Our Mission
Sharing ourselves and our faith with others...
St. James is a Christian community that welcomes all with respect for
the inherent dignity and value of every person.
We strive to enable spiritual growth through worship, education, outreach, and stewardship for
the purpose of restoring all people to unity with God and each other.
A Message from Father Mac
Rector's Blog
December 5, 2019
As I preached on Sunday, many of us have been victims of a theology of exclusion. And if you haven't, give thanks to God. For us who have had such experiences, I would wager a bet that some of this week's Gospel lesson may have been used in the purporting of that gospel of exclusion. I remember those days of hearing sermons on fire and brimstone. I recall being asked rhetorically by a preacher, "Is the axe lying at your roots?" and "Are you the wheat or the chaff?"
I think there is a very important phrase at the end of this week's lesson that we need to hold on to in the face of terrorizing images. The last sentence ends with "unquenchable fire" yes, but look at where it begins. We see that Christ is coming and to do the work that God is supposed to do. And I think, we can easily pass by this important phrase. "And will gather his wheat into the granary."
"His wheat". His wheat will be gathered. This is the same 'him' who will say as they nail him to the cross, 'Father forgive them'. He who said, 'Let you without sin cast the first stone' will gather his wheat. The one through whom all things were made will gather his wheat. Why do we so easily forget whose wheat we are?
I believe a huge part of our call as faithful people in this age is to practice and witness the setting down of our own shame and our guilt and our fear. Who do we belong to? Why do we fear? Let us prepare the way of salvation by preparing our hearts by letting go of our fears and our shame. Let us have a holy Advent as we get ready for holiness to be born in our midst.
Mac+
Rector's Blog
December 5, 2019
As I preached on Sunday, many of us have been victims of a theology of exclusion. And if you haven't, give thanks to God. For us who have had such experiences, I would wager a bet that some of this week's Gospel lesson may have been used in the purporting of that gospel of exclusion. I remember those days of hearing sermons on fire and brimstone. I recall being asked rhetorically by a preacher, "Is the axe lying at your roots?" and "Are you the wheat or the chaff?"
I think there is a very important phrase at the end of this week's lesson that we need to hold on to in the face of terrorizing images. The last sentence ends with "unquenchable fire" yes, but look at where it begins. We see that Christ is coming and to do the work that God is supposed to do. And I think, we can easily pass by this important phrase. "And will gather his wheat into the granary."
"His wheat". His wheat will be gathered. This is the same 'him' who will say as they nail him to the cross, 'Father forgive them'. He who said, 'Let you without sin cast the first stone' will gather his wheat. The one through whom all things were made will gather his wheat. Why do we so easily forget whose wheat we are?
I believe a huge part of our call as faithful people in this age is to practice and witness the setting down of our own shame and our guilt and our fear. Who do we belong to? Why do we fear? Let us prepare the way of salvation by preparing our hearts by letting go of our fears and our shame. Let us have a holy Advent as we get ready for holiness to be born in our midst.
Mac+