St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
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Homily Highlights for October 18– The 21st Sunday after Pentecost
CALLED TO SERVE
Jesus models servanthood in his ministry as teacher and healer.
Jesus models servanthood in his death in which he “bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors...By his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53)
Jesus teaches us to minister in the spirit of servanthood. “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant.” (Mark 10:45)
Our call to service is centered in service to God.
Father Hagerman
Homily Highlights for October 11 – The 20th Sunday after Pentecost
APPROACHING THE THRONE OF GRACE
“Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)
HOLD FAST TO OUR FAITH
What is the Confession of Faith we are called to hold fast to?
(Renewal of Baptismal Covenant BCP p. 292) A great calling that is tested.
TESTED AS WE ARE
What tests us?
“The spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God.”
“The evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God.”
“Sinful desires that draw you from the love of God.” (Was this the problem of the rich young man in the Gospel?)
APPROACHING THE THRONE OF GRACE WITH BOLDNESS
It requires spiritual courage (boldness) because our weaknesses will tell us we are not worthy. (One of Satan’s spiritual roles is to be our “accuser.” Revelation 12:10) Contrast this to Christ who is able to “sympathize with our weakness” and calls us to return.
MERCY AND GRACE TO HELP IN TIME OF NEED
Love heals: From God to us...from us to others in need.
Closing Prayer BCP p. 294
May Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and bestowed upon us the forgiveness of sins, keep us in eternal life by his grace, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Father Hagerman
Homily Highlights for October 4 – The 19th Sunday after Pentecost
STEWARDS OF GOD’S CREATION, PART II
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” (Genesis 2:15) NIV
“The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone.’” (Genesis 2:18) NIV
“Give them an inquiring and discerning heart, ... and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works.” (BCP p. 308)
“Almighty and everlasting God, you made the universe with all its marvelous order, its atoms, worlds, and galaxies, and the infinite complexity of living creatures: Grant that, as we probe the mysteries of your creation, we may come to know you more truly, and more surely fulfill our role in your eternal purpose; in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (“Prayers for the Natural Order: For Knowledge of God’s Creation,” BCP p. 827)
“Almighty God, you made us fellow workers in your creation: Give us wisdom and reverence so to use the resources of nature, that no one may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yet to come may continue to praise you for your bounty; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (“Prayers for the Natural Order: For the Conservation of Natural Resources,” BCP p. 827)
GOD’S ORDER OF CREATION
In the very first line of the Apostle’s Creed and Nicene Creed we say that we believe in God as Creator. In the opening chapters of the Bible in the Book of Genesis, a story of creation unfolds that tells us timeless truths about our relationship to God, our relationship with each other and our responsibility for God’s Creation. The Episcopal Church recently published A CATECHISM OF CREATION which helps us to understand this web of relationships and calls us to continue to understand God’s Word as a living Word:
“Genesis 1:26-28 teaches that God brought forth man and woman in the divine image and likeness, enabling them to enter into an intimate relationship with God and one another. And God gave humankind the responsibility to ‘take care of’ the garden. (Gen 2:15) God has also given human beings creative powers. We also participate in creation through works of human thought, art and scientific invention. (Exodus 35) God invites humanity into a covenantal relationship of love for God, for all humankind and for the whole creation.”
In the Gospel today, Jesus reflects on God’s order of creation from Genesis and teaches about the importance of marriage and care for children. He gives a special blessing to children and even calls us all to receive the kingdom of God “as a little child” breaking through the paralyzing fear and weariness of adult cynicism to a trusting faith that is energizing and transforming.
Father Hagerman
THE PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. (BCP p. 833)
Homily Highlights for September 27 – The 18th Sunday after Pentecost
CREATION THEMES
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” Psalm 24:1
GENESIS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Gen 2:15
We have been given a great gift and a great responsibility. The Good Creation that surrounds us and makes up our own bodies is an incredibly complex system that we did not create by our own efforts. Yet as with Adam and Eve in the beginning, we have been called to “work it and take care of it.” It is probably more accurate to say that we are a part of creation rather than “the rulers of creation” as our Eucharistic Prayer says today, although it is certainly true that human activity has an enormous impact on the STATE of the earth and the FATE of the earth. In our reading from Genesis today, God makes a covenant with Noah and his descendants, which includes us. (Genesis 9:8-15) The sign of the covenant is the beautiful rainbow that adorns Sunday School classes and some children’s nurseries: Perhaps a good place to put the rainbow, if it reminds us that our partnership with God in the care of creation will go a long way in determining what kind of planet our children will inherit for their lives and the lives of their children. So how have we done in the vocation of “taking care of” the rich garden the Lord has entrusted to us?
A RAINBOW IN THE SMOG
I have lived in various parts of the country during my life and in all of them there have been days when a warning was issued as part of the weather report to avoid outdoor activities because the air was unhealthy. Those who went jogging or walking on smog alert days would find themselves coughing and dizzy. Interesting how we live in a time when great efforts are made to deny that there is a problem. The Bible calls this condition “hardness of heart” whereby we deliberately ignore the consequences of destructive behavior thus cutting ourselves off from the life giving and life saving Wisdom and Guidance of God. There are times when repentance is a call not just to the individual but to the entire community.
The Bishops of the Episcopal Church, in a pastoral letter called To Serve Christ in All Creation, wrote:
There is a “Troubled relationship between humanity and the natural world. Environmental issues are not just scientific, political, or economic issues, but ones that are profoundly moral and spiritual as well. As Christians we cannot remain silent. Christianity offers an imperiled world the conviction that God’s creation is good, and that God in Christ has redeemed not only the individual human soul, but also the whole of creation.”
STEWARDSHIP
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” At the beginning of our Stewardship campaign we will do well to consider the broadest meaning of stewardship: “To serve Christ in all creation.” Stewardship means serving. As we come to appreciate that God through creation is in many ways serving us, we grow to thankfully return this service with our own. We have been blessed to be a blessing and may we stand with our children to see anew the hope and promise of the rainbow.
Father Hagerman
Homily Highlights for September 20 – The 17th Sunday after Pentecost
DRAW NEAR TO GOD AND GOD WILL DRAW NEAR TO YOU
“Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4:7-8
“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Mark 9:35
THE POWER OF GOD, THE POWER OF EVIL, THE CHOICE OF HUMANITY
(Recollections of 9/11—in memory of Carol Bouchard)
Questions we struggled with:
Was this somehow God’s will? I felt deeply definitely not. This was a “rebellion against God” (see the Baptismal Renunciations, BCP p. 302). All the more evil because it was done in God’s name - perhaps the worst evil possible.
Where was God? I felt God’s presence in the solidarity of the American people and the courageous and compassionate responses of so many such as the firemen of New York and the passengers of United 93 who stopped a fourth attack that would have been on the Capitol.
Why didn’t God stop it? I never find that this question has an easy answer. God gave us the gift of freedom and some misuse it terribly. Somehow genuine freedom is required for genuine love. Why is the cost so high? And what, but Christ on the cross, can show us that God is present in the midst of the most senseless suffering.
Our scripture today tells us that we can use our free will and “resist the devil and he will flee” from us. Evil is not more powerful than we are, living in God’s grace and wisdom. This is an important scriptural teaching, for the evidence is abundant of the presence of sin in the world. A cynical view that corruption is inevitable and “irresistible” creates a spirituality in which Satan is real and God is not. It is a sad world to live in and nothing in our science and technology will save us from its despair.
DRAW NEAR TO GOD, AND GOD WILL DRAW NEAR TO YOU
How do we draw near to God? Jesus’ teaching today about the godliness of servanthood places God in many humble and painful places to which we can draw near. Draw near to God—in prayer to discern where God is calling you to serve. Draw near to God—in Scripture which turns the world upside down and shines a penetrating light on our struggles for power and domination of others. Lived out in small ways- profoundly silly; and great ways- profoundly destructive. The cross of sacrificial love forever challenges our view of power. Draw near to God—in service and make no mistake about it. The God of the Old and New Testament has a deep and passionate concern for the poor and calls us to ministries of compassionate concern and wise empowerment.
We remember with love and honor those who died on 9/11 in sacrificial love or tragic innocence and it can inspire the best in us to discover anew the Easter faith of God’s victory over evil and death and to discover anew that it is in God’s service that we find perfect freedom: The power of servanthood drawing near to the presence of God, transforming the place of crucifixion in every age.
Father Hagerman
Homily Highlights for September 6 – The 15th Sunday after Pentecost
JUSTICE AND COMPASSION AS PRIMARY BIBLICAL VALUES
“Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity and the rod of anger will fail. Those who are generous are blest for they share their bread with the poor.” (Proverbs 21:8-9)
“You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (James 2:8)
“Then looking up to heaven, Jesus sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphata,’ that is, ‘Be opened.’” (Mark 7:34)
WISDOM TRADITIONS IN THE BIBLE
Proverbs is a central part of Wisdom Literature in the Bible. These guides for right living are concerned not only with the moral character of the individual, but with the formation of a wise community rooted in the peace, justice and compassion of God. This community will not discriminate against the poor (James 2) and will reach across societal boundaries for the sake of compassion as Jesus does in today’s Gospel in his ministry of healing of the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman and the man who was deaf: all of them outcasts in the society of the time of Jesus. When Jesus looks to heaven and says, “Be opened,” it is a message to all who hear the Word of God to be opened to the new vision of God’s Kingdom in which the outcasts are a valued part of the community and all are healed in a new community transformed by God’s justice, peace and compassion.
THE STRUGGLES FOR APPLICATION
Most who hear the Word of God would readily agree to the goodness of the values of peace, justice and compassion; but how are they applied to the very specific problems we face such as economic justice, health care for all people, and peace in an often violent world?
I am very thankful for the disciplined prayer life of the Church and its steady focus on the values of justice, peace and compassion and regular prayers for those in leadership offices no matter what their political party may be. I begin to see a road of hope forward in this.
The political world in its many struggles for power is always turbulent. The ability to see elements of diverse viewpoints as possibly pointing to good solutions to difficult problems is lost when opponents are demonized. The life of prayer can make us catch our breath and shake up our habitual perceptions to “be opened” - opened to being changed by the moving Spirit of God’s will. Wise community rooted in biblical values is not easily achieved and is not even approximated in this world without spiritual discipline. We cannot ignore the struggle because “whoever sows injustice shall reap calamity” and that calamity will touch us all. We are called to engagement that goes beyond the ordinary reaction of human anger—whether justified or not— “the rod of anger will fail.” Divine justice and compassion is a vision and power that calls us to a life of prayer in the guiding Wisdom of God’s Word, bearing the fruit of service to God’s people. This is “the obedience that comes from faith” (Romans 1:5), an active faith working to save the soul of the individual and the community.
Father Hagerman
Homily Highlights for August 30 – The 14th Sunday after Pentecost
ALL GOOD GIFTS AROUND US
“Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17)
OUR GENEROUS GOD
We have a very generous God. It is God’s very nature to bless us with life-giving gifts from all good gifts of creation to the mission of Jesus Christ which brings the fullness of life. And so, in the words of our hymn “thank the Lord for all his love.”
A JOURNEY FROM THANKSGIVING TO COMPASSION
The life of faith begins with THANK YOU, continues in WISDOM which is “quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19) and grows into COMPASSION that “cares for orphans and widows in their distress.” (James 1:27) James, who is the brother of Jesus, is deeply attuned to Jesus in understanding the nature of uncluttered religion. Jesus in today’s Gospel sharply focuses on the human heart and would not have us exalt ritual above ethics. How are we living? What kind of a world are we helping to make? What power of life and love moves us to this? These questions take the measure of all doctrine and worship.
IN THANKSGIVING WE GIVE
In sending us Jesus Christ and calling us to know, love and serve Christ, God is not just calling us to thank him but to imitate him. To be, in the words of the creation story of Genesis, people who are “made in the image and likeness of God.” (Genesis 1:27) Thankful for God’s gifts, we become life-giving and generous ourselves.