Tag Archives: retreat

Proper 10 Year C: Great Grace (not Slick)

Posted on by

Deuteronomy 30:9-14
Colossians 1:1-14
Luke 10:25-37

July 13, 2025   Abbey Church   Abraham

Sometimes small words can add a lot to whatever is being said. Our scripture readings today have talked about: obeying God so that our lives may be blessed (that’s from Moses), and about patiently living lives of hope so that we bear good fruit (that’s from Paul), and about the fact that strangers are really our neighbors who deserve our care (that’s from Jesus.)

But maybe the most important word that holds the whole thing together is from Paul’s introduction to his letter to Colossae that we just heard: “Grace” – “Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” Everything is a gift, graciously given to us by God. God gives us the world and the people in it, and if we treat our world and our neighbors as wonderful gifts, then we will all have abundant lives. If we choose rather to exploit our world and the people around us as commodities we have earned and can therefore abuse, then we will all have horrible lives – ourselves, the people around us, and the entire world.

If we don’t see everything as a gift from a gracious God, then we live in fear, because we mistakenly think that we need to push other people down so that we can steal their stuff in order to have what we need. But all the while, God is desperately trying to freely give us everything, including eternal life. We can’t accept it if our hands are made into fists, instead of being stretched out with our palms up in order to receive everything from God.

“Grace” – “Grace to us and peace from God our Father.” It is scary to open up and receive. It is scary because we have all been hurt by others, and we have all hurt ourselves and others. So, we shouldn’t feel bad about ourselves when we are too afraid to open up and receive. At some point, we will. God can wait an eternity if needed. God’s grace is eternal, and brings healing, joy, and peace to all. AMEN

Easter 6 Year C: Big Peace

Posted on by

John 14:23-29

May 25, 2025   Abbey Church   Abraham

Jesus gives us His peace, but he says that he does not give it as the world gives it. That is good, because we know that when “the world” gives us peace, it does not last, because it is peace achieved through suppression of whatever is causing agitation. Whenever more agitants pop up, the peace is gone.

Jesus gives us peace by healing our relationship with the universe, so that we need not be agitated. He also heals our relationship with ourselves, and we all know that our biggest lack of peace comes from our inner turmoil (our biggest source of agitation is our own selves.)

So. Jesus gives us this supreme peace, but we sure do not seem to experience it very often. Maybe we do not receive it because we are not receptive. Maybe we are waiting for Jesus to suppress our agitants. Maybe we are mistaken about what should agitate us.

We need to spend more time with the promised Holy Spirit who will teach us how to receive the peace of Jesus. We have an eternity in which to learn, and an infinity to learn about. We can start by listening to the Holy Spirit in scripture and silence, and by being fed by Jesus as we gather around this table.

We do not need to worry about lacking faith whenever we are not in peace. Peace is a gift, not a test. And it is a big Jesus-sized gift, so there should be no surprise that it takes so long for us to unpack and learn how to use it. The Holy Spirit is with us to show us how it works. May we be open to instruction.   AMEN

Holy Week Schedule

Posted on by

Palm Sunday April 13
8:30am We gather in the Great Hall for blessing and distribution of palms and then process into the church to hear the singing of the Passion Narrative.

Maundy Thursday April 17
7:00pm We celebrate the institution of the Lord’s Supper.

Good Friday April18
12:00 noon We remember and celebrate the glorification of our Lord Jesus as he is lifted high upon the throne of the cross.

Holy Saturday April 19
11:00pm We gather in the Great Hall for the lighting of the new fire and then process into the church to hear scripture readings of salvation, to renew our baptismal vows, and to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus as he begins the restoration of all of creation.
We then gather in the refectory for a party (the monks provide all the food and drink – please join us).

Easter Day April 20
9:30am Morning celebration of Easter Day in the church.

Easter Monday April 21
5:00pm Benediction and Vespers

Guests are welcome at any of our services. Anyone allowed to take communion in their own church is welcome to do so here with us.

Proper 26 Year B: Yes And

Posted on by

Proper 26 Year B
Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Hebrews 9:11-14
Mark 12:28-34

November 4, 2024   Abbey Church   Abraham

Faith or works, Love or Action, Mary or Martha. These oppositions are false and harmful. Faith produces Works, Love is Active, Mary starves without Martha. If all we do is send “thoughts and prayers” when we could go further with actions to help solve a problem, that means that we are thinking about ourselves and praying with gratitude that we are ok, rather than caring about the people with the problem.

On the flip side, action without prayer can be dangerous, because it often springs from hasty decisions based solely on our own narrow viewpoint. Loving God, our neighbor, and ourself takes work and wisdom. Faith without works is just as self-centered as works without faith, because dead faith gives us a false security because we feel protected and special, while dead works gives us false security because it addresses symptoms while ignoring causes.

Of course, life is messy. Sometimes, something needs to be done, and there is not a lot of time to pray about it, so we simply do something, hoping it is the right thing to do. Other times, something needs to be done, but we are not in a position to do anything, so we just send “thoughts and prayers”, hoping that at some point we can actually do something. Those are good reactions, because at least we are doing what we can at the time with the best intentions.

Maybe the best way to live with the messy problem of life is to put our faith and work into action all the time – not just when needed in big dramatic situations. We can pray everyday. We can do small good things for people everyday. Doing so makes us people of Faith and Works, Love and Action, Mary and Martha. It prepares us for times when big faith and works is needed and it makes us and the world around us better, even if no big problems ever occur.

Faith and Works are not in opposition, because they both spring from Grace. God gives us the ability to Love and Act, and to put our Faith to Work. Without God’s Grace, we can do neither. Grace is always there – we just need to stop resisting it. It is scary only on the surface. Love God, love our neighbor, love ourself. We have all the tools we need to do that, and even the crudest attempt is a good start. The outcome is up to God. Our job is to just do it. It will seem to us that we fail often, but God’s Grace is big, and it is all we really need. Love God, love our neighbor, love ourself. We all really want that, and every attempt is a success.   AMEN

Easter V Year B: Missing Body Parts

Posted on by

Acts 8:26-40
I John 4:7-21
John 15:1-8

April 28, 2024   Abbey Church   Abraham

There are many lists of laws and rules in the Old Testament, and they do not always match up exactly. Most of the lists work with the idea that God exists in such a different level of reality that we need to meet certain criteria in order to connect with God and not be obliterated in the process. There are certain things we must do and possess and other things we must not do and possess in order to safely commune with God. Being good to other people is high on most of the lists of things to do. Being free from involvement in things associated with beginning or ending lives is also high on most lists: recently touching a corpse or having sex or menstruating must be avoided in order to safely be in God’s presence. Being healthy is also necessary: having leprosy or missing body parts was an obstacle to communal worship.

So, our first reading this morning is surprising because it is about someone missing some body parts who had been worshiping God and came through the experience safely and positively. His story is a catalyst for all of us to reassess our private lists of rules about who is acceptable to God.

Another good reason to reassess our private holiness checklists is the fact that Jesus shows us that although God does indeed exist on a different plane than we do, God also exists on our level of reality as one of us. So, all those rules about avoiding the messy parts of physical existence don’t carry weight anymore, because Jesus lived and lives all that messiness with us. The part about being good to other people grows in importance, but even that is not necessary. The only criterion we need to meet in order to relate to God is to exist.

Our existence give us the right to commune with God, and also the right to reject God. We can be a branch on the Jesus vine and thrive, or we can go our own way and wither. What we cannot do is decide whether or not others can also be on the Jesus vine, and they cannot decide for us. We simply need to stay on the vine and make room for others.   AMEN