St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
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Homily Highlights for January 11 – The First Sunday after Epiphany
THE BAPTISM OF JESUS AND OUR BAPTISM
“On hearing this they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them the Holy Spirit came upon them.” (Acts 19:5-6)
“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” (Mark 1:9)
ORIGINAL MEANING
The public ministry of Jesus begins with his Baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. John is surprised and believes Jesus should be baptizing him (Mt. 3:14) but this is a time of humble obedience for Jesus looking ahead to his bearing of the sins of the world in his suffering and death. We see the heavens “torn apart” and the Holy Spirit descending like a dove on Jesus. The voice of God the Father is heard from heaven declaring, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Perhaps in this picture from the Gospel, we can understand better why we begin our service with the acclamation, “Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit” and why we baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The fullness of God is present at this critical moment of the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. Mark’s Gospel does not even give us an account of the birth of Jesus but begins his Gospel with the Baptism of Jesus.
EXPLORING WHAT IT MEANS TODAY
The feast of the Baptism of Jesus is a Sunday when we celebrate the sacrament of Holy Baptism whenever it is possible. And it is always a day when we are led to recall our own Baptism and our Baptismal Covenant, for here is a statement of the faith in a historic creed that has reflected core Christian beliefs in a Trinitarian God for centuries. In fact, we call the first part of the Baptismal Covenant, “the Apostles Creed,” because we trace it all the way back to the Apostles. The five promises that follow give us a wise and balanced guide for living the Christian life: continuing in Christian Education, prayer and the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, resisting evil, and always returning to the Lord. It is a faith that is always reaching out: Proclaiming by word and example the Good News of God in Christ (our parish mission statement). It transcends all the divisions of our times and all the labels that would demean or dehumanize. It is a guide for every generation of this parish family and the foundation of our Confirmation program. So it is fitting that we renew our Baptismal Covenant together today (p. 292 Book of Common Prayer).
Father Hagerman
Homily Highlights for January 4, 2015 – Epiphany Sunday
In the Gospel today, three Wise men make a long and difficult journey to find Jesus, but beneath the light of a bright star there is a shadow. The shadow of King Herod who seeks to learn from the Wise Men where Jesus is so he can kill him. He doesn’t succeed but many young boys in Bethlehem are killed and we remember this with the Feast of the Holy Innocents on December 28th. The Christmas story has a painful side and the Scriptures and the Faith do not hide it because we better understand the need of this world for the light of Christ when we face honestly the darkness that it challenges. This Christmas season we are met with a profound and painful tragedy in the death of cyclist Thomas Palermo, husband and father of two young children. He died in an accident in which Bishop Heather Cook was driving the vehicle that struck him and apparently left the scene of the accident for a still unclear period of time. We await the full police report to understand better what all the circumstances of this tragic accident were. Bishop Sutton took immediate action placing her on an administrative leave, which is an effective suspension, and was the strongest action available at this point. I have personally contributed to an education fund set up for the Palermo children with a message of deep condolences and the prayers of St. Stephen’s Church which I know you gladly offer. I also said that every effort would be made to thoroughly address this tragedy in a manner that the grieving community rightfully expects and I trust that my colleagues will all be in that spirit when we meet with Bishop Sutton on Tuesday morning at the Claggett Center. Many things need to be addressed in this situation. The Electing Convention of the Diocese of Maryland last May was not given the information at any time in the process that Heather Cook had previously been arrested and convicted of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and apparently marijuana. Had that information been known, I am very sure that the outcome of that election would have been different and it is my hope that corrective action will be taken at some future date, to have a new election when a genuinely informed decision can be made.
There was a statement made to the press about the importance of forgiveness in the Christian Faith and the Search Committee extending that in the belief that Heather Cook had served her probation and was successfully recovering. I would like to address that: Having worked weekly for the last eight years at the Jennifer Road Detention Center in a special unit that frequently deals with addiction and mental health issues, I have often had the occasion to work with those who were serving DUI sentences, sometimes in situations where there was a loss of life. I believe deeply in the importance of good Recovery programs for the safety of our society and the salvation of the souls of all who struggle with addiction. That being said, it would have been my judgment that the 2010 arrest incident on Heather Cook’s record was disqualifying for her to be able to handle the very high stress office of the ministry of a Bishop. Forgiveness must be practiced with wisdom for everyone’s sake.
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” (MT 4:16) This is an important theme for the Season of Epiphany that we are about to enter: Out of the darkness of our pain and struggles into the light of the healing and empowering love of Christ.
Father Hagerman
Homily Highlights for December 21 – The Fourth Sunday of Advent
MARY, THE GOD-BEARER
KEYNOTE SCRIPTURES
The Song of Mary: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior: for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed. (Luke 1:46-48)
Gospel: Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word. (Luke 1:38)
MARY SAID YES! WHAT DO WE SAY?
How extraordinary to be asked by an angel to believe that the very life of God could dwell and grow within you.
The life of God that would be born and dwell among us.
The life of God that would heal and reconcile.
The life of God that would suffer and die for us and rise again—and in that dying and rising, offer us the gift of His own Holy Spirit that becomes to us all a promise and a question.
Do you believe that the very life of God can dwell and grow within you? (For that is one purpose of the Holy Spirit.) We are all Mary in facing that question. We can never again recite in the Baptismal Covenant that Christ was “conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit” without considering if we are willing to have our lives directed by that same power.
A CRADLE AND A CROSS
Mary’s love as the God-bearer was something extraordinary. The two most compelling images of Mary in Christian Art are the Madonna cradling the newborn Jesus and Michelangelo’s great sculpture, The Pieta, that depicts Mary cradling the broken body of Jesus after he is taken down from the cross. A cradle and a cross frame the great love of Mary. “I am the servant of the Lord, let it be with me according to your word.” Why is love so costly? Yet Mary is told by the Angel Gabriel, “Do not be afraid.” This love will not end in tears, for there is one more scriptural story of Mary. “They all joined together in prayer, along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus and with his brothers.” (Acts 1:14) Joined in prayer awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit. In that vision of prayer, Mary saw all that the power of God’s love would release through the baby she was blessed to bear.
So we celebrate Christmas each year not just as a remembrance of an event of the past, but in hope that each year our hearts can be a cradle where Christ is born anew, by the gift of the Holy Spirit He gave us so long ago. We celebrate Christmas not only for children, though they enrich it with their innocent joy and expectation, but seasoned by all the lessons we have gathered in the journey from childhood magic to maturity—we see Mary with new eyes and with her we say, “Yes! The life of God can dwell and grow within me.”
Father Hagerman
Homily Highlights for December 7 – The Second Sunday of Advent
PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD
KEYNOTE SCRIPTURES
Old Testament: Comfort, O comfort my people... A voice cries out, “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord…” (Isaiah 40:1, 3)
Gospel: As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Mark 1:2-3)
THE LONG ROAD OF SALVATION HISTORY
Our Old Testament reading from the prophet Isaiah is closely linked with our Gospel today—a link that points to the unfolding story of redemption that leads to Jesus Christ. The Jesse Tree that our Church School children prepared is a great symbol and icon of that story. Jesse was the father of King David and it was from this family tree that Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, was descended. The symbols of the Jesse Tree look back even further than Jesse, all the way to the beginning of the biblical story: Adam and Eve, The Tree of Life, Noah and the flood, Abraham and the Patriarchs, Moses and the Prophets, King David and the lineage leading to Joseph, the Angels who come to Mary who receives their message with faith, God’s Word which will carry that faith to every future generation represented in the symbol of “The Builders” called to continue building Christ’s Church— Builders who are reminded by God’s Word that “No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:11)
THE MINISTRY OF THE BUILDERS
The true meaning of Christmas is well disguised if not obliterated in our culture, so each new generation must carry the story to our children of the Good News of the coming of Jesus—A story that shapes lives, young and old, that can experience Emmanuel—a name which means “God with us”. A God whose comfort and compassion reaches across the generations and is to us a power that is not just a warm remembrance of a story of the past but life-giving values that shape the present and the future. We share with joy the blessings of the season even as we acknowledge with courage how far we still have to go to embrace the message of “Peace on Earth”. Joined together, that joy and courage moved with compassion creates a stronger spirit of giving that is not just for this season but a touch of God’s Kingdom and God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven.
We cannot wait until December 25th to begin. Even now we “Prepare the Way of the Lord” by entering into a prayerful experience of God’s Word and the ministry of sharing so that the path of Advent leads us to the cradle where Christ can be born anew in each of our hearts.
Father Hagerman
Homily Highlights for November 30 – The First Sunday of Advent
KEEP AWAKE
KEYNOTE SCRIPTURES
Old Testament: “We are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)
Gospel: “And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.” (Mark 13:37)
ADVENT 2014
In the midst of so many holiday activities, sometimes too hurried, “Keep awake” may be what we say to ourselves at the end of a busy day with still one more thing to do in the evening. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah—which has its own remarkable biblical story—and the New Year, are all meant to be happy times. Why does a day we call “Black Friday” stand at the gateway and news stories with the ominous message of lower consumer spending make us wonder if this is the season to be jolly? Would greater simplicity really be so bad for us?
O COME, O COME EMMANUEL
The haunting melody of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” moves our heart to a different place—a mysterious magic and hope that reminds us the counter-cultural experience of Advent in the Church is something for which we are thankful. The color blue moves us to a place somewhere in between pure violet penitence and the white of celebration—a place of contemplation in the midst of the noise and haste, where the hard reality of want is met by the joy of giving. And we might find that our most cherished memories of the Christmas season are in special and poignant times of giving. This is how it is meant to be in the season of Emmanuel—God with us. Keep awake; God is here.
THE POTTER AND THE CLAY
The Scripture readings on the First Sunday of Advent are filled with apocalyptic images of the coming of God—a bracing reminder that in the end, the reality of God will overshadow everything else in this world that claims such urgency and importance. “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down.” (Is. 64:1) Come down and remind us of what really matters. Well, God does tear open the heavens and come down. We name this coming as Jesus Christ and in walking closely with him in this holy season, we can find a life of meaning being gently shaped as the hand of the potter shapes the clay into the masterwork God means it to be. O come Emmanuel, and bring
--Songs to our hearts and to broken or empty hearts needing songs
--Warm times of fellowship that overflow to the lonely
--Banquets to the hungry
--Gifts, gifts from wise men who brave the journey to the place where the gifts are most needed.
O come, Emmanuel-God with us. Keep awake. God is here.
Father Hagerman
Homily Highlights for November 16 – The 23rd Sunday after Pentecost
GOD’S TALENTS: NURTURED IN COMMUNITY OR BURIED IN FEAR
Keynote Scriptures
New Testament: Therefore encourage one another and build up each other as indeed you are doing.(1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Gospel: I was afraid and I went and hid your talent in the ground. (Matthew 25:25)
THE COMMUNITY OF ENCOURAGEMENT IN A GIFTED CREATION
God has woven it into the fabric of life from ecosystems to faith communities: Many diverse gifts, many people working together bring a wholeness that is greater than the sum of its parts and in it there is joy and accomplishment. We can see it in our work places at their best, we can see it in our churches and we can see it in God’s gifted creation. God is generous, we are blessed and to respond in thanksgiving brings an abundance of life. This is a life of stewardship. Investing our talents in God’s gift of life multiplies the gift for those who give and those who receive. It is a Theology of Abundance even in difficult times. Moving from fear to faith even in difficult times is so much the story of God’s Word from Abraham to Mary and Joseph. We cannot see the entire story when we are called. We cannot make the whole journey at once yet we are called to make that step of faith, invest that talent and see God give the growth.
BURIED ALIVE
In the Gospel today, the man who buries his one talent in the ground presents an image of one who is buried in a grave while he is still living. Fear does that to us. It is not how many talents you have that is most important but whether you invest those talents in God’s gift of life and, however simply, make the world a better place, closer to God’s Kingdom. In the Gospel all who invest their talents are equally praised no matter what the number of talents. So it is with our pledging, the collective energy of faith commitment is the foundation of the stewardship of St. Stephen’s. Never be afraid to make that first step of faith for faith bears fruit of abundance.
Father Hagerman