The Prayer of St. Ephrem The Syrian

Icon of Saint Ephrem the Syrian(Meryem Ana Kilesesi, Diyarbakır,Turkey)

File from Wikimedia Commons (public domain, copyright expired)

There is much that different Christian denominations can learn from one another. Prayers and practices vary from denomination to denomination, and it can be helpful to take notice of these differences from time to time in order to deepen our own understanding and practice of Christianity. Even if a prayer or practice is very similar to our own, the small differences can sometimes breathe new life and understanding into a familiar prayer or practice.

The Prayer of St. Ephrem The Syrian is a prayer attributed to St. Ephrem, a Syriac language hymn writer and theologian from the 4th century. This prayer is particularly used during the Great Lent by Orthodox Christians. There are two different versions of this prayer historically - both a Greek and a Slavonic version. Various English translations are based on either version (or a combination of both).This prayer is prayed during all Lenten weekday services, as well as by individuals  in the home. I've included two different English versions of this prayer and encourage you to consider adding this prayer to your Lenten prayers this season.

Version 1 (originally found here)

O Lord, Master of my life, grant that I may not be infected with the spirit of slothfulness and acquisitiveness, with the spirit of ambition and vain talking. 

Grant instead to me your servant the spirit of purity and humility, the spirit of patience and neighborly love. 

O Lord and King, bestow upon me the grace of being aware of my own sins and of not thinking evil of those of my brothers and sisters. For You are blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.

Version 2 (originally found here)

O Lord and Master of my life: take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust of power and idle talk.

But grant rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant.

Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen.

The Saints & Lent Madness

St. Mary Magdeline, by Titian [1565] (Public Domain Image)

Have you ever wondered who the Saints of the Church are? I'm sure you know the names of at least a few Saints; James, John, Peter, Mary Magdalene, Joan of Arc, Valentine, Patrick. If you are curious about the Saints, there are several ways to learn more about them. There are books that list and describe some of them. One such book lists the Saints that are remembered in the Episcopal Church calendar. This book used to be titled Lesser Feasts and Fasts, but has been revised and expanded into Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints. This book contains a brief biography of the Saint, a collect or prayer, and suggested scripture readings. Another resource about the Saints is the classic Lives of the Saints by Alban Butler (this is the 1894 Benziger Brothers edition).

An unusual but fun way to learn about the Saints is to visit the site Lent Madness. Lent Madness is inspired by the March Madness basketball brackets, and is pairing off 32 Saints in head-to-head competitions. People vote for the Saint that they wish to proceed to the next round. The next round is the Round of Saintly Sixteen, then the Elate Eight, then the Final Four, and then the final two compete for the Golden Halo.

I've printed out the 2012 Brackets and am looking forward to learning more about these 32 Saints during this Lenten season.

Openness to God's Call

A sermon based on Jonah 3:1-5, 10 and Mark 1:14-20

What would you find compelling enough to leave everything and everyone you know behind and go for something new? It would take a whole lot, wouldn't it? Some folks will leave roots that they have built in one place in order to find a job or to take advantage of a career opportunity. Some will move for a relationship - move across the country to be with either a significant other or to be near children or grand-children. It would have to be something worthwhile to take such a risk.

It might be hard to find something worthwhile for an individual to take such a risk, but it would be even harder to find something worthwhile for a group of people. Sometimes family members will move together, such as in immigrating to a new country. Sometimes members of a religious group will move to a place where they are free to practice their faith. In order to motivate a group of people, either the current situation has to be really bad or the possibility has to be really good.

Simon and Andrew, James and John were all fishermen. That is what they knew, how they supported themselves and their families. And yet, they left it all behind to follow Jesus - their family, friends, homes, livelihoods.

We do not know what these disciples were thinking, or what other information they might have had. Were they happy or satisfied being fishermen or did they already have a sense that there was something else that they should be doing? Was this the first time that they had ever seen Jesus? Or had they heard Jesus teaching earlier? Or had they heard from others about Jesus? Did James and John know Simon and Andrew and were encouraged to follow Jesus by their example? We don't know.

All we know is that Jesus called and they followed. There must have been something powerfully compelling about Jesus.
-so compelling that these and other disciples left all they knew to follow
-so compelling that people followed Jesus wherever Jesus went, seeking wisdom and healing
-so compelling that Paul stopped persecuting Christians and became one himself
-so compelling that Christians throughout the ages have been martyred as witnesses to the power and love of Christ.

It can be discouraging if we don't always feel that compelled. We should remember a few things. Not everyone Jesus  called followed him. There was the rich young man who went away disappointed, and there was the person who wanted to bury their father. Not everyone Jesus taught understood or believed him. And not everyone responds at first, but might later.
We need to be open to hearing God's message, to hearing Jesus' call to follow him. Openness is important, because it makes us easier to reach. I have some noise-cancelling headphones that are really great, they make it easy to tune out the world around me. If I have them on, then to get my attention you have to wave in front of my face, tap my shoulder, or yell loudly. You can still get my attention, but it is much harder. Openness helps.

How can we be open to hearing God's call to us? There are numerous strategies to open ourselves up to God’s call, but I have four to talk about today.

1. Be open to the fact that we might not be doing right or might not be doing our best where we are right now.
-This is important, because if we are dead certain that we are completely right or doing our best then we are resistant to those who tell us otherwise, and there is always a chance that there might be some truth in what they have to tell us.
-Paul and the Ninevites were likely somewhat open to the fact that they were doing wrong. The Ninevites responded right away to Jonah. Paul did have a miraculous appearance from Jesus, but he still could have ignored it. It is surprisingly easy to ignore the obvious, what is right in front of you sometimes. Simon, Andrew, James and John were open to the fact that there was something else what God was calling them to be other than only fishermen.

2. Be open to change
People are always changed by entering into a relationship with God.
-Sometimes these changes are obvious to others - it was obvious to others that Paul was changed by his experience of the risen Christ because his behaviour and beliefs did a complete turnaround.
-Sometimes these changes are not so obvious, but you don't stay unchanged by a relationship with God. Such a relationship challenges us to be better than what we have been, to seek our full potential.

3. Be open to risk and discomfort.
-This is obvious, easy to say, but very hard to do. I , like many others, try to avoid risk and conflict whenever I can, and often that is fine. But there are times in which risks must be made.
-The disciples took a risk by leaving behind their homes and jobs to follow Jesus. Paul took a risk by becoming Christian because he was suddenly on the side of all those he had persecuted and on the opposite side from all his anti-Christian friends and associates.

4. Be open to wondrous possibilities
-This sounds easy, but it often isn't because of our own expectations and prejudices.
-Jonah wasn't open to the Ninevites repenting and turning towards God - that is why he initially ran away when God told him to go and that is why he got so upset when he finally delivered God's message and the Ninevites were spared. Jonah did not want God's mercy for the Ninevites, because that was the capital city of Assyria, which were big enemies of Israel in his day. It might be human nature to despise enemies and want their downfall, but we cannot limit God's mercy and gifts to only the people we care about or agree with. That would be such a sad world. Instead, we have to be open to God working in whatever ways that God wants to work in, and for whatever people God wants to work for. We need to be open to wondrous possibilities of God's choosing.

Our gospel lesson this morning says that "Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." As followers of Christ, our mission is to spread the good news of God's love for all people which was particularly demonstrated in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as sharing the hope of God's kingdom.

God calls us - not just as individuals but as a community. There are certain things that are easier to accomplish or even only possible when done by a group of people rather than by an individual. Jesus didn’t have 1 follower but many. Later his followers were sent out in small groups, often by twos, in order to teach and baptize. They were not alone.

God might not choose us to serve in dramatic or big ways - but however we serve God will be for good. It is hard to open ourselves up to serve, to follow where we are called - but this is part of what it means to be a disciple. Disciple is just another word for follower or student. We are called to study and follow Jesus' example and teachings, and in turn teach others to do the same. This week I encourage you to think about how God is calling you, and if you don't hear God's call or are unsure of what it is then I encourage you to focus on how to open yourself up to better hear. I encourage us all to discern how we are called as a community - how are we as a church supposed to share the gospel, care for those in need, and show God’s love in the world? I encourage all of us to focus on opening ourselves up to God's call, because we never know what wondrous things might happen if we stop hindering and start building God's kingdom.

What is Your Creation Story?

A sermon based on Genesis 1:1-5

"Creation" by Shermeee

I find creation stories fascinating. The way that the story is told tells you a lot about the people who wrote it and their view of the world and god (or gods as the case may be). What a person or group of people believe matters, because it effects the way they live their lives, the way they view the world and their place in it.

 There are two creation stories in Genesis, part of the 1st story is our Old Testament reading today. The story introduces God without any description of God’s origin or past history. As monotheists who believe that one God created everything, the beginning of Genesis does not seem shocking the way it would have to the Hebrew’s neighbors. Most near Eastern deities had parents and complicated biographies. The God of the Old Testament just is.

 The creation story in the 1st chapter of Genesis tells us about a God who is cosmic and makes order from chaos. We learn that “the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep.” For the Hebrews, water was often a sign of chaos. The deep was
something to fear, no human being could predict or control the ocean waters. We have all learned from the book of Genesis that God created by speaking “Let there be…” but God also created by separating and making boundaries. Light and darkness were separated, the sky was created to separate the waters above and the waters below, dry land was separated from water.

 We learn from this creation story many truths but it should not be confused with a step-by-step instruction on creation that could be replicated the way cookbook recipes can be or science experiments can be. Genesis is not a history book like a modern day book about the civil war is a history book - we can understand more or less what went on the civil war, we cannot begin to understand creation but must use words and images to share what truths we can know. What we learn from this creation story is that there is one God who is and this God is responsible in an orderly way for the creation of all that we can see, and that God considered what God created to be good.

 One imperfect but helpful way to describe part of God’s creative process is to say that God creates by imposing order onto chaos, by separating thing from thing and making boundaries.

 As human beings, we are always trying to make sense out of things – I suppose it is our own way of trying to impose order onto chaos. In a small way we imitate God’s creative power – yes, we do create more of ourselves, but we also create new ideas and technologies that impose order onto the chaos of our lives. Perhaps this is a part of what it means to be created in the image and likeness of God – to seek to make order from chaos by creating.

 The deep waters would have been terrifying to the early Hebrews, and so are a great image for chaos. Today, we have largely overcome that fear. We have created huge ships that can circumnavigate the globe, and we have sent vessels and cameras to the ocean depths to examine what bizarre and amazing creatures live there. We are capable of making helpful predictions about the paths of hurricanes – but we cannot make a prediction very far in advance and we cannot control hurricanes and tsunamis. Water is still chaotic and yet life-giving.

 In Genesis, God’s spirit hovered over the waters and God spoke life and order into existence. Water is still the most basic building block of our bodies, and it is the most pressing need that we have. It is highly appropriate that something as chaotic and fundamental as water became the symbol for baptism.

 Immersion was the popular way of baptizing in the early church, but for safety and practicality most Christians now baptize by sprinkling water from small fonts. We have a beautiful baptismal font at the front of the church that is far safer and more practical than throwing people into the Potamac River in the dead of winter. I’m sure young Landon, his family, and Rev. Shepherd are very thankful for that today. I don’t want to do away with fonts and sprinkling, but I think it is helpful to imagine what immersion is like because it is easier to see the symbolism that is deeply imbedded in the sacrament of baptism.

 When we are baptized, we are being immersed into the deep and chaos and being brought out into life and order. The water is often described as being symbolic for Jesus death, and so when you enter the water you join with Jesus in his death and when you exit the water you join Jesus in his resurrection and new life.

 Jesus’ resurrection is a new way that God chose to impose order onto chaos. All human beings, plants, animals die – all created things die, even stars and galaxies die. We decline and decay. But God has chosen a new way, a new order that we can only imagine and speculate about.

 water, baptism, creation - We have lived with all these symbols and stories from the Old and New Testaments for so long that we sometimes forget how powerful they truly are. We live in a world that values facts so strongly, yet the line between what is real and what isn’t gets blurred all the time in the internet, in advertisements, in news stories, in photo-shopped images. It is easy to become cynical when a picture is no longer proof or when conflicting stories abound. It is good to remember that symbols and stories are more than just decoration or entertainment – symbols and stories are one of God’s ways of leading us towards the deepest truths that we can only begin to barely understand.

 At the beginning of my sermon I said that creation stories fascinate me because you can learn a lot about the people who wrote it, their view of the world, and the god or gods that they believed in. This is not only true about people from the ancient past but it is still true of people today. What is your creation story? Genesis 1 and 2 contain the two creation stories that Jews and Christians hold sacred – but the way that people interpret these are very different. 

On the one hand you have people who believe that each word in Genesis is 100% literally true, and they find comfort and meaning in their belief that the text is a historical account. On the other hand you have people who believe it is all superstitious nonsense of people who didn’t know any better, and they find no meaning or comfort in this text for people today. And in the middle you have people (like me) who believe that symbols and stories are the best we can do at trying to explore the deepest truths that we cannot fully explain and understand by any other means.

 My creation story tells of a God who created a good world in an orderly fashion – it acknowledges the creativeness of God but it doesn’t limit God to my tiny capability to understand God’s creative power. In Jesus I see this creative power anew, ready to transform us and the world around us in new and life-giving ways if we open ourselves up to God’s spirit working in and through us. My creation story tells you that I’m the type of person who would like to understand but realizes there is a limit to my understanding, that I do not believe we necessarily have to choose between faith and science, that I believe in a powerful, life-giving and creative God, and that I believe God’s creative works didn’t end in Genesis – or even in Jesus, but continues in us today.

 I encourage you to think about the creation story you believe, what symbols hold deep meaning for you – and what this tells you about yourself and the world around you. I also encourage you to talk about these things with other people. Yes, you won’t come up with a complete answer to what really happened, but that isn't the point. The point is to discover and articulate what you believe and how that has any effect on your view of the world and the way that you live your life.

It's Been Awhile...

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything! I'm going to work on putting up my last two sermons today.

TheoLOLogy: Greed & Charity

This is part of my series on virtue and vice.

LoL by: gragio09 Picture by: charlesng

Greed is an excessive desire and pursuit of goods like wealth, power, and status.


Wanting things is normal. It is normal to see something, like it, and wish to have it for yourself - like a new smartphone. Wanting things becomes a vice when it becomes too consuming, when the pursuit of the next tech gadget or sports car (or whatever) is more important than most other things (when it shouldn't be). Greed can lead to other vices like envy, the manipulation of others, theft, and violence.


The Christian virtue that I'd like to contrast greed with is charity. When we hear the word charity today we think of non-profit organizations and donations (of money and goods) to those in need. Charity as a Christian virtue is much more than benevolent giving. Charity means love - it is living out the love of God and neighbor that Jesus commanded us to do. This charity may be in the form of donations of time and money, but even donations could be considered greedy if they are done for building up one's own status or power instead of out of love for others. Intentions and results matter in determining whether an act is greedy or charitable. Charity can take the form of doing a good job at your work, contributing in some way to the care of others (whether at church, a non-profit, family, or neighbors), financial assistance or any of the very numerous ways of showing love for God and neighbor.


The English word charity comes from the Latin word caritas, which is a translation of the NT Greek word agape (ἀγάπη). Some theologians differentiate between agape and caritas, while others use them interchangeably. Some versions of the Bible translate all the different forms of love as simply love, while others also use charity. One example of the latter is the King James Version. 1 Cor 13:13 "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."


I think this time of year is a good time to talk about the vice of greed and the virtue of charity. Christmas is fast approaching, which is a time in our society that is particularly focused on possessions. How we obtain our possessions and how we use them are important. If what we have is motivated out of greed, then we will not be living to our full potential of Christian love. Let's turn away from the greed this season and focus on the love of God and neighbor that is charity.


I'll close with a heartwarming story of charity between a dog and a cat...

Text in photo: "Cashew, my 14-year-old yellow Lab, is blind and deaf. Her best friend is Libby, 7, her seeing-eye cat. Libby steers Cashew away from obstacles and leads her to her food. Every night she sleeps next to her. The only time they're apart is when we take Cashew out for a walk. Without this cat, we know Cashew would be lost and very, very lonely indeed. It's amazing but true: This is one animal who knows what needs to be done and does it day in and day out for her friend." by Terry Burns from Middleburg, Pennsylvania.

TheoLOLogy: The 7 Deadly Sins & Virtue

Source: Pleated Jeans on icanhascheezburger.com

I'm sure you have heard of the "seven deadly sins." Do you know what they are and where they came from? They are often referred to as "capital vices" or "cardinal sins" because they are viewed as sources of other sins. These sins are not "deadly" or "capital" because they are the very worst sins but because they are the origin of other sins (a person commits additional sins trying to achieve the goal of the deadly sin). There is no list of seven deadly or capital sins in the Bible, even though there are many lists of sins. Pope Gregory I modified an earlier list of sins into a list of seven that is similar to today's list. The identification and description of the seven sins has evolved over time into their common form today.


The seven deadly sins are:

1. lust 
2. gluttony 
3. greed  
4. sloth 
5. wrath
6. envy 
7. pride 

These sins are often called vices. A vice is a "moral corruption, fault, or failing" (Websters). A vice is a disposition or inclination to do what is wrong. The opposite of a vice is a virtue.


"Virtue" comes from the Greek word arete which means excellence. A virtue is a "particular moral excellence" (Websters). Virtue is a disposition or inclination to do what is right. There are many lists of virtues in Christianity, including the cardinal virtues, theological virtues, and heavenly virtues.

The four cardinal virtues are:

1. prudence
2. justice
3. temperance (or restraint)
4. fortitude (or courage)

The three theological virtues are:

1. faith
2. hope
3. love (or charity)

There is another list of virtues that was devised in opposition to the seven deadly sins. These are the seven heavenly virtues:

1. chastity 
2. temperance 
3. charity 
4. diligence 
5. patience 
6. kindness
7. humility

I don't have the room or time to make a complete list of virtues or vices (even supposing such a thing were possible). These traditional lists can be helpful as a starting place for a exploration of virtue and vice, but they shouldn't be seen as the only relevant virtues and vices. Cruelty and fear are not on the list of seven deadly sins, but modern ethicists have much to say about those and other vices. I will continue to explore these vices and virtues in future articles. 

Why should we discuss virtue and vice? I believe it is important because it allows us to explore how we are to live in this world. What we do and say matters because it impacts our relationship with God, with other people, and with our own self. An understanding of virtue and vice doesn't give us a black-and-white rule-book for how to live a moral life but equips us with tools to make better decisions.