Rowan Williams on All Saints

In its original Latin the Apostles' Creed announces belief in the communio sanctorum; and this could mean one of two things - or maybe both. It could be 'the sharing between holy people' or it could mean 'the sharing of holy things'. Now when the New Testament, especially St Paul, talks about 'holy people', it doesn't mean quite what we might mean by 'saint', it isn't offering a sort of verdict on a lot of spectacularly good lives. Christian people are 'holy' simply because they have been adopted by God into relationship, into that family relationship expressed in saying 'Our Father'. So the 'sharing between holy people' isn't some kind of club for the spiritually gifted; it's simply the relationship that holds together those who recognize and express their adoption by God. And so this sharing becomes tangible and visible when Christians are together just breathing the air of Christ, making real in words and actions who they are in relation to Jesus. The 'communion' that is meant here is what becomes visible when Christians are simply saying who they are.

And what does this involve? The Church is the community of those who have been 'immersed' in Jesus' life, overwhelmed by it. Those who are baptized have disappeared under the surface of Christ's love and reappeared as different people. The waters close over their heads, and then, like the old world rising out of watery chaos in the first chapter of the Bible, out comes a new world. So when the Church baptizes people, it says what it is and what sort of life its people live. Baptism is an event in which the 'sharing between holy people' comes to light and we see what the Church really is, a community in which people are constantly being brought into new life by being given a new relationship with God and each other.

It is also the community of those who are invited to eat with Jesus. Just as, in his earthly life, Jesus expressed his promise to create a new people of God by sharing meals with unlikely people, just as, after the resurrection, he shares food with his disciples as he re-calls them to their task, so it is with the whole Church. We are in the Church because we have been invited, not because we have earned our place. And so when the Church gathers to eat and drink with Jesus in Holy Communion, the Church once again says who and what it is. In baptism and Holy Communion, the nature of the Church is laid bare for us. What is the Church? It is simply those who have been immersed in, soaked in the life of Jesus, and who have been invited to eat with him and pray to the Father with him.

~ Rowan Williams, Tokens of Trust (2007)

hat tip to Creedal Christian

All Saints Day

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. 
  -- All Saints, Holy Women, Holy Men, p. 663


hat tip to The Episcopal Church's website  ... http://ecusa.anglican.org/

An early Advent?

Emmanuel Way Newsletter Article

November 2011

The Rev. Peter M. Carey

An early Advent?     

With the Christmas decorations already in many stores and the commercial aspects of the holiday season getting into full swing even before Thanksgiving occurs, I wonder what happens to Advent in the mix of all this commercial chaos?  And so, here in the month of November, I am going to write a bit about Advent.  

My proposal is that we should really begin to focus on Advent before the “official” time that Advent begins so that we might gain some of the spiritual benefits of this rich and deep season before we are consumed by the commercialization of the season.  I have read that in medieval times, Advent was actually practiced for 7 weeks or more, instead of the four weeks that we now have for the season, so this effort is not without precedent.

Advent is a time of expectation, and a time of going deep within one’s self as we each prepare a place for God in our hearts and in our lives.  Just as we might imagine Mary and Joseph preparing a place for a baby in their own busy and chaotic lives, we also might find ways to prepare a place for Christ in our lives today.  Of course, God is with us, and Christ abides with us and in us at all times.  However, doing some clearing away some of the spiritual clutter of our lives may, in fact, provide room for Christ to enter in anew this year. 

What are some tangible things that we can do?  One is to take a look around your house and see if there are a few areas where you can open up space.  Perhaps there is a pile of books next to your comfy chair which are nice to have there, but books that you haven’t yet read, and books that don’t need to be there.  Perhaps putting the books away in order to leave open some space can be an outward and visible sign of what we are also striving to do in our hearts. 

What about if you have children and there is a plethora of toys scattered in their rooms, or in a playroom.  Perhaps in this time we could choose to put away some of the toys, to put them in a box for a time, in the attic or basement, so that some room is made clear.  Perhaps we could even have a conversation with our kids about “preparing a place” for Jesus just as the animals in the stable might have done. 

And what about our daily calendar, what about our many appointments and to do lists, what about our time that we spend online which is mere filler time, what about the time that we turn on the television and have it on in the background, just filling up the airwaves of our homes?  Could we move a few things off of our calendars?  Could we put off one or two items until January?  Could we turn off the constant banter on the radio or television? 

Jesus said repeatedly, let those with eyes see, let those with ears, hear.  Sometimes, I think that the reason some of us don’t recognize God’s presence, and God’s voice in our lives is that we pollute our vision and our hearing with a cacophony of sights and sounds.

How might you “prepare a home” for Christ in our midst?  How might you, like Mary, “ponder these things” in your heart?  I encourage you, even in this (somewhat) early month of November to begin to “practice Advent” in your lives.  Practicing Advent living may offer up deep spiritual benefits and help us to recognize Christ in this season of expectation and preparation.

(Early) Advent Blessings!

Peter+

Blessed are the cheesemakers (and all the Saints!)

Today is All Saints Day.  November 1st, and November 2nd is known as All Souls' Day.  Most often, these two days are merged together and observed on the first Sunday after All Saints.  So, next Sunday, we'll be celebrating All Saints and the gospel reading will be from the Sermon on the Mount, (Matthew 5: 1-12) - the "Blessed are the ______" reading that is quoted so often.

Of course, it is also a good time to watch Life of Brian, or at least the "Sermon on the Mount" clip from it!

Humor is good medicine,

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Blessed are the cheesemakers (and all the Saints!)

Today is All Saints Day.  November 1st, and November 2nd is known as All Souls' Day.  Most often, these two days are merged together and observed on the first Sunday after All Saints.  So, next Sunday, we'll be celebrating All Saints and the gospel reading will be from the Sermon on the Mount, (Matthew 5: 1-12) - the "Blessed are the ______" reading that is quoted so often.

Of course, it is also a good time to watch Life of Brian, or at least the "Sermon on the Mount" clip from it!

Humor is good medicine,

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey