All Saints' Episcopal Church

Sacrifice

The idea of eternal life is often associated with some disembodied life after we die. We die, the soul goes to heaven and everything is better. While there is no way for anyone to make a claim as to knowing the truth about this disembodied state, we can at least look at what Mark is writing about here, because it might not be about the same thing.

"Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it."

Saint Francis is one of the most "popular" of all the saints. He can be seen in gardens around the world. He is enshrined on bird baths and bird feeders. The prayer that we associate with him, "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace," is one of the most popular prayers circulated. He is the patron saint of animal lovers, peace-makers, and ecologists. He is associated with important works of mer...

We are called to be a people of relentless and passionate prayer, each of us, all of us. Not one of us is released from duty for caring for those inside and outside our community. That is what Christian community is about, following the example of Christ and the instructions of the apostles in taking the Gospel out into the world to heal it.

Creating the Other

Who do you say that I am?

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Jesus' attitude to the law of Israel is not always easy to sort out. Certainly he was not as bent on denying the usefulness or validity of the laws as some have suggested.

There's a line in a song by the Indigo Girls that I love for everything it says about my heritage: Trouble came around here Here in the South we fix something to eat

When we come to the table, we receive God's blessings. We are imperfect people, receiving God's perfect love, through the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have the opportunity, at that moment in time to walk humbly before the Lord and seek wisdom at the feast.

The Stuff of Life

In calling us to speak the truth in love the Greek text uses that powerful word agape. That is the love marked by the giving of oneself with no expectation of return. It is finding a way and a time to enter the conversation, to explore the complicities of the participants, of allowing the truth to emerge and respect to come present. It is not about winning, triumph or ‘being right.�" It is about c...

In the Surf? We Are Not Alone.

In the Letter to the Ephesians, we hear talk about the wall that divides humanity and the idea that this wall was broken down by Jesus, bringing peace within humanity and access to God. Jesus lived the Law in its fullest, living his life as a complete sacrifice to God.

When we feel stuck in life, faced with no good options, God knows, we always and without exception, have choices that we can make.

God continues to be present and act in peoples lives, but we must be ready to listen and respond. God draws us into community for a reason, so that we share the journey with one another and share our truths with one another. As we share our stories and our understanding of who God is, we all grow in our knowledge of God and come to experience God in new ways.

What I have decided over and over again is that the Christian story is the one that makes the most sense for me, for interpreting and shaping a life filled with meaning and purpose. It is not a matter of choosing Jesus and this way of believing over some other faith, the Prophet or the Buddha. It is more a matter of receiving the gift where I find myself, and being open to being transformed by God...

Pilgrimage happens in our hearts. In the midst of our stormy lives, we can make space for God in Christ.

We must remain open to God acting in our lives, to God using us to plant new seeds to grow the Kingdom. Every day we make the conscious choice to live as Christians, which means that we choose to move away from focusing on ourselves and our own self-interest and instead take on the new creation of Christ and in both word and action respond to one another with selfless love, that same selfless love...

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Even now in this time of darkness and despair in our collective lives together God is reaching out to us with abundant love. That right relationship that we share with God may not protect the evil from coming into our lives, but that experience of right relationship does protect us from being influenced by the evil as time and again we choose God's abundant love over anything else that is put befo...

Charity has come to mean philanthropy which is not unrelated to love but which doesn't quite have the force of effective love that we are after. When you think of love in action, what comes to your mind?

Bishop Keith Whitmore preached at the confirmation services at All Saints' on Sunday, May 10.

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