Seminarian Sermons, Part 1.

So I went back home for Diocesan Convention this past weekend and my sponsoring parish asked me to preach our three Sunday Services after convention was over.  Here's the text and hopefully there will be video to follow!

  

Lectionary readings for the 5th Sunday after Epiphany 

Isaiah 40:21-31  • 

 

Psalm 147:1-11, 20c  • 

 

1 Corinthians 9:16-23  • 

 

Mark 1:29-39

May I speak to you in the name of one God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

Hallelujah!

How good it is to sing praises to our God! 

how pleasant it is to honor him with praise

The Psalmist makes it seem so easy, doesn’t he, at least when he’s not wishing for his enemies’ teeth to be broken.  He’s not wrong, though.  It is good, and pleasant to sing praises to God!  We gather together every Sunday (and even sometimes during the week, as we have these past two days at Diocesan Convention); We gather and we have a grand time, offering praise to God, singing beautiful hymns together, enjoying fellowship with fellow christians and giving our thanks.  And we should.  One might even say it is a good and joyful thing to do.  When we gather like this we’re doing what Christians have done for two millennia, we’re doing what Christ commanded us to do.  In fact, for many of us, myself especially, this is where we come to encounter God.  We come to the table and break bread, and share wine, and we marvel at the holy mystery of the incarnation of Christ; at God made man; at his redemption of our broken nature; and at the sheer wonder of creation.  And in the repetition of our liturgy and our prayers, in the familiarity of the faces and buildings around us, we find solace, we find peace, and we find comfort. 

When I was growing up I was, in what is undoubtedly a complete and total shock to everyone who has ever known me, a rather nerdy kid.  Middle school is tough as it is, but as a short underweight, self-professed geek....  Well, let’s just say that middle school went pretty much exactly the way you would expect.  Luckily, I had somewhere to go.  From a young age, I got involved in the diocesan youth programs, and took advantage of nearly everything the diocese had to offer.  These events were an incredibly welcome break from the slings and arrows of the social minefield that is middle school.  Having a place where everyone was kind was fantastic.  To a moody, hormonal 7th grader these events were a mountaintop experience to rival Peter’s.  It was the one place where we could all be around our peers and still be safe, still be welcomed, and still be comfortable.

But in our Gospel today, Mark is calling us into a space that can be quite uncomfortable.  And he is not only calling us into that place, he is calling us into that place urgently, even dragging us kicking and screaming into that space.  If we were 29 verses into Matthew’s Gospel, we would still be learning about Jesus’ Great-Great-Great uncle or something, but this is Mark, and Mark is in a hurry. Jesus already has a few apostles, has started preaching and he has exorcised a demon who had publicly outed him as the Holy One of God -- in case the sky being torn open and the great booming theophany at his baptism hadn’t given it away.  

The fact that that this has all happened so quickly, so immediately is important.  It’s important because what we’re being asked to do by this passage is so urgent and uncomfortable.  There’s a quote attributed to St. Francis that I love, and that I think most Episcopalians love:  “Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary use words.”  I agree with Francis, I really do.  It’s important to spread the good news with our actions as well as our words.  But the point Mark is making here seems to be that it is not enough to just do good works.  We’re being compelled to go out and talk about this good news.  Simon hunts down Jesus and tells him “Everyone is searching for you.”  

“EVERYONE is searching for you.”  

I’m not going to really get too much into the Greek, mostly because I’m absolutely horrible at Greek, but the word used here for searching is a really aggressive word; it means more than just tracking down.  It’s quite forceful.  He pursued him, he hunted him, he rooted him out.  He grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him and said “Hey!  What are you doing out here in this deserted place?  EVERYONE is looking for you!”  Now I’m not using Greek to show you that y’all are getting a good return on your investment in sending me up to that fine seminary in Virginia; I’m using it because this wasn’t just Simon playing hide-and-seek with the Christ.  Simon was pushed, was driven, was compelled to come find Christ, and then pushed, drove, and compelled Christ to go out preaching to everyone. 

Like Simon, we are all hunting for Christ. Like Simon, we are trying to find him for our own reasons.  We’re hunting for him because we want Christ to do what we want him to do.  But, like Simon, we can’t be hunting for JUST ourselves.  When we find Christ, we have to carry him back out into the world, carry him back out to everyone. 

Underscoring the Gospel message today, Paul makes clear that carrying this message out isn’t ground for boasting, but rather is an obligation laid upon us, Just as Simon laid it upon Christ.  “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel” says Paul, and with his long habit of making us uncomfortable he continues by not really giving us an option.  We are not doing this of our own will.  We are doing it because we have a commission.  We have a commandment.  “Go ye into all the world preaching the Gospel.” 

But Paul’s message isn’t totally without nuance.  Paul tells us we have to go out and spread the Gospel, but he isn't telling us we have to throw on a signboard and stand on a street corner shouting at passers-by.   Paul is telling us to meet people where they are.  He has made himself all things to all people.  

Now, we aren’t Paul, and I know I can’t do that.  But what we can do is be there each day with someone in need.  Be with someone who is broken, who is hurting, who is struggling, who is just having a bad day; be with them, and help them carry their load.  Be with them, and let them know that they are loved, not only by us as friends, but as a unique, and precious child of God. 

      

I know that this can be hard. Sharing our faith with people is not something that comes naturally.  Having conversations about our faith with strangers can be really, really awkward.  Believe me, I know.

We learn from a young age it’s impolite to talk about politics or religion.

And for us as Episcopalians it can especially difficult.  It may be even harder for us to speak in the language of evangelism.  It can be difficult at times to even use terms like evangelical, and I know I can hardly say “I accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior” without stumbling over my words, not because I don’t mean it, I absolutely do, but because that’s just not how we usually say and do things in the Episcopal Church.  

So yes, It’s awkward.  Yes, it’s unpleasant.  Yes, it’s uneasy.  Yes, it’s uncomfortable. 

But it was absolutely terrifying to Isaiah when the pivots on the threshold of the temple shook and the seraphim came crashing through the roof and he found himself surrounded by the hem of the robes of God, overwhelmed by his Glory. It was terrifying to Paul, when he was struck blind on the highway and the risen Lord himself appeared and said “Saul, why are persecuting me?”  And it can be terrifying and uncomfortable to us when we encounter God and the risen Christ in our lives.  

But when God asked “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah responded, “Here I am, Lord.  Send me.” And Paul obeyed, and he carried the Good News to the Gentiles.  

So when we consider what we face; a sky torn open, a man healing and exorcising and preaching in the name of God, not just a man, but God himself, God incarnate, God stooping to dwell here with us; what else are we to do?  

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth... he who brings princes and rulers to naught.”  It is the Holy One of God.  And if there is something for which it is worth putting ourselves out there, something worth taking a risk for, something worth getting uncomfortable for, something worth laying ourselves bare for, something worth sacrificing for, then surely it is this Christ that has saved us. 

So when we are sent from this building to do the work which we have been given, let us all make a point this week of sharing why it is we do what we do, why it is we come together in this place to break bread, to wonder at the holy mystery and encounter God, why it is that we live and move and have our being. 

Have a conversation about your faith with someone you normally wouldn’t, invite a friend to church who hasn’t been before. Do not be afraid, say the angels.  Go out into our town, proudly and joyfully proclaiming the incredible, remarkable, disconcerting, earth-shaking, life changing Gospel of Christ.

Because everyone is searching for him. 

Everyone is searching for him.  

Amen

The Rhythm's Gonna Get You

A week or so into the semester and a rhythm is finally starting to develop.  After an incredibly hectic August term and a fairly hectic start to the semester things seem finally to be falling into a pattern and it's becoming easier to feel as if I know what I'm supposed to be doing and when I'm supposed to be doing it.  Just as importantly my class continues to be fantastic and growing together into our new role.

Most significantly, I spent yesterday afternoon in southeast Washington DC doing homework with kids from the Potomac Gardens housing project.  Life in this project is one of abject poverty, with the average family income being about $8,000 a year  In spite of this, the kids we're working with are resilient, bright, capable, and surprisingly hopeful in spite of all they've seen.  It was an absolute pleasure working with them and I'm really excited about spending the next five Tuesday evenings with them.  The joy the children have in spite of all the challenges facing them is a truly inspirational thing.

Oh My Sweet Carolina...

Greek is done. Alleluia.  

For now at least.  

August term and orientation are now officially over, and thus I have taken a trip to ensure that the wonderful state of North Carolina is still around and to visit with my girlfriend.  NC is still here, Sarah is great, and both of those things make me happy.  

Proof of NC's existence: an old photo of the Governors Mansion.

August term is a pretty brutal way to start Seminary.  We spend almost all morning in Greek Class, then eat lunch, then have either a writing workshop or orientation in the afternoon.  Following classes we have a short break before dinner, then about 4 or so hours of Greek homework and studying.  Needless to say three weeks of that is pretty exhausting.  

On the upside I can now (with great effort, a little time, and a few tables to help with declensions) translate some pretty basic Koine Greek.  I have gotten to know my class pretty well, and it is a truly fantastic class.  I have learned how to get around Alexandria reasonably well and have figured out where the essentials are.  I am very much looking forward to getting into a more regular rhythm when our more normal schedule picks up on Tuesday, but for the next few days, I'll just enjoy relaxing, being back in NC, and getting too spend a bit of quality time with someone who is usually entirely too far away.  

Happy Labor Day! 

Some Things Can Make a Three Legged Stool Shake, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Natural Disasters

As many of you know, in the past week those of us in Northern Virginia have gone through an earthquake, a hurricane and a Greek quiz.  Needless to say things have been busy, hence the delay in posting something about any of it.  

Long story short, I'm fine, as is everyone else on campus, but a few buildings are not.  What looked upon initial inspection to be a very favorable diagnosis did, upon further investigation, turn out to be wrong and the school has a pretty significant amount of structural damage to Aspinwall Hall, Maywood Hall and a professor's house on campus.  Less significant damage was experienced at Key Hall, the Payne Library, Sparrow Hall and on student bookshelves across campus.  Damage from the hurricane seemed to me to be limited to a few trees being down and perhaps a slight exacerbation of the problem at Maywood.  

In any case contributions of reflections on the earthquake were solicited from students for a university publication of some sort, and I offered to write something up.  While what I wrote is a reflection on what we could take away from the earthquake, I'll tell you right now it was pretty frightening.  At the initial jolt I thought perhaps a plane had crashed at nearby Washington National, but the ensuing shaking disabused me of that notion quickly  Though we were all fine, it's not an experience I wish to have again anytime soon.  I'm not gonna write anything more about Irene, I don't believe, because it wasn't much of a storm, and we mostly used it as an excuse to stay in and have a party. That said, it was significantly more powerful elsewhere than it was here, and there has been some loss of life, including in the county where I was raised.  Please keep those who are recovering from both the earthquake and Irene in your thoughts and prayers, and may the souls of those who were lost find their rest. 

In case you are interested, the bit I fired off on the earthquake is posted below.  If I can get any pictures of damage I'll post them here later.  

Stay safe out there, I hear next week is frogs and rivers of blood! 

Peace, 

Daniel 

  

It is more than a little bit disconcerting to be sitting on the top floor of a building when the earth beneath you begins to move.  Even more unsettling than the movement is the groaning, growling, menacing rumble that comes from the shaking bedrock. It was unexpected, to say the least, and a feeling I hope to never have again.  

Northern Virginia is not exactly a hotbed of seismic activity; the 5.9 earthquake was the strongest Northern Virginia has experienced in over a century.  Though relatively minor as earthquakes go, there was damage both to the seminary and to buildings nearby. The National Cathedral experienced significant damage, and a parish in the Diocese of Virginia was destroyed. We had our nerves put even more on edge as word came that it may be just a foreshock to a larger quake.  This made the afternoon even more challenging for some of the juniors, especially for those with a particular fear of earthquakes, and for those who were in Haiti for that earthquake, but as families were reached and safety was confirmed, relief began to set in for all of us.  

In many ways, this was a perfectly appropriate way for the junior class to begin our time on this Holy Hill.  We learned in the span of a few seconds just how close we had grown in two weeks, and how much we cared for one another.  We learned we will all need to rely on our classmates at times, even if it is just for help down the stairs.  We also learned that we can carry on through adversity, and most importantly, that even while the stones sing out, (or maybe just a wee bit after) we will come together in peace, and give thanks to God.

High Church and Friends in Low Places.

St. Paul's K. St
It was an absolutely beautiful service in an absolutely beautiful place.

On Friday night we celebrated the birthday of one of my classmates.  He has been living away from his home for the last few years and so this was the first time he'd had a large crowd to celebrate his birthday with in a while.  It was decided early on we'd head to a little Mexican place for margaritas and karaoke.

It was everything you'd expect and more.  As with most karaoke nights, things started off fairly quietly, leading into rather rousing renditions of songs folks knew.  Highlights included classmates singing, Three Little Birds by Marley, My Way, Friday I'm in love, American Pie, and, of course, friends in low places.  Though yours truly did no singing, I will happily admit I was thoroughly entertained.  Karaoke isn't usually my thing, but it was a really delightful evening, in spite of the horrific weather.

Saturday, most of us took a sabbath and did basically nothing.  After two weeks of packed days with tons of information, both educational and practical, it was a wonderfully lazy day of rest and recovery. One of my classmates brought her XBox 360 and we set it up in my dorm's common room and spent a sizable chunk of the afternoon playing video games.  It's surprising how nice a little time playing Halo can be after trying to cram Greek declensions into one's brain.

On Sunday, a small group of us went to St. Paul's Parish on K St. in Washington, DC.  The beautiful historic parish was high church at its highest.  Though a little higher than I'd like to participate in every Sunday, the service was beautiful, engaging all the senses and including a liberal use of incense, which I love.

The building itself was also beautiful.  For those who are unaware, the Chapel at VTS suffered a catastrophic fire last october and was completely gutted and rendered structurally unsafe.  As a result, we meet for chapel in a room that has been temporarily modified to serve as our chapel, and while it is a well lit, practical and perfectly nice space, I also LOVE going to church in a beautifully built worship space with exquisite stained glass and great music, all of which St. Paul's had.

Spending time every morning in out chapel for Morning Prayer, Eucharist, Noonday prayer or any other service has underlined just how true the adage is that the church is not the walls or the art, but it also calls to attention that while beautiful liturgy can be done anywhere, beautiful buildings, beautiful space, and beautiful art can all contribute additional depth and meaning to the experience.


On wednesday of this week I have my second Greek quiz, and this one is a bit more serious than "write out the alphabet."  My sister is coming to town thursday for a visit and then on Saturday I'm going to my first ever MLS game to watch my beloved Portland Timbers take on DC United at RFK stadium.  Heck of a week coming up, but it should be a blast.

Peace.

Daniel

A little something in the window at St. Paul's for you fans of UNC!

Patios, Passing Cars, and Postulants

Yeah, that's Lara Shine shutting me down like I'm a
rust belt factory.

As I'm writing this I'm sitting on our dormitory patio, chatting with some friends, having a drink, and listening to a fellow North Carolinian with a fantastic voice playing her guitar.  It's about 75 degrees outside and is just about perfect. It's worth pointing out that the girl singing is the same one who's totally stuffing me in the photo.

In any case, today was a challenging day.  We spent eight hours today in Safe Church training, learning how to protect ourselves and others from dangerous and abusive situations.  It was both an extremely useful and an extremely taxing day.  It did impress upon me the seriousness of the role I and my fellow seminarians are preparing to take on.  The responsibilities we have to those who will be in our care are immense, and it takes an exceptional level of vigilance to ensure that we never take advantage, intentionally or not of the position we will one day find ourselves in.

On a lighter note the highlight of my week is generally the two or three soccer games we play.  Our friendly matches involve a pretty wide variety of ages, abilities, and skill levels (there's a 6 year old who's probably got more raw talent than anyone else on the field) but we all play together and everyone manages to have a pretty good time.  (Shame the whole church isn't like that...) One pretty awesome thing that happened at our game yesterday.

We play down in what's called the Trotter Bowl. It's a flat bit of field at the bottom of the hill and is adjacent to Quaker St (Yes, the Seminary is actually abutted by Seminary Rd and Quaker St Ln.) In any case, we'd been playing for about an hour when an enthusiastic clearance was kicked out toward the road.  We watched as the ball rolled.  And it rolled.   And it didn't stop.  And it kept rolling.  Then we saw it disappear over the curb just as a car was coming.  Then we heard the thud of the ball getting run over by a little two door coupe.  One of my Sewanee schoolmates who is also here was chasing it down and had to run a solid 100 yards down the street from where it had gone into the road.  We were getting ready to play with the spare ball we had when he yelled up that the ball was not only in one piece, it was still inflated and playable.

Heck of a ball, eh?

Turns out you can survive a whole lot more than you'd expect from time to time.

VTS Soccer.  We're going to join a city league.  For real.
We're making jerseys and everything.

Thanks to the Rev. Adam Thomas for the catch on Quaker Lane, not Quaker Street.  Yea, Sewanee's Right!

A New Place, A New Chapter.

A week ago today I moved onto the campus of the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, more commonly known as Virginia Theological Seminary or VTS.   Founded in 1823 it is the largest Seminary in the Episcopal Church.  It is located in beautiful Alexandria, Virginia, and is on a magnificent campus adjacent to that of Episcopal High School, located together in the shadow of downtown Washington, DC.

But while I could tell you facts and figures all day about the school that would tell you nothing about the fantastic community that is found here.

From the moment I moved in and had several folks offer to help me move my stuff in the August heat, to this evening, where a few of us held compline in a dorm common room and celebrated one of my classmate's birthday, my time here has been one instance of welcome followed by another.  Indeed, it's remarkable how close our class has become after only one week together.  Birthdays are celebrated, help is offered, invitations are extended and company is enjoyed.

When I consider that fellowship, think on how interesting my first classes have been, and ponder the tasks ahead of me in the coming semester the prevailing thought I have is "I can't believe how lucky I am to have three years ahead of me in this place."

Times will change: classes will get harder, pastoral ministry will stress, strain will develop, difficulties will emerge, and there will undoubtedly be people that I at times "love to death bless his heart," but knowing that these difficulties lie ahead, I know just as much how fortunate and how blessed we as a class are that we will be facing them together.  

I will aim to keep this blog better updated as this journey starts, blocking out time to write and keep, friends, family, fellow parishoners at St. Andrew's, and whoever else decides they'd like to read my writing updated.  So check back, comment, ask questions, let me know if there's something you'd like me to talk about or cover and I'll aim to let you know what I'm doing, what I'm learning, and hopefully to occasionally provide you with media of the music and liturgy that helps keep me going up here.

Looking forward to the journey!

Peace.