This homily was preached at All Saints Park Slope on February 11, 2024. A recording is available on All Saints' podcast here . Greetings All Saints. It is wonderful to be here with you this morning. As I think I say every time that I am here, All Saints has a special place in my heart. Not only is it the parish where my husband and I were married in 2019, but it is also one of the two churches that is supporting me in the ordination process – that is, in my journey to become an Episcopal priest. So this a spiritual home and it is always great to be back here. Today I thought I would reflect on the Gospel reading from Mark. The passage that we read today is one of the most dramatic moments in Jesus’ earthly life, an event called “the transfiguration” - or “the metamorphosis” in Greek. This moment of metamorphosis has always been a source of fascination for artists, and recently I had the chance to see a wall-sized, 16th century oil painting of the Transfiguration by the artists Gio
The following post is a draft chapter of a larger project focusing on all the times money is referenced in the events surrounding Jesus' arrest, crucifixion, death and resurrection. From Jesus' driving out the money changers from the Temple, to Judas' betrayal, and even the way the resurrection is later understood as a release from debt, money - and economic metaphors - are interwoven throughout the Gospel accounts of these cataclysmic events. My hope is to re-read the passion and resurrection as "a money story." The last week of Jesus’ life began with fanfare and songs of praise. At the small, Spanish-speaking Episcopal church I attend in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Palm Sunday typically looks a bit like this : on that morning, a group of parishioners gather on the front steps of the church to hear the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We have to strain our ears to understand the Gospel readers over the traffic sounds of 4th avenue Brooklyn. Fr. Francis