Rector’s Corner

Proper 15B, August 19, 2018 1 Kings 2:10-12;3:3-14, Psalm 111 Ephesians 5: 15-20, John 6:51-58 St Thomas the Apostle The Rev’d Joy A. Daley A couple of days ago my microwave died. I hadn’t realized how much I relied on it – for my oatmeal at breakfast, for those steam fresh veggies that just take a few minutes. But the thing that really got me was when I was watching a movie and went to throw in a bag of popcorn to microwave… How can we be fed if we don’t have the means to prepare a meal? But this morning at least, we don’t have to worry about getting a meal together. The food we really need is prepared for us by Christ… with a little help from the Altar Guild. All we need to do is to come and receive all that is here for us. Jesus in…

Proper 13B, August 5, 2018 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a Psalm 51,Ephesians 4: 1-16 John 6:24-35 St Thomas the Apostle The Rev’d Joy A. Daley Has anyone tried any of those Healthy Choice Meals? They have all kinds frozen entrees and even canned soup. I’ve tried many of them and some are pretty good but I have to say the name is more appealing than the product itself. We all know we should have a physically healthy diet so we can feel good and move through the world without too much difficulty. You may have seen the article in our newsletter on Thursday titled Healthy Eating is a Snap about our own Stephen Toon and Virginia Holleman about how they educate others in Healthy diets. What they do in these sessions is part of their ministry in the world. There is actually lots t of information about healthy physical eating but what…

Proper 12B, July 29, 2018 2 Samuel 11:1-15, Psalm 14 Ephesians 3: 14-21, John 6: 1-21 St Thomas the Apostle The Rev’d Joy A. Daley It happens every year. Vacation is coming so I get out my suitcase and I start deciding what I’m going to take for a week’s journey. I vow that this time I will take less, that I’ll easily be able to toss my suitcase into that overhead bin on the plane and I will not have any aching muscles in my arms the next day from the effort. My plan is that when I zip that thing up it will be flat across the top when it is laying on the floor. Then the inner conversation begins. What if it gets really hot? What if it gets cold? What if I decide to go out to someplace really good for dinner and I don’t have…

Proper 11B, July 22, 2018 2 Samuel 7: 1-14a, Psalm 23 Ephesians 2:11-22, Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 St Thomas the Apostle The Rev’d Joy A. Daley “He is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall.” These words from Paul are not only for the Ephesians but also for us. They are wonderful words to hear and to experience this week. “No longer strangers or aliens but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself the chief cornerstone.” What a month this has been. A way has been opened up where there was no way, as the plea of, “All sacraments for all people,” has not only been heard but now will be a reality. After the long and tedious work by…

Proper 5B, June 10, 2018 1Samuel 8: 4-20,11:14-15 Psalm 138, 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 Mark 3:20-35 St Thomas the Apostle The Rev’d Joy A. Daley Perhaps the best thing I read all week was titled “Is Jesus crazy?” His family and friends seem to think so in today’s Gospel, either that or he is possessed by the devil. I’m not sure which is worse. What it tells us is that Jesus’ behavior is suspect. He heals people on the wrong days. He eats with the wrong people. The folks he has chosen as disciples are not the brightest and best from the community. He hasn’t been trained or authorized by the religious leaders of the day and they don’t like what he’s doing. I wonder if even the people he was going to heal thought he was strange. Can you imagine being crippled your whole life and this stranger saying, “Get…

Pentecost May 20, 2018 Acts 2: 1-21, Psalm 104 Romans 8:22-27, John 15:26-27;16:4b-15 St. Thomas the Apostle The Rev’d Joy A. Daley As I was reflecting about Pentecost this week, I began to think that so much of the music celebrating the Holy Spirit is really beautiful like the hymns we will be singing today and then my mind thought back to a particular piece I heard for the first time several years ago by composer Moses Hogan. Maybe some of the choir have heard it I’m gonna sing till the music moves in my heart, I’m gonna sing till Jesus comes (Can’t you feel the spirit moving) get on You tube (not now) and watch a bunch of separate choirs sing it and what you will find is that the singers can’t sit or stand still when they are performing it and even as I was listening to it…

Easter 6B, May 6, 2018 Acts 10:44-48, Psalm 98 1 John 5:1-6, John 15:9-17 St. Thomas the Apostle The Rev’d Joy A. Daley They were as different as people could be, different in color, age, class. The fact that they found themselves in the same location was about the only real similarity and they even got there for different reasons. Red truly was a paying for a crime he had committed and Andy had been framed for a murder he didn’t commit. Red had already been there a while and was much older than Andy who was a successful banker before he came to Shawshank Prison. Somehow these two men became friends. Now we know that there are many kinds and levels of friendship. There’s the kind that is based on doing things together common interest that might be casual with no real responsibility or expectations. Some friendships start off…