Out with the Old in with the New

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Fr. Peter

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:68-79

The passage of Scripture quotes above from the Gospel of St. Luke is most commonly known as the Song of Zachariah. As the story goes, while Zachariah was fulfilling his duties as High Priest, the angel came to him while he was in the Holy Place and told him that his wife, Elizabeth, was going to have a son. Zachariah and Elizabeth had been praying for some time for a child to be born of them and they were now of advanced age so Zachariah sort of mocked the angel. Because of this the angel took away Zachariah’s ability to speak until his son was born and he was asked what the name of this new child was going to be.

Just as Elizabeth broke into song, so to speak, when she had the first glimpse of the now pregnant Mary, Zachariah breaks out into this prophetic statement about the coming of the Messiah and the role that his child would have in all of this. This event is a transition point in Scripture and ushers out the old and brings in the new.

We have two stories of an Annunciation, that of the angel appearing to Zachariah, as we have just discussed, and that of the Angel Gabriel appearing to Mary to announce that she would conceive a son and call him Jesus. I should back up and say that both angels were called Gabriel, the herald.

The Angel comes to Zachariah in the Temple. He tells him that he is going to be a father and that the child’s name will be John. As I mentioned, Zachariah kind of scoffs at the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” I like that he said his wife was “well advanced in years.” Notice he did not call her old as I am sure he would have had more to deal with than just losing his voice!

When the same angel appears to Mary six months later he says, “Rejoice highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women.” As with Zachariah, he tells her not to be afraid. I don’t know about you but if someone suddenly appeared in my room, I think I would be a little scared. He tells he that, like Elizabeth, she is going to conceive a son but not in the same way. She asks one question of the angel, “How can this be since I do not know man?” When the angel tells her how it will happen, she replies, “Let it be to me according to your word.” This is a question of innocence not of mocking, and so the angel tells her what will happen. He does not strike her mute for asking the question. So innocent and pure is her faith that she simply says okay if that is what God wants I will do it. And with that Mary becomes the first disciple of her son.

John the Baptist will become the last of the Old Testament Prophets. Their job was to prepare the way for the one who would come after them, the one who is so great that John was not worthy to tie his shoes, the shoes of the one who would come. Jesus would be the final prophet the one who completes the law and all the prophecies before him. We see Zachariah involved in an elaborate ceremony when the angel comes when the angel visits Mary she is going about her business and with a simple phrase completely changes the worship of God. “Be it done unto me according to thy will.”

Gone were all of the rituals and sacrifices of the old way and now it was the simple faith of a peasant girl that would show us the new way. “Be it done unto me…” The simple faith of Mary is the faith that we must have the simple faith of accepting of what God wants of us. Mary did not sit down and come up with a list of pro’s and con’s before she answered, no he said God had chosen her and wanted her to do something, and she said yes, and that yes changed the world. Could Mary have said no? Sure she could have, she had the same free will that all of us have, but she chose the way of God, regardless of the consequences for her life and the life of her family. She chose this way because God asked her.

Our faith needs to be this simple. God is asking things of us each day, and we stand at the crossroads of following his will in our lives or following our will in our lives. Chose the path Mary accepted and followed the will of God in your lives. It might not be the best road, it might be filled with potholes and other pitfalls, but it is the best road to follow. And once you are on that road, never look back.

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Faith Without Works is Dead

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Fr. Peter

Once again we have been witness to a mass shooting and once again everyone drops to their knees and starts praying. Now, don’t get me wrong, I believe in prayer and I believe in the power of prayer but there has to be some action associated with that prayer.

There are some situations that we simply cannot pray ourselves out of. There is an old story about a man stuck on his roof and the water is rising. Along come a boat, and a helicopter and other such things to rescue the man from the roof of his house. He tells them all no thanks, God will save me. Well the man dies and standing before God the man asks God why he did not save him. God says, I sent you a boat and a helicopter what more did you want?

We have the ability to start a discussion about real reform. I for one do not understand why someone needs to own an assault rifle and 1600 rounds of ammunition that can pierce body armor. I was not present when the framers of the US Constitution were doing their thing but I am certain this is not what they had in mind. You want to own a gun to hunt, great. You want to own a gun for personal protection, great. I don’t believe you need to own an automatic one.

Am I praying, yes I am praying for the victims of this shooting and for the politicians who need to have their hearts softened and get off the payroll of the NRA and do something. If you are one who is praying, and I hope you are, then you need to follow this up with action and call or write to your politicians and demand serious reform this is how things get done we simply cannot pray this way.

One of my favorite books in the Bible is the Letter of St. James. It is a wonderful pastoral letter about all sorts of things but it begins by talking about faith and works and how a faith that has no works is a dead faith. It is not enough to just believe we have to do something with that belief. We cannot simply go to church, say a few prayers, and hope someone else does the work, we are required to work. If your faith does not move you to action your faith is dead, there I said it! If you do not know what to do, ask someone, hand wringing is no longer an option.

The relevant passage from the Letter of St. James is posted below. Read it, meditate on it, and I hope it moves you to action.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead. James 2:14-26

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First Sunday in Advent ~ Living in Hope

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Fr. Peter

Today begins the season of Advent, as season that has all but been forgotten by the world. In our rush to but the latest gadget we go right from Thanksgiving to Christmas without that intentional stop in Advent. It is like skipping Lent and going right to Easter! Advent is that time of expectation, of waiting, of patience. We know what is coming, and we want to get right to it, but we have to slow down, pause, take a breath, and wait.

In the Eastern Church, Advent is a penitential season and if often called Christians Lent. Orthodox Christians are supposed to fast during this time, not as strict as during Lent, but there is a giving up during this period. It is a time of preparation and looking at one’s life and checking in to see if we have come off the road a little and what we need to do to get back on. In Western Christianity there are remnants of that. The liturgical colors change from the usual green to purple, but not for penance but an announcement of the royalty of the coming Christ. Purple is a regal color reserved for kings!

We get so busy during this preparation time with shopping for more junk that we think shows others how much we love them, to parties and all of the other stuff that we jam into this time of year. With all of this noise going on around us we lose sight of the waiting, of the slowing down, of the patience that this time of year is supposed to bring upon us.

Recently I was having a conversation with someone and they mentioned how we were now in the Christmas Season. I tried to hide my wonder when I said that we were not in the Christmas season but in fact we were in the Season of Advent that the Christmas season did not begin until December 24^th. Expectation, waiting, patience we miss all of this if we skip right to the end of the story and then throw the tree out on the sidewalk on Christmas night!

Since the time of Jesus there has been speculation on when He would return. His closest followers believed that it would happen in their life time, not here we are some two-thousand years later still waiting and there are still people trying to predict when it will happen.

In the passage selected for this First Sunday of Advent, from the Gospel of St. Luke, Jesus speaks to his followers about expectation and signs. He speaks of the fig tree and how one knows that summer is coming when the buds appear. Here in New England we know the seasons by the change in the leaves on the trees and temperature.

But the passage goes on to teach us about preparation and that we should not get caught up in the things of this world and not concern ourselves with the things of the next. Jesus tells his followers not to be weighed down with the cares of this life and tells us to watch and pray that we will be ready. Advent is a time for that watching and praying. Just as we clean our house and prepare food when gusts are coming, we need to prepare room in our hearts for Jesus and allow him to come in and transform our lives just as he came into the world to transform it.

In Jesus day they were waiting for the Messiah to come, a military leader that would come and release them from their bondage and captivity. The Prophets had spoken of this and they continued to wait. Jesus came, not as a general, but as a tiny baby born to humble parents, with no place to lay his head except a feeding trough in a barn. This small child, born with nothing to call his own, this tiny child who formed the world out of nothing, only asks for a little room to help change your life. He did come to free them from their bondage but not earthly bondage but spiritual bondage. The hope and expectation of Advent is just that, that we will make room in our busy schedules in our days filled with shopping and parties, that we will make time and make room for him in our lives.

Much has been made of “keeping Christi in Christmas” and how there is a war on Christmas because the cashier at the local store says happy holidays rather than Merry Christmas and how some private corporation, whose sole existence is to make money, took trees off of their cups. The real war on Christmas is that we do not make time for Christ. We do not take time to read his words and meditate on them. We are so upset that there is no manger on the town common but we do not take time to meditate on what it truly means. The real war on Christmas is that we forget, we do not wait, we do not pause, we run right over Advent and rush Christmas. That is the real war.

Take the time, serious time, to slow down during Advent and wait in hope, hope that you will make room in your hearts and in your lives for Jesus to come in, and hope that when he does, you will let him change you. You will be glad you did.

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Test Post

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Fr. Peter

Test Post

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William Bradford’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

Posted on November 26, 2015 by Fr. Peter

Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.

Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the daytime, on Thursday, November 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty three and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings.”

William Bradford
Ye Governor of Ye Colony

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The Fear of Fear

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Fr. Peter

Have you ever been afraid, I mean really afraid? As many of you know I work as a fire chaplain and in this work I provide calm assurance to those who have to put their lives on the line. While we are rushing out, they are rushing in. Are they afraid, sure they are afraid they would be crazy not to be, but for them to do their job they cannot let their fear paralyze them. They have to find it deep within themselves to push past it. They have to trust in their training, and they have to confidence in their leadership that they have taken all precaution to keep them safe.

I think it is safe to say that with the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and other parts of the world, we have been a little more fearful than we have been in the past. Fear is a reasonable response to a situation that is not normal. Fear can be a good if it causes us to be more cautious in our daily lives but when fear forces us to lose our humanity, to turn on one another, or to change our way of life then fear wins and when fear wins terrorism wins.

More than 300 years ago, a small group of people boarded a ship, a ship not designed to haul passengers, and set sail for a new life. They all had their reasons for wanting to leave Europe and everything that they had known, for the new world where they hoped to make a better life for themselves and their families. I am sure they were afraid, and I am sure that there were those who wanted to go but were paralyzed by their fear. Many of them were fleeing persecution and perhaps even death. Many of them, especially their leaders, had been in prison and witnessed friends and family killed for their beliefs.

I cannot begin to imagine the journey nor can I imagine what life what life in those early years of settlement in the new world. I think we have a romantic view of smiling pilgrims and Native Americans sitting around a table of plenty, but I am not so sure that is what truly happened. I am certain there was fear, fear from the Pilgrims and fear from the Native Americans, and I am not going to judge either side, but they learned to live together in the end. I am not so sure American Indians have the same feelings, but we will leave that for another day.

The United States of America is a country of immigrants. Sure many of our families have been here since long before it was the United States but never the less we are all immigrants. The very heart and soul of the US are the drive for a better life and a people that welcome them in and help them when they are in need. Generations of immigrants have come here for all sorts of reasons, some economic, some spiritual, some legal, some were fleeing wars but whatever the reasons they left their homeland and everything they ever knew and sought to change their lives. They did not let fear stand in their way, in fact, fear was the driving force behind many of them leaving in the first place, and we cannot let fear stand in our way of acting in a way that Americans have for generations.

The world we live in is a mess, I am not sure there was ever a time when it was not a mess, and we are being asked to help our neighbors. There was a time in our history when America was a mess. When the stock market failed, and the great depression started, it was one of the darkest hours of our history. Thousands of people found themselves on the street and unable to feed their families. In 1932, Franklin Roosevelt was elected the thirty-second president of the United States. On March 4, 1933, he was sworn in and gave his inaugural address. Americans were facing an uncertain future, and they were afraid. They were looking for their new leader to assure them that everything was going to be okay. He stood in front of the crowd, and in the opening sentences of his speech he said the following:

So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life, a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

What Roosevelt was saying was that our fear, our natural fear, was making things worse. By running to the banks and taking out, all of our money Americans were hurting the economy. He was asking us to take a step back, take a deep breath, and act out of reason and not fear. History shows that he was right, and things got better bu we had to stop letting fear rule us.

There is every reason to be afraid of immigrants coming to America from the Middle East that if we let fear rule the day we play right into the hands of the terrorists who goal is to change the way we live and the way we act.

Standing at the entrance of the Hudson River is the Statue of Liberty. In the shadow of this great monument to the humanity and hospitality of Americans is Ellis Island them home to many immigrants that came to America to find a new life. Engraved on the plaque inside is the sonnet The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus with its famous line

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

But the lines before that indeed speak of the American spirit and one that we must hold on to.

“Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand a mighty woman with a torch, whose flame is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.”

That is what the United States is, “The Mother of Exiles” and that is what we have to continue to be. Are we afraid, sure we are, do we have a right to be afraid, yes we do, but we cannot let that fear extinguish that light that has been a beacon of hope for millions of people. That same light that begs Syrian refugees forward is the same light that beckoned to the Pilgrims as they stood on the shore looking toward freedom. If we extinguish that light out of fear, we extinguish what is truly America, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Take a step back, take a deep breath, and let’s let reason rule the day and not fear.

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The Meaning of Christ for Us

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Fr. Peter

I stand here this morning with a heavy heart. It is difficult enough to stand here and preach the Good News, but it is especially hard to stand here and preach the Good News after such a horrific few days of violence all around the world. How do we make sense of it all? How do we wrap our minds around what we see and hear? How does it make us feel? What is our response as a member of the human race? What is our response as Christians? All of these questions started to swirl around in my head on Friday evening, and I am not sure I have an answer to many of them.

At times like these the very human response is emotional and therefore not rational. We get mad; we want the perpetrators hunted down and brought to justice. We are sad, we feel sadness for those who are victims and by that I don’t just mean those who were killed. Victims come in many forms. Yes, those who were killed or injured are victims, but so are their families and friends, the residents of Paris, Beirut, and Syria are also victims. The police and other first responders that have to put their lives on the line, they are victims. And all of us for in some ways we are all victims as well. Our world changed just a little on Friday night, and it will never be the same again. Peace is also a victim. Sadness is a fine response.

We want justice! We want justice for the victims. We want justice for what was taken from us. Justice is fine, and justice is what rules a civilized society, but when justice turns to vengeance when justice turns to being bloodthirsty, then we have crossed the line, and we are no better than the ones who did this. Vengeance is not ours to meet out vengeance is for God and God alone.

If you listen to me, long enough you will hear me preach and teach in three main areas of the Christian life. It is my belief that these three are central to the life of a Christian, and if one of them is missing, then we are not truly a follower of Jesus Christ as we should or claim to be.

Love of God and love of neighbor. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is, he responded by saying the love of God and love of neighbor on these two things hang all the law and the prophets. We do not have a choice; this is not optional, and it comes with no conditions, why? Because God loves us without condition. God loves us even if we do not love him back!

Forgiveness. Forgiveness is key in any relationship, and it is essential in the Christian life. We cannot love if we cannot forgive. This does not mean we only have to forgive those who accept our forgiveness or those who show true repentance, no, forgiveness is not for them, forgiveness is for us. In the great prayer that Jesus taught us, the Our Father, the common line is forgiven us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. We are forgiven to the measure that we forgive. If we do not forgive, we are not forgiven; it is just that simple and fundamental. The example we have been the one we always have, Jesus Christ. Hanging on the Cross, he looked at those who had just done this, and he asked God to forgive them, and by the way, he was asking on behalf of all of us.

The radical transformation of life. Jesus was a radical and Jesus was a reformer. He did not come with guns blazing; he did not force people to follow him, and he did not use the government of the day to force people to follow his ways. He merely showed them the way and if they followed great, if not he moved on. He did not yell, well accept the religious leaders of his day; he did not hold us signs are saying they were going to hell for their behavior. He gently engaged with people of all walks of life and he accepted them as they were where they were and loved them. If we are to grow in the Christian life, if we want to be people who truly follow Christ we have to have a radical transformation, our hearts have to be changed from hearts of stone to hearts of flesh filled with love, compassion, and acceptance.

The Letter to the Hebrews that we read from today points us in the direction of these three things. Today’s passage is an outline of our duty towards others:

We must provoke one another to love and good deeds.

What example are we setting? When we walk down the street, when we speak to others, when we post online, do people know we are Christian or do they know we are everything that is wrong with being a Christian? It has been said that we may be the only Bible people ever read, what is written on our pages. As I mentioned before, Jesus did not condemn he pointed the way and showed them the example.

In a recent study by the Pew Research Forum it confirmed what most of us in the Church already know, fewer people are coming to church. When asked why they did not come, those in the 20 to 40 age range said that the church was out of touch and hypocritical. Jesus said the same thing! He called the leaders of his day hypocrites because they were holding people to a higher standard than they were holding themselves, they were calling them sinners but not showing them the way. Most of us are seen as hypocrites and sadly I think they are right.

We have to be the ones who show people the way. It has been said that saint is someone in whom Christ stands revealed. Christ cannot stand revealed if he is filled with hatred, no forgiveness, and a judgmental attitude. Christ stands revealed in us when she show compassion, love, and acceptance of all people not just the ones who look like us or think like us. Who is Christ to you and who are you Christ for?

We must worship together.

St. Paul would say that there is no such thing as a Christian in isolation. We need each other; we need the community to hold us together. But what about our worship experience, are we a welcoming community for all? The Church is not for the righteous the church is for the sinner.

We must not come out of fear.

Some do not come to church because they are afraid of what their friends and family will say. Not everyone grew up in a church-going family and to be the one who goes can be a frightening experience. What our friends and family think plays a large role in what we do and how we do it.

We may not go out of fear of being judged by others.

Yesterday my copy of the Bethany Beacon came in the mail. This was my first issue, and I have to say it is truly a beautiful publication. But right on the front cover it says: “To Jesus, Bethany was a place of retreat and hospitality. May it be so for all who come here.” I believe Bethany was Jesus’ favorite place to visit. Bethany was the home of Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. It was at Bethany when we see Jesus being the most human. When he went to the grave of his friend Lazarus Scripture tells us he wept. Jesus found rest and refreshment there, and that needs to be what people find here. But will they find it here?

What message do we as a community say and what do we as individuals say in the community? Are we accepting of all people? Are we accepting of all lifestyles? Are we accepting of all opinions? One of the mottos if you will of the United Church of Christ, and one of the reasons I am here today, by the way, is no matter who you are, not matter where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here. I am sick and tired of so-called Christians who judge people they do not even know because of a lifestyle choice they know nothing about. We are hypocrites because we see the speck in another’s eye, and we ignore the plank in our own.

This past week I was called a “gay loving, Muslim loving, communist democrat” My response was thank you, but I am not communist nor a Democrat. These are not words of love, what message are we sending? Is this truly a place of hope, love, acceptance, and forgiveness or is it a place of judgment and condemnation?

It’s funny how things come along in your life. While preparing for this sermon today I came across a song that spoke to me. The songs title is Greater, and it is by the Christian group Mercy Me. If you have never heard it google it, it is amazing, and it speaks to this sense of hospitality. I will not sing it for you… you can thank me later, but these are the words:

Bring your doubts, bring your fears, bring your hurts, bring your tears.
There’ll be no condemnation here; you are holy, righteous, and redeemed!

Cause I hear a voice, and he calls me redeemed when others say I’ll never be enough. And greater is the one living inside of me then he who is living in the world.

Every time I fall there’ll be those who will call me a mistake well that’s ok.

Cause I hear a voice, and he calls me redeemed when others say I’ll never be enough. And greater is the one living inside of me then he who is living in the world.

Are we truly that place of rest for all of just some? Are you here to find rest and refreshment?

Flowing from this is the third duty we have to others, and that is to be an encouragement to one another.

The highest human duty is encouragement, the world will try and discourage us, but we have a Christian obligation to lift each other up and to encourage them along the road.

I have a cousin who several years ago ran the Boston Marathon. Now I have never run a marathon just talking about it now is exhausting me, but he came from Texas to Boston to run the Marathon. When it was all over he said it was the most difficult thing he had ever done but the encouragement he felt all of the course is what helped him through. People he did not even know where cheering for him and pushing him forward with their positive energy. This is what we have to do we need to lift each other up when we fall.

A man is walking down the street, and he falls into a deep hole. He yells at the passersby and asks them to help, and they all say they cannot help they do not know how. Then a friend walks by, and he says hey Joe can you help me out of this hole? Joe jumps down into the hole with his friend. The friend looks at him and says are you crazy now we are both down here. Joe says I know but I have been down here before, and I know the way out.

We have all fallen, and we all need a hand up and we all need a friend like Joe who will jump in the hole with us, not to judge us, but because they have been down here before.

So back to the questions I asked at the start:

How do we make sense of it all? How do we wrap our minds around what we see and hear? How does it make us feel? What is our response as a member of the human race? What is our response as Christians?

What is our response?

As a Christian, our first response should be prayer. Our other responses need to be compassion and love and forgiveness. We seek justice for those who were killed and injured, but that justice cannot turn towards vengeance and the desire for blood, all that does if try and fight evil with evil and that does not work, just look around.

Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Jesus came to bring the light, and he gave that light to us. What is our response? We need to be the light, not the darkness.

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Song of the Day ~ Greater

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Fr. Peter

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Why We Remember

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Fr. Peter

I serve as Chaplain for the Department of Massachusetts, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. I had the honor of representing the Department Commander at a dedication of a new memorial in the town of Sandwich Massachusetts on Veteran’s Day 2015. Below is the text of the remarks I gave.

I bring you greetings from Department Commander Dexter Bishop and the entire membership of the Department of Massachusetts Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. It is indeed an honor for me to be here with you and to join with countless others on this veteran’s day as we pause to remember the service of the men and women of the armed forces of the United States past and present.

It is especially an honor to be here as you dedicate this memorial to the 298 brave men of Sandwich who answered the call to give what Abraham Lincoln called the last full measure of devotion and service to our country during a very dark moment in our history. It is sitting that we stand here today, 150 years after the end of the bloodiest war on American soil, to recall the names of these men and I congratulate the committee that work so hard to make this a reality.

Most of them fought together in Company D of the 29^th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and left Sandwich on May 18, 1861, for places they probably never heard of. Many of them would serve in the United States Navy no doubt because they grew up so close to the water here in Sandwich. They would see the battle at Bulls Bluff, Petersburg, Fishers Hill, Spotsylvania, and Bull Run just to name a few. Fifty-four of them would lose their lives in battle or because of conditions in the camp. Some were held prisoner and reunited after the war and most would come home and try and put their lives back together again.

While preparing for these remarks today I came across a list of all of the men, many of them just boys at the time, listed on this memorial. I paused when I read each name to think about what each one had given up and the families that they had left behind. Each name here represents a story of love and loss, fathers, and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters and it is our responsibility to keep that memory alive.

On the anniversary of September 11^th, the names of those who died in New York, Washington DC and Shanksville Pennsylvania are read out loud. Some of those names are read by family members of those who lost their lives that day. Reading the names of those who have gone before us keeps their memory alive if even for a few moments. James P Attkins, he was thirty-two years old when he enlisted and was killed in 1864 at the Battle of Cold Harbor in Virginia. Thomas Ball, one of many Ball’s on this memorial, was 18 years old at the time of his enlistment. He was discharged in 1864. Edward Connelly a twenty-two-year-old glass maker enlisted in May of 1861, and Charles Chipman, who rose to the rank of Major, was wounded at Petersburg and died of his injuries there. These are just a few of names that we memorialize today.

On a November day in 1863, shortly after the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg Pennsylvania to dedicate a new national cemetery not far from the actual battlefield. The war raged on, and the Battle of Gettysburg was still green in the memory of those who were present on that day. In that short speech, he spoke of the dedication of that cemetery but also why it was impossible for us, the living, to dedicate it.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

He then went on and spoke to us, the living, those who remain and whose task it is to keep the memory of these men and women alive on not only this day but every day.

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain…

Friends, we must never forget the devotion to duty that each of these men gave. We must never forget the devotion to duty that those veterans are joining us today gave. We must never forget the devotion to duty that those presently serving in our armed forces give and continue to give here at home and overseas. We must never forget!

So why do we remember? I turn back to the closing words of President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. We must never forget so

—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

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The Wrong Kind of Religion

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Fr. Peter

This past week the interwebs were filled with stories about the recent statistics from the Pew Research Forum that points out that fewer Americans are going to Church. I am not sure how expensive this survey was, but I certainly could have told them that. I am less interested in the numbers of people who do not go to church and more interested in those who chose to come. I do not think that those who decided not to go are bad people, but why would I focus on people who do not want to come when I have those do right in front of me?

It has been said that Christians are well known for what we are against rather than what we believe. We are looked upon as pompous, hypocritical, stuck in the last century, judgmental, wanting to force people by law to do what we cannot get them to do from the pulpit. We are out of touch with what is happening in the world. Just yesterday there was a story about the so-called “war on Christmas” because Starbucks has red cups with no writing on them. I am no fan of Starbucks, I am die hard Dunkin Doughnuts guy, but I could care less what some retail outlet does with their cups! Come on people there are some honest to God battles needing to be fought here and a red cup is not one of them!

So we turn our attention to the twelfth chapter of Mark’s Gospel starting with the thirty-eighth verse where we read some pretty strong words of Jesus concerning the religious leaders of his.

As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

Jesus is speaking of the particular group known as the Scribes. They liked to walk around in long flowing robes. A long robe that swept the ground was a symbol of notability or someone special. I think it would always be dirty and make one looked unkempt, but I digress. The robes were designed so that the wearer was not able to hurry or to work, and was a sign of the leisured man of honor. At all events, they liked to dress in this way so that it drew attention to themselves and the honor they enjoyed. They like greetings in the marketplace; they loved to be greeted with honor and respect. The very title of Rabbi means “My great one.” To be addressed as such was very agreeable to them.

They liked the front seats in the synagogue as this had the advantage that everyone would see them. They loved the high places at feasts and places of prominence in other settings. In other words, they wanted to be the center of attention wherever they went.

“They devoured widows’ houses.” This was a savage charge. An expert in the law was not supposed to take any payment for their teachings. They were expected to have a trade that their daily living was earned. But these legal experts had managed to convince the people that there was no higher duty or privilege than to support a rabbi in comfort, in fact, it was believed that such support would win them favor from God. It is a sad fact of history that women have always been the victims of religious charlatans, and it would seem here that the scribes imposed on people who could ill afford to support them.

There are three things in this passage that Jesus warns against. I think these words are as necessary today as they were when Jesus spoke them. I always like to remember that the only harsh words Jesus ever had for anyone were directed at the religious leaders. We do not lead by setting ourselves up over the people that God has entrusted to us.

Jesus warns against the desire for prominence. There are many who will accept and office, even campaign for an office in the church because they think they have earned it rather than because of a desire to serve others. Jesus told us that he came to serve not to be served. If we wish to lead in the church, we have to become servants of those we hope to lead.
Jesus warns against the desire for deference. Almost everyone likes to be treated with respect. However, the very fundamental fact about Christianity is that it should drive us to obliterate the self rather than exalt it. The person who enters into an office or position for the respect that will be given to them has begun in the wrong way, and cannot, unless they change, ever be in any sense the servant of Christ and his followers.
Jesus warns against the attempt to make a traffic of religion. It is still possible to use religion and religious connections for self-gain and self-advancement. But this is a warning to all who are in the church for what they can get out of it rather than what they can put into it.

There are many reasons why people leave a church or never come to a church, and I mentioned a few at the start of this essay. However, I think that we as a church, and we as church leaders, need to take a long hard look at our behavior and our priorities. Rather than blame others and blame the world we need to look deep inside our institutions and see if we are in fact still relevant to the world around us. Jesus was a great reformer and came at a time when the church needed reform, as this passage clearly sets forth. Other reformers followed and exacted change on an institution that existed only for its survival. We had three great awakenings in our country’s history that called people back to the basic of faith, and we need one now more than ever.