• Welcome
• Worship
• Meet Our Staff
• Sermons
• Photos
• Our Labyrinth
• Useful Information
• Links & Resources
• Find Us

Sunday
spoken eucharist - 8 am
bible study - 9 am
sung eucharist - 10 am

Wednesday

services begin at 7 pm

healing service (1st, 3rd)

evening prayer (2nd,4th)

eucharist (5th)

The last time I saw the Greek myth Orpheus and Eurydice portrayed on stage it was in an off-Broadway production in New York City awhile back.  It was a memorable production, in spite of the two women sitting next to us, one of whom slept through the tragedy with her head perched back upon her seat snoring at some rather odd moments in the dialogue.

So yesterday morning when we were fortunate enough to see by the magic of digital simulcast at the Lensic Theatre here in Santa Fe the delightful production of  Orpheo ed Euridice from New York’s Metropolitan Opera, I was prepared once again for the drama of the tragedy of love.

For as you know, Orpheus is given a chance to retrieve his dead wife descending through the Underworld but with one caution, he is forbidden to look at her as he leads her back to the land of the living and if he does, she will die a second time and this forever.

As I watched the opera unfold I found myself doing what I think all of us do when we read or hear or see this story … urging Orpheus, “Don’t look back, don’t turn your head this time, bring Eurydice back to life.”

And of course he does turn his head and looks at her, how could he not?  And she dies again.  What tragedy indeed.

Except that this opera was by Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck in the 1760s, and this composer of the early classical period changed how opera was being done.  He changed the melodramatic style of opera that was in place for most of the century … he created, that is a revolution, a new way of doing things, a new way of telling the story.  So in this version of Orpheus and Eurydice things change from complex plots and music to a simplicity that captures the audience … and in the end, because of Orpheus’ deep love for his wife, Amor (flight-full goddess of Love) allows her to be revived a second time and both come back to the land of the living and all the happiness and joy that there can be.

And afterwards – because it was Saturday, the end of a long week for me of struggling with my announced Sermon Title for this Sunday – afterwards I thought to myself: how very much like the Gospel … and not just today’s reading, but the whole Gospel, the entire story of Good News … and how wonderful a thing especially on this particular Sunday that is Welcoming Sunday, Reconciling-in-Christ Sunday in our Church.

Two Sundays ago, we read in the very beginning of the Gospel According to Mark about the Baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan River, this ritual act of washing … a new beginning as a way of initiating a new understanding of the reign of God.

Last Sunday, we read in the very beginning of the Gospel According to John about the calling to discipleship: Philip speaks to Nathaniel, Nathaniel turns away in disbelief, Jesus speaks to Nathaniel in such a way that Nathaniel knows this person knows everything about him, and he becomes a follower.

And now today, back in the beginning chapter of the Gospel of Mark, the story of the calling of Peter and James and John, fishermen, and the suggestion by Jesus that if they come along they will end up they will end up in a vocation that involves more than just casting their nets and gathering in the sardines and musht (the word means ‘comb’ … a kind of tilapia, today called St. Peter’s Fish) that inhabit the Sea of Galilee.

These three stories, I insist, are stories that woven together put forth something just as radical as the operatic change made by Gluck, where death is not the end of the story, but newness and fullness and love.

Let’s put it another way, a simpler way … here’s how the Gospel Writers understood things as they tried to put into words the story about Jesus:

• here we are in a world that needs healing
• look around and see the brokenness, the people who are sick and suffering, the wars and violence that is taking place, the oppression of many by a few
• along comes one with a message of change, a humble person imbued with the presence of God, so powerful that he is able to bring along others, in time, many others into this journey of Good News for everyone
• as that takes place, things change, hearts are forgiven, people are reconciled, healing begins, life is restored, and new life springs up like flowers after the winter cold
• so, come along, all of you as well, follow this One into a life where you will love God, love your neighbor, and bring healing to the world (what in Hebrew is called Tikun Olam the ‘repair’ of the world).

 

Now ... you will note that nowhere in all this Gospel Story is there anything about individual salvation … nowhere is there a religious effort to bring healing to only the individual … nowhere is it all about Jesus alone ...

But always, in the Gospel Story, it is about the community … Jesus and his followers … the one who is healed who tells others … Peter and James and John …

You see far too often the Church itself has seemed like a monolithic (a single stone) of holiness.   “Jesus is my personal Saviour”  “Jesus lover of my soul” “I come to the garden alone” …

They may be favourite sayings and hymns, but it’s not the Gospel.  Because the Gospel is always about inclusiveness with others, always.  When the church says you it is always a plural.  “The entire forgiveness of all your sins” means the whole community together.

When we come to Holy Communion … it is not 100 private communions taking place around the Altar … it is the community meal of love and forgiveness and reconciliation.

And far too often the monolithic holiness of the church has said … “we have it, you don’t, listen to us, you might have a chance” … a most un-Gospel, un-Jesus statement.

And to this the church has added over the years … “by the way, if you are not heterosexual … well, go join Eurydice …” so fearful of sexuality has the people of God become over the centuries.

Well … what the Gospel does, and it does it every week, every time we come into its presence, this Story of Jesus and the Good News that flows from him into a loving community that wants as its center the healing of others … what the Gospel does is to not just challenge these monolithic thoughts and actions, but upset them, change them, reverse them.

It’s like Gluck’s invention … Orpheus doesn’t just get to come back to the land of the living, so does his wife!  They live (at least in the storytelling) … they live together, and they’re happy.

Jesus doesn’t come along the edge of the shore and say to Peter and James and John, “Follow me and everything will be miserable.”  No … it’s just the opposite.  “Follow me and I will show you how fishing means something more.”

And if you read on in Mark’s Gospel, as we shall in the next few weeks before the Season of the Sundays after Epiphany come to a close on February 22 with the Feast of the Transfiguration, right before Lent begins … if you read on, what takes place in Mark’s Gospel right after the calling of these initial disciples into the community … what follows is all kinds of chances, opportunities for healing … next a man with an unclean spirit who is upsetting worship in the synagogue, then Peter’s mother-in-law who is sick in bed near death, then a whole squadron of sick and demon-filled people who run to Jesus and his group of followers begging for help.

Just like the church, you see … just like the church is supposed to be.  We’re baptized, we’re welcomed into the community, and we get to work … right away.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, just who gets invited … the Gospels tell us: everyone … no distinction … everyone one, anyone, all are welcome.  There is no prerequisite for joining the community, just a desire to be here. 

As a woman in this parish told me long ago on one particular Sunday … “Pastor, I finally got it, the Eucharist is not a goal to achieve, but a gift to receive.” 

There it is.  Now on this Sunday of Welcoming and Reconciling, let us celebrate all that it means to open our arms and hearts and lives to others so that our community can be what Jesus wants it to be … a fellowship of love and hope and forgiveness and life!

+ Deo Gratia