The Who and the What of our journey

Rev. Molly F. James, PhD

St. John’s, West Hartford, CT

July 4, 2021

Ezekiel 2:1-5; Psalm 123; Mark 6:1-13

May God’s Word be spoken. May God’s Word be heard. May that point us to the living Word who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

I love to travel. And I have been blessed that in my current role, I get to do that a fair amount of it (the last year being a notable exception of course). I love seeing new places and meeting new people. I especially love seeing the breadth and depth and diversity of the Church in so many different places. Those of us who are frequent travelers usually have a system setup that makes it easy to pick up and go. This allows us to not be unpacking and repacking all the time. It allows us to enjoy our time at home and only have to do a little laundry. The airplane safe toiletries already in the suitcase. The backpack with snacks, a water bottle, tissues, a first aid kit, travel pillow, headphones and whatever else we might want for the next flight. We have all our stuff ready to go.

So, what are we to do with texts like our Gospel this morning. Jesus “ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.” Take nothing for the journey? What? Nothing. Not even a change of clothes. No snacks. No money. This seems like a harsh instruction. I want to push back on the text. I want to argue with Jesus. I want to say how experienced a traveler I am, and I know what I need. It’s not much. I can carry it all myself, so really won’t it be okay if I just bring a few things? Please?!

I could get myself all worked up about this. Worked up into quite a state. Bound up in my own certainty, my own thinking. But then I pause. I take a deep breath. I hear the voices of wise and beloved people in my life who invite me to consider how my narrow focus and need to plan and be prepared might actually be keeping me from hearing the deeper message, the deeper invitation at the heart of today’s text. 

Ultimately I think there are two key points for us in this text. The first is just a few lines back in the Gospel. Notice something important here - Jesus sends them out two by two. He does not send them out alone. There is no emphasis on rugged individualism here. No lone rangers. No going it solo. The work God calls us to is meant to be done in a team, with a partner. And it is meant to be done in community. Notice that Jesus does not send them out to be hermits in the desert. He sends them to towns and villages. He sends them to share the good news with others, but invites them not to be too invested in the outcome. If what they have to offer is not received by the community, it is okay to shake the dust off your feet and move on to another place, another community. In other words, it is okay to “fail.” It’s okay if it doesn’t all go perfectly or right the first time or the fifteenth time. What matters is the journey and that we do not work alone. 

There. That’s it. Not alone. That’s what really matters. That is what Jesus is trying to communicate to the disciples. It’s about teamwork. It does not matter WHAT you take on the journey. It matters WHO is on the journey with you. Tunics and sandals and bags. That’s just stuff. You can find stuff anywhere. What is not easily found is a companion for the journey. 

And this brings us to the second point in Jesus’ commands to the disciples. Priorities. Jesus is telling them not to take all the stuff with them, because he wants them to understand that it is not about stuff. It is about people. It’s about connection and community and learning together. And the messiness and glorious joy of being in relationship with other human beings. It is about knowing that what is possible together is far more meaningful, impactful, and rewarding than what would ever be possible on our own. It’s about people.

And isn’t that a truth that we have had reinforced over this past year, over these months of challenge and struggle. No amount of stuff. No amount of two dimensional interactions on Zoom can match the glorious gift of a hug or the gift of simply being able to reach out and hold the hand of someone we love. Amidst all the stress and strain, amidst all of the loss of this year. Amidst all of it, I hope that we have also been given the gift of clarity. The opportunity to reassess our values and our priorities. Life is indeed fragile and uncertain. As the oft quoted words of poet Henri Frederic-Amiel say: “Life is short. We don't have much time to gladden the hearts of those who walk this way with us. So, be swift to love and make haste to be kind.” I hope that as the world reopens and we return to so many things we have missed - like the joy of gathering together in person to worship God - we will not lose or forget the gifts we have been given. 

We will deepen our focus on those who journey with us. We will put more energy into the WHO. We will be less concerned with the WHAT or the outcome of our efforts. It is the connection that matters. It is the relationships that matter. No doubt the world needs the Good News. No doubt it needs more love. It needs more kindness. May we be swift to share those gifts as we venture forth into the future of a world reopened. May we join together in transforming ourselves, each other, and this world to more fully resemble God’s kingdom, God’s dream. A more beautiful future is possible, if we have the courage to follow Jesus’ lead and step into it together. Amen. 

Saying Yes to God

                                                        Mosaic from Hagia Sophia

Rev. Molly F. James, PhD

DFMS Noonday Prayer via Zoom

Nativity of Mary, September 8, 2020

May God’s Word be spoken. May God’s Word be heard. May that point us to the living Word, who is Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

So today we celebrate the nativity of Mary. We honor the birth of Jesus’ mother. It is of course a great and glorious thing to honor Mary. A remarkable woman who rightfully has a profound and prominent place in our tradition. From our Scriptures, it could be easy to just think of today as a celebration of unexpected pregnancies and miraculous children. But I think that ultimately, both the story of Hannah and the story of the Angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary point to us even wider ideas and understandings. 

We are in good company when things are not going as we had hoped. That is exactly how Hannah spends much of our reading from Samuel today. In a place we have all been, and might be right now - a place of wishing things were different than they are. If we are feeling as though life is mixed up or out of order or things are not at all going the way we planned, we are not alone. Hannah had a very different life in mind for herself, but that was not how it went. Do you think Mary was planning on having a baby that year? Considering she and Joseph weren’t even married yet, it is not likely. She had not expected an Angel to appear to her and inform her that she was going to have a baby, and not just any baby, God’s Son. And she certainly wasn’t planning on giving birth in a stable miles and miles from her family.

And there is an invitation here, today, in our stories of Hannah and of Mary and the Angel Gabriel. It is an invitation to be faithful and to be open. It is an invitation to be alert to the ways God shows up unexpectedly in our lives, and to pay attention when that happens. An invitation to trust that there is more at work than we can know. An invitation to believe the Angels who show up in our lives and invite us to follow God on paths that seem far different from what we had planned. Perhaps we will be like Hannah and find a longer and more circuitous path to the realization of a long held dream and desire. Perhaps we will find ourselves like Mary to be invited to take a direction we never expected or even believed was possible, but which is more beautiful, challenging, and meaningful than we ever could have imagined. Through our Scriptures we are invited to be faithful like Hannah, and to be open like Mary. We are being offered an invitation to take a deep breath and to be present in the moment. An invitation to pay attention and to say yes when God shows up.  

We may all have our own ways of slowing down and paying more attention. And I would guess there are some similarities. I know I can’t pay attention well if my physical body doesn’t feel well. Enough sleep. Enough exercise. Enough water. Eating well (and in my case often - those who know me well will attest that if you don’t feed me regularly I get cranky.) That basket of snacks on my office table at 815 is absolutely for sharing, and I am glad it is enjoyed by others. It is also there, because I can’t usually go a whole day without snacks. So, taking care of our bodies matters. We also need to care for our minds and our souls. We need things that challenge our intellect and expand our mental horizons. We need time for reflection and prayer. We need to read things that are uplifting and inspiring. We need conversations that bring us joy. This may seem like a tall order. How are we supposed to do all those things and get our work done, our children educated, pay our bills, do all the chores around the house and so on and so on? Here’s the thing though. It is all about the order of operations. Remember middle school math? You only get the “right answer,” the whole problem only works if you do things in the right order. If you do the subtraction before the exponents the answer will be an order of magnitude off. If we do all the things to take care of ourselves first, we will be more productive at work, we will be more patient with our children, we will find more energy and creativity to deal with whatever tasks come our way. Start with the important stuff. That is how we can thrive, and it is how we can foster the kind of heart space needed to be open to God’s invitations in our lives - even the unexpected ones.

This day reminds us that  things will not always happen the way we would like. Sometimes it may feel as though things are moving far too fast or far too slow. Sometimes it will seem as though things are all mixed up. But that is okay. We are not alone. Some of the best stories started out in confusing and unexpected ways. Today’s readings are a prime example of that. And so we are invited to be like Hannah, to be like Mary, and to trust in the workings of the Holy Spirit. Even when we feel scared or uncertain. God is present. God is at work. We need to remain faithful and to be open to the Angels that show up in our lives. The ones who manifest God’s presence to us. The ones who invite us into new possibilities, to stretch beyond our comfort zone. The ones who remind us that the path will not always look the way we expect, but we can and we should trust that God is leading us. We are being led into a brighter future, one of light and life, always. It may not come on the timeline we had planned. It may not be exactly as we had imagined it. And yet it will be glorious and wonderful, because it is God’s future. 

AMEN.

Do not be afraid

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Rev. Molly F. James, PhD
DFMS Noonday Prayer via Zoom
Augustine of Canterbury, May 26, 2020

May God’s Word be spoken. May God’s Word be heard. May that point us to the living Word who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

“Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’” Do not be afraid, from now on . . . Well, my friends, those might be words to live by in these days. I imagine this is a familiar passage to many of us - the story of where Simon is called away from his boat to follow Jesus, to become a “fisher of men.” And even though it is familiar, I believe it has something new to say to us in this time and this place. Think about Simon. He knew all about fishing. It was his profession, his life, his livelihood. He probably never ventured far. His life centered around his home and his boat. Then comes Jesus. This new teacher. This charismatic leader. There is something powerful, something so inspiring in who Jesus is and the message he shares, that without hesitation Simon leaves behind everything that is familiar and goes to follow him into an unknown and uncertain future.

Ah, an invitation to follow Jesus into an unknown and uncertain future. Yes, we have that too don’t we? It is becoming clearer and clearer as the weeks go by that we will not be “going back” to life as it was before. We cannot return to what is known and familiar. The way things have been. No, we are being invited into an uncertain future. The change and the “not knowing” can feel overwhelming. When and how will we travel again? What will our work lives look like in the coming months? What will our home lives look like? When will we get to have sustained opportunities to visit with family and friends? How long will it be before we can gather in large groups again?

It is easy to get our brains going on all the fear and uncertainty. There are so many rabbit holes of wondering that we can go down. But all that worrying does not serve us. There are indeed too many unknowns. We cannot figure it all out yet. For now, we have to be like Simon. We have to trust.

There is so much that is new and different in this time, I think it can make us forget that actually we know how to do this “stepping out into an uncertain future” thing. We have done it time and time again in our lives. From that first day at a new school to that first day at a new job. From moving to a new town or embarking on a new relationship. We have done change over and over again. We have moved into a future where we did not know what was going to happen. When it comes right down to it, of course, we actually do this everyday. There are, actually, no guarantees ever that tomorrow will look like yesterday. No guarantees of how long we have or how our lives will go.

Blessedly, we can often settle into predictable routines that allow us to put our trust in the regularity of our schedule, our tasks, the people we see, and the places we go. So, establishing a routine can be one of things that can help us find comfort and confidence in the midst of uncertainty. We may not have control over the big questions, but we can set our schedule and choose what we have for lunch. The little things really do help.

Creating a routine and finding the areas in which we do have freedom and control is one way to help us move forward in the midst of anxiety and uncertainty. I would guess we have many other things that have also helped us over the years. Don’t sell yourself short. We do actually know how to do this change thing. Those tried and true habits that have served us well can come to our aid again. Grounding ourselves in prayer and worship. Keeping up the spiritual practices that keep us connected to God and keep our perspective wide. Having a friend to call with whom we can process all that we are learning in our new adventure and who also can help us remember who we are when it seems like the uncertainty might expand to include our very self. Whatever has helped us before can be useful in this time too.

And it will help us also to remember Jesus’ words to Simon, “Do not be afraid.” Just like Simon we are not heading off on some solo adventure, we are following Jesus. We are not in charge of it all. Thank God! And so we can trust in God, trust in Jesus, trust in the leading of the Holy Spirit.

We do in fact have what we need to move forward. What a blessing indeed! Amen.

Remembering 9/11

Rev. Molly F. James, PhD

17 Pentecost, Proper 19C: 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10

September 11, 2016

May God’s Word be spoken. May God’s Word be heard. May that point us to the living Word who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

It was a bright, sunny Tuesday with clear, blue sky when our cousin Ben went to work in his office at The Fiduciary Trust company on the 97th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center.  At first it seemed like any other day. There were tasks to be accomplished and appointments to be kept. A few minutes before 9 am, it became clear that it was a day like no other. Someone whose office window faced the other tower, came to tell him that a plane had hit the North Tower. The office began to evacuate. Our cousin Ben was a tall and imposing man, a natural leader with a generous heart. Beyond his regular job, he had been designated to be an emergency manager for his office. He helped his colleagues down to the 44th floor where they were able to get people onto elevators. Ben ensured the elevators were full and then stepped back. He walked down the remaining floors to street level. On the concourse where there were lots of emergency personnel, and he stopped to talk to them. He wanted to know what was going on. Minutes later the towers collapsed. His body was found right next to a fireman. We know the story of how Ben died because of all those he helped that day and because our family was one of the fortunate ones that had a body to bury. 

I think about Ben often. He was my mother’s first cousin. He had kids close to my brother and me in age, and we spent a lot of time together when we were kids - big Thanksgiving dinners and ski trips to New Hampshire. Ben had a wonderful sense of humor and a flair for the eccentric. He drove a purple Volvo with a pink pinstripe. Ben knew how to find joy in the present moment.

And of course, I think about Ben on this day. It is hard to believe it has been 15 years since September 11, 2001. Today will be a day of stories and remembering. Thousands of us have loved ones who connect us deeply to the tragedy of this day. Everyone over the age of 20 likely has a story of where we were when we learned the news. The images of the smoking and crumbling towers, of the damaged Pentagon and that field in Shanksville, PA are etched into our minds and hearts. While it is a day of sadness and grief, I also believe it can be a day of hope and transformation. It is a day that invites us to take stock of our lives and to live in a new way. 

There are thousands of stories like Ben’s. Stories of regular people who embodied compassion, generosity, and a sense of our shared humanity on that day. Small actions, like helping them on to the elevator or down the stairs. Actions that meant someone else got to go home and hug their kids that night. Think of all those phone calls and text messages sent by those who knew they would not survive. They said, “I am sorry.” They said, “Thank you.” They said, “I love you.” Innumerable witnesses to the fundamental goodness of humanity. The terrible evil that inspired the horrific acts of violence on that day did not have the last word. If we are paying attention, the messages of love and generosity speak far louder. 

And the world needs those stories and those messages. We need to be reminded that Love is stronger than death. We need to be reminded that Hope is stronger than fear. We need to be reminded that violence is not the solution to our problems. Divisions are not healed by attacking those who differ from us. 

I don’t know about you all, but I spent the afternoon and the evening of September 11, 2001 reaching out and connecting with those who mattered most to me. It was a day that reminded me of two very important truths that ought to always be at the forefront of my mind. First, we never know how long we have; life is short and risky. Second, relationships matter more than anything else. 

Interestingly, I think these truths are also at the heart of our Gospel today. Today we have the familiar story of Jesus searching for the lost sheep, and the woman searching for the lost coin. There is a sense of urgency in the Gospel. What has been lost is precious, and it must be found. There is no time to waste. We must focus on that which is most important. 

It is a parable that is meant to show us how much we matter to God. We are the sheep and Jesus is the shepherd. And yet it can be a human story too. It can just as easily be applied to our relationships with each other.  We all have people in our lives with whom our connection is essential. People who matter so much that we would drop everything and give of ourselves to ensure that we do not lose that connection. 

The juxtaposition of our Gospel and the anniversary of the tragic events of 9/11 give us much food for thought today. Life is short. We never know how long we have, and so we must ask ourselves the question of how we want to be remembered? What are the stories we want people to tell about us after we are gone? How have we cultivated relationships and sought to build connections? 

The thing that brings me up short in reflecting on our Gospel today and on the final hours of my cousin Ben’s life, is that he went seeking after anyone who needed help. He wasn’t just helping his best friend or a family member. He worked in a huge office. No doubt there were many people he guided to safety with whom he might not have ever even had a conversation. There were no favorites. 

Ben’s actions, and the actions of countless others that day, call me to a higher standard. They call me to seek out those who differ from me. Those who are currently strangers. As people of faith we are not just called to strengthen our ties with those whom we know and love, we are called to go seeking after those who are not in our inner circle. We are called to reach out and to contribute to the flourishing of ALL people. 

It is my prayer that we will have the courage and the grace to reach out and to seek after new relationships. May we follow the example of our Lord and Savior and live into the higher standard to which we are called. May we make the best use of whatever time we have left on this earth, so that the stories that are told about us long after we are gone are stories that inspire. 

AMEN. 

Ascension Day Homily

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Rev. Molly F. James, PhD

Chapel of our Lord, Episcopal Church Center

Ascension Day, May 30, 2019

Acts 1:1-11; Luke 24:44-53; Psalm 47

“Thus it is written . . . that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Repentance and forgiveness of sins. Wait. Isn’t it still Easter? Why does it feel like we're going back to Lent. Why is this one of the last things Jesus tells his followers? Because it matters. Repentance matters. Forgiveness matters. They both matter a lot to our own faith journeys and to our lives as a community. If we are not practicing repentance and forgiveness then we are not following Jesus, and we are not building authentic community.

I believe our Gospel today offers us an invitation to check in on our own spiritual lives. How are we doing? Are we practicing repentance and forgiveness? Notice that the two of them are lumped together. I don’t think this is an accident. Think about some of the most familiar words of our tradition. Think of the Lord’s Prayer. What very important conditional statement do we pray nearly every time we gather as followers of Jesus? We pray that our sins, our trespasses will be forgiven AS we forgive those who sin against us. Our forgiveness is contingent on our ability to forgive other people. There is a complicated dialectic there. Our relationship with Jesus is not a solo endeavor. It is not just about how we as individuals relate to Jesus or whether or not we have accepted Jesus as our personal lord and savior. The only way this works, the only way we grow more deeply into relationship with God is through community. It matters how we treat each other.

It is a subtle thing and the language of the Lord’s Prayer is so familiar we can lose track of the importance of single words or turns of phrase. We are called to live daily into this cycle of repentance and forgiveness. I am guessing many of us don’t struggle with the first part so much. Repentance can come easily. In our performance driven society that seems to thrive on competition and comparison, it is all too easy for us to be aware of our own shortcomings.

What can be far more challenging is the practice of forgiveness, the spiritual practice of letting go of our anger, our frustration, our guilt, our shame. Remember, our call to forgiveness is not just about how we treat each other, it is also about how we treat ourselves. Notice there is no asterisk, no brackets on Jesus statement that the disciples are to proclaim the forgiveness of sins to ALL nations. Jesus doesn’t say, “Except you. Or except this person or that person.” God forgives everyone who repents. Everyone who owns up to their own challenges and struggles.  Everyone who falls short. Everyone who gives into temptation. God forgives. Period. So who do we think we are to withhold that grace from ourselves or from others? God makes no exceptions, so neither should we.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote a book about his experience of chairing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. It is entitled No Future Without Forgiveness. If you have not read it, I recommend it highly. It is a challenging, beautiful, and inspiring book. And its title applies just as much to us as it did to post-Apartheid South Africa. Indeed, there is no future without forgiveness. If we cannot let things go, if we cannot choose Love, if we cannot be open to the healing redemptive power of God’s love in the world, in our communities, and in our own hearts. If we cannot do those things, then we will be stuck. We will be stuck looking back and holding on to the past. To move into the future, we do indeed need to practice forgiveness.

Now, I think it is important for us to remember that practicing forgiveness does not mean condoning evil. It does not mean we are excusing or approving of sinful behavior. If we have been the victim of an injustice, the truth, the reality of that injustice still stands. The choice for forgiveness means that we are taking back control of our own lives. We are subverting the power dynamic. Think of Jesus on the Cross. What does he say? “Father, forgive them.” The powers and principalities wanted to have domination over Jesus. They wanted to punish him. They wanted to come out on top. But rather than fighting back, Jesus forgave them. He sucked the wind out of their sails, and flipped the whole situation on its head. Jesus took back the power by claiming his right to offer forgiveness to his persecutors.

That is what they did in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa too. They broke the cycle of hate by changing the power dynamics. The process allowed victims to claim back their power through the act of forgiveness. Practicing forgiveness is about claiming our freedom and claiming our dignity. May we always have the courage to do so. AMEN.