"SERMON" EPIPHANY IV - YEAR A (This is long -- sorry)

The reader board at St. Paul's says, "What is Wise". That is a very good question, especially in light of our reading today from Corinthians and what is going on in our own church. If you don't know, or haven't been paying attention, our church, the Episcopal Church in the USA, as well as the rest of the Anglican Communion, is in the midst of turmoil. In July of 2003, General Convention gave consent to the election of Gene Robinson as the Bishop of New Hampshire. Bishop Robinson is a gay man who has been living with his partner of 13 plus years. This process set off a firestorm around the Episcopal Church and around the Anglican Communion.

We have conservative bishops and liberal bishops lobbing verbal bombs at each other. We have conservative parishes threatening, or actually, pulling out of the Episcopal Church. We have at least one liberal church suing their bishop. And we have bishops crossing diocesan boundaries to "minister" to displaced parishes.

On top of all of this, we have a situation in the Anglican Communion where bishops from Africa, South America and Indonesia want us out of the Anglican Communion. Part of this is about homosexuality. Part of this is because they don't understand our polity. And part of this is because they have been oppressed by us and other first world countries for so long that they are now beginning to voice how they think things should be. It seems like we have forgotten how to be decent to each other.

What is wise? What is wisdom? Paul says that the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom. That the weakness of God is stronger than man's greatest strength. And Micah points out that God wants us to do justice and walk humbly before God. With everything going on, are we pretending to be wise about this, or are we willing to walk humbly and seek God's wisdom?

Next week, we will have a service at St. Paul's in celebration of my new ministry here in the Ruby Valley. For the lessons at that service, I chose the readings for William White, second bishop and first Presiding Bishop in the Episcopal Church. I chose those readings in part because of the collect for his feast day: O Lord, in a time of turmoil and confusion you raised up your servant William White, and endowed him with wisdom, patience, and a reconciling temper, that he might lead your Church into ways of stability and peace: Hear our prayer, and give us wise and faithful leaders, that through their ministry your people may be blessed and your will be done; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

It seems to me that we are in a time of turmoil. The House of Bishops met a few weeks ago to discuss their take on the situation in the church, and to give some early thought to the Windsor Report. Here's what they had to say.

To the faithful in Christ Jesus, greetings in the season of Epiphany. We rejoice together with you that God has "caused a new light to shine in our hearts" revealing God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord. The sufferings of our brothers and sisters in the aftermath of tsunamis in South Asia and flooding and mud slides in California and here in Utah where we are meeting, make us long all the more for this new light revealed to us in Christ. We are mindful as well of the suffering around the world caused by global poverty, HIV/AIDS, malaria, other diseases, and war. In this suffering world we are called to "serve and signify God's mission to the world, that mission whereby God brings to men and women, to human societies and to the hole world, real signs and foretastes of that healing love which will one day put all things to rights" (Windsor Report, paragraph 3).

We decided at our September meeting in 2004 to set aside this time so we might together begin to receive the Windsor Report with humility. We have met for a day and a half in Salt Lake City. We welcome with gratitude the work of the Lambeth Commission on Communion. We realize this is a long-term effort which will most likely extend beyond our March meeting. In the meantime, we aim to practice the more intentional consultative processes called for by the Windsor Report. We also anticipate the Executive Council of our church joining in this consultation.

In this spirit of intentional practice, we affirm that all need to repent, as the Archbishop of Canterbury reminded us in his Advent Letter 2004. We repent of the ways we as bishops have sometimes treated each other, failing to honor Christ's presence in one another. Furthermore, too often we have also failed to recognize Christ's presence fully manifest in our sister and brother Anglicans around the global communion. We honor their full voice and wisdom. We desire mutuality. We recognize our interdependence inthe Body of Christ.

Moreover, we as the House of Bishops express our sincere regret for the pain, the hurt, and the damage caused to our Anglican bonds of affection by certain actions of our church. KNowing that our actions have contributed to the current strains in our Communion, we express this regret as a sign of our deep desire for and commitment to continuation of our partnership in the Ancligan Communion.

We note here that our decision-making structures differ from those in many parts of the Anglican Communion and that our actions require conciliar involvement by all the baptized of our church, lay and ordained. Therefore we as bishops, in offering our regrets, do not intend to preempt the canonical authority of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. At the same time, we are keenly aware of our particular responsibility for episcopal leadership.

We long for the fullest expression of the gift of communion that God has given us through Christ. "The communion we enjoy with God in Christ and by the Spirit, and the communion we enjoy with all God's people living and departed, is the specific practical embodiment and fruit of the gospel itself" (Windsor Report, paragraph 3). We rejoice in our partnership in the worldwide Anglican Communion and affirm anew our commitment to the interdependence of this church as a member of the Anglican Communion.

We agree that one important expression of our communion would be a communion-wide study and discernment process on matters of human sexuality as recommended by Lambeth Conferences of 1978, 1988 and 1998 and are eager to continue to respond to this challenge. This would be a sign of respect for gay and lesbian persons in our common life and of our ongoing pastoral care for them. We also believe that such a process would strengthen our communion. By doing so, we will be able to share more of the prayerful conversations and studies on the ministries and contributions of homosexual persons in the church that have enriched our experience for many years. The Presiding Bishop has already established a committee to offer a theological explanation of how "a person living in a same gender union may be considered eligible to lead theflock of Christ" (Windsor Report, paragraph 135).

We pray our brothers and sisters throughout the Anglican Communion will forgive us and that together we may remain in steadfast relationship so we might open our lives and our hearts to one another and learn how the Holy Spirit is acting in our different contexts. We are eager to take steps to make this possible, and particularly would welcome invitations to visit other Anglican provinces to learn from them the many ways they are vital witnesses to the healing love of Christ, often in very difficult circumstances.

During this brief meeting we humbly struggled in our deliberations to discern how best to receive the Windsor Report. We had an extensive discussion about a "moratorium on the election and consent to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate who is living in a same gender union until some new consensus in the Anglican Communion emerges" (Windsor Report, paragraph 134). We have only begun a serious and respectful consideration of how we might respond. Further, we have not had sufficient time to give substantive consideration to recommendations in the Report calling for a moratorium on diocesan boundary violations or the call for a moratorium and further discussion of the authorization of liturgical texts blessing same sex unions. (Here we not that there are those among us who do not agree with the statement in paragraph 144 of the Windsor Report that "the Episcopal Church has by action of Convention made provision for the development of public Rites of Blessing of same sex unions.")

In February 2005 the Primates of the Anglican Communion will consider the Windsor Report. We commit ourselves to a more thorough consideration of the range of concrete actions identified in the Report at our House of Bishops meeting in March 2005. We do not wish to act in haste. We believe it is extremely important to take the time to allow the Holy Spirit to show us ways we can engage with people throughout our church in a consideration of all the invitations for further reflection and the recommendations of the Windsor Report.

We seek together the epiphany of Christ's reconciling love for the world, which lies at the heart of the mission we share. It is our prayer that along with Anglican Christians around the world we may be faithful to God's misison.

What is wisdom? What is wise? I can't answer that for you. All I can do is pray for it.

"BEEN AWAY SO LONG I HARDLY KNEW THE PLACE, GEE IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK HOME"

That's right kids. Out with the old and in with the new. The old furnace came out Monday. The new furnace went in Monday afternoon. The installation was completed on Tuesday. So, this morning, I cranked up the heat and moved everything that had been in the parish hall and my office back to where it belonged.

BCP's and Hymnals are back in the pews. The hymnboard is back on the wall. The musician's hymnal is back by the organ. The baptismal font is back in the church. The sacristy is out of my office (!!) and back in the sacristy. And, best of all, not a smell of gas anywhere. Life, for the time being, is back to normal. I know that won't last long, but let me bask for awhile anyway.

The only thing left now is to cover up that hole behind the altar. Note to self: Get that done before The Dude With The Pointy Hat arrives.

CH . . . CH . . . CH . . . CHANGES

It's been a busy day around quaint Christ Church. I received word last week that work will begin this week on replacing our dead furnace. A crew was out this morning pulling the dead monstrosity from the basement. At last look, they were waiting for the new furnace to be delivered. Of course, they had been waiting since noon and it was about 2:30 the last time I saw them hanging around the churchyard. But work has commenced! That's good news.

This means that the new furnace will be in and running in time for the bishop's visitation in two weeks. That makes everyone happy. From the parishioners who love their building, to the baptismal candidates who weren't all that excited about being baptized in the parish hall, to me because I hate being cold.

And, as long as we are at it, I managed to get a parishioner and his son to come down and pull the altar away from the reredos. For the orthodox out there, we have now gone from an east facing altar to one in a dubious and heretical position. Get over it. This now means that the sacraments will now be the focus of attention during the Eucharist and not my back.

But this wasn't without problems. The altar and reredos were connected. So we moved them out and disconnected the two. We moved the reredos back against the wall and the altar to the front of the step. We discovered two things. First, it was now necessary to anchor the reredos to the wall. The possibility that it might fall over and kill the bishop was slim, but I didn't want to take that chance.

Second, there's a 7' x 3' x 6" hole where the altar used to be. Don't ask what was down there -- it was icky. Our assumption is that, originally, there was a different altar there and the one we have now replaced it at some point in the past. The reredos is anchored so it won't kill the bishop. Next item on the agenda is to cover that hole so that he doesn't break his leg back there.

Yes, it's been a full day.

EPIPHANY III-A

Let me ask you some questions about Jesus. Do you believe he changed water to wine? Do you believe he gave sight to the blind? Do you believe he walked on water? Do you believe he raised Lazarus from the dead? Do you believe he was resurrected?

All of these things are, in a word, miracles. They are all acts that surpass our understanding. But because we also believe that Jesus was God incarnate, it is easy for us to say, "Sure, why not? I can’t do any of those things, but surely God can."

So why do I have a hard time with today’s gospel passage? Why can’t I accept these miracles as easily as those I just mentioned? What is it about these two miracles that, for me, makes it almost unbelievable?

"What miracles?" you ask. Why, the miracle of immediacy and the miracle of acceptance. Let me talk about the miracle of immediacy first. Here’s Jesus walking on the shore of the lake, and he says, "Hey! Simon. Andrew. Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed.

And then a short distance later, he says, "Hey! James. John. Come with us." And immediately they get out of their boat, leave their nets and dad behind, and follow Jesus.
What is wrong with this picture? What’s wrong is me. All of those other miracles I mentioned are, well, easy. Water to wine, walking on water, raising from the dead. All of them are Godly acts. But this one – in this one the onus is on the men being called to immediately follow. They just up and leave.

What’s wrong is that this is a very impractical act for my practical mind to grasp. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything impractical in my life. Although one could say that dragging my family off to seminary was just that; but even then it was a carefully considered decision. So this whole business of immediately is hard for me to swallow.

That’s the first miracle. The second miracle, which is less difficult to accept but more difficult to put into practice, is the miracle of acceptance. The interesting thing about the call of Simon and Andrew, and James and John, is that Jesus met them where they were. They didn’t have to go on a pilgrimage, climb a mountain, or survive critical examinations by a first century COM. Jesus came to them, in their environment, caught their attention, and said, "Follow me." And they did.

My favorite professorial saying in seminary was, "It’s more complicated than that." It’s not only more complicated, but it’s deeper than you might first think. Here’s where I’m going with this.
Jesus called Simon and Andrew as they were casting their net. "I will make you fish for people," he says. Fishing is equated with inviting. When you fish, all you can do is cast your net or your line in an attempt to bring in some fish. When you invite, all you can do is ask people to come with you and check it out; whatever "it" is. The first point of our mission statement is to Invite. We are asking people to come check us out. We are fishing.

Look at the lives of Andrew and Simon Peter, based on what little information we have. Andrew is called ‘the bringer.’ Where you really see this is over in the Gospel of John. It is there that we hear of Andrew bringing his brother Simon Peter to Jesus. It is there that we hear about Andrew bringing the boy with the loaves and fish. And it is there that we hear about his involvement with the Greeks who want to meet Jesus.

Simon Peter is also a bringer. Jesus sets him up as head of the church. As the first official bishop of the church, Peter cast his net far and wide in an effort to bring people into the church and into the family of God. Jesus took the existing talents of these two men and redirected their focus towards the kingdom of God rather than on this world.

And then there’s James and John. We don’t know much about James. The tradition about his brother, however, holds that this is the same John who wrote the gospel, three letters and Revelation. And, since my New Testament professor isn't here, and this is my sermon, we'll go with that today. So if that’s true, then look at how that meshes with his call from Jesus.

John was in a boat mending his nets. Have you ever mended anything? It takes time, effort and patience. There is no quick fix. And the goal of mending something is to repair some damage; to make it whole again. To strengthen what was weak and torn.

Granted, we only have these five documents to go by, but John’s writings put forth the ideal of peace, unity and love better than any other writings in the New Testament. A professor of mine once said that if the passage talks about love, it’s most likely from John.

The John of the New Testament tries to mend the early Christian communities of their conflict. He tries to repair the internal damage with love. The same John who lovingly cared for his nets cared for the early church. Again, Jesus took his existing talents and personality and redirected his focus.

Jesus didn’t require any of them to change their basic makeup. In this gospel story we can see what Jesus saw. We can see that each person called has a special gift that can be used to benefit the kingdom of heaven. We can know that Jesus sees deeper than we might, and that what we see as mundane, he sees as extraordinary. And this is the second point of our mission statement, to include. This is exactly what Jesus did. He included both people and their talents in his mission. Didn't try to change them, just re-direct them.

The miracle of this story is twofold. First, once we realize that Jesus is calling us, we really do follow immediately. Once I accepted the fact that God really was calling me to the priesthood, I did move immediately to follow. And second, Jesus looks deeper than our exterior to our true nature and sees how that can benefit the kingdom. So as we move forward, as we look to invite and include people in our Christian community, let’s understand two things: first, fishing doesn’t equate catching, and second, let’s look for those "hidden" talents that might not be so hidden after all.

We are called to fish. We are called to invite. And when people decide to accept that invitation, they will follow immediately. We are also called to include. So rather than looking for programs to fit them into, let's look at what talents they bring and allow them to use that for the benefit of the kingdom.

DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?

What song lyrics have you been singing for awhile, only to discover that you've been singing the wrong words?

When you heard "Lucy in the sky with diamonds," did you sing, "The girl with colitis goes by"??

Or, instead of "Lady Madonna, children at your feet," were you singing, "Kneedeep in doughnuts, perfume on my feet"??

I could go on, but I won't. You get the idea. Well, here's a recent conversation in my home.

Kid: "Mom, what would happen if you put a booger in the microwave?"

Mom: "What?? That's gross!! Where'd you hear that?"

Kid: "It's on a song on the Newsboys CD. They say, 'Cool as the burn of an aftershave, tender as a booger in the microwave.'"

Dad: "I don't think so. Go get me the lyrics."

Dad: (Reading the lyrics) "Cool as the burn of an aftershave, tender as a burger in the microwave."

Kid: "Oh. Oops."

Lunch, anyone?

DISAPPOINTED

Today was my first first annual meeting. My second annual meeting will be next week up in VC. It was everything an annual meeting should be. Talked about the budget, heard from the Sr. and Jr. Wardens. Approved the minutes from last year. Heard where the church has been and where we think it's going. And I got to talk a bit about whatever I wanted to (I am the Vicar). And on top of it, Mrs. Ref made some great casserole things to feed everyone; an egg sausage thing and a blueberry cream cheese thing. Yummy.

However, we had twelve people in church today. My family made three, the Sr. Warden's family made four mour, and then five others. Which meant, if you are keeping score, the only people who were at the annual meeting were the current members of the vestry.

So I'm disappointed at how this thing went down today. It's the first time since I've been here that I feel that way, and now I'm trying to cope with it. It's not even a numbers thing. It's more that I thought people were beginning to feel like we were making progress. But maybe they just aren't ready for the committment it takes to be a successful parish.

And I know all the reasons for why this happened; but still, it blindsided because I didn't mentally prepare myself for the possibility of a low turnout. Anyway, I'll get over it. Things will move forward. I'll be ready for a low turnout in VC. And next year will be better.

Maybe the preacher needs to look at his own sermon -- "It's not our job to convert, just to invite."

EPIPHANY IIA

Isaiah said, "The Lord called me before I was born."

Paul said that he was "called by the will of God."

Jesus called Andrew and another to "Come and see."

Andrew called his brother, Simon Peter.

Who does God call? If you take a limited view of things, God calls only a select few. Abel, not Cain. Moses, not Pharaoh. David, not Saul. Peter, not Judas. And the list goes on. It would seem that, from the beginning, some people were chosen by God and others were destined for destruction. How else can you explain the genocide, or attempted genocide, by Israel against its enemies? Or the specific number of the 144,000 in Revelation? It would appear that God has already determined who is saved and who is damned.

But if you take an expansive view of things, God’s call to salvation is all-encompassing. Abraham was to be a blessing to all the families of the earth. Jonah was sent to save the Gentile city of Ninevah. God told Isaiah that he would be a light to the nations so that "my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth." And John declared that Jesus would take away the sin of the world.

Who does God call? God calls Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ruth, David, Mary, Joseph, Andrew, Peter, Paul, James, John, you, me, Jeff, Gwynne, Charlie, George, Susie, Mark and Jane. God calls everyone. The issue isn’t one of God limiting who is called; the issue, rather, is who chooses to answer.

Looking back through history and through the bible, there really are very few people with whom God speaks directly. The vast majority of people hear God through another person. The prophets to Israel. Paul to the Roman Empire. Andrew to Peter. Philip to the eunuch. At its most basic level, Christianity is based on individual relationships and it is up to us to spread the Good News. How do we do that?

Baptism is a good place to start. In our baptism, not only did we promise to renounce the evils of the world, but we promised to continue in the apostles’ fellowship. We promised to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ. That means that we promised to talk with other people about our faith. Our baptism is the starting point of evangelism.

Evangelism. Now there’s a scary word for Episcopalians. There’s a joke that goes like this: A man shows up at Peter’s desk in heaven. Peter says, "What are you doing here?" The man says, "I don’t know. I was walking downtown and this guy jumped out from behind a bus and yelled, ‘REEEEEPENNNNNNT!!!!’ S cared the hell out of me."

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Evangelism doesn’t have to be scary, either to us or those we are talking to. We don’t have to be John crying out in the wilderness, "REPENT!"
Instead, evangelism can be inviting. Supposedly we follow the teaching and example of Jesus. He had a knack for talking to people on a personal level, at a place that was most relevant to that particular person. The rich young man. The prostitute. The bleeding woman. The centurion. And all of this, remember, happened after his baptism.

Jesus’ baptism, like our own, is a significant event. For Jesus, and for us, our ministry begins at that point. It begins when we answer and acknowledge God’s call for us. In his ministry, he talked to people about God and his mission, and he called people to follow him. He invited people to come and see.

In that coming and seeing, people learned about the kingdom of God. People learned how to change their view of the world. People learned what it meant to put God first. For some people, this is a good thing. They realize that, even though they may have thought they were searching for something, they were really trying to figure out how best to answer God.

For others, however, this new way of looking at things, this assumption that the kingdom of God has arrived, is a bit more than they can handle. They choose to ignore God’s call. They don’t believe that the Gospel is really Good News. They think it takes too much effort. They don’t want to make the commitment or the sacrifice. They think Christianity is a crutch for the weak. And that’s okay too. Remember, it’s not our job to convert people; it’s our job to tell people.

And then there is that third category – people who never hear the Gospel. These are the people we need to be concerned about. These aren’t necessarily people in Africa or South America or other far flung reaches of the globe. These can be people right here in our community. People we see everyday, but with whom nobody has ever told them about Jesus or invited them to church.

Christianity is relational. The relationship between God the Son and God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. The relationship between Jesus and his disciples. The relationship between the disciples and the early church. The relationship between the church and you. The relationship between you and the other.

Very few of us are either lucky enough or unfortunate enough to have God speak directly to us. Most of the time, God calls people through other people. An invitation to come and see. A conversation with another person about Jesus. Think about how you got to this place. Somewhere, sometime, somebody called to you, and that call led you here.

Granted, not everyone called will answer. And God is not keeping score on how many people you call. In fact, none of what we do is because we are trying to score points. We do what we do– invite, include, inform, proclaim and rejoice – because we believe that God calls people through people, through relationships. Who have you called? Who have you asked to come and see?

WHAT WENT WRONG??

Before I went to seminary, I officiated highschool football for 13 seasons. It was a great hobby, and I'm looking forward to getting back into it here in Montana after four years off.

When The Kid was born, her first gift from dad was a pink football. By the age of two, she had learned all of the official signals; everything from "dead ball" to "safety." But then, at some point, she rebelled and decided that football was a waste of time. She might as well have told me that she was running off to Arizona with some biker dude.

Anyway, she seems to be getting back into the sport, although somewhat reluctantly. It helps if she watches with her mother. And she ALWAYS roots for teams based on whether their mascots are animals, and if she likes that animal all the better. She will root for the Falcons over the Chargers. She will root for the Broncos over the Colts (and she was none to pleased with the outcome of last weekend's game). But she also has a few things to add.

For instance, in one play (I think it was the Vikings and Packers, but I can't be totally sure), a defensive lineman charged through and levelled the running back almost before he got the ball. Now, we all know that lineman aren't small. She immediately decided that he should be flagged for "too much aggressive use of the belly." Oh my.

And then, either later in that game or another game, she informed me that QB stood for "Qewt (cute) Boy." I tried to inform her that, no, it did not. Her mother, however, did point out that quarter backs were most often the cutest guys on the field.

I gave up at that point.

Pray for the dad of a pre-teen.

PREACHED BETTER THAN IT READS

This sermon preached much better than it reads. I think the emotional content came through better in person. Anyway, here's my latest attempt at being a preacher man.

EPIPHANY IA -- BAPTISM OF JESUS

Water. Think about water for a moment. It nourishes us and quenches our thirst. We cook with it. We clean with it and we bathe with it. Our bodies are something like 75% water. Without it, there is no life; this planet would be a wasteland, a big rock. Water is life.

Today we celebrate the baptism of Jesus, the day when he began a new life. We don’t know much about his life before his baptism, but the synoptic gospels are very clear that his ministry, his new life, started when he was baptized. At his baptism, the Trinity was manifested; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Immediately after his baptism, he went into the wilderness, and his new life began.

We need to remember that. Baptism marks a turning point in our life, when we turn from our old ways of doing things towards a new life that puts God front and center. The waters of baptism pour over us, washing away the crud of the world, cleansing us of our sins, and making all things new.

And for those of us who were baptized as infants, I think we need to work a little harder at remembering what our baptism means. Confirmation or reaffirmation is one way of doing this. It is our chance, as adults, to say, "Yes, I believe and confirm that my baptism washes me clean."

We can also reconnect with our baptism during a service at which we renew our baptismal vows. Today is one of those days, the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. Other times during the year include the Easter Vigil, Pentecost and All Saints Day. These are specific times when we are asked to remember our baptism and what that vow entails.

Water is life. The water of baptism washes over us, cleansing us, making us new. But water also has a dark side. Water gives life, but water can also take life. The symbolism of baptism is that we are lowered into the water where our old self dies, and then we are raised from that watery grave into our new life.

But it’s also more than symbolic. Water can be terrifying, just ask anyone who can’t swim. And if you think about the water of baptism washing over you and cleansing you, then also think about the water of the Indian Ocean washing over the people of Indonesia. There wasn’t a whole lot of cleansing going on there; but there was a whole lot of terror and death.

In baptism, we choose to be submerged. The people of Indonesia had no such option. They were submerged and drowned without regard to race, gender or religious belief. Tens of thousands of people were washed away and died in the water. Tens of thousands more will die from disease. Tell those people that water cleanses.

How are these disparate images – life and death – reconciled? One route is to remember our baptismal covenant. "Will you continue in the prayers?" Pray for the victims and survivors of the tsunami.

"Will you proclaim by word and example?" Part of what we are asked to do is to care for those less fortunate. On behalf of this admonition, I urge you to offer, from your abundance, funds that can help those in need.

"Will you respect the dignity of every human being?" Allowing bodies to lie in the street, or refusing to shelter the homeless, or ignoring the pleas of the orphans, doesn’t allow them any dignity. We have an opportunity and responsibility to reach out and help dignity be restored.

The bishop has asked that this week’s offering be donated to help the relief effort. We’ve already got a jump on that, since we started collecting last week. But let me make this clear: this isn’t simply our normal offering. This is above and beyond. We need to continue our pledge to the parish, but we also need to make a special effort at this time to raise money for those most in need right now.

We have been buried with Christ. The waters of baptism have washed over us as we died to the world. We share in Christ’s resurrection, and are reborn by the Holy Spirit. It’s a new life, with new responsibilities. We have been given much, in our way of life, in our income, in our health and our families. To whom much is given, much is required. And right now, the people of Indonesia require our help.

NASTY COLD

It has been brrrr cold around here lately. The furnace at Christ Church still isn't replaced, but we have accepted a bid. Hopefully that will be completed by the time the bishop comes. If not, well, he will get to see how we are coping with the situation.

Mrs. Ref has been running. Ostensibly to prepare for a marathon or 1/2 marathon in Chicago around the time of our visit. She's braver than I. My running schedule has always taken the winter off. Actually, it usually runs from about March to August; the theory being that I don't need to run during the football season, as I'm doing enough running up and down the field.

Which I've missed these past four years. At Sheridan's first game, I spoke with the officiating crew and got some names and phone numbers. The plan is that next season I'll be back on the gridiron and the name of my blog will be technically correct.

Things have slowed down a bit after Christmas. I'm working on two annual meetings, a service of Christian Unity on the 18th with my neighbor (Fr. Ed, the local RC priest), and the bishop's visitation on February 6. Sometime I need to start thinking about Ash Wednesday, Lent and Easter.

Did I mention it's cold? Here in the valley we've been floating around -15 at night and single digits in the day. I think we're the lucky ones. Other places around the state are down to the negative 20's, 30's and, in some spots, 40's. But I'm not complaining. It is, afterall, winter. And there are mountains. Life is good.

Stay warm.

CHRISTMAS II

In the beginning was the Word. All things came into being through him. These words from John reinforce that Jesus is part of the Godhead and that he had a hand in the creation of everything. Now do I believe that God created everything as we see it in 6 days, a mere 144 hours? No. But neither do I believe that we are some sort of cosmic accident, a result of random organisms getting together in a primordial ooze where life just got lucky. I don’t know, nor do I pretend to know, the inner-workings of that creative process. But I do know that, ultimately, everything belongs to God.

This theology that everything belongs to God can be seen in the Eucharistic prayer that we will use later in the service, "offering to you, from the gifts you have given us." God created, God gave, and we give back to God from that abundance. You can see that from the food we collect for the food bank, to the way we are trying to revise how we think about pledging, and in today’s gospel.

The magi gave back to God based on this theology of abundance and that everything does indeed belong to God. They were foreigners (yet another indication that God welcomes the outsider) who recognized that Jesus was something special. And they offered to God the gifts they had been given from God. From their abundant treasures, they gave abundantly. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These are not inexpensive gifts, and they traveled for two years looking for the Messiah so that they could honor him appropriately.

Have you ever wondered why those three gifts? Why gold, frankincense and myrrh? Tradition has it that those three gifts represent the three most important aspects of Jesus’ life. Gold because he is the Messiah, king of the Jews, our Lord and savior. Gold because it is a gift fit for a king. And remember, Matthew traced Jesus’ lineage right through the kings of Israel.

Frankincense because he is God. You’ve heard the term "smells and bells." Incense has been used for thousands of years in religious services of all types. It is used in holy places and for special services to signify the presence of the Divine. Jesus was the Divine incarnate.

And myrrh because it was used at the time of death to prepare the body for burial. This gift was a foreshadowing of Jesus’ death and was given in anticipation of his crucifixion when he would die for our sins.

But I read something the other day that put a different spin on that traditional story. What if the gold, frankincense and myrrh weren’t actual gifts? What if Matthew was making it up? What if these gifts are an allegory for our own lives? What if Matthew is trying to show us what would be appropriate for us to give Jesus?

Gold is fit for a king, yes, but it also represents earthly treasures; treasures that we have accumulated over time. It represents our own personal wealth. If God created everything, and everything belongs to God, then is this gold really ours to be hoarded and used for our own desires? Or can we recognize that this gold belongs to God and we are making an offering to God in thanksgiving for all the blessings of this life?

Frankincense is that holy smoke that signifies to us that God is with us. You can’t miss it when it burns. And if you’ve ever been in a church that uses it, the smell lingers for a long time. You can walk into a church building in the middle of the week and the building will still hold that smell.

What about with us? Can people catch the presence of God in our lives? Do we burn with a holy fire that lets people know God is with us? Are we covered with the lingering scent of God? Frankincense is that gift of worship that we offer to God on a continual bases. It is the gift that, like real incense, affects all those around us.

And then there’s myrrh. That bitter perfume that breathes a life of gathering gloom. This might be the most personal gift we can give Jesus. How many times in our lives are we sorrowful or bitter? The loss of a job, the death of a family member, a fight or divorce, or the lack of understanding of the scope of the Indonesian disaster. The temptation is to hold that anger or sorrow inside of us. Maybe we use it to justify not-so-healthy actions, or to lash out at others, or to turn our back on God. Eventually though, what is held inside of us will destroy us.

But God wants this too. Peter writes that we should cast all our anxieties upon the Lord. Psalm 55 tells us to cast our burdens on the Lord. If we don’t do that, that bitter perfume will gather inside of us, turning us on ourselves, away from others and eventually away from God, sucking all the joy out of our lives. We need to recognize this. We need to be willing to tell God that we are angry with him. We need to be able to say, "God, I’m angry, I don’t understand. But I’m offering that anger to you, take it as my gift to you and make me whole."

Epiphany is this Thursday. The magi are coming. We are the magi. We have seen the light of Christ from afar. We acknowledge him as our king, the Messiah, the Son of God. How long will you search for Christ, and what gift of his will you offer to him this year?

THE DAY AFTER

Mrs. Ref had this great idea to invite all of The Kid's class to our place for New Year's Eve. I guess the theory was right: "I want all the kids to know that this is a safe place to come." Can't argue with that. Nevertheless, I was not looking forward to this.

Luckily for me only two of her classmates came, and one brought her little sister. Four pre-teen girls, Mrs. Ref, and me on New Year's Eve. It wasn't too bad, I guess. We all played a game of Pit, and Mrs. Ref stomped us. I think I'll send her to buy a lottery ticket. The girls stayed up to watch the ball drop in NY (something I've never understood -- why do people get all excited about an event that happened anywhere from 1 to 3 hours ago? at least on the West Coast they've started broadcasting their own celebrations) while toasting the New Year with non-alcoholic champagne. Then they chattered real loud until 2 am, and somewhat quieter until 3 am.

Mrs. Ref and I got up at 8 and fixed breakfast for the munchkins -- sausage, fruit and monkey bread. And I shoveled the sidewalk, again. That snowstorm that was supposed to come the other day showed up yesterday, so I was kept busy doing the manly chore of shoveling. For those of you who haven't been here, there's a helluva lot of sidewalk around my place to shovel. Consider it my aerobic excercise for the month.

Best quote of the night from the girls: "One of my teachers thought I was Jewish because I could spell Hanukkah." I just rolled my eyes.

I took a little time out to blog while Mrs. Ref naps. Got the kitchen 75% clean, working on the laundry, and trying to catch a little football. I also need to head over to the parish hall and set up for church tomorrow since the people who used it Thursday didn't put things back like they found it.

Wishing you all a safe holiday and many blessings in the upcoming New Year.