<html><body>This is our patronal festival weekend, so this is on the Propers for St Alban's Feast.<div><br></div><div>Bob</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY THE FEAST OF ST. ALBAN (transf.)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">WISDOM OF SOLOMON 3:1-9 26<sup>rd</sup> JUNE, 2016</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">1 JOHN 3:13-16 PSALM 31:1-5</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">MATTHEW 10:34-42</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Deacon Senitila McKinley wrote from the coast a couple of weeks ago,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> “<span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">This is a funny.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41);"><br><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> </span></span>“Someone came into the DaNoble House (in Waldport. The Hou If it’s beense provides support for children and adults in improving literacy. This person came in) a week ago.<span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> Wanted money, a Taxi and a Motel room for the night. Since I did not have any of the above, I was called a FB. I don't mean Face Book.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41);"><br><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> “Yesterday while cooking breakfast, this person came in needing food and money and I remembered. First I wanted to remind this person that I was the FB, and need to leave. For a moment I was having a hard time, and I was busy fixing breakfast for the others.</span><br><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> “At the end I made and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="textexposedshow">served this person the best breakfast ever.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br><span class="textexposedshow"> “No thank you in return.</span><br><span class="textexposedshow"> “It is not easy to live Love, and it sure feels good to overcome my little evil spirit. So, thank you, Jesus for being my Boss!”</span><br><span class="textexposedshow"> Deacon Senitila ended, “Let’s go out, out, out of our way to be kind today.’</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> Good Deacons <b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">DO</span></b> tell us what we should be doing! This is their vocation, this is their cross!</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> But what does it mean “to be kind”? Kind? Really?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> Just for the heck of it, I Googled it. Did you know that “</span></span><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">To Be Kind”</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">is the thirteenth studio album by American<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_music" title="Experimental music"><span style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">experimental</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">band<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swans_(band)" title="Swans (band)"><span style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Swans</span></a><span style="color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">, </span><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">released on May 12, 2014”? <sup>1</sup><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: rgb(37, 37, 37);"> In case you’re interested, one critic wrote, “… </span></span><span style="color: rgb(37, 37, 37);">as the name suggests,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>To Be Kind</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>does feature a quality<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><a target="_blank" href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hitherto" title="wiktionary:hitherto"><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">hitherto</span></a> <span style="color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">rare in Swans: that of tenderness.” <sup>2</sup></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: top; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> Digging a little deeper, I found that “to be kind” is to be “</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/affectionate"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">affectionate</span></a>. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/amiable"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">amiable</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/charitable"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">charitable</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/considerate"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">considerate</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/cordial"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">cordial</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/courteous"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">courteous</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/friendly"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">friendly</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/gentle"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">gentle</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/gracious"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">gracious</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/humane"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">humane</span></a>”, <sup>3</sup> among forty synonyms. Oh, and “<a target="_blank" href="http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/eleemosynary"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">eleemosynary</span></a>”. You can look that one up!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> The writer of the letter to the Christians in Ephesus was trying to help as well as correct the Christian families there. He or she wrote, “be kind and compassionate to one another.” It sounds good – until you remember how cantankerous and isolationist there people could be. It seems that it didn’t really matter where Christians were being formed in their faith, the biggest problem they faced was relationships. They had such a difficult time getting on with one another that it makes me wonder what sort of a witness they were giving to the rest of the city.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> The role of the Christian was and remains so radically different from most other religions. The role of the Christian, as defined at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, is to reach out – to teach, to preach, and only then to baptise. In other words, each of us had to take care of the physical and emotional needs of everyone, leading by example, healing by standing with the person. The kindness and the compassion which we’re called to share, both by the writer of the epistle and by the deacons of the church, is our way of making Christ present to everyone, no matter what they call us or how they behave.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> Will this be easy? What’s been your experience to date? If it’s been anything like mine, it’s been interesting. Certainly, it’s been challenging. But, so far, my head hasn’t been on the block, which is more than could be said for Alban.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> What an amazing character he was. We know so little that’s established fact. Most of it’s legend, although practically every legend, every tradition, is based on at least some facts.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> It sounds as if he was an ordinary villager. Probably he looked out for his neighbours, watching the kids to be sure that they were safe. More than likely he helped keep the sheep from wandering off. But, of all things, I’m sure he was barely distinguishable from anyone else. Maybe it was known only to God why that priest ducked into Alban’s cottage that day. Maybe Alban thought little of himself, never saw himself as any better or any worse than the others Just your average Caratacos. Until God touched him, that is, came into hi home and sat down at his fire on one of those typical British June days and tried to get dry and warm again.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> The thing is, it could have been anyone in the village. It could have been </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background: rgb(255, 255, 241);">Cynbel next door, or Maedoc across the field, or even Ninian who lived on the outskirts. But it was into Alban’s home that the priest burst.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background: rgb(255, 255, 241);"> Was he ready? Had Alban swept out the floor? Did he have stew started over the fire? Was he in the habit of having company and so wasn’t phased by the priest’s arrival?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background: rgb(255, 255, 241);"> Who knows? It’s one of those incredibly awkward questions that falls to each of us. When someone shouts out on the street for help; when someone is being bullied, or belittled, or threatened; when someone collapses outside our home; when someone – well, when someone has any sort of a need and ours is the closest home, we are the closest person – are we ready? Or, to go back to the question raised by Deacon Senitila’s comment, what <b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">DOES</span></b> it mean to be kind? How do we summon up the fruits of the Spirit in our lives so that they become second nature – this gentleness, this self-control, this love of which the writer of our epistle talked this morning?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background: rgb(255, 255, 241);"> </span></p></div></div></body></html>