December 30, 2007 – First Sunday After Christmas St. John’s Episcopal Church, Indio, CA RCL Propers: Isaiah 61:10-62:3; Psalm 147; John 1:1-18 + In the name of God, Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier. AMEN. When I was growing up, I found the space program fascinating. As a nine-year old in 1961, which incidentally was the year I was confirmed, I thought that the cosmonauts would find God when they rocketed into space. After all, as a kid I was told “God…

If someone asks me, “Why are you a Christian”, I answer one word: Easter. Arising and walking out of a tomb is an exciting concept. Who wants to die? Will those who have died someday get up and walk around? Will the dry bones come to life, as in Ezekiel 37:1-14, which we heard at Easter Vigil? Or will the bones disintegrate, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, as we were told on Ash Wednesday when we received our ashes?…

Twenty-First Century America features men and women as fellow professionals  everywhere.  Nowwhere is this more true than in my own profession, that of an attorney. My law firm features men and women serving with distinction as partners, associates, and support staff.  We’ve come a long way from the days when Ruth Bader Ginsberg, now on the United State Supreme Court, was told after passing the New York Bar Examination that a prominent New York Law firm that they would hire…

What is an “assumption?” An “assumption” occurs when God takes a person physically into heaven. When one is “assumed,” one encounters God and comes into God’s presence without death. On August 15, many Christians celebrate the Assumption of Our Lady in Glory. Yes, I know it’s not in the Bible as a historical event like the birth, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus.  But let’s leave aside that debate.  The real question for Christians is how the concept of “assumption”…

FEAST OF ST. MARTIN OF TOURS St. Paul’s Episcopal Church November 11, 2006 Preaching: David Justin Lynch, Esquire OT:Micah 4:1-4         Psalm:122     Gospel:Matthew 25:34-40             + In the name of God, Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier. AMEN.             In December 1995, in my first month after admission to the practice of law, a man came to me for legal advice. He was upper middle class and could afford to pay me.  Believe me, I really needed the money, as I…

A song I sang as a boy chorister began, “What is this lovely fragrance wafting like to the scents of flowers in spring?” I recall neither the rest of it nor the author’s intended meaning, but the words remind me of incense. The late Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, in his book, The Gospel and the Catholic Church, recognized that the intellectual insights of evangelical Anglicans are a valuable contribution to the life of the church, not the least of…

Mary’s earthly body has never been found. In the Third Century, Christians believed that because Mary was the Theotokos, that is “God Bearer” she would therefore be spared the death experience of ordinary mortals not so chosen. Instead, God raised her to heaven, just like God did Enoch and Elijah (according to the Bible). Hence, we have the feast of the Assumption most of the Western Church celebrates on August 15. (For Eastern Christians, it is the Dormition, or Falling…

Self-examination, repentance and forgiveness of our sins is not just for Lent. It should be an ongoing spiritual discipline for all times of the year.  Each of us deals with sin in our own way. Yes, I am a sinner, too, as we all are. I typically go to confession once a year, on Good Friday. For some, sin is a personal matter with God alone. For others, sin is a community matter. Many Christians, however, find private confession to…