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Sunday, February 19, 2012
Bodacious Behavior
by Rev. Joyce Antila Phipps
Texts: Isaiah 43: 18-25; Mark 2: 1-12 There are certain words we associate with certain parts of the country. The word "bodacious" is one of them. A term meaning boldly audacious, it even sounds southern. When I hear that word, it brings to mind that scene in Gone With the Wind, when Scarlett O'Hara tells Rhett Butler that his behavior was bodacious. I can still hear the voice of Vivien Leigh as she flirted with Clark Gable saying, "Why, Mr. Butler, you are so bodacious!" For a Shakespearean trained actress, she did that southern accent pretty well. Well, Capernaum wasn't exactly southern Galilee, but Jesus' behavior was certainly bodacious. There are more than a few thing s interesting about this Gospel passage. First is, what surprised people and what did not surprise them. But to begin prop...
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AT: 02/19/2012 08:30:45 AM
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Sunday, August 28, 2011
Thoughts on a Hurricane
by Rev. Joyce Antila Phipps
What causes a hurricane, we may ask, and although the answers are clear: low pressure area over warm water releasing hot water vapor that become swirls of wind carrying the water vapor higher and making it stronger so that the water vapor, now rain, and wind speeds intensify to the point that there can be massive destruction, scientific answers alone do not satisfy us. As Mark Twain is reputed to have said, “Everyone talks about the weather but no one does anything about it.” Those of us who suffered moderately little damage – uprooted trees – or inconvenience – loss of power – should be grateful that we emerged unscathed. Some people lost more than just power: a 47-year old man was swept to his death; a 20-year old woman drwoned trapped in her car; a Wanaque man decided to walk in the midst of the storm and lost...
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AT: 08/28/2011 08:30:12 AM
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TAGS: COMPASSION, COMMUNITY, DESTRUCTION, GRACE, GRATITUDE, GRIEF, INTEGRITY, LOVE, OUR ENVIRONMENTAL FUTURE, REAL HELP, TOUGH TIMES, VOLUNTEERINGRELATED TOPICS:
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Choose with Care
by Rev. Joyce Antila Phipps
Texts: Esther 3:7-15; Matthew 15: 1-20 Most of us, I am sure, will remember that old children's game called Quaker ladies (or telephone, Chinese whispers, broken cord) that demonstrated two important things: First, how long does it take for any sentence, phrase, or word to go around in a circle of people; and, secondly, more importantly, how does that sentence, phrase, or word change from the first person to the last. Children giggle as they hear the changes. But that children's game indicates how a simple story about anything or any one can change, sometimes with devastating consequences. We see it every day in the supermarket tabloids or on the internet: simple stories usually about those people we call celebrities that are, at the least, invasions of privacy, and at the most, nasty...
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AT: 08/21/2011 08:30:23 AM
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Monday, February 28, 2011
Lilies in the Wintertime
by Rev. Joyce Antila Phipps
Texts: Isaiah 49: 8-16; Matthew 6: 24-34About a month ago I began looking at garden catalogues. For anyone who loves to garden, they are just as beguiling as the serpent’s words to Eve. Replete with color photographs of gardens that only could be created by master English gardeners, they hold out the promise: You, too, can have a garden like this. You, too, for only buying this bulb or that seed can grow something that will not only be the envy of your neighbors but will create beauty beyond your wildest imaginations. You, too…. You, too … And, of course, every year, I ask myself: Can I really? Can I really? Can I? Plants, of course, multiply, and that corner of bright sunlight in Fellowship Hall seems to expand every winter as plants that some of us have no...
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AT: 02/28/2011 08:30:20 AM
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Sunday, January 23, 2011
Changing Direction
by Rev. Joyce Antila Phipps
Texts: Psalm 27; Matthew 4: 12-25Thursday morning is DV day in the Somerset County Courthouse: the day when victims of domestic violence come to court and get or try to get the TROs -- temporary restraining orders -- converted into final restraining orders; FROs in our legal jargon. The judge on these matters, the Hon. Julie M. Marino, sits and listens to people who are explaining how their hopes, their dreams, even their lives, have fallen apart. She’s been doing this since 2003 when she was first nominated to the bench. Superior Court judges are first nominated for seven year terms, then, depending on a variety of factors, such as demeanor, comments from the bar, and the Governor, may be renominated for a lifetime tenure position. Lifetime tenure is a major guarantee of an independent judiciary, free fr...
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AT: 01/23/2011 08:30:41 AM
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Sunday, October 31, 2010
Looking for Truth
by Rev. Joyce Antila Phipps
Texts: Psalm 46; Luke 19: 1-10This is how the story goes: One day, specifically July 2, 1505, Martin Luther was on his way to Stotterheim, a small town near Erfurt, Germany, when a violent summer thunderstorm began, and a bolt of lightening struck nearby. The pressure from the bolt was so intense that the horse he was riding threw him onto the ground; convinced this was a sign of God’s judgment on him, he swore he would become a monk. Perhaps I’m being a cynic, but I can’t help but notice how it bears a remarkable resemblance to the historical images of Paul’s conversion experience on the road to Damascus. The real story of Luther’s struggle is more like the struggles we face in our own lives: No thunderbolts from heaven, no sudden appearance of angels, but a daily search for something that approximates ...
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AT: 10/31/2010 08:30:43 PM
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Sunday, October 24, 2010
Doorkeepers
by Rev. Joyce Antila Phipps
Texts: Psalm 84; Luke 18: 9-14A few weeks ago, I attended the annual Fall Convocation at Yale Divinity School. I think it was the first one I had attended since leaving Connecticut in 1992, but since an old friend of mine was getting the William Sloane Coffin Award for Peace and Justice and I had not seen her since she left New Haven for Kentucky sometime in the late 70s, I took the day off and went to New Haven. Several others received awards as well and as usual, those receiving awards spoke of being humbled by their award. This pattern of speaking seems to come with awards, no matter what kind of award is being given; whether it’s an award for perfect attendance in school or a Tony for a great performance on the stage. Methinks, to paraphrase Shakespeare, the awardees do protest too much. Most people who ...
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AT: 10/24/2010 08:30:59 AM
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Sunday, October 10, 2010
Showing Gratitude
by Rev. Joyce Antila Phipps
Texts: Psalm 111; Luke 17: 11-19As thankful as he is to be alive, my friend Brian has mixed feelings. You see, when the suicide bomber penetrated the compound and the windows blew out, Brian only ended up with multiple fractures because of the air conditioner that literally landed in his lap. He told me that when he shuts his eyes, he still sees the body part that was on top of the unit. But because there were men and women screaming in their pain of dying, he didn’t have enough time to think about it. He just jumped up and began looking for survivors. He was just grateful to be alive. When you first realize that you are alive, really alive, then you begin to feel grateful -- but grateful to what? Grateful that you were not just one foot closer or you, too, would be a bunch of bo...
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AT: 10/10/2010 08:30:18 AM
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