, at 7:00p.m. St. Brigit will celebrate the Winter Solstice with a special contemplative service. All are welcome to attend.
The Winter Solstice Service is part of St. Brigit’s Áit Caol (Gaelic for “A Thin Place”) series. These are unique services marking the Winter and Summer Solstices as well as the Spring and Autumnal Equinoxes. The services incorporate live Celtic music, meditation areas designed to reflect the chosen scriptures and a contemporary liturgy (order of service). All aspects of the services reflect the seasonal theme, and are quite different from their regular services. Attendees sometimes travel as far as 50 miles to experience Áit Caol services.
Áit Caol services combine ancient Celtic spirituality with Christian theology. Although the ancient Celts regarded winter as the season of dormancy, darkness and cold, the coming of lighter days after the Winter Solstice brought a more festive mood. To the Celts, this return of the light was a reason to celebrate that nature’s cycle was continuing.
Some believe that Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Light of the World, was set in synchronization with the Winter Solstice because, from that point onwards, the days began to have more daylight. The tradition at St. Brigit is to observe the Solstice by reflecting on God’s presence with His people, even in the midst of darkness.
Christmas also is referred to as Yule, a pre-Christian festival observed at the time of the Winter Solstice. Fires were lit to symbolize the heat, light and life-giving properties of the returning sun. St. Brigit’s Winter Solstice Service will end with a bonfire. Attendees will be invited to symbolically release anything that represents darkness in their lives by writing its name on a piece of paper and burning it in the bonfire.
St. Brigit Episcopal Church is located at 110 Johnson Street in Frederick

 As always, St. John the Divine in NYC has its extravaganza,

In ancient times, observers watched the sun sink lower in the sky each day, and feared it would disappear completely and leave them in darkness.
People practiced special rituals intended to entice the sun’s return. Bonfires and candles, with their imitative magic, helped fortify the waning sun and ward off the spirits of darkness. These symbols live on in our modern seasonal customs: the candles of Hanukkah and Christmas are kin to the fiery rites of old, which celebrated the miracle of the earth’s renewal.

And one last Celtic themed event for you from St, Andrews Lake Chelan WA,

Dec. 21 - Winter Solstice followed by Soup Dinner: Join us at 5 p.m. for a Celtic celebration to begin the Winter season. A celebration of lights will warm your heart and renew your spirit on the longest day of the year. Following the service, a soup dinner will be served in the Parish Hall.

I close with a warning from St. Paul.

"Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain." Galatians 4:10-11 (KJV).

Bringing in the Sheaves

This Sunday Psalm 126 is scheduled to be read, and is likely to be glossed over or not discussed at all in most sermons.

126 In convertendo

1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, *
then were we like those who dream.

2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, *
and our tongue with shouts of joy.

3 Then they said among the nations, *
"The Lord has done great things for them."

4 The Lord has done great things for us, *
and we are glad indeed.

5 Restore our fortunes, O Lord, *
like the watercourses of the Negev.

6 Those who sowed with tears *
will reap with songs of joy.

7 Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, *
will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves.

If the Psalm gets any mention at all, verses 6-7 will probably not be part of the commentary. These verses are critical to understanding the psalmist when he talks about going "out weeping carrying the seed".

The old song comes close, but makes the weeping personal and brings it into the present age,

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. 

Refrain:Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. 

Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. 

Refrain:Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. 

Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;When our weeping’s over, He will bid us welcome,We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. 

Refrain...

Matthew Henry (1662 – 1714), in his commentary comes close as well, 

It was with reference to some great and surprising deliverance of the people of God out of bondage and distress that this psalm was penned, most likely their return out of Babylon in Ezra’s time. Though Babylon be not mentioned here (as it is, Ps. 137, ) yet their captivity there was the most remarkable captivity both in itself and as their return out of it was typical of our redemption by Christ. Probably this psalm was penned by Ezra, or some of the prophets that came up with the first. We read of singers of the children of Asaph, that famous psalmist, who returned then, Ezra. 2:41 . It being a song of ascents, in which the same things are twice repeated with advancement (v. 2, v. 3, and v. 4, v. 5), it is put here among the rest of the psalms that bear that title. I. Those that had returned out of captivity are here called upon to be thankful (v. 1-3). II. Those that were yet remaining in captivity are here prayed for (v. 4) and encouraged (v. 5, v. 6). It will be easy, in singing this psalm, to apply it either to any particular deliverance wrought for the church or our own land or to the great work of our salvation by Christ.A song of degrees.

Suffering saints have a seedness of tears. They are in tears often; they share in the calamities of human life, and commonly have a greater share in them than others. But they sow in tears; they do the duty of an afflicted state and so answer the intentions of the providences they are under. Weeping must not hinder sowing; when we suffer ill we must be doing well. Nay, as the ground is by the rain prepared for the seed, and the husbandman sometimes chooses to sow in the wet, so we must improve times of affliction, as disposing us to repentance, and prayer, and humiliation. Nay, there are tears which are themselves the seed that we must sow, tears of sorrow for sin, our own and others, tears of sympathy with the afflicted church, and the tears of tenderness in prayer and under the word. These are precious seed, such as the husbandman sows when corn is dear and he has but little for his family, and therefore weeps to part with it, yet buries it under ground, in expectation of receiving it again with advantage. Thus does a good man sow in tears. (2.) They shall have a harvest of joy. The troubles of the saints will not last always, but, when they have done their work, shall have a happy period. The captives in Babylon were long sowing in tears, but at length they were brought forth with joy, and then they reaped the benefit of their patient suffering, and brought their sheaves with them to their own land, in their experiences of the goodness of God to them. Job, and Joseph, and David, and many others, had harvests of joy after a sorrowful seedness. Those that sow in the tears of godly sorrow shall reap in the joy of a sealed pardon and a settled peace. Those that sow to the spirit, in this vale of tears, shall of the spirit reap life everlasting, and that will be a joyful harvest indeed. Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be for ever comforted.

Close, but I think that the seed the weeping sowers are carrying out of Jerusalem and into captivity is the seed of the future generation that would eventually return to Jerusalem. The generation that was carried away weeping not only survived their captivity, they multiplied and returned a stronger people in many ways. The sheaves they were carrying included the history of the people Israel which was recorded and passed along to us in the form of the Old Testament.

The Psalm does speak to those of us today who are oppressed by personal or cultural enemies or enslaved by Sin, and we should be encouraged that our tears are not in vain, but we must remember that we should be working hard to sow the seeds of Christ's memory for the next generation so that His heritage will be a joyous burden to bring in at His coming again. 

Why I Will Not Be Donating to My Episcopal Alma Mater

This is the time of year in which we are bombarded with requests for year end donations to vatious charities and other non-profit organizations.

My Episcopal Grammar School and my Episcopal High School have been sending letters and glossy brochures which for the past several years have been a source of irritation to me, and it is not that I am offended by the ask, but it is what these schools seem to be deliberately omitting from their descriptions of their achievements and how they prepare students for life after graduation that upsets me. You see, they scrupulously avoid mentioning the name of Jesus in all of their literature. So this year I finally got around to writing the letter that I have been meaning to send to my Alma Maters.

To: The Reverend ********
       ****** Episcopal School
       Head of School

Re: Titan Fund

Date: 12/05/2017

Dear Mr. ******,

Thank you for your kind solicitation for the ****** Titan Fund. As an alumnus of both ****** Episcopal School and ****** Episcopal School, having been married in your Episcopal Church, and having preached sermons in the Chapel for both of my parents' funeral services, I have a deep connection to the school and the church. Before I contribute financially to any of the aforementioned institutions, I would like to know that the money was going to promote the Gospel of Christ. I have been disappointed by the one word avoided in both ******'s and *******'s requests this year, and that word is the name of our Lord. Are we afraid to mention His name, or is that not part of the mission of our schools? My ****** years as an Episcopalian taught me that we assume too much that our children will “get it” passively, and that we need to work harder to create new disciples out of these young people. Yes, it is good to focus on “kindness, stewardship, goodness, competence, responsibility”, and developing a “moral compass” as you noted in your solicitation, but it is more important for them to learn from whence those things flow, and to understand to whom we owe thanks.

I hope that these concerns will be addressed in future fund raising drives, but more importantly that they will become a visible mark of a Christian education, something that the founder of the school wished all of her children would show to the world.


Yours truly,


P.S. The Titans were Greek Gods descended from Gaia and Uranus. Needless to say, the Titan Fund could be re-named to better reflect the goals of Trinity Episcopal School.

The Revised Common Lectionary: Wishing Everyone a Wrath Free Advent

My readers should be well aware of the problems with the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) that I like to point out. The most common problem is the sin of omission. The lectionary routinely cuts and splices readings, and these edits usually remove those verses which might prove upsetting to the Sunday morning pewsitters who aren't there to hear about things like God's wrath, Sin, and Hell. 

Advent is generally approached by mainline liberal churches as a period of anticipation and hope.
Last week, at my new not so mainline church, we heard a sermon in which the word "sin" was mentioned more times than I had heard in decades of sermons in various Episcopal churches. It was  refreshing that the RCL's edits were ignored. Unfortunately for most pewsitters, they will read the expurgated version of  Psalm 85 this Sunday. I have highlighted the verses that won't be heard (vs 3-7),

Psalm 85:1-2,8-13
1 You have been gracious to your land, O Lord, *
you have restored the good fortune of Jacob.
2 You have forgiven the iniquity of your people *
and blotted out all their sins. 

3 You have withdrawn all your fury *
and turned yourself from your wrathful indignation.
4 Restore us then, O God our Savior; *
let your anger depart from us.
5 Will you be displeased with us for ever? *
will you prolong your anger from age to age?
6 Will you not give us life again, *
that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your mercy, O Lord, *
and grant us your salvation. 

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.
9 Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, *
that his glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth have met together; *
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 Truth shall spring up from the earth, *
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12 The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, *
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before him, *
and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.

A God without wrath is a God blind to our sins, and the God I know, Jesus, has a keen eye for Sin, and he is a God who I suspect would not be pleased with some of these lectionary edits.

The "Travel Ban", the Drop in Muslim Refugees, and the Rise in Christian Refugees

This week's news that the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the "travel ban" issued by the Trump administration did not get much attention on the mainstream news. As I watched NBC Nightly News on Monday night, there was no mention of the decision. Instead, the main message of the nightly news was NBC's presumption that President Trump will eventually be impeached for obstruction of justice.

The "travel ban" is a separate issue from immigration, but as we have learned, many who "travel" here stay for years beyond their initial declared intention and somehow become immigrants.

The mere suggestion that President Trump is anti-muslim, and the threat of the "travel ban" may have been factors behind the drop in Muslim immigration reported this summer by Pew research and the Religion News Service (a liberal outfit),

 (RNS) "Christians made up the majority of refugees admitted to the U.S. in the first five full months of the Trump administration, reversing a trend that saw Muslims entering the country at higher numbers under President Obama, a new Pew Research report shows."

I am encouraged by the increase in Christian refugees as the world is becoming increasingly hostile to us.

Let 'em in!

New Church Year Resolutions

The following is a re-post of one I wrote 3 years ago, and I still think the idea of Advent resolutions is a good one since we are beginning a new church/liturgical year.

Advent Resolutions:

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, and it marks the beginning of a new Church year. I never have been too keen on New Year's resolutions as the whole new year thing always seemed rather arbitrary to me.

After all, who made January 1 the first day of the new year? Julius Caesar?  Pope Gregory XIII?

Do we really want our year's beginning be a remembrance of a two faced god?

Janus: the god of beginnings and transitions, thence also of gates, doors, doorways, endings and time. He is usually a two-faced god since he looks to the future and the past.

Nope, not me, no way.

Perhaps every day should mark a new beginning, and it should demand new resolutions from us.

Nope, that would be too tough.

The liturgical year begins today, so why not start the year with Advent resolutions?

I can hear it now, "Are you nuts?"

Yes I am.

So this year I resolve to...

Oh God, I hate resolutions, and I hate to write them down. That makes them so permanent.

Alright, I resolve to pray daily.

Today I will pray for peace as our Choral Society will today when they sing Vivaldi's  Gloria which includes "Et in Terra Pax".

Luke 2:14 "Gloria in altissimis Deo et in terra pax in hominibus bonae voluntatis."

There.

Done.

Peace.