Podcasts about camp allen

On the latest episode of Right Here, Right Now - Live Buffalo Football Talk, presented by 4Fathers Organics, Batavia Daily News sports editor Alex Brasky is joined by Joe Marino, the host of Locked on Bills, as the two discuss a red-hot day for Josh Allen, a few injuries, a couple of scuffles and other news and notes from Day 4 at Bills training camp.At 4Fathers Organics, their mission is to liberate, educate and innovate with the highest quality CBD and hemp-derived products for your body, mind and soul so you can live happy and free. Visit them at 87 Franklin Street in Dansville, online at 4FathersOrganics.com, or call them at (585) 335-2223 to learn more about the products they offer.Batavia Daily and Livingston County News sports editor Alex Brasky and sports reporter Ajay Cybulski have set out on a new podcast venture: Right Here, Right Now - Live Buffalo Football Talk. Each week, Alex and Ajay will discuss news and notes surrounding Buffalo's favorite football team, including the comings and goings from Orchard Park.Where else would you rather be? Please take the time to like, subscribe and share the podcast, presented by 4Fathers Organics. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzlLxr0hThT_80ter4rfqfaM7wAFm2rjCApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/right-here-right-now-live-buffalo-football-talk/id1743276774Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5HI33rM4eRJIlvPovrSG8Ao #BillsMafia

Mike Jones of Discover Leadership Training has been working with collision shops for 22 years! Mike and his team work on mindset which is the key to shifting your life!Mike has a couple of programs:1 - His marquee program - Master Graduate Program that is a 4 day retreat, fully immersive, on-site in Houston, Texas at Camp Allen - all about working on yourself 2 - The Game Changer Program - cerebral, experiential, classroom style, come to you - 2-day programSome great points from Mike:Start with the Outcome: WAYFO - What Are You Focused On?Every win or loss I will experience will occur in my thinking before it existsVeterans - listen with the intent to defend what they know - FIXED mindsetRookies - listen with the intent to learn - GROWTH mindsetIt's not who you ARE, it's who you CHOOSE TO BE.If you want the things you are looking at to change you have to change the way you are looking at things.Authority does not mean leadershipMost conflict is from a fixed mindset - defending our truth versus their truth - "right fighting"It is not necessary to make you wrong for me to be right.Personal responsibility vs accountabilityHave to hold personal responsibility to hold each other accountable without blame.By the time you are 4 years old 45% of your belief system is in place (result: taught repetitiously and now is in subconscious as a habit). The lens you are viewing your life through is built.By the time you are 18 years old, 99% of your system is built.You will need to get off of your "life map/system" to get to the places you want to goI got to be this way because these are the behaviors I've practiced the mostTeaching the 4 identities and how to deal with them - great for hiring & relationshipsUse DISC profiles D = Direct - task oriented, fast paced, determined, strong-willed, determined (10% of population I = Influencing - people oriented & fast paced, love to work with people, work on teams, lots of energy, rarely say no,  love the spotlight & life of the party (15% of the population)S = Steady - people oriented, go slow, take care of people, trusting relationship (60% of the population)C = Conscientious - analytical, factual, weight pros and cons, love data and more data, perfectionistic, may have a hard time executing (15% of population)Reach out to Mike Jones directly: Mike's Email: MikeJ@discoverleadership.comDiscover Leadership Website: https://discoverleadership.com/Support the showFor more info on Micki's Marketing Services to help you grow your shop's revenue click here: https://collisioncentermarketing.comEmail Micki directly at micki@mickiwoodsmarketing.com Join the Body Bangin' Facebook Group!https://www.facebook.com/groups/989546031854134

Churches sometimes experience the "summer dropoff." This week Danny speaks with Kenny Burns from The Open Door Church, Jonathan Rice from Camp Allen, and Amanda Wolfram from Fellowship Church; people involved in ministry that make summer one of their priorities. Listen to how they shrug off convention and reach more for Christ.

Episode 11: We review the three days we spent at the Abundant Living Retreat. Who we talked to, what we heard and a short conversation with George who runs Camp Allen in Navasota, TX. We also talk briefly with our favorite History Nerd, Suzette about her life. Here is a link to the Camp Allen site. Abundant Living is sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Here is a link to the Abundant Living site. Here is a 23 sec video of the group at the closing session.--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport the show

Iona School Graduation- 2019 Camp Allen, Navasota June 9, 2019, The Feast of Pentecost

Kim joins in this week to welcome one of our favorites, Ashley Brown Ruiz, to the table. She started her work as a teacher in an inner-city Houston elementary school for 12 years. There, she learned that there was a lack of language or ability to communicate with one another, which led her to want to go back to school to become a social worker. As the director of The Daring Way, a certification and training program based on Brene Brown’s work that takes other helping professionals through shame resilience work that they can then implement into their work. Cozy up with your favorite beverage for this enthusiastic episode full of laugher, truth, friendship and asking Kari to circle back to say something nice about her (awesomely curly) hair.

Brad Sullivan The Epiphany, Year C January 6, 2019 Emmanuel, Houston Isaiah 60:1-6 Matthew 2:1-12 Flawed Dreams and Unexpected Love Happy Epiphany y’all. Christmas ended yesterday, and the joy of Christmas now continues on in the Epiphany, the revelation of Jesus, of the God-baby to the nations through the Magi, and if I’m being honest, I feel the joy of Christmas continued on into Epiphany, and at the same time, I’m having a hard time feeling the joy right now. Over the first five to six days of Christmas, I really got to feel the joy of Christmas and let everything else fade into the background. I was at Camp Allen with my family on a clergy family retreat the weekend after Christmas, and other clergy were concerned about Emmanuel after Andy’s death, and they kept asking me, “How are you?”, not just to say “hi” but actually wondering how I was, with the knowing expression in their voices, expecting a sad response. My answer shocked several folks because I said, “I’m doing great.” One friend seemed a little confused by my answer and said, “I’m sorry, I thought you were working with Andy at Emmanuel.” “No,” I told him, “I was, I am. It’s just that for right now, I’m enjoying time with my family. For right now, it’s a great Christmas and I get to just be with my family through New Year’s. For right now,” I told him, “Andy hasn’t died. When I get back, he’ll have died again, and I’ll begin mourning again.” He got that. So now, it’s like the regular post-Christmas blues, but magnified, and I want to acknowledge that because I’m guessing I might not be alone in that grief and struggle with joy right now. That’s ok. For those who are joyful, we get to be joyful. For those struggling with joy, we get to struggle with joy. The reality of the post-Christmas blues is, I believe, in the realization that the dream of Christmas has not fully been realized. We celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace, the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, and then we find that as before, there isn’t yet peace on Earth. I heard an interview on Fresh Air with Terry Gross a few days ago with Israeli author and peace activist Amos Oz. He had just died and they were rebroadcasting previous interviews, and in the one I heard, he was talking about one of his books, Black Box, and he said it was ultimately “a novel about great dreams, about great expectations, about bigger-than-life visions and, indeed, about the morning after and the sad realization that every dream come true is bound to be flawed by coming true.” He went on to talk about the modern nation of Israel, about Israel itself being a flawed dream come true. There was such hope, such Messianic hope, in the re-creation of the nation of Israel, that it would be an idyllic, egalitarian country, that nations would flock to it and they would be a light to bring peace on Earth. With all of the good that Israel is, the reality has of course fallen short of that dream. The same could be said of the United States, of the city on a hill and light to the nations that we strive to be, and the reality that falls short of that dream, and the same can be said of the Church and every other dream we have. That’s life. “Every dream come true is bound to be flawed by coming true.” That struck a chord with me regarding Christmas and the Epiphany. The dream of the Messiah and of peace on Earth. Did the Magi, after seeing Jesus, feel “the sad realization that every dream come true is bound to be flawed by coming true?” Who were these guys and maybe galls, these Magi from the east? Ultimately, we don’t exactly know, but from the text, we know they weren’t kings. They were more like astrologer, pagan, mystic, tarot card-type folks who were decidedly not Jewish. So, star guiding them or not, why were they looking for or expecting some Jewish king or messiah? Israel had a king, and they went to Israel’s king to ask about this newborn king/messiah guy, so this obviously wasn’t a geopolitical greeting and first summit around a new world leader. So what was going on? Again, we don’t exactly know, but my guess is this. These magi had heard stories from Jewish people they had lived with or encountered. My guess is further that the stories they heard included stories from the prophets about a messianic figure, about the restoration of Israel, and about the peace on Earth of God’s kingdom fully realized that such a Messiah was thought to bring about. Perhaps they’d heard stories from Isaiah 2 about nations streaming to Israel and people beating “their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; [when] nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” Maybe they had also heard stories from Isaiah 60 about the light of God coming upon Israel, of the good fortune for all through that promise, culminating with “they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.” Maybe the Magi had heard that verse and therefore brought gold and frankincense to proclaim the praise of the Lord…except for poor dumb Steve who thought Myrrh would be a good idea. Poor Steve the Magi. We don’t know how the non-Jewish, pagan Magi came to know about a baby king born in Israel and spoken of in the prophets, but my guess is that they had heard these stories of Messiah and had heard the hopes Jewish people whom they had encountered that the Messiah would be born and bring peace on Earth. So, were the Magi then disappointed with “the morning after and the sad realization that every dream come true is bound to be flawed by coming true.” Were the Magi the first to experience what we call the post-Christmas blues because, of course, there was not peace on earth after the birth of this Jewish Messiah. Not even when God became human, even Messiah, the Christ, came into the world was there peace on Earth. There was not perfect peace on Earth, because God still left the earth in our care. Of course life is still going to be imperfect and flawed even with Messiah, even with the Christ. Perfection was never the point of the Christ. Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, came; God became human to show us how to be human, and to join with us fully in our broken and flawed humanity. There is love. Love is the Epiphany. Not perfection. Love, with its life, its beauty, and its pain is the Epiphany that the Magi saw. These pagan, astrologer, tarot card reading type folks who were the antithesis of Jewish devotion to God were the ones to whom God gave this Epiphany of love. They were pagan, gentile, totally other than the people of Israel. In the eyes of the religious elite, they would have been totally unworthy of any kind of blessing or love from God, and yet the Epiphany of God’s love was given to them. Pagan, Gentile, they were loved by God. They may have had some disappointment after seeing Jesus that the messianic hopes and fervor of peace on Earth had not been realized, but I’m guessing the Epiphany of love stuck with them. During the post Christmas blues, God’s Epiphany is love. No matter who you are. No matter your religious devotion or non-devotion. No matter where you are from or what you have done. You are loved. You are so loved. That is the Epiphany of Jesus. That is how Christ heals us, how Christ helps us to become fully human, that we know, in our hearts, that we are loved. That is God’s Epiphany of love. You are loved. You are so loved.

Brad Sullivan The Epiphany, Year C January 6, 2019 Emmanuel, Houston Isaiah 60:1-6 Matthew 2:1-12 Flawed Dreams and Unexpected Love Happy Epiphany y’all. Christmas ended yesterday, and the joy of Christmas now continues on in the Epiphany, the revelation of Jesus, of the God-baby to the nations through the Magi, and if I’m being honest, I feel the joy of Christmas continued on into Epiphany, and at the same time, I’m having a hard time feeling the joy right now. Over the first five to six days of Christmas, I really got to feel the joy of Christmas and let everything else fade into the background. I was at Camp Allen with my family on a clergy family retreat the weekend after Christmas, and other clergy were concerned about Emmanuel after Andy’s death, and they kept asking me, “How are you?”, not just to say “hi” but actually wondering how I was, with the knowing expression in their voices, expecting a sad response. My answer shocked several folks because I said, “I’m doing great.” One friend seemed a little confused by my answer and said, “I’m sorry, I thought you were working with Andy at Emmanuel.” “No,” I told him, “I was, I am. It’s just that for right now, I’m enjoying time with my family. For right now, it’s a great Christmas and I get to just be with my family through New Year’s. For right now,” I told him, “Andy hasn’t died. When I get back, he’ll have died again, and I’ll begin mourning again.” He got that. So now, it’s like the regular post-Christmas blues, but magnified, and I want to acknowledge that because I’m guessing I might not be alone in that grief and struggle with joy right now. That’s ok. For those who are joyful, we get to be joyful. For those struggling with joy, we get to struggle with joy. The reality of the post-Christmas blues is, I believe, in the realization that the dream of Christmas has not fully been realized. We celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace, the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, and then we find that as before, there isn’t yet peace on Earth. I heard an interview on Fresh Air with Terry Gross a few days ago with Israeli author and peace activist Amos Oz. He had just died and they were rebroadcasting previous interviews, and in the one I heard, he was talking about one of his books, Black Box, and he said it was ultimately “a novel about great dreams, about great expectations, about bigger-than-life visions and, indeed, about the morning after and the sad realization that every dream come true is bound to be flawed by coming true.” He went on to talk about the modern nation of Israel, about Israel itself being a flawed dream come true. There was such hope, such Messianic hope, in the re-creation of the nation of Israel, that it would be an idyllic, egalitarian country, that nations would flock to it and they would be a light to bring peace on Earth. With all of the good that Israel is, the reality has of course fallen short of that dream. The same could be said of the United States, of the city on a hill and light to the nations that we strive to be, and the reality that falls short of that dream, and the same can be said of the Church and every other dream we have. That’s life. “Every dream come true is bound to be flawed by coming true.” That struck a chord with me regarding Christmas and the Epiphany. The dream of the Messiah and of peace on Earth. Did the Magi, after seeing Jesus, feel “the sad realization that every dream come true is bound to be flawed by coming true?” Who were these guys and maybe galls, these Magi from the east? Ultimately, we don’t exactly know, but from the text, we know they weren’t kings. They were more like astrologer, pagan, mystic, tarot card-type folks who were decidedly not Jewish. So, star guiding them or not, why were they looking for or expecting some Jewish king or messiah? Israel had a king, and they went to Israel’s king to ask about this newborn king/messiah guy, so this obviously wasn’t a geopolitical greeting and first summit around a new world leader. So what was going on? Again, we don’t exactly know, but my guess is this. These magi had heard stories from Jewish people they had lived with or encountered. My guess is further that the stories they heard included stories from the prophets about a messianic figure, about the restoration of Israel, and about the peace on Earth of God’s kingdom fully realized that such a Messiah was thought to bring about. Perhaps they’d heard stories from Isaiah 2 about nations streaming to Israel and people beating “their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; [when] nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” Maybe they had also heard stories from Isaiah 60 about the light of God coming upon Israel, of the good fortune for all through that promise, culminating with “they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.” Maybe the Magi had heard that verse and therefore brought gold and frankincense to proclaim the praise of the Lord…except for poor dumb Steve who thought Myrrh would be a good idea. Poor Steve the Magi. We don’t know how the non-Jewish, pagan Magi came to know about a baby king born in Israel and spoken of in the prophets, but my guess is that they had heard these stories of Messiah and had heard the hopes Jewish people whom they had encountered that the Messiah would be born and bring peace on Earth. So, were the Magi then disappointed with “the morning after and the sad realization that every dream come true is bound to be flawed by coming true.” Were the Magi the first to experience what we call the post-Christmas blues because, of course, there was not peace on earth after the birth of this Jewish Messiah. Not even when God became human, even Messiah, the Christ, came into the world was there peace on Earth. There was not perfect peace on Earth, because God still left the earth in our care. Of course life is still going to be imperfect and flawed even with Messiah, even with the Christ. Perfection was never the point of the Christ. Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, came; God became human to show us how to be human, and to join with us fully in our broken and flawed humanity. There is love. Love is the Epiphany. Not perfection. Love, with its life, its beauty, and its pain is the Epiphany that the Magi saw. These pagan, astrologer, tarot card reading type folks who were the antithesis of Jewish devotion to God were the ones to whom God gave this Epiphany of love. They were pagan, gentile, totally other than the people of Israel. In the eyes of the religious elite, they would have been totally unworthy of any kind of blessing or love from God, and yet the Epiphany of God’s love was given to them. Pagan, Gentile, they were loved by God. They may have had some disappointment after seeing Jesus that the messianic hopes and fervor of peace on Earth had not been realized, but I’m guessing the Epiphany of love stuck with them. During the post Christmas blues, God’s Epiphany is love. No matter who you are. No matter your religious devotion or non-devotion. No matter where you are from or what you have done. You are loved. You are so loved. That is the Epiphany of Jesus. That is how Christ heals us, how Christ helps us to become fully human, that we know, in our hearts, that we are loved. That is God’s Epiphany of love. You are loved. You are so loved.

Hitting the reset button, is how today’s guest describes her summer (how is it possibly almost November!?!) Kari interviews her friend Leslie Martone, wife to Mike, mother to Nate the Great, Jacob (the incredibly awesome), and President of the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce, in Houston, Texas.

Presentation at the House Bishop's Spring meeting on the evangelsim work we are doing in the Diocese of Texas  March 2018  Camp Allen, Navasota, Texas

Brad Sullivan Proper 11, Year A July 23, 2017 Emmanuel, Houston Genesis 28:10-19a Romans 8:12-25 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 We Are One With Jesus, and Jesus Is With Us I had a wonderful week last week at Camp Allen. Kristin and I, along with Machel Delange and Caroline San Martin were the camp directors for a session of summer camp for 3rd and 4th graders, and our theme was Star Wars based, “I am one with Jesus, and Jesus is with me,” that line taken and modified from a prayer that a character prayed in the most recent Star Wars movie, substituting “The Force” for Jesus. We showed clips from the Star Wars movies and talked with the kids about trusting in Jesus and following in his way, like Jedi trusted in the Force and followed the path of the light. We hiked, we swam, we comforted homesick kiddos, and we supported the teenagers and young adults who were counselors and staff members of the camp. The kids gave these great responses during our discussions about Jesus being the light of the world and us following him and being one with him. “Jesus’ light is within us and we offer pieces of that light to others.” We talked about being one with Jesus and that because we are one with Jesus, we are one with each other and with all creation, so what we do really does matter; if we do good things to one, we are bringing light to all, and if we harm one person or even one part of creation, we’re harming and bringing darkness to all. Then, we made prayer beads and prayed “I am one with Jesus, and Jesus is with me” on the prayer beads to help us to be aware of his light within us so that we live and act out of that place of unity with God and with all creation. It was a really good week. Then I came back and started working on the sermon for today, and was met by one of my not quite favorite passages: Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the weeds: Jesus sows good wheat seeds, and then the devil comes along and sows weeds among the wheat. On the one hand, I love that Jesus says not to tear out the weeds until the harvest so that harm doesn’t come to the wheat. We’re all connected, and so tearing out the weeds would harm the wheat. On the other hand, at the end of the parable, Jesus explained that the weeds would be burned, meaning all causes of sin and all evildoers will be thrown into the furnace of fire at the end of the age. I imagine that means that some people will be punished eternally for what they did during one lifetime, and I’ve always been bothered by that idea. I fret over who is going to end up as the weeds and who will end up as the wheat. How does this work? Are we all children of Jesus or children of the devil from our birth with nothing we can do to change it? That’s certainly what Jesus’ explanation of the parable sounds like. Perhaps he was using black and white language to describe something more complicated so his disciples would understand. Perhaps it is every bit as simple as it sounds. Perhaps the furnace of fire will burn the evil away and leave what is good in people? I honestly don’t know. I struggle with this one. How could there be causes of sin and evil doers in God’s kingdom? Of course there wouldn’t be, but doesn’t Jesus redeem them? Isn’t that what his death on the cross was all about? I wrestle with these questions, as have Jesus’ disciples for 2000 years. Most of this wrestling has to do with our fears over the idea of a final judgment. Who will be wheat and who will be weeds? Many Christians end up try to assuage those fears by coming up with biblically based rules about who will be in and who will be out, rules about determining who is wheat and who is weeds. Predestination. Double predestination. Marks of election. These and other attempts to defend God’s sovereignty and to identify who is wheat and who is weeds all have several problems. While trying to tie up Jesus’ parables and teachings about his kingdom into a nice neat package with a bow on top, and all such attempts lead to putting our faith in rules rather than in God, and we end up determining for our own sense of security who is in and who is out, which means we end up taking removing Jesus and the angels from the story and put ourselves in their place. When we start supposing that we can determine who we believe to be weeds and who we believe to be wheat, we end up exalting ourselves to the place of Jesus, and not surprisingly, folks who engage in this type of supposition also end up placing themselves on the side of the wheat, not the weeds. Whenever we start trying to determine who is wheat and who is weeds, we also end up making the same first mistake of Adam and Eve, eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Such determinations are not ours to make, and Jesus expressly forbids our doing so. So on the one hand we aren’t supposed to make determinations about who is good and who is evil, and on the other hand, we don’t have to. There is great relief in not having to determine who is good and who is evil. There is great relief in not having to determine even if it is so clear cut as good and evil, black and white. Thankfully, we don’t have to make those determinations. So, rather than try to justify God’s sovereignty and make ourselves feel better by assuring ourselves that someone else is the weeds and we are of course the wheat, we can take comfort in the idea that God will eventually judge justly and eradicate all evil, all malice and fear, all hatred and enmity. God doesn’t do so right now, because we are all so interconnected that removing all evil right now would destroy us all. That’s another question I often hear asked, “Why does God allow bad things to happen?” Because removing all evil right now would destroy us all. Remember also, that when we determine who is evil and who is good, one person’s evil enemy is another person’s hero. If we got to determine who is evil and who is good, there would be none of us left. As much as we may want to, ours is not to answer such questions. Ours is to trust in the way of Jesus who prayed for God to forgive the evildoers who killed him. “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing,” Jesus prayed. Ours is to forgive others even as we have been forgiven. Ours is to trust the Word of God which spoke all of creation into existence, to trust that the Word of God which became human as the person of Jesus just might have a good idea about how to run the universe which he created. Then, we continually seek Jesus’ help in our lives, to live out his kingdom now. We get to seek Jesus’ help to eradicate evil from ourselves and to live out God’s kingdom as best we can now. Freed from having to run the universe, we get to trust Jesus who is the way and the truth and the life. We get to live with his light within us, and we get to share that light with others. We get to live and share his kingdom, and what is life like in God’s Kingdom here on earth? Well, at least in this life, it is full of joys and sorrows, full of missteps and faithful following in Jesus’ way. Life in God’s Kingdom is full of grace and compassion, understanding and forgiveness, messing up and reconciliation. God’s kingdom is full of joining together to help one another in times of adversity, and joining together to celebrate in times of joy. Rather than trusting in rugged self-reliance, the hubris of earned or deserved wealth, and a lofty self-appointment as being wheat among the weeds, life in God’s kingdom is life lived together, putting our trust in Jesus and in each other, sharing with others what we have been given by God. As we said at camp last week, we trust in Jesus and follow in his ways, for he is the way, and the truth, and the life. We trust the light of Jesus within us. We trust in his goodness and ability to order well the universe that he created. We live life not with continual fear, wondering are we wheat or are we weeds. We live life in God’s Kingdom, life lived full of the assurance that we are one with Jesus and Jesus is with us.

Brad Sullivan Proper 11, Year A July 23, 2017 Emmanuel, Houston Genesis 28:10-19a Romans 8:12-25 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 We Are One With Jesus, and Jesus Is With Us I had a wonderful week last week at Camp Allen. Kristin and I, along with Machel Delange and Caroline San Martin were the camp directors for a session of summer camp for 3rd and 4th graders, and our theme was Star Wars based, “I am one with Jesus, and Jesus is with me,” that line taken and modified from a prayer that a character prayed in the most recent Star Wars movie, substituting “The Force” for Jesus. We showed clips from the Star Wars movies and talked with the kids about trusting in Jesus and following in his way, like Jedi trusted in the Force and followed the path of the light. We hiked, we swam, we comforted homesick kiddos, and we supported the teenagers and young adults who were counselors and staff members of the camp. The kids gave these great responses during our discussions about Jesus being the light of the world and us following him and being one with him. “Jesus’ light is within us and we offer pieces of that light to others.” We talked about being one with Jesus and that because we are one with Jesus, we are one with each other and with all creation, so what we do really does matter; if we do good things to one, we are bringing light to all, and if we harm one person or even one part of creation, we’re harming and bringing darkness to all. Then, we made prayer beads and prayed “I am one with Jesus, and Jesus is with me” on the prayer beads to help us to be aware of his light within us so that we live and act out of that place of unity with God and with all creation. It was a really good week. Then I came back and started working on the sermon for today, and was met by one of my not quite favorite passages: Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the weeds: Jesus sows good wheat seeds, and then the devil comes along and sows weeds among the wheat. On the one hand, I love that Jesus says not to tear out the weeds until the harvest so that harm doesn’t come to the wheat. We’re all connected, and so tearing out the weeds would harm the wheat. On the other hand, at the end of the parable, Jesus explained that the weeds would be burned, meaning all causes of sin and all evildoers will be thrown into the furnace of fire at the end of the age. I imagine that means that some people will be punished eternally for what they did during one lifetime, and I’ve always been bothered by that idea. I fret over who is going to end up as the weeds and who will end up as the wheat. How does this work? Are we all children of Jesus or children of the devil from our birth with nothing we can do to change it? That’s certainly what Jesus’ explanation of the parable sounds like. Perhaps he was using black and white language to describe something more complicated so his disciples would understand. Perhaps it is every bit as simple as it sounds. Perhaps the furnace of fire will burn the evil away and leave what is good in people? I honestly don’t know. I struggle with this one. How could there be causes of sin and evil doers in God’s kingdom? Of course there wouldn’t be, but doesn’t Jesus redeem them? Isn’t that what his death on the cross was all about? I wrestle with these questions, as have Jesus’ disciples for 2000 years. Most of this wrestling has to do with our fears over the idea of a final judgment. Who will be wheat and who will be weeds? Many Christians end up try to assuage those fears by coming up with biblically based rules about who will be in and who will be out, rules about determining who is wheat and who is weeds. Predestination. Double predestination. Marks of election. These and other attempts to defend God’s sovereignty and to identify who is wheat and who is weeds all have several problems. While trying to tie up Jesus’ parables and teachings about his kingdom into a nice neat package with a bow on top, and all such attempts lead to putting our faith in rules rather than in God, and we end up determining for our own sense of security who is in and who is out, which means we end up taking removing Jesus and the angels from the story and put ourselves in their place. When we start supposing that we can determine who we believe to be weeds and who we believe to be wheat, we end up exalting ourselves to the place of Jesus, and not surprisingly, folks who engage in this type of supposition also end up placing themselves on the side of the wheat, not the weeds. Whenever we start trying to determine who is wheat and who is weeds, we also end up making the same first mistake of Adam and Eve, eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Such determinations are not ours to make, and Jesus expressly forbids our doing so. So on the one hand we aren’t supposed to make determinations about who is good and who is evil, and on the other hand, we don’t have to. There is great relief in not having to determine who is good and who is evil. There is great relief in not having to determine even if it is so clear cut as good and evil, black and white. Thankfully, we don’t have to make those determinations. So, rather than try to justify God’s sovereignty and make ourselves feel better by assuring ourselves that someone else is the weeds and we are of course the wheat, we can take comfort in the idea that God will eventually judge justly and eradicate all evil, all malice and fear, all hatred and enmity. God doesn’t do so right now, because we are all so interconnected that removing all evil right now would destroy us all. That’s another question I often hear asked, “Why does God allow bad things to happen?” Because removing all evil right now would destroy us all. Remember also, that when we determine who is evil and who is good, one person’s evil enemy is another person’s hero. If we got to determine who is evil and who is good, there would be none of us left. As much as we may want to, ours is not to answer such questions. Ours is to trust in the way of Jesus who prayed for God to forgive the evildoers who killed him. “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing,” Jesus prayed. Ours is to forgive others even as we have been forgiven. Ours is to trust the Word of God which spoke all of creation into existence, to trust that the Word of God which became human as the person of Jesus just might have a good idea about how to run the universe which he created. Then, we continually seek Jesus’ help in our lives, to live out his kingdom now. We get to seek Jesus’ help to eradicate evil from ourselves and to live out God’s kingdom as best we can now. Freed from having to run the universe, we get to trust Jesus who is the way and the truth and the life. We get to live with his light within us, and we get to share that light with others. We get to live and share his kingdom, and what is life like in God’s Kingdom here on earth? Well, at least in this life, it is full of joys and sorrows, full of missteps and faithful following in Jesus’ way. Life in God’s Kingdom is full of grace and compassion, understanding and forgiveness, messing up and reconciliation. God’s kingdom is full of joining together to help one another in times of adversity, and joining together to celebrate in times of joy. Rather than trusting in rugged self-reliance, the hubris of earned or deserved wealth, and a lofty self-appointment as being wheat among the weeds, life in God’s kingdom is life lived together, putting our trust in Jesus and in each other, sharing with others what we have been given by God. As we said at camp last week, we trust in Jesus and follow in his ways, for he is the way, and the truth, and the life. We trust the light of Jesus within us. We trust in his goodness and ability to order well the universe that he created. We live life not with continual fear, wondering are we wheat or are we weeds. We live life in God’s Kingdom, life lived full of the assurance that we are one with Jesus and Jesus is with us.

Norfolk News Now

Brad Sullivan Proper 19, Year C September 11, 2016 Saint Mark's Episcopal Church, Bay City, TX Luke 15:1-10 Bullying, Terrorism, & 9/11: The Way of Self-Righteousness Is the Way of Death Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” and people saw life and truth in him, and people flocked to him, following him and following in his way. Jesus’ way of life was a way of love, and forgiveness, and reconciliation, a way in which he did not shun or exclude those who were considered to be sinners. Rather, he welcomed them and ate dinner with them, and this did not sit well with the religious leaders of the time, the Pharisees and the Scribes. They complained about Jesus, “He eats with sinners!” They complained about Jesus, safe in their own self-righteousness, keeping the sinners at a distance, keeping them shunned, keeping them away, so that the Pharisees and the Scribes could be righteous in their own eyes. The way of Jesus is life. The way of self-righteousness is the way of death. We suffered horrific example of the way of self righteousness 15 years ago today on September 11, 2001. Men who wanted all non-Muslims to be killed, ended over 3000 lives on that day. They wanted not only all non-Muslims killed, they wanted all people who didn’t practice their particular brand of Islam killed. Their way was the way of self-righteousness, believing themselves to be righteous in God’s eyes and believing all others to be unrighteous and therefore deserving of being shunned, excluded, and even killed. We saw in them that the way of self righteousness is the way of death. In contrast to that, I got to spend the weekend on a youth retreat at Camp Allen called Happening. It has been a wonderful weekend with youth and adults from around the diocese renewing their faith and commitment to Jesus and to following in his way. At the same time, I heard stories of youth being bullied, youth who had been excluded by other Christians for not being “Christian” enough or for not being the right type of Christian. I heard stories from an adult who works with youth in crisis, and she told about youth who had been bullied, some because they are gay. They were usually bullied by other Christians who told them they couldn’t be friends with them anymore because they were gay, and so they were bulled and excluded, some even bullied and excluded to the point of suicide. Those who did the bullying were following the path of self-righteousness, the path of death, and those who did the bullying were terrorists every bit as much as those on 9/11. They used words as their weapons rather than planes, but self-righteousness and contempt for those whom they saw as unrighteous was still what drove them. They killed every bit as surely as the terrorists did, they just used their victims’ own hands to do so. The way of self-righteousness is the way of death. We also have to realize that I’m talking about youth, teenagers and some pre-teenagers who were trying to do the right thing. Some were just being mean, but many were trying to follow Jesus. They were bullying and excluding to try to push the other into repentance, to try to push them to be righteous, but that was not the way of Jesus. Jesus didn’t bully and exclude. He welcomed sinners and ate with them. The only people Jesus seemed not to love being around were the self-righteous: those who would bully and exclude, and if you go far enough down that path, even kill the unrighteous. While the terrorist and the bully, some were even well meaning, trying to do the right thing, the way of self-righteousness is the way of death. It is deadly and sinful, and if we’re honest, the way of self-righteousness is also a part of all of us. There are times when I’ve felt pretty self-righteous and had to be called down. I assume there have been times when all of us have felt fairly self-righteous. Self-righteousness is a sin which we all share every now and then. So it’s fortunate that Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them. As we look at those and think about those whom I heard about this weekend who did the bullying, I need to remember to look at them through the eyes of compassion, not the self-righteous eyes of judgment. Judging their acts as harmful. Judging them as sinners whom Jesus would welcome and eat with, because that is the way of Jesus, the way of life. The way of love. The way of reconciliation, forgiveness, and redemption. Even those who have bullied others to the point of death, even those who commit atrocities and acts of terrorism because of their self-righteousness: when they realize they have been following not the way of life but the way of death, they turn from that way, and they find Jesus welcoming them, inviting them to share a meal with him, because the way of Jesus is the way of life. Amen.

Brad Sullivan Proper 19, Year C September 11, 2016 Saint Mark's Episcopal Church, Bay City, TX Luke 15:1-10 Bullying, Terrorism, & 9/11: The Way of Self-Righteousness Is the Way of Death Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” and people saw life and truth in him, and people flocked to him, following him and following in his way. Jesus’ way of life was a way of love, and forgiveness, and reconciliation, a way in which he did not shun or exclude those who were considered to be sinners. Rather, he welcomed them and ate dinner with them, and this did not sit well with the religious leaders of the time, the Pharisees and the Scribes. They complained about Jesus, “He eats with sinners!” They complained about Jesus, safe in their own self-righteousness, keeping the sinners at a distance, keeping them shunned, keeping them away, so that the Pharisees and the Scribes could be righteous in their own eyes. The way of Jesus is life. The way of self-righteousness is the way of death. We suffered horrific example of the way of self righteousness 15 years ago today on September 11, 2001. Men who wanted all non-Muslims to be killed, ended over 3000 lives on that day. They wanted not only all non-Muslims killed, they wanted all people who didn’t practice their particular brand of Islam killed. Their way was the way of self-righteousness, believing themselves to be righteous in God’s eyes and believing all others to be unrighteous and therefore deserving of being shunned, excluded, and even killed. We saw in them that the way of self righteousness is the way of death. In contrast to that, I got to spend the weekend on a youth retreat at Camp Allen called Happening. It has been a wonderful weekend with youth and adults from around the diocese renewing their faith and commitment to Jesus and to following in his way. At the same time, I heard stories of youth being bullied, youth who had been excluded by other Christians for not being “Christian” enough or for not being the right type of Christian. I heard stories from an adult who works with youth in crisis, and she told about youth who had been bullied, some because they are gay. They were usually bullied by other Christians who told them they couldn’t be friends with them anymore because they were gay, and so they were bulled and excluded, some even bullied and excluded to the point of suicide. Those who did the bullying were following the path of self-righteousness, the path of death, and those who did the bullying were terrorists every bit as much as those on 9/11. They used words as their weapons rather than planes, but self-righteousness and contempt for those whom they saw as unrighteous was still what drove them. They killed every bit as surely as the terrorists did, they just used their victims’ own hands to do so. The way of self-righteousness is the way of death. We also have to realize that I’m talking about youth, teenagers and some pre-teenagers who were trying to do the right thing. Some were just being mean, but many were trying to follow Jesus. They were bullying and excluding to try to push the other into repentance, to try to push them to be righteous, but that was not the way of Jesus. Jesus didn’t bully and exclude. He welcomed sinners and ate with them. The only people Jesus seemed not to love being around were the self-righteous: those who would bully and exclude, and if you go far enough down that path, even kill the unrighteous. While the terrorist and the bully, some were even well meaning, trying to do the right thing, the way of self-righteousness is the way of death. It is deadly and sinful, and if we’re honest, the way of self-righteousness is also a part of all of us. There are times when I’ve felt pretty self-righteous and had to be called down. I assume there have been times when all of us have felt fairly self-righteous. Self-righteousness is a sin which we all share every now and then. So it’s fortunate that Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them. As we look at those and think about those whom I heard about this weekend who did the bullying, I need to remember to look at them through the eyes of compassion, not the self-righteous eyes of judgment. Judging their acts as harmful. Judging them as sinners whom Jesus would welcome and eat with, because that is the way of Jesus, the way of life. The way of love. The way of reconciliation, forgiveness, and redemption. Even those who have bullied others to the point of death, even those who commit atrocities and acts of terrorism because of their self-righteousness: when they realize they have been following not the way of life but the way of death, they turn from that way, and they find Jesus welcoming them, inviting them to share a meal with him, because the way of Jesus is the way of life. Amen.

Brad Sullivan St. Mark’s, Bay City August 7, 2016 - Proper 14 Luke 12:32-40 The Risky Road of Love I had a great week as a session director last week at Camp Allen. Having grown up going to summer camp there, it was a joy to be on the other side of things as one of our directors for 8 & 9 year olds. There were fun and games, time spent in prayer, and a program each day talking with the kids about parts of the Gospel. On one of the days, we talked about Resurrection, and we talked not only about resurrection after physical death, but also resurrection of many deaths throughout our lives. One example we discussed was the death of a friendship. The kids totally got that when we talked about kids being mean to each other, and the friendship dies. Then, we talked about kids reconciling, and that being resurrection of the friendship, a new life. At one point the next day, a couple of boys got in a little scuffle. One of the boys kicked another in the shin, “for no reason”, said the boy who had been kicked. We talked to them separately, and the one who did the kicking said that the other boy had been pushing him down all week, and he was basically so fed up that he snapped. He was obviously very upset, feeling bullied. We had the two apologize, and later, I then heard the one who had gotten kicked say he hated the other kid. I happened to be right behind him when he said this, so I asked him about it. He first said he hadn’t said it, and then I said, “but I thought I just heard you say you hated [the other boy].” “Maybe,” he said. I chuckled on the inside, and then we sat down and talked for a minute. I asked why he hated him, and he said the other kid was always getting upset over nothing. They had used to be friends, and now they weren’t anymore, after he’d gotten kicked, he said. I then described that as the death of their friendship, and he agreed. So, I next asked about resurrection of their friendship. I told him that the other kid said that the one I was talking to had been pushing him down all the time. “I never did that,” he said. “I believe you,” I said, “but the other kid thinks you’ve been pushing him down. He’s truly hurt by something you’ve been doing around him. Now it’s time to get curious and ask him about it. Tell him that you’ve not been meaning to push him down or be mean to him. Ask him what you have been doing that’s been hurting him, and see if y’all can work that out. I know you haven’t been trying to hurt him. Make sure he knows that too. Then, perhaps y’all’s friendship can have new life.” He seemed to get what I was saying and agreed to it. What this took was for the two boys to see things from the other’s perspective. They got to see the world not only through their own eyes, but also through the eyes of Jesus. There was kingdom living and a casting aside of fear in being generous with how we view the other’s motivations and actions. What if I’m wrong? What if he really is a jerk? What if he hurts me again? We cast that aside and trust in God’s kingdom way. Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. It is your father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. God’s kingdom is a gift which we receive. We don’t take it, we receive it, and Jesus tells us how to receive God’s kingdom: Sell your possessions and give alms. Be generous towards others, and do not be afraid of not having enough. There is a great saying which I’ve heard recently, author unknown, and the saying is, “People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used.” - author unknown Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Do not love your things. Love people. Use your things, and greater still, use your things to help you love people. That is how Jesus tells us to live in his kingdom which sounds a little scary, but basically kinda good. Then Jesus gets to the kinda scary part, right? “Be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” If you knew when the thief was coming, you would not let your house be broken into. Ok, let’s be honest, that’s a little scary, but remember, it’s an analogy. Jesus isn’t coming to steal your stuff. He really doesn’t care at all about your stuff. Jesus is coming, and we have no idea when he’ll show up, so be ready for his coming at all times. Live always ready to receive God’s kingdom by how you chose to live, and remember Jesus started this whole section of teaching with, “Do not be afraid.” I think some fire and brimstone preachers should remember that. Do not be afraid, and remember and strive to live at all times in such a way as to receive God’s kingdom. Live generously and lovingly towards others. Jesus gives this analogy to create some urgency in us, because he knows we tend to slack off over time. If we knew Jesus was coming in three weeks, we’d clean up our acts pretty quickly and be generous and loving toward each other. His coming creates some urgency in us. I can see at least three reasons for this. Wanting his acceptance, the short timeline, and the joy of his love could all drive the urgency in us to be generous and loving towards others if we knew Jesus was coming in three weeks. With the first reason, we want Jesus’ acceptance, so we clean up our acts and look our best at his coming. The problem is, that is basically a self-centered reason, and Jesus talked about being generous and loving toward others for their sake, not our own. Also, we don’t need to hustle for God’s acceptance; we have already been given God’s acceptance through Jesus. Now we simply get to love other for their sake, not to try to hustle for God’s acceptance. The second reason we would find urgency in knowing Jesus was coming in three weeks is that with such a short timeline, we find it easy to do without. We can do without stuff and be generous and loving towards people for three weeks. No big. Of course, Jesus is asking us to be generous and loving all of the time. Act all of the time as though Jesus was coming in three weeks. Finally, the joy of Jesus’ love is why we could be generous and loving towards others if we knew he was coming in three weeks. That’s why it’s easier to be kind to people around Christmastime. The joy of Jesus’ love is in the air, it’s palpable. We find it somehow easier to receive that joy and love and so we give it out to people all around us. So, with Jesus’ teaching to be ready, Jesus is saying to behave every day with the joy and love we experience around Christmastime. Treat every day like Christmas is just around the corner. Treat every day like Jesus is right about to show up. Now, remember that you are already accepted and loved by him, so do not be afraid. Share the joy of that palpable love which he has for you and for all. Be loving and generous towards others because others are so beloved and valued. Give of your things, because in God’s kingdom, we love people, not our things. Other people, then love us, not their things. I heard a great example of this Kingdom generosity and loving people not things while listening to This American Life on the radio yesterday. This was a story of refugee camps in Greece, and one camp housed Yazidi refugees from Iraq. The Yazidis are a often persecuted people whom America helped when ISIS was trying to annihilate them completely, and now they are largely living in camps fleeing genocide. In the particular camp I heard about yesterday, there is a man who made a shop selling necessities for life, food and other things. He charges very little, making almost no profit, and sometimes, people we come by and simply drop off money without taking anything. That’s because they took what the needed sometime previously. He runs the store on credit, asking people to pay what they can, if they can. At the current rate, he won’t be able to stay in business for more than a year or two longer, but he refuses to charge more or to stop giving to people on credit which they may or may not be able to pay. He said he’d rather go out of business than stop giving credit to people. He’s not running this shop to get rich. He’s doing it for his people. He’s not their leader; he’s just one of his people. This man is not a Christian, but a darn good example of Jesus’ teaching. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” This man is truly living God’s kingdom in how he treats others…loving people more than things, and truly being not afraid. Living out God’s kingdom, receiving God’s kingdom requires us to see the world differently than we may otherwise. The refugee with the shop didn’t see people taking his stuff. He saw people in need and he saw his stuff as being able to fill that need. From there, is there anything these people won’t do for this generous man when he is in need? They are choosing not to be afraid and choosing to love people rather than loving stuff. The boys at Camp Allen initially saw a mean kid who kicked them. Then they began to see through the lens of God’s kingdom, a hurt kid who felt like he was being bullied. From there, they could learn to love each other rather than holding on to hurt. Our hurt, our fear, feelings of being right: those can be things too, things that we hold onto in order to protect ourselves. Those boys at Camp Allen were learning to let go of those things. They are learning not to be afraid of each other, but to treat each other with generosity of spirit, seeking love over fear. Fear says keep what you have; take care of yourself. Love says, “do not afraid; give generously for the sake of others.” Whether our things are physical things or mental/emotional things that we hold onto for self-protection, Jesus teaches us to receive God’s kingdom by giving up those things and taking the risky road of love instead. Remember, “People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used.” - author unknown So, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Receive God’s kingdom and take the risky road of love. Amen.

Brad Sullivan St. Mark’s, Bay City August 7, 2016 - Proper 14 Luke 12:32-40 The Risky Road of Love I had a great week as a session director last week at Camp Allen. Having grown up going to summer camp there, it was a joy to be on the other side of things as one of our directors for 8 & 9 year olds. There were fun and games, time spent in prayer, and a program each day talking with the kids about parts of the Gospel. On one of the days, we talked about Resurrection, and we talked not only about resurrection after physical death, but also resurrection of many deaths throughout our lives. One example we discussed was the death of a friendship. The kids totally got that when we talked about kids being mean to each other, and the friendship dies. Then, we talked about kids reconciling, and that being resurrection of the friendship, a new life. At one point the next day, a couple of boys got in a little scuffle. One of the boys kicked another in the shin, “for no reason”, said the boy who had been kicked. We talked to them separately, and the one who did the kicking said that the other boy had been pushing him down all week, and he was basically so fed up that he snapped. He was obviously very upset, feeling bullied. We had the two apologize, and later, I then heard the one who had gotten kicked say he hated the other kid. I happened to be right behind him when he said this, so I asked him about it. He first said he hadn’t said it, and then I said, “but I thought I just heard you say you hated [the other boy].” “Maybe,” he said. I chuckled on the inside, and then we sat down and talked for a minute. I asked why he hated him, and he said the other kid was always getting upset over nothing. They had used to be friends, and now they weren’t anymore, after he’d gotten kicked, he said. I then described that as the death of their friendship, and he agreed. So, I next asked about resurrection of their friendship. I told him that the other kid said that the one I was talking to had been pushing him down all the time. “I never did that,” he said. “I believe you,” I said, “but the other kid thinks you’ve been pushing him down. He’s truly hurt by something you’ve been doing around him. Now it’s time to get curious and ask him about it. Tell him that you’ve not been meaning to push him down or be mean to him. Ask him what you have been doing that’s been hurting him, and see if y’all can work that out. I know you haven’t been trying to hurt him. Make sure he knows that too. Then, perhaps y’all’s friendship can have new life.” He seemed to get what I was saying and agreed to it. What this took was for the two boys to see things from the other’s perspective. They got to see the world not only through their own eyes, but also through the eyes of Jesus. There was kingdom living and a casting aside of fear in being generous with how we view the other’s motivations and actions. What if I’m wrong? What if he really is a jerk? What if he hurts me again? We cast that aside and trust in God’s kingdom way. Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. It is your father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. God’s kingdom is a gift which we receive. We don’t take it, we receive it, and Jesus tells us how to receive God’s kingdom: Sell your possessions and give alms. Be generous towards others, and do not be afraid of not having enough. There is a great saying which I’ve heard recently, author unknown, and the saying is, “People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used.” - author unknown Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Do not love your things. Love people. Use your things, and greater still, use your things to help you love people. That is how Jesus tells us to live in his kingdom which sounds a little scary, but basically kinda good. Then Jesus gets to the kinda scary part, right? “Be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” If you knew when the thief was coming, you would not let your house be broken into. Ok, let’s be honest, that’s a little scary, but remember, it’s an analogy. Jesus isn’t coming to steal your stuff. He really doesn’t care at all about your stuff. Jesus is coming, and we have no idea when he’ll show up, so be ready for his coming at all times. Live always ready to receive God’s kingdom by how you chose to live, and remember Jesus started this whole section of teaching with, “Do not be afraid.” I think some fire and brimstone preachers should remember that. Do not be afraid, and remember and strive to live at all times in such a way as to receive God’s kingdom. Live generously and lovingly towards others. Jesus gives this analogy to create some urgency in us, because he knows we tend to slack off over time. If we knew Jesus was coming in three weeks, we’d clean up our acts pretty quickly and be generous and loving toward each other. His coming creates some urgency in us. I can see at least three reasons for this. Wanting his acceptance, the short timeline, and the joy of his love could all drive the urgency in us to be generous and loving towards others if we knew Jesus was coming in three weeks. With the first reason, we want Jesus’ acceptance, so we clean up our acts and look our best at his coming. The problem is, that is basically a self-centered reason, and Jesus talked about being generous and loving toward others for their sake, not our own. Also, we don’t need to hustle for God’s acceptance; we have already been given God’s acceptance through Jesus. Now we simply get to love other for their sake, not to try to hustle for God’s acceptance. The second reason we would find urgency in knowing Jesus was coming in three weeks is that with such a short timeline, we find it easy to do without. We can do without stuff and be generous and loving towards people for three weeks. No big. Of course, Jesus is asking us to be generous and loving all of the time. Act all of the time as though Jesus was coming in three weeks. Finally, the joy of Jesus’ love is why we could be generous and loving towards others if we knew he was coming in three weeks. That’s why it’s easier to be kind to people around Christmastime. The joy of Jesus’ love is in the air, it’s palpable. We find it somehow easier to receive that joy and love and so we give it out to people all around us. So, with Jesus’ teaching to be ready, Jesus is saying to behave every day with the joy and love we experience around Christmastime. Treat every day like Christmas is just around the corner. Treat every day like Jesus is right about to show up. Now, remember that you are already accepted and loved by him, so do not be afraid. Share the joy of that palpable love which he has for you and for all. Be loving and generous towards others because others are so beloved and valued. Give of your things, because in God’s kingdom, we love people, not our things. Other people, then love us, not their things. I heard a great example of this Kingdom generosity and loving people not things while listening to This American Life on the radio yesterday. This was a story of refugee camps in Greece, and one camp housed Yazidi refugees from Iraq. The Yazidis are a often persecuted people whom America helped when ISIS was trying to annihilate them completely, and now they are largely living in camps fleeing genocide. In the particular camp I heard about yesterday, there is a man who made a shop selling necessities for life, food and other things. He charges very little, making almost no profit, and sometimes, people we come by and simply drop off money without taking anything. That’s because they took what the needed sometime previously. He runs the store on credit, asking people to pay what they can, if they can. At the current rate, he won’t be able to stay in business for more than a year or two longer, but he refuses to charge more or to stop giving to people on credit which they may or may not be able to pay. He said he’d rather go out of business than stop giving credit to people. He’s not running this shop to get rich. He’s doing it for his people. He’s not their leader; he’s just one of his people. This man is not a Christian, but a darn good example of Jesus’ teaching. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” This man is truly living God’s kingdom in how he treats others…loving people more than things, and truly being not afraid. Living out God’s kingdom, receiving God’s kingdom requires us to see the world differently than we may otherwise. The refugee with the shop didn’t see people taking his stuff. He saw people in need and he saw his stuff as being able to fill that need. From there, is there anything these people won’t do for this generous man when he is in need? They are choosing not to be afraid and choosing to love people rather than loving stuff. The boys at Camp Allen initially saw a mean kid who kicked them. Then they began to see through the lens of God’s kingdom, a hurt kid who felt like he was being bullied. From there, they could learn to love each other rather than holding on to hurt. Our hurt, our fear, feelings of being right: those can be things too, things that we hold onto in order to protect ourselves. Those boys at Camp Allen were learning to let go of those things. They are learning not to be afraid of each other, but to treat each other with generosity of spirit, seeking love over fear. Fear says keep what you have; take care of yourself. Love says, “do not afraid; give generously for the sake of others.” Whether our things are physical things or mental/emotional things that we hold onto for self-protection, Jesus teaches us to receive God’s kingdom by giving up those things and taking the risky road of love instead. Remember, “People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used.” - author unknown So, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Receive God’s kingdom and take the risky road of love. Amen.

A talk given at the Invite Welcome Connect conference at Camp Allen in 2015. 

Preached at Camp Allen

For the last ten years the C.S. Lewis Foundation has hosted a retreat at Camp Allen in Texas. This year's event is November 9th - 11th. William O'Flaherty spoke with Andrew Lazo about it. Andrew is an author and educator who is also  the Special Programs Coordinator for them.The theme for the retreat is "Choosing Heaven: Eternity in the Here & Now." Confirmed speakers and performing artists currently include: Joseph Pearce Doug Jackson Diana Glyer Steve Laube Andrew Lazo Thomas Umstattd Stacy Jagger Ad Deum Dance Co. of Houston Visit C.S. Lewis Foundation Retreat Page Visit Andrew Lazo's Site Purchase Andrew's Book: Mere Christians Listen to an Interview about Mere Christians

Sermon preached on Ephesians 4, Camp Allen, Clergy Day

This was given at a men's fly fishing  retreat at Camp Allen, Navasota, Texas. 

Presentation given at the annual Christian Formation Conference, Camp Allen, 2010, by the Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle. 

The Divine Economy is a lecture given at the Episcopal Diocese of Texas Stewardship Conference held at Camp Allen in August of 2010. 

This is from a presentation made to members of our college missions who gathered at Camp Allen for a retreat.  The topic of the retreat was The Gospel Story.  This is the first presentation which is a combination of reflections about emerging culture and the challenges of telling our story in an ever changing missionary environment.

This is from a presentation made to members of our college missions who gathered at Camp Allen for a retreat.  The topic of the retreat was The Gospel Story.  This is the first presentation which is a combination of reflections about emerging culture and the challenges of telling our story in an ever changing missionary environment. This is my story, my spiritual journey.

Sermon preached at IONA school graduation of Bivocational candidates for the priesthood.  2009 at Camp Allen. Mark 4.26-32.

This sermon on Luke 2.41-52 was preached at a Morning Prayers Service at Camp Allen during the induction of the Diocese of Texas Altar Guild Directress.

This was a presentation made at the Episcopal Church National Communicator's Conference in March 2009. The statistical information is taken from the Barna Group.

Here is the sermon preached at the Diaconal Ordination at Camp Allen on February 22, 2004.

Sermon preached at Camp Allen, Navasota, Texas at Iona School Graduation