Endurance Produces Character

Meditation on Romans 5:1-5

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, NY

Reverend Dr. Karen Crawford

June 15, 2025: Trinity Sunday/Choral Appreciation Sunday

Stushie Art for Trinity Sunday, used with permission

I discovered this week that our congregation has ALWAYS sung hymns.

When we met in our original building on Moriches Road, most hymns were sung as rounds or refrains with the words and the tune led by a member of the congregation.

The first musical instrument that accompanied our singing was played in our present Church building, as far back as 200 years ago, and it was a bass viol. Viols first appeared in Spain and Italy in the mid-to-late 15th century and were most popular in the Renaissance and Baroque periods (1600-1750). It looked a little like our modern cellos but had flat rather than curved backs and sloped rather than rounded shoulders. It had c-shaped holes rather than f-shaped holes, and 5 to 7 strings rather than 4 strings.

Our first organ-type instrument was a melodeon. This innovation was resented by some of the older members, says historian Dick Mehalick. “They looked upon it as an evil thing.” A melodeon is a small, button accordion, typically used for playing folk music or dances.

On March 31, 1862, the church purchased a harmonium, an organ operated by a foot pedal that pumps air through the reeds tuned to different pitches. The harmonium came from the Carhart and Needham Company on East 23rd Street in New York City. It cost $380, with a church discount of $70 off the original price. The harmonium was placed in the front of the church on a raised platform by the first pew. This instrument did not please the church, either, so it was exchanged for another organ whose tone was still not very musical, Dick says. We had no staff organists or choir directors in our early years. Volunteers received gifts now and then from members of the congregation.

The Ladies Aid Society came to the rescue. They purchased a larger Mason and Hamlin organ sometime in the late 1800s and assumed the responsibility of paying the organist’s salary. Our present pipe organ was purchased in 1909 for $1,850. It, too, operated by air, “manually pumped through a goat skin bellows by a long-handled lever mechanism. The air supply was motorized in 1916. The organ served us well for many years, “even though with advancing age it would occasionally stick, skip a note, or go off key—to the amusement of the congregation but to the chagrin of the organist and choir director.” In 1973, the congregation voted to refurbish the organ after a long debate over whether we should buy a new one or fix the old. The refurbishing cost $19,750 and all the money was raised through special projects, memorials, and other donations.

In 1981, a two-octave set of handbells was purchased through memorial gifts and dedicated. I am not sure if we had a handbell choir before 1981, but soon we had both a Chancel Handbell Choir, with high school and adult players, and a Westminster Handbell Choir for grades 7, 8, and 9. We also had a sacred dance choir, which was led in 1990 by Ardene Vandermeulen.

The new blue hymnal of 1989 stirred a controversy. It failed to include some familiar hymns, such as Battle Hymn of the Republic, and changed the language of some other familiar hymns to be more inclusive. At the same time, it brought back songs that the 1970 hymnal left out, such as Blessed Assurance and included some new hymns.

Although I have no idea when our congregation formed its first choir, I was able to able to go back as far as Rev. Brown’s tenure to learn some things about the history of our choral singing. In 1968, rehearsals were on Wednesday nights. The Senior Choir rehearsed from 8:30 to 10 p.m. and “anyone with a love of music (was) welcomed to attend.” This choir sang at the 11 o’clock service. The Chapel Choir –7th through 12th graders—rehearsed from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. The Junior Choir –4th through 6th graders—rehearsed from 6:45 to 7:30 p.m. They sang on alternate Sundays at 9 a.m. The handbell choirs would rehearse on Monday nights by 1990. (Today, both our vocal and handbell choirs rehearse on Monday nights and Sunday mornings.) Robert Lawton directed all the choirs from the 1960s until 1991, when he retired. The organist in 1968 was Gloria Sandbeck. Patricia Cook became music director after Mr. Lawton left. She moved in 1997, and John Kenneth took her place. Linda Lingenfelter served as the organist for more than 20 years, retiring in 1996. Susan Laurence, a graduate student from SUNY Stony Brook, served as organist for a year. Linda Lingenfelter returned on a part-time basis, sharing the organist position with Judy Lee until 2000.

Mary Charlene Harris served as our interim choir director in 2000, while Cindi Lehmann served as music director. By 2004, Cindi Russell was serving as director of music, leading all the choirs, while Carol Trump played the organ. Pablo Lavandera, a graduate student at Stony Brook, came to us in February 2005 as a substitute organist. He took on the permanent organist position in December of that year. Dr. Joanna Kaczorowska followed Cindi Russell as music director and choir director from 2008-2011, with Pablo playing organ and piano. When Joanna K. moved on, Pablo, who became Dr. Pablo in May 2009, assumed both positions—music director and organist. Joanna Huang came to serve the church as a volunteer and intern with Pablo around 2019 and was hired as a staff musician and children’s music ministry leader in 2023.

When I arrived to serve as your minister in 2022, I was delighted to learn that our congregation still has a full choir, and all are volunteers. And not only that, we have a handbell choir that rings almost every week from September through June. That is unusual. Having someone play violin with the organ or piano every Sunday is also rare and wonderful.

I have given some thought to why we still have choirs when so many churches are struggling to keep even one. This question is related to the question of how our congregation has survived for 350 years, I believe.

I think it is because we know what’s important—living out our faith, serving the Lord—and that we are willing to work hard to persist as a church. We have hope, so we ENDURE. We bear with one another, through ups and downs, and, as the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 5, we have the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit that Christ has given us. This is our strength!

This faith stirs us to let go of perfection as a church and individuals. People have made mistakes over the last three centuries. We are going to make mistakes in the years to come. But we are justified by faith—and that is, the faith of Jesus Christ—and not our good works, charisma, or brilliant decisions. Our salvation is based completely on God’s grace. Our existence as a Church of Jesus Christ is all from God’s grace. That means that all the world around us can dissolve into chaos and mayhem, and we still have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. No one can take our peace with God away from us.

This passage in Romans gives us permission to boast. Here are the things that we can boast about. One is our hope of sharing the glory of God. This is both the promise that we, like Christ, will be resurrected and glorified with him because of his suffering work for us on the cross. But it is also that we share the glory of God to the world through our words and acts of kindness and generosity. We are showing God’s glory. We are revealing the goodness of God when we are good!

The other thing we can boast about is our afflictions! Our suffering! We do this as a church. Our entire church family is invited to share our prayer needs during worship, but the ministry of shared suffering continues through the fellowship hour, choral rehearsals, committee and board meetings, men’s and women’s lunches, phone calls, emails, and letters to one another and more. Whenever two or more Christians come together, we are always safe to share our afflictions with one another. And we do. I am not sure that we actually boast of them, like Paul tells us. But he gives us reason to do this. There is an excellent purpose to our afflictions.

It’s a chain reaction. Suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope. This is a hope that is not put to shame, a hope that cannot disappoint us. Because we can trust in one thing—and that’s our God of love and, once again, the love of God poured into each of our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

I thank God for our ministry of music. I am so grateful to all our musicians, including our handbell and vocal choirs, instrumentalists, and our choir director, Dr. Pablo Lavandera. All of you have an important calling. Thank you for sharing your gifts and your commitment to come to worship and labor in many rehearsals, developing your gifts and talents, and for encouraging one another as you walk with the Lord.

I asked Pablo last night, “Why do you think we still have a choir, while other churches are struggling and some of have given up on choirs altogether?” He told me that our choir includes a very committed group of people who have been singing together for many years and want to stay together. “They are a family,” he says. They feel challenged by the music and appreciated by their music director—both as musicians and human beings.

“We are singing for a higher purpose,” he says, “and not to put on a show.” It’s all for the Glory of the Lord.

Will you pray with me? Let us pray.

Holy One, we give you glory and thanks for all that you are doing in our church and with each of as individuals. Thank you for your love for us, a love poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. This love and your grace have strengthened us to continue as your church for centuries. We pray for our blessing on all our musicians, on all who sing and play music in worship. We ask that you keep on building up our faith and strengthen us for many more years of serving you in this place. Remind us that our goal is never personal perfection, but rather to share our hope and your love, to endure and bear with one another in times of suffering and struggle, and to do everything to your glory, in your Triune name. Amen.

Filled with the Spirit

Meditation on Acts 2:1–21

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, NY

Rev. Dr. Karen Crawford

Pentecost

June 8, 2025

Art by Stushie, used with permission

        Today, on Pentecost, we recognize the Sunday School students’ enthusiastic participation and give thanks for their families who faithfully brought them to church and nurtured the faith and love of the Lord at home. And we show our appreciation for their teachers, who have served for decades, and for many others who labor behind the scenes and in the classroom for the children’s sake.

    When I consider how the move of the Spirit is evident in our congregation, I don’t have to look further than our ministry with children and youth. We may not have a LARGE program.

But there is a sweet Spirit blowing through our multigenerational church. We are a family! The children and youth are precious to us, and we know we are stronger and more joyful as a congregation when they in our midst!

   In October 2023, we had the opportunity to add to our music ministry for young children. Session approved hiring Joanna Huang as our “children’s music ministry leader” and more formally “church musician,” after years of sharing her musical gifts on the violin with the congregation as a volunteer/intern with Dr. Pablo Lavandera. Creating a position for Joanna and adding her to our music staff happened quickly—in a matter of days, through phone calls and emails with Session. Looking back, I believe that it was the Spirit stirring us to enlarge our ministry. We were convinced that the Lord was leading us to do this specifically because of the gifts that she possesses, including a heart to serve.

When I recommended Joanna for a PEO STAR scholarship last October, I spoke of her maturity, sensitivity, humility, and passion for music. She is creative, conscientious, and hardworking, arriving early to practice. For her Confirmation, she wrote a new verse to a hymn, and we sang it as she played her violin. Her greatest challenge is keeping up with her busy schedule as she is 100% committed to everything she does. Though she is busy, she doesn’t often say no to requests on her time when it comes to serving the church.

When asked to talk about her qualities that I believe will carry her into her future, I said, “She is a peacemaker, team player, and cheerful, gentle leader, with excellent problem-solving skills.” “She sets high standards for herself and is an eager learner, as well as a natural-born teacher…. She enjoys playing with others and encourages them so they can be their best. She is never nervous. Her playing is reliable and predictable, and her manner is always warm and professional.” I added at the end of my letter, “I have never met anyone quite like Joanna in my years of ministry—so trustworthy, giving, cheerful, and hardworking. The fact that we created a position for her on our staff, when we have a tiny staff, speaks volumes about her character and gifts. The church loves her. …We believe in her and want to help make her dreams come true. She’s going to go far in this world, with the right support, and we will miss her so much when she goes away to college. The worship service won’t be the same without her, not just for her music, but for the way her music builds community.”

On the Day of Pentecost, it isn’t the first time the Spirit has come. The Spirit was, in fact,

present at Creation. Genesis 1:1 says, “When God began to create the heavens and the earth,the earth was complete chaos and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.”  The Spirit was in the breath that the Lord breathed into the first human being. The Spirit led Moses –appearing as a cloud by day and fire by night—to guide the Israelites on their wilderness journey. John the Baptist was filled with the Spirit and foretold in Luke 3:16-17 how the One who was coming, who was more powerful than he, would baptize with Spirit or wind and fire. When John baptizes Jesus, the Spirit comes down on him like a dove.

On Pentecost, the Spirit comes in a new and powerful way, with a new purpose. This is what Christ had promised, an Advocate, Helper, and Comforter to enable his followers to take his gospel out to the world—first to the Jews from many nations who had gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks. Pentakostos, theGreek word for 50th, fell on the 50th day after the presentation of the first sheaf to be reaped of the barley harvest or 50 days from the first Sunday after Passover. The Spirit teaches uneducated men from Galilee, Christ’s first apostles, to communicate the good news of the Risen Christ and His redemption to the Jewish people living in the diaspora, speaking many languages and dialects, and then to the Gentiles—all the nations, every part of the world.

But the Spirit isn’t just a great cosmic translator. The Spirit stirs the disciples to speak the exact words that each hearer needs to hear so they are persuaded to believe. For God knows the hearts and minds of human beings. When the Spirit comes, people are astonished and amazed! Others are cynical and skeptical (which is easy to believe) and accuse the disciples of being drunk. Peter is moved to stand and preach his first sermon to this crowd, and like many seasoned preachers, starts his message with a joke, saying how they couldn’t possibly be drunk because it was only 9 o’clock in the morning.

It’s fascinating to me that the Pentecost lectionary readings pairs the Acts passage with the passage in Genesis 11 about the Tower of Babel. The assumption is that when God created the world, people were united in one language. When they fell into sin, they became united for an evil, selfish purpose. They wanted to be as powerful as God. They wanted to be gods. They thought they could reach the heavens if they all worked together in this building project. The Lord saw this and confused their languages so they could no longer understand one another and work together. Then God scattered them so they would live all over the earth and not come together to do any more evil. Of course, they find a way.

When the Spirit comes on Pentecost, it’s a new start for the world. The evil intent in the hearts of human beings is undone by the compassion and mercy of God revealed in Jesus Christ. A new, diverse community is created. Any obstacles or divisions of language, culture, skin color, and age; gender, generation, and geography; history, economics, education, and lack thereof, slave or free, are overcome by the Spirit of the Lord on the day the Church is born. And it’s a God thing. This Church is not a human organization. It’s not a denomination. It isn’t Protestant or Catholic. It truly is the Body of Jesus Christ.

When we look at the world around us, we can’t help but see how confused and chaotic it is. Have you noticed that people can be attracted to one another and certain groups for the wrong reasons—looking to attain power, wealth, and glory for themselves? It reminds me of the big Tower builders in Genesis 11.

But I don’t want you to look around and focus on what is wrong. Let us just remember the Church has a different purpose. We who embrace Christ’s forgiveness and calling to follow  are connected by our love for God and one another, our worship and our compassionate service.

Today on Pentecost, let us be reminded that our power doesn’t come from ourselves alone. We can wear ourselves out with all the good that we try to do on our own, but then we aren’t really serving the Lord if we leave the Spirit out. I need the Spirit’s help every day. I need to remember to pray.

Today on Pentecost, we who are powered by the Spirit can be known by our fruits. Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 says the evidence of the Spirit’s work in our lives and our church are easy to see. Look for the presence of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control and you will find the Spirit of the Living God. You will find the children of God.

Today on Pentecost, don’t be intimidated and discouraged by big Tower builders, those who hunger for power. Ultimately, big tower builders fail and are frustrated, never satisfied. Christ has already won the victory over sin and death. We don’t have to be afraid. The Spirit has made a permanent home in our hearts. 1 John 4:4 encourages us, “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them (the world), because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

Today, on Pentecost, stay focused on Christ and the beloved community. Allow the Spirit that lives in you to lead you step by step. If you want to be energized and inspired, spend more time with children and youth. You know, they have as much to teach us as we have to teach them. After all, we share the same Spirit!

Joanna shares her future goals in an application for a church-sponsored scholarship. “Music has always felt like a conversation,” she says, “one that lets me listen, guide, and connect. As a violinist and pianist, I’ve learned that teaching and performing go hand in hand. This fall, I’ll begin studying violin performance at the University of Michigan, with plans to further my studies in graduate school. My goal is to perform in professional ensembles and later teach at the collegiate level, where I can support and inspire the next generation of musicians. I’ve taught younger students privately and through the Tri-M Music Honor Society, and I help lead music at the First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown each week. Watching children light up when they sing or hear the violin reminds me why I love this work. Moments like a student’s quiet thank-you after Sunday School will always stay with me after I leave for college. They push me to grow not just as a musician, but as a mentor.”

Will you pray with me?

Holy Triune God, thank you for sending your Spirit on Pentecost and for empowering ordinary people, such as the first disciples and us, to form and grow your Church here in Smithtown and beyond. Come, Holy Spirit, once again, so that we may be refreshed, encouraged, and united in your Son’s loving, healing purposes. Then give us courage to go out and speak the right words that will bring Christ’s light and peace and the Spirit of truth to places of darkness, division, and confusion. In the name of the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer we pray. Amen.

“I will not leave you orphaned”

Meditation on John 14:18-27

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown

Reverend Dr. Karen Crawford

In Memory of Palma Courtney

March 22, 1931 – May 31, 2025

 Palma DiMilia Courtney was born on the second day of spring in 1931 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Her parents were Josephine and Angelo, immigrants from southern Italy. These were the days when families were large. Palma was the 8th of nine children—first six boys—John, Joseph, Samuel, and Daniel, and two more who did not survive early childhood—then three girls: Lucy, Palma, and Mildred.  The three girls were always close.

 Though her parents had been Roman Catholic growing up in the old country, Palma and her siblings would be raised Presbyterian, first at Ainsley Street Presbyterian Church in Williamsburg. Palma graduated from Eastern District High School in 1949, where Mel Brooks had graduated five years before.

 After high school, Palma worked for 8 years for MetLife and Chase Manhattan Bank, doing secretarial work and bookkeeping. Then she met Thomas Courtney at a dance. He was Irish Catholic, just 5 months older. He lived in Greenpoint, the northernmost neighborhood of Brooklyn, which borders Williamsburg, where Palma’s family lived. He had served in the Navy during the Korean War era—3 years and 11 months. And he was old fashioned about some things. Without her knowledge, he asked her dad for Palma’s hand in marriage before he asked Palma to marry him. She was mad about that!

They were married on Feb. 16, 1957, in her Presbyterian Church.  

Palma remained close to her sisters after her marriage. They all married and moved to Oceanside in the 1950s and started having children. Palma settled into a life of full-time wife and mother. Four daughters were born there—Lynn, Claudia, Deborah, and Suzanne. Palma sewed all their clothes on her black Singer sewing machine. They had family vacations. And they attended First Presbyterian Church of Christian Hook Oceanside.

But their life was turned upside down in 1964 with the tragic death of Lynn, Palma and Tom’s first born. The little girl was walking home from school one day and was struck by a vehicle. She was 6 years old! A first grader. The family was devastated. How could this happen? They didn’t want to stay in Oceanside any longer.

Tom, who worked for New York Telephone Company, requested a transfer. He was moved to the Northport office. And the family moved in 1965 to a 3-bedroom, 1-bath rancher on Howell Drive in Smithtown. Everything came together, detail by detail. Soon, they started attending the white Presbyterian Church with the clock tower. The children would all attend Sunday School and Westminster Class and be confirmed. Eileen, their youngest, born in Smithtown in 1967, attended our Village Presbyterian Pre-School. Palma joined a Women’s Circle.

Palma didn’t go back to work until Eileen was in school, and even then, she kept it quiet and part time so she could be home when her children were home. Eileen discovered years later that her mother had been working at the cafeteria at Dogwood Elementary when she was a student there. She also worked for Abraham & Strauss department store at Smith Haven Mall during the Christmas season.

Her family would remain the highest importance to Palma. There were family vacations every summer—to Maine, Pennsylvania, upstate New York, and Florida. Every weekend, there was a family gathering in Oceanside. There was always a party. They celebrated many birthdays with cake, accordion music, and singing good old songs.

She continued to sew for most of her life, making clothing for her daughters and nieces. She enjoyed making crafts and quilting. Every niece, nephew, and grandchild, and perhaps some of the great grandchildren, have quilts made by Palma.

Her friendships were important to her throughout her life, as well. She stayed close with four or five girlfriends she had known since her school years. They had “girl” weekends in New Jersey. They took weeklong trips by car, plane, and bus, going to New Orleans and cross country to Yellowstone and California. They traveled to the Bahamas, Aruba, and more. She built lasting relationships and made memories to forever treasure.

Eileen shared with me how her mother was strong. Her mother had lived with her and her husband for the last 12 years. She wondered if the tragic loss of her first child, 6-year-old Lynn, made Palma stronger and helped her put into perspective all the other challenges and trials, which were nothing compared to that loss. She remained strong after losing her husband Tom to cancer in 1997. She helped her daughters through many hard things, not just through her encouraging words, but through her gift of wisdom, love, and hope that she was able to help them find solutions to their problems and a way forward when they were discouraged.

The readings today remind us that God is always waiting to be a refuge for us—a place of help and shelter through any storm. God is our home in this world and for all eternity. We have the promise of Christ’s return, our own resurrection with him, and no more suffering or sighing. He will wipe away all our tears.

Christ offers the gift of peace to us, a peace, he tells his first disciples in John, that the world cannot give. This peace comes from knowing and trusting Him, casting our burdens upon him, listening for His voice, following in His footsteps.

And we have power right now through the helper Christ sent long ago, who came on Pentecost—which we celebrate this Sunday in worship. God the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, is with us, living in the heart of every believer, dwelling in our midst when we gather in Christ’s name. We are never alone with any hard thing in this world.

The Spirit will strengthen you with wisdom and courage to do and understand things you never imagined you could do and understand. The Spirit will comfort you and heal your hurts, for this world is full of pain and suffering. You will not escape loss and grief here. The Spirit will help you when you struggle with doubts, and when you struggle to forgive. The Spirit will enable you to labor for peace and reconciliation in your household, extended family, community, and world.

I think of Palma’s daughters and the rest of the large, closeknit family who are grieving a mother, aunt, grandmother, and great grandmother. These are Christ’s words for you and for all of us:

“I will not leave you orphaned. I am coming to you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not let them be afraid.”

Amen.

Enlightened Witnesses

Meditation on Luke 24: 44-53

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, NY

Reverend Dr. Karen Crawford

Ascension of the Lord

June 1, 2025

Any mystery fans here? I like to watch crime dramas on ACORN. Jim and I watch from 9 to 10:30 p.m., if I am home and can stay awake. We just finished the available episodes of The One That Got Away.  What brings me back to these mysteries, again and again, is the interesting and flawed characters, with their complicated relationships and histories, as well as their twisting plots and often surprising endings.

In The One That Got Away, the male detective is sure that the right man is in prison for a murder he solved more than a decade ago. He doesn’t want to reopen the case, nor does his boss, but his ex-partner, a woman to whom he was once engaged, comes back to town when another person has been found killed in the manner of the earlier crime. She wants to reopen the case, look for new evidence, and re-interview all the old witnesses.

The problem is caused by the two witnesses, whose testimony was enough to bring about the original conviction. We learn that the first one was actually coached by the male detective, because he was so sure that the man he had arrested had done the crime. Years later, the first witness is haunted by what he has done. He begins to question what he saw. Maybe it wasn’t really that man driving, after all. He can’t sleep at night.

The other witness was the wife of the convicted murder, whom he abused, along with their foster children. She contacts the police when she is dying years later and says she wants to tell the truth, when, in fact, she tells more lies to try to get her husband released and one of her foster sons framed for the crime that we discover in the end, SPOILER ALERT, she really committed.

Being a witness was important to the biblical writers, old and new testaments. The Bible is full of legal language. I had forgotten that Boaz assembled a group of men to serve as witnesses when he made a covenant regarding Ruth at the gate of the city. In Joshua, chapter 24, he tells the Israelites to be witnesses “against themselves” that they have chosen to serve the LORD. “Yes, we are witnesses,” they say. He tells them to throw away their foreign gods and yield their hearts to the Lord, God of Israel. And the people testify, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”

In the gospels, and at least two of the epistles, a follower of Christ is to be a witness—martureo, in Greek. Martureo is found at least 79 times in the New Testament, most of them in John. The word is both a noun and a verb. It means to be a witness and to bear witness, or “affirm that one has seen or heard or experienced something, or that (one) knows because (one) was taught by divine revelation or inspiration.”[1]

Being a witness is important to our faith, too—to those of us who weren’t there at the time. We believe that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and ascended into heaven because we trust the people who were there: the enlightened witnesses. Christ opened their hearts and minds so they could not only remember what they saw accurately and retell the stories but understand the deeper meaning behind what happened for their own lives and hope for all eternity.

The witnesses in Luke—possibly 120 disciples at this point—are led by him to the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, less than 2 miles from Jerusalem, to Bethany, a small village of great significance. Bethany was where Mary and Martha had invited him and the 12 to dinner (Luke 10:38-42) and Mary didn’t pull her weight in the kitchen. Bethany was where, in John 11, Jesus wept and raised their brother Lazarus after he had been in the tomb 4 days. Bethany was where Jesus had dinner in the house of Simon the Leper in Matthew 26. A woman came to him with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume and annoyed the disciples when she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. Bethany was “on the other side of the Jordan, where John” was baptizing and interrogated by the Pharisees in John 1:28. Bethany was the place where Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey began in Luke 19.

Now Bethany is the place where the body of Christ, risen from the tomb, will leave his final footprint before, as we say in the Nicene Creed from the Church of the 4th century A.D. It is where “He ascended into heaven and is (still) seated at the right hand of the Father” until the time when he will “come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.”

How do Christ’s witnesses feel about their new role? They are filled with joy by Christ’s blessing as he is carried into heaven. They are moved to worship him while they are waiting for the Spirit that will clothe them with more power from on high. They are continually in the temple, blessing God!

Here’s what I am wondering. Maybe you are wondering, too.

Why does the Ascension really matter for our faith?

I ask this question because I realized the Ascension isn’t celebrated by every denomination or even every church in our denomination, especially when it doesn’t fall on a Sunday. Jim is at a Presbyterian church today that skipped right over it. This year, the calendar tells us to observe the Ascension on Thursday, May 29. Not many of us came to church that day.

One Massachusetts pastor, Rev. Dr. Mike McGarry, an author of several books on youth ministry, writes how after two decades of youth ministry, he’d recently discovered, much to his dismay, that he’d never taught the youth about the Ascension. He says, “I’d given it very little thought or attention at all.”[2] And I’m sure this is true for quite a few pastors.

The Ascension. MEH.

Mike says the doctrine of the Ascension has become one that “routinely ministers” to him. He says, “For most of my Christian life, I have honestly lived as if Jesus is currently hibernating. I know he was busy between Christmas and Easter, and I believe he will return again as judge and savior. But I have given very little thought to Jesus’ present ministry. He isn’t on sabbatical while the Father and Holy Spirit are at work in the Church today.”[3]

This is what he learned and what I hope you will remember from our message today—so that we may live out the role as Christ’s enlightened witnesses. Three things, really.

  1. The Ascension should give us confidence “that Jesus sees us. He isn’t aloof. He isn’t hibernating until he returns again. Jesus knows and sees what is happening today. He is still leading and caring for his people, especially in the midst of their suffering and persecution.”[4] Mike says, “Teenagers can live with confidence that Jesus isn’t merely watching them, he is watching over them. The presence of Christ is not simply a metaphor. For a generation … marked by loneliness and mental health struggles, the presence of Christ is a significant encouragement.”[5]
  • The Ascension should give us confidence that “Jesus will finish everything that he began. He wasn’t a failed-messiah,” [6] Mike tells the youth. “It’s common for teenagers and young adults to be disillusioned with the world, and to wonder, “If this is what Jesus accomplished, then why bother?” His death and resurrection are “central to his victory over sin and death, but so are his ascension and return. The ascension is a reminder that the victory of the gospel is secure, but it hasn’t yet been fully applied.” Remembering Christ’s ascension “gives teenagers confidence that God’s salvation is still unfolding.”[7]

And finally,

3. The Ascension should give us confidence “in the body. Jesus wasn’t a ghost. His resurrection and ascension were both bodily and physical, and he will return in the same way. Christianity is a physical and bodily religion. We do not merely believe in mindfulness or spirituality but in the goodness of creation and salvation of the body. The gospel leads us into the New Heavens and New Earth, which will be a physical life that is marked by glory and holiness.”[8]

Dear friends, what do you think of your role as witnesses? This is my hope and prayer.

That you are not frightened or intimidated by it. Sometimes, we think of witnessing to people as telling them how to get saved. Please don’t think of it this way. You need to be a witness to the new things that the Lord reveals to you about God and this world, yourself, and your life every time you hear or read Scripture and learn from the Body. You need to tell your story; participate in the making of a new story for the Church of Jesus Christ; and invite others to join in, share their stories, and be witnesses, too.

That you will have joy, like the disciples who were physically present at the Ascension, a joy that will draw you back to worship, continually blessing the Lord.

That the Ascension gives you confidence that Christ sees you and watches over you and isn’t in hibernation until he comes again.

And that you embrace Christ’s forgiveness for yourself and others. And speak and live in such a way that humbly bears witness to the truth, with no regrets, no sleepless nights.

Let us pray.

Holy One, we embrace the role of being your witnesses, those who were not physically present that day to see the events unfold, but who have been enlightened by your Son and trust the witnesses who were there. Thank you for Christ’s Ascension with a blessing, the completion of his exaltation and glorification, and the promise of our resurrection and glorification with him. Empower us to live confidently, knowing we are forgiven, and Christ is with us and watching over us from his seat on your right hand. Keep our hearts and minds open to learning new things in your Word and re-forming the way we think of you, ourselves, one another, your Church, and the world you so love. Grant us your peace, courage, and rest. Amen.

     [1] https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Lexicon.show/ID/G3140/martureo.htm

      [2] Rev. Dr. Mike McGarry at https://livingtheologically.com/about/.

      [3] McGarry

      [4] McGarry

      [5] McGarry

      [6] McGarry

      [7] McGarry

    [8] McGarry

She Was Listening with Her Heart

Meditation on Acts 16:9-15

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown

Rev. Dr. Karen Crawford

May 25, 2025

Last weekend was a whirlwind of activities, beginning with a long travel day on Friday to Austin, TX, due to weather-related delays. Jim and I finally arrived at our hotel at 4:30 a.m. Eastern Time Saturday. Later that day, we attended a worship service for the graduates and their families. Commencement was on Sunday. We journeyed home on Monday.

It was an exhausting weekend, and I was sad that no one else from my class was graduating with me. I didn’t know any of the students. But I am glad that I went. I was reminded of the faithfulness of God and the goodness of God’s people.

My motivation for attending was gratitude. I wanted to say thank you to the director of the program, the Rev. Dr. Sarah Allen, who had just begun her job when I started the program in January 2022. I wanted to say thank you to one of my teachers, Dr. William Greenway, who opened my eyes to the wonder and holiness of God’s Creation—particularly the non-human creatures—and encouraged me to incorporate this love and wonder in new ways in my ministry.

But the person that I wanted to say thank you to the most was my faculty reader and final teacher, Dr. Donghyun Jeong. He encouraged me to follow my heart and do my project—exploring the spirituality of Presbyterian gardeners—the way that I wanted to.  He encouraged me to listen to a variety of voices, including biblical, theological, scientific, and poetic. But the voice he said that should be the loudest in the final written project was to be MY OWN. That was a little intimidating for me. He told me that I was the captain of this ship. He complimented me on my writing style and told me that he knew I could do it.

I approached the project in the way that I felt most comfortable, by telling a story, from the beginning to the end. It became a spiritual memoir, filled with photos of gardens, birds, and the people who shared their stories and gardens with me.

During the oral evaluation right after Easter, he told me that I had inspired him, who was not a gardener, to take his son out into their yard and dig with him, looking for the countless organisms that live under our feet in the soil. His son was grossed out by the bugs, he said, but it was a new, enlightening experience for father and young son, strengthening the connection between two people with God’s soil.

Just before Commencement began, while I was busy learning to line up, Dr. Jeong praised me to my husband. Near the end of commencement, he sang a solo in Korean: Everyone Who Longs for the Boundless Love of God.

He turned and sang the final verse looking at the graduates, catching my eye and holding it, as I sat in the front row. He sang in his native tongue,

“God is always watching over you;

God is watching you with loving eyes;

God is hearing you in all your prayers;

God is listening with tender, loving ears.

God shines light in every dark and fearful place we go

and will answer every little cry that you make,

so wherever you may go follow in God’s holy way

and trust God to take you home.”

We encounter the story of Lydia in Acts 16—a strong woman, business leader in her community, whose ears and heart were open to hear the word of the Lord and respond with enthusiasm. She was a God-fearer, a Gentile who had accepted the God and faith of Israel.

Paul, who led the journey to Philippi after he sees a vision of a Macedonian man pleading for help, brings with him Silas and young Timothy. They join Lydia and other women gathered on the banks of the Gangites or Ganges River on the sabbath “to go through the appointed Jewish service of prayer for the sabbath day.”[1] Why a river, you ask? There probably was no synagogue in this town. This was Paul’s routine when he arrived at a city—to worship in the local synagogue on the sabbath. The Jewish population in Philippi may have been small,[2] and “no number of women could compensate for the absence of even one man necessary to make up the quorum of ten”[3] required for worship.

Here in Acts is the only place we hear of Lydia in the Bible. I was dismayed to read one scholar’s interpretation (Valerie Abrahamsen) that Lydia’s story may be fictitious.[4] I don’t see any evidence for this. Her story would have been circulated in the Christian community in the late first century and beyond. Valerie suggests that her name may have been “adopted by Luke to refer to the region of Lydia in Asia Minor, where Thyatira was located.”[5] I think she may have simply been named for the region where she lived, like Mary Magdalene who was really Mary of Magdala, a fishing and trade city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where Mary was born.

“Thyatira, a Macedonian colony in Asia Minor, was known in antiquity for its excellent dye industry.” The purple dye was made “from the juice of the madder root,”[6] which was “still in use for the dying of carpets at the end of the 19th century.”[7] Lydia is a dealer, a seller of the “very precious commodity”[8] of purple goods, which were used “primarily for the clothing of royalty and the wealthy. Inscriptions have been found honoring the city’s guild of dyers, and Luke’s readers,” Valerie says, “may have associated Lydia with such a guild.”[9]

It’s interesting to me that people assume, since there is no husband mentioned, that she is a widow. “Women in Macedonia were noted for their independence…under Roman law (which governed life in the colony) freeborn women with three children and freedwomen with four children were… granted a number of privileges, including the right to undertake legal transactions on their own initiative.”[10]

The important thing to know is that Lydia listened as Paul and his friends spoke. Yes, she was listening to Paul, but she had really come to the river to talk to and listen for God’s voice. And she listens not just with her ears, but with her heart. She is seeking God’s will for her life. She hears the good news of Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Messiah. She acknowledges Jesus as Lord and, in response to her newfound faith and commitment to Christ, is baptized in the River Gangites or Ganges, along with her entire household, which includes children and servants.

Some of the more cynical voices say that she must have compelled her household to be baptized. So, it wasn’t a true believer baptism for them. But what if all the people are responding to the move of the Spirit in this place? What if she is not the only one who experiences conversion? What if Luke is trying to tell us that faith can be spread quickly through individuals and families and through a crowd of women gathered at the river to pray?

Lydia is so excited to hear the good news that Paul, Silas, and Timothy share that day that she urges them to stay at her home. She “prevails upon them.”

Another cynical voice, Gail O’Day, says that “Luke’s treatment of Lydia is self-serving. His ideal women throughout Acts merely provide housing and some economic resources to (male) Christian missionaries and allow men to preserve or assume leadership roles in the community.”[11]

But I don’t see her that way. I see Lydia, who listens with her heart, as a leader not just in the business community, but in the religious community, especially now with her newfound faith in Christ her Savior. Lydia is the first known convert to Christianity in all of Europe.

I believe she is moved by gratitude and a hunger to know Christ more when she invites Paul, Silas, and Timothy to stay with her in her home. And she doesn’t take no for an answer.

Looking back at my own faith journey, which continues on and in some ways has begun again with my Commencement from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary last Sunday, I have to say that listening is the most important act of faith that we can ever do. We listen for God’s voice in Scripture, through prayer, and in the voice of the gathered people in worship and with all the spiritual fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers whom God places in our life. We learn and grow from one another. We are supported and encouraged in the faith by one another.

What comes next for me? I don’t know. For now, I am glad to have finished a challenging program of theological study that required travel to Texas twice a year. I am ready for joy and rest, spending time with my family, and getting to know my flock and the Lord even more. I am ready for whatever the Lord has planned for our future together, dear friends.

May you be encouraged by my story to listen for God’s voice and to listen with all your heart. May you respond eagerly and gratefully when the Lord tells you to go and share your story and God’s love with others. For you know that

“God is always watching over you.

God is watching you with loving eyes;

God is hearing you in all your prayers;

God is listening with tender, loving ears.

God shines light in every dark and fearful place we go

and will answer every little cry that you make…”

And when the Spirit of the Lord comes knocking at your door, I pray you will invite Christ to come in and stay with you and your household. And, like Lydia, that you don’t take no for an answer.

Let us pray.

Holy One, Loving Lord, thank you for always watching over us, with loving eyes and hearing us in all our prayers. Thank you for watching over me, my family and church family, especially in these last three years, while I was going to school in Texas. Lord, teach us to listen for your voice with our hearts, as you listen, with tender, loving ears to all our concerns. Teach us to respond eagerly and gratefully, as did Lydia, and to see your light shining in every dark and fearful place. Lead us to share our stories and your love, knowing the power of the Spirit to use our words to bring others closer to you. May we invite you in to live with us forever in our hearts and homes. In Christ we pray. Amen.

     [1] F.F. Bruce, The Book of the Acts (Grand Rapids: Eerdmanns, 1988), 310.  

     [2] Bruce, The Book of the Acts, 310.  

     [3] Bruce, The Book of the Acts, 310.

     [4] Valerie Abrahamsen in Women in Scripture, edited by Carol Meyers (Grand Rapids: Eerdmanns, 2000), 110-111.

     [5] Abrahamsen, Women in Scripture, 111.

     [6] Bruce, The Book of the Acts, 311.

     [7] Bruce, The Book of the Acts, 310.

     [8] Abrahamsen, Women in Scripture, 111.

     [9] Abrahamsen, Women in Scripture, 111.

     [10] Bruce, The Book of the Acts, 311.

     [11] Abrahamsen, Women in Scripture, 111.

“Tabitha, get up!”

Meditation on Acts 9:36-42

Rev. Dr. Karen Crawford

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown

Mother’s Day

May 11, 2025    

                                             

I received the best Mother’s Day present this week! My husband bought me a pitchfork. To be clear, it wasn’t specifically a Mother’s Day present. But I am really excited about it. I’ve always wanted a pitchfork. This one is light and easy to handle, but also sharp and powerful. I’ve already used it to turn my compost pile!

I’ve said this before and I will say it, again. I come from a long line of strong women. But I have to say that I didn’t get the gardening gene from my mom. She doesn’t like working in the yard. She doesn’t even like cut flowers.

My mom may not be a gardener, but she is amazing in other ways. A world traveler. Smart! Funny. Chatty. Never shy. Loves people.

She grew up spending half a year on City Island, NY, and half a year in Daytona Beach, FL. She graduated from Mainland High School in Daytona when she was 16 and went off to study nursing at Boston University. She served her country in the Navy as an R.N. at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, now Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Mom met my dad at dinner with friends. He was a little older, a cartographer who had also served in the Navy. He was Jewish, while she had been raised Lutheran. They fell in love and got married by a Justice of the Peace. They had three kids in four years (I’m the youngest), and one day, Dad showed my mom where he wanted to live—a house way out on the country so he could garden. So, even though she was a city girl, they moved to the country. Mom managed to fit into small town life and make plenty of friends, though she was one of only a few women who were college graduates in the town. She played bridge—still plays bridge several days a week—and still keeps up with her old friends, many of them former bridge partners.

As I grew up, she continued to work as a nurse. She worked 3 to 11 shifts at the ER at Montgomery General Hospital, now Medstar Montgomery Medical Center in Olney, MD. Dad would feed us hot dogs, tuna fish, or TV dinners and put us to bed while she was still working. She later became a school health nurse. She drove to more than one school to serve students every day, many of them needy. She would change careers when I was in junior high, becoming a real estate agent. She discovered she really liked it and was great at it. Why am I remembering when mom had a mobile phone in the 1970s? It was kept in a big bag in her car.

But mom wasn’t just about her job, though work has always been important to her. She continues to work in her retirement in her 80s, preparing taxes for her neighbors. Mom has always been close to her extended family, visiting and writing cards and letters. She has always loved to cook and was an excellent baker. She can make a pie crust! She and her friend, Eleanor, also a nurse, used to can and freeze all sorts of vegetables and fruits so that we could eat local produce year round.

Mom loved football, too. Still does. My dad didn’t follow sports. She bought a little red, black and white TV of her own in the 1970s, when most households only had one TV, so that she wouldn’t miss a single game of the Washington Redskins. I can still hear her yelling, “Get him! Get him!”’

Mom has sung in church choirs for years. She didn’t have time when she was busy raising three kids and working as a real estate agent. But after she and dad retired and moved back to her native Florida in the early 1990s, she began to sing in church, again. She also learned to paint. The walls of her home are full of her watercolor art, which has been displayed in the community center where she lives and featured in local publications.

Before learning to paint, mom could knit Afghans and sew like anything. I still hear the hum of her sewing machine that she operated with her knee and her hands. She made my sister and me clothes when jumpers and tights were all the thing. I remember getting compliments on a green jumper that I wore to a junior high dance. Mom had made it!

Since my father died, my mom continues to care for people. She volunteers at the nursing home where my dad spent his last months, struggling with Parkinson’s. She brings the residents in wheelchairs to the church service on Sunday mornings.

The strong women in my family have many of the character traits of Tabitha in our reading in Acts today. Tabitha, an Aramaic word that means “Gazelle,” was called Dorcas among the Greek speakers. One translation says, “She spent all her time in the performance of good works and acts of kindness.” After she falls ill and dies, is washed and laid in an upper room, and disciples send for Peter in the nearby town of Lydda, we learn more about her amazing gifts that she shared with her community. Peter is greeted, when he arrives, by all the widows, tearfully showing him the dresses and coats that Dorcas has made.

And Peter, commissioned by the Risen Christ to tend his lambs and feed his sheep, has just healed a man called Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and confined to bed for 8 years. The residents of Lydda and the Plain of Sharon see him healed and “turn to the Lord.”

This time, Peter will raise Tabitha/Dorcas to new life. This scene looks remarkably like when Jesus raises Jairus’ daughter from her deathbed in Mark 5:41. “He says a short sentence in Aramaic, differing only in one letter from Jesus’ words to Jairus’s daughter. Whereas Jesus had said Talitha qum(i)… Peter now says Tabitha qum(i) or “Tabitha, get up.”[1]

She opens her eyes and, seeing Peter, sits up. He helps her to stand and calls in all the widows to present her ALIVE, again. Many come to believe on the Lord because of her healing.

Dear friends, God cares about the bodies of women and the gifts of women. We need only look around this room and share the stories of our flock to know how blessed we are because of the gifts of women. Our cup of blessing runneth over!

My mom and I didn’t always see eye to eye in my teens and twenties. Did I tell you that I come from a long line of women with strong personalities? By the time I was in my 30s, my eyes were opened to her humanity and strengths, more and more, and to my own humanity and weaknesses. God has a way of humbling us, reminding us of the grace that we all have been given and the new mercies that we receive from the Lord every morning. God has a way of helping us, as we age, see our parents and siblings and other relatives as people, with their own struggles and difficulties. And we love them even more.

Dear friends, how could we who are loved unconditionally, we who are the redeemed, withhold love or forgiveness from a family member?

Mom was there when I needed her, so many times. And I am so thankful that my mom is still with us. I know today, especially, many of you are missing your moms, who have already gone home to be with the Lord. Remember that your loved ones are still with us in the Great Cloud of Witnesses. They are here today. They are still cheering you on as you run the race of faith.

In a few moments, we will celebrate our Communion with Christ and one another. As we partake of the bread and cup, remember that we are celebrating with the Great Cloud of Witnesses, all the faithful who have gone before us, who have already finished their race and are with Christ, face to face. May the Lord open our eyes to their everlasting, loving presence with us.

And Mom, if you are listening to this message today on the livestream, I want to say thank you for being my amazing mom! I am so proud of you! I love you!

Let us pray.

Holy One, thank you for your love for us and your concern for the bodies of women and girls. Your plan for salvation includes using the gifts of all women and girls for ministry—for loving and caring for others in more ways than we can say. Today on Mother’s Day and every day we thank you for our mothers, Lord, who have loved and nurtured us into being the people we are today. We ask that you bless women everywhere, Lord. Let them feel your loving care of their bodies, minds, and souls. Heal the sick and comfort those who are grieving their loved ones. And dear Lord, we lift up families with broken relationships. We pray that you would bring about peace, reconciliation, and healing, just as you gave Peter power to raise Tabitha from the dead. In the name of our Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—we pray. Amen.

     [1] F. F. Bruce, The Book of the Acts (Revised), The New International Commentary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 199.

Casting on the Right Side

Meditation on John 21:1–19

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, NY

Rev. Karen Crawford

May 4, 2025

Art by Stushie, used with permission.

Listen to the devotion here:

Memories are a funny thing, aren’t they? They come in flashes, when we are least expecting them.

     That happened to me yesterday at the presbytery meeting in Mattituck. The Rev. Kate Jones-Calone, our Executive Presbyter, was sharing an inspiring message about living as Easter people.  Looking at her, I was suddenly propelled back to my seminary years with Kate, more than 15 years ago. I was remembering my student self, so uncertain about my gifts for preaching and ministry, in general. I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to shepherd a flock and use the gifts that God had given me. I was filled with fear and anxiety.

    Yesterday, with this flash of memory, a grateful thought came to mind, “Look at what God has done with Kate and me.” We are both in ministries that God has called us to. What a surprise that we would be serving together in the same presbytery—and that I would be living on Long Island.

     These flashes of memory are important. You have them, too, right? God is reminding us of the Risen Christ’s promise at the end of Matthew, when he commissions the disciples to go out into the world, teaching and baptizing, assuring them and us that he is with us, till the end of the age. God was with us in the past, in these flashes of memory. And the Lord is with us at this very moment. The Lord hasn’t changed, but we aren’t the same people we used to be. We are so much more than that. This journey of faith is transforming us.

    In today’s reading in the 21st chapter of John, it’s as if the Risen Christ is reluctant to leave his disciples when he appears on the shore of the Sea of Tiberius (another name for the Sea of Galilee). Without a doubt, he returns when they need direction and reassurance that they aren’t the people they used to be. They are so much more than that. They have changed and their lives have changed. And there’s no going back.

    Seven of them are out on a boat on the sea fishing again. The scene reminds us of when Jesus calls the fishermen, three years before, in Matthew 4:18-22, walking by the Sea of Galilee and calling to Peter and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. Then he saw two other fishermen—two brothers, James and John—in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called to them and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

   This time, in John 21, it’s Simon Peter’s idea to go fishing at night. The others invite themselves to go with him. It’s as if they don’t want to be alone. I used to think that they were returning to their former occupations, but now I think it is more like therapy for them. Perhaps they can’t sleep. They don’t know where to go or what to do. They have lost their Shepherd. Their Teacher. Their Friend. With his death and resurrection, the world has been turned upside down. Everything has changed. So, what now?

    They return to a place they have been countless times—on the sea—doing what is familiar—fishing—looking for the peace and sense of purpose they had when Jesus was with them in the flesh. They fish all night and catch nothing. At daybreak, Jesus is standing on the beach, calling to them, affectionately calling them “Children,” knowing they have caught nothing and are hungry. He is a shadowy figure, a stranger, telling them to cast their net to the right side of the boat. Mysteriously, they do what he says without question. They cast the net on the right side and are unable to haul it in because there are so many fish!

It’s in the miraculous catch, the abundance, that stirs the disciples to recognize Jesus. They have a flash of a memory of Jesus multiplying a few loaves and fish and feeding a hungry multitude. They remember when Jesus says to them, when they are tired and want to send the crowd away, “YOU give them something to eat.”

 “It is the Lord!” says the disciple whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter hears this and puts on his outer garment, removed for fishing, and jumps into the sea. He can’t wait for the boat to bring them ashore.

Can you imagine this comforting scene? The hungry, weary disciples coming up to the shore to meet their Risen Savior, dragging a net full of fish, which miraculously doesn’t break. The smell of the charcoal fire and grilled fish and bread reaches them. Jesus invites them to breakfast, but it’s a potluck. He asks them to bring some of the large fish—some of the 153—that he has helped them catch, just to remind them that with Christ, all things are possible.

No one asks, “Who are you?” Everyone knows he is Jesus!

The Lord serves each one of them bread and fish. This is when John tells us that this is the third time Jesus has appeared to them after he is raised from the dead. The pattern of three is significant. Three times are needed for the disciples to be equipped to live into their callings. Three times are needed for us to hear and believe and through believing, have life in Christ’s name.

Three times Jesus asks Simon Peter if he loves him. Three times Simon Peter says, “Yes!” It builds to an emotional climax, when Peter final bursts out, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” And Peter has a flash of memory. How could he possibly forget denying Jesus, after he is arrested, three times before the cock crows, just as Jesus had said?

The Lord has a plan for Peter. He meets him right where he is. He meets him fishing, and catching nothing, telling him to cast the net on the right side. He meets him in the abundance of the catch and in his joy at seeing the Risen Savior, once again. And he meets him in his sadness and guilt, recalling how he let Jesus down, betrayed him when Christ needed him. Then Jesus graciously removes the burden of his sin and shame and commissions him to be Shepherd of his flock—to tend his lambs, feed his sheep, and care for his followers.

Do this, he says, because you love me.

I find myself almost at a loss for words when I think about how the Lord has been with me all these years, guiding and strengthening me through so many hard things in my journey of faith. In a few weeks, I am preparing to return to Austin, TX, to graduate with a doctor of ministry degree. I know that I will have flashes of memories as the day of commencement draws near. And I know these flashes are to remind me that the Lord is always with me, as the Risen Christ promises all of us, to the end of the age. That there is nothing too hard for God. And that we are saved for a purpose—to love and serve the Lord by loving and serving the Church. Feeding and tending the lambs and sheep. We need no other reason except love for the Lord.

One thing that is key to this message today is that we have to seek the will of God for our ministry, continually, if we want to experience the abundance that the first disciples experienced with the miraculous catch and the feeding of the multitude. Today, I hear the Lord saying, “Cast your net on the right side.” Sometimes, the Lord will lead us in a way that doesn’t seem logical. It might be different from the way we used to fish for people. Why should the right side of the boat be any better than the left? The only difference was that the right side was God’s will. The right side was in God’s plan. This, my friends, is what we need to know—what is God’s plan for this flock that Christ has faithfully shepherded for 350 years?

Dear friends, God was with us in the past and the Lord who knows our future is with us in this present moment. The Lord hasn’t changed, but we aren’t the same people we used to be. The journey of faith is changing us. Seeking God’s will for the decisions that we make is transforming us into the people God has ordained for us to be. Remember, there’s no room in our resurrected lives for fear or anxiety. And there’s nothing too hard for God.

Brothers and sisters, do you hear the Lord calling us today, as he called his first disciples, after feeding them a hearty breakfast on the beach? Mistakes won’t be held against us. Peter denying Jesus was part of his formation. It humbled him and prepared him for servant leadership. What matters is that we trust in Christ, our Messiah, the Son of God, because through our believing, we have life in his name.

Do you hear our Risen Lord saying to us all, “Follow me”?

Good Shepherd, we give you thanks for the way you nurture and care for us, your flock, as we seek your wisdom and will. We love you and thank you for giving your life to rescue us when we were perishing and the promise of life in your name. Remove all fear and anxiety from us. Humble and restore us with your mercy, like you did for Simon Peter. Equip and empower us to obey you as you lead us, tending your lambs and feeding your sheep. Reveal your presence through your abundant blessings for our community of faith, as you revealed yourself to your disciples long ago with a miracle catch when they cast their net on the right side of a boat on the Sea of Galilee. In your name we pray. Amen.

Healing, Rest, and Sabbath

Meditation on Leviticus 25:1-12

Creation Care Sunday

Final Post: Tell Me About Your Garden Series

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, NY

Pastor Karen Crawford

April 27, 2025

From https://sdcatholic.org/life-peace-and-justice/care-for-creation/

Listen to the devotion here:

    I am almost ready to plant my seedlings! The weather is still a little iffy, especially with nighttime temperatures dropping into the 40s.

    This is one of the hardest stages for me with growing plants from seeds. I have been nurturing them for a couple of months inside, with grow lights and careful watering. Now is the time to “harden” them, which is to help them make a gradual transition from their indoor homes and pampered lifestyles to growing in the earth in the community of weeds, flowers, insects, squirrels, rabbits, and deer—all God’s Creation.

     I have made mistakes in the past at this stage. I have rushed transplanting, only to have my careful nurturing of seedlings come to naught, with a sudden heat wave, too much wind, or too much rain damaging or even killing the plant.  The key is finding the right place to keep the plants outside, still in their containers, during the day for a few hours at a time to help them make a successful transition.

     Yesterday, though it was raining off and on and not as warm as it had been, was my first day of hardening eight of the seedling plant trays. I laid them on the covered veranda that connects our garage to the side entrance. And I asked the Lord to watch over and help them get ready for their new lives on the outside. May they flourish in their environment. May they grow big and strong and beautiful and become all that God has ordained them to be.

     I have learned about my faith through the nurturing of plants. I have experienced God’s encouragement and lifted mood and a sense of wholeness and healing. I have learned from other gardeners about their faith growing through connecting with the soil, too. Some report improved health, along with spiritual benefits.

     Stanley Kunitz, a Poet Laureate of the U.S. and Pulitzer Prize-winner, says when he was in his 80s, “I think that if I had been denied (gardening) I would not be speaking to you today. My gardens have nurtured, fortified, and sustained me that much. It is not only a sustenance of the body, but also of the spirit within. This is because the garden for me is more than simply a place for toil, it is also a place for meditation and a place for restoration of the inner life.[1] Gardening teaches you empathy, he says, “as you develop a respect for the life force that runs through other creatures, other forms of existence, even those that are very humble—and that some might dismiss as loathsome pests.”[2] He goes on, “In a sense, human beings and the earth’s flora are our brothers and sisters. We belong to the same kingdom, and we’d better learn how to get along in order to survive together and take care of each other. In my garden, if my plants promise to grow, I promise to take care of them.”[3]

      What Kunitz says about taking care of his plants and his spirituality echoes what some of our gardeners say. Faith speaks of her close relationship with plants. “I usually try to be very supportive of them,” she says. “I encourage them when they are making an effort.  I admonish them when they are lagging behind. ‘I think you can do better than that!’ I don’t have long, extended conversations. Everybody needs support. I am mildly amused with myself. It’s almost like I am really talking to myself. If things aren’t going all right. ‘What do you mean I’m not doing such a good job? When was the last time you watered me?’ There is a kind of joy in it… They are creatures in Creation, and I feel responsible for them as if I were a parent.”

       George and Lottie say that gardening has helped them persevere and heal through difficult times—serious health problems, unexpected early retirement, a move from a house to an apartment, and a sober journey. Lily has experienced relief from chronic pain while tending to her flowers and vegetables. “I feel like I come in exhausted but fulfilled. I could be hurting, being on your knees, going through everything, but just the joy of it takes away any little pain that you would have.”

       The healing of which gardeners speak is supported by medical research. Studies show that “green care” therapy—exposure to plants and gardening and not necessarily doing the physical work of gardening—has numerous health benefits, including “beneficial effects on mood and mental health.”[4] In some cases, all it takes is “simply observing nature, or even images of natural scenes. In a Japanese study, viewing plants altered EEG recordings and reduced stress, fear, anger and sadness, as well as reducing blood pressure, pulse rate and muscle tension.”[5] Patients exposed to eight different species of indoor plants after surgery had reduced hospital stays and reported less pain and greater satisfaction with their hospital rooms. Improving the surroundings for patients, visitors, and staff, “therapeutic gardens have been used in hospitals for thousands of years and were strongly supported by Florence Nightingale.”[6]

       During my interview with Belinda and Brad, Belinda reminds her husband that he told her after mowing the lawn the day before that he had “a whole lot of different ideas about ways to handle certain situations” when he came inside. Brad answers, “Well, it takes three hours to mow the lawn.” (Laughs) “So I get deep in thought.”  His wife later says that Brad came in from mowing much happier than before. She sometimes tells him to go outside and work in the yard because it makes him feel better.

The couple share easily about their comfort from God in April 2020, when Brad was digging the area of the yard that is now a fenced in private dog park for their pet Harley.  Brad’s father was hospitalized, and they were scared, as it was the beginning of the pandemic. Brad remembers, “Oh my God, we’re sending him to the hospital, and COVID is killing people…. I remember being back there working on that land, and then digging this (a figurine of Joseph holding Jesus) up, and saying. “This is a sign, you know!”

Belinda adds, “So it’s Jesus’ father. He’s worried about his father, then Jesus’ father comes out of the yard. …. Isn’t that incredible?” She turns to Brad, “It made you happy. It was very hard to find happy at that point, and it made you happy.”  

    But here on Creation Care Sunday, especially, a question comes to mind. Is it enough that our gardens bring us joy, peace, and healing and a greater connection to God and God’s Creation? This question came up in my oral evaluation last week. Is gardening anthropocentric? In other words, is it all about us and conforming a plot of soil to our own vision and expectations? Is gardening what God intends for this piece of earth where we live? Would it be better to just leave it alone and let it grow wild?

    It was a valid question. Not all gardening is good for the earth or the human and non-human creatures who live on it and therefore would not be a spiritual practice, I said, drawing us closer to God and one another; strengthening our faith, hope, and love; and bringing life to the world. If we approach gardening only caring about making our yards look good, at the expense of the health and wellbeing of all God’s creatures, then we have failed. Some gardening techniques, such as planting too many non-natives that destroy the habitat for native plants, insects and pollinators; over-irrigation that increases the salt content of the soil and depletes it of nutrients; and the use of chemical rather than organic fertilizers are detrimental to the health of human beings, to soil and air, and to the groundwater, which flows into our streams and rivers, and out to the Sound and ocean.

      Something else that is important to talk about, as we finish this series, is the importance of Sabbath living, not just for human beings, but for the land. In the seventh year, God calls for a complete rest for the land, as the Lord does in the 50th year, the Year of Jubilee, when the people of God “proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.”

    This question of Sabbath challenges me, as I begin another season of gardening. I know it means that I should never turn gardening into a work or a chore that I resent, if my desire is for it to be a spiritual practice. Pat has urged me to get a bench and sit on it in my garden, taking time to enjoy the peace and beauty and presence of the Lord with me.

     The question of Sabbath for the land is even more challenging. I have decided that we will only use organic fertilizer and compost at the manse, instead of the usual 5 chemical fertilizer treatments each season. And we won’t use any insecticides. I want to do what is good for the land and all that lives on it.

     And what does it mean to live in the year of Jubilee, which is no longer once every 50 years but is now, with our new life in Christ? The Crucified and Risen One has set us free from the bondage of our sin and broken down the dividing walls between people. Therefore, how do our lives—our words and our actions—proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants, and, once again, give the land a complete rest?

      It stirs another question for me. How is God speaking to us today about the connection between our lives of liberty and rest to our own wholeness and healing as the people Christ has redeemed, those seeking to live new, resurrected lives together in God’s garden—the Church in the world?

      As this series draws to a close, I hope and pray that it will mean new beginnings for us. especially during the season of Easter and today, on Creation Care Sunday. Dear friends, I offer this blessing to gardeners and non-gardeners alike, to all who seek to live in peace with all human and non-human beings, to all who have seen and know what is good and what God requires of us, as Micah 6:8 says: to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God. May the LORD guide you always; satisfying your needs in a sun-scorched land and strengthening your frame. May you be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Amen!

     [1] Connie Goldman and Richard Mahler, Tending the Earth, Mending the Spirit: The Healing Gifts of Gardening (Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2000) 140.

     [2] Goldman and Mahler, Tending the Earth, 142.

     [3] Goldman and Mahler, Tending the Earth, 143.

      [4] Richard Thompson, “Gardening for health: a regular dose of gardening,” in Clinical Medicine, Vol. 18, No. 3(London: Royal College of Physicians, June 2018), 201-205.

      [5] Thompson, “Gardening for health,” 201-205.

      [6] Thompson, “Gardening for health,” 201-205.

The Gardener

Meditation on John 20:1-18

Tell Me About Your Garden series for Lent/Easter

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, NY

Pastor Karen Crawford

Easter Sunday

April 20, 2025

Art by Stushie, used with permission

Listen to the devotion here:

Our sanctuary has never looked or smelled as good as it does today, on Easter morning! This worship space was lovingly transformed yesterday by three passionate gardeners. They carefully arranged lilies, tulips, and hyacinths so that we would be transported to the scene of Christ’s last days on earth in the gospel of John.  

    In this gospel, there is a garden in the place where Christ was crucified. Of all things! To plant a garden in a place of such suffering is an act of grace. The device they used to bring about his suffering and death was once alive and growing in God’s Creation. As Peter boldly preaches on Pentecost, “The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.”

    In John, Jesus carries the tree himself to Golgotha or the Place of the Skull, where he and two others would be crucified. Standing at the foot of the cross were his mother and the sister of his mother, Mary of Clopas, Mary Magdalene, and a young man who calls himself, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Now we all know that Jesus doesn’t love this disciple more than the others. But this phrase helps us see ourselves in the story. We are Christ’s beloved, as well. His love for us is everlasting. He is with us now and his spirit strengthens us to live in faith, hope, and love.

Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

In this garden, on a tree, broken and twisted for a cruel purpose, Jesus finishes the work of salvation, once and for all. Also in this garden is a “new tomb in which no one had yet been laid (John 19:41, NRSVue).”

A secret disciple named Joseph from Arimathea asks and receives Pilate’s permission to take away Christ’s body and prepare him for burial. Nicodemus, also a secret disciple who had visited Jesus one night, came with Joseph, carrying a hundred pounds of anointing spices made from two native plants, aloe—from the succulent leaves of aloe vera, widely used for medicine and embalming.[1] And myrrh—from a thorny shrub or small tree (Commiphora abyssinica) used in medicine, as an expensive perfume, and as incense in Egyptian temples.[2] Myrrh was a gift the magi offered to the infant Jesus, along with gold and frankincense. (Matthew 2:11).

Not Mary, Christ’s mother, but Mary Magdalene is the first to come to the garden that morning, while it is still dark, and find the stone removed. The tomb is empty! Mary, from a village on the west shore of the Sea of Tiberius, runs to get Simon Peter and the young lad who calls himself “the one whom Jesus loved,” telling them that someone has taken Christ’s body away. The three run to the tomb and see only the linen wrappings. They see and “believe”—but what they believe isn’t that Christ is risen from the dead! They believe, as Mary said, that his body is gone. They go home, despondent, presumably back to sleep, leaving Mary alone to grieve and continue to look for her Lord. She bends to peer inside the tomb. She is greeted by angels, who ask why she is weeping. “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him,” she says. She turns and runs into a man, who asks her the same question and adds, “Who are you looking for?”

I often wonder what the Risen Lord looked like that morning, when Mary runs into him outside the tomb. He isn’t shining, like he is on the mountaintop at the Transfiguration. Could he be clad in the ordinary clothing of a laborer? Slightly dirty and disheveled? In any case, he is certainly not out of place in his surroundings when she mistakes him for a gardener.

The 15 gardeners in our flock whom I interviewed for my doctoral project last summer and fall said they were not afraid to get “dirty” to care for their plants. One said his wife accused him of playing in the dirt, which made him say that it was “clean dirt,” containing microbiomes that are good for our health. The most touching part of the interviews was when gardeners shared about who inspired them. Because everyone was inspired by someone, usually when they were young and usually but not always by a close family member—parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

One gardener, Reese, had multiple family members who were gardeners. But the one who inspired him the most was his grandfather, who had a huge vegetable garden behind his house in Oakland, NJ. “Probably an acre,” he says. “He fed not only their family but neighbors …. He was a carpenter, a builder by trade. But he also had a love of gardening, and that’s really how I got started—in his garden, picking all his stuff.”

Home from college and looking for a way to earn some money between semesters, his grandfather had a job for him and not just picking vegetables. He said to Reese, “Come over here, and I’ll put you to work.” He had him driving truckloads of horse manure to people who needed fertilizer. Reese would first go to the horse farms and shovel dump truck loads full of manure and then deliver it to his grandfather’s neighbors and friends.

I wonder now what his grandfather would say about Reese, who has had a garden every single year, including the time he and his wife lived in a second-floor coop in Hauppauge. He had two tomato plants growing in pots on their balcony.

No matter the challenges, there will always be a garden, he says.

Reese and my other gardening friends would like to pass on their knowledge and love of gardening to their children and grandchildren, but times are different now. Lifestyles and interests are different. Not as many people garden as they used to at the turn of the 20th century. Reese’s grandfather lived in the Depression Era, when you planted a big garden, if you had the space, so your family could eat. And you always shared with extended family, friends, and neighbors so that others could eat, as well.

It’s that with church, nowadays, too. Lifestyles and interests are different. Times are changing. Not as many people go to church. At one time, not too long ago, we would have had three Easter services, including the sunrise worship at the beach, which was lovely this morning! This small, 200-year old sanctuary would be filled to overflowing. You had to get here early for the 9 a.m. service, so that you could get a seat. One member told me that she misses those days. Maybe you do, too, and looking around this room, you remember beloved friends and family no longer with us. Easter may stir a mix of emotions in you—joyful and sorrowful.

I have to say, when I look around the room, I am filled with gratitude. Thank you for your love for your church and for your Lord, who has chosen you, like Mary, to share your faith with the ones you love. Here in this beautiful sanctuary, adorned with fresh flowers arranged by passionate gardeners in our flock, I am wondering who inspired you to come to church and worship the Risen Savior? Who is responsible for you coming to believe? A family member? Neighbor or friend? Others nurtured you along the way, in addition to that one person who shared the spark that led to a flame that empowered you to hold onto your faith, though there were challenges. Maybe days, when you thought, like the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, “Is the Lord God still with me or not?”

And who have you inspired to not only hear the good news of the Living Christ but also to hope in the promise of the new creation in him and his glorious return for his church, and our new and abundant life in him that starts the moment we first believe? Who will you inspire when you leave this place today with your faith, hope, and love refreshed and renewed?

When Jesus calls Mary’s name, she recognizes the one she calls “Teacher.” When she clings to him, the Risen One gently asks her to release him as he has not yet ascended. He charges her with the role of serving as an apostle to the apostles.

“Go to my brothers and say to them,” says the one she mistook for a gardener, “‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

 Mary runs home and announces to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!”

Let us pray.

Holy, Triune God, thank you for sending your Son to be our Savior and to draw us back to you when we went astray. Thank you that we are your beloved. Help us to believe in the new creation; our new life in Christ that starts the moment we first believe; and the hope of Christ’s return, triumphant and gloriously, for his Church. And as we cling to our faith, in joyful times and times of sorrow, help us to feel your loving presence with us and inspire others to believe and come home to a house of worship on the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

      [1] Michael Zohary, Plants of the Bible (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982), 204.

      [2] Zohary, Plants of the Bible, 200.

The “Last” Supper

Meditation on John 13

Maundy Thursday

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, NY

Pastor Karen Crawford

April 17, 2025

Art by Stushie, used with permission

Listen to the devotion here:

     Jesus is with his disciples for another meal in our reading in John tonight. He is eating, again! Have you ever noticed how many meals that Jesus eats in the gospels? And that some of the most profound and intimate interactions he has with others happen in the context of a meal?

     This was my experience during our Wednesday night Lenten suppers. They were a time of teaching, learning, and sharing stories. Members presented on the history of sports and building secrets; the history of ministry with women, children, and youth; and the history of handbells. And they were more than teaching and learning, sharing stories and eating soup, salad, bread, and cookies. Something beautiful and meaningful happened as we enjoyed our simple and not so simple meals, some prepared by numerous hands, others prepared by one or two. We grew closer to one another. We grew in friendship and love. Everyone was welcome to our Lenten soup suppers. No one was turned away. I even invited a stranger who had come for an AA meeting and got lost in our building.

     The Pharisees and scribes are critical of Jesus eating and drinking with everyone, welcoming all to his table and happily eating meals at the homes and tables of others, even the outcasts, such as tax collectors and prostitutes. In Mark 2:15-17, while Jesus is having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” are eating with him and his disciples. Levi is his Hebrew name, but you may recognize him better as Matthew, his Greek name. Matthew was a tax collector who worked for the Greek-speaking Romans. When the Pharisees see him eating with “sinners” and tax collectors, they ask his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” The word sinners is repeated so we don’t miss the point; Jesus never discriminates! Everyone, regardless of their past or current lifestyle, is worthy of his time, gifts, wisdom, and caring ways. Jesus’ table is open wide to every category of people, acceptable and unacceptable, in his time. On hearing the Pharisees’ question, Jesus says to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

     The same Levi (Matthew) gives a great banquet for Jesus at his house in Luke 5:29-32, and there’s a large crowd of tax collectors and others reclining at the table with them, as was the custom when they ate.The Pharisees and their scribes are complaining to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” His answer is almost identical to that in Mark. The meals have a greater purpose than simply nourishment for the body. The meals with Jesus are meant for the healing of the soul, redemption, and spiritual growth. Jesus says, “Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick;I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

     Likewise, in Matthew 9:10-13, while Jesus is having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners come and eat with him and his disciples. The Pharisees, who must also be at the dinner, see this and ask his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus hears and answers, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

     We don’t know where tonight’s meal is taking place in John 13, except that it is in Jerusalem. We don’t know what the group is eating, except for the bread and wine. We don’t know exactly when, except that it is before the Festival of the Passover and that it is the night that Jesus will attempt to prepare his disciples for their future, for we know that his hour has come. Tonight, he will be betrayed by one of his followers, who has joined him for the meal. But it would be wrong to assume that Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, is the only sinner in the group. Everyone with Jesus, even you and me, would count as “sinners,” for by his own definition, these are the ones whom Jesus chooses and calls. This passage in John is the first time that we hear that Jesus has loved his disciples and how he will love them “to the end.”

     What’s different about this meal? The foot washing. The foot washing is the surprise for all who are gathered. He has taken on a servant’s position, laying down his outer garments and wrapping a towel around his waist. He reaches Simon Peter, first, whose response is shock and disbelief. This isn’t a job for their Teacher and Lord. Simon Peter says, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” And when Jesus tells him that he will understand later, Simon Peter insists, “Lord, you will never wash my feet.”

     Jesus answers mysteriously, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me,” and will later add, equally mysteriously, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

     Simon Peter will say almost comically, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” But he is not just joking around. Simon Peter is all in with Jesus—100 percent — until the moment he, too, will betray him, three times before the cock crows, after Jesus is arrested.  

    But even though Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, will set in motion the events leading to Christ’s death, and Jesus knows it, he welcomes him to the table. He feeds him bread dipped in wine with his own hand. He washes Judas’ feet. This is not just a host showing kindness to his guests. This is the gracious One to whom all things have been given, One who is from God, and on his way back to God. This is the Word who became flesh, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is the Good Shepherd, Living Water, and Bread of Life. This Word, Lamb, Shepherd, Water, and Bread includes Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, with the ones whom Jesus loves, the ones whom he counts as his own. The ones whom he will love to the end.

   This humble act of foot washing, done only by the lowliest servants or slaves, is our Savior’s example to all of us on how to love one another. As the Apostle Paul will say in 1 Cor. 13, “love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.” Love is the greatest gift of all, a gift that the Spirit offers to everyone. This is a love like no other. It changes us—purifies and cleanses us from our sins. It strengthens us to love one another, as Christ has always and will always love us.

    But what about this meal that is often called the “Last” Supper? The words of institution may not be here, like they are in Mark 14 and Luke 22, nor is his commandment for us to do this in remembrance of him. Still, this is Holy Communion, just the same.

    And this won’t be Jesus’ last meal with his disciples. There’s another meal with the Risen Christ as the chef in John 21. The Lord invites the disciples, who have reluctantly returned to their former occupations as fishermen, to the beach for grilled fish. Jesus will say, “Come, have breakfast!” They will eagerly join him.

     But even that Resurrection Breakfast won’t be the last meal with his disciples. For every time we gather to share a meal, and thank and invite Christ to be our guest, he is with us, eating with those who have been cleansed from sin and lovingly redeemed by him.

    In a few moments, we will gather in small groups around the Lord’s Table to celebrate our Communion with Christ and be transformed, restored, and re-membered as his Body sent out for the sake of the world. As we do, we recall the holy meal with the ones whom Christ loved—his first disciples and all his disciples, in every time and place—the ones whom Christ will love to the end. Even the ones who will betray him—first Judas, who will put into motion the events that lead to Christ’s death and resurrection and our hope of abundant and everlasting life with him. And Simon Peter, upon whom Christ will build His Church. And we will remember his greatest commandment, shown by his humbling himself, to the form of a slave, to do the unthinkable—wash his followers’ feet.

He tells us now, “Love one another.” “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Let us pray.

Holy One, thank you for showing us what love is when you washed your disciples’ feet and when you gave your life for the world. Thank you for your love, grace, and mercy for sinners and for nourishing us body, mind, and soul when we celebrate Communion and whenever we eat a meal and invite you to be with us. Strengthen us to love the outcasts and so-called sinners of today and to live in love with one another, so that everyone will know that we are your disciples. Amen.

Practical Resources for Churches

Everyone has a calling. Ours is helping you.

Consider the Birds

Pastor Karen shares thoughts on faith, scripture, and God's love and grace revealed through backyard wildlife.

palmsupco.wordpress.com/

F.O.R. Jesus

Fill up. Overflow. Run over.

Becoming HIS Tapestry

Christian Lifestyle Blogger

Whatever Happens,Rejoice.

The Joy of the Lord is our Strength

Stushie Art

Church bulletin covers and other art by artist Stushie. Unique crayon and digital worship art

The Daily Post

The Art and Craft of Blogging

WordPress.com Blog

News, Tips & Website Tutorials