Author Archives: Elizabeth Richardson

The word is shalom.

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Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 11C, The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz, July 17, 2016

Amos 8:1-12 A basket of summer fruit.
Colossians 1:15-28 Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
Luke 10:38-42 The better part

O God of shalom, 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.

What a hard week, in a series of hard weeks. There seems to be no end in sight to the violence at home and abroad. I want to say something about each of our three scripture readings this morning. I don’t know about you, but I hear the prophet Amos speaking directly to us from about 760 BCE. Amos, a shepherd and dresser of sycamore trees, was the first prophet of the Hebrew Bible to write his description of what happens when some people in a society get richer and more powerful, at the expense of those who are poor and getting poorer. He was writing at a time when his country had expanded in wealth and military might by taking advantage of the most vulnerable, the neediest people, violating the Torah commandments to care for refugees and aliens, and others who cannot care for themselves. Perhaps you already knew what it means that Amos was a dresser of sycamore trees, but I had to look it up. Sycamore trees in the Middle East produce fruit that smell like figs, but taste pretty bad. Only poor people eat it, because nobody with other options would touch it. If the fruit is punctured while it’s still on the tree, it ripens faster. A dresser of sycamores is someone who is helping to feed those who are poor.
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Ministry Checklist

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Seventh Sunday in Pentecost (9C), July 3, 2016; 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 the plentiful harvest, 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.

Our Gospel lesson covers a LOT of territory for a holiday weekend in the summer time! The story goes that Jesus has appointed 70 others (or 72, depending on which ancient manuscript of Luke you read) to be sent out – meaning Jesus has appointed apostles. Apostle means one sent – as in an agent or ambassador (according to Luke there were not only 12 apostles). The Lord appointed the number of all the nations. Some ancient authorities believed there were 70 nations in the world; others insisted on 72. The number is also reminiscent of the number of elders appointed by God to help Moses. In the Hebrew language version of the Bible, the number was 70. In the Greek translation, the Septuagint, the number was 72. The point is, a whole lot of people were willing to be appointed to go out to the whole world, importantly, in pairs. In other words, they were instructed not to go alone. It’s not just more fun to go with a partner; it’s the law. Two is the minimum number for witness and for safety and for fun. The rule is, when you’re going out to do work for the reign of God, always use the buddy system! This is true whether the work you are doing for God is in your household or extended family, or your workplace or your school or your neighborhood or your church or someplace else altogether! Two is so much more than twice one in any endeavor. And if you want to build something sustainable – the minimum number is three (but that’s a lesson for a different day). Continue reading →

The end of the beginning?

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Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (7C), June 19, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

1 Kings 19:1-15a What are you doing here Elijah?
Psalm 42 Deep calls to deep.
Galatians 3:23-29 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female for all of you are one.
Luke 8:26-39 Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.

O God of love, 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 has been a hard and sad week around here.  We’ve mourned the tragic deaths in Orlando and Boston has buried Raekwon Brown, 17 year old high school junior who saved the life of a 67 year old woman before he was shot during a fire drill at school.  What do we say to our children – what do we say to ourselves about God in a week like this?  I’m reminded that just a few weeks ago after a Sunday service, a little boy, nearly five years old approached me with his dad, who said that his son had a question for me.  I knelt down to hear his question.  “Where is God?” he asked.  Borrowing the words of one of my rabbinic teachers, I said, “God is in the beginning…God is in the endings, and all around us.”  He squinted at me suspiciously.  “God is inside of you and all around you.  God is in your baby sister’s tiny hands and God is in your grandfather’s eyes.  God is in the cookies fresh from the oven and in the first day of a new season.  God is in the end of the day and in the last kiss goodnight. God is always near.” [1]
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Some Women of Means

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Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (6C), June 12, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

1 Kings 21:1-21a Jezebel.
Galatians 2:15-21 I do not nullify the grace of God.
Luke 7:36-8:3 The twelve were with him as well as some women…who provided for them out of their resources.

O God of Love, 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.

In today’s Gospel reading, we hear the famous story of an unnamed city woman who lived a life of flagrant disobedience to the law (aka a criminal). In order to undercut the authority of religious leaders in Luke’s own time at the end of the first century, Luke misrepresents and caricatures a Pharisee named Simon in a way that is historically mistaken and theologically inappropriate. Pharisees were quite clear in their teachings about the abundant mercy and compassion of God, and their teachings that faithful people were to emulate God in offering mercy and compassion. Of course there may have been a gap between teachings and behavior. We’ve seen that in our own religious practices, haven’t we? Ironically, Luke, and those who have repeated the slander of Pharisees, put themselves in the position of needing great forgiveness. [1] Continue reading →

Digging Deep

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Second Sunday after Pentecost, (4C), May 29, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

1 Kings 18:20-21(22-29)30-39. No voice, no answer, and no response [from Baal].
Galatians 1:1-12.  Not that there is another Gospel.
Luke 7:1-10.  Lord…I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.

O God of Love, 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.

As I promised you last week, we have returned to the Gospel of Luke, the great story-teller. Today we hear that Jesus has finished all of his sayings in the hearing of the people. What were all of his sayings? Well, the beatitudes, descriptions of both blessings and curses, and Jesus’ instructions on how to live fully into the realm of God: love your enemies; give to everyone who begs from you; do not judge; forgive one another; don’t be hypocrites; don’t be like trees that bear bad fruit. Be like trees that bear good fruit. Those are familiar teachings, often read in church. But then comes a passage that is so rarely read that I don’t remember ever hearing it, and when I looked at the verses leading up to the story of the centurion’s slave, I skipped right over it. Fortunately for me (and maybe for you), my wife Joy was also writing a sermon this week to preach at her parents’ church in Independence, Missouri this morning. Joy is a trained notice. She noticed what Jesus says just before our Gospel portion for today picks up. Continue reading →

Author, Word & Inspiration

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Trinity Sunday, (C), May 22, 2016; 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 Holy One, 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.

For those of you who struggle with the Gospel of John, this Gospel reading is for you. It begins with an acknowledgement that, while there is much more to say, Jesus knows that you cannot bear it now. Perhaps this is recognition of saturation, of exhaustion, of grief, of the lack of additional capacity among Jesus’ followers. It seems like it might be compassionate, parental. Or, perhaps the scribe was just tired or short on papyrus and so he wrote that into the Gospel story. Either way, I like to imagine that it is a statement that is true in every age that there are more things than we can hear or bear. I find it to be a very hopeful idea that there is more wisdom and truth than are recorded in the scriptures. Wisdom and truth were not completely revealed in Jesus’ time – they are not completely revealed even yet. The revelation of the Divine is ongoing, continuing. Continue reading →

A Breath of Fresh Air (with audio)

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Pentecost (C), May 15, 2016; 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.

Some of you, who follow along in the bulletin when the Gospel is being read, might be wondering why there are no capital letters or punctuation marks in our printed copy this morning. It’s because the capitalization and punctuation is so objectionable to me that I just didn’t want to print it the way it appears in our English translation. Many of you have heard me preach about punctuation being a medieval invention, developed centuries after the Gospels were written. When our scripture was written, it was written without spaces between words, without punctuation, without indication for titles or other proper nouns. So punctuation, while very useful, is a layer of interpretation, just like translation is interpretation. In this version, the doctrinal freight of the interpretation weighs me down. For example, in our Gospel reading today, the number of times that the word father appears with a capital F (when Jesus’ mother never gets a single capital M) was just too heavy for me this past week! There are other heavy stumbling blocks, such as where to attach adverbial clauses, whether ‘and’ or ‘but’ is a better conjunction, and so forth. So in a fit of pique, I asked our parish administrator, Amanda March, to take an ee cummings approach to the text. I have to say, I like the look. It takes some of the interpretive heaviness away. Let’s not be the weights around God’s ankles, especially on this day when we celebrate the gift of Spirit! Continue reading →

Processing Emotional Discomfort

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As I come into the end of my internship with Emmanuel Church, I am reflecting on what I can take away from this experience.  What am I taking with me from this internship beyond the indelible impact of resilient, artistic, and caring individuals?  Undoubtedly, the ways I have been impacted by others and the wonderful memories I have made with people in this internship will be something I carry with me for the rest of my life. In addition, I have been reflecting on what growth and new skills this internship has given me.  I believe that one of the most important skills I have gained from this internship – something that I can take with me into future career opportunities and life in general – is the ability to sit with my own discomfort.  This is not to suggest that I should sit idle if I feel like my personal safety or the safety of others is at risk, but I am suggesting that it is okay and maybe even essential to therapeutic presence to be able to sit with and process the emotional discomfort that can arise in difficult situations.     Continue reading →

It’s a gift.

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Seventh Sunday in Easter, Year C, May 8, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Acts 16:16-34 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.
John 17:20-26 That they may all be one…so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

O God of freedom, 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. Amen.

This past week, while I was attending a conference, our Tuesday morning Bible Study, went ahead as scheduled. My wife Joy facilitated the group and took some notes for me. At the bottom, in all caps, were the words, “SING THIS!” And so, because I am unusually obedient, I did. Continue reading →

Desire well-being!

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Sixth Sunday in Easter, Year C, May 1, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Acts 16:9-15 Come and stay at my home.
Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5 I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God.
John 5:1-9 Stand up, take your mat and walk.

O God of our vision of healing, 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.

Good job getting here this morning! The first Sunday of May is always the day for Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger – and of course, what that means is Walk for Hunger relief. Project Bread’s mission is to end hunger in Massachusetts. The organizers expect that more than 40,000 people are walking or running (or trudging or limping) to raise awareness and raise money to develop and provide better food security in Massachusetts. That seems like an awful lot of people – especially if you were trying to get here from north of the Charles River, and it is a lot of people. They will raise a lot of money. The scandalous truth is, though, that it will not be nearly enough because one out of every ten households in Massachusetts struggles with too little to eat. Of course, that 10% is not evenly distributed. In some communities, as many as 7 in 10 households experience hunger. Twenty percent of all households with children in Massachusetts have insufficient food to eat. As we approach the end of the school year, the access to meals for children gets much more precarious because breakfast and lunch are not being provided at school. Part of what we are doing when we participate in B-SAFE (our diocese’s day camp academic enrichment program) is providing breakfast and lunch to hungry kids. Although it is a large program, B-SAFE reaches only about 525 children and about 100 teens. Twenty percent of all households with children in Massachusetts have insufficient food to eat.
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