Halloween and Ordination

The Rev. Shannon Ferguson Kelly

October 31, 2007

Today is Halloween. It is a day that people dress up in costumes, some scary, some funny, some, just plain weird. I can remember the fun and excitement of Halloween as a child - the parties at school, trick-or-treating with my friends and family, and the great candy trade at the end of the day so that you got what you wanted. As I grew up, it became more about dressing up and partying. Now, as an adult, it seems that it has become a holiday that I enjoy through my child.

However, today is also the anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. Eight years ago today, I was ordained at St. Mark’s Church in Palo Alto, California. It was an amazing day. All the kids came dressed up in their costumes. One child told me that I wore my “priest” costume and another told me that I was dressed in my “angel” costume (or my robe). My bishop from the Diocese of Idaho came for the ordination, friends, family and other clergy came to celebrate the day. There are many things that stick out in my head from that day, but one that I will never forget, and one that I’m sure Bishop Bainbridge will never forget, is the picture around the altar at communion. Not only were their priests in their “priests costumes,” but there were 20-30 children in their Halloween costumes, gathered around the altar together. We had Medusa, Pokemon, St. Patrick, ladybugs, princesses and monsters, all gathered at the altar – coming to the place where we are all welcome – at the Lord’s table.

As I reflect on these eight years, I hope that this picture of EVERYONE being welcome at the altar has encompassed my ministry and what God has called me to do.

In the Gospel of John we hear, ^“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” On this day when we are dressing up to scare people or when there are witches hanging in doorways and people jumping out of haunted houses trying to scare us, Jesus reminds us that we need not fear. Our life is not meant to be lived in fear. Rather, our life is meant to be lived in that space of faith and doubt, asking the questions and letting the Holy Spirit move among us and within us. As Christians we are called to be welcoming of everyone, to bring peace to the world and to live in the love of God, knowing that we are a part of God, and God a part of us.

O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

- Book of Common Prayer, page 528

God Loves You. Pay Attention.

October 28, 2007

Proper 25, YR C

As I have sat watching the Red Sox play the Colorado Rockies over the last few days, I find myself tense, elated, stressed and disappointed over and over and over again. I am a Red Sox fan – something I became when I met my husband, Tom. For the first few years of our marriage, I watched and got to know the team and slowly got to know the agony of being a Sox fan. The Red Sox are infamous for being ahead in a game, and the loosing it in the end. They are known for making mistakes that take the win away from them. As I sat watching them last night, I realized that this pattern has something to teach us. The rollercoaster that is life – the ups and downs.

There are so many times in our lives when we are doing well, when we are feeling on top of things, everything is going well, we are hitting, we are scoring, as my son would say – we are cookin’ with gas! These times in our lives are joyous and life giving. They are good for our spirit and good for our soul. However, these times can also lull us into a false sense of security, they can lead us to not remember or not think about what we still need to work on and the things at which we are not doing well. When things are going well and we continually live in that space, we can begin to boast and sing our own praises. Now, don’t get me wrong – there are times in our life when we should boast and be proud of ourselves and love that moment. But that is not the whole picture.

In our Gospel lesson tonight, Jesus tells us yet another parable – this time about a Pharisee and tax collector. The Pharisee is someone that was respected in that culture. To be honest, this is the kind of person that most would want to have around. Someone who follows the rules, sometimes even goes beyond them – and in the parable, we hear him praying in an extremely boastful way. ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ I’m sure that I’ve prayed something similar to this – God, thank you for not making me like those people over there, and by the way have you noticed all of the wonderful things that I’ve done in your name lately? I think it’s easy for us to brag when things are going really well – when we seem to be doing things right.

However, we also hear from the tax collector, a person who was despised and hated in that culture. Someone you didn’t want around. He comes to the temple, with his head down, praying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ When I’m in that place in my life – I believe that my prayer goes something like, ‘God I don’t know what to do – help – I need you.’

Then Jesus says, ‘I tell you, this man (the tax collector) went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’ The tax collector is raised up as the person to emulate - not because he is down and out in society, but rather because he opens himself to God in a way that the Pharisee did not. The tax collector comes to the temple in a vulnerable, humble, self-effacing manor. He comes asking for God’s forgiveness and love.

A relationship with God is about opening yourself to God rather then boasting about what a good job you are doing following God. We are not to play God, but to follow God. It is in following God in a way that allows us to admit our short-comings, allows us to admit who we are and who we aren’t in such a truthful way that we are completely giving ourselves over to God and God’s love.

This is one of the reasons why I have us all say together the collect at the beginning of the service. Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. God, you know our hearts, you know our desires, you know everything about us – therefore, cleanse us that we may love you absolutely and fully and come to know you in a new and different way.

This is a very different prayer from the one that the Pharisee was praying. The Pharisee did not ask God for anything – did not come to God in a relationship or to form a connection, but he came with an update – to tell God of all the wonderful things that he had done. He has not opened himself to God, but rather reports to God. On the other hand, the tax collector comes to God yearning to make contact, desiring a relationship and does that through being honest about himself and his life. In this moment, I believe that the tax collector is getting at a more fundamental question – one that he was probably not ready to ask. He says, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ but his real question is, ‘God, do you love me, even though I have sinned?’

Do you love me? This is a fundamental question that each and every one of us are born with. Whether we know it or not, we ask this question of every relationship that we have with each other, with God and with ourselves. As humans, we are created to be in relationship, to be in connection, to be in communion with the world around us. Do you love me? Over time, this simple, yet difficult question gets transformed into questions like – What can I do to earn your love? and/or Am I worthy of being loved? When this question does get transformed then we begin to focus on earning God’s love, earning each other’s love, earning the love that we give to ourselves, we begin to think that we have to prove that we are worthy, that we are good enough, that we are doing all the right things so that we can be loved. However, at its core, the answer to this question cannot be earned. The Pharisee is so focused on earning that love and being worthy of that love, that he forgets to ask for it, that he forgets that is his real goal behind all of his actions and his lifestyle. The tax collector, in his vulnerable moment, stops to ask the question by admitting fully who he is, and asking for God’s love anyway.

One of my friends just told me a story about her son who is about 11 years old. They were in the church where she is a priest and her children were with her. At one point her son got up into the pulpit and was standing there looking out over the empty pews. She said to him, “What does mommy do when she is up there?” Now she didn’t know what to expect, but wanted to know what he thought. The boy stopped, pointed his finger out to the empty pews and said, “God loves you. Pay attention.”

Our Gospel lesson today is saying just that. No matter how broken, how lost, how low we feel – God loves you. No matter how joyful, how happy, how on the right track we are feeling – God loves you. It is not an easy thing for most of us to understand. I’m not sure that I fully understand it to tell you the truth. But I do know that I came closer to understanding it when I became a mom. No matter what Malcolm does, no matter how wonderful or rotten he is being in a given day, I love him. I love him so deeply that I cannot fully express my love.

In the same way, God loves me, God loves you in that same way – no strings attached. God loves us so deeply, so fully, that we can and are expected to come to God as we are and ask for that love, come to God in relationship, connection and in communion – knowing that we are fully loved just as we are. Then, in that love, in that relationship, we can become who God has called us to be. God loves you. Pay attention.

St. Francis

St. Francis Sunday
Oct. 7, 2007

I want to share with you the story of Francis as told by Robert Ellsberg in his book All Saints Daily Reflections on Saints Prophets, and Witnesses for our Time.

“St. Francis was born in the city of Assisi in 1182. He was one of the privileged young men who was attracted to adventure, frivolity and romance. He was about 20 years old when he donned knights armor and went off to war. Hew was captured, imprisoned for about a year and then ransomed. When he returned, he became seriously ill and his recovery was slow. These experiences provoked a spiritual crisis which was ultimately resolved in a series of dramatic episodes.

“Francis had always been a fastidious person with an abhorrence for paupers and the sick. As he was riding in the countryside one day he saw a loathsome leper. Dismounting, he shared his cloak with the leper and then, moved by some divine impulse, kissed the poor man’s ravaged face. From that encounter Francis’s life began to take shape around an utterly new agenda, contrary to the values of his family and the world.

“While praying before a crucifix in the dilapidated chapel of San Damiano, Francis heard a voice speak to him: “Francis, repair my church, which has fallen into disrepair, as you can see.” At first inclined to take this assignment literally, he set about physically restoring the ruined building. Only later did he understand his mission in a wider, more spiritual sense. His vocation was to recall the church to the radical simplicity of the gospel, to the spirit of poverty, and to the image of Christ in his poor.

“Francis gave away all that he had, including the clothes off of his back. The bishop hastily covered him with a peasant’s frock, which Francis marked with a cross. And so his transformation was complete.

“The spectacle which Francis presented – the rich boy who now camped out in the open air, serving the sick, working with his hands, and bearing witness to the gospel – attracted ridicule from the respectable citizens of Assisi. But gradually it held a subversive appeal. Before long a dozen other young men had joined him. They became the nucleus of his new order, the Friars Minor. The beautiful Claire of Assisi was soon to follow, slipping through the city walls in the middle of the night to join the waiting brothers.

“Francis left relatively few writings, but his life – literally the embodiment of his message – gave rise to numerous legends and parables. Many of them reflect the joy and freedom that became hallmarks of his spirituality, along with this constant tendency to turn the values of the world on their head.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus also was turning the world on its head. “Come unto me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

This might be one of the verses that Francis looked to often as it talks about turning things around and turning the upside down. The yoke of life is hard and our burdens are heavy, so what does this mean? Jesus wants us to turn our lives so that we can identify with the love of God which he experiences each day and once we can do that, our lives will look very different.

Francis did just that and his life radically changed. In today’s world, Saint Francis is one of the most “popular” of the saints. He may be seen in gardens around the world. His is enshrined on bird baths and bird feeders. “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,” are words that we remember him by. He is the patron saint of animals, of animal lovers, of peace-makers and ecologists. He is remembered for his mercy to the poor and marginalized.

He marched to the beat of a different drummer. The rhythm of his walk continues to attract and fascinate people. He lived a radical life that makes some people nervous, and they would prefer to look at Francis from a perch in the corner of a garden, as a companion to our flowers and the world we love outside.

For me, Francis’ life story is an amazing challenge. He preaches the gospel not in words but in his actions and in his story. I think that is why people both love and fear him. Some want to pass him off as crazy – and let’s face it, he was a bit “out there”, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t pay attention to him. We could call Jesus and all of his outrageous actions crazy as well.

When we really look at Francis’ life, he does not just speak the truth of the Gospel, but he lives it. In Francis’ life, we see the gospel made flesh – another incarnation story. Now, for us a call to serve like Francis does not have to mean a call to poverty or a call to leave behind our families. It is a call to live our lives differently, to turn things on their head – to live life as Micah charges us today, when he says “… and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8b

To do justice – the definition of justice as it is used here is the fairness or reasonableness, especially in the way people are treated or decisions are being made. So, in today’s world how can we do justice - how can we contribute to the just treatment of people, the environment and the gifts that God has given us?

To love kindness – how can we practice being sympathetic or compassionate? How do we help those around us, how do we bring the Gospel into every interaction with people, either people we know or don’t know? How can we do the random acts of kindness that will change the world? Where do we start?

To walk humbly with God – how do we modestly, respectfully, lovingly walk with God each step of the way? How do we bring others on that journey with us?

Marcel Proust wrote “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands, but seeing with new eyes.” These are not new things that we are talking about today. Justice, kindness, humbleness on our walk with God are things that most if not all of us have thought of before. Today, Francis calls us to look at them in a whole new way. Since Francis is our patron saint here at the house, I’m hoping that we can take some time today, during dinner to look at ways that we can live out our call to justice, kindness and humbleness on our walk with God in innovative and creative ways. My hope is that we can all find ways to be instruments of peace in the world.

Where we place our Energy, Passion and Heart

Sept. 30, 2007
Proper 21, Yr C, rcl

At some point in all of our lives, we will have to face up to the truth about ourselves. We will have to be honest with ourselves about who we are and who we aren’t. We will have to look at our shortcomings and at our accomplishments. At some point, or more likely at many points along our long journey of life, we will have to look at ourselves, see who we are and see who we want to become.

In today’s parable, Jesus is giving us such a moment – a moment of honesty. In the ancient world, a favorite way of getting people to look at who they were and who they weren’t was to reflect with them what it would be like when they died. Would they go to hell? Would they go to heaven? How would their accomplishments and failures be judged?

Jesus is telling this parable to the Pharisees who loved their money. They believed that money or wealth was a sign of God’s favor toward you, it was a sign of God’s blessing and that if you were poor and without money, it was a sign of God’s displeasure with you. What Jesus is doing today in the Gospel is flipping that on its head and letting people know that money is not the ticket into heaven, and being poor is not the ticket into heaven either. This parable is really about values. Yes, you can be wealthy and enjoy God’s love, blessings and gifts – we can see that in the stories of Abraham and Sarah, David and Solomon. This is not a parable about money, but about who you love and where your energy, where your heart lies. It is about what role money plays in our lives. If you are constantly thinking about money – whether you are rich or poor, money is running your life, money is where your heart and your energy lie. The rich man in the parable is not an overtly evil man, but he is so preoccupied with money that he does not have the energy or the desire to care for others as he has cared for himself. It is only after the fact that he sees that he has been the servant of money and not the servant of God.

This parable is not about going to hell and what happens when you get there, but it is more about our lives, how we live them and where we place our energy, passion and heart. I was recently watching a show about what people who have won millions in the lottery do with their money. There were some who, of course, bought the extravagant houses, cars, and simply spent the rest of their life on vacation. Then there were those who chose a different route. One family put away enough money for what they would need in the future and then with the rest – which was about 4-5 million dollars – established a foundation and support network for kids who have cancer. It supports families during their crisis and helps with their financial needs along the way. Another young man who won, bought a modest house and then decided to go back to school to study and make himself a better person for the world. He used some of his money to help the people around him improve their lives, sharing his wealth. Today’s Gospel gives us a parable about sharing in God’s concern for the poor and reminding us that we need to see Lazarus in our midst.

It is not only about material wealth, but about all kinds of wealth – material, emotional, spiritual, intellectual. What do we do with what we have? Do we hoard it like the rich man? When we keep our material, emotional, spiritual and intellectual wealth to ourselves, it won’t do us or anyone else any good. However, if we share, give away, and spread our wealth, we are able to further the kingdom of God.

I am hoping this Fall that we, as a community, can truly focus on spreading God’s love, on sharing the material, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual wealth that we have. My hope is that we, as a community of committed individuals, can make our contribution to making the Millennium Development Goals a reality. The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions. They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest. We are being called to make our contribution. How can we do that? I want to explore that as a community and figure out ways that we can work together to make these goals our goals.

On your way in, you got a pamphlet about the Millenium Development Goals. I’d like for you to keep that and bring it to dinner where we can talk more about ways that we can spread our wealth – whatever kind of wealth that is and make a difference in our world.

One way that we can begin to make a dent in our contribution to the world is to sign up for the CROP Walk that is only two weeks away. Giving a brief part of your day can change the life of those who are hungry and those who do not have enough food. We, as a community, raised almost $1000 last year and this year, I would like to try to double that. It’s easy. Go online, register, and then send emails to all of the people you know asking them to sponsor you for the walk. This not only raises money, but raises the awareness of those around us to the issues of world hunger and that there are very real, very immediate things that we can do to help. There is more info on the walk that you will get when you leave, so, please, do your part, come walk with us and raise money to help fight hunger.

What else can we do? That is up to us.

For the next few minutes, I’m going to ask you to take the piece of paper that was in your pew. Write down ways that you, that we, that your communities can share our material, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual wealth. When you are done, please come forward and place it in the basket and we will offer it up to God as our way of committing ourselves to not be like the rich man who hoarded what he has, but to be a person who shares our wealth, a person who has concern for all of God’s children and a person who realizes that it is up to us to change the world around us and raise people’s awareness of these issues. In the Gospel, the man asks if he can go back to warn his brothers – our calling, as the people of God, is to be a prophet and to spread the word now, to get involved now, and to get out there and share. It is a basic concept that our parents began teaching us at an early age and there is no reason to forget that or to discard it simply because we are older.
How can we share what God has given us?

Ted plays music as the students write.
Bless the offerings at the beginning of communion.

Transformation

Proper 18, Yr C, rcl
Sept. 9, 2007

As much as I love summer break and getting to do different things that what I normally do during the year, I am truly glad to have you back and to be back. Probably like many of you, summer consisted of travel for work and for play and for seeing family (which is a mixture of work and play). At the beginning of the summer, I got to attend the National Chaplain’s Conference out in Seattle, Washington. I signed up and went because I wanted to meet other chaplains and get to know some of the people who were doing the same thing that I am and see what they are doing in their ministries. However, I got a whole lot more out of the conference than just meeting people. Sitting in a room with hundreds of other people who all do work similar to mine, I realized that I was not the only one in the room that both loved what I do and at times struggled with what I do. I remembered that I am not a minister, that I do not follow Jesus and that I do not feel called to work with youth and young adults because it is easy. I do this work, I live this life because it is what I am called to do. I’m not talking about being a priest, because that’s only a part of it, I’m talking about being a Christian. I’m talking about following God’s will and trying to remain faithful each and every day no matter where I am or what I’m doing.

In our Psalm today, we hear the words, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.” It continues on, describing how the Lord knows us, even if we try to hide, the Lord is there. At times in my life, I have read this and felt rather suffocated or tied down knowing that there is not any moment in my life when I am not alone. God knows me, knows my thoughts, knows me so completely that I cannot hide. Then, I remember that yes, God knows everything about me AND God still loves me, God still seeks me out, God still wants me around, imperfections and all. No matter how screwed up we can get in our lives, God still wants us to be faithful followers and disciples.

We hear Jesus go on a rant today in the Gospel, which at first seems so counterintuitive to all the other things that we hear Jesus say – Love your neighbor, Love yourself, be kind, etc. But Jesus, at this point in his ministry is surrounded by people who are following him and are not thinking about what it means to truly follow him and what it means to live the new kind of life that he is asking them to live. Jesus is getting down to business and telling those around him, that unless they are ready to detach themselves completely from anything and everything that holds them back, either physically or emotionally, then they cannot be his disciple. Jesus tells them that they must give up their family, that they must hate their family, in order to be his disciple. Rather harsh words, and Jesus knew what he was saying. In that society, family was your identity. Family defined who you were or weren’t, it defined who you could marry, it defined how rich or poor you were. Family had great power in that society. Jesus is trying to let them know that in no uncertain terms, they have to give up some of the things in our life that get in the way of truly following God.

This is not just a test to see if you’ll do it – it’s not a hazing ritual to see how far you’ll go – this is about transformation. To transform is to undergo an extreme change, to shift into a new way of being. Transformation, the true kind of change that Jesus is calling for in today’s Gospel is a process of opening yourself to the new and putting the old away. It is about giving up so that you can receive. It is about leaving things behind, both good and bad things that get in the way, in order to find your direction, in order to journey without being held back.

When you come to college, when you leave your family at home and travel off to go to college, you are going through a transformation, whether you know it or not. The moment that you leave your home and go to your first class, attend your first activity, drink your first cup of coffee in your own room or apartment, your transformation begins. You have left family behind, you have left friends behind, and you have left countless numbers of other things behind as well. You left those things behind so that you can do something new, so that you can find a new direction in your life, so that you can pursue dreams and find your own journey.

At first this transformation can be exciting and exhilarating - the newness, the freedom, the differentness of it all. Then, the road can get a bit bumpy because you don’t have your family to fall back on, or because your old friends aren’t there to go talk to if you need them. Transformation is not easy, there will be bumps along the way, there will be joys along the way. But the outcome – what you get on the other side of the hard times and see the rewards along the way, it all makes your transformation worth while.

The good news also is that we don’t need to do our transformation alone. We don’t need to feel like we are the only ones in the world having these ups and downs, that we are the only ones who have ever wished that we could go back, or go forward in order to get through it and done. In times of transformation, like the ones that you are experiencing and like the ones that the disciples experienced when they left everything behind, you will find new teachers and mentors, new friends and new communities, you will find others who will walk with you and be with you no matter what. The disciples had each other. The first followers of Jesus had each other. My hope is that here at St. Francis House, that we can be a community for each other to grow, transform, journey, and experience our ups and downs together. My hope is that we can be a community in which we know that we are loved, held in prayer, joined together by God’s love and walk together as we undergo these important transformations ahead of us.

As you begin and continue your studies, you are on a path of learning and discovery that will lead you to find yourself and your path in life. You may be good at math, writing, sharing, teaching. Whatever it is that you find that you are good at and enjoy doing – that is your calling. A calling is when your God given skills and joys meet the needs of the world around you. Each of you are called to do something, teach, design, create, write – whatever it might be, you have a calling – something that is yours that you are to give the world. This summer, as I sat in that room with the hundreds of other chaplains, I realized once again that I do what I do because it is what God calls me to each day. God calls each of us to be faithful, God calls each of us to journey through our transformations, and God calls each of us to serve one another and in turn to serve God no matter where we are or what we are doing.

In a few moments, we will pray and ask God’s blessing on our studies, on our time together and on our service to the world around us. My hope is that you will take this prayer, this blessing with you and know that you are loved by God, that you have a community to journey with on your transformation and that God is here to guide you as you discover and live into your calling each and every day.

Go Forth in Peace and Love

6 Easter, Yr. C, rcl
May 13, 2007
Last service of Semester

I can’t believe a school year has come and gone. It seems like it was just Christmas Break, or maybe that’s because it snowed over Spring Break…at any rate, we have been together now for 8 months. Classes have come and gone. Tests have come and gone and some are still to be taken. What sticks in my mind our the times that we have spent together, the times when I have felt God in our presence – the welcoming and nerves at the beginning of the year, the retreat at Camp Webb, the CROP Walk, the singing and fun of the Christmas party, the diet soda and mentos explosion at the Christmas party, the quiet study times around the house, the snow, the sun, the Easter celebration and dinner, the wonderful dinners and lunches that we had together, the discussion, education and formation that we had together, and our singing together. I could go on and on.

It has been a formative year for all of us in one way or another. We are different now than we were at the beginning of the school year and our growth individually and as a community is significant. It is that time of year in which we start saying goodbyes, that time of transition, that time in which we all will go through yet another change. Some of us are graduating, some of us will be traveling in the fall and spring next year, some of us will be here over the summer, but doing different things than we are now, and all of us will work and play wherever we are this summer. Things will be different when we gather again which may bring both joy and sadness to your hearts.

As Jesus is talking with the disciples today, he is giving one of his farewell discourses, one of his talks in which he tells them that he is leaving, but that he will always be with them. Jesus knows that his last words are important, that last words lead those who are left behind. We see it all through the Hebrew Scriptures and we see it over and over again in our lives. The last thing that you say to someone sticks with them. A first impression sticks, but a last impression stays with us even longer. I still remember the last words my grandmother spoke to me before her death. I remember the last time I spoke with my dear friends and what we said to each other. Last words are important because they are what we cling to and remember when we think back on our lives.

Jesus’ last words are as true for us as they were for the disciples. Jesus said to them, "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” Jesus is telling them to love him by keeping his word and by living his teachings. How will we do this? How are we able to love as Christ taught us? Who will help us with such an overwhelming task? We are to do it with the help of the Holy Spirit, our advocate, who is our guide and who teaches us and reminds us of God’s will in our lives. The Holy Spirit is God’s presence in the world now, and the Holy Spirit dwells within each and every one of us so that we might know God’s word, live Jesus’ teachings and know who God is each moment of our lives.

In these times of transition – the one that the disciples were going through and the one we are going through – it is important to remember that God is with us. Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” There is no doubt that looking into your future may cause you some panic, some fear, some uncertainty. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t feel that, nor is Jesus. Jesus is telling his disciples that they should not let those things rule their hearts – that they should not operate out of fear or out of what is troubling them, but to rather move through their lives in love, in peace.

He says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.” Peace is a state of harmony, the absence of hostility. Jesus is leaving them with a word of peace, bidding them harmony, telling them to seek that harmony in the world. On this same note, Mahtma Ghandi teaches us that peace requires not only the absence of violence but also the presence of justice. Martin Luther King Jr. teaches that true peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice. Our place, as people of God is to bring this peace with us wherever we go, to bring justice, to work for peace and harmony and a place where all can feel and know the love of God.

Peace and love are something that go hand in hand with one another. Love guides us to peace and justice for all. Our baptismal covenant directs us to work for love, peace and justice for every human being. We can’t have peace without love and we can’t have true love with out peace. So Jesus also could have said, Love I leave with you, my love I give you.

Finding peace and love in our lives also means finding God’s presence in our lives. When we find God, we find our true selves and then we are able to go into the world, doing our part to help others find the same peace and love that God gives freely to all. We find peace and love best when we are in community, when we can be together with other people and find God in each other and through each other.

I just met with some alumni this weekend for lunch and they were telling me that no matter where they go and what they do, St. Francis House will always be a part of their lives. It was a place of formation and growth, a place in which they bonded with friends and found God in their lives. My hope is that is what St. Francis House has been and will be for you. A place to come to be with others, to seek God’s presence, to discover where the Holy Spirit is moving in your life, to find where Jesus is speaking to you, and to do all of that in the context of a caring, loving, engaging and meaningful community. It is a place to find love, a place to find peace, a place to find God in and through each other.

The last hymn that we will sing today says it beautifully.

“Together met, together bound, we’ll go our different ways, and as God’s people in the world we’ll live and speak his praise.”

I send us off with this blessing.

Go forth now,

in the Faith which overcomes the world,

in the hope which will not disappoint you,

in the Love which never fails.

You are ambassadors of Christ,

and He is with you always.

Grace, mercy and peace,

from Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

bless, preserve and protect you all this day

and for ever.

Written by Ian Cowie

What does love mean?

“What does love mean?” This question was posed to a group of children between the ages of 4 and 8. Here are some of their answers:

Rebecca, 8: “When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis, too. That’s love.”

Chrissy, 6: “Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.”

Nikka, 6: “If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.”

Tommy, 6: “Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.”

Elaine, 5: “Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.”

Lauren, 4: “I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.”

—Original source unknown.

The Finding, the Surprise, the Joy and the Sharing

April 8, 2007

Easter, Yr C, rcl

It is so good to have you all back from Spring Break and it’s good to be here today. Easter is such a joyful time of the year. I’ve always loved Easter because it is in the spring time (although you can’t tell from the weather this last week) and it is the time of year that is brimming with new life. Last year, my son was only a little over one year old - too young to really enjoy Easter. He was more perplexed as to why we wanted him to wear white bunny ears on his head and go pick up eggs that were brightly colored and placed in the grass in our backyard. However, this year as he is now over two, he got it. He had two Easter egg hunts – one with friends and one with family. He and his buddies loved the hunt – finding the eggs, filling the baskets and then sharing them after the hunt was over. It brought back so many memories for me and I’m sure that it all brings back memories for you. However, something caught my attention this year. After the hunt was over, after all the eggs had been found and they were all sitting around with their baskets in front of them, they began to open the eggs. Each time my son opened an egg, he would breathe in a short gasp [GASP] in excitement after seeing what was inside. For he and his friends, the fun was not over with finding the Easter eggs, the fun and the surprise and the joy continued each time they opened an egg to find what was inside. This caught my attention, because at the heart of it, this is the Easter story. The finding, the surprise, the joy and the sharing of what was found.

We hear from the Gospel of Luke this morning that Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and other women went to the tomb with the spices they had prepared. I can only assume that they were grief stricken having seen Jesus die and having loved him as much as they did. Out of that love, they go to his tomb after the Sabbath to show him one last act of love – to take care of his body and properly finish his burial. They were going about their business, going about their lives, following the same cultural commands as they had their whole lives when they find that the tomb is empty. As they are standing together, perplexed, two men in dazzling clothes appear to ask them, “Why do look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember what he told you.” Remember what he told you. As soon as these men say this, the women do remember what Jesus told them, they remember him and his amazing work and they realize in that moment, standing in the empty tomb that his words had become true – that he was handed over to sinners, crucified and now, on this third day, he has risen from the dead. Jesus is not in the tomb but has risen from the dead. Without missing a beat, these followers of Jesus, run to tell others of their discovery. They cannot keep this news to themselves.

However, as they tell the apostles, they do not believe them – thinking that they are telling a tale. Some commentaries wanted to brush this off as the apostles not believing because it was a group of women that told them, but that’s not it. The problem isn’t that they are women, but that they aren’t remembering what Jesus said and they are living as they did before his death. Peter, is the only one to even act on this news as he runs to the tomb, stoops down to look in and saw that it was empty. He is amazed at what he finds, and goes home.

The apostles only come to understand the significance of what is happening well after the actual event. We will see this piece of the story unfold over the next few Sundays. It takes them a while to come to believe that he has risen, that he is alive, that he is among them once again. But today, the women believe as soon as they remember what Jesus said to them while he was still alive.

Remembering is in important part of the biblical tradition. All through the Bible we hear about people remembering words and events from the past that now inform how they live their lives with God. The empty tomb means nothing unless the women remember what Jesus said to them before his death. The empty tomb means nothing to the apostles until they too can stop and remember what Jesus said to them before his death. The empty tomb is just an empty tomb unless you bring it together with Christ’s life.

It is so easy for us NOT to believe, to be skeptical, to keep doing what we are doing rather than believe something new, something out of the ordinary, something that will change our lives. If we aren’t skeptical, if we don’t question the things around us then we come to be known as gullible, naïve, or childish. In our society, it is best to know what you are doing, and if you don’t know what you are doing, you better act like it. However, Jesus is asking us to be gullible and childish. Jesus wants for us to have that childlike faith that will allow us to discover for ourselves that the tomb is empty and then run to share it with others. Jesus wants us to run and to see the truth rather than dismiss it before we even explore the possibility of what is happening. It takes more courage to be like the women who believed and whose faith brought them to share their discovery with others. It takes courage to have faith than to be a skeptic. It takes more courage for us to explore and find rather than sit and not believe in the risen Christ. The women acted out of faith and belief, Peter acted out of curiosity and amazement – they acted.

A friend of mine reminded me of a saying this week, “You have to act your way to right thinking rather than think your way to right actions.”

It is so easy for me, for us, to believe that if we think or read or study the right things that we will finally find what we have been looking for – that we will discover that thing that is missing. We are reminded today that it is the act of remembering where God has been and what God has done that informs our faith, that informs our lives and that changes who we are. “The empty tomb can be understood and interpreted only in light of what the message of Jesus had been throughout his life. The death and resurrection of Jesus are not isolated events. They are a part of the ongoing activity of God in history. Each new event in this story must be understood in the context of the earlier events and words.” (Jirair Tashjian, Christian Resource Institute, 2007)

God is doing a new thing today, and God will do a new thing tomorrow. It is how we respond to these things that will change or not change the world. If we act as if each event is an event unto itself, the movement of God in this world will not make much sense. However, if we remember where God has been and what God as taught us, these new things will inform our lives and allow us to have that childlike faith, to have the faith of the women, to have the courage to act on that faith and run to others to tell them to good news. The resurrection is not easily understood, not easily known as we are used to knowing if something is real or not. The resurrection is a mystery and it is a part of our story as people of God.

So, as we come together today to celebrate Easter, to celebrate new life, to celebrate that God cheated death and rose from the grave, I hope that we can remember that mystery and let it live and move and have it’s being within our souls that it might inform our faith and lead us to act in the world in the way that God is calling us to do.

I want to close with some words from Martin Smith who said, “Let us not be tempted to react to the immensity of it all, to shrink the resurrection to the proportions of our understanding – that would be a worldly and banal Easter. Rather let us ask the Spirit to help us believe that something happened on that resurrection day that was powerful enough to heal every wound, to break down every barrier, unlock every prison, forgive every transgression, unite everything at odds, love enough to flood the heart, to raise everyone and everything dead and lost.” My friends, let the resurrection grasp us, and cause us to run into the world sharing the news of the resurrection and of God’s love for us. May our childlike faith take us into the world to seek and find, to delight in the surprise and joy, and to share what we have found.

[GASP]

Jesus Christ is Risen Today. Alleluia. Amen.

Anointing and Sending Forth

5 Lent, Year C, rcl

March 25, 2007

I was working out in my yard yesterday, cleaning out the beds, ripping out a bush and doing some basic spring cleaning in my yard. It was a great day – spent outside with my husband and son – enjoying the weather, enjoying finally being outdoors for a while. I always love this time of year when the greens are starting to break through the dirt, the buds are coming out on the trees, and the promise of summer is near. You see, I just moved here from Southern California where you don’t really have seasons – well, maybe a rainy season and sunny season and - - - and maybe a smog season. Having come from that, I really missed having a spring – that time of year when you are preparing your yard for growth and color and life.

In our Gospel today, we see Jesus and those around him (whether they know it or not) preparing themselves for something new, for a new stage, for what is ahead of them. Jesus has come to Lazarus’ house for what I can assume is a celebration and a thank you. As we are reminded at the beginning of the Gospel, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Mary and Martha are his dedicated followers – and these three friends have thrown this celebration or party to thank him and to show him their gratitude.

Each person here is playing their part as usual. The disciples are tagging along and asking questions. Judas was testing Jesus. Lazarus, a man who is greatly indebted to Jesus, is sharing a meal and conversation with him and they are spending what we would call “quality time together.” Martha, as usual, is busy in the kitchen, rushing about the house, doing her job to make sure that she is hospitable to anyone who enters, but especially to Jesus. And finally Mary, is doing what she normally does when Jesus is around – she is at his feet, soaking up his every word and trying to show her love and gratitude for him. In this moment, she breaks an extremely expensive jar of perfume over his feet, anointing them and rubbing the perfume with her hair. Now, washing feet was a normal thing to do in this culture and even anointing someone’s feet after a long journey was fairly common – but what makes this so shocking is that she does not use the regular oil, but oil that is so expensive that it costs as much as one year’s worth of wages. She is showing not just an act of hospitality, but an act of love. She also loosens her hair to wipe his feet – a shocking thing in that culture as the hair was always tied back to show a person’s dignity. Women took great pride in their hair and to loosen it, to use it for anything would have been considered extremely degrading. Mary is showing her willingness to serve him and her deep love for him.

Actually, each person here is showing Jesus their love in their own way. They are preparing him for his journey by feeding him, by sharing time with him and by anointing him for his difficult journey ahead. Each person surrounding Jesus is doing something to honor him.

When I was in Jr. High, my grammy was dying of cancer. No one really wanted to talk about it, and at the same time, we all knew that it was inevitable. She was really sick, and the writing was on the wall. So each time that we were with her, we made sure that we showed her how much we loved her. Close to the end of her life, she moved into our house rather than spending her last few months in the hospital. Each day, my sisters and I would go in and tell her about our day and what we were doing. She couldn’t say much, but she would squeeze our hand, or pat our cheek or say a simple, “That’s my girl.” Each time we were with her, we were saying goodbye before the final goodbye. We knew our time was special, we knew it was coming to a close.

Those that were around Jesus, and paying any attention at all to what he had been saying and doing, must have known that the end was near. As he sat in Lazarus, Martha and Mary’s house with the disciples, they were beginning to prepare for the end. They did not know when it would come, but they knew it was near. They knew that they should honor him while they had the chance.

A few days before my Grammy died, our priest came and anointed her with oil and said some prayers for her as she ended one journey and began another one. I remember the smell of the oil he used – I remember because it was still hanging in the room the next morning when I went to say goodbye before school.

The smell of this oil always brought me great comfort. Oils are a healing agent. When you apply oil to your skin it slowly sinks in, nourishing you and healing you. You can use essential oils to heal tight muscles, to calm down at the end of a hectic day, to relax, to become energized, to treat stress and depression, to help treat a cold and other illnesses and the list goes on and on. For thousands of years, oils have been used in this way and have been used in anointing as we hear about in the Bible. When you apply oil to your body and it begins to sink in, it can change a person’s whole outlook and can change the way a person functions.

Anytime that I use holy oil as a priest for baptisms or for healing or when I am at a confirmation or ordination and smell the oil that the bishop uses hanging in the air, I think of the time I spent with my Grammy and realize that each time in our lives when we are anointed, we are being sent forth again to serve God. Each time that we are anointed, we are being sent forth to serve in a new way. Anointing Jesus was Mary’s way to honor him, to send him off on the next part of his journey with a sensory reminder that he is loved and that he is not alone. Mary is responding out of her love and acceptance of him – she does not care what it costs.

So, during this last week of Lent, before we head into Holy Week, I wonder what each of us can do to show our love, our acceptance, our dedication to Jesus. How can we honor what Jesus did for us by the way we live our lives? How can we be like any of the people surrounding Jesus in the story.

Mary – anointing and loving him through her actions. Martha – being hospitable and taking care of him. Lazarus – dining with him, being his friend and sharing time together.

I encourage each of us to take time out of our busy weeks to do the things as they three have done. Love Jesus through our actions as Mary did, be hospitable and care for the people around us as Martha did, share time with people and intentionally be together as Lazarus did. All of these people were serving Jesus in their own way. We too, have to serve Jesus in our own way.

I want to share with you the words that my mentor, Bishop Thornton, said to me and to many others that he anointed over his years as a bishop. When we was doing a baptism, a confirmation, an ordination or any anointing he would say these words in order to send people forward on their new journey with God.

I bless your eyes that you may see God’s image in everyone

I bless your ears that you may hear the cry of those who call out.

I bless your lips that you may speak the Word of God.

I bless your hands that everything you give and everything you receive may be a sacrament.

I bless your feet that you may run to those who need you.

How are you being called to serve, honor, care for and love Jesus today, tomorrow and the next day?

The Letter of Love

Lent 4 Year C, rcl
Luke 15:11-32

This story of the Prodigal Son or the Lost son is one of the most well known parables that Jesus told. The premise of the story has been told in story form, plays, musicals, movies and more. It is well known, because at some level I think that most of us can find ourselves in one of the people in the story, if not a couple of them.

First, we have the youngest son, who is working on this father’s farm and decides to ask his father for what will become his when his father dies. A definite insult in that culture, but I don’t care what culture you are in, that is a bold move – asking your parent for what will be yours when they die. It’s saying – Mom, Dad, I don’t care that you are still here, I want what is mine now. He takes all that his father gives him, hoping to spend it on the good life. Instead, he squanders his money away and becomes poor and destitute. As he is the gutter, working with pigs (which would be a terrible thing for a Jewish man to do) and as he is in the dumps, he realizes that even his father’s workers are treated better than he is being treated. So, he decides to go home and beg forgiveness for what he has done and ask for a lowly job on his father’s farm. He is foolish, and learns the hard way what family means, what is important to him, what he gave up to “go live the good life.”

Secondly, we have the older son, who has also been working on his father’s farm for years. He quietly works and works and works, hoping that his father will notice and reward him for his hard work. He never asks for anything and gets extremely jealous when his brother returns and is welcomed with open arms and celebration. He is angry that his father has never thrown such a party for him or even thanked him by giving him a gift. He is stubborn and resentful and does not ask for the simplest thing that he wishes for. He instead stews about it and gets himself all worked up, rather than asking his father for what he desires. He does not see that the farm is his, that he already has his inheritance since his brother took his and ran. He cannot see what he has – only what he doesn’t have.

Thirdly, we have the father. He loves both sons equally and he gives them what they ask. When he thinks that he has lost his youngest son to the temptations of the world around them, he is grieved. However, when he sees this son returning, he is overjoyed – and doesn’t care why he is returning. His is just happy to see him on his way home – no matter what the conditions of his return are. He loves his oldest son, probably is thankful for his steady work and for his being near him as he ages. He is probably thankful that he has someone to hand the family farm to – someone to carry on what he has started.

Finally, as a side note, we have the fatted calf. Someone once pointed out to me that when he reflected on this story, and tried to find his own place in the story, he often found himself feeling like the fatted calf – you know – going on about his business, not bothering anyone, and boom – he is blind sighted by someone barreling him down.

So where do you fit into the story? Where do you find yourself? Maybe a mixture from a, b, c, and d? Maybe you find your somewhere in the middle? Maybe you are the youngest one moment and then turn and become the eldest in the next. I think that this is such an approachable story for many of us, because we can find ourselves in one, two, three or four of these characters.

No matter where you find yourself, the parable is truly about the love of the father – and thus a parable about God’s love for us. In the Gospel of Luke, we hear about God’s relationship with us over and over again. People are constantly coming at Jesus wanting to know the letter of the law and the writer of Luke is constantly turning us to look at the letter of the love, the unconditional love that God has for us. A bit before this parable, in chapter 11 of Luke, we hear, “Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened.” God is constantly trying to get that across to us, and this parable is yet another way for Jesus to speak of God’s love for us.

So what is unconditional love? It is a love that is pure, a love that will ask questions, not to find answers - but to get the person thinking about what they are doing. It is a love that holds you through all of the pain, through the joy, through the tears, through the laughter. It is a love that teaches, it is a love that comes and gets you whether you are ready or not. It is a love that is planted in you from day one. Unconditional love is a grace-filled love which we all deserve. The whole aim of God's unconditional love has always been to bring reconciliation to the world.

Fredrich Buechner writes, "Love is to lose yourself in another's arms, or in another's company, or in suffering for all who suffer - including the ones who inflict suffering upon you. To lose yourself in such ways is to find yourself." This is what it is all about. This is what love is. Love is loosing yourself in order to find yourself. In the parable, both of the sons have lost themselves in very different ways. The youngest lost himself to the world, and returned to the father asking forgiveness. The oldest lost himself to his work and still has to learn to find himself again – and I have no doubt that he will get there. No matter how far away we get, no matter what we have done, no matter where we are on our journey we are welcomed back into God’s love again and again.

In the words of poet, Annie Johnson Flint

God has not promised
Skies always blue,
Flower - strewn pathways
All our lives through;
God has not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.

But God has promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the labor,
Light for the way,
Grace for trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love.

Amen.

Never Give Up

Lent 3, Yr. C, rcl

March 11, 2007

I recently read this story about Winston Churchill who was giving a commencement address. “After enduring a lengthy introduction, Churchill is reported to have risen from his seat, strode to the podium and stared fixedly at his audience of new graduates. "Never give up!" he pronounced solemnly. Churchill then turned, walked back to his chair and sat down. As the stunned students momentarily sat in silence, Churchill, with perfect timing, once again rose from his chair, returned to the podium and again announced, "Never give up!" Now, terrified they might respond improperly, the audience never uttered a squeak as their speaker once again returned to his seat. Sure enough, Churchill returned to the podium again, and again and yet again - five times - each time delivering his single-minded message, "Never give up!" At last, feeling he had exhausted his audience and driven home his point, Churchill himself did give up and returned to the podium no more. But you can be sure that every graduate in that audience never forgot that speech and never forgot that he or she was to "never give up!"” [1]

In our Gospel reading from Luke, we hear this message loud and clear. There are other accounts of the parable of the fig tree, but Luke’s is the most hopeful, the most redemptive, the most promising. God has promised, from the beginning of creation, that God will never, ever, ever give upon us.

- Adam and Eve disobeyed the very First Rule. But God never gave up.
- Abraham wandered, and Sarah laughed. But God never gave up.
- Moses hid and shook with fear. But God never gave up.
- Saul went insane. But God never gave up.
- David plotted against Uriah. But God never gave up.
- Ahaz sold out to Assyria. But God never gave up.
- Israel fell into pieces. But God never gave up.
- The Jewish people became exiles. But God never gave up.
- John the Baptist was beheaded. But God never gave up.
- Peter denied he even knew him. But God never gave up.
- The disciples all ran away. But God never gave up. [2]

God does not give up on us. God does not punish us because we have done wrong. Those are the two messages that we are to take away with us today. Jesus tells those around him loud and clear that the Galileans who died by Pilate’s hand and those that died when the tower fell on them did not die because they were more sinful than the others. It was a common belief then and for some it is still a common belief that when bad things happen, it is God punishing us, that we have brought it on ourselves. From this notion comes the age old question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Bad things happen to everyone, good things happen to everyone. All of our lives are filled with good and bad and that is something that we have to live with. Jesus had good and bad in his life – it is part of what it means to be human.

Suffering is not a consequence of being sinful – there is not a direct, one-to-one correlation between sin and suffering. Don’t get me wrong, when we are doing things that are hurtful, things that draw us away from God, there may be natural consequences of our behavior, but God does not will bad on us, rather God is willing to give us one more chance.

There are many times in our lives when we experience something that serves as a wake up call to us. These wake up calls usually come when we are suffering in our own lives or in the lives of those we love. You don’t know how many times I heard this theology when I was serving as a hospital chaplain. People were blaming the sickness of themselves or others on their actions. One mother told me that her son had cancer because she had stopped going to church and stopped praying. She told me that this was God’s way of getting her back.

But Jesus tells us loud and clear today that is not how God works. God does not make bad things happen in order to get our attention – it just so happens that when bad things do happen, we finally start paying attention, we finally wake up to the fact that we have to change our lives, change how we are living, change what we are doing in order to be the person God is calling us to be.

Amendment of life – that is what Jesus is talking about. Not merely saying sorry and moving on, but truly and radically changing how you live your life so that you will not continue to make the mistake over and over again. A few of my dear friends who are in AA talk about amendment of life. You see, in Alcoholics Anonymous, they make the distinction between giving up what you are dependent on and changing your life. One can give up the dependency, be it alcohol, drugs, food, whatever it might be, and still not be a changed person. True recovery or healing comes when they stop their dependent behavior AND take inventory of their life by looking at their anger, their mistakes, and their dysfunctions, and then asking God to remove them all.

Amendment of life means digging up those things that are not healthy and replacing them with something new, something nurturing, something which will ground you and cause you to live your life with God.

For the Jewish people of the time, the fig tree is a well known symbol of the peaceful and good life. When this tree is not producing fruit, it has no use and is to be torn down. I don’t know if any of you have ever taken care of a tree that bears fruit, but when I was living in California, we had a lemon tree in our back yard. It took lots of pruning, watering, fertilizing, etc. just to maintain the tree. When we talked to our friend who was a landscape architect about adding an orange tree, he said, “Sure, but you probably won’t see fruit anytime soon.” Trees that bear fruit often take a while to produce anything because they have to be nurtured and cared for – they have to take root before they can produce anything worthwhile. The fig tree in the parable may have been taken care of like the other trees around it, but for whatever reason, was not producing fruit yet. The Gospel of Luke gives us hope in that in the parable, the man lets the tree remain for another year in order to pay special attention to it and hope that it will bear fruit. The gardener plans to dig around it and add fertilizer, to remove the dirt that isn’t giving life, and to tend to the tree so that it will produce fruit.

There is still time for the tree to bear fruit. There is still time for all of us to bear fruit. Each Lent, we are given the opportunity to loosen the ground around us that may not be feeding us and to replace it with good soil, good ground that is nourished in God’s unconditional love for us. God never gives up on us. This parable is an invitation for us to repent, to amend our lives and grow in God’s love for us. God has not given up on you. Don’t give up on God and the opportunity to see what kind of fruit you are to bear throughout your live.

So to quote Winston Churchill, “Never give up.” “Never give up.” “Never give up.” “Never give up.” “Never give up.”

---

[1] From Homiletics Online, 3/19/1995

[2] Ibid.