Third Sunday of Easter 2012
Things started off slowly and then got rapidly better as Sunday rolled along. It was damp and a little on the cool side by the time I tore myself away from computer and headed for the subway. I had just missed the Q train and it occurred to me to make a strategic switch to the red line after just a few stops on the local.
They were still reading the First Lesson by the time I arrived. Things have shifted sufficiently that I can now recall entire chunks of the sermon. It was delivered by Rev. Liz and it had to do with the Luke telling of the Resurrection. Mother Liz was fascinated by the idea of Jesus coming back from the dead and being so famished from the struggles of the previous three days that almost the first thing He does is ask, "Do you have anything here to eat?"
The rest of the passage contains about as complete a Christology as you are liable to get from any passage in the New Testament: that everything written in Moses, the prophets and the psalms has to be fulfilled -- through Him and, that it is written that He is to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentence and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in His name to all nations. That's it, in a nutshell. That's what all the commotion is about. Luke 24:36b-48
By the end of the sermon, however, it had become obvious that John S. was not on the premises. The pre-schoolers came tumbling out of their roosts in the upper storey of Parish House, many of them pimped out in cardinal red choir robes, but, there was no John. Then, I remembered: there was something in the literature about a young people's retreat. He'd be there.
Richard was resplendent in some new robe. It was white and cinched at the waist like a monk's cassock. I have no idea what he was supposed to be. All I could think was that it did not showcase his gym build to any great advantage. Just as I was beginning to [be]moan the lack of eye candy in the room, The Peace arived and there from around a column came Pale Male and Trino. Both of them gave me real hugs (not St. Michael's hugs) and seemed just as glad to see me as I was to see them. I admired anew the effect having a new friend has had on Pale Male: he's shed about ten pounds and seems about as happy as I've ever seen him.
After Communion, I spent the rest of Mass in their pew, sometimes sharing a hymnal; there was a rollicking rendition of "What a Friend We have In Jesus" from Lift Every Voice and Sing (LEVAS.
We hung a long time with Bing during Coffee Hour; he personally invited us all to the next Men's Dinner which is coming up soon. I think he was reacting to the kidding I gave him about being jealous of all the gay parties The Rector used to host. He's such a sweetheart that he almost immediately started advertising the next one as "open to everyone who identifies as male". Well, who can resist such an invitation?
We even stayed past Coffee Hour and joined the forum on Earth Day (I should have seen that coming.) And, afterward we went shopping at the new Westside Market neat 97th Street. It was drizzling and the temperature seemed to have dropped. Trino had wisely chosen a long woolen dress coat to ward off the chill.
I think we spent close to an hour cheerily scanning the shelves of the new market, smelling the smells. Trino bought about three different kinds of humus. I don't remember what Pale Male bought -- I think Armenian cheese. I stuck to my usual canned goods. It was a good, well-rounded afternoon.
They were still reading the First Lesson by the time I arrived. Things have shifted sufficiently that I can now recall entire chunks of the sermon. It was delivered by Rev. Liz and it had to do with the Luke telling of the Resurrection. Mother Liz was fascinated by the idea of Jesus coming back from the dead and being so famished from the struggles of the previous three days that almost the first thing He does is ask, "Do you have anything here to eat?"
The rest of the passage contains about as complete a Christology as you are liable to get from any passage in the New Testament: that everything written in Moses, the prophets and the psalms has to be fulfilled -- through Him and, that it is written that He is to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentence and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in His name to all nations. That's it, in a nutshell. That's what all the commotion is about. Luke 24:36b-48
By the end of the sermon, however, it had become obvious that John S. was not on the premises. The pre-schoolers came tumbling out of their roosts in the upper storey of Parish House, many of them pimped out in cardinal red choir robes, but, there was no John. Then, I remembered: there was something in the literature about a young people's retreat. He'd be there.
Richard was resplendent in some new robe. It was white and cinched at the waist like a monk's cassock. I have no idea what he was supposed to be. All I could think was that it did not showcase his gym build to any great advantage. Just as I was beginning to [be]moan the lack of eye candy in the room, The Peace arived and there from around a column came Pale Male and Trino. Both of them gave me real hugs (not St. Michael's hugs) and seemed just as glad to see me as I was to see them. I admired anew the effect having a new friend has had on Pale Male: he's shed about ten pounds and seems about as happy as I've ever seen him.
After Communion, I spent the rest of Mass in their pew, sometimes sharing a hymnal; there was a rollicking rendition of "What a Friend We have In Jesus" from Lift Every Voice and Sing (LEVAS.
We hung a long time with Bing during Coffee Hour; he personally invited us all to the next Men's Dinner which is coming up soon. I think he was reacting to the kidding I gave him about being jealous of all the gay parties The Rector used to host. He's such a sweetheart that he almost immediately started advertising the next one as "open to everyone who identifies as male". Well, who can resist such an invitation?
We even stayed past Coffee Hour and joined the forum on Earth Day (I should have seen that coming.) And, afterward we went shopping at the new Westside Market neat 97th Street. It was drizzling and the temperature seemed to have dropped. Trino had wisely chosen a long woolen dress coat to ward off the chill.
I think we spent close to an hour cheerily scanning the shelves of the new market, smelling the smells. Trino bought about three different kinds of humus. I don't remember what Pale Male bought -- I think Armenian cheese. I stuck to my usual canned goods. It was a good, well-rounded afternoon.