From the Vicar...
The parable of the prodigal son
This Sunday's gospel lesson is most, but not all, of the fifteenth chapter of Luke. We won't hear the first two parables that chapter tells, only the last and much longer story we know as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. But the whole chapter is really one teaching by Jesus. It begins with these words, "Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear [Jesus]. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, 'This man receives sinners and eats with them.'"
This is not the first time in Luke that Jesus has heard this complaint. Just after he begins his ministry, the Pharisees and scribes are not happy that he is healing the sick; they are upset that he is eating and drinking with sinners. Jesus responds, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
This time, Jesus responds to the Pharisees and scribes with three parables. Two are very short, and the third, again, is Sunday's gospel lesson. Curiously, the common names in English by which we know these three parables are all misleading.
The first of the three is known as the Parable of the Lost Sheep. A shepherd leaves ninety-nine of his flock to find the one who was lost. Jesus says, "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.'" The parable is not really about the sheep that was lost, but about the shepherd.
The second is called the Parable of the Lost Coin. A woman sweeps her home until she finds the silver coin she has misplaced. Jesus says, "And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.'" Jesus adds, "Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Again, it's not about the coin, it's about the woman.
Sunday's gospel lesson is known in English as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. In other languages it's known as the Parable of the Lost Son. But it's not about the son, it's all about a father who had two sons - one of them really is lost, the other is a grumbler, like the Pharisees and scribes. In each of the parables, the shepherd, the woman, the father, God, Jesus, seeks out the lost and rejoices that the lost is found. This seeking also includes the elder son in the Parable of the Prodigal. When he is angry about the forgiveness his father has shown, the father goes out to him to comfort him - to bring him in. This recalls for the words of the First Letter of John, "In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us."
Over the years, I have preached many times on this parable and heard many sermons on this parable. Most of us, I suspect, can relate at some point in our lives to both of the sons - what it is like to be wrong, lost, wasteful, and what it is like to be taken for granted. But it's not about what the father wants from either of his sons. All of these parables are about what God is doing in your life and in mine today.
There is not an unimportant school of theological writing that questions Luke's gospel because the seeking and forgiveness by God that is described in these parables takes place in the narrative before Jesus' death and resurrection.
Many Christians have what I would call a much more narrow understanding of God's work than Luke does. At this point in my life, I'm far less judgmental about the way God is at work in my own life and the life of others. I think Luke's perspective seems right. He assumes God is working - and I think you and I would do well to follow his lead.
Fr. Chip
Timing of Holy Week affects healing ministry schedule
Each month, both of our churches offer the Laying on of Hands with Anointing for Healing. At Christ Church, this occurs at the conclusion of the Eucharist on the first Sunday of the month. At Trinity Church, it is an integral part of the Saturday evening liturgy the third weekend of the month. The next healing liturgy at Christ Church will be on March 6th as usual. However, as there is no Saturday evening liturgy on the eve of Palm Sunday, Trinity's service this month will be on the second Saturday, March 12. Please note this change and join us.
Our Shared Ministry Cycle of Prayer
Each week, in both of our churches, we pray for one ministry we share and one or two households in each church. About once every six weeks, we will instead using the Shared Ministry Collect we prayed throughout the opening months of our Shared Ministry.
In our prayers the next two weeks, we give God thanks for...
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March 6
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Bishop's Committee (both congregations); Roy & Marilyn Bunting; Dorothy Flynn, James Dilts
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March 13
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Online Prayer Ministry of Trinity Church; Suzanne George, Daniel Paul, and Amanda Paul; Gordon Lane & Diana Jodoin
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Shared Lenten Quiet Day set for Saturday, March 12
9:00 - 12:30 in the Lady Chapel at Christ Church
On Saturday, March 12, Fr. Chip will lead a Lenten Quiet Day for members of both churches (and open to the public at large) in the Christ Church chapel. 
The theme of the day will be "Our Christian Identity: In the World, Not Of the World."
The day will open at 9:00 with introductory remarks and a contemplative opening liturgy. Then, starting at 9:20, there will be four 40-minute segments, each consisting of a 5-10 minute opening meditation followed by quiet time for meditation, reading and prayer. To help you use that quiet time, an optional guide to each segment is offered. At noon, we will close with a Eucharist that uses the Stations of the Cross as the Liturgy of the Word, followed by the Liturgy of the Table in the chapel.
For those who cannot be present for the entire day, here is our schedule. You may come for all or any part as your schedule allows:
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9:00 a.m.
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Opening remarks and contemplative opening liturgy
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9:20 a.m.
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Meditation 1: Who are we?
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10:00 a.m.
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Meditation 2: Where are we?
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10:40 a.m.
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Meditation 3: Why are we here?
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11:20 a.m.
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Meditation 4: How, then, shall we live?
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12:00 noon
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Stations of the Cross and Holy Eucharist
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You are encouraged to arrive early for coffee and refreshment before the quiet day begins, so that at 9:00 we enter into a holy and refreshing atmosphere of silence. During each quiet time, you may get up and move about, stay in the chapel, or...whatever refreshes you.
O