Lawyer's Question

A Reflection for 5th Sunday after Pentecost St. Andrew’s , Nags Head, NC July 13, 2025 Thomas Wilson, Guest Celebrant Amos 7:7-17 Psalm 82 Colossians 1:1-14 Luke 10:25-37 Lawyer’s Question A scribe asks Jesus a question: “What must I do to inherit Eternal Life?” A scribe is a member of a group of gifted people who were chosen to be trusted enough to be able to write the scriptures and to interpret them. In the first century, the scribes were people who were counted upon to preserve the traditions, especially during this time when Greek and Roman legal traditions were threatening to over take the place of Hebrew traditions. Scribes were lawyers of the Hebrew tradition. Jesus had this habit of reinterpreting the law, which made him suspect by the lawyers and scribes. Lawyers are used to drawing up wills. So when this scribe, lawyer, asks Jesus about a legal matter about what tradition upholds in the giving of eternal life, as the party of the 1st part, so it seems like a nice question. The Hebrew word for life is “Chaim”, which is a plural rather than a singular word, meaning that life, which is a gift from God, means what happens before birth, during life and after death. The lawyer, scribe, wants to nail Jesus down what does this part of “life”, after this physical life, looks like? Are there rewards and punishments? So, Jesus starts off by telling a story about a man who is accosted by robbers and left for dead. Two, very respected men, a Priest and a Levite, come by the body and assume that the body is dead or dying, in which case if they touch the bloody body, they will become unclean and unable to do their work at the places where their important work takes them. They cross to the other side of the road, to avoid being contaminated by this tragedy. If they become contaminated by the blood, their journey would need to be interrupted by a cleansing ritual bath. They both make a solid and respected business decision. No one could blame them; people die all the time. Life must go on, even in the face of death. It is a little like when I agree to do a wedding of the daughter of some leaders of the church and find an impediment in my schedule and have to cancel my commitment at the last minute. If ever that would happen, my resume would need to be in the mail that afternoon to any church Rector openings. In the days that I was researching and writing this reflection, I received four, count them four, phone calls from spam numbers asking me if “Patricia”, my wife, “was there”? She died two years ago and I said, “No”, and their response was to switch to a pre-recorded sales pitch. Life must go on. I finally called their number and found it was from a political party, that she would not have voted for on a bet, and I asked them to remove her name. You know the rest of the Biblical story, that a Samaritan comes upon the scene. Let me see if I can give you a metaphor for the identity that would resonate with the reaction to the man being a Samaritan. How about when a member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party comes by a body washed up on the beach across the street from this church? The Communist would be the only one who ministers to the victim while the members of this church would find lots of excuses not to get their hands dirty., because it is Sunday morning after all. For those of you who used to watch the “Rocky and Bullwinkle” Cartoons; it would be as if the villains, Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale, suddenly turn into heroes and Rocky and Bullwinkle into disappointments. During the time of Jesus, if you were a good Jew and you had to even say the word “Samaritan”, you would be expected to spit to show your displeasure about the whole race. But, in this story, the Samaritan is the only character who shows mercy and love to this broken person. Jesus had this habit of telling stories that were rough to be heard by good religious folk. It is one of the reasons that when the crowd gathers outside for the trial of Jesus, to join in with the call to crucify the Nazarene trouble maker, who just didn’t leave well enough alone. One of the things about religious folk like me is that we like to make prayers that tell that “Old Boy up in the sky”, what “WE” want. In conversations with the Almighty, we tend to do most of the talking and very little of the listening. But in this story for today, the lawyer/scribe does the listening and it seems to dawn on him that the standard villain of Jewish stories, the Samaritan, (BOO -Hiss), is the only one who acts as if he hears God’s call to grace filled ministry. I like to think that the lawyer goes home that evening and sits down to dinner with his wife and tells her about what he learned about love that day and how he needed to tell her about his love for her, and show what that means in the days ahead, when they help people together as outward and visible signs of God’s love. What Jesus likes to do in telling stories, is to turn everything upside down, where we are no longer the centers of our universe. And perhaps that says a lot about what should be happening in this creation. What stories do you need to tell; especially those stories without words, yet full of action? Lawyer’s Question Lawyer wants a way out of neighbor care, Getting too close to the life we want to live, Closed to outsiders; refusing our help to give And sharing it only, when it’s really our affair. Jesus’ response was we reap what we sow Suggesting we sow forgiveness and graces Before it is needed, not just in holy places, But on the roads where all our enemies go. Not just to people we’d invite to the house But those your friends tell to take a hike, Especially those they won’t even try to like. And to people not approved by your spouse. Moral is more than inviting Samaritans to lunch, But to treat all people as part of family bunch.

Every Person is Important

4th Sunday after Pentecost Reflection St Andrew’s, Nags Head Thomas E Wilson, Guest Officiant July 6, 2025 Every Person Is Important 2 Kings 5:1-14 Psalm 30 Galatians 6:(1-6)7-16 Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 First of all, I need to tell you that this old man has made some mistakes. My standard practice is to look at the lessons and come up with a poem that forms the outline of what I need to say in a reflection. I was working in an empty office and I didn't really feel comfortable. So I chose to work out of my condo where I feel comfortable. So what follows is basically two poems, a ¾ reflection and a ¼ glimpse. In my decades of being an Episcopal Clergy I have heard a particular phrase scores of times; “He (or She) does (or doesn’t) deserve it.” It is usually used when I am asked to visit someone who is unwell, physically or emotionally. It either means that person is a good person who is unfairly suffering, or a bad person who should be paying for their sins. In my theology “Stuff happens!” It doesn’t matter if you are good or bad. Often when I visit someone, they may even ask me: “What have I done to deserve this!” I got a call from my dermatologist this week that told me that I need to come in next month to get rid of some small cancerous cells. I probably deserve that because of my sloth in going out into the Outer Banks sunshine without slathering myself with sunscreen, or at least wearing a hat. Or, I could take the theological route and find plenty of sins that would cause me to suffer. In today’s Hebrew Testament Lesson for today, Naaman,an arrogant enemy general, has come down with a grievous skin condition. He has a young girl in his household whom he captured in a raid and kept her as a slave, who tells him about a Prophet, Elisha who can bring healing to his enemy. In any Hebrew mind, leprosy was seen as a punishment from God, and Naaman deserves what he gets by holding her as a prisoner of war. Naaman’s boss, the King of Aran, an area of northern Syria, orders the King of Israel, whose predecessor, Ahab, had been killed by the forces of Aran, to allow Naaman, the great Warrior of Aran, to visit Elisha and try to be healed. The King of Israel is not stupid, and he knows that if Naaman is not cured, it will be seen by the King of Aram as an insult. Naaman comes with all of his prejudices and arrogance in full view. He did not deserve to be healed. Yet, he comes to himself and enters the water as a humble supplicant and when he comes out of the water, he is healed. Elisha sends him, his enemy, his gracious best wishes and refuses to accept any payment. If you read further than this lesson in this Book of Kings, the servant of Elisha, the scoundrel Gahazi, tries to shake down Naaman for a lot of money. But that is another story of the graciousness of the enemy, because every person is important. Naaman has been changed, fully healed and he enters his new life. As the writer of the Epistle to the Galatians would write centuries later where a New Creation is everything. A New Creation is to open our eyes and see our neighbor, and even our enemy, as the beloved Of God. There also should be an opening of my eyes, because I wrote a poem on the Hebrew Testament lesson before I wrote this reflection and I had forgotten that I had already written a poem for this Sunday based on the Gospel lesson and put it in the office to be placed in the bulletin, So here is the poem for the Hebrew Testament lesson: Every Person is Important Elisha said, “Don’t worry, he’s only just a man.” Naaman came riding up in chariots and horses, Strutting; putting underlings through courses, Making them all grovel, just because he can. He is so used to be in command and feared, That it doesn't occur to him, that he’s asking, To go beyond his own power and be tasking To empty himself before the prophet revered. Control is something he wants to hold on to, But, now finds his pride needs to be set free, Becomes a supplicant, and not a warrior be, As he prepares to go into the water through, To trust in a power greater than himself Being freed from all wounds themself.. In the Gospel lesson for today, Jesus sends seventy of his followers, his disciples, out to bring healing and good news to the surrounding towns and villages. As followers of Jesus, that is our job, to bring healing, peace and good news to these communities of the Outer Banks. We are fortunate, there are thousands of new people who come to visit these Outer Banks every week. How do we treat them? I am not asking you to hand out Chrisitian literature at street corners, rather to treat visitors with respect and dignity. Yes, the roads are more crowded, the lines at the stores are longer, the restaurant parking lots are filled with other than local license plates; but these people are our neighbors, even from far off. I am asking that you treat the visitors as people who need to find a welcome here in this corner of God’s creation. Here is the Poem for the Gospel lesson. The Disciples Return “Your names are written in the Heaven” He said after they had all done work, They were looking for a grading clerk, Using a ten-point scale; at least seven. Always looking for some passing marks, Telling them they’d made a good grade, That they’d earned honor for efforts made, Their lamps of honor are lit by the sparks Of hope that they so need to daily see, Of making small differences in their life, That their works would not end in strife, But being a great way of pleasing Thee. They are no different from any of us When we want out glories to discuss.

Sounds of Sheer Silence

Reflection for Proper 7C Thomas E Wilson, Visiting Celebrant St. Mary’s Episcopal, Gatesville, NC June 22, 2025 Sounds of Sheer Silence 1 Kings 10: 1-15a Psalm 43 Galatians 3: 23-29 Luke 8: 26 -39 Let me start off, not with the lessons themself, but with an old Simon and Garfunkel song: Hello darkness my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again, Because a vision softly creeping, Left its seeds while I was sleeping, And the vision that was planted In my brain Still remains, Within the sounds of silence, In the lesson from 1st Kings for today, the Prophet Elijah has just finished his battle against Queen Jezebel and her prophets. The Hebrew name Elijah, comes from a combination of two names for the Hebrew God; El and Yah. The name means that he understands that he is doubly committed to the Hebrew faith. Now, the thing to make sure you pass on to your children is to never pick a fight with a rich and powerful woman named JEZEBEL. Jezebel is the daughter of the King of a neighboring Kingdom, Sidon, and she was devoted to the Storm and Fertility God named Baal. Her name means “Baal is exalted”. It would be like if you decided to name your child, “Jesus saves” so your child would be raised with an understanding that he or she would be devoted to that idea of God. She brought that worship and devotion of Baal to the court of the Hebrew King Ahab. Ahab’s job description was to be the King under the rule of the Hebrew God, YAWEH. But the King loved the girl, and she ruled the roost as soon as she showed up in town. Elijah could have handled Ahab easily but Jezebel was another story. So, Elijah challenged Queen Jezebel’s priests to a contest; all 450 of them. All by himself, Elijah builds an altar, coveres it with wood and logs. Then he challenged the Priests of Baal, all 450 of them, as an ecumenical gesture, to call upon their God to set the offering on fire, to cook the meat. The Priests spent a lot of energy, shouting, singing, dancing, cutting themselves: all the standard Baal Worship routine, calling on their God to set the offering on fire. Hours passed, as all worship services do, and Nothing happened. Elijah made fun of them when the fire did not come from Heaven. He taunted them that maybe their God, Baal, may be busy, or sleeping, or really busy suffering with an intense intestinal distress in the Celestial outhouse. After all the 450 of them were tired out, Elijah then put water all over the Altar, cut and slaughtered a bull,and laid the pieces on the Altar, all by himself. And then, all by himself, he called upon his God, YHWH, to accept his sacrifice. Then the Altar was covered with a blazing fire. Elijah’s God had won and in a great show of thanksgiving for his God’s power, Elijah then slaughtered all 450 of the Queen’s Prophets, all by himself. In a monarchy, ruled by an evil Queen, you are wise not to win, and even wiser not to gloat by massacring her henchmen. Jezebel puts him on her hit list. Discretion being the better part of Valour, Elijah gets the heck out of town and flees as fast as he can. He keeps running until he hits the wilderness. Then he keeps on running as far as he can go. Then, he clubs a lonely mountain to talk with God. But, his mind is so busy that he cannot stop to really listen. When our minds are full, it is impossible to listen.There are so many places he cannot hear God, but in this place, on the edge of nowhere, he enters into silence, and then, and only then, he hears God in the silence. Many of us who go to church, know something about that situation of when we go to a place of worship and our minds are so filled up with our own agendas, that we get nothing out of that experience. If we are fortunate, the words and thoughts will stay in our brains and later come back when we are reminded with a word or phrase. Last week, I went out to Colorado to see my baby. My baby, Shanon, has been my baby for over half a century. She lives with her husband and their two sons; sons who are in their second decades. One day, I went with my daughter, her husband Steve and one of my grandsons, the one who is studying Environmental Science in College, to the Denver Botanical Gardens Complex. The Denver Botanical Garden is a place of great beauty. Every path we took, we were hit with thousands of wonderful plants, trees, shrubs and flowers. There was a moment when an employee was trimming an amazingly beautiful flowering bush. As the cuttings touched the ground, I fell in love with the beauty. I wanted it! Now I live in a small condo on the Outer Banks, and that means I do not have room for a garden, so this was not something that I was able to buy to beautify my life, plus, even if there was , how could I carry it on the plane ride home from Colorado. Yet, I looked at the cutting on the ground, and I wanted it! The world stopped for me as I looked at that beauty. I asked the gardener, but he told me that wasn’t allowed. I thanked him for the care he took of the garden, and we walked on. But from that moment, there were no words I could come up with about the beauty everywhere. Beauty I could not own, but of which I could marvel. We looked at so many different kinds of flowers and shrubbery, that words seemed so useless. I would stop and look deeply; filled with absolute joy about what God was doing for us and with the gardeners who kept crossing plants to create variations in this creation, But, there were no words deep enough that could be said about all that beauty. I started to walk more slowly, stopping to look more deeply at the beauty, the complexity, of the so many different variations, the gifts from a loving God, who was working with people, so that we could stand in worshipful awe of the plants and the people. I stayed in silence, because words would just get in the way. In the Gospel for today, Jesus confronts a man possessed by demons. Out of compassion, Jesus sets him free from all the noise that had entrapped him. In silence, the man is able to listen deeply, and from the depths of that silence, he is able to speak only the words that need to be said. That is what I need to do more often, and I would suggest to you: listen deeply and speak only the words that need to be said. Sound Of Sheer Silence When I first dated my wife to be, I tried to fill up all my silences, Not knowing what that silence is; It’s when “you” becomes “thee’. But some words do get in our way, Becoming noise without meaning, Conversation turn into demeaning, Ruins what we really mean to say. Let’s take time for us to be still, Leaving spaces for us to grow In the time after we say “Hello Providing room for Spirit's will, Let’s make our sentences to slow, Giving room for our love to grow.

Paul and Silas Bound in Jail

A Reflection 7th Sunday of Easter Thomas E Wilson, Preacher St. Luke/ St Anne’s Roper, and Grace, Plymounth June 1, 2025 Acts 16:16-34 Revelation 22:12-14,16-17,20-21 John 17:20-26 Psalm 97 Paul and Silas, Bound in Jail As I begin this reflection about Paul and Silas Bound in Jail; I have to give you a warning. Many years ago in the mountains of North Carolina, I went to a BlueGrass Festival and it was there that I first heard it, and fell in love with a song that I started to sing along with a phrase in the chorus sung by so many different people over the decades. Paul and Silas bound in jail, all night long (3X) One for to sing, other for to Pray, all night long (3X) Saying who shall deliver for me “Who shall deliver for me?” So far in my pastoral life, I have visited many people in jails and prisons in three different states, but have not yet not been confined myself. So far, so good. However, there have been more than a few times where I could find no way out of difficult states of mind when I wondered: “Who shall deliver for me.” There are times when I come home, open the door, and I am hit with the fact that my wife who I loved and was loved by, died one hundred and five weeks ago, and she is not going to be there. And our dog, Yoda, the Wonder Dog, which we together rescued from the pound, died last month. Therefore, I am going to be alone and there is no one to deliver me from my sorrow. The reality is that I don’t want anyone to deliver me. My hope is that I can remember to see that I am not alone, but there is a power greater than myself ,who is there with me who will deliver me from my self-pity and remind me how fortunate I was to be loved and have the number of those hours, days, weeks, months and years together. In the story of Paul and Silas, they have the opportunity to escape, but they choose to remain in the jail with the jailer, out of compassion for the jailer who would be executed if any of his prisoners would escape. They do not take advantage of the release, but choose to enter deeply into their imprisonment and new ministry there with the jailer and his family. The question for them is not “Who shall deliver for me.”, but “Where does our faith lead us?” Out of love for the Risen Lord, they are what we would call “prisoners of hope” set free to do ministry in the world in which they live.. In my life, when I walk through the door into the empty room, I also have to ask, “Since I was loved, where does my faith lead me out of my love for her.” This last week, I had to write a reflection about what it is like to have someone who loved and was loved in one’s life. It is the understanding that it is only when you realize the jail you are in; when you understand this is the place where your particular ministry can begin and where you, in spite of yourself, are loved, So, where does your love lead you today?

Making A Home

A Reflection for the 6th Sunday of Easter St. Mary’s Church, Gatesville, NC Thomas E Wilson, Guest Preacher and Celebrant May 26, 2025 Acts 16:9-15 Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5 John 14:23-29 Psalm 67 Making a Home I am a very lucky man, I get to drive about a hundred miles one way, close to 2 hours, in order to get here on Sunday morning. By Sunday morning, I should have already written the sermon and emailed a copy to St. Mary’s so they can make a copy I can read from. The drive gives me two hours to leave the sermon alone, forgetting the whole concept of perfection, and just have moments of awe about how beautiful this part of this country is. The roads are not too crowded in the early morning, so I can think about how blessed I am. It gives me a chance to keep some friendsin my heart with prayer. While I have to keep my eyes open in that kind of prayer, I don’t crowd out my thoughts with words, but keep thinking of old friends of mine, like one whose wife is dying, being surrounded with graceful peace. He is my age and I met him when I was invited to volunteer at an Addiction Treatment Center as a Chaplain, to help the addicts to go deeper into the Serenity Prayer. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference; just for today” I did the volunteer work there because my older brother had been an addict and he refused to get help. He committed suicide when it got too much for him. His two teenage sons came to live with me and my wife for a time that summer. I realized I needed to help people who were not parishioners, and was given the opportunity to help addicts there at the center. As I prepared for the Sunday sermon, especially, I was swimming in the words from the Gospel Passage from the Book of John’s Gospel, for this Sixth Sunday of Easter: “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them.” I am praying that my friend and his wife will find that the Holy ( Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are making a home with them. “Making a Home” There is a difference between being a guest and making a home with someone. I have been a guest in many homes. In a couple of weeks I am going to Colorado to visit my daughter. She is putting on a full court press to get the old man to move to Colorado. She informs me that her husband has already connected with a real estate person who will be taking me around to look at properties. I love my daughter, my grandsons and my son in law. I will be a good guest, but at this point I am not yet ready to make my home with them. My daughter is a wonderful person; she is in her 50’s, but she is still my baby. I will enjoy my time snuggling with them. I will take them out to dinner, and I will pay for my grandsons’ drinks. We will laugh and perhaps cry together. We will share special moments. We will make meals together. We will use the same bathrooms: to the naked eye we will share a property; but it is not yet making a home with them. My home is on the Outer Banks, it is the place where my wife and I lived; until she died two years ago. Every day I walk into that Condo we shared, and while she is not physically there, I relax and tell the empty space the news of what is going on at the places and the people I have visited that day. In the home we shared, I will tell her I miss her and share what is going on with our friends. I was reminded of Carl Sandburg’s poem Home Thoughts THE SEA rocks have a green moss. The pine rocks have red berries. I have memories of you. Speak to me of how you miss me. Tell me the hours go long and slow. Speak to me of the drag on your heart, The iron drag of the long days. I know hours empty as a beggar’s tin cup on a rainy day, empty as a soldier’s sleeve with an arm lost. Speak to me … When I speak honestly to my wife; her spirit is there with me. The same is true of my Lord Jesus. When I speak honestly with my Lord, I indeed know he is with me, making a home when I share my heart. It is not the words we use, but the hearts we open. Prayers are not the words we memorize and recite, but the heart we share. With churches, there is a difference between going to a church and making a church home. One of the problems of the Book of Common Prayer, is that we are tempted to speed read through the service. If we only say the words out loud with our mouth, but don’t engage our souls to share with our Lord and our fellow parishioner, or visitor; we miss the whole point of prayer. As a Priest, I have to empty out my pride and remember that I am only a servant taking part in a mystery beyond my understanding. As a Preacher, I “make with a message” by going deeper than the surface of the words I would read in the scripture lessons and prayers for the day, echoing in my heart, under scoring with God’s Spirit lived out in the lives of my neighbors, parishioners, friends and family. As a Parson, I am called to listen to Parishioners and neighbors who struggle to be faithful to their church, their community, their family, the people in the other pews, and the promises they make and have made throughout their lives. I have been fortunate in that the four and a half decades in the churches I have served as a Priest, when they dared to believe in forgiveness rather than perfection. Thank you for allowing me a chance to come into your heart.

New Commanment: Love One Another

A Reflection for the 5th Sunday of Easter May 18, 2025 St. Luke and St Anne’s, Roper, Grace Plymouth Thomas E Wilson, Guest "New Commandment; Love One Another” Acts 11:1-18 Revelation 21:1-6 John 13:31-35 Psalm 148 From the Gospel of John for today: “'Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." I had an older brother when I was growing up. He was a year and four days older than me and athletic and handsome as all get out. As we were growing up, he was always going to be taller than me. We got into a lot of fights with each other; most of which I lost. My mother, who had been an only child growing up, longed to have a brother or sister and could never understand why we were wasting our energies competing against each other. As we grew older, he was held back a year in High School and he and I graduated together. I went to Chapel Hill to college and he went into the Marine Corps. We got into heated discussions over the War in Vietnam, but that Christmas, as we were both on leave, he took me out for my first legal beer the day I turned 18. We had missed each other and we learned how to disagree. Two years later, when our father died, we realized how much we loved each other and life was too short. When he got out of the Corps and I graduated from college, he asked me to be the best man at his wedding. We both had many flaws, and over 20 years later he died. My mother asked me to say a few words at his funeral, and I spoke of how much time we lose letting differences get in the way of love. Life is too short not to love. The lessons for today are about needing to remember to love. Love is not meant to be restricted to people with whom we agree, but to go way beyond approval and about loving the neighbor, even loving the stranger, and even attempting with divine help, to love the enemy. The writer of the Book of Revelation reminds us God does not look down from a far off heaven: "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. In the Book of Acts, Peter is relating about his trying to show how pure he is; so pure that he will not associate with the uncircumcised, meaning Gentiles, or 99% of the Roman Empire. This is the reality in which he lives, choosing rigid conformity instead of open love for neighbor. These are the people who are beyond his compassion. But the new vision of Grace that Peter is given is of a radical expansion of what family means. Our brothers and sisters are those in the much larger human family. In my senior year in High School, sixty one years ago, I was a confirmed member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Upstate New York. I had been confirmed by Bishop Peabody and one day, two months before graduation, we gort news that Mrs Peabody, the Bishop’s wife, was arrested for being with a group of black and white people who were attempting to integrate a restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida, after attempting to integrate the local Episcopal Church whose ushers had refused to admit her and her friends. It was considered scandalous that she acted out of a love that went beyond accepted social, and even legal, boundaries. When I graduated from High School that year and went to college in North Carolina, I stopped going to church, because I had felt that the Episcopal Church had become a clique rather than a church. It was more a fit of pique, a disappointment that the church I loved had let me down. In my second summer, in 1966, I took a job working in an Outdoor Drama in St. Augustine, “The Cross and Sword”. One Sunday morning that summer, I stopped in front of that church and in my bitterness, I refused to go in. The next year in March of 1967 my father died while he and my mother were visiting my mother’s parents in Daytona Beach. After I graduated in 1968, she moved down to Daytona Beach to help take care of her father. She placed my father’s ashes in the Veterans Cemetery in St. Augustine. Every year I visited my mother, I would always stop by St. Augustine, visiting his grave, but it took me almost two decades to stop at that church. It was only after I graduated from Seminary that I had enough faith to forgive. Forgiveness is not given to people and institutions to forgive because the offenders deserve it, but forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves to let go of our hate and pain. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in 1967 in his last book, Where Do We Go From Here, is about hope in the midst of disappointment and bitterness; “These reactions poison the soul and scar the personality, always harming the person who harbors them more than anyone else. The only healthy answer lies in one’s honest recognition of disappointment even as he still clings to hope, one’s acceptance of finite disappointment even while clinging to infinite hope.” We end with the words of the Psalmist for today, where we end up praising God in the middle of the lives which we live: Young men and maidens, *old and young together. Let them praise the Name of the Lord, *for his Name only is exalted, his splendor is over earth and heaven. He has raised up strength for his people and praise for all his loyal servants, * the children of Israel, a people who are near him. Hallelujah!

Jesus Calls Us

A Reflection for 3rd Sunday of Easter St Luke & St. Anne. Roper and Grace, Plymouth May 4, 2025 Thomas E Wilson, Guest Celebrant/Preacher Acts 9:1-20 Revelation 5:11-14 John 21:1-19 Psalm 30 Jesus Calls Us We started off the service with the old Hymn, “Jesus Calls Us”. The words were written by Cecil Frances Alexander, a 19th Century Anglo-Irish writer and poet, and here she calls us to, and the lessons underscore, being called to a deeper relationship with God and the Creation. In the Gospel of John. This Gospel should have ended at the 20th chapter of John, for there is a colophon, a literary formula, an ending which sums everything up. But, there is this chapter added on; a new ending at the end of the ending. I think it was probably added in by an editor of the Gospel who just had to add one more story, a story of Jesus inviting his followers to bring his spirit into their daily life and work. I think it is a nice way of reminding us that the Jesus story does not end, but it continues in our lives. Or, the author's way of saying that the story of Jesus has no ending; as long as two or three are gathered in God’s name the Good News continues. 1. Jesus calls us o'er the tumult of our life's wild, restless sea; day by day his sweet voice soundeth, saying, "Christian, follow me!" In the lesson from the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus calls Saul, an enemy of the Jesus movement, to totally change his whole perception of his own faith. Saul, famous for being zealous in the persecution of those who followed Jesus; now is called to be Paul, the one who becomes the chief interpreter of the meaning of the Christ. The name Saul means “asked for” as in the name of the First King of Israel, Saul, whom the people called for a King. Saul will change his name to Paul which means humble 2. As of old the apostles heard it by the Galilean lake, turned from home and toil and kindred, leaving all for Jesus' sake. Saul starts off his religious career as being a devoted Pharisee; one who is determined to obey all matters of religious dogma and practice. He sees in the Jesus movement of the Christians a neglecting and disregarding, and even a hi-jacking of the Pharisee spirit by the followers of Jesus. So, in the name of religious purity, he works overtime, using all of his strength and powers to viciously get rid of these heretics. He works so hard that he collapses. In his collapse, a power greater than his religion gives him an invitation to healing. Saul is told to place himself into the hands of Ananias, a follower of Paul’s enemy, Jesus. The healing is a new sight for Saul, a way of seeing all things in a different way; seeing things through the eyes of Jesus. The vision he receives gives Saul a whole new vision of life and it will give hima new name “Paul” which means humble, as he empties himself out for the Gospel. 3. Jesus calls us from the worship of the vain world's golden store, from each idol that would keep us, saying, "Christian, love me more!" Six decades, more than a half of a century ago, my draft board sent me a note to go get a pre-induction physical. The docs did all the things they needed to do and told me that I had a cataract and was functionally blind in one eye. It was news to me, but then I am a male and by definition, do not pay attention to my own body. I pointed out to them that during the Arab Israeli Conflicts, General Moshe Dayan only had one functioning eye. The doc pointed out that the Israeli armed forces had different standards. After different operations over the decades, I see all right, but not perfectly. It is a reminder to me that I need to pay attention, to look deeply and see what is really going on in my life and in my world. As Proverbs remind us: “There are none so blind as those who will not see.” 4. In our joys and in our sorrows, days of toil and hours of ease, still he calls, in cares and pleasures, "Christian, love me more than these!" How much of a change is it when we make a commitment to truly see? Let me give you an idea. You have heard me tell you over and over again, of my religious beliefs; but I have not told you of my political beliefs. I am what is called a “Yellow Dog Democrat”! That is a term that came from the time after Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War. They were men, only men could vote then, who said they would vote for a “Mangy Yeller Dog” before they would ever vote for a Republican.. Where am I on the political scale? I am so far to the left that I consider Bernie Sanders much too conservative. Yet, regardless of my political beliefs, I pray every day for the current President of the United States, with whom I disagree on almost everything. Prayer is not a matter of agreement but of entering into the sacred space between each one and to see each other as brothers and sisters of Christ and children of the living God. 5. Jesus calls us! By thy mercies, Savior, may we hear thy call, give our hearts to thine obedience, serve and love thee best of all.