Friday, April 10, 2020
The Rev. Anne Williamson
The Collect
Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Reading
Hebrews 10:16-25
The Holy Spirit testifies saying,
"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds,"
he also adds,
"I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Reflection
‘And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another...’
At the Vestry Retreat each year, at least the years I have been at St. John’s, there have been varied tokens of our time together, each with a message about our life in the community of St. John’s: a deck prism, a spirit level, a compass, a book by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama about joy. All these items are usually close at hand but I have a lot of unpacking still to do from my recent house move and the rest of them are in a box somewhere. Except for this one....stone....what a time for love and good deeds - always the time for love and good deeds but especially in this moment.
I was in conversation with someone this week and we were trying to name the emotions of this time: there is fear and grief but there is also hope and even joy...but the other emotion we spoke about was being homesick. We both were teary watching the video of scenes from St. John’s during the prelude for the 10am Palm Sunday service, and we decided homesick was the right word...we miss being all together at St. John’s, we long to be meeting together. You might remember that the cover of our bulletins says ‘Welcome Home’ - at least until the last service in church on March 15. Since then the bulletin covers have said ‘Connected in Christ’, which is what we have been, what we are, and what we will be when this time of exile from ‘home’ (to home!) is over. We are meeting as we can, digitally mostly, until we can safely come home together. Virtual church is possible for many, but not for all, in our community. Staying connected is possible for all! Creative solutions to these challenges are required. Last Sunday, two Common Table volunteers connected - one held the phone to the computer screen so that they could both hear the Palm Sunday service. I am hoping there will be many ‘phone buddies’ both for Easter and for as long as we are in exile from our St. John’s home. We will continue to find new and different ways to meet...very different ways for many of us. Whilst there have been blessed Zoom moments (yes, really!) there is such longing to be back at St. John’s together.
Today is Good Friday, we are living in a Good Friday moment...a time of uncertainty and waiting and hoping and loving. The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus give up his life, suffering death on a cross, for you and for me, and for all. The once-and-for -all sacrifice has been made, and we are free, free to love God and love each other and love ourselves, as a new and living way of being is opened up by Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. My hope springs from this love offering from God, and my joy from being part of the Beloved Community, walking in love, even while social distancing.
‘Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.’
Question:
What are you longing for, what are you homesick for, in this time? Where do you find hope and joy? What are you grateful for?