What we witnessed

What we witnessed

For my godchild,

Ben Flom,

on the occasion of his confirmation

at St. Paul’s-in-the-Pines Episcopal Church

Fayetteville, North Carolina

December 20, 2015

When the waters of life

on that late autumn day

 washed over you,

a flame within you

blazed 

suddenly and even more brightly

than the Paschal flare

above us.

I saw it!

and rejoiced in it!

as we all did

who stood there

amazed

at this moment

of absolute grace,

reflected

in the waters

beneath you.

And as that water

dried, we all

gazed into your eyes

and saw divinity

staring back. You were—

as we all are—

a child of the unstoppable

unrestrained Love

that came to us

in these same waters,

in this same anointing,

in this same candle flame

that made us—

and you—

in turn

to be

unstoppable

unrestrained Love.

 --Jamie Parsley

Advent/Christmas Letter

Advent-Christmas, 2015

My Friends at St. Stephen’s,

Blessed Advent! Well, it has definitely been an exciting year for us at St. Stephen’s. We have witnessed amazing growth. We have seen loved ones pass from our sight. We have bid others farewell as they have moved away. We stood up for the Gospel of Jesus and the Baptismal Covenant as we understand it. We have done what we have been called to do in very real and important ways—mission, worship, prayer and outreach. It is certainly exhilarating to be serving alongside all of you.

As we anxiously await the celebration of Jesus’ birth, I hope you will all know that I do so with true joy in my heart. This joy comes from knowing that we, at St. Stephen’s, are growing and expanding and being a vital and important presence in the community and the larger Church. I think we all have to admit that it is a great time to be at St. Stephen’s.

As we celebrate Christmas, be assured that I pray for each of you individually by name over the course of each week in my daily observance of the Daily Office. Also know that I will be remembering all of you at the altar during celebration of the Mass both on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening.

In return, I ask you to pray for me also. Pray also for the ministry and mission of St. Stephen’s. In your prayers, please ask you that God’s Spirit continues to be present here, and to refresh, renew and sustain us so that we can do the work we have been called to do.

My sincerest blessings to you and to all those you love and cherish during this season of joy, hope and love.

                                                                        PEACE always,

                                                                        Jamie+

Letter to St. Stephen's regarding our acceptance of the offer of DEPO

December 13, 2015

3 Advent/Gaudete

Dear Members and Friends of St. Stephen’s,

This afternoon, the congregation of St. Stephen’s met following our regular service of Holy Eucharist to discuss Bishop Michael Smith’s offer of Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (DEPO) for St. Stephen’s. The meeting, much like our process of discernment, began and ended with prayer. Following the meeting and, after hearing feedback from our congregation, our Vestry met to vote on Bishop Smith’s offer. The vote was unanimous in favor of Bishop Smith’s offer of DEPO.

With our acceptance of this offer, Bishop Carol Gallagher will share her ministry and Episcopal oversight of our congregation, beginning January 1, 2016.

What does this mean for us as a congregation?

+ This was a vitally important decision on our part. It means that we, as a congregation, will continue to  live out the ministry we feel we have been called to do as a congregation. We see this as an extension of a ministry based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Baptismal Covenant of respecting the worth and dignity of all people, as we see it and have discerned it for ourselves.

+ After January 1, Bishop Carol Gallagher will now have direct Episcopal oversight of our congregation. She will visit our congregation on an annual basis.

+ We will now be allowed to recognize and celebrate marriage rites for all people, without distinction.

+ All of our members will be able to pursue their ministries without hindrance.

+ With this vote, we are NOT “breaking away” from the Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota. In fact, we will remain a contributing and active presence in the Diocese of North Dakota. The Diocese will continue in our collective and personal prayers, as we will in the prayer cycle of the Diocese.

+ We will continue to have a personal relationship with Bishop Smith, and we will continue to invite him to share in the life and joys of our congregation.

Your prayers are requested for our congregation of St. Stephen’s as we move forward together. I also ask your prayers for Bishop Carol Gallagher, for Bishop Smith and the Diocese of North Dakota, as well as your continued prayers for the Episcopal Church. I also ask for your continued prayers for me and for the Vestry of St. Stephen’s.

Fr. Jamie Parsley and the Wardens and Vestry of St. Stephen’s

3 Advent

Gaudete

December 13, 2015

Philippians 4.4-7; Luke 3.7-18

 + Well, it has been an interesting week here at St. Stephen’s. And it will no doubt be an interesting coming week. This past Friday, of course, we bid farewell to our own Harriet Blow with a beautiful Requiem Mass.

And today, of course, we will be having at a very important meeting, at which we will be considering making a decision about our future ministry here at St. Stephen’s. I know some people are going into the meeting with apprehension and maybe a bit of fear.

Before our meeting today, I want to stress a few things about what it is we are doing today. Yesterday afternoon, I sent an email off with these same thoughts and I am going to repeat them because they are important to repeat. First, if we do accept Bishop Smith’s offer of Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight, it does not, in any way, mean we are “breaking away” from the Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota. If we accept DEPO, life will go on pretty much as it always has, just with a different Bishop.  What we will do with DEPO is simply do what the Episcopal Church as whole will be doing in three or six years. We are saying, “Yes” to the Church to which we belong.

But more importantly than that, we are saying “yes” to the Gospel of Jesus as we understand it. We are living out and professing the promises we made in our Baptismal Covenant, to “respect the worth and dignity of all people.” We are doing what we have always done here at St. Stephen’s.

Back in the 1970s, when the issue was full inclusion of women in the church, St. Stephen’s was the first then, even when it was not a popular stance to take.  Elthea Thacker (at whose Requiem mass I assisted way in in 2002) was elected the first female Senior Warden in the Diocese of North Dakota. And she was the Senior Warden at St. Stephen’s. Around that same time, St. Stephen’s was also the first congregation in the diocese to have, of all things, female acolytes.  Although these might not seem like big issues now, back then it was a big deal. There were people then who thought, no doubt, that it would destroy this congregation.

In 1985, St. Stephen’s called the first female priest to serve as Rector, the Reverend Sandy Holmberg.  There were many who thought women serving in such a position was going to be the end of the Church as we knew it. It didn’t.  In fact, the Church has been enhanced by the ordained ministries of women for many years. I, for one, am deeply, deeply grateful for the fact that women have been able to serve in these positions at St. Stephen’s. Where would we be now without women wardens, women acolytes, women deacons and priests?  

None of these decisions were easy decisions. St. Stephen’s was seen back then as a radical place for doing so. It put us outside the norm. Which isn’t always a comfortable place to be.  But it is what we must to do sometimes.

Let me tell you, Christianity puts us outside the norms sometimes.  And if it doesn’t, it’s not true Christianity.

What we are discussing today is fully in line with what we have been doing all along here at St. Stephen’s. This is not some new thing we are doing. We are not doing it to show defiance to Bishop Smith. We not doing it do show off to the press. We are not doing it just for the sake of being different and outside the norm.  We are considering this option because it is what we have always done as congregation.

And because of that, this morning we should be rejoicing. This is what Christians do. When life gets difficult—as it does sometimes—we do not get the option of despairing. We don’t get to let fear and anger win out. We, in the face of all that, rejoice.

It is Guadete Sunday.  Or Rose Sunday. I think it’s very appropriate that we are having our congregational meeting this Sunday. (We didn’t plan it that way, trust me) It is a Sunday to rejoice. It is called Gaudete because in our reading from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we hear “Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say rejoice.”  Gaudete means Rejoice.  Rejoice is our word for the day today.

As we draw closer and closer to commemorating Jesus’ birth, we find ourselves with that strange, wonderful emotion in our hearts—joy.  It is a time to rejoice.  It is a time to be anxious (in a positive way) and excited over the fact that, in just a little over a week, we will be celebrating God’s coming among, God’s being with us. Or as Paul says today, “the Lord is near”  Or, in Latin (since we’re on kind of a Latin bent this Gaudete Sunday) Dominus propus est.

Today we need something a bit different.  We need a break from our Sarum Blue.  What many people don’t realize is that Advent, with all its hopefulness, is actually, like Lent, a penitential time.  It is a time for us to slow down, to ponder, to think.  And to wait.  It is a time to be introspective, as well—to think about who are and where we are in our lives. So, in the midst of pondering and waiting and introspection, we also find ourselves looking forward to our future as a congregation and our commitment to Christ’s command to love and love fully.

It is important, as followers of Jesus, that in doing such introspection, in looking forward, we do not despair.  We do not lose heart.  Even in the midst of a penitential time such as Advent, it is important that we also find joy. 

That is why we are decorated in rose this morning.  That is why, in our pondering, we are pondering joy—even joy in the midst of difficult decisions.  That is why, even despite all that happened and will happen, we can still rejoice.

Gaudete.

In our pondering and in our moment of rejoicing, we are also given a dose of sobering finger-shaking.  We find, in our Gospel reading, that formidable figure of John the Baptist, saying to us,

“Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

These words speak loud and clear to us even now—in this moment of joy.  Those words are speaking loud and clear to us as a congregation this morning. We are being told,

bear good fruit.

We bear good fruit when we live out in our joyful lives, the difficult tasks of loving and 

fully accepting all people equally.  This is what Gaudete Sunday is all about—rejoicing.  Living in joy.  Letting joy reign supreme in us.  Letting joy win out over fear and uncertainty. Being joyful in our love for God and for others.  We must embody joy. We must live joy in all we do and say and are.

It is not easy to be inclusive and accepting and radical in our love.  It is actually very hard. It means people are not going to like us for being “outside the norm.”

But, even then, we must still embody joy.  Today, we too must, in all honesty, proclaim:

“Gaudete!” Rejoice.

And live that Gaudete out in our very existence, in the ministries we do, in how we deal with others.

So, let Gaudete be more than just what we say or we do one Sunday a year.  Let it be our way of life as we await Jesus’ presence coming to us.  St. John and St. Paul are both right:

The Lord is near!

The Lord is near. So…let us bear good fruit.  And when we do we will find that we too have “the creative gift and strength to pass the test.”  We too, as embodied joy, will be bearing good fruits.

In anticipation of the December 13th meeting

Please join us this Sunday, December 13 following our celebration of the Holy Eucharist for a special CONGREGATIONAL MEETING to discuss Bishop Michael Smith’s offer of Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (DEPO) for St. Stephen’s.

This is a very IMPORTANT MEETING and your feedback is important to us.

In anticipation of this meeting, it is important that we clear up some misconceptions as well as list pros and cons to consider prior to the meeting:

First of all, and very importantly, it must be clear that we are NOT “breaking away” from the Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota. We WILL remain of a full-fledged member of the Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota should we accept the offer of DEPO. This is a very important aspect of our understanding of the DEPO process. We will still be contributing members of the Diocese. We will still paying Our Fair Share to the Diocese. We will still attend Diocesan Convention and ministers’ conferences. Ministries that are headed by members of our congregation such as the Guatemala Medical Mission and the East Africa Fund will continue to be diocesan ministries. By all outward appearances, little will change on that level.

+ It is important to remember that it is Bishop Smith who is offering us this option of DEPO and that we are responding to his offer.

+ If we choose DEPO, it will sever our professional relationship with Bishop Smith. If we accept his offer, Bishop Smith will appoint Bishop Carol Gallagher to have official Episcopal oversight of our congregation. This, however, does not mean that personal relationships with Bishop Smith will be severed. We are asking all people to be respectful to Bishop Smith at all times.

+ St. Stephen’s might be the only congregation in the diocese to actually accept Bishop Smith’s offer for DEPO. This will no doubt make us feel alienated at times.

+ There are no doubt unforeseen circumstances that we have not yet considered. We trust in the Holy Spirit to guide us and lead us during this time.

 If the Vestry votes for DEPO…

+  we, as a congregation, will continue to  live out the ministry we feel we have been called to do as a congregation. We see this as an extension of a ministry based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Baptismal Covenant of respecting the worth and dignity of all people, as we see it and have discerned it for ourselves.

+  St. Stephen's will, at this time, be the only church in the Diocese where marriage rites for all people no matter their sexual orientation can be performed. I will be the only priest in the Diocese allowed to perform such rites, and will be allowed to do so for couples from other Episcopal congregations in the diocese (though not in their church buildings).

+ This is not the first time St. Stephen’s has been at the forefront of such stances. St. Stephen’s was the first congregation in the Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota to have a female Warden. It was the first congregation in the diocese to have female acolytes.  And it was the first congregation in the Diocese to call a female priest to head a congregation, as well as many other “firsts”  including being the first congregation to being an Open and Affirming Congregation of Integrity.  Our acceptance of this offer is very much in line with our long-lasting commitment to being a fully inclusive congregation for all people.

 + HOWEVER, this will be more than issue of being allowed to perform marriage rites equally. It will be a clear statement to the diocese and to the larger church that we are following our conscience, our conviction and our commitment to serve all God’s people in an inclusive way.

+ We are aligning ourselves squarely with the larger Episcopal Church which approved equal marriage rites for all people this past summer at General Convention.

+ Probably the most important aspect of accepting DEPO will be the fact that by doing so we will actually make a difference in our congregational life, in the life of the Church and, most importantly of all, in the lives of people who need us to be the Church for them.

Ultimately, outside of these issues, nothing really changes. We will still be the congregation we have always been. We will still practice the radical love, acceptance, and hospitality for which we are known.

As for what others may think of us: people who look at St. Stephen’s differently have already been looking at us in such a way for many years and for issues other than this.   The reality is that we are simply aligning ourselves with the larger Episcopal Church. And, in three years (or six years), the stance we are considering making tomorrow will be the norm throughout the entire Episcopal Church.  

ABOUT THE MEDIA: The media has been aggressively interested in this meeting. The Wardens and Vestry are asking that all members of St. Stephen’s refrain from speaking to the media about this meeting on Sunday December 13 pending the release of a statement from the vestry and me following the meeting. We wish to conduct this meeting prayerfully and with dignity, as well as respect for all opinions of our members. We are asking that the media respect the complexity of this situation for us at this time so our members can feel comfortable in sharing their opinions and concerns honestly and openly.  Again, a statement will be released following the meeting which should summarize the meeting and any implications of our final vote.

Most importantly, we ask for your prayers at this time. We ask for prayers for The Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota, for Bishop Smith, for Bishop Gallagher. And we ask your prayers for St. Stephen’s. We ask that the Holy Spirit may be present with us at this time, to open our hearts to love and our minds to consider that ways in which we have been called to live out the Gospel of Christ and the Baptismal Covenant to which we are bound as Christians.

Please know that I am personally grateful for each of you. It pains me deeply to know of the divisions and the personal pains these situations have long caused in our church and with each of you as individuals. My prayer is that we may proceed unified and as a congregation committed to the Gospel of Jesus and the worth and dignity of all people.  

The Requiem Mass for Harriet Blow

The Requiem Eucharist for

Harriet Blow

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
Fargo, North Dakota

December 11, 2015

+ What we are doing this morning should have happened over 82 years ago. This funeral for Harriet Blow was, many people believed, going to happen in November 1933. Or in December 1933. Or in January 1934. Certainly, some believed, it was bound to have happened by 1943. It certainly would’ve happened, they believed, by 1953. Or by 1963. And certainly it was believed that it would already have happened by 1973.

To be honest with you, I thought this Requiem mass this morning would be celebrated in May or June. But it did not.

Harriet Blow, who, it was thought, would not survive long after her birth, who would not live to see twenty, certainly wouldn’t live to see thirty, lived to see age eighty-two. She outlived every single person who thought she would not survive to this day. No one then would’ve thought that this day would be happening in December of 2015.

When she was born on November 17, 1933, she was quickly baptized within four days because it was not believed she would live. Today, on this day, we celebrate the long and amazing life of Harriet Blow. And she was amazing.

Here was a woman who, by the standards of this world, was a small woman with malformed arms, unable to walk, partially blind, essentially deaf. She was, by the world’s standards, helpless.

But for those of us who knew her and loved her, she was amazing. She was a powerhouse. She was a symbol to us that appearance were, most definitely, deceiving. Underneath that seemingly broken and fragile exterior, there was a strength and drive and purpose.

There was faith in her God and faith in those who cared for her and loved her. There was no doubt this amazing woman went though some incredibly difficult moments in her long life. We will never fully know how hard it was at times. We will never begin to fathom how hard it was for her.

But we do know that none of those setbacks destroyed. They never stopped her. She plowed ahead with life. She loved and loved strongly. And she lived and lived strongly. She was amazing.

The image I have of her again and again is one of strength and steadfastness and independence.  For some reason, in these last few days, I think about many times when Harriet would grow impatient at church or when her ride was slow in coming, how she would head off for home from here. I think of her chugging along in her wheelchair toward home.

In many ways, that image represents so much of who Harriet was. Someone who set her attention on one thing and worked hard for that goal.  Yes, she was a person blessed in many ways, with strength and determination. And certainly God surrounded her with people who, in turn, loved her and looked out for her.

But ultimately today we, who knew her, are the true fortunate ones. We are the ones who were blessed to have known her. We are the ones who should thank our God for sending this person into our lives.

Because, let tell you, no matter how hard our lives may get at times, no matter how overwhelming the odds may seem in our lives, Harriet Blow showed us that ultimately, those problems will not ever defeat us or overwhelm us.  We don’t get to legitimately complain over the little set-backs in our lives anymore after having known Harriet Blow.

On many occasions, I would spend much time with Harriet before church on Sundays.  She would often arrive early and we had many conversations in the Narthex when few other people were even at church yet. On a few of those occasions, I would often find myself complaining about some minor thing in my life.

“Geesh, Harriet,” I would say. “I’m really tired today.”

“Oh, Harriet. My back really hurts today.”

Harriet would listen and smile politely. But what I realized later was that she had every right to say to me, “Father Jamie, don’t complain. You don’t know how good you have it.” And of anyone I know, she had the full right to say such a thing to me.

Of course, she never did. But it’s very true. Harriet shows us that we do need to remember how good we truly have it. And for that alone I am grateful for having known her and claiming her as a friend.

I, like all of us here today, am going to miss her very much.  I knew Harriet for many years. And I certainly enjoyed greatly those years I knew her. I will miss her kindness, her gentleness, that smile of hers. And I will miss her strength.

Our scriptures today are all based on strength, if you notice. In our reading from Isaiah, we hear the Prophet say to us:

[God] gives power to the faint,
   and strengthens the powerless…
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
   they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
   they shall walk and not faint

And in our reading from Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians, we hear:

“For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure…”

If we wonder where Harriet’s strength came from, it came from God. She would be the first to say that to us, this morning.  That magnet on her refrigerator that said “I find my strength is in God” is truly the best statement about Harriet’s source of strength.

I’ve thought a lot about her strength and about all she was to us in these last several months.  I hadn’t fully realized how much I will miss her until last Sunday.

The night before, I received a call from our mutual friend, Clotine Frear, saying that Harriet had passed. I rushed over to her apartment and anointed her and said the Payers at Death with her. The next morning, before Mass, as I was standing here in the church before anyone got here, I looked at where her

wheelchair always sat. I remembered all the countless mornings, when HandiWheels would arrive, when she would come up in the elevator, when she would sit there. Although she hadn’t been in church for several months, I suddenly felt her absence then. I realized that after over 50 years of regular attendance at St. Stephen’s, she suddenly was not going to be here again with us, worshipping with us. At least, not here in in our physical presence. But, she does continue to worship with us. Or should I say, we continue to worship with her?

This Eucharist that we are about to celebrate is not some quaint Communion service. This Eucharist is a glimpse of the worship that goes on for all eternity in God’s nearer Presence.  For a moment, we join with those who are in that Presence, who are in that worship, for all eternity. Harriet is there, at this moment. While she may not be here as she was before, in her wheelchair, confined by her physical life, dependent on others for her well-being, she is with us in a completely different way. She is with us without the wheelchair, without the physical limitations that controlled her life for so long. She is, in this moment, whole and complete.  She has, in the words of the prophet Isaiah,

Renewed her strength,
   she has mounted up with wings like eagles,
she runs now and will never again be weary,
   she walks and will never be faint

The strength of Harriet Blow is real even in this moment.  Not even death has defeated Harriet Blow. All that joy, all that gentleness, all that wonderful life that was contained within that little small frame of a body—all of that is not gone today. It is not lost.

This morning, all the good things that Harriet Blow was to us—that woman of life and strength and joy—all of that is not lost. It is not gone.  Death has not swallowed that up.  Rather all of that is alive and dwells now in a place of beauty and Light inaccessible. She dwells there now in a place of peace and joy. And for that, let us be thankful for this woman whom God has been gracious to let us know and to love.

Let us be thankful for her example to us. That example of strength in the face of hardship.  Let us be thankful for all that she has taught us and continues to teach us.  Let us be grateful for the love she felt for us and the love we felt for her.  And let us be grateful for all she has given us in our own lives.

Into paradise may the angels lead you, Harriet.

At your coming may the martyrs receive you, and bring you into the holy city Jerusalem. Amen.

2 Advent

December 6, 2015

Luke 3.1-6

  

+ Today is a special day. December 6, I mean. It’s been a very important day in the history of the church. For some reason, we, as Episcopalians, have somewhat lost the importance of this day. But I think we can regain our respect of this day.

Today is the feast day of St. Nicholas. Yes, that, St. Nicholas. I know exactly what images are going through your head right now. Jolly St. Nick, all roly poly, decked out in his red, fur-lined outfit. OK. I’ll give you that.

But that’s not what St. Nicholas was at all. In fact, St. Nicholas was a very important saint in the church, a very important person in the history of the church. And he is one of the most appropriate saints to be commemorating during the Season of Advent. A lot of people don’t know this, but he was a Bishop who, the story, once slapped the heretical priest, Arius across the face at the Council of Nicaea because Arius denied Jesus’ divinity.

I’m happy I’ve never had a bishop slap me across the face.

But, despite that outburst, he was also known for his almost radical kindness. He provided grain to starving people in his diocese during a famine, he rescued women from slavery, he saved sailors from storms at sea and he saved innocent people from being executed.  He also tossed gold into poor people’s houses, which sometimes landed in their shoes. And it’s from this we get the idea of Santa Claus delivering presents to people who have been good.

But, St. Nicholas was a rebel. He stood up for what he believed was right, even when it was unpopular. He was a real example of radical Christianity.  And he’s a good model for all of us, as a good saint should be.

Today, in our Gospel reading, we also encounter another person kind of like St. Nicholas. A firebrand. Someone who said and did things that made him unpopular.  A prophet. One of the great and one of the last official prophets. In this morning’s Gospel, we are faced with the formidable figure of John the Baptist.

I used to not like John the Baptist. He always seemed kind of frightening to me. He was kind of crazy, after all. But over the years I’ve really come to like John the Baptist. He is actually an incredible saint. And someone very important to the story of Jesus.

Certainly it would be difficult for any of us to take the words of a man like this seriously.  Especially when he’s saying things like, “prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”  How could WE do any such thing?  How do we make pathways straight?  Somehow, in the way John the Baptist proclaims it, this is not so much hopeful as frightening.  It is a message that startles us and jolts us at our very core.

But this—whether we like it or not—is the true message of Advent.  Like John the Baptist and those who eagerly awaited the Messiah, this time of waiting was almost painful.  When we look at it from that perspective, we see that maybe John isn’t being quite as difficult and windy as we initially thought.  Rather his message is one of almost excruciating expectation.

For us, as followers of Jesus, we too are living with this excruciating expectation.  But our expectation is not something we do complacently.  We don’t just sit here and twiddle our thumbs in our patient waiting.  Rather, in our expectation we do what John the Baptist and other prophets did.

We prophesy.  We proclaim.  We assess the situation, and strengthened by what we know is coming to us, we make a guess at how it will all turn out. And we profess and proclaim that message. Our job as prophets is to echo the cry of the Baptist:

“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”

We should find ways to prepare for the Incarnate God’s coming to us. We do it in many ways during Advent. We light the candles of the Advent wreath. We listen to the message of the prophets from the Hebrew Bible. We slow down and we ponder who it is we are longing for. And we wait…

As prophets, as fellow seers of the future, of that moment when the Messiah will come to us, the most common prayer we seem to pray during this Advent season is:

Lord Jesus, come quickly.

But it is also the perfect summation of this Advent season.

Lord Jesus, quickly come.

It is the prayer we should all be praying as we prepare the way of the Lord. It should be the prayer that is on our lips constantly in these days before Christmas. We know he is coming. We know his coming is imminent. But sometimes he seems so agonizingly slow in his coming to us. In our impatience and our expectation, we cry out:

“Lord Jesus, come quickly.”

Sort of like those Christmas stories we always see or hear or share every year—like Dickens or “The Christmas Story” or the “Charlie Brown Christmas”—your weird priest often shares another story around the feast of St. Nicholas.  It was on this day—December 6—140 years ago, in 1875, that a German passenger steamer, The Deutschland, on its way from Bremerhaven to New York, ran aground in a blizzard on a sandy shoal in the Thames estuary near Harwich, England. After

several hours of being trapped there, early on the morning of December 7 the ship began to take on water and the captain ordered the ship to be abandoned. The passengers panicked and people began falling into the freezing water. Among the several hundred who died were five Franciscan nuns who were fleeing the anti-Catholic sentiments that were sweeping Germany at the time under Otto von Bismarck. All five nuns died in those waters. That shipwreck, of course, inspired one of the greatest poems written in the English language—“The Wreck of The Deutschland” by the poet and Jesuit priest, Gerard Manley Hopkins.

This is a poem I find myself reading again and again in my life, especially at this time of the year. And the lines from that poem that I find myself reciting around this time of the year are these. On that day in 1875, as those nuns floundered in the water, they were heard crying out one prayer. As Hopkins puts it in his poem:

“And they the prey of the gales;

She the black-about air, to the breaker, the thickly

Falling flakes, to the throng that catches and quails

Was calling ‘O Christ, Christ, come quickly’:

The cross to her she calls Christ to her, christens her wild-worst Best.”

Those lines haunt me.  For me, personally, many times in my life, I have quoted those lines. When the waters of my life have risen about me, I have remembered those lines from Hopkins.

To some extent, our Advent is much like the freezing waters that rise about this poor nun in Hopkin’s poem. In this season, overwhelmed by all that is happening around us, we too might find ourselves crying out as that sister did in those freezing waters.  Both places are frightening.  Those freezing waters are frightening.  And our own lives can be frightening.  And at times, these moments of expectation are frightening.

But, still, even in these frightening moments, we are prophets.  We can assess the situation—as ugly and bitter as it is—and see that there is a positive outcome.  Always.

Jesus is coming. Yes, not at the speed we want him to come.  But he is coming.  And in that moment, prophets that we are, seeing into the dark of the future, we too can say,

“Even so, Lord, Jesus, come quickly.”

Or in the words of the drowning nun on The Deutschland,

“O Christ, Christ, come quickly”

In it, we find our hope and our longing articulated. We, the prophets, find that we can now see the goal for which we are working. We can look into the gloom, into the frightening future and see that all is not lost.

He is coming. He is coming to us. He is coming to us in this place in which we seem sometimes to flounder. He comes to us in these moments when we feel overwhelmed. He comes to us in those moments when it seems we have lost. He comes to us in our defeat. And when he does, even in those moments, we know.Truly the summation of our prophecies is upon us. And that summation?

It is the fact that, in his coming “all flesh shall see the salvation of God” in our midst. And with that realization, with that actualization, we are listed from those waters and from mire and muck of our lives, and we restored.

Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly!

Amen.