A little lower than the angels

Third Sunday after the Epiphany Matthew 4:12-23 I was with friends who recently visited Egypt. We drank some spiced coffee, and as we did, I was shown a photograph of the restaurateur in Luxor who sold them this coffee and engaged them in friendly, funny conversation as they spent time in his establishment. “Look”, said my friend, “see the carpet burn on his forehead?” Sure enough, there was a definite reddish-brown spot right in the center of his forehead. You see, he’s a Muslim, like most Egyptians, and that carpet burn is there because five times a day he hears the muezzin give the adhan, the call to prayer. That call to prayer is a brief summary of Islamic belief, and he, as an observant Muslim answers the call, kneeling on his prayer rug, then bowing his whole body to the ground until his forehead rests on his rug. If you’ve ever visited the Middle East or North Africa or anyplace where Islam is in the majority, you’ve heard the haunting sounds of the call to prayer. It wafts...

Epiphany 2 Jan 16 2011 St. Paul’s Bellingham Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40:1-12; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; John 1:29-42 Lots of us, I bet, are fans of reality shows on television. Out of curiosity, I wrote “How to be a Reality Show Contestant” into my search engine and got immediate results. Forbes.com* has a slideshow that gives us five points of advice: 1. “No stereotypes, please” 2. “Ordinary is OK” 3. “Sing out, sister” (like the vocally untalented William Hung of American Idol, be confident in what you do) 4. “Do a little sharing” (let people know something about who you really are) 5. “Cut to the video” (prepare a video for the producers) Some few will get fame. Some by their fame will get adoration. Some will have their worst qualities known to the whole world and will be forever branded as “that person who….” And fifteen minutes of fame will last…well, fifteen minutes. A little recognition can be fun. It’s nice to be noticed. We all need some recognition, to have our uniqueness an...

The First Sunday after the Epiphany January 9, 2010 Matthew 3:13-17 Today we have the joy of bringing into the fellowship of Christ Harrison and Tucker. I asked Harrison yesterday what he knew about what would happen today. “I can get the cup and the Christ”, he said. I know Harrison and Tucker have been looking forward to this day. I can read their eagerness at the altar rail this last year. They know everyone else is being fed, and they want to be fed too. Baptism is a sacrament we receive once, but the “cup and the Christ” is something they will partake in repeatedly in the Christian life that begins today for them. Baptism is our way of accepting all the graces and goods we find in Jesus Christ, and saying “I'll follow you, Jesus”. This is done once. “The cup and the Christ” is food for the journey of following Christ. We drink the cup and eat the Christ again and again, because it strengthens us to take the journey; a journey in which we'll learn from Jesus how t...