wgafney's blog

As we observe this Sheltering Sabbath in Sukkot, the Festival of Shelter(s), I invite you to think about who is in your sukkah. There is so much in this Sukkoth parsha, that I scarcely know where to begin. There are three smaller portions in Exodus 33 on which I would like to focus. First, verse 12:

Exodus 33:12 Moshe said to the Holy One, “Look! You are the One who said to me, “Bring up this people!” Yet you have not let me know whom you will send with me…”

God has promised repeatedly to send a מלאך, a messenger, with Moshe. In Exodus 23:

Asaph prayed: How long, Holy One? Will you be angry forever? You must be angry - look at what has happened to us. Our whole world has been turned upside-down. The barbarians are not just at the gate; they have come crashing through, slashing and burning everything in their wake.

The daily lectionary of the Episcopal Church offers the large lesson from the book of Judges that was read earlier for this day. Having written - if not the book on Deborah - then a major contribution to her study, I looked no further. I love this woman-prophet-military-commander-strategist-and-head-of state. I love proclaiming the gospel attributed to her.

 

Today as we hear the gospel of the Good Samaritan bound together with the problematic preaching of a border and boundary crossing prophet, I invite you to reflect on A God Without Borders. 

2 Kings 5:1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and elevated in the sight of his lord, because through him the Lord, God of Israel had given victory to Aram.

Today is Ascension Sunday in the wider church. We here at the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas have chosen this Sunday to lift of the gifts and graces of women as Jesus was lifted from the earth to the heavens on this day so long ago.

    On this Sunday when we celebrate the gifts and contributions of women, I’d like to share some biblical herstory with you. Herstory compliments and completes history. It doesn’t seek to compete or to replace, just to stand along-side.

I invite you to pray with me on the theme: “Second Chance Saints.” Holy One of Old, open our eyes that we may see. In the Name of the Author, the Word and the Translator. Amen.

This evening’s first lesson, Exodus 35:21-29, comes from the weekly readings of our Jewish sisters and brothers designated for the week that began on Friday evening. The Israelites are in the wilderness – a useful space for a Lenten sermon – and the text itself is put into its final form at a time when Exodus evoked not only Egypt but also Babylon and Persia, not only immigration to Canaan but the longed for return to the Holy Land: A second chance. Since a text without a context is a pretext, let me tell you what has happened and what is really going on here.

Video of sermon preached at the Sunshine Cathedral Metropolitan Community Church in Ft. Lauderdale on 14 March 2010. (The lessons are below the sermon clip - click the Read more link)