St. Matthew's Blog

New Creation/New Community

April 19, 2015

Where do we see God’s hope alive in the world today? As a New Community, a New Creation in Christ?

In church yesterday, I experienced God’s hope, peace and life as I took communion. I felt a letting go, a “here I am” moment. I thought, “here I am-sinner and saint.” Each Sunday-we go forward to take communion and remember our Lord’s death and resurrection- the hope that grounds our Christian Faith. Lisa spoke of the opportunity we can all take to experience Christ’s resurrection in our daily life and work, when we look at another person or interact with another.

Act IV: Israel and the Kingdom

March 15, 2015

Sunday March 15 preacher Lisa Wiens Heinsohn explored the story of Israel seeking to meet its needs for justice and protection through a human king by becoming an “imperial community”, instead of living in dependence and trust on God’s promises as a “covenant community.” She then explored how Jesus critiques the whole notion of human power by teaching that everything belongs to God, and, by implication, that nothing belongs (by right) to the empire. Like the people of Israel, we too have many needs, and this story invites us to find out whether we are going to be a covenant community or an imperial one. Where are we going to get what we need?

Thoughts on the Fall

March 1, 2015

My favorite Episcopal communion liturgy is Eucharistic Prayer C. It not only acknowledges that humans and our earth are but a tiny part of creation, but it also elegantly encapsulates the Biblical story. About the Fall, it says:

“From the primal elements you brought forth the human race and blessed us with memory, reason, and skill. You made us the rulers of creation. But we turned against you, and betrayed your trust; and we turned against one another.”

Creation

February 25, 2015

In her Sunday sermon “Creation,” preacher Blair Pogue made the following points about the first creation story in Genesis (1-2:4a):
The story causes her to picture God as an artist
This passage is not a scientific account, but a story that addresses important theological questions: Who is God? What is God like? What is the nature of the universe? Who are we in relationship to God?

Generosity

September 19, 2013

We can all imagine ways in which the world could be a better place. One attractive image is the community formed by the early church: “Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul … There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need” (Acts 4:32a, 34-35). In other words, these followers pursued the way of Jesus through generosity to each other; no one was needy because those who had more shared with those who had less. However, this inspiring story also raises a crucial (and challenging) question: how can we follow such an example?

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