The Fourth Sunday in Lent

The Ven. Richard I. Cluett

John 9:1-41

The man Jesus healed said “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

Three centuries ago in the village of Olney, England, a new parish priest came to town. The townsfolk flocked to hear him, fascinated with his vibrant, personal style of preaching and his checkered past as a slave trader.

In those days learned clergy frequently wrote original verses for congregational singing, and the priest at Olney wrote in a personal, plainspoken style, often referring to his own sordid story and remarkable conversion. Each week, he would present some new verses.

One of his was a plain and plaintive little poem, humble and heartfelt, and for its earliest audiences, it didn't stand out and was soon forgotten. But the verses survived the priest, whose name was John Henry Newton. "Amazing Grace" crossed the Atlantic and became perhaps the most beloved hymn in the English-speaking world. Hymn 671 in our hymnal.

“I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.”

My wife says that I am blind. I go through life not seeing what is around me, much less what is right in front of me. I spend so much time in my head that my head does not acknowledge what my eyes have to show me. Examples range from not noticing a new hairdo, or a room having been painted or the photograph on the hall wall of an ancient yellow Tuscan country house that she had bought and hung there.

To prove her point she cut out a small photo of my head and taped it in an upper window on that photo of a yellow Tuscan country house. And she said nothing. After several weeks I mentioned to her that I liked the brand new photo of the yellow Tuscan house. She smiled and said that she was glad.  Several weeks after that I was walking down the hall and stopped to look at the photo and there I saw my face in an upper window peeking out. (She told me yesterday that it took 2 years for me to see it!)

How often, O God, have I gone through this life and missed what you have put in front of me for me to see and I have walked on by?

Is that a problem of the human condition, that we are born blind, we don’t see, we don’t notice, we don’t look? Is it that we don’t expect, don’t expect that there is anything or anyone God has put before us for us to see?

“As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.”

When all the others in the story had seen just another blind beggar by the side of the road, as they crossed to walk on the other side of the road, Jesus saw a man, just a man. He saw a man born blind who had been forced to beg by the side of the road in order to live. A person in desperate straits. A human being in need. A man. And Jesus saw him and he was moved to act and he healed him.

I want to tell you about my good friend, Bud Holland who worked for many years at the Episcopal Church Center in New York City. Every day he passed this man sitting on the street, propped up against a building. He told me this…

“I met Richard on my way to the Church Center. Over the years we became good friends and prayer partners. When I met him he said that he was "special". He had two first names: Richard Jeffrey. He and I laughed. Initially I said my name was Bud; Bud as in Budweiser. He laughed

“I often wondered what he was about on that corner of 38th and 3rd Avenue. He did have a cup to receive money but it was such a passive way of asking for money. He never verbally asked for money. Then over time I realized that he was bartering love and he became for me a prayer partner. He always remembered the people I asked him to pray for. When people passed him on the street they would greet him by saying "hello, Richard". So many others knew him. Knowing folks who work on the street by name is unusual to say the least. It bears witness to his witness and friendship over the years.

“When I told him that I was not going to be working in the city and would not be seeing him very often, he rose from where he was sitting, tears filled his eyes, and he uttered these words: ‘It will be all right. God closes the distance between us.’”

Many of us who have routinely passed by homeless and hungry folks on our own city block have, often with some anxiety, offered to help feed and shelter some of these folks on Thursday nights these last cold months. At first they may have seemed like just a group of unfortunate people, but after a while we came to recognize Ernest and Jack, and Bill, and Walter and so on, finally seeing each one as a unique child of God. Our blindness to their humanity healed.

Last Thursday the clergy of the diocese met with our new bishop, Sean Rowe. We were at St. Stephen’s in Wilkes-Barre, which has a courtyard where one enters the parish. As we went in I noted that there were some homeless men there. I did not really “see” them, I just hurried on in. After lunch we celebrated the Eucharist together. The last person in line to come forward to the bishop for the bread and wine of Holy Communion was one of the men from the courtyard. He had “seen” us, and he knew what we would be doing in there, so he came and sat with us and then came forward with us to receive the bread and wine of Holy Communion, too. I saw him clearly as he walked back outside, saying, “Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.” I made my prayer, too, Thank you, Jesus.

“One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

When we truly see a person we could easily pass by, when we see them as a neighbor, as a man, as a woman, as a brother or sister in Christ, as a person, with a name and a face which bears the light of Christ’s presence in our meeting, we will truly see with the eyes of Jesus. And then perhaps we will be moved to act. Today, Jesus shows us the way.

Lent 3A March 23, 2014

The Very Rev. Anthony R. Pomp

John 4:3-42

Samaria. The gospel of John says that Jesus HAD to go through Samaria. Samaria, of course, was a place of suspect. A place that generations of purebred Jews were carefully taught to hate, mistrust, and avoid. Samaritans were not only considered outcasts but they also claimed that the true shrine, the true place of worship was there, not in Jerusalem. Samaritans by the way were taught equally to mistrust their Jewish counterparts, who actually were their cousins.

Samaria was the strange place, you know, that part of town where “those people lived,” where nothing good was going to come of it. It was that place where folks “spoke sometimes with subtlety and sometimes outright boldly” of not going. Like all of us had in the towns or cities we grew up in- the place the less worthy live. In my town it was North Avenue or a hill that had a disparaging name attached to it. In this town of Bethlehem I still hear my suburban neighbors speak of the “southside” with hesitancy in their voice.  Two thousand years ago, Samaria was this place.

True to Gospel form however, it is Jesus who goes there! Goes to the places we are “afraid” to go. It is here where we find the setting for the quenching drink of truth that is being offered.

Jesus comes to an ancient place, a place of his own ancestry- the well of Jacob. We glimpse his humanity as we imagine him tired, so very tired. And thirsty. There he encounters a woman, a Samaritan woman no less. So many cultural boundaries hanging in this story. A Jew and Samaritan; a man and a woman- Jesus’ thirst- or is it the woman’s thirst- or maybe the thirst that they have in common that will propel them across those boundaries and into a new possibility!

What boundaries inside of ourselves keep us from being propelled into a new possibility? Who is it we are conditioned to mistrust, to stay away from? Iranians? Russians anew? Certain Africans perhaps?  Democrats or Republicans?  Folks far down on 4^th street, South Bethlehem? Or even our neighbor across the street?

Jesus’ comes to the well with thirst the story tells us. Jesus’ thirst in this story reminds us that we all thirst- we share a commonality-it propels him to break the rules- to not just share a drink with this Samaritan woman, but to LISTEN to her, engage her- SEE HER as a person. Crossing the boundary of Jew to Samaritan, of Man to Woman, their thirst brings them together.

Ever been with someone who “SEES” you for who you are- “GETS- what you care about, what you are made of- who helps you “relinquish” a bit of truth about who you are, even the stuff  that might seem edgy?

In Jesus’ SEEING this stranger- she “SEES” him as well- the truth of their intimacy will change EVERYTHING.

10 Jesus says to the woman who is taken aback at his engaging her and asking her for water;, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." 11 The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?"

What’s the difference between living and dead water?

Some water is dead water- the kind of water that stalls you out when you are on your way down the river. Or deep and still with sediment or toxins, not to be consumed?

Yet sometimes we stay floating in it, or even dare to continue to drink it. You know, the water that never quenches or even makes you sick. The water that stalls you out. Dead water may be same old habits that get in your way of feeling healthy, of loving authentically, of trusting yourself, others and of course God more fully.

But Jesus says to this woman who has had her share of dead water……….

13 , "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water

16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." 17 The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!"

The “Seeing: now comes to believing! Jesus and the woman see one another and the exchange is deep and authentic. Truth be told, the woman knows enough to know she wants this living water that Jesus speaks of!  She has had her share of the dead water in her life.

She has used up husbands the way each of us uses up water that does not give life.. Though the scripture does not tell us what happened to her husbands, it is clear that her self and soul are not well and full. She may have spent a lifetime with either bad luck or bad choice or both, the end result is the same- she is empty.

Sometimes perhaps we feel the same in life, either with bad luck or bad choice and despite whatever methods we may try to fill ourselves- the right class, the right book, the right medication, the right relationship- it may not turn out the way we had hoped- and we may find ourselves still thirsting- still needing redemption actually.

19 The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet.

She has been “Seen”, understood, respected, and encountered, and she “sees” Jesus as one who authentically sees and cares- He’s crossed a lot of boundary for this encounter AND SO HAS SHE.

She is exposed, vulnerable, and Jesus is about to show the rest of his cards as well.

The truth of the interaction is the invitation for her to surrender herself to be “SEEN”. The full truth of who she is, no masks, no shame, no pride, just courage to acknowledge that WHO she is is worthy to be presented before the God who made her- and to trust what is being given. In this encounter not only is her true self exposed and revealed to Jesus, but, and to the point, in revealing herself, she “SEES” Who Jesus is- and the great hope of her yearning, (“I believe the Messiah is coming”) is greeted by the news that it is HE the one who comes to propel all into new life.

She Sees Jesus and her witness to the man who offers her water that will quench a thirsty soul becomes the first witness to Jesus’ identity in John’s Gospel.

Are you willing to worship God with the truth of who you are?

Are you willing to trust anew, to sip a quenching water, to dare to be redeemed, propelled, to be seen?

Are you willing to tell what you have “Seen” of your Lord in your life? Of Water that brings new life?

The Cathedral Church of the Nativity 2 Lent Sunday March 16, 2014 The Rev. Judith Snyder Often times one’s life of faith is referred to as a journey. The season of Lent is also described as a journey. The scripture readings for today suggest a deeper, more exciting metaphor—that of an adventure. There is a difference between a trip and a journey and a pilgrimage and an adventure. A trip is about getting your body from one place to another. “I have to take a quick trip to the grocery store.” A journey is a more formal kind of trip—there is something intentional about a journey--we pay attention to a journey. A pilgrimage is a journey for one in search of a deeper life experience, usually to some historical or religious site. But an adventure . . . an adventure is all these things and more. A dictionary definition would say that adventures are unusual, stirring experiences—they are exciting and even dangerous undertakings. There is an element of risk in setting out on an adventure. There is the unknown, the unexpected, and the element of surprise. Let’s consider Abraham for a moment. His story was shared this morning in the Old Testament lesson. There he was, presumably minding his own business, and along comes God with a rather startling proposal, or more like a command. God said, “Go forth from your country and your family and your father’s house to the land I will show you.” This would be no ordinary trip but a real adventure. Abraham was not told his final destination or even given a reasonable itinerary. He and his family were simply to go to the land that God would show them. All the elements of adventure were there—the unexpected, the risk, the potential danger. It was indeed a daring undertaking. Adventures are ultimately transformative. At the end we are different from when we set out. Getting there is not just half the fun, it is where the adventure finds its most powerful expression. Unfortunately we often rob ourselves of the joy of the moment in which we are living. By failing to live by faith and instead always anticipating what is to come, by not trusting that God’s grace is sufficient to take care of tomorrow, we miss out on the lessons and the blessings of our adventure. It is important to remember that it is faith that is the fuel that moves us along our way. Abraham and Sarah are often referred to as the father and mother of our faith. So what is the faith that these two advanced risk-takers show us? Some people think of faith as the belief that God would not let anything bad happen to them, and if they prayed hard enough God will grant them what they ask for. In my opinion, St. Paul explains faith more accurately in Chapter 8 of the Letter to the Romans. Paul says that faith is the deep assurance that “all things work together for good for those who love God.” ALL THINGS encompasses all the uncertainties of life with the assurance that even though we can’t see the end of the road at the present, we will be led to the journey’s end. So our trailblazers of faith—Abraham, Sarah, and Paul, remind us of something we often forget. Life is movement. Everything that is alive is moving. As soon as movement stops, life stops. They remind us that we are most fully alive and our spirits are gaining the most, not when we are anxiously holding the fort against life’s uncertainties, but when we are on the move, facing and embracing life’s challenges, walking in the faith that in the end, we are bigger than anything we might lose and God’s love is bigger than anything that can happen to us. Abraham and Sarah help us journey further into Lent by helping us think about our own life’s journey. Most of us live very ordinary lives—so ordinary that we may find stories such as Abraham and Sarah a bit unbelievable—so very different from our rushed and demanding lives. But is it so far removed? Perhaps there is some place where you have been holding out against life’s relentless movement and flow? Maybe you are resisting changes that are happening in your family or with loved ones. Maybe you are denying a restlessness with your career. Maybe you are afraid of facing changes in your body or your health. Could you be repressing parts of yourself that are struggling to come back to life? Listen to that small voice within. Do you hear God’s call to leave the dead certainties of what you know and step out toward a new place God wants to show you? Can you trust and have the faith to believe that God will meet you in the midst of the movement of life more than in the stagnation of your security? Can you walk in the assurance that nothing will ever be able to separate you from the love of God? Many of us remember the time when our children wanted to jump off the diving board into the deep end of the pool for the first time. We were usually already in the deep water, waiting for them and assuring them that we would be there to catch them. In a word, what God told Abraham and continues to tell us is to jump into the deep end. Jumping in over our head is frightening and it requires risk, but God is already there waiting for us to take the plunge. Each of us needs to find the depths to which God is calling us. Sometimes the depths are far away. There are times when God calls us to the unknown, exotic places without giving us a map. Sometimes it may come in the form of a task that we haven’t a clue about how to accomplish. Or sometimes the deep end is right here at home in resolving a problem we have been struggling with for a long time. When we step out in faith we are able to venture out into the chaos and deep waters of life. Some time ago I saw a church sign that said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for God is already there.” Let us remember this promise as we face the uncertainties of our adventures. Let us celebrate today our calling as those who have been touched and reassured by Jesus in knowing that we need not fear whatever lies ahead. We hear today a Holy call: “Go from your land and your family.” Go forth from your fixed mental boundaries and your restricted sense of family. Go forth to an open-bordered land God will show you. Go forth, not worrying about tomorrow, for God is already there. AMEN

I Lent 2014

The Cathedral Church of the Nativity Sermon I Lent Sunday March 9, 2014 The Very Rev. Anthony R. Pompa Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11 Today we have the story of the Garden of Eden in our Scriptures. A classic theological story of God’s will, humanity’s will, of covenants made and broken, of choices and consequences, of sin and God’s beginning again or Redemption. There is an ancient welsh Celtic Christian garden story that dates back to the 7th century that invites us anew into the garden story. It tells of young pilgrims set out to find the mind of God. They land on a lush green island that is filled with beauty and has on it everything they need. There God himself greets them and welcomes them to this idyllic Oasis far away from the cries, the pains, and challenges of the world. “Yes, it is ideal, they said, here they can pray, eat, sleep, and work the land and need live perfectly”. God shows them all there is to enjoy of this special place and points there to three small habitats with doors in front of each. “These two doors God says, you may enter at anytime and for any reason, but this third door you must not enter.” The story goes that the men lived there for many years enjoying the gifts that God had bestowed upon them and never going near that third door, until one day, curiosity got hold of one of the men. He made his case for wanting to open the door and though the other men were uncertain, nothing in them rose up to stop the man, instead deep inside them, they too were curious. Temptation would have its way. Then a fateful choice, the door was opened. It was said then, that the men upon opening the door, were suddenly overwhelmed and shaken from the idyllic world in which they were gifted to live. For the door they opened was the door that revealed them to the harshness, the brokenness, the suffering, and the evils endured by all of humanity. It was said then that the men were so overwhelmed with the knowledge they possessed of sin and brokenness of the world, that the consequence of their choosing to open the door was that they were forced to leave their idyllic Island, and their broken open hearts would have them live a life “in the brokenness” sharing and taking on others pains and suffering. They had become mindful of every loss they had ever sustained, of every relationship that they longed for and missed, and of every ill that had come upon them and those who they loved. They became present to sin. The story of Lent is a story of us. A story of our dreams of God’s preferred future for HIS creation and our innate desire to both live into that preferred future and humanity’s limitations and brokenness in pursuing it. It is a story of how we oft hope to live into the “deals” we make and how sometimes we fall short in keeping the deals we make AND the consequences of those failures. It is a story then of sin, that is as our prayerbook says it, finding ourselves in distorted relatinships with our God, with ourselves and with others. It is also a story if we read and listen carefully, of redemption, for God as the main character in the story (not us) there is always a beginning again. In this beginning again, there is again always opportunity, to get it right as it were. This is true for Adam and Eve, who are given new clothes for a new day and a new world to understand and to live in; this is true for our young men. The consequence of their choice is they can no longer live separated from the “sin and brokenness of the world” but now in full knowledge of it, the ancient story reveals to us; they are given new hearts for new ministries of compassion especially reaching out to the suffering; and its true for us, who are given over and over again, new opportunities for new life as we embrace anew our relationship with our God and with our “neighbors”, WHEN we name and recognize our sin and hand it to God for redemption. This as St. Paul tells his listeners in Rome comes in “the free gift” we seek to know in a relationship with Jesus Christ. We take again a Lenten journey together. Examine again through your own time of prayer, fasting, reflection, those places in your live where this story of “sin” and “redemption”, is told. Perhaps there is an opportunity given the brokenness and suffering of the world and of those you know or even of your own brokenness and suffering to “begin again with God” and ask God to fashion some new clothing a new heart if you will. An opportunity to practice receiving a gift of new start, a “free gift” as St. Paul tells us, a gift that only comes when we surrender our sin to Christ’s redemptive power. Try these simple disciplines suggested by Priest and author Mary Earle perhaps as fabric and string, the beginnings of some new clothing for you this Lent. 1. Make a list of five people whose tending to things in your life has deepened your life as a follower of Christ. Thank God for each person. Write them a note. 2. Quietly offer an act of support to someone you know is in need of compassion and a little support. (a prayer, an anonymous card, a small anonymous gift). Choose a person who is struggling with a problem or a relationship, someone who is ill or suffering in some way, someone who is lonely or even lost. 3. Believe that some small act of yours can make a difference in the world! Pick a charity or ministry to support this lent. Send a contribution and if you can give a little bit of your time to it. 4. Finally, believe that wherever you go, Jesus goes, wherever you are Jesus is. In true Celtic tradition- welcome Jesus to your rising, to your meetings, to your struggles with yourself and with others. Invite Jesus to have breakfast with you, to lunch and to sup with you. Invite Jesus to your commute, to your conference with parents, or meetings with your clients. To your cleaning the house, to your jog around the block, To your serving the homeless, to your argument with your spouse. Invite Jesus into your temptations, for surely as we read in the Gospel today, Jesus knows temptation. Invite Jesus into your contradictions, the places inside yourself that just don’t add up. Invite Jesus into your reconciling, your new heart. Caed mille failte rohoat- yosa. Yosa. These the Gaelic words to a hymn of invitation taught to those of us who journeyed these past 10 weeks in our Celtic spirituality class entitled “The Bardsey Initiative. Caed mille failte rohat Yosa Yosa, means Welcome Jesus, 100,000 welcomes Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus. Welcome Jesus to your journey this Lent. Amen

Ordination of Deacons Sunday March 2, 2013 The Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, PA The Very Rev. Anthony R. Pompa St. Benedict quoting from John’s Gospel “walk while you have the light of life that the darkness of death may not overtake you”, Inserted the word “run”, “run while you have the light of life that the darkness of death may not overtake you”. Some may feel like running, either away or toward this moment, some may feel like they have been running all weekend long. What a terrific weekend it is in our diocesan life we are having, yesterday gathering and electing Bishop Sean Rowe as our Bishop, and today gathering to remind one another of our call to mission and ministry as our prayers and praises and our Bishop’s hands meet the Spirits affirmation of these three fine people before us taking on the Diaconate today. So let us run while we have the light of life (and before any snow or ice falls) to the scriptures and there find once again the opportunity to be reminded of God’s call on our lives. The story of Jeremiah’s call to God’s action is one that invites us into the very nature of what Holy call from God is about. And as we explore this story together let me remind you that though today we are about ordaining deacons who have been discerning a particular call in the Church, the nature of call is for all of the Baptized , that is God’s call on our lives, and on this Church that is Christ’s own. What we learn from Jeremiah’s call is first that God’s call on our lives is about relationship! God “knows us” even before we are in the womb and God “consecrates” us. How intimate and how profound to be known in the depths of our being, to be loved even deep down there in the un-loveable regions who we might doubt ourselves to be; and how horrifyingly lovely it is to know that God claims all of it as holy. Yes God loves us into being and we are worthy of loving God back and serving God’s world. Second, we learn from Jeremiah’s response to God’s call, what all of us have experienced when a call is being made upon our lives. We doubt it. Jeremiah says, But, but, I am only a child? This is a pretty consistent dynamic between the created and the creator, found throughout the biblical story and throughout I am guessing most of your narratives. I doubt it God. I doubt I am the right person for that task, for that ministry, for that job. I doubt I have the courage, the skills, the time, I doubt I have the words. Third, we learn from God’s response to Jeremiah’s call, to quote Bishop Rowe’s remarks from yesterday, “God’s future will raise the expectations” and God’s very spirit will equip us necessarily for the work of answering God’s call. – God tells Jeremiah, I’ll give you the words to say----and I believe and I have seen with my own eyes, that God not only gives the words, but God gives also the courage, the compassion, the determination and the grace to become no less than the very voice, the hands, and heart of God himself in the world., But God also gives us one more secret weapon to respond to a call to serve Him in the world- He gives us the gift of Jesus Christ, who revealed in flesh and in word, shows his glory, the very image of God (as Paul tells the Corinthians). The other secret weapon then is We are given one another! One another in Christ, doing together in Christ, more than we can ever imagine. So we join these three gifted and wonderful children of God, who find their way to this place this day in their journey to pursue a call. And we remind them as we remind one another that 1.They are loved and known, intimately and wonderfully by the one who made them and brought them here this day. And not only are they loved and known, deeply and intimately but members of congregations, friends, Sunday school teachers, small group bible study partners, the sick and the hungry, the lonely and the needy, seminary classmates, Priests and Deacons, have seen this love shine through them as bright as the northern lights. Michelle, Elizabeth and Beverly; Even commissions on Ministries, and committees that stand have seen it and claimed YOU as ready to take on this unique call to serve. 2. One thing you can be sure of in your call not just today but plenty of other days as well, is that you will doubt yourselves. . Doubt that you have heard it right? Doubt that your ministry is making a difference, doubt that you are the right person at the right time. Doubt that any of this stuff we do together matters in the end. And its easy to understand as you enter leadership roles in a church that stands on shifting sand. We know of the volumes of writings filling bookshelves on the subject of the institutional church in flux, in change, in transition, and some even say “death”. A ten year survey conducted by Hartford Seminary entitled “A decade of change” (ya think?), statistically measured and produced findings about the trends in mainline denomenations over the decade of 2000 to 2010. Their findings: a steep drop in the financial health of congregations. ; High levels of conflict within denominations; and an aging and declining membership. (sound familiar?) At the same time however what was also discovered was an increase in innovation and adaptive worship and ministry methods. A rapid adoption of electronic technologies for communications and implementation of ministry and (and this is the punchline) an INCREASE in MISSION Oriented Programs of outreach to the neediest and poorest in society. -Which brings me to the third piece of our claim on the nature of call not just for these three deacons this day, but for all of us as the Church! Even in the midst of shifting sand, and maybe even if truth be told the sand in this equation of the worlds’ deepest need and God’s deepest desire for it has always been shifting sand! Maybe even God knows its shifting sand and that is exactly where we are called to be! In it! In the sandbox if you will. Let’s face it- God has us just where God wants us. Of course we feel unprepared, unsure, uncertain, All who have entertained a holy call to get in the mix as it were have felt unprepared, just like Jeremiah and all others in our biblical narrative who have been called by God to be the hands, hearts, and voice of GODS’s preferred future. God gives us the words! Gives us the courage! Gives us the heart! The nature of how we do church is certainly changing but what remains is God’s call on us and the powerful grace we discover as we seek to answer God’s call. And guess what; the truth is, and we have we need right here! Right here! Michelle, Elizabeth, and Beverly. The promises you make today before us and your Bishop are specific to the vocation of Deacon in this Church! Hold on tight to your God who loves you desperately by studying and losing yourself in the Scriptures- model your very lives on those scriptures which means lose yourself in a frenzy of loving this broken world God desperately seeks to redeem! Hold our feet to the fire! This partly the Deacon’s job. Reminds us over and over again to live into answering God’s call on our lives to be the hands, heart, and voice of God, especially to the most vulnerable and needy! And thanks for carrying out those other duties the vows seek not to define! In all things and in all places remind us by the way you lean into your vocation of the proclamation St. Paul begs us to heed: That we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Amen.