This bilingual homily was preached at the joint Easter Vigil for San Andres and All Saints Park Slope on April 8, 2023. Easter began in darkness. It began first with Jesus’ mother and his friends experiencing sorrow, bewilderment, and grief. The events that led up to Easter morning are as familiar as they are tragic: a friend betrayed another for thirty pieces of silver; the political and religious authorities scapegoated a rising leader; an innocent man was blamed and crucified, and his friends and family were left to suffer in silence. These events occurred two millennia ago but they also happen still today. We know this is the way the world works. We know this is how people work. But this is not the way that God works. And so tonight, on this Easter vigil, we gather first in darkness, to retell some of the most ancient stories about the way that God moves in the world. In the beginning, we hear how God created light out of darkness, bringing forth life and hope from nothing. ...
Reflections on the role and history of money in Christianity from the first to the fifth centuries