God’s Indissoluble Bond of Love

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD

January 11, 2026

Year A: The First Sunday after the Epiphany

Isaiah 42:1-9

Psalm 29

Acts 10:34-43

Matthew 3:13-17

God’s Indissoluble Bond of Love

I don’t know about you, but it’s been a long time since Sue and I have attended a New Year’s Eve Party.

Instead, for us, New Year’s Eve is pretty much like any other night.

I’m an early riser, so I never stay up to watch the Times Square countdown.

I will say that this year my sleep was interrupted by the midnight fireworks – so I was drowsily and none too happily alerted that a new year had begun.

Didn’t these people know that January 1 is the Feast of the Holy Name and we had a service at 9:00 am!?!

I guess not.

Even though in reality it’s just another day, many of us invest at least some meaning in the end of one year and the start of another.

There are all those “Best of” lists: books, movies, music, ... sermons.

Of course, some of us make New Year’s resolutions.

And for a week or two, the gyms are a little more crowded, and the bars maybe a little less so.

But the truth is that, starting a new year doesn’t make much difference in our lives and certainly not in the world.

All the challenges and horrors of the old year are still very much with us.

This is always true, of course, but maybe it’s even more true this year.

Our divisions seem as deep as ever.

We can watch the same videos of the tragic killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis – we can see the same images and draw wildly different conclusions.

Maybe that’s always been true. 

What’s definitely true is that our world is clearly entering a new era. 

      Old norms of speech and behavior have been discarded.

      Old alliances are being strained, even dismantled.

      The postwar order – the only order most have us have ever known – is ending.

And something new, or perhaps something very old, is beginning.

Some of us think this change is long overdue and welcome.

While others of us worry, what kind of world awaits us when so much that we have known and trusted and even taken for granted is passing away?

So, maybe it’s more important than ever for us to remember the one bond that can never be broken, no matter the change of year, no matter the change of season, no matter war or peace.

Maybe it’s more important than ever for us to remember that, in baptism, God makes an indissoluble bond of love with us.

No matter what we do or don’t do, no matter what happens in the world around us, God just won’t ever let go of us.

In baptism, God makes an indissoluble bond of love with us.

Today, on the First Sunday after the Epiphany, we always hear the story of Jesus’ baptism.

In somewhat different ways, all four gospels tell us about Jesus’ baptism.

Today we heard Matthew’s version, which presents the story as both a personal experience for Jesus – he sees God’s Spirit descending upon him like a dove – and also as a public event – God announces to anyone listening:

“This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

At our Wednesday Bible Study, we talked about a couple of interesting questions:

When did Jesus fully grasp who he was?

When did he fully understand his mission?

It could be that, in some sense, Jesus knew all along.

Or maybe there came a time when Mary sat him down and told him the story of his miraculous birth, the angel, the shepherds, the Magi.

“Son, there are some things I need to tell you.”

Or maybe it was a gradual awakening and understanding.

Or maybe it was not until the first Easter morning when he left the tomb.

We don’t really know, but if you and I have ever met, then you know that I think it’s at his baptism that Jesus learns who he really is, whose he is, and what he is meant to do.

And in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke, right after Jesus’ baptism, he is sent into the wilderness to undergo forty days and nights of testing.

And then Jesus begins his work of love, healing, teaching, sacrifice.

And I would suggest that it’s at our baptism that we learn who we really are, whose we are, and what we are meant to do.

We are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever.

And knowing that God has made an indissoluble bond of love with us, we can, with God’s help, do the ongoing work of love, healing, teaching, sacrifice.

I would also say that in this most uncertain time, the church is more important than ever – this church is more important than ever for us.

Yes, of course, we can pray anywhere and discover God at Wegmans or Royal Farms, or out on the NCR Trail.

And, yes, you could certainly be baptized elsewhere, maybe in the Chesapeake or even the kitchen sink.

But it’s here that we that we gather around the font and pray with and for the newly baptized.

It’s here that we gather with people, all different kinds of people, yes, people who watch the same video and see things we don’t see – all different kinds of people and we pray together, serve together, love one another.

The church is more important than ever – this church is more important than ever.

And it needs our support.

I’m always reluctant to talk about pledging because, obviously, I have some self-interest. But there are a still some very faithful parishioners – people who I know love this place – who have not yet pledged.

The money is important, but it’s the commitment – our commitment to this place – that matters most.

In this uncertain time, our church is more important than ever – and there’s nobody else to take care of this beautiful community, this beautiful place – just us – so we really need everyone “all in.”

And today we hold our first focus group meetings, to look more deeply at the needs of our church, to dream a bit about our future, and to reflect on what God might be calling us to do.

In religious language, the process we’re beginning today is called discernment – and prayerful discernment is always worthwhile, always good, no matter the outcome.

So, I hope that you’ll participate in at least one of these sessions and share your thoughts on our plans, on our future.

So, by nature, I am a somewhat anxious person.

I try to keep a lid on it, but it’s true.

Of course, I worry about lots of things, but I am not frightened of the future.

I’m not frightened because we have one another. We have this amazing community of love, healing, teaching, sacrifice.

I’m not frightened because just as Jesus was baptized, I was baptized – we were baptized.

And in the water of baptism, God has made an indissoluble bond of love with me, an indissoluble bond of love with us all.

God just won’t let go of us.

No matter the year, no matter the season, no matter what.

Amen.

The Great Unburdening

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD

August 24, 2025

Year C, Proper 16: The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Psalm 71:1-6

Hebrews 12:18-29

Luke 13:10-17

The Great Unburdening

So, many of you know that I was recently on vacation. I was off for about ten days, a good amount of time for rest and recharging.

For the first half I was out of town (and I’ll come back to that in a few minutes) and for the second half, I was around here, just sort of goofing off.

That’s why, last week, here at St. Thomas’, Rev. Amelia had her first solo Sunday morning, including her first and second baptisms, and if you were here or watched online, you know that, no surprise, it was a beautiful morning.

Meanwhile, I worshiped out our cathedral down in Baltimore City where I had the rare-for-me, and really great, experience of just being a Christian in the pew, not having to worry about how things were going, not having to focus on what I’m supposed to say or do next.

In many ways, the service at the cathedral was very much like a typical Sunday here, especially the joyfulness.

Being in the pew with the wonderfully diverse congregation, I could really see and feel the joy – every single person was glad to be there. Just like here, no one was in church out of a sense of obligation or a desire to be seen.

It wasn’t always that way, of course. 

For a long time, at least some people came to church because it was expected, it was simply the thing you did, it was a place to see and be seen.

And, while it might be nice to have that kind of attendance again, I wouldn’t go back to those days. I’ll take somewhat reduced numbers if everybody’s here because they want to be here – I’ll take reduced attendance in exchange for the joy that we experience here every week.

Our Jewish brothers and sisters have never lost their joyful sabbath spirit.

Yes, keeping the sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments, but down through the centuries, Jews have received the sabbath as a great gift from God, a day not so much of obligation but freedom – a day when everyone – even the beasts of burden – everyone is released from daily drudgery – a day for prayer and praise - a day when families and friends are meant to enjoy each other’s company – a day when married couples are encouraged to spend quality time together.

The sabbath was and is meant to be a joyful gift.

And if you’ve ever been at Trader Joe’s in Pikesville on a Friday, no doubt you’ve seen many of our Jewish neighbors buying flowers to beautify their sabbath table.

Sabbath joy.

But, of course, not everyone is able to experience that sabbath joy.

Some people are heavy burdened; bent by the weight they carry.

That’s true today and it was true back in the first century, too.

As we just heard, in today’s gospel lesson, it’s the sabbath and Jesus the faithful Jew is in the synagogue, teaching.

Lots of other people are there, too, including a long-suffering woman, literally bent for 18 years.

It’s very moving to me that she’s there – maybe it’s out of a sense of faithfulness, maybe out of obedience, but it’s surely not because she expects her ailment to be cured.

She doesn’t ask for healing, probably she doesn’t even think of it.

Or, then again, maybe she’s heard about Jesus’ miraculous reputation, but she still doesn’t dare to ask for her own miracle.

Well, without asking, Jesus heals her.

And we’re told that the synagogue leader objects – it might be because he feels threatened by Jesus’ power. After all, how many people has he healed?

Or maybe he’s simply stating a fact, that this kind of non-life-threatening healing could’ve waited until sunset. Jesus could’ve held off until after the sabbath was over.

But, of course, the leader misses the point.

God’s law, God’s love, is all about liberation, all about unburdening.

And Jesus the Liberator, was there, lifting the burden of this poor woman, allowing her to joyfully celebrate the sabbath for the first time in eighteen years.

        And today Jesus the Liberator is here, Jesus is still here, still able to lift our burdens.

        And that’s the source of the joy I experienced at the Cathedral last week, the joy I experience here all the time.

        Yes, we all carry troubles and worries.

        Some of us feel the heavy weight of what’s happening in our own lives and what’s going on across the country and around the world – I don’t need to run down the long list of suffering.

        How could we not feel the weight these things?

        But Jesus the Liberator is here, at work in and among us, lifting our burdens by reminding us that we are loved, that we are not alone, that we have each other – we have this beautiful St. Thomas’ community – and, most of all, we have a God who will simply not let go of us, no matter how heavy our burdens, no matter what.

        And in our baptismal promises we sign up to be part of this great unburdening.

        When we promise to be here, to ask forgiveness and repent, to love our neighbor – especially the people we don’t like or trust – especially the people we’re taught to hate and fear – when we make and renew those big promises and, with God’s help, when we live out those promises, we’re part of this great unburdening, this great unburdening that all the bent-over people of today so desperately need.

        And we’re all included in this work, all of us, very much including teenagers like Jeremiah, who, as we heard in today’s first lesson, he thought he was too young to be a prophet. “I am only a boy,” he objects.

        But Jeremiah was called to be a prophet despite, or maybe because of, his youth.

        We’re all included in this work, even our youngest children, even young Whit here, who is about to be baptized.

        So, I said at the start of my sermon, I’d come to back to the part of my vacation when I was away.

        And I want to share with you a small, simple moment that I observed.

        I was in a restaurant by myself, which always a little awkward, right? And also, when you’re by yourself and don’t have anything in particular to do, you have time to think, and when you have time to think, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and start to bend under the burdens of life.

        Anyway, sitting at a table across from me was a mom and her daughter, who was about four.

        The daughter wore glasses, you know the kind that look like goggles, with the strap round her head.             

        Very cute.

        So, after they’ve been sitting there for a few minutes, the people they’d been waiting for arrive, a middle-aged couple, probably husband and wife.

        The mom and daughter both get up.

        Smiles all around, the mom politely hugged the man and the woman – you know, grown up, slightly awkward, hugs.

        But the daughter with her little goggles, hugged in turn the man and the woman, wrapping her arms around their shins, resting her head against their legs.

        After she had hugged them both she made her way back to her seat but when she realized that her mom and the couple were still standing and talking, she came back for another round of hugs.

        I think the mom was as little embarrassed by her daughter’s enthusiasm, but the couple was just beaming.

        And why wouldn’t they be?

        Like all of us, I’m sure they were burdened by their own troubles and the troubles of the world, but that moment was a great unburdening – a reminder of the love and joy that God intends for us on the sabbath and always.

        For us, Jesus is the Liberator.

        And in this time of many troubles, we are all called to do our part in the great unburdening.

        All of us are called to share God’s love, maybe with something as simple as a hug.

        Amen.

 

An Ever-Widening Circle of Love

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD

May 18, 2025

Year C: The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Acts 11:1-18

Psalm 148

Revelation 21:1-6

John 13:31-35

An Ever-Widening Circle of Love

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Yes, it is still Easter.

And today, on the Fifth Sunday of Easter, in our Gospel lesson we back up to before the Resurrection, back to the Last Supper.

Judas has just departed to set in motion the plot that will lead to Jesus’s arrest and execution.

And Jesus, knowing that time is growing short, teaches another most important lesson:

“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.”

“Love one another,” Jesus says to his friends.

We’re not told how the disciples reacted to this “new commandment.” 

Since they had been with Jesus and had heard his teachings and witnessed his healings, surely, they weren’t surprised by this command to love one another, right?

Then again, let’s not forget that we’re talking about the disciples here, who so often missed the point, just like us.

We don’t know if the disciples were surprised by this new commandment, but there were certainly some big surprises ahead.

The first surprise was the Resurrection itself.

Although the gospels report that Jesus had predicted that he would rise on the third day, the disciples just didn’t seem to understand or believe that.

And really, who could blame them?

And the second big surprise was that Gentiles, non-Jews, were drawn to the message of Jesus.

This was an unexpected development and created a big challenge for Jesus’ first disciples, who were all Jews, and had all understood Jesus as the Jewish Messiah.

How exactly could Gentiles be included in Jesus’ community of love?

What would that look like?

Most of the disciples thought that the Gentiles who wanted to follow Jesus would have to become Jews first, would have to follow the Jewish Law – the men would have to be circumcised, everybody would have to follow the Jewish dietary laws.

Some disciples, especially Paul, strongly disagreed.

This question of what to do about the Gentiles was the first big dispute in the history of the Church.

And we hear some of that controversy in today’s first lesson, from the Acts of the Apostles.

The word gets around that Peter has been eating with the Gentiles, presumably eating food that was not kosher. 

Peter explains himself by describing a vision he had, in which God declares all foods clean,

And then Peter says that the Spirit told him to make no distinction between Jews and Gentiles.

So, a big surprise for the early Church: God calls Peter and the first disciples to broaden the community, to widen the circle of love.

That all happened a long tine ago, of course, but I wonder if we are still surprised that God continues to call us to broaden the community, to widen the circle of love.

The Episcopal Church isn’t perfect, of course, but one thing we have going for us that we are very transparent when it comes to facts and figures.

Each year, every Episcopal congregation submits what’s called the Parochial Report.

It’s a total pain in the neck to put together, but it requires us to gather our financial information and to compile statistics about church membership and church attendance (that’s why the ushers count how many people are here).

I’m always most interested in attendance since I think that says a lot about the health of our church – if people are not here, if they’re voting with their feet out the door, then something has gone wrong.

But church attendance is only part of the story.

When a former bishop of mine visited congregations, he used to ask them if their church were to close, what, if anything would people out in the community miss?

To answer that very good question, in recent years, the Parochial Report has asked us to consider how many lives we touch beyond our congregation, outside of our church walls.

The church asks us if we are broadening our community.

Are we widening the circle of love?

Would anyone out there miss us if we were gone?

Of course, unlike Sunday attendance, it’s impossible to come up with a precise number of lives out there who are touched by St. Thomas’, but it sure is fun and inspiring to try.

There are the St. Thomas’ Preschool families, most of whom are not parishioners, but they are blessed with an outstanding school in a beautiful setting where the children learn most important lessons about love and kindness and generosity and creativity.

There are the children over at Owings Mills Elementary School who are being blessed by Owls First, and also their parents, and their teachers and the school administrators.

And there are the students from Owings Mills High School who have been serving as tutors in the program.

And then there are the guests at the Community Crisis Center, lined up along Reisterstown Road, hoping to receive food and toiletries and cleaning supplies, some donated by us.

There are the guests down at Paul’s Place, fed by the hundreds of sandwiches prepared every couple of weeks by our loyal band of volunteers.

There are our friends from Afghanistan who have received a warm and loving welcome from us, who have been cared for in countless ways, from help dealing with bureaucracy, rides to and from appointments, and invitations to dinner and fun outings, and very soon we’ll be offering them a home.

There are the people who haven’t been part of our church for a long time or who have no church of their own, who call us when a loved one has died, asking if they can have the funeral here and they receive the same kind of loving care that we would offer one of our own.

There are the people who watch and hear our live-streamed services – some people we know, like my parents back in Jersey City who are faithfully attentive viewers – and others we have no idea about and will probably never meet – people who are fed by our reverent worship and gorgeous music.

And there are the people who are simply comforted by this old building and the surrounding grounds, inspired by its beauty, reassured by our longevity, somehow touched by the prayers that have been offered in this place since 1742.

And if you think I’m just making this up, listen to a letter that we recently received:

        “My son has been playing lacrosse games at Stevenson during the Mustang Classic for the past four years, and I found your church a few years ago. I enjoyed praying outside and had a great feeling while there. Since he won’t be playing there again, I wanted to send in this donation to show my appreciation. Your church seems to be a wonderful place, and I always found peace there and many prayers were answered.”

        Amazing, right?

When time was running out, Jesus gave his friends, gave us, a new commandment, that we should love one another.

And down through the centuries, God has continued to surprise and challenge us, calling us to broaden the community, to widen the circle of love.

With each baptism, with each surprise, during the Easter Season and always, may St. Thomas’ continue to be an ever-widening circle of love.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Amen.

The Story of Jesus and Us Continues

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD

May 4, 2025

Year C: The Third Sunday of Easter

Acts 9:1-6

Psalm 30

Revelation 5:11-14

John 21:1-19

The Story of Jesus and Us Continues

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

If you were here last week, you may remember that we heard the familiar story of “Doubting Thomas.”

We heard how, in Jerusalem on the first Easter night, Thomas was not with the other disciples hiding out in the locked room, wasn’t there when Jesus said, “Peace be with you,” wasn’t there when Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon his friends.

Thomas wasn’t there but, soon enough, he heard the good news. He heard the good news from the other disciples.

        And he did not believe a word of it.

        Thomas refused to believe until he saw Jesus for himself.

Well, as we heard, a week later, Jesus gave Thomas what he wanted, what Thomas thought he needed, appearing again, showing his wounds, inviting Thomas to go ahead, and touch. 

But seeing was enough for Thomas to know – Thomas now knew the best news of all time:

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

I didn’t talk about it in my sermon, but at the end last week’s gospel lesson we heard this:

        “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”

And with that, it would seem that the story of Jesus and his friends has come to an end.

If this were a movie, the end credits would roll, accompanied by dramatic music.

Like a lot of people, I haven’t seen a movie in a movie theater in years but when I did, I usually stayed in my seat for all the credits because, sometimes, there is more to the story, an epilogue.

        And that is what we heard today, what’s often called the epilogue to the Gospel of John.

Picking up right where we left off last week, the story of Jesus and his friends continues. 

So, Peter and the other disciples have seen the Risen Lord a couple of times.

They know the best news of all time. 

        They know that love and life defeat hate and death.

So, what do they do next?

        Well, just like us, they live their lives.

        Peter and at least some of the others were fishermen, so they go fishing!

Now, you’ll be shocked to learn that I don’t know anything about fishing, but I suppose fishing is a good metaphor for life.

        Sometimes things will go great and other times we will fall short or fail or things just won’t go our way and, yes, sometimes terrible things will happen.

We all know this.

But, no matter what, Jesus is with us, calling us to keep going, inviting us to maybe try doing things a little differently – like, how about casting the net on the right side of the boat?

        Jesus calls us to go deeper – calls us to trust that God’s abundance – God’s good gifts of love and peace and courage will be given to us.

        With his three questions to Peter, “Do you love me?” Jesus offers his friend forgiveness for denying him three times and Jesus provides Peter with a new mission to feed the lambs, to lead the church.

        And just like Peter long ago, when we mess up, as we all do, Jesus offers us forgiveness, redemption, and a new start, too.

        The story of Jesus and his friends - the story of Jesus and us - continues.

        The story of Jesus and us continues here today with one of Jesus’ newest friends, the already much-loved Ellett Andrews Worthington, who I will have the joy and privilege of baptizing in just a few minutes.

        In the water of baptism, the story of Jesus and us continues.

        In the water of baptism, God makes an indissoluble bond with us.

        God will not let go of us. No matter what.

        God’s bond with us is indissoluble, unbreakable – sort of like the net in today’s gospel lesson.

        And that indissoluble bond, God’s unbreakable net, allows us to receive and share God’s good gifts, gifts way more abundant than even 153 large fish.

        At our Vestry Retreat yesterday, I kept thinking about the image of God’s unbreakable net. 

        This year, rather than bringing in a guest speaker or an outside facilitator, we invited leaders of our many ministries and various initiatives to join us, asking them to tell us what they’re doing, what challenges they face, how the church can better support their work, what are their hopes for the future, and what would it look like to dream big?

       All I can say is, here at St. Thomas’, God’s unbreakable net is full of so much abundance.

       First, just the fact that about 25 wonderful and often very busy people generously gave up much of a beautiful Saturday in May to do this work is truly amazing and very telling.

        And all morning we heard about so much great ministry, from Acolytes to Zoom Bible Study, so much creativity, so much passion and determination, some challenges and disappointments, yes, of course, but also so many big dreams for the future – dreams of offering even more service to God and God’s people.

        In a time when, out in the world, there is so much fear, despair, hate, and cruelty, here at St. Thomas’, it’s different – here the story of Jesus and us continues.

        So, Ellett’s baptism will be our third baptism in three weeks.

        And that is a wonderful blessing for her and for all of us. 

        Because in the water of Baptism, God makes an indissoluble bond with us.

        God will not let go of us, no matter what.

        God provides us with an unbreakable net, a net that allows us to receive and share God’s abundant good gifts.

        The story of Jesus and us continues.

        So, whatever you do, don’t leave the theater, because the greatest story of them all continues for Ellett and for all of us.

        Alleluia! Christ is risen!

        The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

        Amen. 

Entrusted by God to Share the Best News Ever

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD

April 20, 2025

Year C: Easter Day

Acts 10:34-43

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

John 20:1-18

Entrusted by God to Share the Best News Ever

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

You know, this year, much like spring itself, Easter seems kind of late, doesn’t it?

Today’s joyful celebration feels like it’s been a really long time coming but, thanks be to God, it is Easter at last!

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

And thanks be also to so many hardworking, generous, and talented people who have once again made Holy Week and Easter at St. Thomas’ deeply meaningful and extraordinarily beautiful.

Thank you to our Altar Guild and Flower Committee – I mean, seriously, just look at this place!

Thank you to our worship leaders: our deacon, our verger, our acolytes, our lectors our chalice-bearers., and our ushers.

Thank you to our phenomenal choir and guest musicians.

Thank you to our wardens past and present for this morning’s over-the-top delicious breakfast.

And thank you to our office volunteers and our super-dedicated church staff – so many bulletins to create, edit, print, and stuff – so many other little (and not so little) details to take care of – so much good and holy work, all to make Easter happen at St. Thomas’ Church.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Yes, for us, it is Easter. at last.

And for Mary Magdalene in today’s gospel lesson, it’s the first Easter, the first Easter morning.

But, of course, at first, she didn’t know that.

Mary Magdalene was still grieving the brutal death of her Lord.

        She was in a place of unknowing, still trying to make sense of all that had happened.

        Early in the morning, all by herself, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb in the garden – there’s nothing else, nothing more, that she can do, except stay as close as possible to Jesus.

        Then, as we heard, Mary Magdalene made the horrifying discovery that the tomb has been opened.

        Will this tragedy ever end?

        Understandably frantic, Mary Magdalene ran to get Peter and the other disciple who run to the tomb, take a look around, and then they head back home – these guys are no help at all.

        And Mary Magdalene is left at the tomb, alone. Or so she thinks.

        As she weeps, the angels ask her what must have seemed a cruel question: “Woman, why are you weeping?” 

        And then a stranger – oh, it must be the gardener – he asks her the same question.

        But then.

        But then, when “the Gardener” calls her by name, she knows.

        Mary Magdalene knows the voice of the Good Shepherd. 

        Mary Magdalene knows the best news of all time:

        Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

        And now let’s stop right at this moment.

        While the first Easter was happening in the garden, everyone out in the world thought that the Romans and their local accomplices had won.

        The Romans and their local accomplices certainly thought so.

        All the people who had welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem waving their branches and shouting “Hosanna” and then, just a few days later, called for Jesus’ death, they thought so.

        Even the disciples, cowardly and unfaithful and now hiding out for dear life, even they thought that the Romans had won.

        After all, everybody knew that Jesus had died on the cross and his lifeless body was placed in the tomb.

        So, at this moment, on the first Easter morning, there was only one person who knew that, in fact, the Romans had not won – only one person knew that hate, violence, and death had not defeated mercy, love, and life.

        And that one person was Mary Magdalene.

        In that moment, she was the whole church – she was the only one who knew the Good News that mercy, love and life have won – and she was the only one entrusted by God to share the best news of all time to a frightened and grieving world.

        And that is exactly what she did:

        Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

        In just a few moments, I will have the great joy and privilege of baptizing beautiful little Millie.

        I mean, really, what could be better than an Easter baptism?

        Millie is already off to a great start – her family adores her, and her family has deep roots in this church, a history of faith and devotion represented so beautifully today both in our font and on our altar.

        And now today in the water of Baptism, God will make an unbreakable bond of love with Millie.

        As we always do, during Millie’s Baptism we’ll renew our Baptismal Covenant.

        We’ll promise to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.

        We’ll promise to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as our self.

        And really this means that, just like God entrusted Mary Magdalene two thousand years ago to announce the Good News, God entrusts us today to share the best news ever – to share the Good News through what we say and do – by loving our neighbors, most especially the poor, the stranger., and the outcast

        This is a tall order, only possible with God’s help, only possible when we work together.

        Fortunately, there are a lot of us! Just look around! Unlike Mary Magdalene who was all on her own, this place is packed with people experiencing the joy of new life, right here and now.

        And here’s something else to give us a little boost, to give us some courage.

        You may know that usually Western and Eastern Christians celebrate Easter on different dates, right?

        But not this year.

        All around the world, Christians are celebrating Easter today.

        So, it may feel like Easter is kind of late this year, but, in fact, as always, God is right on time.

        Today, we and Christians everywhere are having our Mary Magdalene moment.

        Together, we have encountered the Risen Lord.

        Together, we know that no matter how bad things may look, mercy, love, and life have won.

        And God has entrusted us to celebrate and share the best news of all time.

        So, let’s get to it!

        Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

        Amen.

Our True Home

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD

January 26, 2025

Year C: The Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Psalm 19

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Luke 4:14-21

Our True Home

Let us pray.

God of love and peace, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. Help us to remember the way to our true home. Show us the way back to you.

Amen. 

        Most of you know (because I’ve mentioned it a couple hundred times) that I grew up and lived most of my life in Jersey City, New Jersey, one of America’s great cities, a diverse and  densely populated place just across the Hudson River from New York City.

And, although I’m glad and thankful to be here with all of you, I don’t think you’ll be surprised that I do get homesick from time to time.

I miss having my family and friends close by.

I miss being able to walk down the street to our local restaurant or hopping on the PATH train and spending a few hours wandering around New York.

Of course, Jersey City isn’t that far away, so I do get back there a couple of times a year, which I’m always happy to do.

But, you know, these homecomings are strange.

Since I don’t live there anymore, I stay in a hotel – which is both shockingly expensive, and it’s also weird, disorienting, to feel like a tourist in my hometown.

And walking and driving around the city, it’s still very familiar but also changed – old buildings are gone and new, often very tall, buildings have arisen.

The city has changed.

And over my three and a half years away, during my time here with all of you, I’ve changed, too.

So now, for me, Jersey City is both home and not-home.

I got to thinking about all of this when I began reflecting on today’s gospel lesson:

Jesus’ return to his hometown, Nazareth.

You may recall that two weeks ago, we remembered Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River.

Luke tells us that right after his baptism, while Jesus was praying, he saw the Spirit descend like a dove and he heard a voice from heaven say, “You are my Son, the beloved. With you I am well pleased.”

Like us, Jesus was changed by his baptism, filled with the Spirit.

If Jesus didn’t know it before, he could now be certain of the Father’s love, God’s indissoluble and unbreakable love.

Luke tells us that after his baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for his time of temptation and testing.

Satan gives it his best shot, but Spirit-filled Jesus resists.

As I mentioned two weeks ago, more than any particular satanic temptations, I think the biggest challenge for Jesus – and for all of us – was and is to remember – to remember our baptism - to remember God’s indissoluble and unbreakable love for us – to remember God’s love and grace during the hard and frightening times that we all face in our lives.

Jesus must have remembered the Father’s love – must have felt God’s love – and he survived – triumphed – in the wilderness.

No doubt, Jesus was changed by his baptism and by his days and nights in the wilderness.

And now, filled with Spirit, he began his ministry of teaching and healing, and the word about him began to spread all over, including back in Nazareth.

So, by the time Jesus returned to his hometown, there was a lot of anticipation and curiosity and maybe also confusion and doubt – could it really be Joseph and Mary’s son who was teaching like no one had ever heard before?

Could it really be Jesus – I mean, we’ve known him since he was a kid – could it really be Jesus who was healing all these people?

Well, today we heard the first part of Jesus’ homecoming.

Filled with the Spirit, Jesus goes to the synagogue and reads from the Prophet Isaiah, reading words that must have been familiar to his fellow Jews:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

And then spirit-filled Jesus boldly tells his Nazareth family and neighbors, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

That day in the Nazareth synagogue, Jesus declared his mission – his mission to bring good news to people who get a lot of bad news, to liberate those in chains, to give people vision, to declare the dawn of a new day, a new age.

What a moment that must have been.

This year, we won’t get to hear what happened next, but you may remember that it doesn’t go well – in fact, it goes so badly that the crowd wanted to kill Jesus, forcing him to flee his home.

Or, maybe, what he used to think was his home.

The truth is that in his baptism and during his time in the wilderness, Jesus must have understood that his true home wasn’t Nazareth or any other place on earth.

His true home was God the Father.

And the same goes for us – if we’re open and paying attention, in our baptism and during our wilderness times we can recognize that for us our true home isn’t Owings Mills or Jersey City or the United States or whatever land we’ve come from.

No, our true home is God.

In a few minutes, I’ll have the great privilege of baptizing young Henry.

In his first six months of life, Henry has already been quite the Christian – his parents have brought him to church very often – yesterday he went on his first church trip to the National Museum of the American Indian – and let’s not forget, he was our Baby Jesus in this year’s Christmas Tableau.

Thanks to his faithful family, Henry’s Christian life is already underway.

But today, in the water of Baptism, God will make an indissoluble, unbreakable bond with Henry – and there is nothing that Henry or we could ever do or not do that would ever cause God to break that bond of love with Henry or with any of us.

There’s no force powerful enough to break God’s bond with us.

No force powerful enough to separate us from God, our true home.

And when we experience this – when we remember this - when we know this deep down in our hearts – then we can be brave – we can bravely use our God-given gifts out in the world.

There is no force powerful enough to separate us from our true home.

And when we experience this – when we know this – when we remember this – we can be brave and, with God’s help, we can live out our “servant church” mission which continues Jesus’ mission of love and liberation.

        Our mission is best summed up in two of the promises we make in the Baptismal Covenant – to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as our self – and to respect the dignity of every human being.

        I always think, I wish it didn’t say “all” and “every.”

        “Many” or even “Most?” Easy! I’m in. Sign me up right now!

        But all persons, every human being? That’s really hard. That’s only possible with God’s help.

        But this is our mission.

        We are called to love not only the people who are easy to love but also the people we don’t approve of, the people who drive us up the wall, and the people we don’t like or trust one bit. 

        All persons, every human being.

        We are called to love Republicans, Democrats, independents, and people who somehow pay no attention to politics or current events.

        All persons, every human being.

        We are called to love people whose ancestors sailed on the Mayflower, people whose ancestors were brought here in chains, the Native Americans some of us learned a lot about yesterday, and the people who have just arrived here, like our Afghan friends who are cherished by so many of us.

        All persons, every human being.

        We are called to love straight people, gay people, and transgender people.

        All persons, every human being.

        We are called, commanded, to love our neighbors as ourselves – all of them, every one.

        This is our Christian mission, a continuation of Jesus’ mission, a most challenging mission, a mission possible only with God’s help, only possible when we, the Body of Christ, stick together.

In our baptism, our restless hearts discover that our true home is God.

In the temptations and trials of life, we discover that our true home is God.

There’s no force powerful enough to break God’s bond with us.

No force powerful enough to drive us from our true home.

And when we know this and remember this, Henry and all of us can be brave, and live out our Christian mission of love and service.

Amen.