Stephanie, the homeless evangelist of Bainbridge Avenue in the Bronx, died alone on a subway car. During the first week of Advent Janet and I sat in the quiet sanctuary for the memorial service, watching the flickering first candle on the wreath. Around us were many of Stephanie’s companions in her life’s sometimes tortured journey.
Have you ever made an altar flower delivery or a communion visit for St. Luke’s? Have you ever stopped for a “friendly visit” with someone living in a nursing home? Have you ever dropped in to spend time with a friend or neighbor who is dealing with an on-going health issue or new diagnosis? Have you ever wanted to reach out but felt hesitant and unsure about what to do or say?
As I watched the Sunday School children “singing” “Go Tell It On the Mountain” through sign language I was remembering such moments when my own children and grandchildren participated. I remember sitting in the audience in Hyde Park and craning my neck to see my granddaughter Ruth as she emerged onto the stage with other “Chinese” dancers for her moment in Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker.” My joyful expectation was met with her radiant smile, the confident movement of her lithe body in the dance, her abandonment to the music. As she made her triumphal exit she craned her own neck to see who was with her and our eyes met. She rewarded me with a smile for the ages.
One of my favorite authors throughout the 40+ years of my ministry has been Frederick Buechner. Over the years his work has found its way into my writing and preaching. However, I am reminded again I am not alone in my admiration. A memorial article published in the October issue of The Christian Century observed “During the 1980s and 1990s, [Buechner] was quoted from American pulpits more often than anyone [else] alive at the time.”
“Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come.” (Prayer for Advent I)
“O that you would tear open the heavens and come down!” (Isaiah 64:1)
A memory from several years ago animates my heart and the mission we share at St. Luke’s this Advent: A crash language course in the narthex. Tell me how you say “In the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit in Arabic.” Pastor Khader El Yateem whispers something unintelligible. I take out a pen and ask him to repeat it slowly. The incense is swirling to the heavens. The opening hymn, “Love Divine, all love’s excelling,” has begun. The kids wearing the Church Reeboks are lifting up the cross and torches to lead the procession. I scrawl on the back of the bulletin, in wobbly English, a transliteration: “Bism’el ab; wal eben; waroah el qudus; el elah; eluahied; Amin.”
On the liturgical clock, this Sunday, traditionally called Christ the King, is the Church’s equivalent of 11:59 PM on December 31. Next Sunday, November 27, we begin the new Church Year with the first celebration of the season of Advent, the season of hope.
“It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our Savior Jesus Christ.” (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 130) These words from the Great Thanksgiving Eucharistic prayer give us a wonderful summary of the life of a Christian steward. Duty and Joy.
A pandemic wreaking havoc across the land. Social unrest leading to fires and violence in the streets. A politically divided people, seemingly on the verge of fracture. New information technologies bringing radical changes to mass communication, causing people to question what is true.
Early in October Judy and I took our Miata on a 16-day, 3200-mile road trip we referred to as the “Southwest Tour.” Our route included stops in Hamilton, Missouri, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Corrales, New Mexico, and McKinney, Texas.
Some Lutheran Dimensions of Faith:
1. Vocation is sacred. Being a student, a friend, one’s job, an adult member of a congregation, are all vocations. The “priesthood of all believers” strengthens the fundamental dignity of the rhythms of our lives as our arena to praise God and love our neighbor. To help “flesh out” the vocation of church membership I stressed five tangible things when I taught confirmation:
1. Regular worship and reception of the sacrament.
2. A regular money offering.
3. A piece of ministry all their own (taking an elderly neighbor shopping, teaching Sunday School, etc.)
4. Some form of continued growth in the word (at home, Bible class, etc.)
5. Daily prayer for the ministry of the church and those in need.