What is the greatest virtue?

Dr. Jarvis Streeter gave another great lecture last night on Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians. We read the whole book together, line by line, looking at Paul's theology and ethics as well as the primary themes in the letter. One thing that I found particularly noteworthy was Dr. Streeter's assertion that love is the primary Christian virtue. In 1st Thessalonians 1.3, Paul speaks of faith, hope, and love, but those of you who have been to a handful of weddings will probably also recall the following from Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, "And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13.13) Love as the primary Christian virtue certainly does have implications as to how we practice our faith and who we are in the world. It brings up many questions for me. What does it mean to practice love? How do we bring the gift of God's love to the world?

Homework for this week is to read 2 Thessalonians and Galatians. As was the case last week, Dr. Streeter would like us to pay attention to the theology and ethics of the letter. What is Paul telling the church to think (theology)? What kind of behavior is Paul encouraging (ethics)?

And, finally, just for review, Paul's letters all have a particular structure common to the genre of letter writing in the 1st century. Below is a basic outline of the structure of Paul's letters. Hopefully it will be a useful guide to you as you read and try to understand what Paul has to say about our faith.

Basic Structure of a Pauline Letter
1. Greeting (usually brief. A sentence or two though sometimes the sentences are quite long!)
2. Thanksgiving (about a paragraph or so in length. It varies from letter to letter and 1 Thessalonians has a very long Thanksgiving!)
3. Body of the Letter
a. Theology - what they should think
b. Ethics - how they should behave.
4. Conclusion (often including housekeeping matters, hellos to individuals, and sometimes a reiteration of the main themes of the letter)

Do your homework!

Homework, you say? Do I hear a groan? A gasp? Yes, we have some homework to do.

This past Wednesday, Dr. Jarvis Streeter, Professor of Religion at Cal Lutheran, began his Lenten lecture series at Epiphany on St. Paul (St. Paul is the author of much of our New Testament Letters that we hear every Sunday in the second reading right after the Psalm). Dr. Streeter is a great teacher! He is fun to listen to, relaxed, and has a way of presenting information that is engaging and interesting. On Wednesday, he gave us a lot of background information about Paul such as where he lived, where he traveled, the dates of his travels, and a bit about his writing. And, to get us ready for next week's lecture, Dr. Streeter asked us to read 1st Thessalonians, 2nd Thessalonians and Galatians. As we read, we should pay attention to tone, content, and style, as well as paying attention to differences between the letters. We can find clues in the text pointing to the likelihood that Paul is not the author of 2nd Thessalonians even though it is attributed to him!

Click here for some basic facts on St. Paul if you missed last Wednesday's lecture (or even if you didn't). Also, this website will keep you busy with its many links to all kinds of information and articles on St. Paul and his writings. My personal favorite is this website with maps of Paul's journeys and photos of the cities where he worked. Hope to see you all this coming Wednesday!

It's a dirty job...

...but someone's gotta do it!


Each year on the last Sunday of the Epiphany season, we sing as many Alleluias as we can possibly stand. Once Ash Wednesday comes around, the Alleluias are buried until Easter, right there, in that little hole in the ground that our Vicar, Hank Mitchel, has just dug and is pointing to. Well done, Hank!


Ok, really, when I say buried, I mean that only metaphorically. Hank didn't really bury the Alleluia but we do retire the Alleluia in word and song in favor of a more austere and self-reflective worship experience during the season of Lent.


However, there are some churches who really do bury the Alleluia. Inscribing the word Alleluia on to paper or some other natural material, the Alleluia is placed in a box and buried in the ground to signify the beginning of the penitential season of Lent. Some churches even dig up the Alleluia as part of the Easter celebration. Click here to read more on this and various different burial practices for the Alleluias we sing. And, for more information about Lent in click here.


Another important tradition for the Lenten season is taking on a new spiritual practice. I have included in various postings different websites for prayer and study and it is my hope that you might find one of these websites helpful for your daily practice of prayer. Below is a list of some of them for your convenience.


EPPN's Lenten series, For the Beauty of the Earth
I believe you can subscribe to this series and receive reflections, information and prayers during the Lenten season. I just signed up so we will see what happens.

Pray as you go
This is a great website for people on the go, and for stationary people too!

Sacred Space
This website has daily prayers year round AND special prayers for the Lenten season.

Episcopal Life Online
Several resources from the national church. You can browse here to your heart's content.

Forward Day by Day
These are meditations based on the Daily Office readings.

Oremus
Last but not least, Oremus is a wonderful resource for prayer year round! And, like many of the sites above, you can subscribe and have the daily prayer sent to you each and every day.

Just in time for Super Tuesday...

A different side of faith and politics! This time it's a profile of the democratic candidates in Super Tuesday's election. Click here to go to NPR's piece on Obama and Clinton in the Land of Lincoln. A fascinating article with plenty of links to click and explore! And, even though the Episcopal Church won't tell you who to vote for, we do encourage you to pray for the election, for the voters, and for the candidates. Below is a prayer for an election from the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). You may also click here to see all the prayers for national life in the BCP.

Almighty God, to whom we must account for all our powers and privileges: Guide the people of the United States in the election of officials and representatives; that, by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights of all may be protected and our nation be enabled to fulfill your purposes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.