Monday, the first week of Advent, 2009

Today's Readings:
AM Psalm 5, 6; PM Psalm 10, 11
Amos 3:1-11; 2 Pet. 1:12-21; Matt. 21:12-22

Jesus answered them, ‘Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, “Be lifted up and thrown into the sea”, it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.’ Matthew 21:21-22

As we enter into Advent this year, I ask you to prayerfully consider a couple important, deep, new beginning and possibly life changing questions. How is it that you will wait and anticipate the Nativity of our Lord and Savior to enter into your life and into the world in which we live? How is it that you anticipate the Nativity of our Lord and Savior to enter into the future life of this church? Remembering the words of Bishop von Rosenberg, as you enter into this Advent season, don’t sing “Auld Lang Syne” and don’t make resolutions. But listen to our Lord. Are you ready to listen to whatever answer that God gives to you as you consider these two questions? A word of warning…be careful what you prayerfully request! Keep in mind that there is a power in this world greater than you, God the Father, creator, sustainer and redeemer of this world. Remember that God does answer prayer. But be careful! The desire and wish that you pray to be filled may be filled with exactly what you need.

Remember in the first Advent, the Israelites prayed for a King, a messiah, one who would turn evil on its head and over-throw the evil rulers of the world. They prayed for an end to their persecution and for a new beginning in their relationship with God. Inevitably their hope for a “new beginning” had to be preceded by an ending. Change had to occur. So in our hope for a new beginning, what will transform, what will change, what will evolve as our life together is formed by our answers to these probing questions that I have asked, How is it that you will wait and anticipate the Nativity of our Lord and Savior to enter into your life and into the world in which we live? How is it that you anticipate the Nativity of our Lord and Savior to enter into the future life of this church? The answer to that prayer of the Israelites was Jesus of Nazareth and the world has never been the same since. As we live into our “new beginning”, what will come to an end, what will transform, change and evolve as we live into the answer to our prayer for a closer, stronger, more faithful and more honest relationship with God, through Jesus Christ

In the words of the great Advent hymn written by Charles Coffin and found in the Lutheran hymnal, “The Advent of our God shall be our theme for prayer; Come, let us meet him on the road and place for him prepare.” AMEN!

Sunday, the first week of Advent, 2009

Today's readings:
AM Psalm 146, 147; PM Psalm 111, 112, 113
Amos 1:1-5,13-2:8; 1 Thess. 5:1-11; Luke 21:5-19

By your endurance you will gain your souls. Luke 21:19

As we enter into Advent, we enter a new beginning where we are to listen to our God as we wait with anticipation the coming of our Lord, our Messiah, Jesus the Christ. Fortunately for us, we get this new beginning to try these things again, because heaven knows we have failed miserably at listening to our Lord. In the world in which we live, we have become so wrapped up in the hustle and bustle that we have lost sight of what the word “wait” means. And“coming of our Lord”? We know exactly what He will look like and how He will act and who He will accept! In the world in which we live, in the culture in which we as citizens of the United States of America live, move and have our being, in the consumerism of the secular Christmas season, we do much to create and facilitate the coming of the Lord in our image. We forget that we were created to live, move, have our being and love in God’s image.

Thank God, that Advent brings to us a new beginning so that we can try once again to live into the reality that we are here to serve God, instead of being served by God. Thank God, that Advent brings us a new beginning to try once again to live into the reality that we are here to anticipate the Nativity of our Lord and Savior into our lives and into the world in which we live. Thank God, that Advent brings us an new beginning to try once again to live into the reality that we as Christians have a hope-filled future if we live into the hope that “when we see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory, we can stand up and raise our heads because our redemption, our salvation, is drawing near.”

We need a new beginning because in the end, we can't do it. God, through his love and mercy offers to us a new beginning, another chance, or shall I say, forgiveness for where we have fallen short. It is in the hope of a new begining and the joy of Advent that we can find the endurance of our faith, through ups and downs, through trials and triumphs, so that we will gain, or at least rediscover, our souls.

Purpose of this Blog

Blogging is something that I have tried to avoid for sometime now. I have even created this blog once and ignored it for the better part of a year. However, as I live into my ministry as a Priest in the Episcopal Church that is squarely set in the 21st century, surrounded by electronic gadgets, immersed in the internet, and overtaken by the "we've gotta have the information now" era of our culture, I have finally given in to the pressures of the world, peers, and pressures, some from members of my congregation, some from members of my family, and some of my own creation, to enter into the "blogosphere".

Now, my hope is that I can accomplish several things with this blog. First, I hope to be able to address some of the tangential questions to my immediate ministry at St. Paul's Episcopal Church and the Diocese of North Carolina. From time to time, I will get questions related to what I feel or believe or how I think things will unfold in The Episcopal Church (TEC) or the Anglican Communion from my parishioners. While I completely believe that I should answer these questions face to face, many of the parishioners have asked for a place to read what I have to think, or will say, "I know you have answered this question 20 times, but what do you think about..." To which I respond, "It is perfectly ok that I have answered that question 20 times, because your question is just as important as the first 20 times it was asked and you deserve the same time and answer that everyone else received."

Personally, I would answer the same question 1000 times over to give everyone the answers, attention and respect that they deserve! However, I know that there may be another 20 or more people that for some reason or another do not wish to come forward and ask they same question, even though they may have the exact same question. To me, they deserve the exact same answer, attention and respect. However, I am not a mind-reader (and if I were, I would probably be in a lot more trouble than I already am!) So, in an effort to reach out to those people, I will try to post questions and answers to those questions that I receive through out my ministry here on this blog. Now, I can't promise that they will come here to read them, but I will do my best to offer what I can.

A second purpose of this Blog is to share what's on my mind. This is place where from time to time I may use it to expand or expound on what I am thinking, wrestling, or contemplating during my ministry and study. These may be things that I can't necessarily use in sermons because of time restraints, things that I can't put in the parish Newsletter because of space constraints, or things I can't teach or discuss in Adult Education classes because of topic constraints. Yet, these may be things that are central (or not so central) to our ministry as Christians and followers of Christ. Some times they may seem like rants, some times the may be reflections, and sometimes they may seem like prayers. Either way, they will be genuine, for I am only a servant of God, struggling to find my way along my own spiritual journey as I long to follow Christ and proclaim his Gospel and Love.

Finally, this Blog will be used to help create and organize my thoughts for upcoming projects (Christian Ed classes, trips, possible writings I may do.) If you have thoughts or suggestions, I encourage you to share them with me. I know that I do not have all the answers. I know that I have a lot to learn. The more I learn, the less I know. The less I know, the more I want to learn. I need and want your input and help.

Thanks for visiting this Blog...I hope you will come back often.

Fr. Kenny