Category Archives: Rev. Rebecca’s Reflections

Come as you are. (Sermon) April 27, 2014

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Sermon – April 27, 2014
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY
Second Sunday of Easter

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”  John 20:27

Please be seated.

I love country music.  The twangier, the better.  I really need to go to Nashville.  One of the things I love about country music are the puns or the play on words.  They make me laugh.  They are so clever.  For instance, have you heard the Billy Currington song, like my dog?  The refrain goes:

Want you to love me like my dog does, baby.
When I come home, want you to just go crazy
He never looks at me like he might hate me
I want you to love me like my dog. 

Who comes up with this…so funny and yet so true.

Well, this past week, thanks to Linda and Paula, who frequently give me CDs to listen to while I’m driving, I’ve been listening to a Randy Travis CD of Gospel Tunes.  Some are familiar hymns like Blessed Assurance and Love Lifted Me.  Some I’d never heard before.  I’ll sing for awhile or listen for awhile and then my mind drifts.  So somehow I’d missed one of the songs .  It’s called, Pray for the Fish.  I became curious about it and decided to really listen.  And I was surprised and delighted to hear:

Everybody gathered where the river runs wider

At the edge of town
To see that Eddie Lee Vaughn baptism
Was really gonna go down
Folks bet their hard earned money
That water wouldn’t change a thing
They set the odds at a hundred to one
His soul wouldn’t never come clean
Then the preacher said
People take a moment or two
There’s something we need to do

Pray for the fish
They won’t know what’s coming
When the sin starts rolling off the likes of him
Lord be with ‘em, they ain’t done nothin’
Please won’t you leave them just a little bit ‘a room to swim
Pray for the fish

Well the preacher ducked him under
That cool clear water
Then he did it again
Eddie came up yelling
Lord in Heaven Hallalujah!
I’m a brand new man
Well the water got to bubbling
Sky got to rumbling
And the thunder backed up the choir
The fish started jumpin’
It was like they was swimmin’
In a lake of fire
Then Eddie’s momma stepped out of the crowd
And started yelling out loud

Pray for the fish
They won’t know what’s coming
When the sin starts rolling off the likes of him
Lord be with ‘em, they ain’t done nothin’
Please won’t you leave them just a little bit ‘a room to swim
Pray for the fish

He said everybody cross your fingers
Fold your hands
Pray for Ole Eddie
But before we say amen

Pray for the fish
Lord be with em, they ain’t done nothin’
Please won’t you leave them just a little bit ‘a room to swim
Pray for the fish
Lord pray for the fish

Well that Eddie Lee Vaughn was quite a person, wasn’t he, to get the waters roiling and on fire because of the sin rolling off him at his baptism? 

Now how in the world, does this relate to our Gospel today?  To our most familiar story of “Doubting Thomas?”  Even today you’ll hear someone say that another is a “Doubting Thomas.”  Well, Mr. Eddie Lee Vaughn of our humorous song states an obvious truth about how Jesus cares for us as shown in this Gospel:  Jesus comes to us exactly as we are. 

Yes…. Jesus doesn’t say, You MUST have faith before I’ll come to you.  Jesus doesn’t say, you MUST be perfect before I’ll come to you.  Jesus doesn’t say you MUST have no doubts before I’ll come to you.  Look at this story.

First of all, where was Thomas when Jesus came the first time?  Why had he left the group?  They had huddled together in fear after the trauma of Jesus’ death.  Even though they’d heard the reports of his resurrection, they were still afraid.  But where had Thomas gone?  Had he abandoned the community?  Had he left the group?  Did he get angry because of some decision they’d made and decided to leave?

We don’t know where he was…just that he wasn’t there.    He obviously returns to the community, but does not believe what he’s heard.  He has doubts about what his friends saw.  He won’t believe it until he sees it.  Isn’t that like so many of us?  Good friends come to us and tell us their experience or their story, but we are skeptical.  We might not say that directly to them, but sometimes we put them on the “witness stand” so to speak, questioning every part of their story.  Sometimes we trust science, even though scientists will tell you they don’t understand everything.  Most of the time, we want to see it for ourselves.  We are so like Thomas.

And Jesus could have refused to come back again.  Jesus could have said, “Well, that’s just like Thomas, and I won’t have anything to do with him.  He needs to get right and believe in me.  He needs to have faith in what his friends are telling him.”  Jesus could have refused to come in the way that Thomas needed him to come.

Instead, Jesus returns when Thomas is there.  Jesus consents to Thomas’ demand,  “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25).  Jesus allows Thomas to put his finger in the holes where the nails were.  Jesus allows Thomas to put his hand in the side that was pierced.  Jesus accepts Thomas.  Jesus loves Thomas.

This doubter, Thomas, believes.  Jesus comes to him as he is and in a way that strengthens Thomas’ faith.  What did Thomas do?  Remember on Jesus’ first visit to the Disciples, Jesus said,

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:21-23)

Jesus came to the disciples to commission them for their life’s work…for the work they must do now that he is no longer with them in human form.  Tradition has it that Thomas traveled to many places, including India.  He brought the Gospel and faith to India.  He is still quite revered there. 

Come as you are.  Come with your doubts and your skepticism.  Come with your questions.  Jesus accepts you.  Jesus loves you.  And Jesus will strengthen your faith, so you, like Thomas, can say, My Lord and my God! (John 20:28).  Jesus will send you out into the world to do the work only you can do.

Amen

 

 

This Week (April 27) at St. John’s

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You will show me the path of life; *
in your presence there is fullness of joy,
and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore. Psalm 16:11

The Psalms are so wonderful.  They truly cover the range of our emotions and feelings about and towards God.  They are also hopeful, saying with assurance what God will do.

What is your path of life?  Often in job interviews you will be asked where you want to be 5 years from now, as if we are the sole designers of our path of life.  Yes, it’s good to have goals.  It’s good to dream and think about where we’d like to be.  It’s good to understand that things don’t happen overnight and sometimes take time and patience.  However, we need to hold on to our plans lightly, remembering that ultimately God is at work, showing us the path of life…a path of “fullness of joy” and “pleasures for evermore.”

I know five years ago, being ordained an Episcopal Priest and serving in Kentucky was fuzzy at best.  Five years ago, did you imagine you’d be where you are today? We are confident, because we know God is showing us the “path of life.”

Blessings as you finish your week.

Love, Rebecca

My Schedule

Next week, I will be in Lexington and then traveling to Pennsylvania May 1-4.  You can get a message to me by calling 859 -429-1659 or priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org.

Adult Forum resumes with a 7-week Easter series on Resurrection Living, using a Forward Movement pamphlet by Christine McSpaden.  Mary Swinford will lead the first session on Luke 24:5, Why do you look for the living among the dead?

Belk Charity Sales Day, Saturday, May 3, 6:00-10:00am.  Purchase $5 tickets from our ECW, which allow you entrance to the sale and $5 off your purchase.   We are trying to sell 100 tickets, which provides $500 for the church and tremendous savings for you!

We’re buying goats!  The Lazarus at the Gates Adult Forum study has prompted us to purchase goats through Episcopal Relief and Development for families in the Philippines.  Goats provide milk, cheese, and manure for farming.  Donations towards the $80 purchase of each goat can be made through the goat bank in the parish hall or in the offering plate clearly marked ERD goat project.  

Grow Appalachia!  We are considering whether to become a partner with Grow Appalachia.  David Cooke gave a presentation on April 16.  We would use part of the park to provide gardening plots for people in our community.  We could also support people in our area who want to garden in their yards.  We would host classes regarding gardening, as well as ways to preserve the harvest.  Grow Appalachia provides almost anything needed to make these gardens successful.  Talk to someone who attended the presentation.  And talk to the Vestry about your ideas, questions, and concerns.  Their website is http://www.berea.edu/grow-appalachia/

This Sunday is our monthly pot luck!  All are welcome!  Plan to fellowship with each other.

United Thank Offering (UTO) is a ministry of the Episcopal Church for the mission of the whole church. Our ingathering of your UTO offerings will be Sunday, May 11.  Remember to bring your offering that day AND to pick up another box for the fall ingathering.

Wedding Shower and lunch for Amber Pearce and Billy Hibbitts, Sunday, May 11, after the service.  Plan to join the festivities after church!  All are welcome.

Serving Our Neighbors – See baskets in the parlor. 

  • Everlasting Arms, Corbin’s shelter for people who are homeless, is in need of men’s and women’s razors, gloves, deodorant and socks.
  • The Food Pantry at Corbin Presbyterian Church is always in need of nonperishable food items.  Vegetables are especially appreciated.

Flowers for the altar: Donations for flowers for the altar are accepted for any Sunday of the year. Please place your donation in the envelope, marking whether they are in honor of or in memory of someone.

 

Hymn Selection Group If you’d like to choose hymns for services, join this group.  You will choose hymns for an upcoming service and then meet with the entire group to confirm the final selections.  See Billy Hibbitts if you are interested. 

Would you like to write Prayers of the People?  If you are interested in writing these prayers (there are resources that can help with this task), please let Rebecca know by phone or email priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org.

Are you interested in assisting with the Sunday service?  Readers, Eucharistic Ministers, Crucifers, Altar Guild Members and choir members are all important for each Sunday service.  If you’re interested in serving, please let Rebecca know by phone 859-429-1659 or priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org.

 

Happiness (Sermon) Easter April 20, 2014

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Sermon – April 20, 2014
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY
Easter Day

 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father.   John 20:16-17

One of my great joys in becoming a grandmother is the ability to travel with my grandchildren.  When my grandson Logan was 18 months old, I brought him to my home in Maryland for one night.  This required great preparation, because his mother was not sure this was such a great idea.  I promised that if he had any trouble being away from home, I would get in my car at any time of the night and drive the 100 miles to bring him home.  We had so much fun, going to the National Zoo.  He was never homesick. 

When Logan was 4, I decided to take him on a 3-day trip to Syracuse, New York, about 300 miles away.  My mother was from that area and I have fond memories of going to visit my grandparents and my mother’s extended family every summer.  While I knew my grandson would not have the same experience as me, I wanted to show him around…see these things through new eyes.  And my good, longtime friend of over 30 years lives there and I wanted her to meet Logan.  My granddaughter was just a little too young to go, I reasoned, and I also wasn’t sure I could travel with both of them, so the plan was to take Logan. 

He was so excited.  He had a new outfit for our trip.  In addition to his suitcase, he had a backpack filled with his precious toy cars, some books and a stuffed animal or two.  I told him I was going to take him to a big lake, where you couldn’t even see to the other shore and he said, “Grandma, I’m just little.  Can’t you take me to a little lake?”  I could tell this grandson of mine loved a new adventure.  Yet, he was well aware that his mother would miss him tremendously.  She had told him she’d do the “happy dance” when he returned home.  A couple of times before we left, he made sure to assure her.  He would be talking excitedly about what we planned to do.  Then he’d stop and say, “Mommy, I know you’ll miss me.  And when I come home, you’ll do the happy dance.”

My grandson was never homesick on our trip.  He loved every minute of it.  At one point he even said he didn’t want to go home!  But when we drove up to his house, he was so excited and he and his mother did a wonderful happy dance together.

And that’s what we see Mary doing in the garden.  Can’t you just imagine her happy run to embrace Jesus?  And what did she look like as she ran to tell the others she had seen Jesus?  After witnessing Jesus’ terrible death and then arriving at the tomb to find his body gone.  She was distressed and scared.  Then to see him risen!  She rushes to him.  

More recently, Pharrell Williams has caught the world’s attention with his song “Happy.”  Originally the closing song of last summer’s animated film, Despicable Me II, with the funny and loveable minions, the video came out in November.

Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth

It’s a catchy tune.  The original video has 191 million views.  And people around the world have created their own videos.  From Hong Kong to Algeria to soldiers in Afghanistan, school children and people of all ages.  All dancing and saying, “happiness is the truth.”  It has become a kind of protest song for freedom, even.  People in Ukraine made a video as part of their protest and overthrow of the corrupt government there.  We in this country can relate to that since one of our founding documents, The Declaration of Independence, talks about the inalienable rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” 

And today is the happiest of days in our Christian faith.  Jesus rose from the dead.  No power on earth could keep him in the tomb.  He rose and is with us always.

Yet, our Christian happiness is different from those fleeting moments when we feel excited or in a good mood.  That’s the beauty of this day and of our Christianity.  Happiness is deeper.  The happiness we have is with us always.  It is the knowing deep inside that Christ is risen…that Christ is with us…that nothing can keep us down. 

Yes, we have our trials.  We have our days when we’re not feeling so strong emotionally or physically.  Some of us are often depressed.  We may not look happy on the outside.  That’s not what it’s about.  Our happiness comes from the knowledge and faith that we have a lifeline of hope – the sure and certain knowledge that God raised Jesus…death was destroyed.  There is always resurrection.  There is always new life and new birth. 

And on those days when that happiness is hard for us to embody…when it’s buried somewhere deep inside and we just can’t tap into it…we have each other… the whole Christian community.  Every minute of the day someone is praying for us.  We have this community of St. John’s Episcopal Church right here and right now.  Don’t you often find yourself thinking of your brothers and sisters from church during the week?  Or at least over a couple of weeks?  Those little prayers…that’s the lifeline of hope…that’s the link to deep happiness. 

So, “it might seem crazy…

Mary runs to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” she announces.  Her weeping turns into happiness.  Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!

Amen

 

 

 

 

 

The violence in us (sermon) Good Friday April 18, 2014

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Sermon – April 18, 2014
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY
Good Friday

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. …. So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him….  John 19:1-2, 16-18

I’ll never forget the day and you probably won’t either.  I had a terrible feeling as I left my apartment that day on my way to work.  I worked nearby and had an upcoming board meeting.  It was the first board meeting with the new board members.  It was a 2-day meeting with orientation, dinner, and business.  And it was my 4th year of organizing this meeting, so I was an “old pro,” as the saying goes.  Yet, I felt so uneasy.

I was absorbed in my work, when a staff member came to tell me a plane had flown into the World Trade Center.  We went to the board room and turned on the TV, only to see smoke pouring from a building in Washington DC.  We were 3 hours from New York City and 2 hours from DC.  I had visited both cities many times.  My brother lived in New York and you could see the Towers from his apartment building.  My daughter was living on Long Island.  My children and I had visited those Towers many times over the years.  It was one of our favorite destinations in New York.  And that tragedy of that day midst a beautiful, sunny September continued to unfold.  Such terrifying violence that dramatically changed our lives. 

The days and weeks ahead were filled not only with grief and fear and responding to disaster, but also with how we would respond.  Personally, I thought about violence in the world and ways in which I had participated in violence against other people.  That’s what Good Friday asks of us…to look deep within our hearts and see where we have inflicted violence on others.  Where have I inflicted harm?  Where have I been forcibly vehement?

It’s much easier to look at a nation or at others to see how they are violent.  It’s much easier to be the victim of violence in some respects.  But to look squarely at ourselves and to see where we have crucified Jesus…where we have been part of the mob or even a mob of one…is much harder.

I catch myself rushing through the grocery store, intent on the things I need…acknowledging no other human being, but being only exasperated when they are in my way.  Truly, most of us want to be seen…to be acknowledged as human beings…and this rushing to accomplish my agenda, whether it’s in the store, or in an email, does not see the other person, which is a violent act. 

I get frustrated with customer service and before I know it, I’m yelling.  I do try to remember the people answering the phones did not create the systems or processes that are causing me trouble.  I work hard to be firm, yet kind.  And sometimes I can no longer do it and I’m saying all sorts of things. 

I once saw a demonstration about the violence of words.  A woman running a workshop I attended picked the biggest, strongest person out of the group.  She had him hold his arms out and tried to push them down.  She could not do it.  Then she spent 5-10 minutes saying terrible things to him…how he was weak and couldn’t do anything.  When he held out his arms again, she easily pushed them down. 

Yet in our inherent self-centeredness, whether as individuals or as a community, we obsess about who has treated us wrong and who has treated us unjustly.  We plot how to get revenge.  Some of this is out of fear that we will be hurt.  In truth, in our fear and self-centeredness, we have shut out the voice of God.

And here comes Jesus on this most violent of days…dying in the most violent of ways and he shows us the power of nonviolence.  He barely speaks during his trial.  He forgives the people who are harming him.  He takes care of his mother.  He hangs in pain on that cross…enduring an agonizing death.  He does not respond with violence.  He does not respond with revenge.  He does not create a feud that will go on forever.  He loves. 

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a strong advocate of nonviolence.  He said many things about it, but here’s one from his book, Stride Toward Freedom,

Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.  Martin Luther King, Jr., Stride Towards Freedom

At the National Prayer Service on September 14, 2001, then Dean, Now Bishop Nathan Baxter said, Let us pray that as we act, we not become the evil we deplore.  Representative Barbara Lee from California heard those words and took her faith seriously.  She stood on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and was the only member of Congress to vote against going to war as a response to the tragedy.  While others also felt the resolution was flawed, they were too afraid to speak up.  Violent revenge was the only response many of us could see.  While ultimately war might have needed to occur, both Dean Baxter and Representative Lee were telling us to wait.  

In Romans 12:17-21 Paul reminds us of Jesus teaching:  17Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God;* for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ 20No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

Today is the day we bend the knee of our heart and examine where we have been violent and where we have participated in violence.  It is the day to recommit ourselves to the love of God through the witness of the nonviolent Jesus Christ, hanging on that cross.  

Amen

 

 

 

 

 

This Sunday (April 20 – Easter) at St. John’s

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Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. Acts 10:34-35

This Sunday is the highlight of our religious year.  Despite our attempts to silence Jesus and keep him in the tomb, he rises to live forever.  What a joy to hear the words of Peter:  God is not partial.  God is for everyone.  Any person who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to God.  Simple words and not always easy to live by.  Yet, blessed words, because we must only be the best God created us to be.  We don’t have to live up to what anyone else thinks.  God loves us all.

Blessings during this Holiest of Weeks….

Love, Rebecca

Easter Day Bulletin

Good Friday Service – Eucharist from the Reserve Sacrament and Adoration of the Cross, 7:00pm
Holy Saturday – 1:00pm
Decorate the Church for Easter – 1:00-3:00pm
Easter Vigil – 8:00pm; followed by Champagne and Chocolate reception
Easter Day
10:00am – Brunch – bring your favorite dish to Share; Godly Play for the children
11:00am – Service with Communion
Egg hunt after church

Rebecca’s Schedule: Next week, Rebecca will be in Corbin on Thursday, April 24, and her Sabbath day will be Friday, April 25.  You can reach to Rebecca by calling 859 -429-1659 or priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org.

Flowers for the altar: The flowers on the Altar are given to the glory of God and to the memory of Mr. & Mrs. George M. Golden, Mrs. R. Hollifield George, Thomas R. Hollifield, Mrs Jacqueline Golden Cooper and Mr. & Mrs. Coy Hart by Mr & Mrs. Jerry Hollifield.  Easter flowers are also given in memory of John & Elizabeth by Sue Weedman, in memory of Robert & Mary Ann Myers by the Rev. Rebecca Myers, in memory of Keith Snider by the Swinford family, in memory of Anne & Lamar Jones and Pat & Cecil Davis by Anne Day and Jeff David, by Mrs. Thalia Harris and in memory of William R. & E. Irene Fink by Bruce W. Cory.

Easter Egg Hunt  There will be an Easter Egg Hunt for the children after the service on Easter.

Pot Luck Sunday:  Next Sunday, April 27, is our monthly pot luck.  Bring a dish or drink to share.  And all are welcome!  Plan to fellowship with each other.  

Adult Forum: Adult Forum will resume next week with a 7-week Easter series on Resurrection Living, using a Forward Movement pamphlet by Christine McSpaden.  Mary Swinford will lead the first session on Luke 24:5, Why do you look for the living among the dead?

St. George’s Day, Saturday, April 26, Cathedral Domain.  Mary Swinford will be confirmed at the 3pm service.  Spend the weekend or come for the day.  Reservations for overnight must be received by April 18.  Meals are included in the overnight stay or can be purchased separately if you are coming for the day.  You are also welcome to bring your own food and have a picnic on the grounds.  http://www.cathedraldomain.org/stgeorge2014.html

Belk Charity Sales Day:  The Belk Charity Sales Day will be Saturday, May 3rd from 6:00am to 10:00am.  Ticket may be purchased for $5 tickets from our ECW, which allow you entrance to the sale and $5 off your purchase.  We are trying to sell 100 tickets, which provides $500 for the church and tremendous savings for you!

We’re buying goats!  The Lazarus at the Gates Adult Forum study has prompted us to purchase goats through Episcopal Relief and Development for families in the Philippines.  Goats provide milk, cheese, and manure for farming.  Donations towards the $80 purchase of each goat can be made through the goat bank in the parish hall or in the offering plate clearly marked ERD goat project.

United Thank Offering (UTO) is a ministry of the Episcopal Church for the mission of the whole church. Our ingathering of your UTO offerings will be Sunday, May 11.  Remember to bring your offering that day AND to pick up another box for the fall ingathering.    

The meal of Love (Sermon) April 17, 2014

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Sermon – April 17, 2014
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY
Maundy Thursday

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.  John 13:34-35

My mother’s parents lived 300 miles away from us.  They came to visit us at least once or maybe twice throughout the year.  Once each year, usually in the summer, we’d travel to see them.  Sometimes we took the Greyhound bus, which was a LONG trip.  Other times we drove.  The standard dinner on the night we arrived was spaghetti with meatballs.  The sauce would have cooked all day.  How my grandmother never burnt that sauce, making it on an electric stove, I’ll never know.  I cheat and make it in a crockpot.  The sauce was very simple – tomatoes and tomato paste.  There weren’t a lot of spices, but there was a secret ingredient that was never written down in the recipe and that I learned only when I actually watched my grandmother make the sauce…it was baking soda – just a tiny bit to neutralize the acid in the sauce.

The meatballs were wonderful with parsley and romano cheese and a little egg in them.  They were individually fried in olive oil and added to the sauce.  The meal included additional freshly grated cheese, as well as a loaf of my grandfather’s homemade Italian bread, baked early in the morning.

The table would be set with a clean, white table cloth – can you imagine kids and spaghetti sauce and a clean white tablecloth?  My grandmother had the whitest whites you can imagine.

Spaghetti and meatballs was the dinner of love…the dinner of welcome.  That’s probably why my favorite thing to do on a Sunday evening when I’m in Lexington is go to Joe Bologna’s and get their “all you can eat” spaghetti.   It’s the closest I’ve found to the taste of my grandmother’s food.  It reminds me of her immense love for her family and her joy in seeing us and welcoming us to her home.  

This evening, we hear about Jesus taking a ritual, annual meal and giving it new meaning.  Jesus takes simple parts of the meal – bread and wine – elements included in the most basic of meals, and infuses new symbolism in them.  These elements represent the ultimate love of God for all people – Jesus’ body and blood…the very essence of life… given to save us…given out of deep love for us.  

Whenever we see these common elements, we are reminded of Jesus’ love for us.  When we gather together in Jesus’ name, bless and make these common elements holy, Jesus is present, binding us together into one.  

A document and teaching of the early church, possibly as early as 150 years after the death of Christ, says this:   As this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains and being gathered together became one, so may Thy Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Thy kingdom;(Didache 9.8, http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/didache-lightfoot.html)

The meal…this simple meal of bread and wine, has bound us and all those before us, to that first meal in that upper room in Jerusalem.  It binds us in community to each other and to Christ, just as it bound the disciples to Christ.  It reminds us that the everliving Christ is right here in our midst and nothing can separate us from the love of God.  It reminds us to be Christ to the world, to love one another like Christ has loved us, so all will know we are Jesus’ disciples.

Amen

 

All the City Shook (Sermon) Southeast Kentucky Ministerial Alliance Palm Sunday Service, April 13, 2014

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Sermon – April 13, 2014
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW
Southeast Kentucky Ministerial Alliance Joint Service
Grace on the Hill, Corbin, KY
The Sunday of the Passion:  Palm Sunday

And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred…. Matthew 21:10

Please be seated

First of all, I truly believe our gathering must make God happy.  As denominations, we have our different ways to worship and truly, the unity when we come together at times like these, representing the oneness of God, makes for blessed times and times of great honor to God.  And you will have more times to be in such a place as we go through Holy Week with weekday noontime services at churches here in Corbin and a Good Friday evening service in Williamsburg.  Take advantage of this holy time and these holy gatherings.  

Have you ever been in an earthquake?  I remember the first time I truly felt an earthquake.  I was in San Francisco for a conference, staying on the 18th floor of a hotel.  The quake wasn’t even a 2 on the Richter Scale and was not centered in San Francisco, but there was no mistaking what was happening.  AND there was no warning.  By the time I realized the whole building was moving back and forth, the quake was over, so there was no time to even move to the bathroom like you’re told.  And forget running down 18 flights of stairs and out of the building.  That quenched my desire to move to California, I have to tell you!

In 2011, when many of you felt the earthquake centered in Virginia, I was riding in a car, so didn’t feel the movement, but I saw what it could do.  Prior to leaving for Seminary, the Washington National Cathedral was my church and after the 2011 earthquake, seeing the beautiful, vaulted ceiling with netting underneath it, was sad.  

During the summer of 2012, I was a seminary intern at the Cathedral.  Outside my office lay huge pieces of stone that had fallen off the roof during the quake.  On the 1-year anniversary, I was able to celebrate some of the repairs by climbing to the top of one of the towers, where a floor had been constructed for the stone masons doing the repair.  We celebrated the repair of part of the stonework, which had been accomplished by recycling a piece of stone that had fallen during the quake.  Yet, much remained to repair and I have a photo of me standing by one of the pinnacles, where a long piece of stone was still buckled and you could stick your hand through the space created.  

Even a mighty building of strong stone buckled under the shaking of the earth.

In our Gospel today, Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem is like an earthquake.  In fact the Greek Word used in Matthew is seio and we get our English word seismic from that same Greek root.  

And isn’t that how Jesus comes to us in our own lives?  Jesus shakes everything up.  Jesus moves even the strongest of us off the comfortable foundations we’ve built for our lives.  Jesus turns everything upside down.  Because that’s what unconditional love does.  It is so strong.  It breaks down and breaks in everywhere we think we know what’s going on.  It asks us to love stronger and deeper. 

And here we all are in this region of Southeast Kentucky.  We are called by Jesus to love deeper.  We are called to be the body of Christ here in this place.  We are called to be Christ’s hands and feet and heart and arms.  We are called to be the earthquake…the shaking and the stirring in our community.

It’s a tall order.  We all know how Jesus continually taught about justice, freeing people from oppression, caring for the “least of these.”  We are continually challenged by Jesus’ command to the young man, rich young man or ruler, depending upon which Gospel you read, to go sell all of his possessions and give the money to the poor.  Make no mistake, Jesus loved the outcasts and downtrodden of his time…those without voice and without power.  We are called to do the same.

I was looking at some of the statistics for our region.  In our region, there is hunger, poverty, unemployment and lack of housing.  

  • 60% of school age children are eligible for free lunch, which is 25% higher than Kentucky as a whole and 15% higher than the United States as a whole.
  • 27% of the population lives in poverty, which is 40% higher than the Kentucky statistic and 70% higher than the United States as a whole.
  • 54% of renters in our region cannot afford the fair market rent for a 2 bedroom rental unit.

These are just some of the basic essentials for life.  If you don’t have food, you don’t do well in school or you become ill.  Poverty creates extreme stress according to recent studies.  A lack of housing leads to a host of other problems like increases in child abuse and domestic violence.  

Jesus enters and the region shakes.  Stones are thrown down to the ground like little pebbles!

And we have made efforts in addressing the challenges in our region.  We have a backpack program preparing backpacks of food every week so children will have something to eat over the weekend.  We have sites for feeding programs during the summer when the children are out of school.  Many of our churches have food pantries.  Canned food will be collected this week at each of the noonday services, as well as the Good Friday service.  Many of our churches prepare meals for all who are hungry.

We have shelters for people who are homeless and organizations that build affordable housing.  The Southeast Kentucky Ministerial Alliance, through your offerings at our joint services, including those this week, provides emergency assistance to people needing help with basic needs, as well as other agencies and ministries in town.  The Shaping Our Appalachian Region or SOAR efforts are finding creative ways to energize our region economically.  Creative and innovative people see the strength in the beauty of the region and the beauty of life here and are working to make it sustainable.  

And Jesus continues to shake us…continues the quake…continues the earthquake of love that demands we love our neighbor as ourselves.  Jesus asks us to examine our efforts…to strengthen them.  Failure to do so through complacency and neglect invites God to break our resistance just like those huge stones that toppled in an instant during the earthquake.  

Jesus has entered Jerusalem and the city will never be the same.  Jesus has entered our Southeast Kentucky region, moving us, shaking us, and catapulting us into action.

Amen

 

 

Facing the Inevitable (Sermon) April 13, 2014

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Sermon – April 13, 2014
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY
The Sunday of the Passion:  Palm Sunday

My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want. Matthew 26:39

Please be seated.

One of the most challenging things in my life occurred when my father was diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease.  The disease is a neurological disorder that attacks the brain.  Over 10-20 years, the person continues to lose body functions.  It is especially noticeable in the beginning with lack of balance in walking and jerkiness of movement in the arms and legs.  There is no cure.  So, once my father was diagnosed at the age of 68, I knew I would watch the slow decline towards death.

Eight years after his diagnosis, I wrote this poem:

Huntington’s
By Rebecca Myers
4/11/08

It’s in the little things
Now you have called me
Because you cannot remember
Your ATM PIN number

I knew some of what was coming with my father, because his mother had died of the disease also.  I was my father’s daughter and had told him when I was just a child that I would take care of him.  When my father was diagnosed, I prepared myself for the task of caring for him.  Now, I was extremely fortunate, because my father, who was a lawyer and judge, took great care in planning for he and for my mother’s care.  They decided they’d go into a nursing home and chose the place they’d go.  They had the resources to pay for this care and to provide some extra care in addition.  For the most part, my role was making sure everything got paid. 

While a recurrence of kidney cancer ultimately caused his death ten years after his diagnosis in January of 2011, the quality of his life was dramatically altered by the Huntington’s at that time.  I could not have a conversation with him.  Any questions I asked had to require only a yes/no or one-word response.  In some ways, we were blessed by not having to watch the toll of the Huntington’s disease. 

Yet, as I remember all of this, I am acutely aware that somewhere lurking deeply was the prayer that a cure would be found to help my father.  I had to settle for the newer medications that controlled the involuntary movements, so I was spared seeing my father become like his mother, my grandmother, who literally shook to death.

And my involvement with this disease is not over.  My father’s sister had the disease and died last year and my younger brother is dying from the disease now, in a nursing home in Northwest Pennsylvania.  While my youngest brother and I will not get the disease – we’ve been tested – and none of my children or descendants will get the disease, there are a number of people in my family who have not been tested.

How I would have given anything to have this inevitable outcome for my father removed. 

Not only in our Gospel today, but in the passages immediately preceding, Jesus makes it clear he knows what’s coming.  The outcome is inevitable.  In Luke, it says, he set his face to go to Jerusalem…. (Luke 9:51)  There is no turning back…no changing what is to come. 

While I have my particular stories, haven’t there been times in your life when you know something hard, difficult and challenging is coming?  I think Jesus provides us with ways to face the inevitable difficult times.  What does Jesus do?

  1.  Pray.  Time and again, we read how Jesus withdrew to a place to pray.  Here he is, facing betrayal by the ones he loved, and he goes to this beautiful olive grove and prays.  And he pours his heart out to God…maybe even pleading or arguing with God – isn’t there another way?  He tells God exactly how he’s feeling.  We can get hung up on the right way to pray, but Jesus has given us the Lord’s Prayer and also this prayer in the garden – just tell God what is in your heart, no matter what.
  2. Surround yourself with people who love you.  Now, this community Jesus was with certainly had its flaws and especially during this time in his life.  Judas betrayed him, Peter denied him, one of them cut off the ear of the High Priest’s slave.  The three who came with Jesus to the garden couldn’t keep awake! No, they weren’t perfect.  And it was Jesus’ followers who stood at the foot of the cross.  It was Jesus’ followers who took down his body and prepared it for the grave.  It was His followers who came that morning to find him in the tomb.  It was his followers who told the story over and over, even when they faced terrible deaths, so that we today know the story.  Though our friends and family may not be perfect and sometimes feel like they do more damage than good, overall, we need this human community and these relationships, especially during the tough times.
  3. Trust your soul to God.  Jesus ends his plea with, “not what I want, but what you want.” He trusted his soul and his very life to God.  What Jesus went through was awful.  He probably could have fought against the people who tortured him.  Maybe he could have pleaded with Pilate or made a great argument to sway Pilate.  But he did not do that.  He relied upon God.  He kept his calm, even refusing to speak.  “But Jesus was silent,” the Word says.  Jesus knew who he was and whose he was.  Jesus relied on God.  He knew no human could fully understand what was happening.  There were no words that could be heard by humans.  He knew that no human beings could take away his dignity, nor separate him from the love of God.

One thing we know about this life…the hard, difficult times will come.  And sometimes we surely see them coming and can do nothing to stop them.  You may see other things in how Jesus lived during these last days that will help you during those times.  Prayer, community and trusting in God may not stop the inevitable; and prayer, community and trusting in God, do give us a way through. 

Amen. 

 

 

Come out of the tomb (Sermon) April 6, 2014

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Sermon – April 6, 2014
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY
Fifth Sunday in Lent

…he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”  The dead man came out….  John 11:43-44

Please be seated.

I have spoken before about living in Washington, DC.  While there, I spent a lot of time at the Washington National Cathedral.  I mean, on Sundays, I sang at the 8:45 service; often helped at the 11:15 service; went to lunch nearby; and came back for the 4pm Evensong service.  Something was happening to me spiritually when I moved to Washington and I found comfort in the Cathedral’s space.

There is a quiet space in the crypt level, called the Center for Prayer and Pilgrimage.  Often, after the service, I went there to pray.  It is lit with candle light and there is only one small stained glass window to let in the light from outside.  It is known as the quietest space in the Cathedral and was a place of deep prayer for me.

Just outside of the Center is Resurrection Chapel.  The walls are filled with mosaics representing scenes from the resurrection of Jesus.  The small gold and red pieces dominate and seemingly illumine the space.  This chapel is reserved for quiet prayer and was often a place to go to after being in the Center. 

One Sunday afternoon, I was sitting in Resurrection chapel.  I don’t remember the circumstances of my life just then.  It may have been after my mother died or a relationship didn’t work out.  I sat in that Resurrection Chapel and heard, “I will resurrect your life.”  I left excited and also curious and puzzled.  I wasn’t exactly sure what it all meant.  One thing I knew was that my life was on a path of change.

We hear quite a bit about resurrection today, don’t we?  The lesson from Ezekiel is a familiar one.  The Israelites were in bondage in Babylon.  Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed.  At the time, some believed they would be cut off from God because their temple was gone and they were in a foreign land.  But Ezekiel’s visions of the Glory of God confirm that God is with the people in exile.  And today’s passage is the message that though the Babylonian exile is harsh to the point of them feeling like dried out bones, God will restore them.  God will give them new life.  God will resurrect them.  The dry bones will live again. 

Then there’s the well-known story of Lazarus, Jesus’ good friend.  Jesus is about 24 miles away from Lazarus, Mary and Martha.  He is across the Jordan River, near where he had been baptized.  This is a desert, dry place in modern-day Jordan.  Jesus receives word that Lazarus has died.  Eventually Jesus goes to Bethany where this dramatic resurrection unfolds.  Although dead for three days, Jesus calls Lazarus to wake from death…to come out of that tomb.  And Lazarus does just that!  Mary and Martha are overjoyed and many believe Jesus is the Messiah.  At the same time, the scene is set for Jesus to be crucified.  This astonishing miracle offends the authorities.  Jesus is dangerous. 

Earlier in the week, I was speaking with a 10 year old boy about this very story.  I told him it was the Gospel for the week and asked him what I should preach about.  We agreed that to see Lazarus rise from the dead would have been both amazing and scary.  And we never hear Lazarus’ side of the story, do we?  What was it like for Lazarus to climb out of that tomb and back into life?  What was the rest of his life like? 

The author Colm Toibin explored this somewhat in his fascinating short book, The Testament of Mary, which became a Broadway play last year.  While the book is not a Biblical retelling of the story, it does explore what might have been Lazarus’ experience in being resurrected.  In Toibin’s story, people flocked around Lazarus out of curiosity and at the same time, they were afraid of Lazarus…afraid of what he’d seen and what he knew.  No one could relate to what Lazarus had been through.  Toibin presents Lazarus as dazed by his experience.  AND ultimately, Lazarus would die once again. 

The joy of resurrection, the knitting of the dry bones together once again, comes with some tough challenges. 

And is that not true of our lives?  “I will resurrect your life,” we hear when we are in that dry wilderness place…bone weary, closed in the tomb with no light. Maybe a place of comfort in some sense…a place of protection…a wall between us and the world.  Yet, the stone is rolled away, Jesus cries with a loud voice, and pulls us out into the world. 

The important point to note is that we are not the same.  We cannot resume our lives as they were before.  Everything has changed.  The experience in the exile of the tomb changes us and changes us in ways we cannot always explain to others.  We are old, yet new born.  The bones may be the same, but they are knit together and clothed in new ways.  Hope and astonishment are moderated with the reality of living life in a new way. 

Once again Paul reminds us of the fruits of coming out of the tomb when he writes to the Romans, “To set the mind on flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”  He adds, “But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.”  Life, peace, and the Spirit of God dwelling within us allow us to come out of the tomb, face the challenges and to live again.

Amen

 

 

 

 

This Sunday (April 6) at St. John’s

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Jesus began to weep. John 11:35

This Sunday our gospel lesson is about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to talk to a 9-year old boy about the Bible.  He tested me to see if I knew the shortest verse in the Bible.  It is this verse as written in the King James Version of the Bible, just two words, “Jesus wept.”

Jesus’ actions are a little confusing, because he intentionally waited before going to Bethany, saying his waiting would bring glory to God.  In addition, we assume he knew he was going to ask for Lazarus to be raised from the dead, so why would he weep?  Yet,  in this simple action of weeping, we know Jesus shares our very human nature…that God incarnate knows our grief when a loved one dies.

When our loved ones are very ill, we cling to the hope that they will be cured.  We cling to this story of God’s miracles.  This hope is important, and yet, many times death still comes.  Yet, we can cling to the assurance that God is present with us, weeping with us,  and understands our deep grief and loss.

Blessings as you finish your week!

Love, Rebecca+

Next week, I will be in Lexington through Thursday  and my Sabbath day will be Friday.  You can get a message to me by calling 859 -429-1659 or priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org.

Adult Forum:  This Sunday and Wednesday at 4pm, we conclude our series on Living Compass Adult Faith and Wellness.  “All Shall be Well” is the topic.

Next Sunday, Rebecca will share photos from the Holy Land, especially the route Jesus took to enter Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the Garden of Gethsemane, and Calvary and the tomb.

Godly Play:  There will be Godly Play classes this Sunday.  If you are interested in assisting with these classes on an occasional basis, please let Anne Day Davis or Dura Anne Price know.  You will observe the classes for 4 sessions and once you have received this training, you may be called upon to assist as you are available.  Let the children deepen your faith!

Please stay after church this Sunday for lunch and a Garden Shower for Sarah and Sam Pollom, who were married in March.  All are welcome to join in the celebration. 

Holy Week at St. John’s

Monday, April 14, 6pm – Evening Prayer
Tuesday, April 15, 6pm – Evening Prayer
Wednesday, April 16, 6pm – Stations of the Cross
Thursday, April 17, 7pm – Maundy Thursday Service and Washing of Feet
Vigil from 8:00pm – 6:00am
Friday, April 18, 7pm – Good Friday Service, Veneration of the Cross
Saturday, April 19, 8pm – Easter Vigil

Maundy Thursday/Good Friday Vigil:  Sign up to pray in the church overnight from Maundy Thursday, April 17, 8pm until Good Friday morning, 6am.  Please see Bruce Cory if you’d like to participate.

Support the Diocesan Ministries online on April 9, as part of Kentucky Gives Day.  Reading Camp, Cathedral Domain and St. Agnes’ House are participating in the Commonwealth-wide online giving day, Kentucky Gives.  Go to http://kygives.razoo.com/story/Episcopal-Diocese-Of-Lexington and give to one or to all three ministries.  Let your friends and family know about this great giving day!

First Baptist London presents their annual Passion Play, April 13 (10am), 14, 15, 17 (7pm).  Call 606-864-4194 for free tickets.  Billy Hibbitts and Amber Pearce are singing in this production.

 Plan to attend a community-wide Palm Sunday Service, Sunday afternoon, April 13, Grace on the Hill.  The service is sponsored by the Southeast Kentucky Ministerial Alliance and Rebecca will preach.

Donations are being accepted for Easter Flowers.  Envelopes are available.  Mark whether this is in memoriam or in honor of someone.

Assist with preparing the church for Easter on Saturday, April 19, noon –  2:00pm. 

 Each day during Holy Week, the Southeast Kentucky Ministerial Alliance invites you to attend lunch and worship at neighboring churches.  Canned Food will also be collected for area food pantries.  Lunch is served 11:30-12:30, with a short service from 12:30-12:55.  Offering collected is used for the Alliance to meet the needs of people in our region who need assistance.  The following is the schedule of services:

Monday, April 14 – Sacred Heart
Tuesday, April 15 – Corbin Presbyterian
Wednesday, April 16 – Central Baptist
Thursday, April 17 – Grace on the Hill
Friday, April 18 – First Baptist

Belk Charity Sales Day, Saturday, May 3, 6:00-10:00am.  Purchase $5 tickets from our ECW, which allow you entrance to the sale and $5 off your purchase.   We are trying to sell 100 tickets, which provides $500 for the church and tremendous savings for you!

We’re buying goats!  The Lazarus at the Gates Adult Forum study has prompted us to purchase goats through Episcopal Relief and Development for families in the Philippines.  Goats provide milk, cheese, and manure for farming.  Donations towards the $80 purchase of each goat can be made through the goat bank in the parish hall or in the offering plate clearly marked ERD goat project.  To date, we’ve raised $121.  Another $59 is needed to purchase a second goat!