Psalm 50 Homily

My latest homily, given in class:

Psalm 50 Homily

Revelation 18:21-24 Homily

My second homily given in class. Some noticeable nervousness.

Revelation 18:21-24

Luke 7:36-50 Homily

I am in a Homiletics class (Homiletics is the art of preaching), and we gave our first homilies in class today. Here is mine...

Luke 7:36-50 Homily

The Philosophy of Summer Scheduling

It is now the end of May, and since my last real blog post, much has happened in the way of life changes. I have completed my first full year of seminary (I had only finished my first semester last I wrote), with this last semester being much more enjoyable and spiritually enriching than the previous. It is always hard to notice the changes of your person as they happen, but looking back over the nine or ten months, I can say that I have grown in a lot of ways, and am much more aware of the parts of me that need continued growth. By working at the Credit Union, I have learned how unfit I am to deal with "difficult" people, otherwise known as "The American Consumer." But over time, I have slowly become more patient, more kind, and more understanding toward those whom I interact with. There are many ways in which I had begun to feel entitled to things which I did not have right to, and honestly, as a teller, my duty is to serve those who come in whichever way they so please (as is appropriate to my job description). I have developed better friendships with my co-workers, and consider myself very lucky to not have one that I do not get along with. Each, obviously, has their quirks, but they are all very enjoyable personalities, and I am glad to have gotten to know each of them.

Just this past month, I was hired by Prince of Peace Anglican in Hopewell as the Youth Minister. It is a part-time position, that entails leading youth groups and hosting youth ministry events. As my first "order of business" I began a series on the "Come and See" passages in the Gospel according to John. The youth have really latched on to the idea of being "Come and See" Christians, and I am very thankful for the kids that I have in the group. There are about seven consistent members, and two or three others who come by now and again. As those numbers may sound discouraging at first, I have been blessed enough that each of the students who have been coming sincerely desire to learn, grow, and engage with the Scriptures. I would rather that than have a group of twenty who are only there to have fun or be with friends.

Before I was hired, I had been volunteering with the youth for roughly two and a half months while the old youth minister, Mandy Hughes, was finishing up her final time with them. In that time, my heart began to grow for them, and I strongly desired to take part in their lives, to help them be formed into the men and women of God they are called to be. I had visited the youth group once in my first semester, and at that time, I knew I was not in a right place for it. I was having a rough time in seminary, overwhelmed by my classes and work schedule, and was still trying to find the church I belonged to in the Ambridge area. But, once I had settled at Prince of Peace, and got the invite from Mandy and her husband, Brian to come to youth group once more, I decided to give it another shot. It was then that I experienced a strong bond with some of the students there, and was able to fill needs the Youth Group had as a volunteer. Though I had known that Mandy would be leaving since the beginning of the year, it wasn't until that time that I felt a real sense of desire to have a role in the youth ministry at Prince of Peace.

The students all seem to like me thus far as the new Youth Minister. One of the parents told me that their kids talk about me at home and are excited about the things we are doing as youth group this summer (praise God!). I look forward to the way that the youth group will grow, not just in number, but in fellowship and in deep relationship with Jesus. They have all been a huge blessing on my life, and I thoroughly enjoy the time that I have with them. I couldn't have asked for a better core group of kids with which to start off this next new venture in my life of ministry. I look forward to the things the Lord has planned for us to do, and pray for the faith to do them in accordance with his will.

This June, I will be taking a class on Paul, taught by the Bishop Grant Lemarquand, who will be leaving after the course to serve as the Assisting Bishop in the Horn of Africa. He was my adviser while at Trinity, which means that once a week, I met with him and other students for prayer and fellowship. He is a great man, and I look forward to his last hoorah at Trinity in the form of Pauline studies. The reading for the course is N.T.Wright's Paul: A Fresh Perspective and Ken Bailey's Paul through Mediterranean Eyes, neither of which could be considered "light" reading. I have a book review for each of those due before the class starts (it is only a week-long, eight-hours-a-day class), as well as a thesis statement for my final paper. It is definitely a lot of pressure, having two jobs, to get done, but very rewarding. I am just about a third done with the Wright book, and heavy as it is, it has been very enlightening and enriching. It will be tough week, but good.

Well, I think that gives a good idea as to what my summer will look like. I think it is going to be a great chance for growth and spiritual wellness in my life. I look forward to looking back at the things that have happened from now until then. The goal is always to grow, and always to be more than who you are when you start out-- as hard as it may get along the way. I just need to be reminded that I am not on this journey alone. Not only do I have my friends, my family, my church, and the youth group. I have the Lord. And looking to him will be the way to true growth and discovery of self. My focus must be fully on him, and on his power to shape my life over my own (and his control in all situations).

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Until next time,

Peace be with you.

Poem, "Contemplation of a Mocker at the Foot of the Savior's Cross"

A Good Friday poem, 2010

“King of the Jews”

Is that what they've charged against you?

Another lie.

Your crime is murder.

I gave up my life,

but, where do I go from here?

You knew me, didn't you?

Do you still know?

Do you know what I have become?

Because of you, what I have become?

I am a heretic.

I am a blasphemer.

I am an outcast.

I am in shame.

And I am these things because of you.

I trusted you,

and you led me to your death--
to your betrayal.

I hang on that cross,

A criminal,

A deserter.

And where do I go from here?

Now, your shame

pours over my head

and falls from my hands.

“From dust you came; to dust you shall return.”

Not even lepers would take me in.

Not with these stains.

Why did you call on me?

You knew me, didn't you?

Do you still know?

Won't you save yourself?

Can you remember me where you go?

Prove yourself and come down

so that I might be spared

this shame--

this guilt--

this death of following you.

Why did I come

If it was only to end like this?

You knew me didn't you?

Do you still know?

Can you look at me and not weep?

You raise the dead, and yet you die.

“The King of the Jews”

hangs on a tree.

And the dead come to bury.

It is your turn to bury.

What life is this?

What life is left?

Do you call for Elijah;

and will he come to save you?

Will he come to save me?

You knew me, didn't you?

Do you still know?

Do you know me and where I am from?

I cannot go where you are going.

And I cannot go back.

But you knew me, didn't you?

Do you still know?

The Philosophy of Prayer

Saturday morning, I woke up in Tampa at 7:30 in the morning and, very soon after, began stocking up the car for the long drive to Ambridge that would elapse two days and roughly 20 hours of traveling time. It didn't help that I felt the inkling of a cold coming on, but what was I to do? Class started back up on Monday and I had papers to write and books to read. My parents were letting me have their old Toyota Avalon because my dad had bought a Cadillac recently at an estate sale for a good price. I was fine with this, since it meant I now had the means to bring my instruments up, which I hadn't even touched since this past May. Once everything was packed, and I had a very filling breakfast, I set out on my drive.

I made stops in Jacksonville, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; and Hartsville, South Carolina. I stayed the night in Hartsville at my friend Rags Coxe's house. In the morning he took me to a very quaint 8 A.M. service at his church for the first Sunday of Advent. Around 9, we left his house and made the drive back to Ambridge, stopping in Virginia for lunch. The trip overall took about 10 hours total due to heavy traffic, which put me back in Ambridge at about 7:15 Sunday night.

If there is one thing I could say about the trip, it's that meeting new people and seeing old friends is the best sort of refreshment to traveling. In Jacksonville, I got to see my friend Michelle Brodeur, whom I was in undergrad with at FSU, and who is now a staff worker for Intervarsity at the school. My friend Sam Kennedy, a fellow seminarian at Trinity, was in Savannah with his family, who were very welcoming and open to me.

When I see people I know from school in their homes, such as Rags and Sam, it helps me to get to know them a little better. It was great to see them in their natural environment, and in Sam's case, around the people he was most comfortable with. It makes people more real, and tends to build a greater respect for them and the way they are.

During my time driving, it was very hard for me to stay focused on much. For one, my throat was getting more sore by the hour, and I was beginning to grow antsy from sitting in the same seat by myself for so long. I tried praying, but it just didn't seem to work out quite as well as I was hoping. My mind was very crowded, but not over any particular concerns. I couldn't think straight about any one thing, I was just stuck in a sort of thought purgatory.

Since I've been back in Ambridge, I have mostly been occupied with schoolwork, both catching up and keeping up. But, one theme seemed to persist: Prayer. In the books I read, and in the talks I had, prayer was always something mentioned. But not just in a general sense. Most of the focus has been on God's power and actions through prayer. I became very convicted of my own prayer life, and the way that I have viewed prayer for a long time. I knew my thinking on it was wrong in an orthodox sense, but I couldn't help to correct my thinking on it. I just couldn't "believe," and I had barely even the faith to ask Jesus to cure my unbelief.

Through my readings and class discussion on Monday, I began to be pushed again in the way I didn't want to. My problem was not my unwillingness to pray, or my unbelief in the power of God, necessarily. But I was not approaching God as he should be approached. I have always had a very rough time viewing God as Father, and not only Father, the Creator, but Father, my father. The lover of my soul, who sent down his Son because of his love. The Prodigal Son, after squandering his father's wealth, came back in a state of shame and did not dare approach his father as he once did. Instead, he knew what he deserved and that was, if lucky, a severe beating. He had disrespected his father and as good as called him dead right to his face. Of course the father wouldn't want to see him again, so he walked toward the house cautiously. But the father did not treat him as he deserved, instead he ran up to the son and pulled his arms around his neck, kissing him with joy.

Now, had the son continued to approach the father so sheepishly, requesting to be a servant because of the shame that he had caused, would that not be the wrong reaction? The father had already accepted him back into his household, and for the son to act in such a way would actually be heaping further shame on the father. No, instead, the son's best response is, in utter thankfulness, return to his status as a son in his father's household and act as such. This is the same way we should approach God in prayer, a way that I have yet to fully comprehend. Jesus was right when he said that one must become like a child to enter into the kingdom because us grown-up types just don't know when to let things go! Children know that their parents will give them what they want, or at least what is in their best interest because they love them. Likewise, God loves all of his children and only wants to see them come to him in that way.

Through approaching God this way, I can feel my confidence in his power growing. God is a powerful god. I want to have the faith to ask and believe that he responds. While talking with my bishop earlier this month, I mentioned that I feel like I know a lot about God, but all I really want is to know him. I don't feel like I've reached a point where I can say in full confidence that I really know God. The only way to do that is to come to him and ask. He will reveal himself to his children. He will run out and embrace the lost son and shower him with joy. All it takes is for us to receive his acceptance and take our place as his children which he has graciously given us in his heavenly household.

Prayer for me has become so much more desirable in these past few days and my times in prayer, though still typically brief, have been filled with love. I find myself growing in excitement as I read spiritual books and Scripture in a way that has been too infrequent recently. The Lord is at work, and it is a glorious thing. I only pray that he will continue to work on my heart and bring me into his still-abounding love in which he created the heavens and the earth.

Praise be to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

The Philosophy of Rest

Time has been in fluctuation for me over this past month. I haven't had a chance to spend time in rest with all of the things I have had running through my mind. Even while reading and writing papers for my classes, I am lucky if I can manage to focus for much of it and retain the information.

The week of October 17-23 was considered to be "Reading Week" for those of us in the seminary. It is a week that is meant to be utilized for catching up with classwork and also allowing some leisure time for the seminarians. They cancel all classes and campus events for that week and only leave the library open for those who wish to utilize it's resources. I was looking forward to this week as a chance to relax and do some leisure reading I had intended for, but that did not go according to plan. Rather than a "catch-up" week as it was so advertised, it seemed more like a "keep-up" week. On top of the two papers due that week, my classes assigned extra work that took up much of my free time. Of the two books I was hoping to read, I managed to read a single chapter of one on the Sunday of reading week. It was a frustrating time that did not meet expectations.

I found myself throughout this month in a constant state of weariness. Even when I was able to get an ample amount of sleep, I was still worn out through most of the day. I realized that this was because of the burden that I had allowed myself to build up of worry and stress over my classes and financial issues. I couldn't keep up with my work schedule and the long days were beginning to drag me down. I became apathetic toward much of my work and angry toward my professors' expectations and assignments. No matter how much I tried to vent it out with friends, I was never satisfied or calmed. My biggest issues, though, seemed to be internal and spiritual. I was not being fulfilled by what I had around me. I had yet to establish any strong connections with my fellow seminarians, and still had yet to find a church I felt comfortable enough with to make my stay at in the Pittsburgh area.

Eventually, I had to turn to God and allow myself to be relieved by his Spirit alone. I don't what finally drew me there exactly, but at one of the prayer meetings I go to on Monday nights about two weeks ago, I finally relented and revealed my weariness, frustrations and doubts not blaming others for my troubles, but accepting them as my own. During the prayer time, I wondered about my faith and whether I was truly willing to live out my life in service of Christ or whether I really had a sense of his worthiness for such praise. At the very moment I was having this internal struggle, my friend Todd Murden began to pray for me in the group and immediately I felt at peace. I was in shock by the sudden impact of the prayer, and release of the tension that had been held up in me for so long. I struggled with accepting that it was prayer that relieved me, and wanted to find a more "reasonable" explanation. But since that prayer night, I have become much more at peace about everything and have even managed to have some meaningful times with others at the seminary.

My appreciation for those around me who had always been there finally found realization. I was already in the midst of people I can call friends, but it was my own selfish inward focus that kept me from them. I still grow frustrated over my classes, but it is not as intense nor does it last as long. I've found peace through God and acknowledgement of him.

This morning in chapel for Morning Prayer, I ended up coming in early. I sat in the pew and rather uncharacteristically, pulled out the kneeler and repeated a simple prayer, "I am not worthy to receive you. I am unclean. I need you." I said this many times over and finally, I crossed myself and silently petitioned God, "Bless me." Suddenly, I was overcome with love for my fellow chapel attendees. I looked over all of them with an inward smile and a great sense of peace. I wanted to turn around and tell the man behind me that Jesus loves him and he is my brother. That is the kind of love that overflowed onto me through such a simple prayer, and this time, it not followed by a question of its source. That morning prayer for me was filled with joy. My friend Todd, who had been the one to pray for me at the prayer meeting was the preacher that morning, and he preached about the call to prophecy and the presence of the Holy Spirit in a powerful and moving way.

I spent the rest of the morning finishing up class assignments while intermittently talking with some friends in the same part of the library as myself. Then, in my Spiritual Formation class this afternoon, we appropriately went over the Rites for Confession in the prayer book. While reading through the proclamation for forgiveness in Form II, I felt a welling up of joy within me. I was finally able to accept God's forgiveness and do so in a real way. I felt truly thankful for everything I had around me and the glory of God. This was a great culmination of all that had been working inside of me recently. I was seeking for rest by escaping from my responsibilities and frustrations, but by simply turning to God, I was able to find real rest and real peace.

Until about two weeks ago when I went to that prayer meeting with true vulnerability and inexplicable repentance, this was one of the more frustrating months for me in recent memory. But, from that night, I have developed an awareness of God's grace that will hopefully only continue to grow. I have made an intentional effort to keep the Sabbath, resting on the past two Sundays and not allowing myself to do work, and it has been a real blessing for me. Looking forward, I hope to continue on this way toward rest and become more committed to the prayer of faith and finding my rest in the Lord.