St. Paul's Darien » News & Sermons

Dragon at the Manger

On the Mark December 18th

By Jordan Easley, December 18, 2011 12:27 am

The Fourth Sunday of Advent marks the first anniversary of my preaching at St. Paul’s Darien. I cannot believe that a whole year has passed! I can only say “Thank you!” – to God our Heavenly Father, to Fr. Christopher my mentor and partner in ministry, and to you our church family – for calling Leah and me to serve you. I can’t wait to see where the Lord takes us together next year.

In my first sermon at St. Paul’s I mentioned three animals that we should put at the manger. Do you remember them? A Pelican. A Dragon. A Lion. I am not going to recap all of the meaning here, but I did want to ask you one question: Did you know that Christmas marks the beginning of a fairy tale? I don’t mean fairy tale in the sense that Jesus’ birth is just a made-up story. Far from it! Rather, the story of Jesus’ birth is THE story. It is THE fairy tale against which all other tales (true or false) are measured. Think about it.

Revelation 12 tells us of a great dragon, dropping out of the heavens, ready to devour an infant as his virgin mother gives him birth. Satan, the dragon, was indeed ready to destroy our Lord even upon the day of his birth. Yet Revelation 20 describes a rider upon a white horse, who leads a white-robed army against the dragon and casts down the beast forever. One day our Lord Jesus will indeed lead his church into battle, claiming final victory over Satan, the Enemy of the world. This is a fairy tale! The white rider has defeated the dragon and rescued his bride.

J. R. R. Tolkien said, “There was not a tale ever told that man would rather find was true, and none which so many skeptical men have accepted as true on it’s own merits.” Christmas – the Mass of Christ, Jesus’ incarnation – marks the beginning of the greatest and truest story ever told. You and I are characters in a grand fairy tale. There is an old English Christmas carol that sums it up nicely. Listen to the love-song of Jesus to his bride on the day before his birth:

Tomorrow shall be my dancing day;

I would my true love did so chance

To see the legend of my play,

To call my true love to my dance;

Sing, oh! My love, oh! My love, my love, my love This have I done for my true love.

Your brother,.

Jordan

The Rev. Jordan Easley

Assistant

Fr. Jordan Easley – December 18th

By Jordan Easley, December 18, 2011 12:13 am

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It’s Not Too Late!

On the Mark December 11th

By Fr. Christopher P. Leighton, December 11, 2011 12:20 am

The woman had just minutes to go before the guests arrived for the Christmas party. She had cleaned and cooked. Now she had to hurry to dress for the occasion. Then the doorbell rang. With irritation just below the surface, she opened the door. There before her was a family who wished to sing a Christmas carol to her. “Oh, no. Not now. I just don’t have the time. Thank you anyway,” she said as she closed the door.

Bing Crosby and his wife shook their heads and gathered their children to go on to the next house. The woman had just missed the opportunity to be sung to personally by one of America’s greatest singers. Why? She just didn’t have the time!

Christmas Day is just two weeks away. It’s not too late to plan to make yourself available to God. You have enough control of your schedule to make and to keep appointments with God. Otherwise the real meaning of Christmas will be missed and it will be too late to receive Jesus who is being sent by the Father as your Christmas gift.

Have a blessed Advent season of preparation.

Christopher

The Rev. Christopher P. Leighton

Rector

Fr. Christopher Leighton – December 11th

By Fr. Christopher P. Leighton, December 11, 2011 12:10 am

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Fr. Jordan Easley – December 4th

By Jordan Easley, December 4, 2011 3:15 pm

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Not a Silent Night

By Jordan Easley, December 3, 2011 8:19 pm

I love Christmas carols, but “Silent Night”,. Though it carries good childhood memories for me, is no longer high on my list. Somewhere along the way, I realized that the night our Savior was born was anything but silent. So I was thrilled to discover – and would like to offer to you – a much different carol called “Labor of Love”.

It was not a silent night

There was blood on the ground

You could hear a woman cry

In the alleyways that night

In the streets of David’s town.

And the stable was not clean

And the cobblestones were cold

Little Mary full of grace

With the tears upon her face

Had no mother’s hand to hold.

Noble Joseph at her side

Callused hands and weary eyes

There were no midwives to be found

In the streets of David’s town

In the middle of the night.

So he held her and he prayed

Shafts of moonlight on his face

But the baby in her womb

He was the maker of the moon

He was the Author of the faith

That could make the mountains move.

It was a labor of pain

It was a cold sky above

But for the girl on the ground in the dark

With every beat of her beautiful heart

It was a labor of love

For little Mary full of grace

With the tears upon her face

It was a labor of love. - Andrew Peterson

Jesus came into the world through pain and trauma just live every other baby. We have a God who knew human frailty and suffering from the moment he touched down on this planet./ My Savior knew my grief from the beginning and He took it on Himself. That is what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown!

Your brother,

Jordan

The Rev. Jordan Easley

On the Mark December 4

Assistant

Fr. Christopher Leighton – November 27th

By Fr. Christopher P. Leighton, November 27, 2011 3:23 pm

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Let the Church Help

On the Mark November 27th

By Fr. Christopher P. Leighton, November 26, 2011 11:58 pm

My favorite church bulletin blooper is, “Don’t let worry kill you, let the church help.” After a laugh you realize that it is an offer not to go it alone.

The holidays are coming – let the church help. For many of us, this time of year is a mixture of blessing and hardship. Let the church help. I find God when I am with the people of God – we are the church. The church has helped me overcome past wounds and disappointments. The church has helped me have realistic expectations. The church has provided me with opportunities to worship Jesus Christ, and to serve others, which helps me get out of myself. Here are some ways the church will be available for you in this Advent season:

•• Regular Sunday worship and fellowship

8:45 Holy Eucharist

10:00 Fellowship

10:30 Holy Eucharist & Sunday School

• Tuesday Healing Service and Agape Meal

(Next Tuesday, November 29, a special seminar:

“Turn Your Holiday Blues into Red & Green” -

Christopher & Janet Leighton

• Friday, December 2, 6:30 p.m. “Transformation: A Service Of Hope and Recovery”, 20 Concord Ave., South Norwalk

• Sunday, December 4, 12:00 p.m. – St. Nicholas celebration for all ages

• Sunday, December 18, following the second service – Caroling in downtown Darien

• Saturday, December 24

4:30 p.m. – Pageant and Holy Eucharist

10:30 p.m. – Festival Eucharist

• Sunday, December 25, 10:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist and Outreach meal

• Saturday, December 31 – time to be determined – New Year’s Eve celebration

• Sunday, January 1, 2012 – 10:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist

These are all opportunities offered for worship, fellowship, and service. In addition there will be the Dove outreach to help local families in need through Person-to-Person.

If you need prayer, counsel or even the opportunity for confession, the clergy and trained lay leaders are available for an appointment; just contact us through the church office.

Our hope is that Christmas will be a greater blessing for you; let the church help.

Your brother in Christ,

Christopher

The Rev. Christopher P. Leighton

Rector

Gratitude is Good For You

By Jordan Easley, November 20, 2011 4:19 pm

You can almost expect it around Thanksgiving. Pastors pull out passages from the Bible like “Give thanks in all circumstances” [I Thessalonians 5:18] or “Enter His gates with thanksgiving” [Psalm 100:4]. And for those of us who so easily get caught up in the cares and worries of life (pastors included), the reminder to “be more thankful” can often make us feel more guilty instead of more grateful. Why does God put such a premium on Giving thanks anyway?

Being grateful is simultaneously hard and easy. More than that, it has both spiritual and physical benefits. For myself, I find that when I come to God in prayer, I need to spend about 75% of my time thanking him before I get to my requests. It’s easy to say the words “Thank You, Jesus”, but it is not always easy to mean them. For the majority of that 75%, I may just be “saying the words”, but somewhere along the way, the Lord Holy Spirit inevitably comes in and actually gives me gratitude, even if I wasn’t “feeling it” most of the time. But once the true gratitude breaks in, I find that I can actually bring my requests to God with certainty that He will answer them as a good father (and not just as the “Answer Man”).

Also, it turns out that God doesn’t just care about our spiritual health when He commands us to be grateful:

“Psychologists Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough point out that gratitude is the “Forgotten factor” in happiness research. They point out the benefits of expressing gratitude as ranging from better physical health to improved mental alertness. People who express gratitude also are more likely to offer emotional support to others. Expressing gratitude in your daily life might even have a protective effect on staving off certain forms of psychological disorders. In a recent review…researchers found that habitually focusing on and appreciating the positive aspects of life is related to a generally higher level of psychological wellbeing and a lower risk of certain forms of psychopathology” [Psychology Today, May 10, 2010].

So, the next time you hear the Lord’s invitation to “give thanks in all circumstances,” don’t be ashamed to say “Thank you, Jesus” even if you don’t feel like it. I promise, if you give him the opportunity, the true gratitude will follow…in spirit, emotions, mind, and body.

Your brother,

Jordan

The Rev. Jordan Easley

Assistant

On the Mark November 20