How We Live

How We Live: A Reflection on Pentecost

We make much ado about Christmas. Even after stripping away all the hoopla that the secular world has piled onto our Feast of the Nativity, we celebrate the birth of Jesus in myriad ways, not least of which is giving unearned gifts to the people we love, commemorating the ultimate unearned gift to the entire world, that of Jesus himself. The Day of Pentecost, on the other hand, though listed along with Christmas as one of the Principle Feasts of the Church Year, draws much less attention. This is unfortunate, for the gift of the Holy Spirit is critical to our lives as Christians.

Read Sharon’s full reflection on Pentecost and the Holy Spirit by clicking “Read More.”

Whatever Your Something Is, Do It!

I am writing this on Ascension Day, remembering Ascension Day twenty-four years ago when I sat at Central Lutheran for the combined Episcopal-Lutheran Eucharist that evening and silently wept as the choir sang the Sanctus from the Faure Requiem. Ascension Day 1998 was the day of the Thurston shooting. I spent the day telling my students I didn’t know what to say to them, and wasn’t about to mouth empty platitudes just to say something. By the next day, after a mostly sleepless night, I had found my voice.

Read Sharon’s entire “How We Live” reflection by clicking “Read More.”

How We Live: Quiet Obedience

Give us grace to imitate his uprightness of life and his obedience to your commands;

Collect for Saint Joseph, BCP page 239

There are three churches in our relatively small diocese that are named for Saint Mary, but none that claim Saint Joseph as their patron saint. That is not uncommon, there are many fewer churches throughout the Church named for Saint Joseph than for his beloved wife. While Mary is certainly worthy of all the attention and praise Christians heap upon her for her willingness to say yes to God’s call to bear a son who would grow up to be the savior of the world, much was asked of Joseph as well.

To read Sharon’s entire article, click “Read More.”

How We Live: Armor of Light

Young people today are exposed to an entertainment world populated by a veritable pantheon of superheroes, about whom I must confess I know absolutely nothing. Truth be told, I grew up aware of only one such character: mild mannered newspaper reporter Clark Kent who would slip into a phone booth, (some of you may have to look up what those were,) whip off his suit, tie, and horn-rimmed glasses and emerge faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound… it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s SUPERMAN!

To read Sharon Rodgers’ complete reflection, click “Read More.”

Easter is Coming

That first Easter morning was not a time of rejoicing for the disciples, but one of total confusion superimposed on the abject terror they had been feeling since Friday, when they had seen Jesus dragged away and ultimately executed. While we’re not faced with quite that level of distress, we’re still in the dark with regard to just how the next few months are going to unfold.

Dignity of Human Nature

I don’t remember how old I was when my dad taught me and my sisters to say a prayer on Christmas morning thanking God for sending Jesus to us before rushing downstairs to see what was waiting for us under the tree, but clearly it was a lesson that stayed with me since I still do it. Over the years I’ve come to understand that all those beautifully wrapped presents, unearned gifts, given simply because the givers love the recipients, are but tangible reminders of the greatest unearned gift of all.

A Unique Christmas

You don’t need me to tell you Christmas is going to be very different this year. Having spent decades serving as emcee at all three Christmas Eve services I find it difficult to think about Christmas at this point because it’s so easy to slip into a negative feedback loop of all that will be missing from this year’s celebration of the birth of the Christ child. At the same time, I’m acutely aware that those of us who are only mourning what, rather than who, will be missing this Christmas are the lucky ones. Christmas is a time that has always been hard for some people, while there have been particular Christmases that have been difficult for many. Clearly this year will fall into the latter category.

Trust in God

O God, our times are in your hands: For a Birthday, p. 830, BCP

Rarely have I been forced to trust more completely in this most basis tenet of our faith than this past week. The Holiday Farm fire has devastated our beloved McKenzie Valley. It pains me to even imagine driving through this valley that for as long as I've lived in Oregon I’ve considered one of the most beautiful anywhere. Vastly more important than scenery, of course, is the fact that this conflagration caught the residents of Blue River completely by surprise Labor Day evening, forcing them to flee for their lives leaving their homes to the flames.

We Are All Called

During the live-streamed events the candidates addressed a host of topics from one day to the next, but the responses that moved me most deeply were those dealing with why they feel called to be the next bishop of Oregon. I listened to them talk about call, about how many times, for some of them, others suggested that maybe they were meant to be a bishop and how utterly amazed they were to hear such a thing. Oh no, one candidate said she replied the first time it happened, that can’t be right.

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night

I’ve never had a night job, never had the responsibility of being “on” in those quiet hours after midnight when most of the world is fast asleep. How fortunate the rest of us are that there are people willing and able to take on that responsibility. Every night there are people working, watching, and yes, weeping, while we sleep. Maybe we have been one of them at some point in time.

Moral Complexity

As Episcopalians we know that moral choice is a struggle. We recognize that the guiding principles by which we live have to be applied with care, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have principles. The promises in our baptismal covenant, which we renew at every baptism we attend as well as at other times, call us to affirm our belief in a triune God, and then go on to describe in the form of questions, how we should live with each other.

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