Clergy Notes — April 20, 2025

Alleluia, Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

This joyous celebration is the culmination of all that makes us Christian: it is a celebration of Christ’s triumph over sin and death; the remaking of all creation; God’s redemption of humanity.

This is what gives us the power to face grief and struggles and difficulties, because Christ has first borne our struggles for us, and defeated them.

This is what gives our flesh dignity, because Christ first bore our flesh and through his life, death and resurrection, has elevated our lowly humanity to the right hand of God.

This is the source of our hope even now, even in our troubled world. Although war rages all around us, we know that Christ has already won the battle.

So then, with the renewal of our baptismal vows this day, let us also renew our commitment to hope. For hope is an act of defiance in the face of evil. There are – and will continue to be – times when it seems like the Enemy is winning. But not today. Today’s celebration is a testimony that evil has not won, and will not – ever.

For the God who inhabits, resurrects, and sanctifies flesh is the same God who is always doing infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.

Mother Amanda

Click here to find the Liturgy at Home for Sunday

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Clergy Notes — April 13, 2025

I am always a little surprised at how quickly the season of Lent goes by. This year, at St James’, there are so many things going on that I imagine many of us feel like we hardly had a chance to experience Lent in its fulness.

And, now here we are at the beginning of Holy Week, perhaps feeling a little like the disciples – not really sure how we got here, but trusting that God is still doing a new thing – in us, and in the world.

And so, we begin this week with Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and then celebration of the Last Supper, which quickly gives way to the horror and desolation of the cross. Like the disciples, we may find ourselves experiencing true sorrow, even though – unlike them – we know death is not the end.

We know that just as the excitement of Palm Sunday gives way to the anguish of the cross, so too does the sorrow of Good Friday give way to Paschal joy. The hope of resurrection is more than just relief; it is the defiance of the darkest powers the world can throw at us. It is an unexpected experience of being utterly amazed at what God is doing.

I hope for all of us that we may allow ourselves to enter into the fulness of Holy Week. The rich liturgies this week are an opportunity to truly walk with Jesus moment by moment, allowing our hearts to experience each one as if we did not know what was going to happen next. For we, too, cannot really grasp what is about to happen.

God is doing a new thing: do you perceive it?

Mother Amanda

Click here to find the Liturgy at Home for Sunday

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