Year A
Acts 7:55-60
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
1 Peter 2:2-10
John 14:1-14<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May the words of my mouth O God\u2026 speak your truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the very first line of this morning’s Gospel\u2026 Jesus says\u2026 Do not let your hearts be troubled\u2026<\/em> but many of our hearts have been troubled\u2026 and not just only this morning\u2026 for some of us\u2026 there’s something almost every day that fills us with uncertainty\u2026 doubt… and fear\u2026 and life in the last ten years is pretty much unlike anything we’ve ever known\u2026 and many of our hearts can’t make sense of\u2026 can’t bridge the gap between the values imbued in us while we were growing up\u2026 and our recent experiences\u2026 and the promises Jesus made and makes to all of us\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are troubled by the divisions within our country\u2026 troubled by the loss of personal freedoms and the rise of autocrats\u2026 and the difficulty in holding some of them accountable\u2026 we are troubled by environmental degradation and global warming\u2026 by glaciers that are calving far too quickly and far too much\u2026 by gloomy forecasts about the economy\u2026 by scandals within media empires\u2026 we are troubled by racism and white supremacy… and across the country\u2026 school libraries and public libraries are being targeted for books which may help young people figure out how they are\u2026 or for books which speak truth about this country’s role in the sin of slavery\u2026 we are troubled and concerned for the safety of our lesbian\u2026 gay\u2026 bisexual\u2026 and transgender relatives and friends\u2026 and by drag queen story hours\u2026 which never killed anyone\u2026 and which are being threatened by Neo-Nazis\u2026 who brandish military-style assault weapons as a means of intimidation… all while guns continue to be the leading cause of death among children\u2026 and by shootings which have become an almost daily occurrence\u2026 the most recent one yesterday in Allen, TX\u2026 where it’s being reported that eight people were killed and seven others are being treated at trauma facilities\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And here’s what’s fascinating\u2026 because to the best of my knowledge\u2026 mermaids don’t really exist\u2026 but some people are outraged that a fictional character\u2026 Disney’s Little Mermaid Ariel\u2026 is being portrayed in a live-action movie by a young woman of color\u2026 in fact\u2026 the YouTube trailer got more than a million dislikes within a few days\u2026 and the phrase Not my Ariel<\/em> \u2026 began circulating on social media\u2026 but no one seems to be disturbed at all\u2026 in fact\u2026 there seems to be benign acceptance of the idea\u2026 that Jesus\u2026 who really did exist\u2026 was a white man with blonde hair and blue eyes\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stephen’s story is a disturbing one too\u2026 he speaks truth to power and is stoned to death\u2026 the post-Easter world is not warm and fuzzy\u2026 and our Easter trumpets are jarringly silenced by shocking human brutality\u2026 Susan Butterworth\u2026 a teacher and lay minister at MIT\u2026 writes\u2026 Stephen bears witness to Christ with his dying breath\u2026 a message of faith and grace\u2026 yet it is impossible to overlook the violence perpetrated by religious people in this passage\u2026 it’s all too easy for those comfortably in power to respond to a challenge with violence\u2026 and not only in the first century of the common era\u2026 certainly\u2026 the Easter story of redemption has not ended the cycle of violence\u2026 yet we as Christians continue to trust in the message of the Holy Spirit\u2026 to witness to the gospel message of hope\u2026 and to commend our spirits to God in the hour of death\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the second line of this morning’s Gospel\u2026 Jesus says\u2026 In my Father\u2019s house\u2026 there are many dwelling places<\/em>\u2026 ] our New Revised Standard Version translation says “dwelling places”\u2026 the translation of this second line in The Message says\u2026 There is plenty of room for you in my Father\u2019s home<\/em>\u2026 and the translation in the First Nation’s version\u2026 an Indigenous People’s translation which was published two years ago\u2026 says\u2026 My Father\u2019s lodge has room for everyone<\/em>\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n But I think most of us are more familiar with Jesus saying\u2026 In my Father\u2019s house\u2026 there are many mansions<\/em>\u2026 in fact\u2026 the King James’ version\u2026 the American Standard version\u2026 and the World English Bible all say mansions<\/em>\u2026 and so it becomes easier for us to jump from there to the TV show\u2026 Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous\u2026 in fact\u2026 there’s even a county western song called\u2026 To My Mansion In the Sky\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the Greek word which is translated as mansion<\/em>\u2026 is men\u014d<\/em>\u2026 and it does not refer to an architectural structure\u2026 but simply means to abide\u2026 to dwell\u2026 men\u014d<\/em> describes something that remains where it is\u2026 and continues in a fixed state\u2026 and in this passage Jesus reassures us that we will remain with\u2026 and will continue steadfastly with him\u2026 so that where and how he is\u2026 there we will also BE\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another way we can understand this\u2026 is that when Jesus says\u2026 I will come again and will take you to myself\u2026 because you know the way<\/em>\u2026 and Thomas objects\u2026 says he doesn’t know the way\u2026 Thomas is thinking about geographic coordinates\u2026 but Jesus is thinking about what he’s been teaching all along\u2026 about the values he’s imparted\u2026 the healings and miracles he’s performed\u2026 and the consciousness out of which it all comes\u2026 and especially that he is\u2026 as God is\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And when Jesus says\u2026 The words that I say to you\u2026 I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works<\/em>\u2026 when Jesus says these words\u2026 we understand that Jesus is using his free will\u2026 is choosing to allow God’s will and Word to flow through him\u2026 seamlessly informing what he says and does\u2026 almost but not quite\u2026 how when we look at artwork\u2026 we may discern something about the artist\u2026 or when we listen to music\u2026 we may gain an insight about the composer\u2026 or how when we eat a fine meal\u2026 we may learn something about the chef\u2026 or maybe how when we see a marionette\u2026 what we’re really hearing and seeing are the words and actions of the puppeteer\u2026 Jesus even says\u2026 whoever has seen me\u2026 has seen the Father<\/em>\u2026 and out of Jesus’ full humanity\u2026 he uses his free will to speak the Father’s words and perform the Father’s will\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n St. Joseph Cafasso\u2026 who was a nineteenth century Roman Catholic priest in Turin, Italy\u2026 said that\u2026 Heaven is filled with converted sinners of all kinds\u2026 and there’s room for more<\/em>\u2026 and I believe that the image on the Holy Trinity bulletin cover\u2026 what we might call Mansions of Faith<\/em>\u2026 represents that when we sincerely search for God\u2026 however we do it\u2026 God will find us\u2026 and the words we use\u2026 will matter less than the experience we have\u2026 because the first line in this morning’s Gospel\u2026 which also says\u2026 believe in God\u2026 believe also in me<\/em>\u2026 could also have been translated to read\u2026 trust in God\u2026 trust also in me\u2026<\/em> belief may sometimes be too much to ask when we can’t understand\u2026 but we can trust in God’s promises\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the author of today’s Psalm had this trust when she or he wrote\u2026 Be my strong rock\u2026 a castle to keep me safe\u2026 for you are my crag and my stronghold\u2026 for you have redeemed me\u2026 O God of truth<\/em>\u2026 and this trust continues in 1Peter\u2026 Once you were not a people… but now you are God\u2019s people\u2026 once you had not received mercy\u2026 but now you have received mercy<\/em>\u2026 Jesus is the way\u2026 and the truth\u2026 and the life\u2026 and if we trust in him\u2026 as Jesus himself says\u2026 whoever has seen me has seen the Father\u2026 and if you know me\u2026 you will know my Father also\u2026<\/em> and the Advocate whom I will send\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year A Acts 7:55-60 Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 1 Peter 2:2-10 John 14:1-14 May the words of my mouth O God\u2026 speak your truth\u2026 In the very first line of this morning’s Gospel\u2026 Jesus says\u2026 Do not let your hearts be troubled\u2026 but many of our hearts have been troubled\u2026 and not just only this morning\u2026 for some of us\u2026 there’s something almost every day that fills us with uncertainty\u2026 doubt… and fear\u2026 and life in the last ten years is pretty much unlike anything we’ve ever known\u2026 and many of our hearts can’t make sense of\u2026 can’t bridge the gap between the values imbued in us while we were growing up\u2026 and our recent experiences\u2026 and the promises Jesus made and makes to all of us\u2026 We are troubled by the divisions within our country\u2026 troubled by the loss of personal freedoms and the rise of autocrats\u2026 and the difficulty in holding some of them accountable\u2026 we are troubled by environmental degradation and global warming\u2026 by glaciers that are calving far too quickly and far too much\u2026 by gloomy forecasts about the economy\u2026 by scandals within media empires\u2026 we are troubled by racism and white supremacy… and across the country\u2026 school libraries and public libraries are being targeted for books which may help young people figure out how they are\u2026 or for books which speak truth about this country’s role in the sin of slavery\u2026 we are troubled and concerned for the safety of our lesbian\u2026 gay\u2026 bisexual\u2026 and transgender relatives and friends\u2026 and by drag queen story hours\u2026 which never killed anyone\u2026 and which are being threatened by Neo-Nazis\u2026 who brandish military-style assault weapons as a means of intimidation… all while guns continue to be the leading cause of death among children\u2026 and by shootings which have become an almost daily occurrence\u2026 the most recent one yesterday in Allen, TX\u2026 where it’s being reported that eight people were killed and seven others are being treated at trauma facilities\u2026 And here’s what’s fascinating\u2026 because to the best of my knowledge\u2026 mermaids don’t really exist\u2026 but some people are outraged that a fictional character\u2026 Disney’s Little Mermaid Ariel\u2026 is being portrayed in a live-action movie by a young woman of color\u2026 in fact\u2026 the YouTube trailer got more than a million dislikes within a few days\u2026 and the phrase Not my Ariel \u2026 began circulating on social media\u2026 but no one seems to be disturbed at all\u2026 in fact\u2026 there seems to be benign acceptance of the idea\u2026 that Jesus\u2026 who really did exist\u2026 was a white man with blonde hair and blue eyes\u2026 Stephen’s story is a disturbing one too\u2026 he speaks truth to power and is stoned to death\u2026 the post-Easter world is not warm and fuzzy\u2026 and our Easter trumpets are jarringly silenced by shocking human brutality\u2026 Susan Butterworth\u2026 a teacher and lay minister at MIT\u2026 writes\u2026 Stephen bears witness to Christ with his dying breath\u2026 a message of faith and grace\u2026 yet it is impossible to overlook the violence perpetrated by religious people in this passage\u2026 it’s all too easy for those comfortably in power to respond to a challenge with violence\u2026 and not only in the first century of the common era\u2026 certainly\u2026 the Easter story of redemption has not ended the cycle of violence\u2026 yet we as Christians continue to trust in the message of the Holy Spirit\u2026 to witness to the gospel message of hope\u2026 and to commend our spirits to God in the hour of death\u2026 In the second line of this morning’s Gospel\u2026 Jesus says\u2026 In my Father\u2019s house\u2026 there are many dwelling places\u2026 ] our New Revised Standard Version translation says “dwelling places”\u2026 the translation of this second line in The Message says\u2026 There is plenty of room for you in my Father\u2019s home\u2026 and the translation in the First Nation’s version\u2026 an Indigenous People’s translation which was published two years ago\u2026 says\u2026 My Father\u2019s lodge has room for everyone\u2026 But I think most of us are more familiar with Jesus saying\u2026 In my Father\u2019s house\u2026 there are many mansions\u2026 in fact\u2026 the King James’ version\u2026 the American Standard version\u2026 and the World English Bible all say mansions\u2026 and so it becomes easier for us to jump from there to the TV show\u2026 Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous\u2026 in fact\u2026 there’s even a county western song called\u2026 To My Mansion In the Sky\u2026 But the Greek word which is translated as mansion\u2026 is men\u014d\u2026 and it does not refer to an architectural structure\u2026 but simply means to abide\u2026 to dwell\u2026 men\u014d describes something that remains where it is\u2026 and continues in a fixed state\u2026 and in this passage Jesus reassures us that we will remain with\u2026 and will continue steadfastly with him\u2026 so that where and how he is\u2026 there we will also BE\u2026 Another way we can understand this\u2026 is that when Jesus says\u2026 I will come again and will take you to myself\u2026 because you know the way\u2026 and Thomas objects\u2026 says he doesn’t know the way\u2026 Thomas is thinking about geographic coordinates\u2026 but Jesus is thinking about what he’s been teaching all along\u2026 about the values he’s imparted\u2026 the healings and miracles he’s performed\u2026 and the consciousness out of which it all comes\u2026 and especially that he is\u2026 as God is\u2026 And when Jesus says\u2026 The words that I say to you\u2026 I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works\u2026 when Jesus says these words\u2026 we understand that Jesus is using his free will\u2026 is choosing to allow God’s will and Word to flow through him\u2026 seamlessly informing what he says and does\u2026 almost but not quite\u2026 how when we look at artwork\u2026 we may discern something about the artist\u2026 or when we listen to music\u2026 we may gain an insight about the composer\u2026 or how when we eat a fine meal\u2026 we may learn something about the chef\u2026 or maybe how when we see a marionette\u2026 what we’re really hearing and 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