Zion Episcopal Church

Zion Episcopal Church
We promise to share the love of Christ with all of God's children, in our worship, words, and witness

WELCOME

Welcome to the PastorofZion blog. Our community is served, at present, by a rotating cycle of supply priests. We bade a sad farewell to Father Gregg Wood on February 19, 2012. Reverend Deborah Dresser begins her tenure with us on February 26, 2012. We are delighted to have her and we look forward to her presence through Lent and into a joyous and redemptive Easter.

This blog is a compilation of their Sabbath sermons. Whenever you are unable to attend Zion, if you are visiting, or when you would simply like to reflect on the sage words of these dedicated Rectors, who have made studying and living the Written Word their lives' journey, please stop by PastorofZion.


We hope you will find your time here a step away into that rest which is the magnificent peace and grace of that "still small voice" of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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1 Kings 19: 11-12 (The New Oxford Annotated Bible RSV )

11And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:

12And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

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December 11, 2011


Sermon for Advent 3, Year B
Reverend Gregg D. Wood.

     Several months ago a group of people came together in a park in lower Manhattan, near Wall Street.  They came with a multitude of concerns that they wanted to protest.  Some were upset about the great inequalities of income and wealth between what they called the 99% and the 1%.  Some came because they were jobless or homeless or the victims of foreclosures.  Some came because they had borrowed a lot of money for a college education and couldn’t get a job to repay their student debt.  Others came out of concern for the environment, or to protest foreign wars.  They pitched tents, they attracted donations of food and other necessities to keep them going, and even set up a system of self-government which involved daily mass meetings and lots of committees.  They came to be called the Occupy Wall Street movement.  Before long, similar encampments or demonstrations had sprung up in several American cities.

     The Occupy people came together in a public, symbolic place.  It was a park near Wall Street, which they thought of as the place that had caused many of the problems they were concerned about.  And they renamed the park “Liberty Park,” symbolizing their hope for change.  Some of them dressed in strange clothes, reminiscent of the hippies of the 1960’s. 

     In many ways the Occupy Wall Street movement was similar to the movement which we read about in today’s gospel, the movement started by John the Baptist.  Like the OWS people, the followers of John the Baptist gathered in a public place with a lot of symbolic value – on the east side of the Jordan River.  This was the place where the Israelite nation began, centuries before, when the Israelites crossed over the river into the promised land of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua.  It is as though John the Baptist was saying, “We have wandered from the path we were supposed to follow; we need to go back to the other side of the Jordan, and cross it again, and be baptized in that river, and start over again as a nation.” 

     Some people in the OWS movement wore strange clothes. They were criticized for being theatrical.  Likewise, John the Baptist himself wore strange clothes.  In fact he is, I think, the only figure in the New Testament whose clothing and diet are described.  He wore a coat of camel’s hair, and a leather belt, and ate locusts and wild honey.  Clearly his manner of life was considered peculiar.  Maybe he too was criticized for being theatrical.

     Another thing that the OWS movement was criticized for – in fact the most common criticism of them – was that they did not have a specific agenda or wish list of changes they wanted to see.  The news commentators would say, “How can we take these protesters seriously when they don’t have specific goals?  It’s not enough to say, ‘We are the 99%, and life is not fair.’  No political movement gets anywhere unless it has specific demands.”  So they said.

     But is that true?  Many important things in life begin with a vague apprehension, an uneasy sense that something is wrong, which only gradually leads to analysis of the causes, and specific action, and a plan of attack. 

     Think of how you come down with an illness -- for example, getting the flu.  It may start with a feeling of fatigue.  The things you normally do seem to take more effort and energy.  After a while you may get a scratchy feeling or a swelling in your throat.  More time passes and you feel warm, and also cold; you get the shivers.  Now you realize something is happening.  It may be a cold, or the flu, or something else.  You may see a doctor at this point, and he/she gives you a diagnosis, or maybe you diagnose yourself. Either way, you have now put a name on your condition.  And naming it leads to a treatment plan, a plan of action. 

     What started as a vague sense of dis-ease, only gradually leads to specifics:  to naming the problem and taking action to remedy the problem.

     The same is true of social problems.  Many years ago, a woman on a bus in Alabama refused to move to the back of the bus as she was supposed to. She did not know that what she did would lead to a nationwide protest movement and eventually to laws being written in Congress to protect people's civil rights. All she knew was that, on that day, on that bus, she was no longer going to be treated like a second-class citizen.

     The Occupy Wall Street movement is at a very early stage. The scratchy throat stage. The move to the back of the bus stage.  Mostly, they are people saying, “We don’t have the answers, but we’re hurting, and lots of people are hurting, and everyone should sit up and take notice.” 

     Like the OWS movement, John the Baptist’s movement looked for change.  But also, like them, John’s movement did not have a specific agenda for change.  John simply said, “Repent and be baptized.” He called for a change of heart, not for a specific set of political changes.

     And it’s interesting.  Like the people who criticize the OWS movement, the people of John’s time criticized him for not being specific enough.  “Who are you? Let us have an answer. What do you say about yourself?”  And John was very clear: I am not the Messiah. I am only the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord. Or, if you will, I am the scratchy throat. I am the woman who refuses to move to the back of the bus. I am the forerunner, I am the one who prepares the way.”

     So what is the message for in all this?

The message for us is that we should not ignore the signs that tell us something is amiss, even though the signs may be vague, even if we cannot tell exactly what the problem is, much less what to do about it.  Sometimes we need to live with ill-defined unease for a while.  If this is true of our physical health, if this is true of our social and political life, then surely it is also true of our spiritual lives. 

     If you are spiritually ill at ease, there may be the voice of one crying in the wilderness within you saying, repent, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  God may have plans for you, God may be telling you that you need to make changes in your life, but you may have to live with uneasiness and uncertainty and confusion for awhile before you are ready for him to set you on the straight path.  

December 4, 2011


Sermon for Advent 2, Year B
Reverend Gregg D. Wood

     “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

      What amazing words. The deepest sense of these words is that peace, harmony, and healing will break out all over the world!  Sounds impossible doesn't it?  This promise, from John the Baptist, brings to mind the words of Jesus to his disciples, "For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible."  [Matt. 19:26] 

--Try to imagine what it would be like:
--War is just a memory.
--Hunger and poverty a thing of the past.
--Every human being experiences love and a caring community.

Sounds like heaven doesn't it? 
     
     And... when you look at the state of human affairs these days, it sounds impossible... For mortals.  Nevertheless, this is a time of year for dreaming.  Many of our children are writing lists of all the things that would fulfill their dreams.  The child within us reaches out for the wonder and mystery of this "season of good cheer."  One friend described his feelings about the Christmas season this way, "It is as though we take leave of the real world for a time and wait for that wonderful something that will come to us all and bring peace and joy to the world -- but it never quite arrives and we wait for another year to dream again." 

     If somehow you were given the gift of writing a headline for the morning newspaper that would come true as you wrote it -- what would that headline be? Would it be the kinds of headlines that fill our newspapers today? Of course not. Deep within our hearts we want good news and not bad news. Life is filled with bad news. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see good news break out in our national newspapers. 

     A group of high school young people were asked to write headlines they would love to see and here are some of them:
"Peace declared all over earth!" 
"Hunger and poverty to be eliminated by year's end!"
"No reports of child abuse in the US for over a year!"
"Religious tolerance at an all time high!"
"Vaccine for all forms of cancer discovered!"
"Officials to investigate complete absence of violent crime!" 

"Wonderful dreams, but not very realistic," you say.  "Impossible!" 

     And you would be right with such thinking.  Human beings on their own will never bring such a thing about.  In the words of scripture, "For mortals it is impossible..."  And yet, there is a promise which is deep at the center of our faith that points to a spiritual truth that lies at the center of this season and calls us to be ready for God to intervene in the world, "but for God all things are possible." 

     In plain talk, here is the message John the Baptist proclaimed in the wilderness of Judea.  Though the message is an ancient one, it speaks quite directly to the spiritual wilderness of our contemporary world. 
"Make room for God!"
"Get rid of everything in your life that is a barrier to God!"
"Every person will see the promises of God come to pass!" 

There is a natural division of this message into two areas of concern.  There is first of all, the area of: "That which is possible for mortals..."  and  "That which is possible only for God." 

Let  us consider "That which is possible for mortals...":
When John the Baptist brought his message to the wilderness, he said there were two things we need to do in our relationship with God.  First of all, we need to make room for God.  "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."  It is easy to find our lives so cluttered and busy that there is no room for our relationship with God.  There are times when our religious activity is rather perfunctory. The hard thing is that the times we celebrate, the central events of the Christian faith, are precisely the times when the pace of our lives is most hectic.  Think about it.  Are you prepared for the holiday season?  Are your cards all written, your shopping done and your preparations for holiday company completed?  And in all of this -- have you made room for God in the center of your life for this Advent season?  Is God's way into the center of your heart a straight and easy path or is the way cluttered and winding? 

     The intent here is not to add one more thing that you have to do on top of everything else.  But how about if you addressed a question to every aspect of your celebration of Christmas this year: "How does God relate to this?"  We aim the question at our shopping and spending, our relationships and family life and our inner life.  Reflect on this:  "How can I make a straighter path and more room for God in my life?" 

     Secondly, we need to get rid of everything in our lives that is a barrier to God.  When John the Baptist spoke the words of the prophet Isaiah about the leveling of the mountains and the lifting up of the valleys, he was talking about justice and righteousness becoming the norm.  He was pointing to a world where "good news" was a reality.  He spoke of the kind of world it would be when God was truly in charge, a world Jesus said his ministry would be all about:  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." [Luke 4:18-19] 

     To celebrate the Advent of our Lord is to line our lives up with God's purposes and join the followers of Jesus Christ in bringing "good news" to the corner of the world we inhabit. 

     This can take many forms.  It might mean trying to bring some joy, laughter and caring into the life of someone who has every reason to feel oppressed and victimized.  But it might also mean asking, “Why is this person suffering so?”  It may be because of something we cannot change.  On the other hand it may be a result of injustice.  It may be the result of a social condition that could be corrected.  In that case we ought to try to correct the social injustice that caused the suffering in the first place. 

Now let turn our attention to "That which is possible only for God...": 

     When we have done all we can do to make room for God and to remove barriers to the presence of God, it is time to trust God for the outcome of all things.  We have control over our actions and even a modicum of influence on the world around us - beginning with our own small part of the world.  But -- we are not able to bring about the stunning completion of all things -- the final goal of God's divine purposes. 

     Advent and Christmas are all about a world that finally comes under the sovereign rule of God.  This is the good news that can not be rescinded or denied.  In the deepest sense, Advent and Christmas are the celebration of victory in a war against everything that is wrong.  Yet, the battles have yet to be completed and the time of fulfillment lies ahead.  The victory is secured in our faith and is being worked out in our lives.

Give yourselves once again to the wonderful victory of God's divine purposes in our world.  A new world which is described in some of the last words in our bible:

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them;  he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away."  [Revelation 21:1-4] 

The prophet Isaiah said it best: 
"See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
`Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,'"

November 27, 2011


Sermon for Advent 1, Year B
Reverend Gregg D. Wood

     This week I watched a program called Nova on Channel 13. The narrator was Brian Green, a professor of physics at Columbia University, and a well-known interpreter and popularizer of science.  The title of the program was "Universe or Multi-verse", and the thesis was that there could be many universes in addition to our own universe, and that in fact, some of these multiple universes could be duplicates or reproductions of our own universe. To emphasize the point, the picture on the TV screen showed two or three Brian Greens, all doing different things, suggesting that in some alternate universe there was another Brian Green, or maybe even several Brian Greens.
    
     I couldn't help thinking that, in the Christian religion, we ask people to believe some things that are difficult to believe, such as the resurrection of Jesus and the second coming. And yet here are serious people, highly educated scientists, committed to the scientific method which requires evidences and proosf, preferably supported by mathematics – and these people are suggesting the possibility of multiple universes.  It seems that whether you turn to science or to religion, we are asked to believe some pretty incredible things. Speaking for myself, I find the idea of multiple universes a good deal more fantastic than resurrection, but maybe that is just because I have not gotten used to the idea yet.
And so it is that today, on the first Sunday in the season of Advent, we hear about another incredible event, the second coming of our Lord. The collect reminds us that, while Jesus first came among us in great humility, in this second manifestation, he will come with great power and glory.  The Gospel says it will be a cosmic event, with the stars falling from heaven, and the powers of the heavens being shaken.  In fact, in the Nicene Creed we say, "He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end."

     Of course, the first question that comes to mind on hearing about the second coming is, when? When is this going to take place, so that I may be ready?

     It seems pretty clear that the earliest Christians believed that Jesus was coming again soon, probably in the lifetime of many then living. For example, in today's gospel passage we read, "Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place."
However immediately after that passage, we read this: "But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.”  This almost seems to contradict the previous passage.  It says no one knows whether it will be sooner or later.

     The gospel according to Mark is the earliest Gospel, written about 65 AD.  By that time there was probably divided opinion in the church, with some people holding to the idea of an imminent second coming, and others becoming more used to the idea that there would be a delay.  So both sayings of Jesus were included in the Gospel, one saying that it would happen soon, and the other one saying that no one knows.

     Throughout Christian history there have been some who held on to the idea that Jesus would come again soon.  Two denominations, the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Seventh Day Adventists, were founded on the belief that the Lord was coming again soon.  And very recently, in fact this year, a radio evangelist, Harold Camping, the head of Family Radio, predicted that Jesus would come again on a certain date.  The date he set was May 21.  When the date came and nothing happened, he set another date, October 21.  In the meantime he suffered a stroke and retired from Family Radio.  Needless to say, October 21 passed with no supernatural event such as he predicted.
In order to find out how the early Church resolved this question, we turn to the Book of Acts, which was written maybe 20 years later than Mark’s Gospel.  That book begins with an account of Jesus’ last words to his disciples and his ascension to heaven. 

     So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

     So what Jesus is saying here is, “it is not for you to know, but if there is a delay in my coming again, it is because you have a job to do.  You are to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.  And you will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to enable you to do this job.  So get busy.”

     That job is summarized in the Baptismal Covenant which we recite at every baptism.  We are to proclaim, by word and example, the good news of God in Christ; we are to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves; and we are to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.

     The most important thing we need to know about the second coming is that it hasn’t happened yet.  And there is a reason it hasn’t happened.  The reason it hasn’t happened is that God has given us, the Church, a job to do.  So let’s do it.

November 20, 2011


Sermon for Proper 29, Year A
 Reverend Gregg D. Wood

We have just heard what is often called the parable of the sheep and the goats.  Actually, it is a description of the last judgment. Jesus is sitting in judgment, and he directs all the people to be separated into two groups, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. To those at his right hand he says, “Come ye that are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  But to those on his left hand, he says, “Depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” 

I have always been struck by the clarity and the finality of this judgment. Apparently there is to be no further opportunity to make amends; there are only two destinations in view, heaven or hell, without any opportunity for appeal.

This is in contrast to Jesus teachings elsewhere, where he stresses the mercy and forgiveness of God. After all, the basic message of the Gospels from the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry is, "the kingdom of heaven is at hand; repent and believe." Why repent, unless there is the possibility of forgiveness?  When a questioner asks him, Master how many times must I forgive? Seven times? Jesus’ answer is, Seventy times seven. The implication is that we are to be forgiving because God himself is forgiving.  “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." In many of the parables the theme of forgiveness is paramount. For example, take the parable of the prodigal son: the son goes off and squanders his inheritance in loose living, but repents and comes home to his father, who receives him with a feast, and a robe, and a ring, and exclaims with joy, “This [my son] was dead, and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.”

And so it is that, against this background of mercy and forgiveness, that the severity and finality of the judgment given to those on his left hand comes as a bit of a shock.  Of course, Jesus was capable of harsh judgments.  In Matthew 18, speaking of those who misled or abused children, he says "if any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea."  If we are to understand why Jesus is so harsh to the people on his left hand, we need to get a clearer idea of who they are and what they did to deserve such severe punishment.
                                                                                               
The people facing judgment, it must be noted, are not all believers, not all Christians.  It is not simply the community of the faithful that is being judged.  We are told, “All nations will be gathered before him.”  It stands to reason, then, that many of the people at this scene, indeed probably most of them, would never have known Jesus and would know nothing about him.  The fact that they are awaiting judgment from this divine-human personage who is otherwise a complete stranger to them must puzzle them greatly.  Puzzle and frighten them. 

And what Jesus says doesn’t do much to clear up their confusion, although it probably helped to reassure them and calm their fears.  “Come, you that are blessed by my father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  So whatever is going to happen to them, it sounds like it will be something good.  But then he goes on to say, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,” and so on.   And the people are genuinely confused by this.  They never knew this man, never saw him before in their lives; what can he be talking about?  “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food,” they ask.  And Jesus answers, “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” 

Here I have to make a comment about the translation at this point.  In the King James Version of the Bible, this verse is, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”  The version we are using, the NRSV, was published in 1989, and one of its aims was to be as gender-inclusive as possible.  To modern ears, “brethren” seems to exclude females, which Jesus clearly did not intend, so the translators had to find a substitute word or phrase.  For some reason they didn’t go with the obvious choice, “brothers and sisters.”  Instead they came up with this awkward phrase, “these who are members of my family.” 

However, regardless of the translation, it is clear who Jesus is talking about.  It is not just his blood-relatives, but all who strive to do what is right, for he says in Matthew 12:50, “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

So what did the people on Jesus right hand do?  They showed compassion to righteous people who were in need or in distress in some way.  They saw people who were hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or imprisoned, and they helped or comforted them.  And without knowing it, they helped and comforted Jesus too, for he shares in the sufferings of all who suffer.  In their faces we see his face.

To those at his left hand, however, there is condemnation.  They did not practice compassion when they had the opportunities to do so.  They turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the need and the pain of others.  They can be judged because, though they may not be Christians or Jews, all humans have a moral compass, a law written on our hearts, which moves us to be kind and compassionate.  To disregard that impulse we have to harden our hearts, and it is that hardness of heart which Jesus condemns.  They have disobeyed a law that is written on all hearts; they have broken a bond of love and fellow feeling that embraces all people.  And this is not a defect of the mind, which might be corrected by education; it is a defect of the heart, and not amenable to change. Therefore their punishment is severe and permanent.

Finally, we have to be aware of who we are, and how we stand in relation to this teaching.  For we, you and I, are not “all nations.”  We are not ignorant of what God expects of us.  We know the teachings of Jesus and the grace of God’s Holy Spirit.  If those who have never known these things are expected to be compassionate, then what about us? 
  • We, who have tasted the bread of heaven and the cup of salvation; how can we not feed the hungry and lead the thirsty to drink? 
  • We, who were once strangers to God but have been made members of his family and heirs of his kingdom through our baptism; how can we not reach out to welcome the stranger?
  • We, who have been freed from our bondage to sin and share the glorious freedom of the children of God, how can we not visit and help those who are in prison, whether those prisons are physical, or mental, or spiritual?
 Let us not delay to practice compassion to those around us, for three reasons.  First because it is the right and good thing to do.  Second, because it gives joy and satisfaction to the giver even as it gives aid and comfort to the receiver.   And third, so that we may eventually hear a familiar voice saying to us, “Come, you that are blessed by my father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”