Cake

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
April 28, 2024

5 Easter B 

          Spring may be orange barrel season in Northeast Ohio, but spring is birthday cake season in the various Reed households.  Between March 2 and May 22, six of the 10 of us have birthdays.  That is a lot of deep, dark, dense, delicious chocolate and peanut butter cake, for which you have the recipe in your service bulletin.  But don’t look now.  Grandson Banks was 2 on April 9 and the movers were coming to pack our house on April 10, so I felt a bit like I was on the Great British Baking Show except that when the time was up, the tent was going to deconstruct!  I have made this cake between 3 and 8 times a year for the past 30 years, and while each cake turns out differently, I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of the process.  I mixed up Banks’ cake, poured it into the well-greased and floured pans, dumped in the chocolate chips, which, no, I do not measure, and baked the cakes.  When I took them out of the oven, I let them cool for 10 minutes, not 9 or the cake is too hot, and not 11 because the chocolate chips will have stuck to the bottom of the pan in a way that would make gorilla glue jealous.  Then I turned them out onto the cooling racks.  The only problem was that when I flipped the second cake out of the pan, the pan hit the microwave above the stove and the very warm cake dumped onto the cooling rack in more than one squished piece.  What to do?  I had neither the time, nor the ingredients, nor the patience at this point to bake another one.  So, I let it cool and glued it back together with peanut butter and icing, froze it and took it to UPS.  Birthday cake for Banks, check!

          Today we hear Jesus say to his disciples “I am the vine, you are the branches.  Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.”  To my ears, this sounds like John’s version of Paul’s Body of Christ imagery.  In 1 Corinthians, Paul writes “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”  Paul goes on to say “If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?” We talk a lot at Christ Church about being the body of Christ and how all of the members are necessary for the body of Christ to function well and do the work God has given us to do.  We know that we are called to both be the body of Christ in the world and seek and serve Christ in all people.

          The vine imagery Jesus uses this morning is similar yet different.  On the one hand, a vine bears fruit because that’s just what healthy vines do.  They produce fruit.  The vine imagery calls us into an organic relationship with Jesus that naturally bears fruit.  But on the other hand, we all know that when one body part hurts, the whole body suffers.  But if one branch of the vine doesn’t function, there will still be fruit.  No big deal.  Right?

          Wrong.  Jesus is clear this morning that life for his followers comes from being attached to the vine.  All of the branches are needed for the vine to do what vines do and bear abundant fruit for the life of the world.  If a branch is not bearing fruit, the branch is pruned so that it will have life and bear fruit because all of the branches are both wanted and needed. 

But what is the fruit of Jesus?  Jesus does not tell us what the fruit is this morning, but in the reading from 1 John we hear “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God….no one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is perfected in us.”  Then we hear “God is love and those who abide in love abide in God and God abides in them.”  Jesus said “Whose who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.”  The fruit of the vine of Jesus is love.

          If we are talking about being the Body of Christ, all of the members are necessary for the Body to function properly and show the love of God to the world. And if one member of the body needs help, the others pitch in. If we’re talking about a plant, all of the branches are necessary for the plant to produce the best and most fruit possible and those branches must be attached to the vine, which is Jesus.  If one branch of the vine needs help, it is pruned to bear more fruit. That fruit is love.   And if we’re talking about cake, every single ingredient is necessary for the cake to be amazing, and at Christ Church we know that cake is love.  When the cake meets with disaster, other parts of the cake, like peanut butter and frosting, can be used to put it back together.  The point is this.  To be the church you want to be, to be thriving and growing and bearing the most amazing fruit possible, the gifts of each of you are needed.  Every single one of you is a necessary ingredient, to mix the metaphor.  There is not one single person without something to contribute to being the church you want to be.  Be rooted in God’s love.  Use your gifts.  When things go sideways, step up.  Life is not perfect and you might just be the peanut butter or the icing that is needed.  As I have said many times before, the top secret super simple way to become the church you want to be is to Be That Church.  Be That Church and you will become that church as naturally as healthy branches bear fruit.  The legacy of our time together is not what we have done over these wonderful 8 years, not the Parish Hall or the restrooms or the music program or the youth group, or the hospitality or the energy, but what you will grow from what we have planted together.

                                                                                                Amen.

Comfort Food

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
April 21, 2024

4 Easter B 

          In January 2016 when Don and I came for my interview at Christ Church, we stayed at the Hudson Guest House right across 303 from the Rosewood Grill.   Some of you have heard the story of my surprise and delight to find a care package that had been left at the Guest House by the Search Committee.  The basket included some of my favorite comfort foods.  There were scones, chocolate, my favorite yogurt, not-quite-ripe bananas, which is just the way I like them, and my favorite strawberry preserves.  While I should probably not let on that this priest can be bought for a blueberry scone and some chocolate, the truth is that the basket of food was a sign to me that I just might be home, that maybe I really did belong here.  Comfort food is a very real thing!

          Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, which is the 4^th Sunday of Easter each year.  On this Sunday, we always hear the 23^rd Psalm, which is comfort food for our souls.  We read the psalm at almost every funeral to console the grieving.  The promise of the psalm is that God will be present with us always, even if we walk through the valley of the shadow of death.  God will have our backs when we are confronted by our enemies. God’s goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives, and we will have a home in the house of the Lord forever.  Those words are comfort food for us when we are running sad or scared or lonely. 

          Likewise, baptism can feel like familiar comfort food as we bring new people into the household of God and mark them as Christ’s own forever.  The music, the water, the oil, and the joy all bring comfort and hope to our souls.  Later this morning/in a few minutes, we will promise to do all in our power to support Gehrig in his life in Christ and we will renew our baptismal covenant together with him. 

          Comfort food is not an end in itself, however.  A care package sustains the recipient for the work ahead.  The 23^rd psalm is intended to provide the strength to move forward that comes from trusting that God is our shepherd.  And baptism is most certainly not an end, but the beginning of a life of following Jesus, the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.  But what is the work ahead?  What does the life of following Jesus, the Good Shepherd, look like? 

          The reading from 1 John calls us to love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.  Our baptismal covenant spells out for us what love in truth and action looks like for Christians who identify as Episcopalians.  After we affirm our faith in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, we are asked if we will live our lives as people who believe what we have just professed.  We answer each question with a hearty “I will with God’s help.”  Even though we say “I will” we make these promises together because they are big promises and we need each other as well as God to keep them.  But the words only have meaning and truth when they are followed by action.

          We promise to continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers.  The apostles worshipped every week.  Always.  Even in the summer.  Even when it was not convenient. Even when it was a gorgeous day outside.  They worshipped out of gratitude to God for all that God had done for them in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  They worshipped together as the body of Christ to empower themselves for their work in the world.  We promise with our words to do likewise with our lives.

          We promise to persevere in resisting evil, and whenever we fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.  Baptism does not make us perfect. Baptism means that we are called to come home no matter what.  We promise with our words to do likewise with our lives.

          We promise to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ, to seek and serve Christ in all people, to work for justice and peace, and to respect the dignity of every human being.  We talk a lot about ways to do that in the world through our hospitality and our many outreach programs, and that is essential.  But be attentive to seeking and serving Christ in each other in the weeks and months ahead.  Proclaim the Good News to the leadership of the congregation by supporting them with truth and action during the interim.  Work for justice and peace and respect the dignity of every person by listening, really listening, to those with views different than the ones you hold.   That will be incredibly important both as you engage the search process for a new rector and as you move into what will likely be a divisive political season.  We promise with our words this morning to do this challenging work with our lives.

          Comfort food, whether in the form of a care package, a piece of scripture, or a sacrament, has great power.  The power, however, is not just to comfort.  The power is to move us forward into more fully being followers of the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for the sheep, and was raised to bring us all with him to new life.  That new life calls us to more fully love in truth and action, using our lives to bring meaning and truth to our words.

                                                                             Amen.

Totality

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
April 14, 2024

3 Easter B 

          Monday afternoon, Kathy, Mario, and I sat on the front porch of Beebe House to watch the eclipse.  I was surprised at how much of the sun was gone before the dark started to come.  Once totality was achieved and the darkness had fallen, we heard a brief cheer from some neighbors, then the peace settled in.  For three minutes Monday afternoon, there was peace.  All was quiet and still.  And dark.  All day Monday, media attention and the attention of much of the country was focused on something utterly out of our control, magical and mystical in the way of the natural world.   We were united in awe and wonder. 

          I think about that day and those moments this morning when I hear Jesus say “Peace be with you.”  Jesus often says those words when he appears to startled disciples after his resurrection.  In my mind, the peace of Jesus is not unlike the peace of Monday afternoon, a peace that brings unity, that is focused on something outside ourselves, and a peace over which we have no control other than to choose it. 

          At the end of today’s gospel lesson, Jesus says “You are witnesses of these things.”  Jesus is not talking just about peace, but about all that he has said to the disciples in this resurrection appearance.  We are witnesses to Jesus’ living presence in the world.  But how do we do that?  How do we show the world the presence of Christ in our midst?  How do we show the world the peace of Jesus?

          Jesus gives us some tools for that this morning.  First, Jesus shows the disciples his hands and feet, which would have born the marks of his crucifixion.  The scars of his suffering show the disciples that it is really Jesus standing before them.  One of the ways we witness to the risen Christ in our midst is when we use our own scars to help others.  I have seen you do this time and time again, using your experience of grief to help someone else through the grief process, or your experience with illness to help someone else going through that experience, or your struggles with parenting to help another parent. The list goes on and on of the ways I have seen you do what Jesus is doing this morning.

          Secondly, Jesus says “Have you anything to eat” and the disciples give him a piece of broiled fish which he eats in their presence.  There are several stories of the resurrected Jesus eating with the disciples to show them that he is alive and in their midst.  For me, table fellowship, whether around the altar or tables in the Parish Hall, or a meal with family or friends is one of the most powerful ways to experience the Risen Christ in our midst.  Whether in the Eucharist, or at Potluck Theology, or the dinner group, or coffee hour, or the many meals we have together, the Risen Christ is present.  Inviting others to share in those meals is another way to witness to Jesus’ presence in our midst.

          Then, Jesus opens the disciples’ minds to understand the scriptures.  Jesus is part of the story of God and God’s people that goes all the way back to creation.  Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, while essential to God’s plan of salvation, are not the end of the story.  Jesus’ disciples are to carry that story forward, seeking and serving Christ in all people, as we promise in baptism.  We help that story come alive for people and we help people know Christ in their midst when we practice the radical hospitality of the Risen Christ, whether by welcoming people here, or building houses for Habitat, or tutoring with Project Learn, or making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for unhoused people in Akron.    

          Lastly, Jesus tells the disciples that repentance and forgiveness of sins are to be proclaimed in his name to all the nations.  In our baptismal covenant we promise to persevere in resisting evil and, not if, but whenever we fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.  We witness to repentance and forgiveness of sins when we actually repent and return rather than run and hide after we fall into sin, and when we live as people who know that our primary identity is as beloved children of God rather than the sum total of our successes minus our failures.  We witness to the Risen Christ by treating all people as beloved children of God regardless of whatever might try to divide us.

          On Monday, we experienced a few brief fleeting minutes of deep peace, awe, and wonder.  But that peace ended after three and a half minutes. The sun reappeared and we were back to life as normal.  This morning, Jesus calls us to be people of a deeper, enduring peace, a peace that transforms lives, and to witness to the awe and wonder of that peace with the totality of our being. 

                                                                             Amen.

Abundance

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
April 7, 2024

2 Easter B 

          In the early days of the pandemic, I found myself obsessed with toilet paper.  Never mind that I had just been to Costco before the shut-down and had a 30 roll case of blue Charmin in my linen closet along with whatever was left from the previous case.  Never mind that, in the beginning, we thought the pandemic would be over by Memorial day.  Never mind that there are only two people living in our house and 30+ mega rolls of toilet paper should really last a while.  I think perhaps I had heard too many stories from Don’s mother about using the pages of the Sears and Roebuck catalog when she was growing up during the Depression to even think about running out of toilet paper.  So I spent hours surfing websites looking for toilet paper that could be delivered to my house, even though I had plenty.  Perhaps you have your own stories about toilet paper, or hand sanitizer, or masks, or even chicken from those rather scary days.

          Contrast my mentality of scarcity with the mentality or theology of abundance in the reading from Acts this morning.  In the days following the resurrection, all of the believers were of one heart and mind and everything, including toilet paper if there was such a thing, was held in common.  No one was in need of anything as everyone sold what they had and gave the proceeds to the apostles who made sure everyone had what they needed.  Granted, plenty of people at Christ Church and in Hudson shared what they had with those in need during the pandemic, and even I shared toilet paper from time to time, but the early Christians in the book of Acts take sharing to a whole new level. 

          Then there are the disciples in John’s gospel this morning, who are  scared and in hiding.  Let’s be clear here that the problem is not the Jews.  The problem is the fear.  Even after Jesus appears to the disciples, minus Thomas, breathes the Holy Spirit into them, and sends them out, one week later they are still in hiding.  When Jesus appears to them again, what he doesn’t say is as important as what he does say.  He does not say “What are you doing here? I sent you out!”  What he does say to the still frightened disciples is “Peace be with you” then he offers to let Thomas touch his wounds, which seems quite intimate and vulnerable.  He meets the disciples where they are, no judgement, and we know that eventually they do leave that room and go out into the world.

          On the one hand, the reading from Acts, while quite lovely, seems utterly unrealistic in our 21^st century world.  As followers of Jesus, we are not all of one heart and soul about many things.  We are highly unlikely to sell all that we have and allow the church to distribute everything to those in need.  On the other hand, the disciples in John’s gospel are hardly a model for faithful discipleship as they hide behind a locked door and fail to leave even after Jesus gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit and sends them out into the world.  So how are we to live in this world in which Jesus is risen if neither example of discipleship this morning is really helpful?

          I believe these readings are more helpful than they might appear at first glance.  Two things from the passage from Acts stand out.  First, what the early believers were of one heart and mind about was probably not every little detail of human life.  Psalm 133 begins by reminding us “Oh, how good and pleasant it is when the faithful live together in unity.”  The early believers lived in unity and were of one heart and mind about Jesus.  Jesus was the focus of their lives, not their possessions.   As Christians, we are called to have Jesus as the focus of our lives, not our possessions, or our accomplishments, or our activities.  If Jesus is the focus of our lives, everything else we do or own looks different whether in the first century or the twenty-first.   

Secondly, listen to the language in this short passage.  We hear phrases like “the whole group,” “everyone,” “no one,” “everything,” “all” and “not a needy person.”  Those are words of abundance.  What does a church of abundance look like?  A church of abundance is one where everyone does all that they can, gives all they are able to, and puts the needs of each other first.  No one thinks “my small bit doesn’t matter” and they spend a few minutes each week calling people who haven’t been in church for a while so that everyone knows that they matter.  Everyone reads the emails and newsletters sent out by the wardens, vestry, or staff AND responds so that the leadership of the parish feels supported.  Everyone offers their gifts, time, and talents willingly, cheerfully, and early and often, so that the ministry of the church continues to grow and thrive as the ministry of the early church did.  There are so very many ways to live into being the church described in the book of Acts and meet the needs of each other while keeping Jesus as the heart and soul of the congregation. 

Even though the disciples in the reading from John are in hiding this morning, we still learn much from the story about how to follow the risen Christ.  Throughout the gospels, we hear the words “Do not fear,” usually from an angel.  Followers of Jesus do not act out of fear but out of trust that Jesus will meet them where they are, as Jesus does on Easter evening and a week later.  Jesus meets Thomas where he is, needing to know that the person standing before him is, indeed, the risen Christ.  Jesus calls us to trust that Jesus will meet us wherever we go and whatever we do, including venturing into a new chapter at Christ Church.

Both the gospel story and the reading from Acts call us to put Jesus at the center of our lives, trusting that when we do that, we will be a healthy community focused on Jesus rather than anything that divides us, that everyone will be cared for in deep and genuine ways, and that we will find Jesus waiting for us wherever we go and whatever we do.  That is a promise.

                                                          Amen.

Stone

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
March 31, 2024

Easter 

          My mother died the Tuesday of Holy Week eleven years ago.  She had been ill for some months and while we knew we were on borrowed time, we did not realize how short term the loan was.  I spent a couple of days after she died with my brother, sister, and father before returning home for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter.  The days with our father were full of decisions that needed to be made, support given and received, actions to take, paperwork to deal with-all without the clarity of thought one would like to have when doing that sort of work.  Grief, I learned, is exhausting, like pushing a rock uphill.  The to-do list is endless.  The whole experience was confusing and fogged up my brain.  I walked through the days of Holy Week toward the empty tomb that year, held together by the glue that is a curious mixture of grief and joy, despair and hope, death and life. 

          Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome have no such glue holding them together this morning and they are feeling all of the grief, confusion, and exhaustion we feel at the loss of a loved one.  They are tending to their “to-do” list, which includes procuring spices, walking to the tomb, and anointing Jesus’ body for burial.  As with many of the decisions we make when grieving, their decision to go to the tomb makes no sense.  They know there is a very large stone blocking the entrance to the tomb, and they know full well that there is no way they can roll away the stone and enter the tomb to do their work.  And yet, they continue to walk.

          When we arrive at the empty tomb on Easter morning, having traveled, like the women, through Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday, we expect the tomb to be empty and Jesus to have risen as is the case every year.  We expect to experience the triumph of life over death, joy over sorrow, and hope over despair (in our music, the flowers, and the festive atmosphere).  But an empty tomb is not what the women were expecting. When they see that the stone has been rolled away and the tomb is empty, their minds go to a very dark place.  But the tomb is not completely empty.  A young man dressed in a white robe is sitting there as if he is waiting for the three women to arrive.  He has a message for the them.  “Do not be alarmed.  You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He has been raised.  He is not here.  Go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him just as he told you.”  The exhausted, grieving women have no idea what the young man is talking about.  What could the young man possibly mean by “He has been raised”?  In their confusion and grief, they are petrified and they flee from the tomb.  They say nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

          These three faithful women have taken a lot of criticism over the years for their apparent lack of faith as they fled the tomb and the Easter message.  However, this is my favorite of all the Easter stories.  This story is my favorite because I think these women actually understood the enormity of what had happened.  If the women really understand that Jesus has been raised from the dead, that the powers of death have been overcome, then they understand that the world has been turned upside down and nothing, nothing will ever be the same again.  Now they live in a world where death no longer has the final say and anything is possible.  All of the rules have changed. How do we live in a world like that?  Terror and amazement seem like perfectly appropriate responses to this brand new reality.  The women model for us a faithful response to the enormity of what has happened in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

          How do we live in a world in which Jesus is risen from the dead?  On the one hand, we have the gift of hindsight, which the women did not have so we do not flee in terror. On the other hand, the temptation is to domesticate the resurrection and get back to life as usual tomorrow as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  These three women show us how to live in this new world.

First, the women kept walking to the tomb even though they had no idea how they would move the stone from the entrance to the tomb.  Easter happens every time we keep walking toward challenges that seem impossible, knowing that now there is no stone we must move by ourselves. Secondly, the women were alarmed by the empty tomb. We are blessed with the knowledge that the tomb is empty, but Easter happens every time we join the women in beholding the magnitude of what God has done for us in raising Jesus from the dead and really believe that life has triumphed over death and nothing will ever be the same.  Lastly, the women fled from the tomb in terror and amazement at the news that Jesus was now in Galilee.  Easter happens every time we go out to meet Jesus in the Galilee of our own lives, the very ordinary places where we live and work, day in and day out, in the midst of grief and joy, hope and despair, death and life.  Easter is not just a day with lots of chocolate, wonderful music, beautiful flowers, and the return of the Alleluias.  The Easter message is that Jesus is always one step ahead of us, on this side of the grave and beyond, meeting us wherever we go, whatever challenges we face, and promising that there is no stone we must push away alone, not even the stone of death. 

                                                                                      Amen.

Plans

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
March 24, 2024

Palm Sunday 

          The year my great-grandmother celebrated her 90^th birthday, which was 1971, my parents spent weeks if not months planning the party.  A festive meal was planned, invitations were issued, tables and chairs were rented, decorations were procured, beverages were purchased, food was cooked, gifts were wrapped, and the house was cleaned.  When the great day finally arrived, the guests arrived at 6pm and the whole thing was over by 8:30, not including clean up.  The ratio of time spent planning to time spent partying was absurd.  And most holidays were like that when I was a child.  Weeks and months of planning for a joyful delicious event that was over in half a day.  My mother believed that hospitality and good food were worth almost any amount of effort and that every detail was important.

Mark’s account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem reads like an account of one of my mother’s great parties. Jesus spends eight verses preparing for his entry into Jerusalem. Only three verses describe the trip itself and of those three verses, most of two verses is spent quoting psalms. Jesus’ planning for this event seems to be at least as important as the trip into Jerusalem itself, if not even more important. So, what do we learn about Jesus from all the verses leading up to the actual procession into Jerusalem?

The first thing Jesus does is arrange for a colt. Jesus sends two disciples off on this errand and says to them "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find there a colt that has never been ridden." Jesus knows exactly where the colt will be and that the animal has never been ridden. Why a colt? Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem will demonstrate humility. 

Then Jesus says "If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’" The people were used to having Roman soldiers co-opt their property on a moment’s notice. The promise that Jesus will return the animal is something new. Jesus is on a different kind of mission from one the Roman soldiers would typically engage. Jesus’ mission is not of a military nature. He has to borrow a colt. Jesus is not organizing an event that will highlight raw power and wealth.  In addition to humility, Jesus entry into Jerusalem will demonstrate a different kind of power. 

Lastly, if Jesus was planning a military procession into Jerusalem, now would be the time to acquire some weapons. Instead, we hear that the people threw their clocks on the poor unsuspecting colt that has never been ridden. Then Jesus sat on the colt and the people spread their cloaks and leafy branches on the road. Quite frankly, this sounds like a recipe for disaster. One young animal, never ridden, Jesus sitting on cloaks on the colt, and riding over more cloaks and leafy branches. This does not look like a recipe for success, even success grounded in humility.  Jesus is going to show us a new model for success, one that involves risk.  Then Jesus rides into Jerusalem, to shouts of “Hosanna,” goes into the temple, looks around, and leaves.  All that planning leads to a rather anti-climatic ending if one is looking for drama. 

What do we learn from all that planning? We learn to watch for humility, a different kind of power, and a new understanding of success as we enter into the events of holy week.  We learn about a kind of power that is joyful and humble, a kind of power that draws the people in and engages them without force, and success that takes risks and emerges from the appearance of failure.  That joyful yet humble demonstration of a different kind of power and success plunges us into Holy Week. On the one hand, as disciples of Jesus, we know that we are called to walk this journey with the one who rode into Jerusalem on a colt to turn our notions of power and success upside down. On the other hand, I can identify with the crowds who say "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord" and the Psalmist who says "Hosanna, Lord, hosanna! Send us now success!" Can’t we just fast forward to Easter?

The truth is that Easter will come next Sunday whether we journey with Jesus or not. But if we leap from "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord" to the great Easter acclamation which involves the use of the word we buried on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, we are thinking like the crowds and missing the message of Palm Sunday. We will move from the request for a great display of human power and might to the great display of God’s power without allowing our understanding of real power to be transformed. The details of the Palm Sunday story tell us that Jesus is up to something new and we need to keep our eyes open. As we walk through the events of Holy Week, the mighty power of God will be revealed in ways that are consistent with the arrival in Jerusalem of a humble Messiah on the back of a colt with little likelihood of success.

Amen.

Seeing Jesus

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
March 17, 2024

5 Lent B 

          At Christ Church, our vestry meetings begin each month with the question “Where have you seen God this week?”  The answers are honest and thoughtful.  Some provoke laughter and others provoke tears as we hear about experiences of God in answered prayers, the work of medical professionals in scary situations, the antics of our children and grandchildren, the relationships among people at Christ Church, nature, and in so very many other places.  Hearing where others have seen God at work helps us see God’s presence in our own lives in new ways.  Answering that question has deepened relationships among the vestry members and brings energy and joy to our meetings.  We see each other with new eyes when we are willing to share what God has been up to in our lives.

          This morning, some Greeks approach Philip and say “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” which is simply the future version of “Where have you seen God this week?”  Philip tells Andrew, then the two disciples tell Jesus.  Jesus’ reply has always struck me as a little odd if not downright rude.  Rather than give a direct answer to the Greeks, Jesus goes on about a grain of wheat falling to the earth, losing and gaining life, and serving and following Jesus.  A simple “yes” or “no” would have sufficed.

          Rather than being rude, however, I think Jesus may be doing the Jesus version of “Be careful what you ask for.”  When we ask to see a doctor, for example, or this time of year, an accountant, we do not just want to look at a medical or tax professional.  We need something from that person.  We trust that person to provide what we need.  We want a real and honest encounter.  I believe that is what the Greeks wanted in their request to see Jesus.  They do not just want to look at Jesus.  What Jesus wants the Greeks to know is that seeing Jesus in that real and honest sense comes at a cost.

First, the Greeks will be encountering someone who will soon fall to the earth and die, in order to bear much fruit.  While the bit about the seed may be common agricultural sense, Jesus is also reminding the disciples to whom he is speaking that all of the fruit will be connected.  When the seed falls to the ground, that seed reconnects with all of creation, and when the seed finally bears much fruit, all of the fruit is connected through its relationship to the seed.  Through our connection with Jesus, we are connected with all humankind.

Secondly, those who love their life so much as to put up boundaries around it, guard it and protect it from any challenge will inevitably lose their lives.  Those who are willing to give their lives unreservedly in service to others and God will live into eternal life.  Encountering Jesus means encountering the one who models the giving of one’s life.  And thirdly, whoever serves Jesus must follow him and where Jesus is going is to give up his life for the life and love of the world.

          So, if the Greeks really want to see Jesus in a deep and honest way, they need to know what they are getting into.  And what they are getting into is living as people who are organically connected with God and the whole human family, being willing to die to self to bear much fruit, and being willing to follow Jesus as he is raised from the earth and draws the whole world to himself.

          Sir, we wish to see Jesus.  When we say “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” and only see Jesus in people who look and act like we do, we are not looking at Jesus.  When we say “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” and do not live as people who believe that the whole human family is connected through both creation and the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are not looking at Jesus.  When we say “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” and do not rise up to claim our connection with the marginalized, the vulnerable, those without power, those trying to escape war or persecution, or even our enemies, we are not looking at Jesus.  As long as we think in terms of “us” and “them” whoever us and them may be, we do not really want to see Jesus.

          Jesus reminds us this morning that seeing Jesus means seeing Jesus, serving Jesus, and following Jesus, not just when Jesus goes places where we are comfortable and feel safe, but when Jesus goes where the reconciling love of God is needed.  We practice seeking, serving, and following Jesus here at Christ Church, which is an incredible blessing but not an end in itself.  Practicing here gives us the courage and the ability t0 seek, serve and follow Jesus at all times, in all places, and with all people.  Tolerating bigotry, hatred, and division is not an option for followers of Jesus.  The only option for those who want to see and follow Jesus, is love. 

 

                                                                                      Amen.

Beauty and Life

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
March 10, 2024

4 Lent B 

          Last Sunday at Lego Church, we heard the story of Jesus in the wilderness.  We talked about the three temptations the devil offered Jesus: power, privilege, and protection.  We wondered in what way the angels waited on Jesus and what Jesus’ relationship with the wild animals might have been.  When it was time for the Lego build, everyone was asked to build a wilderness scene.  Both the children and the adults at Lego Church take the Lego build very seriously and we had some very interesting wilderness scenes.  We had a beach scene that represented one kind of wilderness. We had a wilderness with flowers and friends.  One person built a representation of Jesus in the wilderness with the three temptations.  One very small child put a Lego person in a Lego escape car.  A child after my own heart.  Interestingly, almost all of the wilderness scenes were happy ones.  A beach. Flowers.  Friends.  A getaway car.  None of the scenes were scary.  The children found life and beauty in their wilderness scenes.

          The Hebrew people could use a little life and beauty in the wilderness this morning.  They are brutal in their complaints against God.  They complain about the lack of food and water and insist that God has brought them into the wilderness to die.  While I have never complained to God about not having enough to eat or drink, I have certainly done my share of complaining to God about war, natural disaster, the illness of beloved family and friends, and any number of other things.  And this is hardly the first time the Hebrew people have complained against God in the wilderness.  Plus the Psalms are full of complaints.  So I would really like to know what about these particular complaints has sent God over the edge.  These complaints caused God to send poisonous serpents to bite and kill God’s chosen people.  I would really like to avoid those complaints!

          As utterly bizarre and inexplicable as it is that God would send poisonous snakes to attack God’s beloved people, perhaps we would do well to focus on what goes right in the story.  The people recognize their sin in speaking against God.  They ask Moses to intercede for them, which Moses does.  And God tells Moses to make a bronze serpent, put it on a pole, and tell anyone who is bitten by a snake to look at the serpent and live.  While on the one hand, the story has gone from bizarre to incredible, and where does Moses get bronze out in the wilderness anyway, God’s plan works and the people live. 

          If we try to be like our children and focus on life and beauty in the wilderness, which is admittedly a challenge in this story, what we see is an agent of death, a poisonous snake, being turned into an agent of life.  All the people have to do is look at the bronze serpent being raised on a pole, and they will be healed and live.  The people recognized their sin, repented, believed God could heal them if Moses asked, then did as God asked of them.  In the end, this is a very weird story about life, but it is a story about life.  Psalm 107 is a reflection on this story, praising God for God’s healing word, God’s mercy, and the wonders God does for God’s children.  At the end of the day, even a day like the Hebrews were having in the wilderness, God is a God of love and mercy.  There is beauty and life in the wilderness.

           In a clear reference to the story in Numbers, this morning we hear Jesus say "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." Jesus is not saying that whoever gets the best score on the correct belief test will be saved, whatever the John 3:16 billboards might imply. The cross itself looked like the very essence of the wilderness-a place where God could not possibly be present and where the poisonous snake of death has done its worst.  But once again, God will take an agent of death, this time the cross, and turn it into life.  In the wilderness of the cross, ultimately there will be beauty and life.  In John’s gospel, the cross and the resurrection are two pieces of the same theological statement.  When we look upon the cross on Good Friday, we will also hear words of resurrection in our liturgy.  When we experience the empty tomb on Easter morning, we know that resurrection is possible only because of the cross.  Jesus beckons us to look at the cross, that serpent of death, to feel that wilderness, and trust that out of death, God will bring life.  When we are bold enough to open our eyes and look at Jesus raised on the cross, and trust that life will prevail, then we can also trust that in the midst of the snakes in the wilderness of our own lives, whatever those snakes may be, God will also act to bring life.  There is beauty and life in the wilderness.

                                                                             Amen.

 

         

Focus

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
March 3, 2024

3 Lent B

          In seminary, I took a class entitled “Anglican Church History.”  I enjoy history and took a lot of history classes in college, so I was looking forward to the course.  In the first nano-second of the class, we figured out that our teacher, a graduate student from the University of Chicago, had never taught a class before.  Ever.  But we were kindhearted souls and tried to be patient with convoluted lectures and confusing assignments.  The last straw came when we were given a take home open-book test.  I took the test home, found and wrote all the answers, turned the test in, and was quite puzzled to receive the test back and have one of my answers marked as incorrect.  How can you get an answer wrong on a take home open-book test?  I was just as competitive as a student as I am as a parish priest, even if in a slightly different way, so I was not amused.  At the end of class, I went up to the teacher and inquired about my answer, which he insisted was wrong.  So, I politely got the textbook out showed him where I got my answer.  I got nowhere.  My patience was running thin at this point.  I left the room before I said something I would regret and headed home confused and furious. 

          I wonder if the people in the temple felt that same combination of confusion, frustration and fury when Jesus comes barging in with his whip of cords this morning.  The people in the temple were faithful people, trying hard to live according to God’s commandments.  Cattle, sheep, and doves were sold at the temple to help weary pilgrims procure the unblemished animals God required for the temple sacrifices.  Worshipers had walked for miles to get to Jerusalem for Passover.  They couldn’t bring cattle, sheep and doves with them.  Unless they could buy the animals at the temple, they could not make the sacrifices they had traveled so far to make.  The money changers were required to convert the Roman currency into temple currency, just like we convert currency when we travel to another country.  There is always a fee, and in the case of the temple, there were sales taxes to be paid to the Romans.  Everyone at the temple was trying to be faithful to the laws given by God in the book of Leviticus and the laws of the state as dictated by the Romans.

          So, what is Jesus so upset about this morning?  Which of the commandments are the people breaking?  Fortunately, we hear those commandments this morning in the reading from Exodus.   The people in the temple buying and selling animals for the sacrifice do not seem to be dishonoring their father or mother, murdering, committing adultery, stealing, bearing false witness, or coveting.  So, they are good on the last six commandments.  The problem must be in the first four commandments.  But the people don’t appear to have put another god before God, made an idol, made wrongful use of God’s name, or violated the Sabbath.  Quite frankly, they are doing all in their power to keep the law and honor God with the required sacrifices.  So what is Jesus’ problem?

The temple was thought to be the place where humans encountered God in a unique way, the place where the divine and the human meet.  The claim was not that the temple was the only place where the people encountered God.  The Hebrew people had experienced God in their Exodus from Egypt, during their time in the wilderness, in their exile in Babylon far from the promised land, and on and on.  The claim was also not that the Temple was bad.  There are many examples in the New Testament, particularly in the book of Acts, of followers of Jesus worshipping in the Temple.  But the experience of God in the temple was uniquely holy.  However, in John’s gospel, Jesus is the place where the human and the divine meet.  John’s gospel begins “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God….and the Word became flesh and lived among us.”  In that sense, Jesus is the new temple.  When Jesus is asked “What sign can you show us for doing this,” Jesus replies “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”  The resurrection will allow people in all times and places to experience the meeting of the human and the divine in Jesus. 

          The people in the temple are no doubt confused, frustrated, and angry when Jesus shows up this morning and interrupts their faithful activity.  Sometimes we are so busy and so focused on our faithful activity, trying so hard to do everything right, that we fail to see what new thing God is doing right in front of our faces and we get downright annoyed when interrupted.  In our faithful activity in this holy place, we encounter Jesus in the bread and wine of the Eucharist, in our music, in scripture, and in our relationships with each other.  But Jesus makes clear this morning that there are other places we encounter Jesus as well, sometimes in places where we least expect to have an encounter with the divine.  We encounter Jesus in conversation with those with whom we disagree or do not understand.  We encounter Jesus in a friendly greeting from a stranger or the opportunity to make a difference in the life of someone we don’t even know.  We encounter Jesus in the anger expressed against the injustices of the world.  Whatever else Jesus is up to this morning, Jesus challenges us not to let our focus on our faithful activity prevent us from seeing Jesus right before our very eyes.                                                                

Temptations

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
February 18, 2024

1 Lent B

When our sons were young, I used to pick them up after school and wait to hear about their day.  I'm a mom.  I wanted to know how their classes had gone, how the test went, who they sat with at lunch...all the details a mother needs to know.  And every day, without fail, the conversation with a certain child went like this: Me: "How was your day?" Child: "Good."  Me: "What did you do?" Child: "Stuff."  If I probed a little deeper and asked who he sat with at lunch, the answer was “people.”  I suppose that I should be happy that the child's day was "good," he did nothing worse than "stuff" and he had lunch with “people.” But the lack of detail left me with little information about the child's day and a whole lot of room for my imagination to work.

The writer of the Mark’s gospel must have been a similar child.  This morning, we hear that Jesus was driven into the wilderness where he stayed for 40 days, was tempted by Satan, he was with the wild beasts, and angels waited on him. The entire story of the temptation in the wilderness takes one sentence.  The story is so short that we have to hear the ending of the story of Jesus' baptism and the beginning of Jesus' public ministry to make a complete paragraph!  With what was Jesus tempted?  What did Jesus do out in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights?  In what way did the angels wait on him?  Wilderness room service? Did the wild beasts try to eat him or were they nice beasts? Mark gives us little information and leaves a lot to our imaginations.

          The writers of Matthew and Luke must have been similarly frustrated by the lack of detail in Mark's story.  The later two gospels tell us that Jesus was tempted with bread, since he was fasting in the wilderness.  Jesus was tempted with special privilege when the tempter told Jesus that God would send angels to catch him if Jesus would throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple.  And Jesus was tempted with power as the tempter offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he would only worship the tempter.  Each of these temptations would draw Jesus away from the God who had claimed Jesus as God's beloved son at Jesus' baptism and prevent Jesus' work in the world.

As we gather on this first Sunday of Lent, we might think for a moment about the ways in which we are tempted away from being the children of God we are called to be. What forces keep us, both as individuals and as Christ Church, from doing the powerful work God has given us to do?

First, I believe the tempter says to each of us "What you, one little person, has to offer, does not make a difference.  So why bother?"  The tempter knows that if each of us can be persuaded that our little bit does not matter, life here will grind to a halt and we will be unable to do anything to make the Kingdom of God a more present reality.  The tempter wants us to think only about our one pledge, our one voice, our one bottle of laundry detergent, and forget that when we all offer what we can, we make a powerful difference in the world.  The tempter says "Keep what you have and use it for yourself, where it will make a real difference."  Scripture says that we are the body of Christ, and when all of the parts, no matter how small, work together, gospel work is done.

The second temptation is the follow-up to the first temptation.  The tempter says "Don't worry-someone else will do it" whatever "it" might be, and the possibilities are endless.  The need might be serving on the vestry or the need might be cleaning up after an event.  The need might be singing in the choir or the need might be serving as an usher for a special service. The need might be serving on the Altar Guild or making a meal for Youth Group and Lego Church.  When the tempter can convince us that someone else will meet that need, the tempter wins because nothing happens.  As long as we think that someone else will meet the need, we cannot move forward.

          The last temptation is a "I don't have time.”  The tempter says "you are far too busy and important to take time for worship and study, much less ministry."  We are busy, all of us.  But if we think God cannot run the world without us for a few hours a week so that we can worship and be renewed, we have decided that we are God.  And the tempter does love that.  Our relationship with God takes work, just like every other relationship we have.  When the tempter can convince us that we don't need to do that work, the tempter wins.  If we want our relationship with God and our relationships with fellow Christians to sustain us in good times and bad, we have to do the work of building and maintaining those relationships.

These temptations and others like them try to keep us from being the people God has created us to be.  When we fall for those temptations, we are unable to do the work God has given us.  When we keep our focus on who we are called to be as God's beloved children, and what we are called to do to make the Kingdom of God more present now, the angels will be with us and the wild beasts will encourage us.  Our relationships with God and each other will be strong, and our ministries will flourish.  And the Tempter will not stand a chance.                                           Amen.

Treasures

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
February 14, 2024

Ash Wednesday

          My favorite part of Ash Wednesday and Lent is undeniably the Lenten devotion booklet that we create together.  The booklet contains a reflection for each day of Lent, Holy Week, and Easter written by a parishioner or friend of Christ Church.  Some of the reflections are written by our children and youth.  Others are written by those with many Lents under their belts. Some reflections are poignant, others challenge us, and some have a touch of humor.  Collectively, all of the reflections speak beautifully about our connections with God, each other, and the world around us.  Each of the reflections is a living example of Jesus’ words at the end of today’s gospel reading.  “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 

          Ash Wednesday and Lent offer us some treasures so that we know where our hearts are and where they might be better aligned with God so we can be the people God calls us to be.  In the Litany of Penitence which we will pray in a few minutes, we confess the many ways that our hearts are self-centered.  Greed, envy, negligence, failure to forgive, exploitation, anger, dishonesty, prejudice, waste and pollution-it is all there right before us and God in our prayers this day.  Those prayers point us to the many places where we misplace our treasure and thus our hearts. 

          However, the disciplines or treasures of Lent are not punishments for our misaligned hearts.  The disciplines of Lent help us see where our values have gone astray and where we can realign our hearts to better live into our lives as people of God and followers of Jesus.  Jesus also warns us not to take on these disciplines in order to be seen by other people, for that completely defeats the purpose of realigning our hearts to be more in tune with God.  On Ash Wednesday, Jesus gives us three treasures to help us find our true hearts.

          The first practice is almsgiving.  Alms are offerings, whether of money, or time, or of talent.  If we are thoughtful and intentional about our almsgiving, we give in order to recognize our connection with those who have less, who need food or clothing or shelter.  If we are sacrificial about our almsgiving, we go without so that someone else has what they need.  At our Shrove Tuesday pancake supper last night, our offering was a benefit for Habitat for Humanity, making home ownership, something many of us take for granted, possible for those with very limited income.   Or we make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for those who are hungry, warm knitted items for those who are cold, or provide laundry detergent for those who experience more month than money.  Almsgiving helps us recognize the needs of others, value what we have to offer, and treasure the opportunity to serve.  Almsgiving orients our hearts to the needs of others.

          Secondly, Jesus instructs us to pray.  Prayer is a treasure that gives us time with God as we offer God the cares and concerns of our hearts and listen for what God may ask of us.  When we pray honestly, prayer connects us with God, with those for whom we pray, with those we need to forgive, with those whose forgiveness we need, and with ourselves as we reveal to God the deepest longings of our hearts.  When open our hearts and make ourselves vulnerable to God, our hearts are changed.

          Lastly, Jesus gives us the treasure of fasting.  There are many ways to fast, all of which help us recognize our dependence on God and our connection with each other.  We may abstain from certain foods or practices, and that can be helpful.  But there are many other ways to fast.  I know of a church that posts a banner in front of the building that says “This Lent, keep the chocolate and give up bigotry, judgement, misogyny, hatred, bias, and divisiveness.”  That makes giving up chocolate look pretty easy!  Pope Francis suggests that if we want to fast this Lent, that we fast from hurting words and say kind words, or fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude, or fast from selfishness and be compassionate, or fast from words and be silent and listen.  Fasting forms our hearts as we are reminded of our dependence on God as we struggle to go without that from which we fast as we move away from actions that divide us and toward actions that bring wholeness and healing.

          “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  In First Thessalonians, from which we do not hear on Ash Wednesday although I wish we did, the apostle Paul writes “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances.  For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  Jesus puts it more succinctly today when he says “Do not look dismal.”  I believe that our Lenten practices can be rooted in joy-not necessarily happiness, but joy as we seek to find our true hearts in the treasures of Lent. 

                            

                                                                                                Amen.

Turning Corners

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
February 11, 2024

The Last Sunday after the Epiphany 

          Today is my father-in-law’s 92^nd birthday.  Don and I spent Friday and Saturday in Springfield celebrating this milestone with Fred, his wife Babs, our two sons and two of our grandchildren. In many ways, Fred is the same person I met over 42 years ago-honest to a fault, kind, loving, and willing to question and think deeply about matters of faith.  And yet, when I met Fred, he was a faithful Southern Baptist and now he is loyal and devoted Episcopalian.  He wrote and self-published his autobiography 10 or 15 years ago.  The book is entitled “Turning Corners: And recognizing untenable positions.”  Fred was raised by very conservative Baptist parents who did not allow dancing or playing cards, or movies, much less other vices. The part of his upbringing that Fred internalized was the willingness to follow Jesus.  The part of his upbringing that Fred turned from over the course of many years was the specifics of how to do that.  Throughout his 92 years, Fred has recognized what was tenable for him and what was not, and kept following Jesus just in different ways.  He meandered through less conservative Baptist churches, then a Methodist church or two, then wound up living in Springfield where Don and I lived and he joined the Episcopal Church, attending worship, Christian education, and coffee hour every Sunday until just recently.  His best friends at church are gay, he enjoys a beer or a glass of wine, playing cards, and is fully and completely Episcopalian.  I am sure the 20 year old Fred Reed never saw the 92 year old Fred Reed coming!eHeHHHhhhhhhhhHThe ptHtHtHE ttTHTHttH     1tTtHE tHE The

          I think of Fred and Turning Corners this morning when I see Jesus take Peter, James, and John up the mountain where Jesus is transfigured in the presence of Elijah and Moses.  On that mountain, Peter, James, and John turned a corner in their understanding of who Jesus is and what it means to follow Jesus.  Just prior to their trip up the mountain, Peter misunderstood Jesus so badly when Jesus predicted his suffering and death that Jesus said to him “Get behind me Satan!  For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”  Then Jesus tells his disciples and the crowds that those who want to save their life will lose it and those who lose their life for the sake of the gospel will save it.  Jesus has hard teachings about what it means to be his follower.  When Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up the mountain, Peter is probably still stung by being called Satan, and all three are likely confused by the whole bit about losing their life and saving it.  That was not exactly what they had in mind when they left fishing behind and took off to follow Jesus.

          And yet, now they stand on the mountain with Moses, Elijah, and the transfigured Jesus and my guess is that they feel a bit vindicated in the midst of all of that glory.  This is more like what they had in mind when they said “yes” to Jesus’ call.  No doubt they feel a bit of privilege since they are the only disciples to be treated to this incredible experience.  Peter wants to build three dwellings on the mountain, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, which seems a little odd since Peter is a fisherman not a carpenter.  But however Peter thinks he might accomplish that on the top of a mountain and with his fishing skills, the point is that Peter sees Jesus with new eyes now, even if he still does not understand.

          When the cloud overshadows them, a voice proclaims “This is my Son, the Beloved.  Listen to him.”  In other words, the voice is saying “Jesus is right.  Pay attention.”  The point is not the glory.  The disciples will still fumble about and get things wrong, deny Jesus and flee the crucifixion.  But they will also go on to start a new movement and build the Church.  The glory helped them see Jesus in a new light, listen more closely, and understand themselves as followers in a new way, even if only in hindsight after the resurrection.

          This morning we will baptize Isabelle Gugleilmi, making her a follower of Jesus.  Baptism is a mountain top experience where we, too, hear the voice of God say, in the words of the church, “This is my child, my beloved” just as Jesus heard those words at his baptism and at his transfiguration.  Baptism also sends us down the mountain and into the world, following Jesus where Jesus leads, which is not always where we thought we were going.  Like the disciples, we will still fumble about and get things wrong, sometimes very wrong.  But following Jesus as we seek and serve Christ in all people, respect the dignity of every human being, and work for justice and peace will take us places we never imagined, challenge our understanding of Jesus, and transform us in ways we never saw coming, sometimes only in hindsight.  As Jesus told his disciples, following him will take us to the cross, through pain and suffering and into new life. 

          So today, we sing great hymns and bury the Alleluias on this little mountaintop that we create here.   Then we turn the corner and journey into Ash Wednesday and Lent, the betrayal, trial, suffering and death of Jesus.  Following Jesus means following Jesus and allowing ourselves to be changed by the journey, whether than change comes in an instant or over many years and decades.  If we follow faithfully and open ourselves to the journey, we will arrive at Easter ready to be transformed by new life.

                                                                             Amen.