Sunday, November 19, 2017

Hidden Treasure

Homily by The Rev. Marcia McRae
St. Francis Episcopal Church, Goldsboro, NC; 19 Nov. 2017, Proper 28
Year A RCL: Judges 4:1-7, Psalm 123, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, Matthew 25:14-30

What time is it?
[Wait for answer.]
Notice the element of time in our scriptures today.

Jesus says after a long time the master of the slaves comes & settles accounts.
Paul tells us & the Thessalonians: we don't need anything written about times & seasons because Jesus will come unexpectedly.
Our lesson from Judges says the people have been oppressed 20 years.
Deborah serves as a bright spot in their lives together; a decisive leader, “a fiery woman” who commissions Barak to lead1 an attack. This prophetess is strong in faith & serves as a judge, a warrior, a top political leader, as we read in Bible Women: All Their Words & Why They Matter.2

Our Psalm gives us a sense of time, of people who have had “more than enough” of negative living, people waiting for God to bring better times.

More important than the amount of time is how we use our time. Paul encourages us beloved children of light to keep awake, be sober & use our special equipment
– faith, love, & hope of salvation.
We have this “equipment” through Jesus dying for us on the cross, rising from the dead, ascending to heaven, & the Holy Spirit coming to be our guide so we can live as God wants us to & build up each other.

Notice Paul speaks of night & day, of being awake or asleep.
Notice the contrast we hear in Jesus' parable of the talents: 2 of the slaves invest the money. This requires interacting with people.

The fearful slave tries to go it alone. He doesn't talk to anybody about what to do. As the angry master says: you should have invested it with bankers!
This would have required interaction with people.

My friend & colleague in the Diocese of Georgia. The Rev. Canon Frank Logue, points out: “[ONE] talent was a measure of gold worth roughly 15 years’ wages for a day laborer...”3

So we can understand why the master reacts as he does & entrusts the 2 good guys with more responsibility!

They've earned job security.
These men have courage.

Their courage reminds me of 21st century problem solvers I
read about in Saturday's News & Observer4.

Scientists at a California children's hospital have tried the “first-ever gene editing [inside] the body” of a 44-year-old patient “with a rare genetic disorder”.5
[Yes, the 44-year-old is being treated at a children's hospital.]
The possibilities from this internal gene correction opens “a whole new field of medicine...” with potential for treating many diseases.6

What if the doctors' had buried this idea in a
file cabinet instead of investing time, energy & money in it?

Research from UNC-Chapel Hill & Duke University published last week is a “Study [that] supports genetic factor for obesity,” another article says.7  These new findings point to genetic mutations, or defects, as a possible factor in human obesity, & notes more study is needed.8

What if biochemists & researchers bury their notes in a computer file & discontinue investing
time, energy & money in this
research, which requires a team?

Teamwork is essential in many fields. Think of football. . . .
Neither of the 2 North Carolina private high schools 30 miles apart had enough players for football teams this year – even for 8-man football they played in the past.9

Hobgood Academy & Northeast Academy coaches, players & administrators worked together, invested time, literal talents & money to become one team that worked well from the start,10 so well they are state champs this year, as you can read in the article titled, “Neither school had enough players this year for a team – together, they're state champs.”11

Notice: in these 3 examples
people interact & work together.

Think of teamwork we see in our Altar Guild & Flower Guild: We have bread bakers, arrangers of flowers & special displays, teams that set the Altar & clean up, wash & iron linens.
Our teams work well together for us to have beautiful worship.

Support like what we have here as the Body of Christ can keep us going when we fear we don't know what to do with our resources, when we lack resources, when we want to give up like the scared slave.

When we are tempted to hold back what God has entrusted to us/you, think about people in the Bible. Whatever may have you in a holding pattern of fear like the slave with one talent, think:
What if Deborah in our 1st lesson hadn't used her talents?
As Frank Logue reminds us12:
Living the Gospel always
involves risk. . .

God has shown you [us] great love

& asks only that you [we] share [this]

love with others.

When you [we] take the risk to love,
it is the grace of God

working through you

[through us]

that does the heavy lifting. . .”

God does the heavy lifting.

Bibliography
Cha, Ariana Eunjung. News & Observer. “Scientists at Calif. Hospital try first-ever gene editing in the body.” From the Washington Post.
Don't Bury Your Talents”. https://www.sermons4kids.com/ Accessed: 18 Nov. 2017.
Freeman, Lindsay Hardin. Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter. Forward Movement. USA: 2016.
Harper’s Bible Commentary. General Ed.: James. L. Mays. San Francisco: Harper & Row Publishers, 1988.
Holy Bible with the Apocrypha. New Revised Standard Version. New York: Oxford University Press. 1989.
Jewish Study Bible: Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation. New York: Oxford University Press. 2004.
Logue, The Rev. Canon Frank. “Love Is Risky Business, Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost – Nov. 19, 2017.” Accessed: 18 Nov. 2017. http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2017/11/12/love-is-risky-business-twenty-fourth-sunday-after-pentecost-november-19-2017/
Murawski, John. News & Observer. “Study supports genetic factor for obesity”.
Pope, Jonas IV. “Neither school had enough players for a team – together, they're state champs. News & Observer.


1 Harper’s Bible Commentary. P. 250.
2 Freeman, Lindsay Hardin. Bible Women: All Their Words & Why They Matter. P.118-119.
3 Logue, The Rev. Canon Frank. “Love Is Risky Business, Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost – Nov. 19, 2017.” Accessed: 18 Nov. 2017. http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2017/11/12/love-is-risky-business-twenty-fourth-sunday-after-pentecost-november-19-2017/
4 News & Observer. Pp. 6A., 1 A. & 1B,4B.
5 Ibid. Cha, Ariana Eunjung. News & Observer. “Scientists at Calif. Hospital try first-ever gene editing in the body.” P. 6A
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid. Murawski, John. “Study supports genetic factor for obesity”. Pp. 1A, 7A.
8 Ibid. P. 1A.
9 Ibid. Pope, Jonas IV. “Neither school had enough players for a team – together, they're state champs. Pp. 1B, 4B.
10 Ibid. P. 4B.
11 Ibid. Pope, Jonas IV. “Neither school had enough players for a team – together, they're state champs. Pp. 1B, 4B.

12 Ibid. Logue.

Monday, November 13, 2017

Be Prepared / Estemos Preparados

Homily/Sermón by/por The Rev./La Revda. Marcía McRae
12 Nov. 2017, Proper/Propio 27
Morning Homily, St. Francis Episcopal Church, Goldsboro, NC, Annual Parish Meeting
Sermón de la tarde, La Parochia Episcopal de San Francisco, Goldsboro, NC
Year/Año A RCL: Joshua/Josué 24:1-3a, 14-25; Psalm/Salmo 78:1-7;
1 Thessalonians/ 1 Tesalonicenses 4:13-18; Matthew/San Mateo 25:1-13

In our Gospel Jesus tells us: Be prepared.
Jesús nos dice hoy de la importancia
de estar preparados.
As people who experience hurricanes, we know the wisdom of being prepared. We stock up on supplies such as water, flashlights, batteries & 1st aid kits1This is a form of stewardship of our resources, like the care we give maintaining homes, clothes, vehicles & our bodies. We practice this kind of stewardship in many ways in this Body of Christ. [English continues below.]
Estudiantes saben bien la importancia
de estar preparados para
sus clases y para los examenes.
¿Quienes son estudiantes aquí?
[Espero ver las manos levantados.]
¿Porque no levantan sus manos, Uds. adultos?
¿Han quedado aprendiendo cosas nuevas en
la vida y en las Santas Escrituras?
Toda la vida seremos estudiantes de la vida.
¿Saben que los maestros y las maestras también
deben que estar preparados para sus clases?
¡Es verdad!
Lo sé porque mis padres eran profesores y
yo enseñé en el colegio secundario
como se dice high school.
Como estudiates, profesores, y las muchachas previsoras/muchachas novias de quien
Jesús nos habla hoy, nosotros sabemos
la sabiduria de estar preparados
en nuestras casas porque, de vez en cuando,
hay huracánes y otros peligros y
desastres naturales donde vivimos.
Para estar listos tenemos que tener
varias cosas,  por ejemplo: botellas de agua,
primeros auxilios y linternas.2

Estar preparado es una forma
 de mayordormía sobre
nuestros recursos.
Hacemos un forma de mayordormía
en mantener donde nos quedamos,
nuestros vestidos, vehículos,
equipos, y nuestra salud.
Practicamos la mayordormía en
varias maneras en esta
 comunidad de fe.
Sometimes the unexpected challenges us like our parish water heater leak & stoves not working just before Christmas in the Forest, & this morning discovering the shattered glass door.
De vez en cuando algo ocurre que es
imprevisto, inesperado.
Recuerdo el terremoto en
la Ciudad de México cuando fui niña.
Estaba sin mi familia.
I remember the challenge as a child in Mexico City being unexpectedly separated from my family during an earthquake.
Estaba durmiendo en el segundo piso y
 la familia estuvieron en el piso bajo con amigos.
I was upstairs asleep. My older brother & our parents were visiting friends downstairs when the shaking house woke me.
Me levanté con el movimiento de la casa y lloré.
My father's voice guided me, telling me to stay in place in the doorway.
Papá grité para guiarme:
<<¡Quédate entre la puerta!>>
The shaking stopped.                      El movimiento paró.
He tested the stairs, came up & carried me downstairs.
Papá examinó la seguridad de
la escalera, vino y llevarme abajo
para estar con la familia.
God our Father guides us in many ways – especially when we face challenges.
El Padre Nuestro nos guía y llevarnos
en muchas maneras y con amor profundo.
We may clearly “hear” the Holy Spirit directly, through each other, through something we read.
Quizás oimos por El Espíritu Santo
o por un amigo/una amiga,
o nosotros, o algo que leemos.
Like Joshua, we promise to serve the Lord. We gather here regularly to renew our covenant, to seek forgiveness when we fail, to be in community to gain strength & support to keep our promises to God.
Aunque hay veces cuando no
podemos estar completamente
preparados, día por día
podemos poner nuestra fe
y confianaza en Dios, Nuestro Padre
quien nos ama más, mucho más que
cualquier papá humano puede3.
Nuestro Padre del Cielo nos ama más
que podemos pensar y comprender.
. . . .Warning: Satan lies & wants us to be afraid like unprepared bridesmaids, stumbling in the dark searching for oil.
God gives us all we need to be good stewards of the gifts we have to make a positive difference where we are.
Como leemos en Salmo 70:
“¡Grande es el Señor!”
En cuanto a mí, estoy afligido
y en necesidad;
apresúrate y ven a mí, oh Dios.
Mi ayuda y mi libertador eres tú...
Like the wise bridesmaids, we can be ready for action without having all the details of when we are to act. Our positive habits of responsible living will carry us through tough times.
Estamos aquí semana tras semana
para renovar y hacerse más fuerte
 nuestra fe, nuestra Pacto Bautismal,
para pedir piedad y perdón de
nuestros pecados,
para estar en comunión,
para obtener lo que necesitamos
para mantener nuestros promesas a Dios.
Con la gracia del Espíritu Santo
no sentimos miedo, ni estaremos
sin preparación como las muchachas 
despreocupadas/novias.
We are not alone in this work. God gives us each other. Jesus is here through the power of the Holy Spirit. As one preacher says:
Jesus is here now & always
& in “all ways”.4

El Señor, Nuestro Padre nos da todo lo que necesitamos para ser como las muchachas previsoras/muchachas novias,
para ser buenos y responsables mayordomos
de los dones del Señor, estos regalos
que tenemos para hacer una diferencia positiva
donde estamos en nuestras vidas,
y para nuestros hermos y hermanas
en la familia humana.
Como las muchachas previsoras/novias,
podemos estar listos para acción sin
 tener todas las detalles de cuando
tendremos que hacer algo.
Nuestros hábitos positivos de vivir en
manera responsable va a ayudarnos
en situaciones dificiles –
las huracanes y los terremotos de la vida humana.
No estaremos solo.
Nuestro Padre nos da nuestros
seres para apoyarnos los unos a otros.

Jesús está aquí por el poder
del Espíritu Santo.
Como dice un pastor:
Jesús está aqui ahora y siempre,
y en muchas maneras.5

Por nuestra condición humana, podemos llevar en una mano el tesoro que Dios nos brinda
y en la otra una situación de pecado...
Sabemos que en este peregrinaje no estamos solos y nunca lo estaremos a pesar de nuestras transgresiones porque a quien Dios toma de la mano nada ni nadie lo podrá separar de su corazón.6
Jesús nos ilumina el camino,
no obstante,
 está de nuetra parte escoger
caminar con Él.7

* Idea from Sermons4kids, “Expect the Unexpected”
Bibliography/Bibliografía
Expect the Unexpected”. https://www.sermons4kids.com/ Accessed: 7 Nov. 2017.
Kubicek, The Rev. Kirk Alan. “Awakening to God's Presence” Accessed: 7 Nov. 2017. http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2017/10/17/awakening-to-gods-presence-twenty-third-sunday-after-pentecost-november-12-2017/
Sabogal, El Rvdo. Diego. “Vigésimo tercer domingo después de Pentecostés – Año A”. http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw-es/2017/11/08/vigesimo-tercer-domingo-despues-de-pentecostes-ano-a/ Accessed: 7 Nov. 2017.

1 Idea from/de Sermons4kids. “Expect the Unexpected”
3 Idea de Sabogal, El Rvdo. Diego. “Vigésimo tercer domingo después de Pentecostés – Año A”.
4 Kubicek, The Rev. Kirk Alan. “Awakening to God's Presence” Accessed: 7 Nov. 2017. http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2017/10/17/awakening-to-gods-presence-twenty-third-sunday-after-pentecost-november-12-2017/ 
5 Ibid..
6 Ibid. Sabogal.
7 Ibid.

Monday, November 6, 2017

Celebrate Joy & Wonder

Homily by The Rev. Marcia McRae
St. Francis Episcopal Church, Goldsboro, NC; All Saints Sunday, 5 Nov. 2017
Year A RCL: Revelation 7:9-17; Psalm 34:1-10, 22; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12

Jesus says:
“Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.”

As we celebrate All Saints Sunday, we may mourn special people in our lives who have died. A tug of sadness & sense of loss can arise unexpectedly, even years after the death.

Yet we can celebrate with joy & wonder God's great love for us, which guides us by the gift of the Holy Spirit, & we get a taste of at this Holy Table, & we see in many ways, including as Jesus dies for us on the cross.

As the meek, we are not doormats who let ourselves be abused. We are like our Lord Jesus, who shows us how to be gentle & humble & strong enough to follow God’s law of love. We soften “what is rigid inside” which would resist God’s will, as Neil Douglas-Klotz says in Prayers of the Cosmos.1

Hungering & thirsting for righteousness, we long for the harmony God intends for all God’s creation.2  We resist the unnatural state of the world – its injustices...3
Jesus’ words at the end of the Beatitudes give us a reality check of our life as children of God: Being among the blessed family who know Jesus as Lord & Savior does not give us a life of ease.
We can expect difficulty & discouragement,4 which can remind us we are in process, on a journey with God & our family of brothers & sisters in Christ.
As we hear in our lesson from 1st John: “Beloved, we are God's children now. What we will be has not yet been revealed.” When it is revealed, we will see with joy & wonder.

Like John's words & Jesus' words, our lesson from Revelation offers us hope & comfort: The Lamb will be our shepherd & will guide us to the water of life.

Even in the face of loss & mourning, today we celebrate with joy & wonder God’s family in which we are children [whatever our age]. Our family extends throughout the world, throughout time & includes saints on earth & saints in heaven.

We remember those who have gone before us: saints we have known & saints we haven't known, including capital letter Saints, such as our patron Francis. [We can learn about them in many books.]

Among the newest saints in heaven I didn't know is the nephew of a friend & former colleague. This young, hard-working, diligent man, [the age of my son], was a loving husband & father of 2 young children. He was murdered Nov. 1st by a shotgun blast in an incomprehensible road rage incident when the young shooter ran a stop sign & slightly damaged the deceased man’s car.

As my friend says: we know God is with us always, yet we grieve.

Beloved Brothers & Sisters, the pain of loss we feel is real. Notice our Gospel says: mourners will be comforted.

One author notes: in Jesus' day the death of a loved one could bring serious life challenges to a widow or an orphan; to lose a bread-winner son “could easily mean starving & becoming homeless...”5

The Beatitudes remind us God is in charge despite life's challenges, & God gives us resources, within ourselves, within the human family & within all God's creation.

We can learn how we can be blessings when life gets tough for our brothers & sisters AND for ourselves.
One author says we can learn
from geese, which
“best represent the communion of saints.”6

The author says: Geese depend on each other & work together. Although the lead goose works the most, when it's tired it goes to the back & another goose leads.

To be able to rely on others is a deep trust that does not come easily.7 

The geese fly in the wake of one another's wings. They literally get a lift from [each other]...”8

[I have seen you lift each other through the hard work of preparation & presentation of our annual 2-day fund-raiser, Christmas in the Forest, which ended yesterday.]

Notice how we fly together
in this Body of Christ.

Bibliography
Brussat, Frederic and Mary Ann. Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life. New York: A Touchstone Book. Simon & Schuster. 1998.
Douglas-Klotz, Neil. Prayers of the Cosmos: Reflections on the Original Meaning of Jesus’s Words. New York: HarperOne. 1990.
Harper’s Bible Commentary. General Ed.: James. L. Mays. San Francisco: Harper & Row Publishers, 1988.
Holy Bible with the Apocrypha. New Revised Standard Version. New York: Oxford University Press. 1989.
Jewish Study Bible: Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation. New York: Oxford University Press. 2004.
New American Bible for Catholics. South Bend, IN: Greenlawn Press. 1970.
New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha. Eds.: Herbert G. May, Bruce M. Metzger. New York: Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 1977.
Ruden, Sarah. The Face of Water: A Translatior on Beauty & Meaning in the Bible, New York: Pantheon Books. 2017.

1 Douglas-Klotz, Neil. Prayers of the Cosmos. Pp. 53-54.
2 Ibid. Pp. 56-57.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid. P. 74.
5 Ruden, Sarah. The Face of Water. P. 76.
6 Brussat, Frederic & Mary Ann. Spiritual Literacy. P. 174 quoting Gunilla Norris' “Journeying in Place”.
7 Ibid.

8 Ibid.