Funerals are always a difficult time for family, friends and even clergy. This past weekend we buried one of the founding members of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. Not that I am unfamiliar with dealing with death, both personally and professionally, it is still a difficult time for everyone involved.

Thankfully our Book of Common Prayer provides very sound guidelines for the preparation and performance of the burial rite. These guidelines are a great comfort both to the deceased’s family as well as to the church staff responsible for the burial service.

Very early on in my ministry I was reflecting on what is communicated in our burial rite and concluded that if anything, we, as the Church, are communicating the promise found in Matthew 28:20, “…And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” One aspect of my ministry has always been the goal of trying to make our Holy Scriptures relevant and present in our everyday thoughts and actions. And, although the Burial Rite in our BCP underscores Christ’s promise to always be with us, I wondered if there was a way to communicate this promise in our liturgical actions as well.

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Almost every Episcopalian has had the opportunity to witness and share in the baptism of a child or adult during a Sunday morning worship service. Since Holy Baptism is most appropriate in the content of our Sunday morning Eucharistic celebration [See: New Baptismal Theology? Adult Baptism] one aspect of the Rite of Holy Baptism that is often overlooked, or is at least not emphasized, is the role of the congregation in this sacramental celebration. Read the rest of this entry » » » »

Continuing with the theme of Holy Baptism some consideration needs to be addressed regarding some pastoral aspects of this sacramental rite. It’s my guess that very little thought is given to baptism by most laity except for their desire as parents to have their children baptized. More thought is surely given by adults who desire to be baptized and hopefully, in these cases, more time and effort is expended by all parties concerning the decision to be baptized. For a background on the issue of adult baptism I strongly suggest that you read my post New Baptismal Theology? Adult Baptism. However, for a priest sometimes the decision to baptize is not so cut and dry, especially in light of pastoral concerns and issues. Read the rest of this entry » » » »

Previously I shared an old practice and use of baptismal salt as a part of the rite of baptism. (See: Holy Baptism - The Salt Of Baptism) Recently I have had the privilege of performing baptisms of two adults and was thus given the opportunity to think and preach about baptism and especially adult baptism. In my research I was able to delve into the nature of the baptismal rite and especially the differences between the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the revised 1979 BCP. During the revision of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer there were many who charged that the new revision was a change in our theology - our understanding of how God interacts with the world. AND THESE CHARGES WERE CORRECT! Read the rest of this entry » » » »

The traditional observance of Maundy Thursday, the name for the Thursday preceding Easter, is derived from the first antiphon of the ceremony of the washing of the feet, ‘mandatum novum’ (Jn. 13:34). Its special celebration in commemoration of the Lord’s Institution of the Eucharist on this day is recorded in 4th century by the Council of Hippo (393). There are two other traditional liturgical features associated with this day: the Blessing of the Holy Oils and the Reconciliation of Penitents, although the latter has long been obsolete.  Read the rest of this entry » » » »

I guess something of a follow-up is necessary given some of the responses to my post about ‘regifting.’ [See: 'Regifting' For Christ] It appears the concept of ‘regifting’ makes some Episcopalians uncomfortable given the gift of Jesus Christ being once and for all. I don’t want to go into the theological implications of the Book of Revelation and the promise of the Second Coming and therefore want to focus of Jesus Christ as God’s gift to all believers and to the world.

The gift of Jesus Christ, having been received, is to be shared. This is what we pray at the end of every Eucharist when we, in our thanksgiving prayer, ask that we be ‘send us into the world in peace, granting us strength and courage to love and serve you’ and ‘send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord.’  Read the rest of this entry » » » »

Now that the Christmas season is officially over, having celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th which marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas, and all of the parties, dinners, gift giving and receiving including the gifts of the Magi, gift exchanges and Christmas decorations (we don’t take ours down until the Epiphany) are moved to storage or, if a real tree was used, put out for pickup or placed at a collection point for recycling, now is the time to move on, or is it?

With so much emphasis on giving and receiving just how deeply do we really understand the nature of a gift? Which poses the question, “Does a gift exist if it is not received?” As I have tried to teach, a gift does not even exist if it is not received. Sure, the gift may not be want we needed or wanted but unless we receive it, it does not exist. And that’s true of all gifts. Take the situation of a compliment. A compliment, if offered sincerely, is a gift in the form of words and opinion. And what happens so many times? “Oh, thank you” is often followed by a “but.” A person is complimented about losing weight and the response is, “but, I still have 10 more pounds to lose.” When the “but” is added what is really happening is that the opinion of the person offering the compliment is discounted. It’s almost like saying, “Thank you but I really don’t accept your opinion as having worth.” And therefore, I have not nor will not receive your gift.  Read the rest of this entry » » » »

In my previous post [See: Co-Creators With God - Naming] I offered an explanation as to the ancient Hebrew understanding about ‘naming’ especially in light of Genesis 2:20 when, after the whole of creation, God brought before Adam “all the wild animals and all the birds of the air to see what he would call them and whatever Adam called each living creature, that would be its name.” (NRSV) The implications of this ‘naming’ concept has a vital role to play in our relationship to and with God and is significant for understanding our relationship with God’s creation.  Read the rest of this entry » » » »

This week, following our observance of The Most Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, observed on January 1st each year and formerly known as the Circumcision of Christ, there followed a lively discussion about the name of Jesus, one participant thinking that our Lord’s name was originally given in the Old Testament.

I pointed out that actually, according to the Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus’ name is revealed to Joseph in a dream in which he was told that Mary would “bear a son; and you shall give him the name of Jesus.” (Matthew 1:21, see also Luke 1:31 [revealed to Mary]. The name Jesus was fairly common and even in the Old Testament there is one specific use of the name Jesus in Ecclesiasticus 50:27 referring to the son of Eleazar. However, the central idea on this feast day is the account found in Luke 2:15-21, especially verse 21: “Eight days later the time came to circumcise him, and he was given the name Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived.” This led to a sharing by another parishioner regarding his native Nigerian culture, where Christians still follow the custom of having all male children circumcised on the eighth day after birth. In the Anglican Church we observe the Holy Name of Jesus on January 1 because that date is eight days after Christmas.

‘Naming’ has always been an important aspect of ancient Hebrew thought and continues to this day.  Read the rest of this entry » » » »

[The account that followis with permission of the woman described]

While conducting a recent Adult Inquirer’s Class, one participant asked whether or not we (the Episcopal Church) ever included An Exhortation and The Decalogue (The Ten Commandments) in our services? It was very evident that at least that person had been going through her Book of Common Prayer in preparation for Confirmation in a few weeks. Which got me to thinking, “Was St. Michael’s the only parish that I know of which, although not often, incorporates these two powerful resources into its worship?” I explained that An Exhortation was read at least twice during the year, once each in Advent and Lent and that The Decalogue was used regularly, especially during the Lenten season. I also shared that it is during this time that St. Michael’s celebrates the Holy Eucharist using Rite I. And, her response was, “Really?”  Read the rest of this entry » » » »