Sermon Transcript: The Second Sunday of Easter The Rev. R. Allan McCaslin
Readings: Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133; I John 1:1-2:2; John 20:19-31
From John’s gospel, “Jesus came and stood among (the disciples) and said, ‘Peace be with you.’” I speak to you in the Name of the
Father, the risen Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Second Sunday of Easter is typically referred to as, “Doubting Thomas Sunday” although most of us know it as, “Low Sunday” meaning that our worship together does not include all the pageantry we experienced on Easter. Rather than a “high holy day,” today is a regular feast day of our resurrected Lord usually marked by a lesser or “lower” style of worship and, sadly, lower attendance. I am delighted so many of you continue to celebrate these great fifty days of Easter.
Many of you might recall that my former parish home in Boston was a rather wealthy parish. Oh, let’s face it: most people there had more money than you or I will see in a lifetime. As such, there were two scripture lessons that raised the hackles of wealthy members. One was our Lord’s own words in Mark 10:25 “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter God’s kingdom.” (In fact, the priest was told to never read that gospel lesson out loud!) The second “forbidden” scripture is today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles which is often spoken of and derided as the, “Communism of Acts.” Luke tells us that the early Christian community had learned to take care of each other by selling their holdings in order that no one might be in need. It is a wonderful statement about sharing our resources, but far more important, is the sense of unity of purpose that such caring and sharing created within the early church. So much so, Luke says, “great grace was upon them all.” With everyone’s needs being met, they were able to work together for the sake of the gospel– to focus on God’s mission of redemption in this world – and that mission spread like wildfire throughout the community. It is amazing what can happen when God’s people are unified by a common purpose and common faith.
The Psalmist speaks of such unity comparing it to the flowing oils that were used to nourish the skin and signify God’s permeating blessing on people of faith. “Oh, how good and pleasant and it is, when brethren live together in unity!” says the Psalmist. In other words, it is just downright nice when people get along and seek the common good.
Sermon Transcript: The Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, April 8, 2012 The Rev. R. Allan McCaslin
Readings: Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; I Corinthians 15:1-11; John 20:1-18
“Alleluia! Christ is risen!” (The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!) I speak to you in the Name of the Father, the risen Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
When I was a child my sisters and I would be piled into the backseat of our family Buick packed full of luggage and with my parents in the front seat, we headed out to our summer vacation home. And as is typical of every child who has ever been crammed into the back seat of a car, within 10 minutes of leaving home, we’d start to ask over and over again, “Are we there yet?” As I have become an adult, I have a deeper understanding of why my father’s nerves were on edge every time we took that three-hour trip. (Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?)
For many Christians, Holy Week has become an experience of asking are we there yet. Somehow we want to get to Easter as quickly as possible. Besides, we already know the story: Most of us have heard these stories of Jesus’ passion, suffering and death our entire life. Yes, we know how the resurrection of Christ changed Peter’s life so that he who at one time denied his Lord became an advocate for our Lord’s teachings as we heard in our reading from Acts. And we know very well Paul’s own story told in our reading from Corinthians of how he once persecuted the Church until he encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus and it transformed him forever. We have heard it all before. But that was then and today is today. What does it all mean now? Does it really matter? Aren’t we there yet? We have already accepted the fact that Jesus died to redeem and atone for our sins. We know that in Christ, we can be “at-one” (atoned) with God once more. Perhaps the question is not are we there yet, but rather, what difference does all this talk about resurrection make in our lives?
My friends, for me the most important thing - not the only important thing, but rather, the most important thing about the resurrection of Jesus Christ is this: If Christ did not rise from the dead then God does not love us. We are on our own and we have no shred of hope that God might intervene and accept us just as we are, and help us in our life journeys. If Christ is not raised from the dead, our faith in the transforming and redeeming love of God is null and void. But, I believe God doeslove us. It is God’s love that changed my life and the lives of so many in our midst here today. Are we there yet? No. It is true that our Lord at the moment of his death said, “It is finished:” our atonement and oneness with God has been made possible. But this saving act is not an ending to itself, but rather, it is a new beginning for a changed life and, I’ll add, a changed world.
Sermon Transcript: January 8, 2012 The First Sunday after the Epiphany and The Baptism of Our Lord
The Rev. R. Allan McCaslin
Readings: Genesis 1:1-5; Psalm 29; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11
From Mark’s gospel, “And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved.’” I speak to you in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Do you hear voices? Not the voices of others, but rather, those voices in our heads that seem to clamor for our attention. I do. Sometimes my voices speak so loudly that I question my own sanity. (I know others question my sanity, too!) Often, those voices are simply the incessant chattering of our consciences, or perhaps they are none other than the voice of God while, at other times, the voices are clearly not of God. For some, speaking about voices in our heads conjures up that cartoonimage of an angel whispering into one ear, “Don’t do it,” while a devil is whispering into the other, “Go ahead. No one will know.” Yet, regardless of their source, I find that each one begs me to listen to their voice above any other. Learning to hear God’s voice in the midst of the daily noise around and within us, and tune out that which is not of God is what discernment is about. And discernment is something with which each of us struggle. For many, it is a daily struggle. We are constantly bombarded by noises and voices. How can we recognize God’s voice above the fray?
On this First Sunday after the Epiphany which celebrates the arrival of the Magi at Bethlehem and the revelation of Jesus Christ as the Light of the world, our scripture lessons turn our attention to God’s voice and how God empowered Jesus for ministry at his baptism. As much as I had hoped to preach about the role of baptism in our lives, my thoughts and prayers kept directing me back to these images of God speaking and those voices in our heads. How does God speak to us today and, perhaps even more important, why or for what purpose? And if God is speaking, how can we know God’s voice above all others?
The Psalmist describes God’s voice thundering as it splits flames of fire, shakes the land and causes trees to quake. At Christ’s baptism, a voice comes forth as the heavens are ripped open and in Genesis, God’s voice brings about the creation of the world. Those are pretty incredible images and certainly, if any of us experienced things like that, then we could easily recognize God’s voice. But, from my experience, the voices we hear are quieter: they nudge and gnaw at our conscience slowly urging us to listen and discern their message. But are they of God?
Sermon Transcript: June 12, 2011 - The Day of Pentecost The Rev. R. Allan McCaslin
Readings: Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:25-35, 37; I Corinthians 12:3b-13; John 20:19-23
From this morning’s Psalm, “You send forth your Spirit … and so you renew the face of the earth.” I speak to you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I will admit to you this morning that one of my favorite television shows is The Golden Girls. The show is about four women: Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia who agree to live together and share expenses. They are senior citizens, although Blanche typically tries to pass herself off as “in her late thirties.” This zany crew, when faced with a problem, frequently looks to Sophia Petrillo, the most elderly woman among them, for insight and guidance. Sophia, a passionate Sicilian immigrant, usually offers counsel by telling a story about herself. And every story begins the same way: “Picture it; Sicily, 1943” (or “Picture it; Sicily, 1927” or “1935” and so on). Each story weaves back and forth between the past, the present and future and by the time she has finished, the women have somehow connected with the story seeing themselves as a part of it. And in so doing, they find a way to resolve their dilemma. I think it no coincidence that the name Sophia means “wisdom.”
Today, we celebrate the Day of Pentecost which literally means “the fiftieth day.” Pentecost is celebrated by Jews and Christians alike. For Jews, Pentecost is the fiftieth day after the first day of Passover recalling the Exodus of Israel from out of bondage and slavery in Egypt. For Christians, it is the fiftieth day after the Easter resurrection of Jesus Christ – our own Passover and deliverance from out of bondage and slavery to sin. Pentecost celebrates the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit to be our advocate, our wisdom, our own “Sophia.” And like Sophia Petrillo’s stories, today’s scripture lessons weave a story of the past, the present, and our future together.
Picture it: Jerusalem A.D. 33. The disciples have locked themselves away in an upper room. They are terrified and they have good reason to be afraid. Their master, Jesus, from whom all but one of them ran away and abandoned, has been executed by the Romans as a common criminal. It was typical in those days to round up a criminal’s closest friends and execute them as well. So, it’s understandable then why the disciples were fearful for their lives. Our Gospel lesson tells us that Jesus passes through the locked doors and greets these cowering men saying, “Peace be with you.” They think he’s a ghost and they are scared to death. Jesus shows them his wounded hands and side in order to confirm who he is and that he is very much alive. Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, reflecting on this text (Resurrection), says that not only do these wounds affirm that the man standing in front of the disciples is none other than Jesus, but also, his wounds confront them with the evidence of their own cowardice and tacit betrayal, and abandonment of him. The disciples are grief stricken, guilty and fearful and yet, Jesus says to them,“Peace be with you.”
Homily Transcript: “ROGATION DAY” The Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 29 2011. The Rev. R. Allan McCaslin
Readings: Acts 17:22-31; Psalm 66:7-18; I Peter 3:13-22; John 14:15-21
Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” I speak to you in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
What a privilege it is to gather here on this sunny day in the midst of these beautiful grounds and celebrate our life together in Christ. I think it fitting that this year’s observance of Memorial Day with its call to faithful stewardship of the freedoms won for us at the cost of countless human lives, coincides with Rogation Day and its reminder that Christians are called to faithful stewardship not just of our liberties and freedoms, but of all that God has created: this earth and all its peoples. In so many ways, Memorial Day and Rogation Day is about love: love for our neighbors, our lands and seas, and love for God with whom, through Jesus Christ, we have an intimate relationship.
In this morning’s reading from Acts, St. Paul says that God is not something we created with our own hands from silver or gold. Rachel, a character in Lawrence and Lee’s play, Inherit the Wind, makes this rather astute comment, “God created man in his own image and man, being a perfect gentleman, returned the favor.” Such is the folly of human nature. We tend to shape God into our own image rather than allowing God to transform us into the image of Christ. God is not some figment of our imagination, but rather, God is our creator in whom St. Paul declares, “We live and move and have our being.” God isn’t just a part of our lives: God is our life.
Sermon Transcript: The Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 22, 2011 The Rev. R. Allan McCaslin
Readings: Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16; I Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14
Jesus said, “I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.” I speak to you in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Well, given that there are so many familiar faces here this morning it appears that we missed the so-called rapture of the Church that some nitwit in California predicted would occur yesterday. Of course, our presence here this morning could mean that the rapture, in fact, did take place yesterday and that we’ve been left behind to fend for ourselves. But, that is not what this morning’s scripture lessons teach us. Christ will, indeed, come again, but not to remove us and destroy the earth, but rather, he will come as our judge.
There was a time in my fundamentalist background when I would have joined yesterday with those hundreds of like-minded Christians and gazed upward to the heavens waiting for Jesus to descend upon the clouds and take all true-Christians back with him to heaven. As Episcopalians, we believe in the second coming of Christ, but not in the way that so many of our brothers and sisters in other Christian traditions believe. They believe in a rapture of the church: a non-biblical term for the removal of God’s people from the earth and the ushering in of the earth’s total destruction. Episcopalians believe, as our Creed says, that when Jesus returns, he returns to judge the world. Therefore, instead of focusing on a future Kingdom reserved for raptured Christians, we focus, instead, on the Kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus at his first coming: A kingdom marked by God’s mercy, love, grace, redemption and forgiveness that can dwell in the hearts of all humankind today just as it once did at the creation of the world.
Sermon Transcript: The Fourth Sunday of Easter; May 15, 2011 The Rev. R. Allan McCaslin
Readings: Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; I Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10
Jesus said, “The sheep follow (the Shepherd) because they know his voice.” I speak to you in the Name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
This Fourth Sunday in Eastertide is frequehtly called Good Shepherd Sunday because of the focus of our scripture readings. From the idyllic comfort of the shepherd leading us into the green pastures of Psalm 23 to St. Peter’s statement that once we “were going astray like sheep, but now we have returned to the shepherd and guardian of our souls,” our lessons draw our attention to the Good Shepherd whom John’s Gospel says calls us by name and leads us into abundant life.
Our Gospel reading is often heard at ordination services because of its imagery of shepherding and leading. But, this Gospel isn’t about the role of priests and ministers. It is about Jesus Christ and our relationship with him and to him. Regardless of our place in society or even our role in the Church, we are equal members of the same flock. We follow one Shepherd: Jesus Christ our Lord. He has called us by name and we, in turn, follow where he leads.
John says that following Jesus depends upon our ability to recognize his voice. “The sheep follow him” John says,“because they know his voice.” This is the crux of today’s scripture readings: Following God’s lead requires that we know God’s voice. In other words, it’s hard to know which way to turn if you don’t recognize the voice of the one giving the directions. We have to learn how to discern that which is the voice of God. We live in a world of constant noise. Our ears are assaulted all day long with the sounds of our cities and towns, televisions, radios, people, traffic – all of it bombasts our hearing with an endless stream of noise. Even our own internal voice: our thoughts, our conscience, our mind is constantly sending us messages. How on earth in the midst of all these sounds can we be expected to recognize God’s voice? My sense in reading this scripture is that getting to know the voice of God, the voice of the Good Shepherd, takes time and effort on our part. Just as the Shepherd takes time to get to know the sheep by name, being present with them, listening to them, and studying them, so also, our ability to discern God’s voice requires being in God’s presence, studying and learning about God. Learning the sound of God’s voice comes from embracing an adult understanding of the Christian faith and way of life. It means making time for careful study, exposure, prayer, and fellowship with God and God’s people gathered together for worship.
Sermon Transcript: The Third Sunday of Easter; May 8, 2011 The Rev. R. Allan McCaslin
Readings: Acts 2:14a, 36-41; Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17; I Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35
“While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from seeing him.” I speak to you in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
This has been quite the Easter Season: Storms, rising flood waters, and torrential rains have created deep worries throughout our region that struggles to clean up from not one, but two severe storms. Our streets look like war zones piled high with debris and our rich farmlands have become lakes as the Mississippi River continues its ominous climb. We have confidence in our levee system and yet we worry, especially for our neighbors, how this weather and record flooding will impact our economy and our continuing life together. This is the Easter Season: We celebrate the risen Christ and embrace our hope as people of the resurrection and yet, we worry about the future like everyone else.
Added to the onslaught of the weather, came the news earlier this week of the death of Osama Bin Laden. The mastermind of the 9/11 attacks on America and advocate of on-going terrorism that has killed thousands and thousands of innocent people throughout the world is dead. But my sense of relief at this news quickly turned to disenchantment as celebratory demonstrations took place in our streets with people jumping and shouting “USA, USA” as if this was an Olympic sporting event. I remembered how often my heart would break at news broadcasts of jubilation in the streets of Baghdad and Afghanistan when an American was killed. Now, our own people were doing the same. Justice has been served and for that we are grateful, but the celebrating leaves many of us deeply concerned for our nation and the world. As the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said so well, “Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness,” Dr. King said, “cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” We are called to seek justice, but we must remember that revenge is not a Christian virtue.
There was another sobering event this week about which there was no mention in the media and for many, it was just another day. This past Thursday was the 18th anniversary of the brutal murder of Holy Cross' own Michael Moore and two of his friends. How sad it is that there is more focus right now on the perpetrators of this crime than on the innocent victims and the shattered lives of the families involved. Let us continue to pray for justice in all things and seek new ways to offer our support to these families who continue to grieve and grieve deeply.
“Sermon Transcript: The Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ The Rev. R. Allan McCaslin
Readings: Jeremiah 31:1-6; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; Acts 10:34-43; John 20:1-18
Mary Magdalene … announced to his disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’…” Good people of God hear the good news of the Gospel: “Alleluia! Christ is risen!” (The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia.) I speak to you in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today is a day of feasting and great joy. By his death, Jesus of Nazareth, who lived among us as one of us, took upon himself our sins and the sins of the whole world so that, through his resurrection from the dead we can be restored, be born anew, and welcomed into God’s new creation and re-creation in the world. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead tells us that our life in God never has to end. It is eternal and we can live into that new life right now by simple faith in Jesus as the Christ: the redeemer of the world. Such is the glorious news of Easter.
These past few days, we have journeyed together through what is called Holy Week. It has been a journey of joy and profound learning just as it has been a journey of devastating betrayal and deep pain. One of the wonderful aspects of our tradition as Anglicans that we share with Roman Catholics and all Orthodox faith traditions is that we don’t just talk about Holy Week: We relive it as if it is unfolding for the first time right in front of our eyes. We walk the way of the cross with our Lord. So, throughout this week, we listened to our Lord’s comforting words of healing and wholeness, and accepted his invitation to live and love differently in this world. We answered his call to embrace a new family where every person we meet is recognized as Christ our brother standing in our midst. We were present with Jesus at prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. We sat at the table with him for the Last Supper, and with Jesus, we washed each other’s feet in humility and love. Then, on Friday night, we gathered with the crowd and watched Jesus’ trial where he was condemned to death. We came face to face with our own culpability in his death and owned the fact that, while Jesus willingly went to the cross on our behalf, it was our sin that killed him. And in one of those symbolic moments during our own Good Friday service, when a black veil is pulled down to reveal this cross, incredibly, the veil got caught on a corner. In the Temple at Jerusalem, a heavy veil prevented the people from seeing inside the Tabernacle where it is believed God’s presence dwelled. Our veil here got caught so that as it was pulled down it ripped loudly reminding us of the Gospels according to Mathew (27:51) and Mark (15:38) which tell us that at the very moment Jesus died that Temple veil was torn in two. We heard clearly that through Christ’s death, God revealed his glory for the people to see and in Christ’s resurrection; we are welcomed to live in that glorious presence of God.
Sermon Transcript: The First Sunday after the Epiphany January 9, 2011 The Rev. R. Allan McCaslin Readings: Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 29; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17
From this morning’s Collect, “Grant that all who are baptized into (your Beloved son’s) Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior” I speak to you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
One of the things I love about the celebration of the Season of the Epiphany which, began this past Thursday and means “manifestation,” is that I see myself as a participant in the story of the Magi, the wise men, coming to Bethlehem. Perhaps, you see yourself in it, too. In this story, the promises of God are revealed in the sight of the people but, as John’s Gospel says so well, the people “knew him not.” The Epiphany reminds us of how often God reveals or manifests himself to us or in those around us and yet, we do not see these works of God, or even more significant, we choose not to recognize God doing the unexpected. Such is the story of the Epiphany.
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