Sunday 5 September  2010  

Lectionary Year C, Proper 18

7:30am Morning Prayer   8:00am Low Mass

10:00am Solemn High Mass, Rite I

9pm Compline, sung by the choir.

The Collect:

Grant us, O Lord, we pray thee, to trust in thee with all our heart; seeing that, as thou dost always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so thou dost not forsake those who make their boast of thy mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

The Gospel:   

Now large crowds were traveling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions."

This week at Christ Church:

Compline began last Sunday evening, and it was one more evidence of the quickening pace of activitiy and the growing number of people in the neighborhood as summer ends and academic programs and work patterns return to normal. This Sunday is the last with only two Sunday services- on September 12^th, we will return to the full pattern of 8, 9, and 11am. The choir, part of which has begun singing compline, will sing the 11am Solemn High Mass on the 12^t.  

One great aspect of the summer has been the relaxed and companionable Tuesday evening programs- of Mass and Cookout- and one two more remain- Sept 7^th, the commemoration of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and then on September 14^th- a major celebration of the Feast of the Holy Cross- with a full pot-luck supper after and a kick off to parish ministries and activities. 

In the meantime, this Sunday will confront us with one of Jesus’ harshest teachings- and his most stringent demands. If nothing else it makes us stop and listen more carefully; it requires us to pay attention to how this passage and the larger arc of the Gospel message interpret each other. “You cannot be my disciple” is a hard message to hear- and it reminds us that following Jesus requires intention and demands growth as faith deepens and becomes more the basis of decision, action and purpose in our life. This is not the only thing Jesus says to us- but it is one thing we need to stop and hear.   As a parish, Christ Church calls us together to listen, to pray- and then sends us out to live what we have heard and to live the words we pray- and sometimes that is simply joy and the most obvious thing in the world- and sometimes it asks much of us.