3 things you do not know...

The following was in a sermon the Rev. Grant LeRoux gave at Holy Nativity Church on St. Simons Island some years back. I do not know if it is original to Grant or if he was quoting someone else:

When you look upon a brother who has sinned, there are 3 things you do not know...

1. You do not know how hard he tried to resist temptation...
2. You do not know the strength of the forces assembled against him...
3. You do not know what you would do in the same circumstances.

No Grandchildren Allowed

Pictured above is Max, the newest member of King of Peace's extended family. He was a whopping 8 lbs. 12 oz. when born Monday evening. The son of Mickie and Angie Goodwin, who attend when they are in town, Max is the grandson of Neil and June Maxwell and niece of Meredith Maxwell and so he is firmly a part of our church family.

Pictured at right, I am holding Jim and Janis Hudson's granddaughter, Emma Grace. When she came to the Thanksgiving Day meal with her Mom, Amanda, two-day old Emma Grace, who was born at 34 weeks, was just at five pounds. As a congregation with a healthy number of young couples, most of the babies born into our church family are children of parishioners (like Tyler and Kaitlin to name but two recent additions to the family). But these two newest babies are grandchildren, thus joining Colby and Gray whose grandparents as well as parents come to King of Peace.

But Max and Emma Grace will need to learn that there are no grandchildren allowed in church. This isn't being mean. It is because God does not have any grandchildren. Each of these babies is a child of God. We have been entrusted with them and the other children in our congregational family as a gift. And if we assist their grandparents (and to the degree we can their parents) in raising them to know and love God, Max and Emma Grace and the other kids in our family will come to understand themselves as the children of God they already are.

In the archives are the religion column Teaching children the language of faith and the sermon As a Little Child.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church

Deep water, big fish

In our spiritual life we sometimes prefer the shallow water where we can enjoy the experience and feel safe. But while that is good, we need also to launch out into the deep water with all the risks that are involved. That's where the big fish are—the ones worth catching.
—John Williamson

No Quarrel

There were two old men who dwelt together for many years and who never quarreled. Then one said to the other: "Let us pick a quarrel with each other like other men do."

"I do not know how quarrels arise," answered his companion.

So the other said to him: "Look, I will put a brick down here between us and I will say 'This is mine.' Then you can say 'No it is not, it is mine.' Then we will be able to have a quarrel.

"So they placed the brick between them and the first one said:"This is mine."

His companion answered him:"This is not so, for it is mine."

To this, the first one said: "If it is so and the brick is yours, then take it and go your way."

And so they were not able to have a quarrel.

Conspiracy Theory

"The hypothesis that the Apostles were knaves is quite absurd. Follow it out to the end and imagine these twelve men meeting after Jesus's death and conspiring to say that he had risen from the dead. This means attacking all the powers that be.

"The human heart is singularly susceptible to fickleness, to change, to promises, to bribery. One of them had only to deny his story under these inducements, or still more because of possible imprisonment, tortures and death, and they would all have been lost.

"Follow that out."
—Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

King without a Kingdom

Tomorrow is Christ the King Sunday and in the Gospel reading, Jesus and Pilate have the following exchange of words after Pilate has asked Jesus' own people want him dead.

"My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

In his own lifetime, people projected all sorts of their own ideas of power and authority onto Jesus. Some wanted a warrior to lead a Jewish military victory over Rome. Others wanted a prophet to lead a religious victory over a priesthood gone complacent at the Temple in Jerusalem. Since Jesus death and resurrection, people have declared him to be a great teacher, a magician, a philosopher, a poet, prophet, or even a deluded fool.

On Christ the King Sunday, the challenge is to answer the question Jesus used to challenge his own followers. He asked them, “Who do you say that I Am?” It doesn’t matter so much who other people say that he is. “Who do you say that Jesus is?” Was Jesus just a teacher, poet, magician, politician, an outlaw or was he something more? The answer is personal and for Jesus the answer had to do with getting at the truth of the matter. For what this king wanted and wants still is not to be king of an earthly klingdom, but to be the king of your life.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church

Meet Our Daughter

In 2007, King of Peace is assisting in the creation of a fourth Episcopal Church in Camden County—The Episcopal Church of Our Savior at Honey Creek. The new church will meet at the chapel at our Episcopal Camp and Conference Center, which is just off Dover Bluff Road, 5.5 miles east of I-95 at exit 26.

While this new congregation will be supported by the Diocese of Georgia, King of Peace has agreed to serve as a mentor on the project and will assist as needed. This separate congregation will be pastored by the Rev. Linda McCloud. Along with St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Woodbine and Christ Episcopal Church in St. Marys, we are working to expand the Kingdom of God in Camden County.

To find out more about our daughter congregation visit www.oursaviorhoneycreek.org and Pastor Linda's blog Sunrise on the Marsh.

Thanksgiving at King of Peace

It's Thanksgiving Day and more than 80 people are here at King of Peace. There is tons of food on hand, going out to the community through Meals on Wheels and in just a few minutes we'll begin serving food here as well. This is a highly successful event that could not have happened without broad support from the community including our fellow churches and some businesses. It also would not have happened without a herculean effort behind the scenes by June Maxwell and Sande Schmidt who coordinated the event.

Thanksgiving

Let us give thanks to God our Father for all his gifts so freely bestowed upon us.

For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea.
We thank you, Lord.

For all that is gracious in the lives of men and women, revealing the image of Christ,
We thank you, Lord.

For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends,
We thank you, Lord.

For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,
We thank you, Lord.

For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play,
We thank you, Lord.

For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering and faithful in adversity,
We thank you, Lord.

For all valiant seekers after truth, liberty, and justice,
We thank you, Lord.

For the communion of saints, in all times and places,
We thank you, Lord.

Above all, we give you thanks for the great mercies and promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord;
To him be praise and glory, with you, O Father, and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.

Note:
Today King of Peace gives thanks to God for our many blessing by serving our community. Volunteers are gathering at the church at 9 a.m. to prpeare meals. We have more than 300 meals to provide through the Meals on Wheels program. Then from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. we will serve a free Thanksgiving meal in our sanctuary. All is prepared. Come join to serve and to eat.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church

Thanksgiving at The Preschool

At King of Peace Episcopal Day School it's beginning to look a lot like Thanksgiving. Each class made it's own Thanksgiving themed costumes for the occasion.

If this is Earth?

Yesterday, my wife, Victoria, our 15-year old daughter, Griffin, and I headed over to the Okefenokee Swamp in the afternoon. We paddled 4 miles or so—the length of the canal out and back. It was the perfect afternoon for the trip with crisp fall air and beautiful afternoon light. Griffin remarked, "If this is Earth, what must heaven be like?"

Indeed.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church

Welcoming the Stranger

At church yesterday morning a couple introduced themselves as the parents of a priest I know. They were traveling along I-95 and planned the stop to have a place to worship on Sunday morning. I was glad to have them as guests at King of Peace.

Later, as they were leaving, they said, "Only one person spoke to us and introduced themselves. We thought you would want to know." The father went on to note that he liked our Yellow Pages ad, and we had at least lived up to not yelling at them. And yet the couple was clearly wrankled by our not being adequately welcoming.

As we spoke, I looked up and the entry hall was still very full with perhaps as many as half of the 131 people who came to worship with us. There were lots of groups of people talking energetically and I could see how it would be hard to attach and easy to slide on out as this couple was doing. It would be easy to see us as a friendly church, but a church that is friendly with one another rather than strangers. Though I did know new faces who I could see speaking with folks who had been at King of Peace longer. A stranger couldn't see that. They could only see the welcome they had recieved.

I told them that what we teach specifically is a 5-minute Rule. In the first five minutes after worship those who consider King of Peace their church home should look for people they do not know and go up and say, "Hi I'm _____. I don't believe we have met." Then talk, get the person connected to others with similar interests, ages of children, whatever. And if you see someone new already has someone speaking with them, let it go until next time as we also don't want to mob newcomers.

This is central for us as hospitality is one of our values of King of Peace. Frankly, I was pleased that someone noticed the couple and spoke to introduce themselves. That is heartening. Yet two visitors left feeling they had not been welcomed. No matter what I think of how we did, our response fell short of their expectation of what a welcoming Episcopal Church is like.

So while I'm Monday morning quarterbacking the situation, I thought I would ruminate along with y'all. What should we do? How can we learn, as a group, to better welcome strangers in our midst? How can we be welcoming to newcomers rather than just friendly with one another? And I want to challenge some of the 200+ daily lurkers to chime in and help me sort through the challenge of the ministry of hospitality.

In the archives is the sermon The Value of Hospitality.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church

Hammer Time

Camden County Episcopal Youth traveled to Brunswick yesterday to join with members of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, both youth and adults in building a Habitat for Humanity house. The home is for Samantha (and her Mom) who the teens know from events at Honey Creek. Click on any photo to see a larger version of the picture.









When we arrived, there was only a floor. When we left at lunchtime, there were three exterior walls up and a fourth would go up just after we left. It was a very gratifying morning of work, even if my muscles are now sore from the hammering and moving stacks of OSB and 2x4s. This is a good warm up as we are one of twelve churches in on the Apostle's Build for Habitat for Humanity of Camden County.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church

Let the Reader Understand

In tomorrow's Gospel reading we encounter Mark chapter 13, called by those who study scripture "The Little Apocalypse" for Jesus words,

But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; the one on the housetop must not go down or enter the house to take anything away; the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that it may not be in winter. For in those days there will be suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, no, and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut short those days. And if anyone says to you at that time, 'Look! Here is the Messiah!' or 'Look! There he is!'--do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be alert; I have already told you everything

Of this apocalyptic text, Larry Gilliack has written,

The Gospel is known as the Good News. Today’s Good News sounds very much like the bad news we hear and see in the media. The whole chapter from which these verses are taken reads like a futuristic science-fiction novel. Where’s the grace? Where’s the hope? Where’s the invitation to God’s being faithful?

Earlier in the thirteenth verse of this same chapter we hear Jesus say that the one who stays firm to the end will be saved. This is right in the midst of doomier and gloomiest warnings. This begins the better news, but there is more.

As in the First Reading, Jesus is Lord of the earth and sky. While we desire to know the date and place of the final ending or “second coming,” Jesus encourages us to keep living towards our eternal existence. The “when” is “now.”

We know there is going to be an end to our individual lives. Jesus is saying that we should live today as if we knew that later today is the beginning of our final ending. We would love to be able to read the signs of the time and get ready and be prepared and looking good when the Lord comes collecting.

We are encouraged rather to read the signs of our minds and hearts.

How sacred it all is and how wonderfully mysterious it all is. There are new leaves and growth in bush and tree and field. The fall of the leaves is not the beginning of the end, but the beginning of the beginning. We are encouraged to watch, but live the sacredness of our lives every day.

It is a strange thing, this on-coming of God. In five weeks we will celebrate a first-coming. It will be a birth of a baby, the Prince of Peace. Shepherds and wise men will come in humble awe. We will kneel with them fearlessly joyful while the stars of the heavens keep watch.

Now the Liturgical Year seems to be ending with Jesus casting joyless fearful bolts at his listeners and those same stars will be falling from the skies. Where’s the Good News!!

Allow me to make a quite bold statement here. God is not a “Mercy-Machine.” God, as revealed in the fullness of revelation in Jesus, remains as in the beginning, is now, and will be for all ages, the God of Creation!

Mercy is more a legal concept and Jesus gave battle to the legal-eagles of his day. Mercy is but a fractional part of God’s creative love. Sin is our personal de-creation of ourselves, others and our relationship with God.

If we have an image of God that centers around God’s being legalistically just/merciful, then we push Jesus to the sidelines and stand in midfield shivering like the naked trees of winter, fear and frightened that the sky is going to fall upon us with wrath and vengeance.

With that image, would we, could we ever look forward to the “second coming” of the Prince of Peace?

What God asks of us is “mercy not sacrifice,” mercy towards ourselves from ourselves. God is always at work, laboring to bring all of us into harmony within and around us. We can worry about whether we will be ready.

The more important reality is whether or not we believe we belong to God, by God’s creation of us from the beginning and leading up to our final ending, which of course, is only the beginning of what’s always new.

Let me say it clearly once more. God is not merciful! God is more than what we mean by that lazy word. God is always coming to make more of us than we can make of ourselves.

Shine On

Someone who goes to King of Peace sent along a note about this video from the new Christian music group NEEDTOBREATHE. The group is from South Carolina and their music has been life saving for the person who sent in the link to this video. The video itself was made for $183, which is amazing once you see it. The title is Shine On and the video relates to sharing the Light of Christ (that is within you) with others.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church

A Drug Problem

The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question, ''Why didn't we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?''

I replied: I had a drug problem when I was young:

I was drug to church on Sunday morning.

I was drug to church for weddings and funerals.

I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather. I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults.

I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn't put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me.

I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profane four-letter word.

I was drug out to pull weeds in mom's garden and flowerbeds and cockleburs out of dad's field. I was drug to the homes of family, friends, and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood; and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed.

Those drugs are still in my veins; and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say, and think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin; and, if today's children had this kind of drug problem, America would be a better place.

—anonymous

Let him rest

The following is a monks' tale from the desert of Egypt in the 400s, giving advice for when someone next to you falls asleep in church:

Some old men went to Abba Poemen and asked, "If we see brothers sleeping during the common prayer, should we wake them?"

Abba Poemen answered,"If I see my brother sleeping, I put his head on my knees and let him rest."

Then one old man spoke up, "And how do you explain yourself before God?"

Abba Poemen replied, "I say to God: You have said, 'First take the beam out of your own eye and then you will be able to remove the splinter from the eye of your brother.' "

My Dad always said, "Everyone should get something out of church, even if it's a nap." I guess his advice was older than I thought.



In other news, plans are moving ahead for our Community Thanksgiving Meal this Thanksgiving Day from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. You can see what is still needed at our online list http://kingofpeace.org/food4thanksgiving.htm and also find out how to sign up to bring food or help.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church

Saying Never Again, Again

I feel so powerless to help those in the Dafur region of the Sudan. We know full well the level of atrocity taking place. After the Holocaust under Hitler we said, "Never again." Then with the genocide in Rwanda, "Never again." And now it is happening again and again I wonder why we are powerless to bring about change. Is there no way to stop the broad scale suffering?

In recent news a Norwegian Aid agency has had to pull out of the region. The Norwegian Refugee Council is currently assisting 300,000 people (of roughly 2 million displaced persons), but is at the mercy of the government which has held up their work 210 days total since they started in 2004. The group feels it can do more good elsewhere.

Another BBC News report says that the Janjaweed militia killed at least 63 people in recent attacks in Darfur, at least 27 of the victims are thought to be children under the age of 12. It was these same fighters who displaced the 2 million refugees from their homes and have led to what is estimated to be 400,000 deaths so far. The Janjaweed are the local militias in Darfur widely reported to be connected to the Sudanese government.

In 2004, Episcopal Priest John Danforth served as an American envoy to the Sudan to broker peace. In a press conference after his visit he was asked if Americans cared and he responded,

Are the American people concerned about the people of Darfur? Yes, they are. Are the American people aware of the disaster of Darfur? Yes, they are. Are the American people aware of the stories of burning and rape and plunder and displaced persons? Yes, they are. And do the American people, to their credit, stand up for people half way around the world who are so different from what they are, but are human beings? Yes, the American people care about them.

I want to think my brother priest was right, that we do care about those halfway around the world and yet two years have passed, thousands more have died and I have done nothing, nor have we.

As I have preached before (see Strong Weakness) I usually find power in situations of powerlessness. But in the case of genocide, I see nothing but pathos, loss. Is there any response I am missing other than prayer? We have said "Never again" and now it has been happening again for 3 years and we have done little to stop it.

Two places to find out more are the Wikipedia article on the Dafur Conflict and the "learn" page at SaveDafur.com

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church

Evangelical Atheists

It sounds like a contradiction in terms, but as an evanglical is one with "Good News" to spread and some who believe there is no God feel that revelation is good news, the term was bound to be coined. The chief proponent at the moment is Richard Dawkins, whose book The God Delusion I referenced at this blog once before. Two more recent items have crossed my desk.

First, Kenny sent a link to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle challenging Atheists with the notion that if anything, the notion of evolution seems to favor those with religious beliefs. That opinion piece looks at the two world views and asks

Should evolutionists like Dennett, Dawkins, Harris and Wilson be surprised, then, to see that religious tribes are flourishing around the world? Across the globe, religious faith is thriving and religious people are having more children. By contrast, atheist conventions only draw a handful of embittered souls, and the atheist lifestyle seems to produce listless tribes that cannot even reproduce themselves.

The full text of the article is online here: God Knows Why Faith Is Thriving.

Also, my wife, Victoria, wrote an interesting article for The Brunswick News on this issue. The article, the .PDF of which page is online at her website, sees Dawkins' book as the latest version in the line of thought that goes back to Sigmund Freud's 1927 work The Future of an Illusion an further. The full text of her article is here: Facing the Dark Side.

I am reminded of the T-shirt design which on side one says,

"God is Dead."—Nietzscheand on the reverse says,

"Nietzsche is dead."—God
It is a debate bound to outlive the current generation of people arguing both sides of the theological issue. The problem, as noted in the earlier post, is a bit sad in that logically speaking no atheist will ever discover they were right, while no Christian will ever discover they were wrong. Right?

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church

“To believe in God is impossible
—to not believe in Him is absurd”
—Voltaire

Look Alike?

God created man in His own image,
in the image of God He created him;
male and female He created them.
—Genesis 1:27


According to this computer match, I look nearly as much like Cameron Diaz as I do like Paul Newman and I look most like Starsky's partner, Hutch. Go figure.

Yet, the quote above from Genesis suggests that everyone you ever met rates 100% for the image and likeness of God. It's easier to see how I look like David Soul than to sort out in what way I am in God's image. What do you think it means when it says that humans are created in God's image and likeness?

peace,
Frank+

Live in harmony with each other.
Don't try to act important,
but enjoy the company of ordinary people.
And don't think you know it all!
—Romans 12:16 (New Living Translation)

Ten Times Tithing

Some time back, I was asked to write the November 12 sermon for the Episcopal Churches "Sermons That Work" series which are sermons "available online in advance of use dates, published as a resource for preachers and congregations." Here is some of what I wrote for tomorrow's Gospel reading, none of which will be preached at King of Peace in the morning:

Jesus knows that these are not any two coins, but the woman’s last two coins. The text says, “All she had to live on,” but the Greek is starker still. What is really said is that she put in her “bios.” It’s the word from which we get “biology,” the study of life. For Jesus tells us that the widow put her “life” into the temple treasury that day.

This is not a sermon about tithing, for the woman did not give ten percent of her income. These were her last two coins to rub together, and rather than keep one back, she tossed both into the temple treasury’s coffers. The widow gave 100 percent of her money. The widow is down to two practically worthless little coins, and she trusts it all to God. If this were a gamble, then the widow would be laying all her money on God. But this is not a gamble, for the widow does not bet her money; she trusts her life to God.

The full text of the sermon is online here: November 12, 2006 - Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Epsicopal Church

Frustrated Professor?

I have been called a frustrated history professor before, but as I get plenty of chance to share the compelling stories from history I run across, I'm not sure from where the frustration is supposed to come. In any case, I did try to use today's Tribune & Georgian religion column to 'splain why I find church history not just fascinating but essential.

As I write in the essay,

Christianity has produced both witch trials and hospitals; The Inquisition and Saint Francis of Assisi; the Crusades and Mother Theresa of Calcutta. How can followers of one faith produced such consistently inconsistent results?

The answer lies within church history itself. The full text is here: The Battles of Church History Rage Within

Or if you would actually rather delve into church history instead of why I think that history matters, you could always try one of these sermons in our archives:

Holy Foolishness
on the Holy Fools tradition in Russia and how it relates to the cross or
Which Words are The Word
on the heretic who gave us the Bible.

Or there are Wednesday evening sermons which lean even more on history, like

Weeds among the wheat
on Saint Augustine and the Donatist Heresy
or this one on
The Martyrs of Japan.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church

Jesse Michael Nunn

June 18, 1987-November 4, 2006

This morning at 11 a.m. we will hold a funeral for Jesse Michael Nunn. In the service, we will read from the Book of Lamentations:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. For the Lord will not reject forever. Although he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone. (Lamentations 3:22-26,31-33)

Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant Jesse Nunn. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

Jesse's eulogy is now online here: Echoes of the Resurrection

Ugly Babies

There is a folktake from Romania which says, of all the birds the crow is considered the ugliest, especially its young fledglings. The legend tells that sometime after God had created all the living beings, he called everyone to see them and their offspring. He wanted to see how the young birds and animals looked, and then to give them suitable gifts, and food for their little ones.

They came one by one, and God looked at them, patted some and stroked others, and was very pleased with every one of them, for each one had something of beauty in it. And so he blessed them and gave them food by which to live. The last to come was the crow, bringing her little brood with her, very proud of them.

When God cast his eyes upon the young crows, he spat in astonishment, and said, "Surely these are not my creatures. I could not have made such ugly things. Every one of my creatures has such beautiful young ones that they are a pleasure to look at, but yours are so ugly that it makes one sick to look at them. Where did you get this one?"

"Where should I get them from?" replied the crow. "It is my very own young child," she added with pride.

"You had better go back and bring me another one. This is much too ugly. I cannot look at it."

Annoyed at the words of God, the crow went away and flew all over the earth to search for another young one that would be more beautiful than the one she had brought to God. But no other young bird appeared so beautiful in her eyes as her own. So she returned back to God and said, "I have been all over the world, and I have searched high and low, but young birds more beautiful and more dainty than mine I have not been able to find."

Then God smilingly replied, "Quite right. Just so are all mothers. No other child is so beautiful in their eyes as their own."

Then he blessed the little crows and sent them away into the world with his gifts. For God sees as beautiful creations all those that others see as ugly.

Forgiveness and reconciliation

I'm working on a sermon that references echoes and this text sitting on my desk to type up for the blog as needed jumped out with a reference to an echo. It deals with the theme differently, but I want to share this from Miroslav Volf's book Free of Charge now anyway as I circle back around on the theme of echoes...

All our forgiving is inescapably incomplete. That's why it's so crucial to see our forgiving not simply as our own act, but as participating in God's forgiving. Our forgiving is faulty; God's faultless. Our forgiving is provisional; God's is final. We forgive tenuously and tentatively; God forgives unhesitatingly and definitely. As we forgive, we always wrong the offender by inadequate judgment and pride; God forgives with justice and genuine love.

The only way we dare forgive is by making our forgiving trasparent to God's and always open to revision. After all, our forgiveness is only possible as an echo of God's. In the here and now, that echo is distorted, but it is inescapably distorted. One day the distortion will be removed.

The Apostle Paul wrote that one day we will all "appear before the judgment seat of Christ." The day of judgment stands as the boundary between transitoriness andeverlasting life, between this world of sin and the coming world of love. Mostly we think that at the judgment day we'll receive "recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil," as the Apostle said.

But Christ's judgment is also a judgment of grace. As a result, we'll be transformed and fully reconciled with God and one another. That's how it must be. Otherwise judgment could not be what faith claims it is—the door to the world of love.

In the archives are the religion column Forgive Others and Unlock Your Heart and an issue of our church's bathroom newsletter, The Toilet Paper which dealt with forgiveness.

Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church

Fall from Grace

The Rev. Ted Haggard, pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado has been much in the news this past week. He first denied allegations of drug use and sex with a gay prostitute, then admitted to some of it and finally yesterday in a letter to his congregation wrote,

"The accusations that have been leveled against me are not all true, but enough of them are true that I have been appropriately and lovingly removed from ministry. I am so embarrassed and ashamed. I caused this and I have no excuse. I am a sinner. I have fallen."

The letter to the congregation also asked the members of the church to forgive that man who had come forward with the charges,

"He is revealing the deception and sensuality that was in my life. Those sins, and others, need to be dealt with harshly. So forgive him, and actually, thank God for him."

Haggard says that he has fallen and he has. But the wonderful thing we find in scripture is that in falling from grace, we find ourselves landing in grace. Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, but God made them clothes and gave them a place to settle and then began the long project of bringing humanity back to the garden.

The pastor's letter to his congregation reminds me of the fairly recent sermon The Hypocrite and the Septic Tank in which I spoke of the masks we wear both good and bad. Haggard wore a mask to cover what he called "repulsive and dark" within himself. He could not have been at peace about his life, with such a war being waged.

Yet, I have no reason to believe that Jesus wants to condemn this man and neither do I. What he needs is healing that will bring his body, mind and spirit into synch. Haggard has been given the painful gift of having what he wanted to keep hidden brough to light. I pray that he and his family and congregation are better for it and that all will find grace even in a fall from grace.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church

Transformation

Last year, in a post called sacramental bazaar, I noted a spiritual aspect to our Christmas Bazaar. Yesterday, the bazaar was bigger and better, an impressive event. We grossed more than $3,500 dollars and should net something close to that, the proceeds assisting with both our memorial garden my discretionary fund, through which I assist needy families.

The first tangible result of the sale will be that it will buy turkeys for a Thanksgiving meal held in the same room on Thanksgiving Day open to the whole community. Like a few looaves and some fish becoming a feast for thousands, the items sold in the bazaar will be transformed into a feast for those who would not otherwise be able to gather with neighbors to return thanks to God.

But beyond the money raised, I am most pleased with the transformation that takes place when people who attend church side by side (but don't yet know one another) get to meet through working together at a church event. In the process we are transformed from individuals who gather to worship into a congregation who worships as one. You gotta love that.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church