Tag Archives: Shalom

An Auspicious Day

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Last Sunday after the Epiphany (A), 19 Feb. 2023. The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • Exodus 24:12-18. Come up to me on the mountain.
  • 2 Peter 1:16-21. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place…until the morning star rises in your hearts.
  • Matthew 17:1-9.  Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.”

O God of majesty, mercy and mystery, [1] 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.

Today is an auspicious day, the last Sunday after the Epiphany, the Sunday we tell the story of the Transfiguration, the story of Jesus and his friends and their majestic, merciful, and mystical mountaintop experience. But if you heard the Gospel lesson last week, you (like me) might still be stuck in the weeds of a different mountain, pondering Jesus’ hard teachings, even after our seminarian Lisa’s marvelous sermon. Last week, we heard Jesus teaching things like: it’s not only murder that violates God’s law (or Love’s rule), it’s being angry with another or insulting another that will make one liable to the flaming trash heap called Gehenna, also known as hell. It’s not only adultery that violates God’s law (or Love’s rule), it’s looking at another person with lust in one’s heart. It’s not just swearing falsely; it’s swearing at all. Although we didn’t hear it last week, what follows is about turning the other cheek, giving away one’s extra cloak, going the second mile, giving to everyone who begs from us, and loving our enemies. Continue reading →

The realm of heaven has come near.

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Advent 2A:  Dec. 4, 2022.  The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz.

Isaiah 11:1-10.  With the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. (That’s some powerful bad breath!)
Romans 15:4-13. On behalf of the truth of God.
Matthew 3:1-12.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

O God, hope of the prophets, 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 our Second Sunday of Advent this year, our scripture lessons begin with the second half of a beautiful oracle or poem in Isaiah. Maybe the first half is omitted from our lesson because it is not as charming as the second half. The first half describes how the mighty have fallen like tall trees in a forest that has been clear cut. It’s a wasteland. There are only stumps left where there had been a beautiful forest. The context is the collapse of the Assyrian occupying military, which was itself in control as the result of the total failure of the dynasty of King David, which had utterly miscarried its obligations to care for those who were most vulnerable and weak: aliens, widows, orphans, and other impoverished people. The government of the people of God had neglected its duties to be morally responsible for doing no wrong, no violence, to the neediest people. Continue reading →

You are abundantly blessed.

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Sunday in the Octave of the Feast of All Saints, Nov. 6, 2022.  The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz.

Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18. As for me…my spirit was troubled within me.
Ephesians 1:11-23. So that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you.
Luke 6:20-36. Love your enemies.

Merciful and generous God, 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.

Today we are observing All Saints’ Day in the Church, because today is the Sunday within the Octave or eight days starting November 1. Today we are also observing Pledge Stewardship Sunday at Emmanuel Church, the day we set aside to encourage everyone who wants Emmanuel Church standing and thriving to make a commitment to financially support this parish in the coming year, to provide for clergy and other staff. I don’t think of Pledge Stewardship Sunday as a deadline as much as a lifeline for the coming year. We will be facing some significant financial challenges in 2023, so we would appreciate your generosity more than ever! The same amount given as last year will not go as far because of inflation, so if you are able to give more than you did last year, your giving would make an even greater difference. Continue reading →

Proportional Thanksgiving

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Proper 23C. 9 October 2022.  The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
2 Timothy 2:8-15. The word of God is not chained.
Luke 17:11-19. Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they?”

O God of sacred story, 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 at Emmanuel Church we are giving thanks for the life and love of Joan Nordell, who was the President of the Board of Emmanuel Music when I arrived at Emmanuel almost 15 years ago. Her steady and generous leadership made a world of difference during a time of instability and uncertainty. Her commitment to Emmanuel Church was remarkable and continued to grow even after she completed her service on the board. I hope my sermon would delight her, because it’s inspired by her. I should let you know that this sermon is going to include a list-making exercise. I want you to have a pen ready or take notes on your phone. (Yes, I’m a priest who tells people to use their phones during the liturgy.) Or you could just make a mental list when the time comes.  Continue reading →

Raise your heads!

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Advent 1C.  28 November 2021. The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Jeremiah 33:14-16 [Jerusalem] will be called [the Holy One] is our righteousness.
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13. Someone has testified somewhere.
Luke 21:25-36 Raise your heads because your redemption is drawing near.

O startling God, grant us the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may and cost what it will.

Good morning! Happy Advent! It’s the Church’s New Year and the beginning of a season characterized by re-awakening, of waking up to re-examine our collective systems, our institutions. Advent calls for corporate, collective reflection, and repentance. It’s like an annual check-up for our communal systems. It’s a season of waking up even more to reports of sin, chaos, and devastation among the nations confused and disturbed by the roaring sea, the waves, and the shaking, agitated heavens. Fortunately, that’s just what our Gospel reading addresses this morning. Continue reading →

Hold the salt, and pass the peace!

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Proper 21B.  26 September 2021. The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Esther 7:1-6,9-10; 9:20-22. Days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor.
James 5:13-20. Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.
Mark 9:38-50.  Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.

O God of Beauty, 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.

Well, nothing says, “Let’s begin a program year” like our Gospel reading from Mark today! As one vestry member asked the other night when we were talking about this passage with its gruesome illustrations of maiming and fiery hell, “Remind me, who makes the calendar of readings?” One answer is that the Episcopal Church’s enormous, bicameral, legislative branch meeting in convention in 2006 voted in favor of adopting the Revised Common Lectionary, the three-year calendar of scripture readings. The RCL, as it is called, was developed and tested by an ecumenical group of English-speaking liturgical scholars and denominational representatives from around the world. The practice of a liturgical calendar of readings goes back to ancient Judaism. Continue reading →

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.
Continue reading →