Tag Archives: Church Year

ADVENT 2014 (17 DEC 2014)

17 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by in The Church, The Liturgical Year

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advent

“ALMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and [the]* dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.“

 – Collect for First Sunday of Advent, 1928 Book of Common Prayer

REFLECTION

This has been a season of darkness. There is really no way to understand this. For the past few months the darkness that looms over our nation has intensified. Everything from the political gridlock, to Black Friday fights, to the deaths of Black men at the hands of police officers, to the violent riots that ensued shortly thereafter. This darkness, is the darkness of selfishness, greed, and corruption that our nation has embraced since we decided that our individual wants and desires outweigh the common good. When we decided that God does not have a place in all aspects of our lives, this is the result.

The season of Advent is a penitential season. We are to reflect on our lives as we anticipate the arrival of the Christ child via the Blessed Virgin Mother as depicted in the above icon. I have tried to use this time to reflect on my shortcomings not only as a priest & chaplain, but also as a child of God, a Christian. I ask myself three questions:

 – Have I preached the Gospel to all nations, teaching the masses?

 – Have I showed Christ-like love to others, by displaying empathy to ALL, not just those I agree with?

 – Have I taken steps to grow closer to God?

I can honestly say I made progress, but I still have a long way to go. It’s not easy, but God never said that it would be. I urge you to ask yourself these three questions rather than picking a “side” in a spiritual battle of darkness where all are destined to lose somehow. The only winner in this equation is Christ.

 – Fr. JMH

Maundy Thursday 2014

17 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by in Saints and Feast Days, The Church, The Liturgical Year

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“ALMIGHTY Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, did institute the Sacrament of his Body and Blood; Mercifully grant that we may thankfully receive the same in remembrance of him, who in these holy mysteries giveth us a pledge of life eternal; the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.”

 – Collect for Maundy Thursday, 1979 Book of Common Prayer

 

REFLECTION

Maundy Thursday (or Holy Thursday as my Roman Catholic brethren call it) is the day of the maundy (foot washing) and the Last Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ, before the crucifixion and resurrection. Some churches practice one or the other and sometimes both rituals on this day.

I remember the first time I participated in the foot washing ritual. I was a student at Boston College participating in a service trip to Mexico. We spent a long day working on a house for a family. The Jesuit priest, who was our trip leader, began to explain what the foot washing ritual was. My colleagues were all Roman Catholic and were well aware. I was a Baptist at the time and had no clue. I knew the scripture reference, but was confused as to the nature of the ritual.

When the priest brought out the large bowl, I decided to make sure I sat next to an attractive woman, in order to wash her feet. I was 20-years-old at the time and preferred my foot washing experience to be enhanced by pretty, manicured, feminine feet. Yes, this is quite shallow, and in many ways, I was a shallow Christian at the time.

When large bowl made its rounds, I began to get a little nervous of having a woman wash my feet. It felt a little too intimate. I remembered that the only person who had touched my feet was my mom when I was child. She would tickle my feet. The time came, and I took off my shoe and my sock. I placed my foot into the bowl and felt the lukewarm water. I then felt the hand of the young lady grab my heel and with her other hand, scoop the water onto the top of my foot.

I immediately felt, as much as I could, the feeling that the disciples felt; uncomfortable, and unworthy. I started to picture Jesus washing my feet. I wanted to jerk my foot back because of these feelings, but I endured. I started to reflect on what just happened, then I remembered, it was my turn to wash feet.

As I grabbed the bowl and turned to face the next woman, I still had those feelings of uncomfortableness, confusion and worthlessness. I decided that I was going to clean this woman’s foot as best as I could, because of the feelings that I experienced. I gently grabbed her heel, and with my free hand, I scooped water onto her foot several times. I took my time in drying her foot. A small part of me wondered if she thought I had some sort of foot fetish. But I think she knew I was genuine. I remember when the foot washing ritual ended, and the we concluded with the Eucharist, I thanked God for the opportunity to participate in such a powerful ritual.

Since that moment, I participated in various foot washing ceremonies. Some of the ceremonies corresponded with Maundy Thursday (in the historical churches), and others did not (free churches, during revivals and such). Each and every time I think about the type of servant leader that Jesus of Nazareth was. How He, as the Lord, decided to psychically take care of his brothers, his flock. I can only hope and pray, that I can show a fraction of the level of love and care for my brothers and my flock.

 – Fr. JMH

Holy Week 2014

14 Monday Apr 2014

Posted by in Inspirational Christians, Saints and Feast Days, The Church, The Liturgical Year

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Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the
human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to
take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross,
giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant
that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share
in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.”

 – Collect for Palm Sunday. Book of Common Prayer, 1979

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REFLECTION

Yesterday was Palm Sunday. The sermon I preached (located in the media section) addressed some of the generational gaps in our society and how Christians from different generations interpret Holy Week or Passiontide. In the end, the purpose of Holy is for us, as Christians, to not only celebrate Easter, but to also remember the happiness that was Palm Sunday, the sadness that was Maundy Thursday, and the sorrowful despair that was Good Friday. All too often we skip Holy Week and jump straight to Easter. We sometimes regulate Easter to mean the bunny and eggs. It is to the point where some Christians do not refer to Christ’s rising again as Easter, but rather “Resurrection Sunday.” I find this to be sad.

It is sad because we, as Christians, have allowed someone else to determine who we are. I had a conversation with a Jewish colleague of mine. He is preparing for the Passover Seder this evening. He was lamenting on the attitudes of some of his Jewish congregants. He relayed the following story to me:

I (my buddy) asked him (his colleague) when he travels, because he flies everywhere, does he go into the cockpit and speak to the captain of the plane? He says no. I then say, ‘Oh, you mean you don’t go into the cockpit, look around the area, inspect everything, question the pilot to make sure he know what he is doing?’ He starts looking at me confused. I then say ‘So you assume he know what he’s doing, right? Because he is the pilot? You trust him enough not to ask any questions, but you don’t trust the minister, the priest or the rabbi about matters of God? Matter of fact, you don’t trust God about matters of life? You sit there and say ‘Oh, I need proof, I need to see it for myself’ when it comes to God and matters of God, but you don’t need proof from the captain, who is flying this plane, with your life in him hands?’ This is the problem with all our religions, its man made chaos because man does not want to serve God, they want God to serve them, and what they want. They see God as their servant. They ignore the fact that they have an obligation to serve God.

 

After my buddy finished, I began to think about associates I know who do the same thing. They take God and mold Him to their own instruments. I recently heard a story of a guy (new or rededicated Christian, no denomination specified) telling his friend, that God didn’t call said friend to their current occupation because it wasn’t confirmed by “a pastor”, despite the fact that the friend spoke to me, a priest. The guy did not know the difference or rather similarities between a pastor and a priest. I suspect that the guy just wanted to use his false sense of righteousness to spiritually beat up and bully his friend by telling him that he is less than. This is sickening. This is what is harming the Christian Church.

On the flip-side, we have those Christians who are afraid to stand up and defend the faith because they are afraid of hurting someone’s (usually one who can care less of the faith) feelings. They will downplay the fact that the sins that Christ died for, are the same sins that we commit day in and day out. They will not address the fact that we are no better than St. Peter, who denied Christ three times. All of this will be negated because of the fear of being called judgmental by someone who has their own agenda against the church.

During Holy Week, I urge you to fight the temptation to use God as your personal instrument of destruction. I know it may seemed a little far fetched but it is the reality of the situation. During Holy Week, many people who do not attend church throughout the year show up to services, much to the chagrin to the faithful that attend weekly. This can cause a sense of anger and even resentment from the faithful. I urge you to show love to them, especially since they rarely attend church for whatever reason. Show them the same love, that God the Father showed to us this time, over 2000 years ago.

I also urge you to hold steadfast to the faith. Do not condone the ungodly behavior of friends and loved ones, or allow the watering down of scripture just to not appear judgmental. In the end, you are doing them a disservice by allowing them to live a life that is contrary to what God wants.

 – JMH+