May 5, 2022: My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

This coming Sunday is often called "Good Shepherd Sunday" because our gospel text on the fourth Sunday of Eastertide is always drawn from the tenth chapter of John's gospel where Jesus assures his disciples that he is (then, now, and always) our Good Shepherd. On this Sunday we also always hear the Twenty-Third Psalm, that most beloved of psalms.

Psalm 23 is, of course, frequently associated with funerals, no doubt because of its profound promise that "yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me." Because of its power, the psalm has been set to music in many memorable ways, including the hymn, The King of Love My Shepherd Is, which we will sing as our "Hymn of the Day" this Sunday.

There is, however, another beautiful musical paraphrase of the psalm that is near and dear to the hearts of Episcopalians, and that is Isaac Watts' hymn, My Shepherd Will Supply My Need. That particular hymn was unforgettably seared into my consciousness when I heard it sung some two decades ago at the National Prayer Service in Washington, D.C., following the September 11, 2001 tragedy. When the nation gathered on September 14th in Washington’s National Cathedral to mourn, and cry, and pray, what moved our hearts was not the presence of all the living American Presidents and other dignitaries; nor Billy Graham’s sermon; nor the eloquent prayers said by the bishops, deans, and other clergy gathered that day. Rather the moment that rendered everyone speechless was when the little boy and girl choristers of the Cathedral took to the chancel steps, and sung Isaac Watt’s gorgeous anthem in their pure and innocent voices. If you don't remember the moment from the televised coverage, or even if you do, it is worth another watch. You can find it here.

I can't promise that we will sing Isaac Watts' hymn this well on Sunday, but it will be among our communion hymns.

I hope to see you on Sunday, my second to last service with you. I wish I could stay longer!

In Christ, Pastor Luther

April 27, 2022: "Why Us?" Adult Forum

This coming Sunday, we will have an abbreviated (though joyful!) worship service, so as to allow time for an hour-long congregational conversation entitled "Why Us?" This exercise is a crucial part of our transition team's efforts to discern what our collective hopes and dreams are for Holy Trinity as we move toward calling a new pastor.

As you will remember, earlier in the year, the Transition Team asked everyone in the congregation to answer three simple questions: (1) What brought you here? (2) What makes Holy Trinity right for you? and (3) What will keep you coming back? Last Sunday, at church, we distributed the collated (and slightly edited) responses we received. In case you missed it, you can find this summary document here. We encourage you to read over these responses before our conversation. They will frame our conversation on Sunday.

In addition, as part of my homily this week, I hope to offer some of my own reflections on what I have experienced here as your interim pastor, and what I see as some of your many gifts, as well as some "growing edges." I then will facilitate a conversation in which I invite you to share your own assessment of what you have read and heard, and what your hopes are for Holy Trinity's future.

This will be one more opportunity to share directly with the Transition Team what you think is important for pastoral candidates to know about this church. Please come and let us know why Holy Trinity matters to you and where you think God is calling us!

In Christ, Pastor Luther

April 21, 2022: Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! I am so disappointed that I wasn't able to be with you on Easter Sunday, but from what I've heard, you had a perfectly grand celebration of this joyous day. Fortunately, the party is not over as Easter is not merely a day of rejoicing, but a whole season. We call it the Great Fifty Days, and so, we will continue the celebration throughout April and May, all the way until the Day of Pentecost.

This coming Sunday, in addition to continuing our Easter party, we also get to celebrate a baptism. Little Mac David Rouleau was born to Kelly and Mark Rouleau on April 7 and we will be welcoming Mac into the family of Christ at our 9:30 a.m. service. We hope you can be with us to greet little Mac!

Even though I was sad I couldn't be with you this past Sunday, I was grateful to be with my Emmanuel Church flock on Easter morning, first on the beach at sunrise and then later in our lovely chapel. If you're interested in reading my Easter sermon, you can find it here. You'll see that I give you a short "shout out" at the beginning!

I hope your Eastertide is off to a joyous start!

Pastor Luther

April 7, 2022: Hosanna!

Dear friends in Christ,

Welcome to Holy Week, as this Sunday we welcome Jesus into Jerusalem waving palm fronds and cheering him on with loud cries of "Hosanna!" The sacred week that lies ahead of us is a journey that, in the words of Debie Thomas, "holds within it the fullness of the human story -- the highs, the lows, the hopes, the fears. In the span of seven days, we do it all: we praise, process, break bread, wash feet, make promises, break promises, deny, betray, condemn, abandon, grieve, despair, disbelieve, and celebrate. This week, we see the light at the end of the tunnel, lose our vision of it entirely in the grimness of death, and then find it again, drenched in glory."

I do hope you will join us for worship throughout this week, beginning with our Palm Sunday liturgy at 9:30 a.m. this Sunday, as we sing together the familiar refrains of All Glory, Laud and Honor and welcome our King into Jerusalem with shouts of joy.

Blessings,

Pastor Luther

March 24, 2022: Parable of the Prodigal Son

One of my very favorite parables of Jesus is the "Parable of the Prodigal Son" from Luke’s gospel. So endlessly rich in meaning, the parable has inspired many great works of art and literature. Among the greatest of these is Rembrandt’s famous painting of the parable, a copy of which I keep on the wall of my office.

Rembrandt’s painting focuses on the scene in the parable where the father joyously receives the younger (prodigal) son who returns home seeking his father’s forgiveness after having squandered his early inheritance on dissolute living. Rembrandt beautifully captures both the tender mercy of the father’s embrace of his younger, repentant son as well as the bitter gaze of the older, self-righteous brother watching from the darkened corner of the canvas, unable to accept the “unfairness” of the father’s forgiving acceptance of the younger brother.

One of the central questions posed by the parable and the painting is: who are we in this story? Are we the repentant child, who makes mistakes but owns up to them and seeks forgiveness; or the resentful child, who feels entitled to what he or she has, is blind to his or her own failures, and can’t quite accept that God’s love transcends our own feeble conceptions of justice and extends to everyone who genuinely seeks it? And what about the father who loves so extravagantly and shows such mercy...can we possibly reflect this kind of love in our own treatment of each other?

The parable is an excellent lens through which to explore Christian themes of sin, repentance and forgiveness, and for that reason every third year it is appointed as our gospel text on the Fourth Sunday in Lent. I hope you can join us for worship this Sunday as we explore the parable's meaning for our lives.

In Christ, Pastor Luther

March 16, 2022: We mustn't lose hope.

Dear friends in Christ,

As Russia's unprovoked war on the Ukraine continues to escalate, and global tensions mount, it is easy to despair of the state of the world. And yet, we mustn't lose hope. While there may be no telling how long this war will go on, and how much suffering it will cause, we should also keep our eyes open for the glimpses of light that are emerging from the darkness.

Two small stories in particular captured my attention this past week. The first is the story of a school in Italy where all the teachers and students gathered to joyously welcome two Ukrainian refugee students on their first day at their new school. You can find the short video clip here. As Jesus put it, "the kingdom of God belongs to children such as these." Luke 18:16.

I also have been moved by the courageous faithfulness of Ukrainian Christians during this awful war. Apparently Psalm 31 in particular has become a cornerstone of their prayer life. Here is a short video of a wide variety of Ukrainians praying the psalm in the context of their daily lives.

May our own faith be strengthened by these examples, and may the God whose peace passeth all understanding bring a speedy end to this tragic war.

Lenten blessings,

Pastor Luther

March 3, 2022: Lent begins!

And so, the holy and beautiful season of Lent begins! Yesterday, our two Ash Wednesday services were well-attended and my sense is that those who came appreciated not only receiving ashes, but perhaps even more so, gathering as a community around the altar to receive real bread and wine for the first time in quite awhile. I know our four-year-old granddaughter Emerson enjoyed baking the communion bread with her Nana Pat.

This coming first Sunday in Lent we will likewise be returning to our customary communion practices for those who so wish to participate, and we will be adding some more music to the service as well. You can view the bulletin at the link above. I hope to see you there.

This is also a reminder that I will be away on vacation from March 6-13. Pastor George Koch will be presiding and preaching on the Second Sunday of Lent. During my absence, please call Mark in the Church Office with any pastoral emergencies and he will connect you with someone.

Finally, once I return, I will be offering a mid-week Lenten prayer service on Wednesdays at 12:30 pm beginning on March 16. The simple service will consist of a short reading from Scripture, a meditation, and some prayers, and will last no longer than 20 minutes. It will be live-streamed and available to be viewed at any time thereafter on our Youtube channel and Facebook page. People are also invited to attend the prayer service in person (in the chapel) if they so wish.

May God bless you and keep you this day and always,

Pastor Luther

February 24, 2022: Prayers for the people of Ukraine.

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

As we awake this morning to the news of Russia invading Ukraine, I invite you to pray fervently for the people of Ukraine and for all those affected by this outbreak of war. Recently, in her pastoral message about this growing conflict, the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, reminded us of Jesus' words from the Beatitudes that "blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God." Matt 5:9. We as the church are called everywhere and always to be peacemakers. Let us do what we can to urge those in authority to bring this war to an end.

Let me close with a prayer offered this morning by the global leader of my own Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby: "God of peace and justice, we pray for the people of Ukraine today. We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons. We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow, that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them. We pray for those with power over war or peace, for wisdom, discernment and compassion to guide their decisions. Above all, we pray for all your precious children, at risk and in fear, that you would hold and protect them. We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen."

In Christ, Pastor Luther

February 17, 2022: Relaxing our Covid Restrictions

Dear friends in Christ,

Of the many sacrifices we have been required to make because of the pandemic, one of the most difficult has been a diminished liturgy. At first, of course, during the height of COVID, we were prevented from gathering in person at all, and were compelled to move our liturgical life to an online platform. As things improved somewhat last spring, we were able to resume in-person worship, outside at first when the weather was warm, and then eventually inside. As we moved inside, however, we had to endure significant restrictions necessary for our health and safety: mask wearing; social distancing; limitations on singing; a shortened service to minimize the amount of time people are gathered; restrictions on eucharistic practice; to name just a few.

Now that infection rates are beginning to decline, and public health officials are relaxing some of these restrictions, your Council, Worship Committee and Interim Pastor have met and concluded that we can gradually resume some important aspects of our worshipping life. Accordingly, while social distancing is required and masks continue to be recommended, beginning in Lent, in other respects you will begin to see a return to some familiar patterns of worship:

Communion: While the current "communion kits" will still be available for those who wish to use them, commencing with our Ash Wednesday services we will return to consecrating the bread and the wine on the altar and distributing it in our customary manner (with the important exception that we will of course not be using a "common cup," but individual, disposable cups for the wine). In addition, we will return to a somewhat more expanded communion liturgy (adding back in, for example, the sanctus and longer versions of eucharistic prayers). My hope is that a safe and cautious resumption of more "normal" patterns of communion will help to restore and renew us as a worshipping community.

Music: Likewise, you will begin to hear more music in the liturgy, including, for example, the return of a hymn for the day, a kyrie or canticle of praise before the lessons, and perhaps other additions. While masks will still be a necessary safeguard for singing, we can at least enjoy a more robust musical element to our worship life.

Your participation in leading worship: Finally, but just as importantly, I hope that more of you will be able to participate as lectors, prayer leaders, and communion assistants. The liturgy does not belong to the pastor but is rather a shared ministry with the people, and it becomes more meaningful as more of us lend our gifts to leading it. Mark Donahue will be accepting volunteers to serve in these roles and I invite you to contact him if you feel called to serve during Lent.

All of these changes may not happen at once, but we will move to introduce them as quickly as we safely can, always keeping our eye on the guidance we're receiving from health and safety officials and the synod. The season of Lent seems like an appropriate time to be enriching our worshipping life in these ways, and I hope this comes to you as good news. I'll be saying more about these matters in the coming Sundays.

Faithfully, Pastor Luther

February 10, 2022: I love the Psalms

I love the psalms. I love them because the Psalter gives eloquent and honest voice to the full range of human experience of the divine--the joys, the sorrows, the hope, the despair, the laughter, the anger. All of it is in the psalms. It is for this reason that a selection from the Psalter has always been a cornerstone of Christian worship from its earliest days.

This Sunday we go back to the beginning of the Psalter and will hear Psalm 1. "Happy are they who . . . take delight in the law of the Lord," the Psalmist writes. "They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither."

Yet, what does it really mean to "take delight in the law of the Lord"? As good Lutherans, aren't we taught that the gospel of love displaces works of the law? Not quite. As Frederick Buechner explains with characteristic brevity and wit, the gospel of love doesn't supersede the law, but rather completes and fulfills it. In Buechner’s words:

"There are basically two kinds of law: (1) law as the way things ought to be, and (2) law as the way things are. An example of the first is ‘No Trespassing.’ An example of the second is the law of gravity.

God's law has traditionally been spelled out in terms of category no. 1, a compendium of dos and don'ts. These dos and don'ts are the work of moralists and, when obeyed, serve the useful purpose of keeping us from each other's throats. They can't make us human, but they can help keep us honest.

God's law in itself, however, comes under category no. 2 and is the work of God. It has been stated in seven words: "Whoever does not love abides in death" (1 John 3:14). Like it or not, that's how it is. If you don't believe it, you can always put it to the test just the way if you don't believe the law of gravity, you can always step out a tenth-story window." [from Wishful Thinking]

Stated differently, to take delight in the law of the Lord is nothing more and nothing less than to abide in God’s love.

February 3, 2022: Candlemas

Dear friends in Christ,

I am disheartened to report that yesterday (February 2) Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his hole and saw his shadow. According to tradition, this means we’re in for six more weeks of winter. Of course, those of us who live in New England are used to winters that seem to go on and on, so I’m not sure this is exactly a news flash.

Moreover, as Ground Hog’s Day skeptics will point out, in the 136 years these ceremonies have been held at Gobblers’ Knob, Phil’s forecasting batting average is less than forty percent. The truth is it’s anybody’s guess when the darkness of winter will yield to the light of spring.

But yesterday was much more than Ground Hog’s Day; it was also Candlemas, that day on the liturgical calendar that commemorates the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. And for Christians, Candlemas is a time of year to remember that we have a more reliable guide in Christ than Punxsutawney Phil, and that (unlike the winter sun) the “light of Christ” never fades, even in the darkest and coldest of times.

So, what is Candlemas and why do we celebrate it on February 2? Here is the story in a nutshell:

At the time of Jesus’ birth, Jewish tradition dictated that on the fortieth day after giving birth the parents would go to the temple to present their child to the Lord. Forty days from Christmas day brings us to February 2nd, which is why we celebrate Candlemas then.

What Luke reports (Lk 2:25-40) is that when Mary and Joseph took the infant Jesus to the temple that day, the wise old man Simeon, moved by the Spirit, took the child into his arms, proclaiming: "Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."

These words of Simeon's, of course, quickly became known as the nunc dimittis, the beloved canticle of “Christ’s light” that to this day is a cornerstone of evening prayer and compline. In many churches, special services are held on Candlemas in which this story of Luke is re-told and the church’s candles for the year are blessed in a ceremony featuring the eternal light of Christ.

But for me, I have another memory of Candlemas altogether. When I was a graduate student at Stanford many decades ago, our resident poet was Denise Levertov. I once had the thrill of hearing her read some of her poetry, including this little gem, called "Candlemas," in which she tries to capture the mystery of this day:

With certitude

Simeon opened

ancient arms

to infant light.

Decades

before the cross, the tomb

and the new life,

he knew

new life.

What depth

of faith he drew on,

turning illumined

towards deep night.

In these dark and cold days of winter, I hope this same light of Christ burns brightly in your home and heart. And if it is not, or has been dimming of late, I invite you to go back and re-read the story of Simeon and Anna, and allow yourself to be drawn in by its luminous simplicity.

In Christ's radiance,

Pastor Luther

January 13, 2022: A Reflection on Dr. King’s Vision of the Church

Across our nation this weekend, millions of Americans will be celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King’s name has become virtually synonymous with the major achievements of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, ranging from the Montgomery bus boycotts of 1955, which led to the integration of that city’s public transportation system; to the dramatic demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, which exposed to the world the injustices of America’s most racially segregated city; to the March on Washington in 1963, which galvanized a nation, and played a pivotal role in leading to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

It was King’s methods, of course, as much as his outcomes, that were his real gift to us. While others advocated for freedom by “any means necessary,” including violence, King resolutely refused the temptation to strike back with force, using instead the power of words and the embodiment of nonviolent resistance to achieve seemingly impossible goals. Drawing on Gandhi and the gospels in equal measure, King demonstrated what the gospel’s teaching about loving one’s enemies really looks like, and the power such love has to transform even the darkest of hearts.

Yet, King was so much more than just a civil rights leader. People tend to forget that in the last three years of his life, the focus of his work shifted from racial injustice to economic injustice more broadly considered. His work in these years culminated in the “Poor Peoples Campaign,” an ambitious effort to assemble a multiracial coalition of impoverished Americans to advocate for economic change. In these years, too, he became an outspoken critic of the Viet Nam war and of our national obsession with military power and spending.

As important as King’s legacy is in all these areas—as a champion of racial equality, in solidarity with the poor, and in opposition to war-making—he also has much to teach the church about its mission. When I served as a chaplain in elementary and secondary schools years ago, I was always struck by how few of my students knew what King’s vocation was. They could quote his “I have a dream” speech by heart, but only a handful of them would know that King’s first and primary calling was as a minister of the gospel.

My former students can be forgiven perhaps for not knowing about King’s identity as a pastor because, when you think about it, nearly all the iconic moments in King’s life story played out on a public stage rather than within the confines of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church or some other church sanctuary. The images that we most remember are of King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963, or sitting pensively in a Birmingham jail, or being arrested in Montgomery during the bus boycotts, or marching with other freedom fighters in Selma, or sitting at LBJ’s side in the White House as the President signed the landmark civil rights legislation of 1964. So few of the really memorable photographs of King are in the pulpit or within the four walls of a church building.

This is no accident, I think. For one of King’s core teachings is that the church is not a building, or some event that takes place on a Sunday morning. Rather, the church is you and me—the Body of Christ at work in the world. King puts it bluntly in his autobiography when he writes: “It is my conviction that any religion that professes concern for the souls of men [and women] and is not equally concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion only waiting for the day to be buried.” King reminds us that our vitality as Christ’s church depends upon our willingness to engage meaningfully and consistently with the world and its problems. To be sure, we gather in church on Sundays to immerse ourselves in the Word that defines us and in the sacraments that feed us; but the real work of the Church happens on the other six days of the week. Let it be so with us at Holy Trinity.

January 6, 2022: Thank you for the walm welcome

Dear friends in Christ,

Thank you for extending me such a warm welcome this past Sunday. I loved joining you for worship and I look forward to the months ahead.

Yesterday was my first full day in the office and I was given a helpful orientation by your friendly Office Coordinator, Mark Donahue. I also had my first meeting with your bible study group, who likewise warmly welcomed me into their midst. I'm already beginning to feel at home. I hope others of you will feel free to drop by on Wednesdays for a visit or schedule an appointment.

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, that day on the liturgical calendar when we remember the story of the magi, who were the first Gentiles to see the manifestation of the Christ Child. (The word 'epiphany' comes from the Greek word epiphaneia, which means appearance or manifestation.) The Epiphany season extends from now until Ash Wednesday, and its theme is light. I invite you to mark this day with this prayer:

O God, on this day you revealed your Son to the nations by the leading of a star. Lead us now by faith to know your presence in our lives, and bring us at last to the full vision of your glory, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

I hope to see you this coming Sunday when we observe the Baptism of Christ.

Faithfully,

Pastor Luther