Good morning! I am so glad to be here and to be with you on this beautiful day. I started coming to Emmanuel during the Pandemic, so I am just getting to know many of you who have been here much longer, as well as those of you who are relatively new like me. I initially came in large part simply because Emmanuel was open; worship was in person, and I needed that. I stayed because the love of God is taught, preached, sung, and practiced here.
Our theme this year is “Love our neighbor.” Versions of this command occur, of course, in many places in the Bible: in Leviticus (19:18), in the Gospels, in Paul’s letters. My favorite is in the Gospel of Luke, when a religious expert asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Continue reading
Author Archives: Elizabeth Richardson
Welcome our new expressive-arts interns!
Wan-li
I am Wanyi, a second-year graduate student studying Art Therapy at Lesley University. Having grown up in Taiwan, I had the chance to learn fine art for my bachelor’s degree and was fortunate to have lived and taught in three different countries. During those time periods, I found the therapeutic power of art through leading art-making sessions in my communities. To further my knowledge in using art as a therapeutic medium, I came to the US to learn from the best.
Don’t mismanage your miracle.
Proper 13C, 31 July 2022. The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Hosea 11:1-11. My compassion grows warm and tender.
Colossians 3:1-11. The wrath of God is coming on whose who are disobedient.
Luke 12:13-21. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.
O God of abundance, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.
This morning we have scripture readings that take the clichéd and inaccurate characterization of Old Testament god of wrath and New Testament god of love and turn it on its head. You might know that one of my life goals is to stop as many Christians as possible from thinking that the First Testament or Hebrew Bible depicts an angry God and the Second or Christian Testament depicts a loving God. I also want those people who finally learn to spread the news to others. Alas, it’s like the work of coming out: my work is never done.
Continue reading
Claim Check
Proper 12C, 24 July. The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Hosea 1:2-10. Children of the living God.
Colossians 2:6-19. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit.
Luke 11:1-13. Because of his [lack of shame or honor].
O God of dignity, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.
I love that our hand fans proclaim that Emmanuel Church is prayer conditioned on a very hot day when our Gospel lesson is about Jesus’ teaching about how to pray. His answer to the disciples’ request to teach them to pray, the way John taught his disciples, is: ask, search, knock. Claim your honor and your dignity. Notice, though, that what is being sought is learning to pray, and what is being offered in Jesus’ response and words of assurance is a holy spirit, a spirit of holiness. In the original text, there is no definite article, and there are no capital letters. (This is long before the theological idea of Trinity got codified.) If you ask for a spirit of holiness, if you search for a spirit of holiness, if you knock on doors asserting your right to enter into a spirit of holiness, it will be given to you; it will be opened for you. Continue reading
The Better Portion
Proper 11C. 17 July 2022. The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Amos 8:1-12. Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land.
Colossians 1:15-29. For this I toil and struggle with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me.
Luke 10:38-42 The better portion.
O God beyond our perceiving, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.
It might just be because it’s hot and I’m getting close to vacation, so I’m a little grumpier than usual; but I looked at our readings for today earlier this week and thought to myself, “I don’t really want to say thanks be to God or praise be to you, Lord Christ to any of these three!”
Amos, of course, is responding to the ancient command of the Divine: “If you see something, say something.” What he saw was the shocking evils of a flourishing urban elite exploiting people and extracting resources in a way that was impoverishing the whole country. Amos saw that military might, extravagant wealth, and shallow piety would result in utter devastation if those in power did not repent and return to the Holy One, to the Mosaic Law of love for neighbor, which meant (and still means) the just distribution of resources. The word of hope in Amos, which our lectionary doesn’t include, is that the time will come when those who plow shall overtake those who reap, when those who plant the vineyards will enjoy the fruit of their labor. Continue reading
Unbounded Mercy
Proper 10C. 10 July 2022, The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz.
Amos 7:7-17. The Lord said to me, “Go prophesy to my people Israel.”
Colossians 1:1-14. Grace to you and peace from God.
Luke 10:25-37. But wanting to justify himself…
O God of mercy, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.
This parable called The Good Samaritan, found only in Luke, might be the most famous parable of them all. One doesn’t have to be a church goer to have heard of it and understand something about it. Hospitals, emergency services, counseling services, laws about liability limits, and award programs, all get called Good Samaritan. With its fame comes the enormous, sometimes crushing, weight of Protestant moral theology and Sunday-school lessons, both with a hefty dose of Christian anti-Jewish bias. The preaching challenge for me seems formidable because of what we all think we already know about this story and the guilt that has been wired into most of us about seeing people who have been beaten and robbed, lying in life’s various ditches, and not doing enough, or anything at all, to help. In my time as a priest, this story has provoked more confessions and more attempts at self-justification than any other I know. It reminds me of something bell hooks said, which feels like the essence of my vocation: [1]
I am often struck by the dangerous narcissism fostered by spiritual rhetoric that pays so much attention to individual self-improvement and so little to the practice of love within the context of community.
Not the End of the Story
Proper 9C, 3 July 2022, The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz.
2 Kings 5:1-14. Had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel and she served Naaman’s wife.
Galatians 6:1-16. “If anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a Spirit of gentleness….Bear one another’s burdens.
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20. Do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
O God of dignity, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.
I’ve spent some time thinking about dignity in this past week as I continue to shudder at the dramatic disregard for the well-being of people whose right to bodily autonomy has been eliminated or severely jeopardized by the United States Supreme Court. Maybe you saw the guest opinion piece in last Sunday’s New York Times by Michele Goodwin, law professor at the University of California, who pointed out that in the Dodd decision, the majority of the Supreme Court failed to honor the 13th amendments which prohibits involuntary servitude and provides protection of bodily autonomy for Black women, and the 14th amendment which defend privacy and freedom. Goodwin wrote that “state-mandated pregnancy will exacerbate what are already alarming health and dignity harms, especially in states with horrific records of maternal mortality and morbidity.” [1] Her analysis was very present in my mind as I reflected on our reading for today from 2 Kings. Continue reading
Keep your hand on the plow and hold on.
Proper 8C, 26 June 2022, The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz.
1 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14. You have asked a hard thing….(Keep your eyes on me as I am taken).
Galatians 5:1,13-25. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Luke 9:51-62. Follow me.
O God our help and our hope, grant us the strength, the wisdom, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.
Buckle up. On Friday, I was listening to a recording of Mahalia Jackson singing the African American spiritual “Keep your hand on the plow, hold on,” when the news came that the Supreme Court of the United States had overturned Roe vs. Wade, eliminating the Constitutional right to the bodily autonomy of people who are pregnant. It hit me like the news of a loved-one’s death after a prolonged illness. The news seemed sudden and felt devastating, even though I expected it. It’s like a gut punch or, to put a finer point on it, for some of us it’s a uterine punch. The majority decision that reproductive autonomy, when it comes to pregnancy, is a states-rights issue rather than a human-rights issue, will immediately eliminate access to legal abortions in 20 states, for about 25.5 million people with a uterus who are of reproduction age (which starts at about 12, by the way, and can go beyond 50). Continue reading
Walking in Love
Pentecost C, 5 June 2022, The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz.
Acts 2:1-21. Like the rush of a violent wind.
Romans 8:14-17. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.
John 14:8-17, 25-27. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not let them be afraid.
O God of our burning hearts, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.
Last week I had the distinct pleasure of chatting with my 9 ½ year old great-niece for the first time in six years. She asked me what I do for work. When adults ask me that question, I like to say that I run a spiritual repair shop on Newbury Street. But I didn’t think that would make much sense to her, so I said, “I’m a minister in a church” and I asked her if she knew what church is, and she shook her head no. She knows what an intentional housing community is because she lives in one, so I said, “It’s an intentional community where people who live in all different places come together to give thanks and sing and meditate and learn to love and support one another with the idea of making the world a better place. She said, “cool!” And I said, “yes it is!” I love the challenge of talking about what we’re doing here without using theological or churchy language. It takes some of the stumbling blocks away and gets to the essence or core meaning of what we’re about. Continue reading
Holy Trinity
Trinity Sunday C, 12 June 2022. The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Proverbs 8:1-4,22-31. Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice?…”To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live.”
Romans 5:1-11. We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God…because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
John 16:12-15. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
O indescribable Holiness, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.
Happy Trinity Sunday! Today is the Sunday after Pentecost that Western (or Roman and Anglican and Protestant) Christians have designated Trinity Sunday, going back in the Latin Church since the Middle Ages. The Eastern Orthodox Christians didn’t get the memo, or didn’t agree with the terms, so they combine Pentecost and Trinity into one Sunday. Maybe it’s a case of “the grass is always greener on the other side of the street,” but that seems like a good idea to me. I’ve confessed to you before that I’ve never been able to get interested enough in systematic theology in general or the doctrine of the Trinity, specifically (not enough to give it its very own Sunday, anyway). Bishop Gates and I were talking about seminary recently and I said something (could have been just about anything) that prompted him to ask, “Who did you have for systematics?” I laughed and said, “I didn’t take systematic theology. It wasn’t even offered.” And that was just as well because one philosophy course as an undergrad nearly did me in. Continue reading