Easter 5 B - May 2, 2021

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY

Br. Bob Pierson, OHC

Easter 5 B  - Sunday, May 2, 2021

Acts 8:26-40

1 John 4:7-21

John 15:1-8

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“God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.”

This line from the first letter of John, chapter 4, reminds me of the often quoted phrase:  “Love, and do what you will.”  Wondering where it originated, I googled it, and discovered that it's from a Sermon on Love, by St. Augustine of Hippo.  The basic point is that if what you are doing is done in love, it cannot be wrong because God is love, and if we love we are acting like God would act.

Of course, that begs the question, “What does it mean to do something in love?”  Here, love is not just a warm, fuzzy feeling, but a desire to do what is best for the person we love.  And sometimes, we need to practice “tough love” and say, “no” when we are asked to do something or support something that we know would be harmful to those we love.  Parents know about this all too well, as they frequently find themselves telling their children “no” when it would be so much easier just to say “yes”.

Clearly, love is an important Christian value.  When asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus offers two commandments:  Love God, and love your neighbor as you love yourself.  So love is directed first of all to God, and then to others and yes, even to ourselves.  Both the gospel of John and the first letter of John teach us a great deal about love.  Jesus says, “God so loved the world that he gave the only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him may not perish, but may have eternal life.”  Last Sunday we heard Jesus say, “I am the Good Shepherd, and I lay down my life for my sheep.”  And in the 15th chapter of John's gospel Jesus says:  “There is no great love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.”   And a bit later in the same chapter, Jesus says “This is my commandment:  Love one another as I have loved you.”

But how do we discern what is the loving thing to do?  Earlier this week I heard a story about a newpaper reporter who went to interview a successful small business owner.  “How did you do it?” he asked.  “How did you make all this money?”  

“I'm glad you asked,” the businessman said.  “It's a great story.  When my wife and I married, we started out with a roof over our heads, some food in our pantry, and five cents between us.  I took that nickel, and went down to the grocery store.  I bought an apple, shined it up, and sold it for ten cents.

"What did you do then?” the reporter asked.  “Well,” he said, “I bought two more apples, shined them up and sold them for twenty cents.”  The reporter thought this would be a great human interest story, so he asked excitedly, “Then what?”  The businessman replied, “Then my father-in-law died and left us $20 million.”   The moral of the story:  You need to be connected to the right people.

In the gospel today, Jesus makes it clear that in order for us to flourish as the branches, we need to be connected to the vine, connected to Jesus.  “Abide in me as I abide in you.  Just as the branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.”  How do we discern what is the loving thing to do?  By abiding in Jesus, and letting his example of selfless love teach us how to love as he loves us.  And he promises us that “if you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”   What a promise!  Of course, it assumes that if we are abiding in him, the things we ask for will be according to his will and his way of doing things.  As long as we love, as long as we abide in him, we can't go wrong, or so it seems.

But how do we know that we are abiding in him and listening to his voice?  What about the possibility of self-deception?  We all need the help of a wise guide—a good friend or a spiritual director who can help us see clearly and avoid self-deception.  That's the lesson we learn from the section from the Acts of the Apostles we read today.  The Ethiopian eunuch was a man of faith, who had traveled a great distance to worship in Jerusalem.  But he needed help to understand what he was reading in the prophet Isaiah.  Philip provided the guidance he needed, leading him to ask for baptism.  Philip explained the good news and helped the Ethiopian eunuch to see how he, too, needed to abide in Jesus.  We all can benefit from the help of a trusted friend or spiritual director who witnesses the Good News of God's love for us and encourages us in our desire to love one another and to abide in the vine so that we can bear much fruit and become his disciples.

As we approach the table of the Lord to receive his body and blood which he left us as a sign of his love for us, we are nourished and strengthened to love one another as he loves us by laying down our lives for one another.  May we always abide in that great love.

Ash Wednesday - February 17, 2021

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY

Br. Bob Pierson, OHC

Ash Wednesday  - Sunday, February 14, 2021

Joel 2:1-2,12-17

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

Matthew 6:1-6,16-21

Click here for an audio version of this sermon

Welcome to Lent!  Here we are again at the beginning of this great season of repentance in preparation for the celebration of Easter in 40 days.  We know how to do this.  Jesus outlines a three-fold practice that has been around for centuries: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.  As monks, we don't usually give alms individually, though we might be led to do so from our “personal discretionary accounts” as we call them.  And we certainly pray a lot already, so adding a little more to our prayer practice probably won't hurt us.  But fasting....that's another matter.  

Of course, as a kid I learned how to fast from my parents.  I remember Mom got a really good deal on fish sticks one year, and we had fish sticks at least once a day for the whole season of Lent.  And of course, lots of us gave up candy, particularly chocolate.  And as we got older, we may have given up alcohol, or Starbucks, or as I did one year, bookstores.  But what good did all that giving up accomplish?  Were we any better for it at the end of Lent?  

Isaiah points out to the people of Israel that they have gotten fasting all wrong.  He says:

“You serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers.  Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist.  Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high.”  

He goes on to say:

 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?  Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?....If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, THEN your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like noonday.”

It's very clear that Isaiah thought the purpose of fasting was to change our lives and start living the justice that we proclaim God cares about.  So, how can we do that?  Our church has been challenging us to think about how we participate in the racism of our society and to begin doing something to change things.  And one thing the coronavirus has brought out in society is how the poor and minorities, those who have less than others, are often the least able to get benefits in our healthcare system.  And there are still way too many people going hungry, even in our own country.  We have a lot of work to do.  

It's easy to get overwhelmed and not know where to start.  As I was scrolling down the page on Facebook the other day, I came across a very helpful post entitled “Do you want to fast this Lent?”  Someone else saw it too, and posted it on our monastery bulletin board.  It says “in the words of Pope Francis:

--Fast from hurting words and say kind words.

--Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude.

--Fast from anger and be filled with patience.

--Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope.

--Fast from worries and have trust in God.

--Fast from complaints; contemplate simplicity.

--Fast from pressures and be prayerful.

--Fast from bitterness; fill your hearts with joy.

--Fast from selfishness and be compassionate.

--Fast from grudges and be reconciled.

--Fast from words; be silent and listen.

I hope I will do a better job of fasting this year after reading such good advice.

Second Sunday of Advent B - December 6, 2020

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY

Br. Bob Pierson, OHC

Advent 2 B  - Sunday, December 6, 2020

Isaiah 40:1-11

2 Peter 3:8-15a

Mark 1:1-8

Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13

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Each year, on the second Sunday of Advent, we are introduced to the figure of John the Baptist, that strange fellow who runs around in the desert, dressed in camel's hair, and eating locusts and wild honey.  And on this year, Year B of the three year lectionary cycle we are also given the treat of hearing this first reading from Isaiah 40:

“Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.”

We know that the original context for these words of Isaiah was the post exilic prophet proclaiming the good news that the exile was coming to an end.  That God was coming to bring the people back to Jerusalem.  So, it's time to “prepare the way of the Lord,” to fill in the valleys and cut through the mountains, to construct a super highway through the desert to allow God to bring the people home.  

This was extremely good news for the people of Israel.  How can it also be “good news” for us?  The past few months have found us wandering in a desert exile of our own as we respond to the presence of the coronavirus in our midst.  And while the exile is not over yet by any means, we know that it is coming to an end with the advent of several vaccines that, if people allow themselves to be vaccinated, will bring this plague to an end.  But if that is the only thing we think we need to be “saved” from, I think we are ignoring another “disease” in our midst that has been around for much longer, and can be just as devastating as any respiratory illness.

I am talking about the “disease” of rancor that exists in many parts of the world between good people who are so convinced that they are right that, in fact, they are wrong.  People on every side of our political divides have become so rancorous that it seems we have forgotten about the command to “Love our neighbors as we love ourselves.”  Many of us have become so comfortable with ranting and raving against “them” that we have forgotten that “they” are our brothers and sisters, fellow human beings in need of the same respect and dignity that we hope to obtain for ourselves.  

What kind of vaccine can save us from this illness?  During the past few days of silent retreat I have been reading a book that has sat on my shelf for years.  It was a gift from a directee of mine back in Minnesota, and I have been putting off reading it until just this week.  The book is entitled, “Left To Tell,” and it's the story of a young Rwandan woman, Immaculee Ilibagiza, who survived the genocide that took place in her country in 1994.  Along with five other women, she hid in a bathroom that was 4 feet by 3 feet for over three months.  During that time she experienced such fear, and anger, and hatred for those trying to kill her and her family, that she knew she had to turn to God to save her soul from being consumed by the evil around her.  After they were rescued, which is an amazing story in itself, she knew that God had saved her life so that she could tell her story while working for the healing of the soul of her country and people.  She refused to give in to hatred and revenge, and learned to pray for her persecutors who had killed all of her family and were hunting her by name.  The conversion that she experienced in that tiny bathroom over those three months enabled her to be Christ after the war ended.

I am convinced that we, too, are called to reject the invitation to “demonize” those with whom we disagree and to pray for them as our brothers and sisters in the Lord.  That is not to say that we don't need to work for truth and justice, but more than revenge we need healing and reconciliation.  It's hard work because people will not be easily brought together after such serious divisions have been encouraged by many around us, but it IS the way of Jesus, and bringing healing and reconcilation is the way to prepare for the coming of the Lord.  

In the selection we heard today from the second letter of Peter, he reminds us that “the Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.”  He asks, “what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming day of God...?  Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.” 

 

As we gather around the table of the Lord at this Eucharist today, let us promise to live the healing and reconciliation that Jesus offers us in this sacrament.  Let us refuse to give in to the pressure to “win” or “get even,” and rather work for all to be reconciled in Christ.  We can be examples of Christ's love and mercy as we refuse to give in to the need to write off those with whom we disagree, and work to love them as God loves them.  What a wonderful way to prepare the way!

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 18 A - September 6, 2020

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY

Br. Bob Pierson, OHC

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 18 A - September 6,.2020

Exodus 12:1-14
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20

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If we go to the Bible for practical advice, sometimes we can be disappointed.  Not this Sunday. Jesus lays out a step-by-step process for seeking forgiveness and reconcilation in the church (and I would say any other Christian community.)  If someone injures us, we should first of all go to them directly and try to work it out.  If that doesn't work, then try it with one or two others as witnesses.  And if that doesn't work, then bring it before the whole community.  It sounds very straight-forward and simple, doesn't it?

Well, it sounds simple, but is it really that simple?  Most of the time when someone injures us, we go to someone we can trust, and tell them what happened, trying to get an ally for ourselves in our pain.  If we tell enough people, eventually the person who hurt us starts getting a reputation for being a nasty person, and may not even know that what they did was hurtful.

Why don't we go to the person themselves to start with?  Well, if we really have been hurt, we may be afraid of getting hurt again, and out of self-defense, we seek an ally.  That might be OK if we stop with one person who we trust, and who has the wisdom to encourage us to deal directly with the person involved.  Otherwise we run the risk of creating division in the community, and once that has started it's very hard to undo the damage that it causes.

Jesus is talking about relationships within the Christian community, and I think that's an important thing to keep in mind.  In the community, we can hope that everyone has the intention of “loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.”  In Christian community we would hope that no one sets out deliberately to harm another by their selfishness or lack of regard for others.  That might be unrealistic, but if I really want to live by Jesus' great commandment of love, then I need to be willing to give others a chance to know when they've hurt me, and give them a chance to apologize so that I can forgive them, and we can both move ahead in our relationship.

Paul makes this point so clearly in the section we heard from the letter to the Romans today:  “Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”  He says all the commandments are summed up in the great commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  That's what it means to “lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”  We need to go beyond what might seem reasonable in our relationships with others to give them a chance to fulfill that same commandment of love.  

And we can trust that God will be with us in the process.  Jesus says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”  We are gathered in his name, and we can trust that God IS with us, here as we worship, and as we work to create the Beloved Community that God desires for us.  Forgiveness and reconciliation may not be the “normal” or “expected” thing to do.  But it IS the Christian thing to do.

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 9A - July 5. 2020

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Br. Bob Pierson, OHC

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 9 A - July 5.2020

Zechariah 9:9-12
Romans 7:15-25a
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

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As we celebrate Independence Day this weekend, I find myself with very mixed feelings.  I consider myself to be as patriotic as anyone, and yet the love of my country does not prevent me from seeing its short-comings.  As I ponder the call to “Make America Great Again,” and see the huge disparities between rich and poor, black and white, I have to acknowledge that perhaps we have a bit too much independence, and what we need is a lot more interdependence.  

No where does Jesus say “Look out for yourself, and to heck with everyone else.”  No, he says “Love your neighbor as yourself” quoting the book of Leviticus.  The Bible does not say, “God helps those who help themselves.”  No, that comes from Poor Richard's Almanac.  Too many of us have confused 18th century political philosophy with the teaching of the gospel.  Yes, we have “unalienable rights” but so does everyone else, regardless of their skin color, their country of origin, or their religious beliefs.

If we want to make America great again, perhaps we need to consider what Jesus says about “greatness”:  “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them.  It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”  Matthew 20: 25-28

Being great in the kingdom of God means being willing to serve, to humble oneself.  The prophet Zechariah says the Messiah will come “humble and riding on a donkey.”  And Jesus praises God for revealing the truth of the kingdom to infants, rather than the wise and intelligent.  What is the message for us?  If we want to be powerful and great in God's reign, we need to be like children and recognize our need to depend on God for everything.  God's power is not revealed in military might, but rather in the love that caused Jesus to “lay down his life for his friends.”

Jesus says, “This is my commandment; that you love one another as I have loved you.”  John 15:12  We have an obligation to love and it is in living out that obligation in our lives that we become truly great.  That resonates so clearly with my own reasons for pride in our country.  We are great when we set aside our own agendas for the sake of one another in need.  We are great when we come together to help those suffering from illness or injustice or natural disaster.  It is so inspiring to see Americans helping other human beings in this country and abroad.  Our country has done great things, and it's usually when we forget about ourselves and reach out to others in need.  

Yet there are those in leadership in our government who want us to focus not on helping others but rather on helping ourselves.  They want us to focus on what we don't have rather than to be grateful for the tremendous gifts that God has given our nation.  By appealing to our fear that we will lose our “power,” they want to control us in such a way that we really become less than who we can be if we give ourselves over to God's commandment to love instead.

At the end of today's gospel passage, Jesus reminds us that we can turn to him when we are “weary and are carrying heavy burdens” and he will give us rest.  The rest that Jesus promises is a “yoke that is easy” and a “burden that is light.”  It is the yoke of our connection to one another, and the burden of caring for each other.  When we take on that yoke and carry that burden, then, and only then, will we find rest for our souls.

The Feast of the Annunciation - Wednesday, March 26, 2020

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Br. Bob Pierson, OHC
The Feast of the Annunciation - Wednesday, March 26, 2020

Isaiah 7:10-14
Hebrews 10:4-10
Luke 1:26-38

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No typescript is available for this sermon. An excerpt is below. Hear the full sermon at the link above.

What does this Feast of the Annunciation have to say to us in our current situation as we battle the Coronavirus? As I was praying about that, I recalled one of our catchphrases in 12-step recovery:

"Let go, and let God."

Here's Mary - a teenage girl - in a town called Nazareth, the middle of nowhere. And Luke tells us she was "perplexed" by the message of an angel. She had to wonder, "What's going to happen to me? Why me?"

She could have thought, "Fake news," and ignored the angel. But instead she said, "Here I am, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word." She didn't try to control the situation, she didn't panic - she trusted. She "let go, and let God" take care of her.

Easier said than done, you might say. Yes. It's not easy to trust, to let go of controlling outcomes, to trust that God has a plan for us and is working to fulfill that plan.

That's not to say that we should just sit back and do nothing. We need to do our own part. But in the end we have no choice but to let God work in our lives - "Let it be with me according to your word."

Pentecost 21C - Sunday, November 3, 2019

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Br. Robert Pierson, OHC
Pentecost 21C - Proper 26 - Sunday, November 3, 2019

Isaiah 1:10-18
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12
Luke 19:1-10

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The prophet Isaiah says, “Hear the word of the Lord....Trample my courts no more; bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me.”  So there....I guess we've been told.  Luckily we no longer put much stock in animal sacrifices or even cereal offerings, but what about our incense?  We do use a lot of it around here.

Of course, we are not meant to hear this passage literally, and yes, I did take it completely out of context.  The actual point that the prophet is making is in the next verse:  “I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.”  God is not interested in our religiosity if it is not supported by a concern for justice, and care for the poor, and the oppressed.  We can't hide our sinfulness behind religious ritual or even pious prayers.  God sees right through that.  God calls us to “remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”

My guess is that most, if not all of us, are concerned for the poor and oppressed --to a point.  And it's at that point that we need to hear what the prophet Isaiah is saying today.  Can we be more concerned than we are?  Should we be more concerned than we are for those who lack the basics of life?  Well, at least none of us are as out of touch with the needs of our neighbors as Zacchaeus was.

The gospel story today tells us that Zacchaeus “was a chief tax collector and was rich.”  As we know, tax collectors were Jewish people who worked for the Romans to collect tax money to be sent to Rome.  They weren't paid, but were expected to collect their own living expenses by charging more than was owed to Rome, and keeping the rest for themselves.  If Zacchaeus was a rich man, then we can assume that he was a very skilled extortionist.  He knew how to get lots of money from people, and they resented him for it.  That's why people were so upset when Jesus paid him attention.

And it's interesting that Jesus knew who he was.  Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was.  Evidently they had never met, but Jesus knew who that man in the tree was even before he was introduced.  Zacchaeus was that notorious.  And if Jesus knew who he was, he knew what kind of person he was, just as everyone else did.  But Jesus didn't preach to Zacchaeus; he didn't correct or criticize him, or even acknowledge his reputation.  Jesus simply reached out to Zacchaeus, and invited himself to “stay” at his house.  It's understandable that the people around were upset.  Why would Jesus want to stay with a tax collector? And a rich one, at that. Doesn't he know what kind of man this is?

I think Jesus knew exactly what he was doing.  His open, loving invitation to Zacchaeus caused a tremendous conversion to take place.  Now, all of a sudden, Zacchaeus is offering to give half of what he owns to the poor.  And he even admits that he might have defrauded some people, and is willing to pay them back four times as much.  Jesus' merciful approach to Zacchaeus completely disarms him and enables him to seek to do the right things regarding his neighbors.  When Jesus preaches, he doesn't speak to Zacchaeus but rather to the crowd, reminding them that Zacchaeus is “a son of Abraham,” a member of the Jewish community just as much as they are.

So let's return for a moment to Isaiah's concern about the poor and oppressed.  We don't need to get defensive about our lack of attention to the poor.  We are called, like Zaccheus, to recognize that we are all in this together, that we are all members of the human family and that we must be concerned for those who have less than we do because we owe it to them to share what we have rather than hoard it for ourselves.  Like Zacchaeus, Jesus' love and mercy for us empowers us to be loving and merciful to others in need.  We are moved to act, not out of guilt, but rather out of gratitude for all that God has done for us.

We hope that Paul might say of us what he said about the people of Thessalonika:  “your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing....To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Pentecost 17C - Sunday, October 6, 2019

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY

Br. Bob Pierson, OHC
Pentecost 17C - Sunday, October 6, 2019

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Luke 17:5-10

Click here for an audio version of the sermon.

When I read the words of the prophet Habakkuk in today's first reading, I thought perhaps he had been listening in on my personal prayer time.  His words closely mirror my own sentiments:

“O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?  Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?  Why do you make me see wrong-doing and look at trouble?  Destruction and violence are before me, strife and contention arise.  So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails.”

I will admit that these words may overstate our current situation just a bit, but I think many of us really wonder what's going on in our world today when our nation's leaders seem to be using their power illegally to investigate political rivals, innocent refugees are being imprisoned at our borders along with their children, gun violence continues to be reported in the news almost weekly, and nothing seems to be happening to deal with any of it.  To quote the psalmist, “How long, O Lord!”  So, as Habakkuk continues, he has my attention:

“I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint.  Then the Lord answered me and said:  Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it.  For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie.  If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.  Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.”

“The righteous live by their faith.”  What does that mean?  Perhaps an answer lies in our other two Scripture passages today.  The gospel passage from Luke has two curious sayings of Jesus.  In the first, after the apostles ask Jesus for an increase of faith, he basically tells them, “You don't need MORE faith.  If you had just a tiny bit of faith, you could do amazing things.  And then Jesus goes on to tell the apostles that they shouldn't expect God to serve them as a reward for their good deeds.  Instead, they need to realize that whatever good they do is simply what they ought to have done as God's servants.  What I hear God saying in Luke today is:  “Plant your mustard seeds, and let me bring them to fruition.  But don't expect me to do it all for you.  You need to be involved in what you are called to do.”  So, the righteous live by their faith, and do what they are called to do, as small as it might seem.

Paul, in his second letter to Timothy, also has something to say about what it means to “live by faith.”  Paul reminds Timothy of his “sincere faith” which he inherited from his mother and grandmother, and asks him to “rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands.”  God did not give Timothy “a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.”  Paul tells Timothy not to be ashamed of his testimony about our Lord, but rather to join Paul in “suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling.” For Paul, living by faith means using the gifts of power, love, and self-discipline that God has given us, even if it means we get to share in Christ's suffering as a result of living our call.

So as we return now to the prophet Habakkuk we recognize that we are called as God's servants to share the gifts that we have been given and to plant our “mustard seeds” of power and love so that God can use our efforts and help us right the wrong of the world.  Yes, we may feel overwhelmed by the amount of pain and suffering around us, but we don't need to do it all.  As Sister Helen Prejean, from Dead Man Walking once said, “We aren't called to do everything; we are called to do our one thing.”  And if our one thing seems tiny and powerless, we need to remember the snowflake.  All by itself, it is almost nothing, but if we get enough snowflakes all moving together in the wind of God's powerful love, we have a blizzard that cannot be stopped.  I guess the question is “do we have the faith to believe that?”

The Feast of St. Mary the Virgin - Thursday, August 15, 2019

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY

Br. Bob Pierson, OHC
The Feast of St. Mary the Virgin - Thursday, August 15, 2019

Isaiah 61:10-11
Galatians 4:4-7
Luke 1:46-55

Click here for an audio version of the sermon.

St. Peter and St. Paul - Saturday, June 29, 2019

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY

Br. Bob Pierson, OHC
St. Peter and St. Paul - Saturday, June 29, 2019

Ezekiel 34:11-16
2 Timothy 4:1-8
John 21:15-19

Peter and Paul are the two great apostles identified with the city of Rome, because both of them were martyred there.  Both of them were significant leaders in the early church.  Jesus called Andrew's brother Simon by the name of Peter, which means “rock” and said, “Upon this rock I will build my church.”  And the Scriptures relate the role that Peter played in leading the group of disciples Jesus left behind.  But Scripture also allows us to see Peter as a very fallible human being.  It is to Peter that Jesus says, “Get behind me Satan!” and Peter is the one apostle that denies Jesus three times on the night before his death.

Of course, Paul didn't start out as very saint-like either.  When we meet him in the Acts of the Apostles we are told that he is actively seeking out these new Christians to arrest them and put them in prison.  He stands by silently as the crowd stones Stephen to death.  He's a good Pharisee and proud of it, until he meets Jesus on the road to Damascus, and that experience changes his life.

Isn't it curious that Jesus chooses two very unlikely men to lead his church and spread the Good News about the Kingdom of God?  You would think he could do better than that.  But I think Jesus knew what he was doing, because he knew the hearts of each of them, and once he had won their hearts, he had very loyal and convincing disciples.  They knew that the power working in and through them was not their own power, but the power of God.  And I would guess that others around them knew that also.

Even as important as each of them was to the life of the early church, Scripture tells us they were not always on the same page.  Peter was the apostle to the Jews, and had a very difficult time adjusting to the understanding that God's kingdom did not belong only to the Jews and those who followed the Jewish Law.  Paul had to remind Peter that Peter had once welcomed Gentiles as Christians because they believed and received the Holy Spririt.  It had nothing to do with following the Jewish Law.  The Council of Jerusalem was the first of many times that disciples of Christ had to come together and air their differences in order to discern how God was leading them.  They trusted the Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus to the Church, to lead and guide them.

Peter followed Jesus' call to “feed my lambs” and to “tend my sheep.”  Paul followed Jesus' call to out to all the nations, and proclaim the Good News.  As imperfect as both of them were, they were faithful to their call.  And that's why we remember them today.

What can we take away for ourselves on this great feast?  First, we know that God uses fallible men and women to do God's work in the world, and we shouldn't let our foibles and sinfulness discourage us or lead us to think that God is not calling us.  Second, just as the Spirit guided Peter and Paul and their followers “into all truth,” that same Spirit is with us today, giving us the help we need to discern God's guidance for our times.  And finally, just as Peter and Paul were strengthened and nourished by their strong relationships with the Lord, we are strengthened and nourished by our prayer and our own relationship with the Lord, gathering each day at this table to receive the Lord's Body and Blood, just like Peter and Paul.  They are with us today, reminding us that God is faithful and we can be disciples, too.

Nativity of St. John the Baptist - Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY

Br. Bob Pierson, OHC
Nativity of St. John the Baptist - Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Isaiah 40:1-11
Acts 13:14b-26
Luke 1:57-80

Click here for an audio version of the sermon.

In the first volume of her three volume work on Religious Life, entitled Finding the Treasure, Sister Sandra Schneiders says that the call to religious life, centered in love of God and love of neighbor, is a prophetic vocation.  I believe that to be true, and I want to look at our scripture readings for this feast of one of the greatest prophets, John the Baptist, to see what we can learn about what it means to be prophetic today.

First, we heard that wonderful passage from Isaiah, chapter 40: “Comfort, O comfort my people.”  Isaiah says the prophet's call is to “prepare the way of the Lord” by announcing the good tidings that the Lord “comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.”  It's not a message of gloom and doom, but rather one of hope and joy.  “He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.”  Being a prophet is announcing God's love and mercy to the world.

In the Acts of the Apostles, Paul says that before the coming of Jesus, “John had already proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.”  In announcing the coming of the Lord, John's message was not gloom and doom, but rather a call to get ready, and pay attention.  It was an encouragement to leave behind our old way of life so that we can receive the New Life that Jesus has to offer.  Being a prophet is telling people to wake up to the presence of God in their lives.

And in the gospel passage, St. Luke's “Canticle of Zechariah” which we pray every day at Matins, we hear that the “holy prophets of old” announced that “we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.”  God “has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, we might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”  Being a prophet is reminding the people of God's promises for protection and deliverance, for mercy and forgiveness.

Like John the Baptist, we are called to “go before the Lord to prepare his ways.”  We are called to “give knowledge of salvation to God's people by the forgiveness of their sins.”  The “tender mercy of our God” will break upon us, giving “light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death;” guiding “our feet into the way of peace.”  Being a prophet today is reminding the world that Jesus came “not to condemn the world” but that through him “the world might be saved.”  And the world desperately needs to hear this good news because for some reason too many people have proclaimed the bad news that “God's gonna get you,” and that's what people have believed.

You may have heard me relate the story of how I came to understand God's love for me in a church in Toronto, where I heard a verse of a familiar hymn that I had never heard before.  The hymn is “There's a Wideness in God's Mercy,” and the verse I had never heard before goes like this:

But we make God's love too narrow, by false limits of our own.
And we magnify God's strictness with a zeal God will not own.

As prophets today, we have the wonderful task of teaching people that, in the words of Richard Rohr, “We do not become good so that God will love us.  God loves us, so that we can become good.”  That is the Good News we are called to proclaim by our lives today.

The Presentation of Our Lord - Saturday, February 2, 2019

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY

Br. Bob Pierson, OHC
The Presentation of Our Lord, Year C - Saturday, February 2, 2019

Malachi 3:1-4
Hebrews 2:14-18
Luke 2:22-40

Click here for an audio version of the sermon.

Today we celebrate two “feast days” if you will:  first, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, and second, Groundhog's Day.  At first glance the two events seem to have nothing in common, but in fact there is a connection.  Both celebrations have to do with the coming of the Light.  In Punxsutawny, PA, people will be watching a groundhog named Phil, so see if he sees his shadow.  If he does, we will have six more weeks of winter.  Or is it the other way around?  I can never keep it straight.  The fact of the matter is we will have at least six more weeks of winter regardless, because the spring equinox is six weeks away.  This curious event is situated on February 2nd because it's the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is set on February 2nd because it's 40 days after Christmas, and according to Jewish tradition, that's the day that a new mother needs to present herself in the Temple for her “purification” after childbirth.  But according to Luke's account, it's also the day that Mary and Joseph bring the child Jesus to the Temple for his presentation to “be designated as holy to the Lord.”  And as Jesus is introduced to the old man, Simeon, he issues a statement which is very familiar to those of us who pray Compline on a regular basis:  “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

Phil the groundhog sees his shadow when the light of the sun appears, and Simeon sees his salvation when the light for revelation to the Gentiles appears.  Wouldn't it be great if we paid as much attention to the coming of the light in Jesus as some of us do to the coming of the light to create Phil's shadow?  Simeon's bold proclamation is good news not just to the people of Israel but to the Gentiles, or as some translations put it, the nations, in other words, all peoples of the world.  Jesus is announced as the savior of the world by the old man in the Temple, and his parents are “amazed.”

But not everything that Simeon has to say is Good News.  He also announces that Jesus' ministry will bring “the falling and rising of many in Israel” and that he “will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed,” and he tells Mary “a sword will pierce your own soul too.”  I wonder how Mary and Joseph reacted to that news.  Were they still “amazed?”  Are we “amazed” at what we are hearing today?  As both Simeon and Anna attest, this baby is a very special child.

As the light of each day gets longer and longer, we are reminded that the Light that is Christ has come to enlighten our lives, and to cast away the shadows so that we can live in the salvation God has planned for us.  Let's make sure we recognize that Light and allow it to illuminate our lives.  The people who walked in darkness HAVE seen a great light;  so arise, shine for your light has come, a light of revelation to the nations and for the glory of God's people everywhere.

Feast of James Huntington - Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY

Br. Bob Pierson, OHC
Feast of Fr. James Huntington - Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Click here for an audio version of the homily

A few days ago I ran across a post on Facebook that asked the question: “If you could spend an hour visiting with any person from the past, who would it be?” I didn't post a response, but as I think about it, I would really like to spend an hour visiting with our founder, Father James Huntington.
He was an amazing man from all accounts. Like Abram, he heard the call of God and walked away from an upper class lifestyle to live as a monk at a time when monks were held in derision by many in the Episcopal Church. Initially he had the support of two friends, Fathers Dodd and Cameron, but when they both dropped out, Fr. James persevered and made Life Profession by himself on November 25, 1884.

In the wider church, he is remembered for his concern for the poor. His biographer, Vida Scudder, describes the life of that early group of monks, making them sound a lot like the worker priests of Paris. But they were also monks, and very dedicated to the liturgy, especially the Divine Office, and their own personal spiritual growth. The whole thing proved to be too much for them, and eventually they gave up the very active service of the poor in New York City for the more contemplative setting of rural Maryland. I wonder how Father Huntington felt about that move? He certainly did not give up on the cause of the poor, and he continued to travel far and wide to promote things like labor unions, the single tax, and help for the working poor. He evidently did not see a conflict between monastic life and concern for the poor.

I always look forward to the celebration of his feast at this time of year. I am especially fond of our celebration of Matins and Vespers, where we use those wonderful quotes from his Rule as antiphons for the psalmody. Of course, his most famous quote is:

“Holiness is the brightness of Divine Love; love must act and light must shine and fire must burn.”

If we could sit down and visit with Father Huntington today, I suspect he would ask us about how we are acting in love, as individuals and as a community. He would want to know how we are showing our own concern for the poor. And he would want to know that our commitment to our own spiritual growth is just as strong as his was.

Of course, he had his faults, as we all do, and I suspect that he would be compassionate with us even as he would continue to urge us to do better. He said: Humility, obedience, love: this is the holiness without which we cannot see the Lord.” As we continue to follow the example Father Huntington gave us, may we humbly listen for the voice of God in our day, and recommit ourselves to responding in love as he did.

"The cross is our all-sufficing treasure, and His love our never-ending reward."

Feast of the Dedication of St Augustine’s Church- October 4, 2018

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Br. Bob Pierson, OHC
Feast of the Dedication of St Augustine’s Church
Thursday, October 4, 2018

To hear the sermon in its fullness click here.

Br. Bob Pierson, OHC

Genesis 28:10-17
First Peter 2:1-5, 9-10
Matthew 21: 12-16

This truth shouldn’t surprise us because if we are honest, we know that God uses the less than perfect to make Godself known, repeatedly.  No one that God calls is ever perfect.  

God works with flawed humanity to make God’s purpose real in the world.  Which of course means, God uses us, along with all our imperfections, to be God’s people in the world. 

The same is true for “The Church,” the Body of Christ made up of baptized believers of every race and nation, of every denomination and social class.  We all are called to be “living stones” that are “built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood.” That doesn’t mean that we don’t need to try to be the best that we can be.  But it does mean that God is not limited by our faults and foibles.

And we do that by “ridding ourselves of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.” We are God’s own people.  God help us to really become who you call us to be, so that those who know us can truly say, “Surely the Lord is in this place!”

“How awesome is this place!  This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”  These words from the mouth of Jacob describe how I feel about every place of worship I have ever seen, including this church.  This IS an awesome place, and yet it is far from perfect.  It’s still going to be cold in the winter, and the walls still look like we have a permanent water feature that doesn’t work very well.  And yet, this IS the house of God for us, where we meet God in the liturgy of the church day in and day out.

Ascension Day- Year B: May 10, 2018

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY

Br. Bob Pierson, OHC

Ascension Day, Year B- Thursday, May 10, 2018

To hear the sermon in its fullness click here.

Br. Bob Pierson, OHC 

The Feast of the Ascension reminds me of a discussion we had as seminarians back in the early 80's about the most appropriate song for this celebration.  Should it be “Leavin' on a Jet Plane,” or “Up, up and away in my beautiful balloon?”  Of course, we were joking, but even in our humor we were naming a common belief about the meaning of the Ascension.  

It's about Jesus leaving earth to return to the Father.  St. Leo the Great puts it this way:  “we are commemorating the day on which our poor human nature was carried up, in Christ, above all the hosts of heaven, above all the ranks of angels, beyond the highest heavenly powers to the very throne of God the Father.”  That makes it sound like Jesus has gone far, far away.

The problem with that, though, it that we believe Jesus Christ is still with us.  He who was called “Emmanuel”--God with us—is with us now in an even more intimate way than he was when he lived on the earth, through the power of his life-giving Spirit.  Again, St. Leo the Great says that “our Redeemer's visible presence has passed into the sacraments.”  And in our baptism, we became members of the Body of Christ, and that Body is present all over the world and continues to act as Christ to heal the sick and preach the good news to the poor, to set captives free and to bring the dead to life.  In a real way, Christ is more present today to many more people than Jesus of Nazareth could ever have been in First Century Palestine.

But in order for that to happen, the followers of Jesus had to let go of him as they knew him.  Like Mary Magdalene in the garden on Easter day, they could not cling to him.  He needed to go in order to return in a more powerful way, and today's Scripture readings underline that fact.

In the Acts of the Apostles, the “two men in white robes” remind the disciples that “this Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”  Jesus is not gone forever, and when the Spirit comes the disciples become the witnesses of Christ's power among them.  They become “the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all,” as the letter to the Ephesians reminds us.

So what does all of this have to do with us?  Like the first disciples, we too are called to be witnesses.  Jesus is speaking to us, too, when he says “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and  you will be my witnesses...to the ends of the earth.”  And like those first disciples, we are called to let go and not cling to our old ways of knowing Jesus Christ so that we can recognize him anew in our lives today—here and now.  He continues to come to us in new and powerful ways—and if we open our minds and hearts, we will be given the eyes to see his presence among us.

In the meantime, we wait, and like the disciples, we worship him and bless God for the gifts God bestows on us continually.  And we know that he is with us always—until the end of the age.  How do we reconcile that with the transcendent notion of Jesus at the right hand of the Father?  Perhaps, Jesus is both at the right hand of the Father and with us always, which would put us very close to the Father as well.  Perhaps as we sing God's praise here on earth, we are one with the heavenly choirs of angels and archangels, all of us singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”  Perhaps our humanity, in Christ, has been exalted to the right hand of God as well.  Now that's something to celebrate!!!

Third Sunday of Advent, Year B: December 17, 2017

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY

Br. Bob Pierson, OHC

Third Sunday of Advent - Sunday, December 17,2017

NEW! Listen to Br. Bob preaching

Br. Bob Pierson, OHC  

It occurred to me just the other day that, at age 62, I have experienced Advent in a conscious way for about 55 years. That's a lot of Advent. And my approach to the season has changed a bit over the years. 

What used to be an excited anticipation of the celebration of Christmas and all those presents under the tree, morphed into a desire for a “nice” time with family and friends. And now I find myself hoping for more global things like justice and world peace and the elimination of poverty and hunger.

And as my desired outcomes have changed, I have become a bit more jaded about the real possibility that I will never fully experience what I am hoping for.


 I mean, after 55 years you would think the longed for Messiah would have come and actually set us free. Of course, as Christians we believe that the Messiah HAS come and we ARE being set free. But it seems to be happening on a different schedule than I had hoped for.

I have been praying a lot for our brothers at Mount Calvary Monastery and all my friends in Ventura, Carpenteria, and Santa Barbara, CA, this week as they have to deal with the ferocious Thomas Fire that began almost two weeks ago. I know that the fire will be put out, but I don't know when that will happen, and what will occur in the meantime. In a similar way, I believe that God will triumph over injustice and war and poverty and hunger, but I don't know when and how that will happen either.

But there are several things that I DO know. I know that the fire will burn uncontrolled unless firefighters continue their efforts to keep it at bay. While there are many aspects of the fire beyond their control, the fire fighters can make progress if they hang in there because I believe that God is with them, calming the wind and eventually sending the needed rain. They will ultimately stop the fire.

And I also know that injustice and war and poverty and hunger will continue to thrive if we do nothing. But if we do what we can, knowing that there are many aspects of the situation beyond our control, we can make progress toward a better world because God is with us, too, helping us to slowly overcome those forces that work against us.

It is this kind of faith and hope that inspired the prophet Isaiah to say, “The spirit of the Lord is upon me....he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners....to comfort all who mourn.”  Isaiah knew that Emmanuel, “God with us,” was acting on behalf of the people of Israel. And so he could say, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God.”  He was completely convinced that “the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.”

And Isaiah was not alone in his hope. The apostle Paul had a similar hope, inspiring him to write to the Thessalonians, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  Giving thanks in all circumstances seems very foolish unless we know that God is with us, working everything for our good. Paul believed just that, and his words call us today to that same kind of faith and hope.

And finally we have John the Baptist, the great prophet of the Messiah, who came “as a witness to testify to the light.”  What does that mean—to testify to the light? Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.”  John came to testify to Jesus, the light of the world. John'a hearers would have remembered two passages about the light from the prophet Isaiah. The first is from Isaiah, Chapter 9:  “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined. The second is from Isaiah, Chapter 60, and we will hear it on the Feast of Epiphany: “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”

John is telling his hearers that “the light” has come, that the long awaited Messiah is in their midst. But many of them paid no attention to him. They didn't recognize who Jesus was and what he was doing for them. As we prepare to celebrate his coming into the world once again, will we recognize him? Will we let him shine through our lives to bring light to our world?

Last week, Br. Bernard began his homily with a few choruses of “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord.” At the risk of looking like a copy cat, I want to suggest a different song, that supports the point that I am trying to make. It's number 490, “I want to walk as a child of the light.”  I've never thought of it as an Advent song before, but I think it fits very well. Please join me in singing the first verse of hymn number 490:I want to walk as a child of the light,

I want to follow Jesus.
God set the stars to give light to the world.
The star of my life is Jesus.
 
In him there is no darkness at all.
The night and the day are both alike.
The Lamb is the light of the city of God.
Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.