Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Acts 6 & 7 First   Once upon a time, in the early days of social media, there developed a most peculiar practice.   This practice was quite common back when MySpace ruled the web and facebook was just beginning to venture beyond the boundaries of college campuses.   Now, in these later days of social media, the peculiar practice seems to have all but faded from existence, but for a time it was all the rage.   Perhaps you remember that long ago, in the days before dial-up, a common person would have very little, if any, direct contact with a celebrity, excepting of course the chance encounter at a Hollywood diner or perhaps a signed response to an earnest fan letter.   Anything beyond that though came through traditional media – television, magazines, the radio, town crier.   But social media changed that; celebrities could now share messages directly with their fans and fans could respond immediately to th...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Jeremiah 26:1-9, 12-15   Grant us wisdom, grant us courage   God of grace and God of glory, on thy people pour thy power: these were the first words to ever shake the pews of the famous Riverside Church in New York.   These enduring words were written by the pastor of that church, Henry Emerson Fosdick.   Originally set to the tune Regent Square, the hymn accompanied the opening opening procession in their new building.   The poetry was actually written for the dedication of that majestic new edifice, a celebratory moment to be sure, but it was also written against the backdrop of the Great Depression, at a time of immense wealth disparity in our nation, and between two World Wars.   The hymn was a prayer, gifted by a pastor to his people, a people living in a world beset by dread and destruction, a people called to proclaim the good news in a time of harrowing headlines.   Fosdick was invited to pastor the c...

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Acts 6:8-7:2a, 51c-60   The saint we have chosen to haunt us   Today is a martyr feast, our martyr feast – a perpetual day of mourning.   As red as the blood that stained that ancient stone and dust.   As red as the blood that stains our history.   We are called Grace and St. Stephen’s: we have adopted this feast, the one we celebrate today.   We have adopted this martyr.   We are the ones who keep his death alive.   Stephen is our ghost.   He is the saint we have chosen to haunt us.   His story is our story; his life our possession.   It is 2000 years later and we are sitting in the shadow of his shrine, listening to the shadow of his story – or at least what is left of his story.   Time is polishing him down so that he fits nicely into a couple of chapters – chapters still too long to read in one church service.   Even his truncation has been truncated.     ...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Acts 6-7 Seeing the Beautiful I must admit: sometimes I forget to see beautiful in this world, this same world that God created and calls good.   I forget that every thing, every single thing, that surrounds me is amazing, impossibly intricate, carefully crafted, a product of impossible divine love.   This entire world, our island home, is just covered in the stardust-y fingerprints of our ancient Creator.   And so in that sense: is saturated through and through with the beauty of holiness.   And somehow, most of the time, I miss it; I fail to see it.   I forget to see beautiful in this world.   Maybe it’s because I’m too focused on my calendar, too worried about my task list, too concerned with my routine.   Maybe it’s because the headlines are so packed with atrocities that it seems impossible for there to be enough room in this world for goodness.   Maybe because the history of our species is written...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Acts 6:8-7:2a, 51c-60 Do it Anyway I suspect the prophet Jeremiah might take issue with today's collect. The collect for the Feast of St. Stephen, the feast we are observing today, begins: “We give you thanks, O Lord of glory, for the example of the first martyr Stephen.” First martyr, huh? First martyr of the Christian Church? Sure. But first martyr? Probably quiet a few of the prophets and sages, from Jeremiah to John the Baptist, who quite literally lost his head, would object to that unqualified first. Stephen was the first post-resurrection martyr, but he was not the first to suffer for his witness, neither was he the last. Stephen takes his place within the great throng of witnesses – of those who dared speak the word of God, who risked everything for the sake of the Truth. According to the biblical witness,, God has been speaking to and through human beings since the book of Genesis. Also the Bible shows us that those wor...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Acts 6:8-7:2a, 51c-60 Living Martyrs I think it is perhaps safe to suggest that we put a bit too much emphasis on St. Stephen's death. I mean, we still make him carry around stones – which I will admit is helpful for icon identification, but also it is a little cruel, like rubbing it in. He was executed. It would be like putting an electric chair or a firing squad on someone's tombstone. But that does seem to be a human tendency: to over-emphasize that final earthly moment; we make saints and sinners out of death. And so someone who dies a martyr's death wipes the slate clean of a lifetime of indiscretions. And someone who commits suicide is unfortunately defined forever in the eyes of many by that one solitary act, as if all of their good deeds are discounted, their virtues forgotten. And so while Stephen will forever carry his stones, will forever be commemorated as the first martyr, he is so much more than hi...