A new episode of the on-going motorbike adventures of our intrepid priest begins Labor Day weekend.
David is heading east to visit Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Montreal, and the Erie Canal. He’ll be blogging along the way and would love to read your comments. You can follow the adventure right here.
If you have suggestions of things to see or places to go, please share them with Pastor David asap.
One of the most popular new books this past year is The Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth 
by Reza Aslan. It’s great for discussion and offers a fresh perspective on Jesus’ life and mission. The San Francisco Herald says this absorbing, reader-friendly book, written by a Muslim scholar, does “full justice to the real Jesus, and honors him in the process.” The Book Study, facilitated by Rev. Dr. Kathy Kircher (phone: 231-264-9046), will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on four Mondays (August 18 & 25; September 8 & 15) are from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. Donation: $10.00. Books may be purchased from Amazon or from Horizon Books (10% discount if you mention “Elk Rapids Book Study Group”). All are welcome. No pre-registration required.
Pick up a Bookmark with reading schedule on the Media Table at the main entrance to St. Paul’s.
Ordinary Time comprises those days between Pentecost and Advent-six months without the special days 
celebrating the big themes of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. Within this wide variety of lectionary readings, the Matthean Jesus lays out the demands placed upon those, ancient and modern, who would be subjects of his reign. Matthew’s Gospel challenges us to deeper spiritual formation, authentic responses to God’s calling to serve, a renewed commitment to mission, and an inclusive response to our increasingly pluralistic society. Many of the texts we will hear, like this Sunday’s, are well-known; even memorized. But these are also texts that often leave us uncomfortable.
Jeremiah wrestles with the cost of discipleship. Paul challenges us to risk living in a way that is entirely new based on faith in a promise. Jesus announces that even though he brings God’s peace, it is a radical and unsettling peace which disrupts everything. What are we to do?
“Hey, did you hear the church schedule is changing?”
“Yeah! Starting June first there’s two services. 8:30 at St. Paul’s and 10:00 at Calvary.”
“Wow, 8:30 sounds pretty early.”
“Well if you want to get on the golf course or out on the boat, it could be nice to have church over by 9:30. It’ll probably be shorter than that since there’s no music.”
“I guess, but I’m still not much of an early riser.”
“Well, there is another option. Starting the first Saturday in June there’s going to be a service at 5pm.”
“Oh, sure, but I don’t want to go to one of those stripped-down contemporary services.”
“I hear it’s going to be straight BCP with music and everything.”
“That sounds pretty good. But does that count?”
“What do you mean, ‘count’?”
“Like, is it as good as going on Sunday morning?”
“Well, I don’t know. We are supposed to suffer through church if we expect God to like us. Maybe we should have the service at 7:30AM!”
“Now you’re just making fun of me!
“Where did you ever get the idea church attendance had to count?”
“I don’t know … I guess it doesn’t make any sense does it.”
“NO. So maybe I’ll see you Saturday night or at one of the Sunday morning services?”
“With all those choices, how could I miss?”
“You could even bring a friend.”
Summer Worship Schedule begins in June
Sunday 8:30 am Holy Eucharist without music at St. Paul’s
Sunday 10:00 am Holy Communion following LBW liturgy at Calvary
Saturday 5:00 pm Holy Eucharist, Rite II at St. Paul’s
The Fourth Sunday of Easter is nicknamed, “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Beginning this week, we will
jump back in our gospel readings to the night before Jesus was arrested. Using the imagery of shepherding, Jesus offered comfort and direction to his disciples. He is the Good Shepherd, and the “gate” of the sheep. He
goes before us and provides for our safety. The risen Christ opens the way to abundant life. He anoints our heads with oil and guides us beside the still waters. Each Sunday he spreads a feast before us in the midst of the world’s violence and war. We go forth to be signs of the resurrection and extend God’s tender care to all creation.
Almost every week I read David Lose’s letter to Working Preachers. I think this week’s was particularly insightful and want to share it with you. If you’d like to see the web site and check out other articles, the link is workingpreacher.org Here’s Dr. Loses’ letter:
The Revolution Starts Here
Tuesday, February 18, 2014 12:14 PM
David Lose
Dear Working Preacher,
I think a lot of us probably have one of two reactions to this passage and the (in)famous commands it contains. The first is simple, and a little sad: we’ve heard Jesus’ commands so often that they hardly register. “Turn the other cheek.” Yeah — yawn — sure. “Love you enemies.” Sounds nice — why not? And out of our trained indifference we rarely think deeply about actually trying to follow them.
The second response takes Jesus’ words more seriously, but also assumes they’re somewhat out of reach. “Turn the other cheek.” Are you kidding?! And get treated like a doormat? “Love you enemies.” You can’t be serious! Both commands — and a host of Jesus’ other injunctions to boot, seem from this point of view to be sheer folly, idealistic sentiments that would be crazy to apply in the “real” world.
But here’s the thing: Jesus isn’t kidding and is dead serious about these commands. In this sermon, Jesus is outlining his vision of God’s kingdom and issuing a summons to those who desire to be a part of it. Which is why we need to take them seriously. Of course, if such sentiments seem a little crazy to us, we’re not alone. Critics from the extreme right and left have often characterized Jesus’ teaching as ludicrous. Consider Ayn Rand, political philosopher, literary bestseller, and recent darling of the Tea Party, who wrote, “If any civilization is to survive, it is the morality of altruism that men have to reject.” And then there’s Karl Marx, father of communism, who said, “The social principles of Christianity preach cowardice, self-contempt, abasement, submissiveness and humbleness.”
Before dismissing these critiques too quickly, however, we should perhaps point out that, indeed, turning the other cheek and returning hatred with love is no way to get ahead in this world. For the rules of this kingdom are well known — it’s a dog-eat-dog world where only the strong survive. But that’s just the point. Jesus isn’t trying to modify the rules of the world. He’s not, contrary to prosperity preachers, inviting you to figure out how to make the most of this world or have your best life now. And he’s not even inviting you to find a safe port amid the storms of this world. Rather, he’s starting a revolution by calling the rules of this world into question and, at the very same time, redeeming this world that he loves and that will, in due time, put him to death.
Jesus calls the powers of the day into question by describing an entirely different way to relate to each other, inviting us into relationships governed not by power but by vulnerability grounded in love. “’An eye for an eye’ makes all people blind,” Gandhi would similarly say almost two thousand years later. Here Jesus invites us to overcome the urge to retribution with loving submission and forbearance.
Yet he isn’t satisfied with merely overturning this world. For the very essence of his critique — that we were created not merely for justice but also for love and life — is simultaneously the only possible hope for those enmeshed in the orders of the world. Strength eventually fails. Power corrupts. And survival of the fittest leaves so many bodies on the ground. Love alone transforms, redeems, and creates new life. As Martin Luther King, Jr., a student of both Jesus and Gandhi, once said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
So if we are inclined to read over these familiar words too quickly in our haste to get on with the familiar story, or if we want to dismiss these commands out of hand as pious idealisms, I’d urge us instead to slow down and take them more seriously. For in these few crazy sentiments Jesus lays before us the plans for the kingdom he proclaims and the revolution he starts. And so before joining either, we should probably know just what it is we’re getting ourselves in for!
As we do so, however, allow one more observation. The last line of this passage — “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” — helps to reframe the whole of this passage. For while telos, the Greek word Jesus employs, can indeed be translated “perfect,” it typically denotes something not so much morally perfect as it does something that has grown up, matured, and now reached its perfect end. That is, telos is the goal or desired outcome of a thing. A fruit tree’s telos, we might say, is to grow mature and tall so that it can bear fruit.
So might Jesus be not simply commanding something of us but also commending something in us? That is, perhaps Jesus simply knows that we have more to give, that we can be and do more than we have settled for, and that we can absolutely make a difference in the world if we simply believe in ourselves. And so I hear in these commands also the invitation to be those people God has created us to be so that we might not just persevere through this challenging life but actually to flourish, making a difference to those around us by sharing the abundant life Jesus has given us. Crazy? Maybe. But Jesus is not only dead serious about what he promises but actually will die — and rise again! — to show us that it’s true.
Three years ago, Working Preacher, I shared several possibilities for how we might bring this message more tangibly to life, and you’ll see in the comments that a number of folks used those ideas to good effect (and added some of their own, to boot!). This time around, I’d simply invite you to share Jesus’ confidence that the persons present in the worship service over which you presides represent God’s family on earth, those with the God-given potential to change the world, live by Jesus’ radical ethics now, and model a new and different way of being in the world that we simply call the kingdom of God.
Blessings on your ministry and life, Working Preacher. Your words, too, make such a difference and I am grateful for them … and for you.
In Christ,
David
Our 2014 Lenten mid-week luncheons will gather around good food, good company, and the good news of Jesus Christ according to John.
You can start right away by subscribing to the video series at www.SSJE.org/lovelife.
Each day starting Ash Wednesday, you will receive a short video on a theme from the Gospel of John. Watch the video and respond to the question for the day.
On Wednesdays we’ll gather for lunch, to watch the weekly compilation video as a refresher, and talk about the week’s theme. How will answers change over the course of the 5-week conversation?
As an added bonus, you can even share your experience, using #LoveLife on your preferred social media site.
It takes so long for the sun to rise in the morning and it heads for the horizon so early in the day, that there’s more dark than light. Yet, we know light will return as the seasons change.
In a similar way, we believe light shines in the darkness for the upright. The prophet Isaiah declares that when we loose the bonds of injustice and share our bread with the hungry, the light breaks forth like the dawn. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus; the light of the world, calls his followers to let the light of their good works shine before others. Through baptism we are sent into the world to shine with the light of Christ. How does Christ enlighten your life? How do you feel filled with Christ’s light for the world? How do you bring light to the people around you?
This Sunday is a special day in the Church year. Its 40 days since Christmas, so we remember the story of Mary and Joseph bringing their first-born to the temple to present him to God in accordance with Jewish rules. The Presentation of Our Lord is referred to in so
me corners of the church as Candlemas because of an ancient tradition of blessing all the candles to be used in the church in the coming year on that day. It was a way of underscoring the truth of Simeon’s confession that this baby Jesus was “a light for revelation to the Gentiles” and a light for glory to Israel. Let the light of every candle in church be a little epiphany of the love of God for all people in the person of God’s son, Jesus, the light of the world. We will ceremonially bless the lights of our churches and you are invited to bring a light from your home to be blessed as well.
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