Faith in Progress

September 29, 2013 Pentecost 19, Proper 21, Year C               Once again this morning we have the Gospel of Luke talking about the problem of wealth.   And once again, it makes me uncomfortable.   The not-so-secret truth about preachers is that most of the time we are preaching to ourselves as much as anybody.   I am part of Jesus’ parable for today.   So let me introduce you to the characters.             First, of course, there’s Lazarus.   A poor man, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from a rich man’s table.   That’s all we know about him.   We don’t know whether he is kind or loving or righteous.   We don’t know whether he could be trusted with money or would just go off and spend it on alcohol or drugs.   We just know that he was miserably poor.   That he was living a life t...

[This morning we at St. Aidan's have the wonderful gift of a wedding in the midst of our main service!] September 15, 2013 Luke 15:1-10   This morning we have the great joy of being part of the celebration of Chris and Maria’s marriage.   They wanted to have a church ceremony and were immediately enamored with the idea of having their wedding here, at St. Aidan’s, among all of you, in the midst of a Sunday morning service.   Which I think says a lot about them, and about their relationship, a big piece of which is their spiritual connection.   Chris and Maria are embarking on a journey together; a journey that promises beauty and adventure and love, and a journey that will almost certainly come with some unexpected twists and turns as well. I was thinking about them, and about this wedding, while I was taking my own journey -- an 8-mile sunrise hike along the Grand Canyon this summer.             I...

September 8, 2013 Jeremiah 18:1-11   Most of you know that my family recently returned from vacation in the southwest United States.   We flew out to Phoenix and wound through Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado before flying out from Denver.   There were a lot of memorable sights and experiences, some of which you’ll be hearing about in about in future weeks, but one thing that emerged from the trip for me was a newfound admiration for Georgia O’Keeffe. I’d seen some of her artwork, especially the ever present flowers and bull skulls, but hadn’t really thought much about her before this trip.   Then we got to Santa Fe and while Holden took the kids to the pool one day I went to the Georgia O’Keeffe museum.   I went in as sort of a cultural obligation and came out just a little bit obsessed.               I started my tour of the museum by watching a short film that told a story of her life...

We had another wonderful St. Aidan's parish retreat to Shrine Mont.  We had almost 70 people join us for the weekend get-away to one of the most beautiful places in Virginia.  There was some great worship, including a beautiful candlelit service by the pond and of course a Sunday morning Eucharist at the amazing outdoor Shrine.  The three kids who had been Shrine Mont campers earlier in the summer led us in the famous Shrine Mont Shouting Prayer in place of our usual prayers of the people.  There was something beautiful about hearing all those voices, and the mountainy echoes as well, speaking of God's love for us and our love for each other. The programs were great, with drama and games for the kids with Heather Sanderson, who is so full of energy and fun.  The adults gathered in small groups to think about what "spiritual" means to us and share some points along our own spiritual journeys, which take so many different forms. We gathered ...

My daughter went to Shrine Mont for camp for the first time last week.  We've gone often for parish retreats, but this was her first time there for camp (her first time at sleep-away camp in general).  I'd always heard that if you want your kid to have faith of their own, nothing beats Shrine Mont.  And I've observed for myself the effects of Shrine Mont camp on the teens I've gotten to know at St. Aidan's.  Now I have a little taste of why.  It sounds like a lot of what happens at Shrine Mont is very typical sleep-away camp.  Swimming, games, enthusiastic counselors, a rustic cabin full of kids, lots of time outdoors in a beautiful setting.  But in addition to all this, the counselors are brimming over with love of God; there are daily worship services full of interactive, kid-friendly music; and each evening in the cabins the counselor leads the kids in thinking about where God was in their day (a good practice for any of us to engage in). ...

July 14, 2013 8 Pentecost, Proper 10 (Year C) Deuteronomy 30:9-14               One of my favorite ways of praying is by meditating with scripture – trying to enter into a story of divine encounter and see where I fit into it and what God might be saying to me through a particular story.     I guess because my mind tends to wander when left to my own devices, this kind of prayer works well for me.   And so I’ve found myself walking along the road to Emmaus with Jesus, sitting in a fishing boat with Peter, hiking down a mountain after the transfiguration.               The first time I’d heard of this kind of prayer was during spiritual direction in seminary.   At that point, I assumed prayer was either pious words or holy silence, and I wasn’t all that great at either one.   My experiences of God tended to be despite my attempts to f...

July 7, 2013 7 Pentecost, Proper 9 (Year C) Galatians 6:1-16 I wasn’t wildly impressed with most of our Galatians reading, but one line really caught me.   “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”   Maybe because it seems to be a theme that has been swirling around for me lately, poking and challenging me. I’m reading a book right now called Abide with Me that has a main character who seems to be trying to consciously live out Paul’s instruction.   Tyler Caskey is a minister in a small town who is attempting to live a faithful life and be aware of God around him in circumstances that are not always the most conducive.   He was raised with a guiding principle that he should “always think of the other person first.”   And he tries so hard to do it, imagining how his parishioners might hear certain things, being careful not to assume he knows what anyone else is really going through, thinking about how to help peo...