St. Mary’s Episcopal Church

I’m acutely aware that what we see is only partly informed by the light waves that strike our eyes which in turn send signals to our brains that register as blue sky, green grass or whatever.  The reality is we only see a fraction of what passes before us largely because we tend to see what we expect to see while failing to notice everything else.  Listen to or read Sharon’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

Poor Thomas. Poor, poor Thomas. We have nicknamed him “Doubting Thomas”, and I think it is a most unfair nickname. He already has one, Didymus, which means “the twin”, but think of other nicknames people have received. Simon Peter—Peter, the Rock. That’s a good, solid, strong nickname. How about “the Beloved Disciple”? I’m pretty sure John gave himself that nickname, but it’s a good one. We still call John the Beloved Disciple today. Mary Magdalene is quite likely a nickname. For many years people thought it was Mary of Magdala, but archaeologists have failed to find a town called Magdala. Scholars have come up with the idea that it is “Mary Magdalena”, meaning “Mary the Tower”. They are all great nicknames, but “Doubting Thomas”?   For my sermon I am going to make an argument, and the argument is this. I am going to defend the proposition that we need to rebrand Thomas. No longer Doubting Thomas, but what can we call him? We’ll try to figure that out together. Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

On this day, we celebrate the Good News of that historic moment nearly two thousand years ago that changed the world when Mary Magdalene found the tomb empty and discovered that Jesus had been raised. All four Gospel tell the story a little bit different, but they all agree on two facts: Mary Magdalene was there - sometimes by herself, sometimes with others – and the tomb was empty for Christ was alive. This was an event that showed that that Rome’s brutality – and let’s say it, evil – did not get the final word. It was a moment that showed that death did not get the final word. Click “Read More” to read Bingham’s full sermon.

But Nicodemus offers us a different model of how some come to the faith. Not one with blinding lights, not one with a sudden transformation, but one that has questions and wonderings and doubts. It is a slow transformation of the heart and mind and soul that eventually gets there when it matters most. Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “read more.”

Perhaps like you, I got smudged this last Wednesday.   The 18th, as you may recall, was Ash Wednesday, the first day in the season of Lent. It’s a day that dares us think about this thing called life, but also about this thing called death – a day in which we are reminded of the dust from which we were created and the dust to which we shall return. Perhaps more than anything, though, it’s a day that reminds us of our humanness, that in the midst of being real, fleshy, messy human beings, a need for the Holy still exists. Listen to or read Cara Meredith’s entire sermon by clicking “read more.”

Here we are this Sunday where Jesus tells us to be salt and light. “You are the light of the world.” We too are light as we seek to follow Jesus, to receive, shine and share that divine light in our world. Jesus tells us and shows us how we are to be light, to shine and illuminate our world today. “Let you light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to God.” Our world is FULL of darkness right now. We are living in a time where it is hard to find, or shine light. Listen to or read Ryan’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

The Way of the Cross: The Foolish Power of God The Rev. Bingham Powell These past few weeks, we have been working our way through the opening of Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians. In today’s installment, Paul asks a question that always piques my interest: “Where is the debater of this age?” See, I used to do debate, sometimes called policy debate or cx debate, in high school and college, traveling all over the country to tournaments. So, when Paul talks about debaters, I notice.His question here, however, is not a serious question. In the Roman world and the Greek world before it, debate was popular, all forms of oratory were. And all educated people, of which Paul is certainly one, would have been trained in the art of debate. Paul knows exactly where to go to find a debater in that age. No, this is not a serious question, it is a rhetorical question designed to mock. Ultimately, he is trying to set up an argument for why the faith we proclaim is better than the values of the world.Debate is ultimately about wins and losses, and you are to strive for the wins. Victory and success. The whole point is to convince the audience or judge or judges that you are right and that your opponent is wrong. This was as true then; it still is today. In debate, there are winners and losers.To win, to persuade people of your rightness, every debater would have used Aristotle’s three-fold approach to persuasion, found in the book Rhetoric. Everyone would have read this book in school, Paul most certainly read this book in school. In Rhetoric, Aristotle argues that you need to use some combination of your own ethos (your presence, expertise, position), the pathos of your audience (their worries, fears, anxieties), and your logos (your words, the carefully structured logic – logos/logic – the carefully structured logic of your words). Ethos, pathos, and logos.But the logos Paul really cares about is not the logos of our arguments, but the Logos of God. Logos means Word. In the beginning was the Word, the Logos, and the Logos became flesh and lived among us. Paul points to the true Logos. Not the debater’s logos, not Aristotle's logos, but the true and ultimate Logos, the incarnate Logos, the incarnate Word: Jesus Christ.And the image of the logos with which Paul starts the argument of this letter is the Logos hanging there on the cross. "The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God." This is counter to everything that the debater - of Paul's age, of our age, of every age - cares about. Losing instead of winning; failure instead of success.The cross: that shameful tool of execution of the Roman State, designed to make a point to the whole body politic by publicly humiliating the victim. The cross: the ancient equivalent of the electric chair or the lynching tree or the gun used in a summary execution by an agent of the state on the street.The Cross - this horrendous thing - is the foundation of true wisdom, true knowledge, true discernment, true boasting. The cross is the foundation of Paul's argument – remember we are just starting this letter, he is still laying the foundation for his argument that will unfold – the cross is the foundation of the argument that is going to take him into his wild claims later in the letter about what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, a baptized member of the Body of Christ - when he will claim that even the weakest, lowliest member is not only necessary, but often the most valuable - and his audacious claims about the primacy of love over every other gift.This argument is an echo what Jesus proclaimed from the mountain that we heard in the Gospel today: blessed are the poor, the mourners, the meek, the hungry, the thirsty, the merciful, the pure, the peacemakers, the persecuted. Jesus lifts up the lowly and proclaims that they are blessed.What kind of blessings are these? Certainly not blessings as the world understands blessing. These are not things that the typical debater is going to use as evidence of blessing. But these are the way of Jesus. These are the blessings of the way of the cross. "Foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God."Winning is seductive. Success pulls at us constantly. Power is like the siren calling out to Odysseus. And yet, as Paul reminds us, winning, success, and power are nothing compared to God. The foolishness of God is greater than our wisdom; the weakness of God greater than our strength. Winning, success, and power are all useless in the light of the cross.This argument is also an echo of Micah in our first reading trying to plead his case before the mountains. And yet, proclaim he must and proclaim we must, to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God.What foolishness it is to do these three things in our world that seems to delight in injustice, to love meanness, and to run arrogantly from our God, run arrogantly as if we were God. All foolishness. But it is the foolish wisdom of God. And we have to keep proclaiming this foolish wisdom.Keep proclaiming justice, kindness, and humility. Keep proclaiming the love taught in the words of the Beatitudes. Keep proclaiming the cross. These are the way of Jesus. Do not weary of this of this proclamation. Even as the world calls you foolish for prioritizing service over power, humility over arrogance, love over fear. Do not weary. For that power of God will carry you through to the end. Amen.

There is a thread through most of our lessons. Not in the Epistle, where there is a little insider stuff. The Epistle is rarely selected to match the other lessons, except on special days. Generally, we read through one of Paul’s Epistles, as we are working our way through 1st Corinthians now. The Epistle does not match the other lessons today, but the first reading, the Psalm, and the Gospel are selected to have at least one thread that connects them. There is a thread that is pretty clear in these readings today, and it is light. As we heard in Isaiah, “the people who walked in deep darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shined.” And in the Psalm we hear “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom then shall I fear?” And in the Gospel we heard Matthew quote Isaiah in a slightly different translation, “the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned.” We see this thread of light. Listen to read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

The Psalms were important to Jesus. He quoted from them frequently, including on the cross. He very much understood his life in light of the Psalms. Many people throughout generations of the faith have found the Psalms the center of their spiritual life. Almost every monastic community, if not every single one of them, puts the Psalms in the center of their worshiping life. Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

I love this story of the baptism of Jesus and it’s one that I often share with people who are struggling to find worth or forgiveness. In today’s gospel Jesus comes to be baptized by John. At first, John protests, but Jesus insists and John baptizes him in the river Jordan. And just as Jesus is coming up out of the water the heavens break open and the Holy Spirit comes down like a dove fluttering above Jesus’ head. And the voice of God speaks: “This is my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” In this scene we have all of the members of the Trinity assembled. Jesus coming up out of the water, the Holy Spirit coming down and resting on Jesus, and the voice of the parent and creator God affirming, claiming, and assuring Jesus. What’s so powerful about Jesus’ baptism and this amazing Trinity moment, is that it’s an example and prototype for each and every one of us. Listen to or read Ryan’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

Even In Our Fear, God Is With Us Aimee Fritsch

We go through this journey of the first part of Jesus’s life so we can pattern our own lives on his and better be the Body of Christ. The first steps of this journey more properly belong on Christmas, when we celebrate his birth. That is when his life began, after all. So what are we doing in Advent? Why is this the start of the new Church Year? Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

We rarely talk about the resurrection or eternal life. But it seems quite appropriate this month when we celebrate All Saints and All Souls. As we look around the sanctuary and see the physical reminders, names and photos of loved ones who’ve died. This Great Cloud of Witnesses surrounds us, encourages us and shows us they way to life. And someday, we will be with them in everlasting joy, surrounded by the light and love of God’s presence within, all around and in between us. What an amazing vision! Listen to or read Ryan’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

Sometimes we use the word saint to be a synonym for being perfect. I think it does a great disservice to these saints, because if you read about their lives or their histories, you learn they were anything but perfect. They were real people like you and me, who had all kinds of challenges and struggles and doubts in their faith. But they were something else. There is a great prayer that sometimes gets appointed on these Wednesday mornings services that says that the saints are the lights of their generation. I think that is a much better way to think about the saints. Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon for All Saints’ Day by clicking “Read More.”

A Marian church knows she is the object of gratuitous love, and that God has the heart of a mother. A Marian church does not know the answers before the questions are asked. Her path is not mapped out in advance. She knows doubt and worry, the night and loneliness. She takes part in the conversation but makes no claim to know everything. She accepts that she is searching. A Marian church stands at the foot of the cross. She does not take refuge in a fortress, or in a chapel, or in cautious silence, when others are being crushed. She is vulnerable, in her deeds and her words. With humble courage she stands with the most insignificant. Listen to or read Ryan’s entire sermon for Mary Sunday by clicking “Read More.”

God has a dream for this world, a vision in which everyone can thrive, in which everyone doesn’t have everything they want, but they have at least everything that they need; that everyone can use the gifts that God has given them, and they can find joy and love and grace, have dignity and respect; that every person is given the honor due the image of God that is within them, the image of God in which they were made. Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

Today, Jesus is talking to us about all those things that we work so hard to get. Although society tells us otherwise, Jesus reminds us that our lives and our identities are NOT based on the things we’ve accumulated. Sure, we need SOME things, and I know I certainly ENJOY certain possessions. But, like Martha, Jesus reminds us once again that our focus should NOT be on producing, consuming, or accumulating. Instead, it should be on relationship, on growing rich toward God. Today, Jesus challenges us, invites us, and reminds us, about our relationship with our things and our relationship with God. Listen to or read Ryan’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

In the Epistle for today, Paul implores us to remain established in the faith, which brings up the question, what is the faith? What is faith itself? There is a popular idea of what faith is out in society, and many churches do teach it. It is the idea that faith is about having the right answer. You need to have the right answer about knowledge, you need to have the right answer about the nature of God, or the correct Biblical interpretation, or the morally correct position on some social matter, or knowing the right words to say. That is what faith is: being right. And since faith and salvation are so intertwined, it creates an anxiety about what happens if you fail the test, and the depth of the consequences if you do. In some traditions it is not failing the test, it is about getting any one answer wrong. If you don’t get an A+ it isn’t good enough. What are the implications of that? It can create a huge sense of anxiety in people, even trauma for understanding the faith in this way. Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

In today’s story Martha is distracted, just like us, she has too many things to do, too much on her plate. She is worried and her mind is spinning from one thing to the next. And then Jesus comes along and says: There is need of only one thing. How very Zen of Jesus! One thing? Really? Just one thing? Well, alright, go ahead and tell me what it is then! Listen to or read Ryan’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

Jesus’ usage, indeed the biblical usage, of neighbor refers to everyone, with the emphasis seeming to be on neighbor as stranger. I presume that’s because it comes naturally to be kind to those with whom we already have loving relationships. Listen to or read Sharon’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

The Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of comfort and care and compassion and love which every single person made in God’s image has the dignity and respect that they were made with. Every single person gets to enjoy and flourish and thrive. It is a beautiful image. This is what those 70 people are meant to go and proclaim, the Kingdom of God has come near. Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

I don’t know about you, but I think Jesus sounded rather cranky in the Gospel today. He is not quite the all-loving, all-patient, all-calm, all-compassionate Jesus that we are used to. He is still compassionate, it’s not like he lost it. When the Samaritans reject him and the Disciples wanted to rain down fire upon them and destroy them, Jesus said no. He has compassion on the Samaritans, and he rebukes the Disciples for suggesting such a thing. Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

Wow! What a fantastical story! We have a man who lives in the tombs and is possessed by a legion of demons who seize control of him causing people to chain and shackle him up. But he breaks free and runs off into the wild. And when Jesus commands the spirits to come out of the man there’s this whole conversation with the spirits begging Jesus to let them go into some pigs. And Jesus gives them permission! And then the pigs rush down the bank into the lake and drown. WOW! This is crazy! WHAT is happening here? Let’s take a look at these characters and some context and ask together, “What does Jesus do here? How is the nature of God revealed? What do we learn about God and ourselves? And finally, what is this story inviting us to do? Listen to or read Ryan’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

If there is one essential message in this Pentecost story, it is that we are not as different from one another as we think we are. We are not the stranger we assume we are. We are not the foreigners we fear we are. Our needs are not so different from the needs of others. We are more alike than we are different. Listen to or read Bishop Akiyama’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

In this time frame, which was probably only a couple of hours, Jesus washes the Disciples’ feet, and then has a really long speech, although it was interrupted a few times by the Disciple’s questions. And then there is a long prayer at the end of the long speech. The whole thing takes five chapters, which is almost one quarter of the entire Gospel. It indicates the importance that John placed on these last words on Maundy Thursday, the final teachings and final prayer that Jesus had for the Disciples. Jesus, in essence, is saying this is the most important stuff. I am about to go, and when I do you need to make sure you remember these things. So what are these things? Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

Our second reading today comes from the Book of Revelation, which is the last book in the Bible. But before we talk about the reading from Revelation, we need to go back to Genesis, the first book of the Bible. We go all the way back to the beginning, in the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth. Do you recognize that phrase, heavens and earth? We heard it in Revelation today.

In our collect for today we pray: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him… But how can we be sure? There are lots of different people and things calling for our attention. How can we know that we’re hearing Jesus? How can we recognize his voice? God created us in and out of love and for love. And God’s call to us is love. The frequency of God’s call is goodness and mercy, compassion and forgiveness, welcome and healing. If we look for beauty, care, and community around us, we are attuning our ears to God’s call. Listen to or read Ryan’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

In the Incarnation, God is saying I want to be there right where you are. I have these dreams for you, but if we don’t make them, I will still love you. I’m still going to be with you. I will still care for you, and we’re going to work together on this. I hope I can lift you up, I hope we can get there, but if not I will come right where you are. Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

Today, Jesus continues with more of his countercultural pronouncements of how to live in kinship with God, one another, and creation. Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you. What? These are the exact opposites of what we’ve been taught to do, right? Or at least what society tells us, what society values. Turn the other check?

At this point in Jesus’ ministry, word has really begun to spread, and people are coming from all over, Luke tells us it was a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. Everybody, Jews and Gentiles from all around were coming to see and hear and, if they were lucky, touch or be touched by this amazing new teacher. Listen to or read Ryan’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

In today’s readings we hear about Peter and from Paul, two of the giants of early Christianity. Contemporaries, they became followers of Jesus very differently, though they reportedly met the same end, martyred by Nero in Rome. At the time Jesus began his ministry Peter was a fisherman who apparently fished with his brother Andrew and their partners James and John. Based on the fact he was sometimes called Simon, or Simon Peter, he was likely not simply an Aramaic-speaking Jew but rather one who knew at least some Greek as well as Aramaic and perhaps Hebrew. Peter is believed to have lived in Capernaum on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee where he and his brother and their friends fished. Listen to or read Sharon’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

These three seasons are all about the Incarnation. In Advent we are preparing for the coming of Christ, at Christmas we are celebrating the birth of Christ, and in Epiphany, people are having their epiphanies. They are realizing that in the person of Jesus, there is something happening. He is more than just a regular person. The thing that they are experiencing is the fullness of God dwelling within this human. So we have Advent, a season of preparation, Christmas, a season of celebration, and Epiphany, a season of realization. Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

While this section of scripture from the prophet Isaiah was probably well-known to his listeners, what comes next, Jesus’ mic-drop moment, is what would have utterly shocked and amazed those in the synagogue. Listen to or read Ryan’s full sermon by clicking “Read More.”

The third thing that Paul argues, and I think this is the most important one because it will lead us to that message of love. Paul says that every single gift we have has been given to us for the common good. These gifts we have been given are not just for us to enjoy for ourselves. You may take pleasure in the gift, but they are given to us for the other, for the community, for something bigger than ourselves, for something outside of ourselves. Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

Our first reading today comes from the book of Isaiah. In it Isaiah tells the people that they are precious in the sight of the Lord. They are loved by God. But He speaks these words to a people who feel anything but that. For generations, things have not been going their way. The dream of a united kingdom had fallen apart within months of Solomon’s death. There were constants wars back and forth. Oppression and corruption were rampant. The poor got poorer and the rich got richer. The orphan and the widow were neglected. It was a dark and bad time, but the rotten cherry on the top of this sundae was that the Babylonians had come and sent the people into exile. This was not a time when anyone could look around and say, boy, do I feel precious in the sight of the Lord. Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

In today’s Gospel story we heard the story of the Magi, or the Three Kings or Three Wisemen. We know very little about these three Magi, and I mean very little. The Church of England commissioned a report about twenty years ago, and it concluded we know so little about them that we don’t even know if there were three of them. We don’t know if they were kings. We don’t know if they were wise. We don’t even know that they were men. We know almost nothing about these folks. What do we know about them?

God wanted to shine a light in the midst of the darkness that we experience. And there is a lot of darkness in this world from the global level down to the personal level, and everything in between. God wanted to make sure that in the midst of all this darkness there would be a light.

Christmas in a Minor Key The Rev. Bingham Powell

What a great story we have in today’s gospel on the last Sunday of Advent. We are close, SO close to Christmas, but we’re not quite there yet, just a bit more time, just a bit more waiting. Time for us to hear and wonder about two pregnant women, a young woman, Mary, and a much older woman, Elizabeth. Yes, today’s sermon is all about two pregnant, singing women. Listen to or read Ryan’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

“You don’t need to become a vegetarian lion, but start doing things to make the world a little bit safer in whatever spheres you live in. Try to make the world a little kinder in whatever spheres you live in. Try to make the world a little more loving in whatever spheres you live in.” Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

What brings you joy? Is there a hobby you like to do, maybe baking or cooking or eating? Perhaps watching movies or TV shows, listening to music or making music? What brings you joy? Time with family and friends? Getting presents? Giving presents? Decorating the house for the holidays? What brings you joy? Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon on joy by clicking “Read More.”

Happy Advent! Today is the First Sunday of Advent, the first Sunday in the new church year. The word advent means coming. During the season of Advent we prepare for the coming of The One. Who is The One? Is it Santa Claus? No. That’s a different kind of advent. Santa Claus is coming to town, but that is not the advent we are talking about. The One we are preparing for is Jesus, the Christ. Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

Pontius Pilate was the Roman Procurator of Palestine during the reign of Tiberius. Though he commanded a Roman legion of 4500 soldiers, his was not a plush assignment. Saddled with governing one of the frontier provinces of the Roman Empire he spent most of his time in Caesarea Maritime where the weather was reasonably decent and where he was able to have minimal contact with the stubbornly unruly inhabitants of the region under his control. Only on high holy days did Pilate trouble himself to go into Jerusalem so as to be present should any sort of problem arise. Still, he was the face of the Roman Empire in that part of the world, and as such, he literally had the power of life or death over the people under his control. Yet, for all the trappings that went with his position, it is quite possible that Pontius Pilate would have lived and died utterly forgotten by history had it not been for one fateful day when he crossed paths with a Galilean Jew named Jesus of Nazareth. Listen to or read Sharon’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

the psalmist reminds us that our hearts WILL be glad. Our spirits WILL rejoice and our bodies SHALL rest in hope. Yes please. That’s what I’m looking for today and always. Listen to or read Ryan’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

When everything around us seems so overwhelming and we cannot do anything to change it, when it seems that there is fear and hatred spilling out everywhere, and powers and principalities are winning the day, Jesus says keep trying. Keep giving. Keep serving. Keep loving. Keep caring. Keep working toward the dream that God has for a world in which injustices end

Do God's Work Together The Rev. Bingham Powell

Listen to Bingham's full sermon by clicking "Read More."

Faith is not about getting it all right, faith is about taking the journey, knowing that we can’t fully understand and know everything, at least not during this mortal life. As St. James says in the Epistle today, we all make mistakes. As St. Paul says elsewhere, we see through a glass darkly, we see through a mirror dimly. It is impossible for us to understand it all, to get it all right. It is impossible for us to be perfect.

Well, no more bread today! Instead, what we have are some pretty biting words from Jesus about traditions. When the Pharisees and some scribes notice Jesus’ disciple aren’t observing all the rules for cleansing, and purifying, especially around eating and food prep, they ask: “What gives Jesus? Your followers aren’t keeping the rules, they aren’t following the tradition of the elders, why not?”

You are loveable because God loves you. Reflect on that, and then ask yourself, what can I do in response. I, who have this enormous amount of love filling me every day, how can I share that same love with someone else? At work, at home, at school, on the street, in the store, wherever you are think of how you can share that love with my neighbors, with my enemies, with all of creation. How can I share that love that God has already given me in grace? Why? Because God loves you.