Things Cast Down are Being Raised Up

Cheap Grace So, what does that mean, do you think, for us 'Piskies today? This question comes from Robert in reference to the above meme. This is the second part of my response to the question.  In my last post , I talked about civic responsibility and being a Christian - how we as Christians need to speak out when people in power use the Christian name but do not follow Christian doctrine and discipline.   As the old expression goes, "When one finger is pointed away from you, there are always three pointed back."  If we are to demand that others follow such things and call for authenticity in public religiosity, then we ourselves are compelled to the same standard.  Otherwise, we would make ourselves out to be hypocrites. So really, what about us Episcopalians? For us as Episcopalians, this is also a call to keep our own house in order.  This quote really is directed at Christians (not just Episcopalians) and our practices.  I suspect we as Christians

Cheap Grace So, what does that mean, do you think, for us 'Piskies today? This question comes from Robert in reference to the above meme. For those who are outside of the Episcosphere, "Piskies" is short for Episcopalians.  I had a similar question a month ago that I responded to on here  about what God is saying to the Episcopal Church.  One of the challenges in the Mainline Church is the anxiety around what feels like decline, and truth be told, answers are in short supply.  At the same time, the world outside the Church feels unstable as well.  I do not think that anything I can say here will be the quick fix to help struggling congregations, but I do think the wisdom of Bonhoeffer is particularly relevant in our church context. I shared this meme on my own Facebook page, which is where the question came from.  My hunch is that this quote is making the rounds because, even though it is a religious message, has some secular appeal for Americans today.

When did you hear your calling? Did you listen right away? This question was submitted by Stefanie. When? There are a number of different ways I thought about responding to this question.  I could get into some of the deeper stories about my call, but I think I want to speak in more general terms.   I probably heard inklings of a call early on, but ignored them.  I know early on I had always been very active in church and when I was in high school had considered becoming a deacon one day.  In my case, I found I was in situations where God began closing some doors and opening others.  This is what eventually led me to the priesthood.   Perhaps a good analogy of this is like driving along a road with rumble strips.  Every time I would veer off to one side or another, there would be some big thing telling me to go back to my path.  By the time I really decided to pursue this calling, I was between my third and fourth year in college.  I had been studying Architecture up to t

Listen to my sermon for August 4, 2019 here.