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Folks,
The lessons this week are not exactly from the Revised Common Lectionary as it turns out - the Episcopal lessons may slightly differ. If you hear some others at your parish / spiritual gathering, I hope you will find them of interest. The first lesson from Jeremiah is a strong and poetic prediction of good things to come for Israel as Jeremiah tells the people "I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow". This is followed by Psalm 84 ("How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts!" Curiously it seems this Psalm, with its verse stating "Behold our defender, O God; and look upon the face of your Anointed." which might more easily be interpreted as a reference to salvation in Jesus ministry. But is are OT prophecies always about the coming Christ? The Epistle lesson is from Ephesians where Paul says some amazing (and pleasing) things, with the loving spiritual community seen as destined for adoption as God's children. The first paragraph ends with the usage of "the Beloved", presumably a reference to Jesus, The second paragraph is a particular reference to the church in Ephesus, to which Paul was especially close, having visited there several times. Taken together both paragraphs speak of the strong bond of "family" among the people of the church in various locations. The gospel from Luke is a passage very special to me and I hope some of you will recall my own story of being left behind accidentally by parents. Only in my case it was in the South Side of Chicago, neighbourhoods where black neighbours were carefully set apart from white ones by the boundary of the Calumet River. In Jesus' case, his parents had to return to Jerusalem after a days journey back to Nazareth to find Jesus. My parents, once home and realising I hadn't jumped into the back seat of our Nash Rambler (I was 4 at the time), called the police and came back looking for me. When Joseph and Mary got back to Jerusalem, they found the12 year old Jesus sitting among the temple teachers. In my case I was simply gazing on the model trains in the toy store window when both Mom and Dad assumed the other had put be into that back seat - nothing so lofty as Jesus listening to those temple teachers, and amazing them with his understanding and answers. But sometimes such easy mistakes can make for some wonderful outcomes. You may recall I ran after their car and watched it as the last car to disappear over the drawbridge just before the bridge went up. I sat down and cried a bit, even though I actually could have found my way home by myself (I've most always had a sort of natural mental mapping ability). It was then that a car with four black men riding in it stopped near me and asked "What's the matter, little boy?" I told them - pointing to the bridge, now fully opened for ships passing on the River. In my case, I was well aware that racism was "endemic" on Chicago's South Side, but when these guys asked if I wanted a ride, I gratefully accepted (it was still about 3-4 miles to our house). They drove up to our home and let me off outside. Somehow my parents came to the conclusion I walked home. I knew that Mom and Dad would be upset with the truth, so I chose not to tell them until years later (to my surprise, instead of being upset, it seemed to set Dad to thinking about it all and he and Mom in fact joined us at St Matt! My personal story of something that began with a mistake might not seem so much akin to that of Jesus and his parents but both had good results on the kid in question: Jesus went on to his saving ministry. For me it was a bit more subtle: an awareness of the racism that might always remain in me, such that to this day of the three prayers for mission in the Prayerbook's Morning Prayer service, the one I choose to use begins "... you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth." As for Jesus ministry, it's just possible that the humanity in Jesus didn't really feature being a spiritual leader, but the mistake his parents made of leaving him behind gave him the chance to explore - in his case his spirituality along with others (it sounded like a convivial group he was conversing with), perhaps further enabling his spiritual leadership. May we all seek to make something good come from our mistakes! Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) And for all of us at St Matthew Parish Events St Matthew parish, San Ardo and fellow mission St Luke parish, Jolon-Lockwood, will be having Morning Prayer services at 10am at their respective chapels. Our new friend Donna Lewis will lead the service there and preach. My beloved Tony(!) will lead in San Ardo and we will have discussion of the above (and other) lessons, led by yours truly. Other Events Folks at St James parish in Paso Robles have decided that just as they have a special event to "green" the chapel for the holidays they will have an "Un-Greening" event pm Sat Jan 11 at 230pm. If you can help, let our friend Laura Learned know. (As you may know Rev Linzi at St Benedict parish in Los Osos did the same following her family tradition on New Year's Day.) St Benedict Parish will have their famous Potluck this Sunday and all are invited to bring a dish to share, as well as to their Star Party for Epiphany itself, Jan 10 at 6pm. (Both of the events above have decided, wisely I'd say, that Epiphany itself is a "moveable feast" off the "Old Christmas" date of Jan 6, the calendar day of the Feast of the Epiphany.) St Ben parish also tells us that "During the season after The Epiphany, the Spiritual Conversation group will be focusing on spiritual practices that help us be present in the world as God's light. We will be loosely guided by Pema Chodron's When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times. You do not have to read the book to participate, all are welcome. Join on Zoom." The Zoom link is https://stbenslososos.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=56003b92c20a0cad0f96f87b4&id=4048f71532&e=c7a1548f0f Be sure to join the group at St Ben Church when you can. Meanwhile, the folks at St Barnabas parish in Arroyo Grande tell us they are moving the Epiphany Feast to this Sunday, Jan 5 (a day early). Also at St Barnabas o Thurs, Jan 15 at 7pm a "group will start a three-week series on Walter Wink's book "The Powers That Be." All of us deal with the Powers That Be. They are the systems themselves, the institutions and structures that weave society into an intricate fabric of power and relationships. These Powers surround us on every side. They are necessary. They are useful. We could do nothing without them. Who wants to do without timely mail delivery or well-maintained roads? But the Powers are also the source of unmitigated evils. Corporations and governments are "creatures" whose sole purpose is to serve the general welfare.." See a more complete description at https://saintbarnabas-ag.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=debb1b33eb11372203a975524&id=9ca519844b&e=acee3ced34 Our friend Rev Roger Wharton and the group at Good Samaritan parish in San Jose tell us that you can enjoy their Sunday service LIVE on Facebook at http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqtyLxEzsUYxKQfdu9uaDuQ We have mentioned bafore the following event-series at St Paul Cathedral in San Diego at 9am at their Forum: Forum: Rev. Dr. Caleb Lines, Awakened: A 52-Week Progressive Christian Devotional Interested in starting a devotional practice in the new year? Join us for the first Sunday Forum in 2025 as we welcome Rev. Dr. Caleb Lines to present his new book, Awakened: A 52-Week Progressive Christian Devotional. This beautiful book guides readers through 13 powerful themes like renewal, diversity, and mental health. Fusing scripture, progressive Christian insights, and engaging discussions, each week nurtures a faith that unites intellect and emotion. Themes include renewal, diversity, eco-spirituality, mental health, LGBTQ+ inclusion, science, and more. Also at St Paul is their 5pm Choral Evensong on the EVE OF THE EPIPHANY. Essentially all St Paul events are available via Zoom. For details see the Cathedral's websites at www.stpaulcathedral.org but two events that are limited to "in person" are the following: On Sunday January 19 at 5 pm, in place of Evensong, we get to come together for a Winter Hymn Sing: there’s nothing like singing favorite hymns together to lift the spirits. Vote for your favorite Hymns on our site. (Note that this even might be via their Zoom as well). On Saturday January 25, the Conversion of St. Paul, we will celebrate our patron saint with a brunch gathering from 11 am to 1 pm on the roof terrace of 525 Olive. This space holds up to 150 people, so feel free to bring a friend whom you would like to introduce to St. Paul’s. Please sign up in advance for this via Realm or at coffee hour on Sunday.
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