See the Light. Be the Light.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. “Blessed are the merciful, for they…
A Sacred Opera
The opening lines of the movie Amadeus highlighting the genius of Mozart and the divine gift of his compositions, begins with words of an aged Antonio Salieri, speaking from a place of despair and ridicule, and reflecting on the first time he heard the beginning notes of Mozart’s Serenade No. 10 in B flat major — “On the page, it looked simple, nothing. The beginning simple, almost comic. Just a pulse. Bassoons, Basset Horns. Like a rusty squeezebox. And then,…
How Can This Be?
I say the same words each week to many people, but, they never become mundane or repetitive, because it’s the same invitation Jesus makes to John’s disciples in today’s gospel, “Come and see”. These words, repeated weekly from my heart to yours are, “The body of Christ, the bread of heaven” or in Lent “The body of Christ, broken for you.” These words, uttered often soft and pensive, as they come from the soul place of my being, are designed…
Beloved
Beloved First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of our Lord January 12, 2020 RCL readings, Year A, Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 29; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17 Dina Carter Ishler; St. Andrew’s, Shippensburg Baptize us with your Spirit, Lord, your cross on us be signed, that, likewise in God’s service we may perfect freedom find. In the name of God who calls us all beloved, Amen. I am certain I am not the only person here who does not clearly remember…
JOURNEY ON WINGS OF THE HEART
Second Sunday of Christmas, January 5, 2020 RCL readings Jeremiah 31:7-14; Psalm 84; Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-19a; Matthew 2:1-2 Here is the little door-lift up your hands, O lift! We need not wander more but enter with our gift. In the name of God who loves us, sustains us and guides us on our way, Amen. Today’s Gospel- actually, all of today’s readings-tell us the story of pilgrimage. They took the journey first- Joseph, Mary on the patient donkey, the shepherds,…
Wondrous love
Our faith journey can sometimes feel like a roller coaster ride. There can be moments of intense excitement, awe and fear as we near a mountaintop experience, before dipping down into the depths of our soul. And there can be times when we can feel lulled into momentary complacency as we chug along the track in a steady rhythm. There can be times when all our attention is focused on a particular spot or turn when God grabs our full…
Darkness IS Where Incarnation Begins
This is the ultimate power of this moment out of all the countless moments in human history- now that God has broken into our scarred and tear-soaked world it will never again be exactly the same. It will still be scarred and hearts will still break and darkness will still contend with light but at this very moment hope has been born- and we have been forever changed. Into both heartbreaking and glorious circumstances of our lives this birth will come, just as it did on that holy night and it is as if we too are kneeling there, seeing, wondering, imagining what it can possibly mean to us. We can bring our own gifts of all our human imperfections and longings and raw emotions and utter exhaustion…and lay them down at the manger. There, they will be safe, and so will we, made whole by this moment when all is made one- Emmanuel, God is with us.
Our truth & God’s truth
We can’t stay in or return to that place of utter communion we all experienced in Brian’s hospital room this week, but we can be determined to live out of that moment. We can allow the sense of shared love, of openness to one another and God, to be what defines us as we move forward. We can allow God to give us the ability to see without blinking, to open our hearts to the wholeness which can and will be ours again. And we can allow God to hold us, tenderly, fiercely, and with steadfast love. For in that release of our souls into the heart of God, we will find and fall into the truth of God, and we will be restored and saved.
Shaped to Endure
“the unending truth of God in our lives is nothing we ourselves can construct.”
God Bless America
Today we celebrated the presence of Christ among us, as we do each Sunday, and we also celebrated and raised awareness of the needs of our veterans. We were blessed with a presentation by Pat Bonanni who passionately shared his stories and his interest in advocating for those in needs, who are often our veterans who return home from service in need of compassion and care.
For all the Saints
It is a profound moment of community that reminds
us we belong simultaneously to both the earthly and the
heavenly realms, a oneness with the saints in light that is never
more real than on this “thin” day when the veil between Heaven
and earth beckons us with its transparency.
All that Glitters is not gold
This humble monk, whose statue represented authenticity, truthfulness, prophecy, and a simple love of Christ, was surrounded by glitter and gold. Mosaics, beautiful perhaps in another context, but wrong in the way we understand how Domingo lived. In this moment of contrast, between glitter, gold, and opulence of his shrine, and the simplicity, honesty, and authenticity of Domingo’s heart, the parable we heard in our gospel today screamed in my heart. I could see the distinction between living from the deepest part of our authentic being in the living Christ and living from the glitter and gold part of our being, the flashy, socially and politically correct, popular part of how we present our lives.