We are a small Episcopal Church on the banks of the Rappahannock in Port Royal, Virginia. We acknowledge that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Port Royal, the Nandtaughtacund, and we respect and honor with gratitude the land itself, the legacy of the ancestors, and the life of the Rappahannock Tribe. Our mission statement is to do God’s Will in all that we do.

Lectionary, Pentecost 23, Proper 25, Year B

I. Theme –  Preparing for Restoration and Healing

Healing of Bartimaeus – Daniel Bonnell

“Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.” – Mark 10:51-52

The lectionary readings are here  or individually:

Old Testament – Jeremiah 31:7-9 Psalm – Psalm 126 Page 782, BCP Epistle – Hebrews 7:23-28 Gospel – Mark 10:46-52

The promise of restoration and healing flows through today’s readings. The prophet Jeremiah looks forward to the rescue and renewal of God’s people. Job has all his lost property restored because of his fidelity to God. The author of Hebrews affirms the promise of full salvation through Jesus Christ and continued growth for believers. In today’s gospel, Jesus grants physical and spiritual wholeness to blind Bartimaeus.

Counselors say that many people will prefer a known evil to the unknown. They may cling to an identity as abused child, battered wife, long-suffering spouse of an alcoholic, or jilted lover because to surrender that identity seems like giving up themselves. Bartimaeus might have wondered if he would lose his identity as a blind beggar.

Yet Bartimaeus accepts his blindness as past. It does not curtail his freedom to hope for change. Thus he surrenders to the mystery of the future. Just as he casts away his cloak, he flings aside his reservations and his insecure clinging to the status quo.

The road on which he follows Jesus is leading to Jerusalem and ultimately to Calvary. Again in contrast to the apostles, Bartimaeus wants to follow, even into pain, if it means he can remain close to Christ. His step has a sureness due not only to restored vision but because he knows deeply the truth of the crowd’s assurance: “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” Thus, the story ends on the note of grace accepted.

Life is not easy either for us. God is active in the world and in all of the universe around us, even though we may experience God’s absence in our own lives. Our focus can be very small and narrow. We may worry or be upset about what happens to us, forgetting about the fact that there are 7 billion people on earth. We may feel that God has abandoned us and forget that no asteroid has wiped out the earth yet.

We may be like Bartimaeus, blind to what is going on in the world, crying out to God to let us see, then realizing there is a greater world beyond us. Or we may be like Bartimaeus, marginalized by the world, unable to do anything but beg until God and others intervene on our behalf. In other words: it’s not all about us, and yet, it is all about us. God heard the cry of Job. Jesus heard the cry of Bartimaeus. God hears our cries, and God is active in our lives, though we may have a hard time understanding that when we are in our valley of the shadow. Nonetheless, God is there.

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The Blind Beggar Bartimaeus – “Call Him Here”

The SALT Blog for Pentecost 23 goes into Mark’s Gospel story on the blindman Bartimaeus.  This is the culmination of the section that the Blog has been discussing recently – 8:22-10:52&. “The primary theme of this central section in Mark is what it means to “see,” understand, and follow Jesus, the Messiah who comes not on a warhorse but as a suffering servant.”   The disciples constantly avoid the real meaning with last week James and John more worried about their own status than the real meaning in Jesus’ story.

This section begins with healing of a blind man (blind man  at Bethsaida) and ends with one another blind manBartimaeus .  The particular story today (Mark 10:46-52) is at the end of this central section. The story  starts in Jericho with Bartimaeus a blind beggar sitting by the roadside. He heard it was Jesus coming down the road. He calls Jesus  in a loud, boisterous  manner “, Son of David, have mercy on me!”Son of David was  a title for the Messiah. He also calls Jesus , “My teacher”. 

Jesus says to “call him here”.  Before he goes to Jesus he throws off his cloak. The SALT blog indicates that this action to “symbolize a dramatic shift, such as a person leaving behind the old order of things. ” He is able to transition unlike the rich man in Mark who was unable to part with his possessions to achieve eternal life.

Jesus then asks him the same question he has just put to James and John: “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:36; 10:51).  James and John actions pale beside him in his perception of Jesus. As SALT describes “the supposed “outsider” models a fitting blend of boldness and humility.” He is bold shouting out and calling Jesus “Son of Davis” but shows his humility “have mercy on me.”

With the Blind man at Bethsaida Jesus in charge leading “spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him”. With Bartimaeus it is his faith  that has cured him. It was result of his own actions rather than Jesus. The SALT Blog maintains that faith for Mark is a “synonym for courage” “For Mark, he is nothing less than the model disciple, bold, discerning, humble, direct, and courageous”.

“Our faith — which is to say, our bold and humble courage — is both a gracious gift of God and a vital source of our everyday wellbeing. Accordingly, again and again, Jesus calls us to “take heart” and trust, and at the same time, to step forward and play an active role in our own ongoing restoration.”

From Trinity New York ,“We pattern our lives after Jesus’s teaching and example by putting others first, by caring for those who are outcast, and by positioning ourselves as children of God in need of God’s love and guidance.”  “For Jesus, the liberation of God’s people is rooted not in violent power but in humility, service, and sacrifice — in love.” This is shown at the end of the reading- he is ready to follow Jesus.

The Story of Bartimaeus- “It’s About Freedom”

"The story about Bartimaeus, I mean. He won’t shut up. Even though people tell him to. And that’s hard. We are so quick to fall into silence in general, worried about offending or hurting feelings or being rejected or whatever. And so when folks tell us to shut up, we’re all too quick to oblige. But Bartimaeus won’t. He is free. Free to defy his neighbors. Free to call for help. Free to make his needs known to Jesus. Free. Perhaps he’s suffered enough, or feels like there’s nothing left to lose, or just doesn’t care anymore. Or perhaps he just senses — or, really, sees — that in the presence of Jesus all the rules change and he is no longer “Blind Bartimaeus” but instead “Bartimaeus, Child of God.” Whatever the reason, he knows he is free and seizes his faith and his courage to live into that freedom and Jesus says that’s what made him well.

It’s about freedom 

"Jeremiah 31 (also appointed for Reformation Sunday, although it would fit just as well with the Mark passage for Pentecost 22), as well. It is the past that traps us, you see. The past that reminds us of all our shortcomings and failures and disappointments. And God tells Israel through Jeremiah that even though Israel forgot their identity and fell short in a hundred different ways, yet God would not hold this against Israel. That God will – indeed, already has – willfully forgotten all their sin. And here’s the thing: no memory of the past, no memory of sin, and the future is open. You’re free. 

It’s about freedom.

"The whole Reformation, while we’re at it. From Paul’s declaration that we have all been justified by grace to Luther’s hammering his theses against the Wittenburg Church door to remind us that grace reigns supreme, the whole darn Reformation-thing was intended to tell us that, in the end, we don’t need to do anything, earn anything, say anything, accomplish anything, or buy anything to earn God’s love. That we already have it, and that most of the Church’s problems – and, indeed, the world’s problems – start when we forget we already have love and worth and dignity as a gift from God and try to earn it or take it from someone else.

It’s about freedom.

"The Gospel. Yeah, the good news of what God has done in Christ for us and all the world. It’s about freedom, too. From time to time, we might wonder what the biblical readings have to do with our lives today, and we might wonder if the words and deeds of the Reformers 500 years ago matter, but it’s finally all about freedom. We are not trapped. No matter what we may have done, no matter what may have been done to us. None of these things define us. We are free and the future is open.

"Look, I know that can be really, really hard to believe. Some of what’s happened to us seems so huge, so important, so all-encompassing, but it’s not. Not to say that these things don’t matter. They do. Illness, disappointment, hurt, whatever. They matter and they may, in fact, be descriptively true of us. But they do not define us. Nothing we have done or has been done to us captures who we are completely. Only one thing can do that: God, the creator and sustainer of all. And God has chosen to call us beloved children, holy and precious in God’s sight. That’s what defines us.

"And so we are free. Free to risk and serve and help and care and try and struggle and laugh and all the rest. We are free, that is, to love, just as God loves us.

"That’s what all these readings are about. That’s what our whole ministry is about – freedom. So tell them they’re free this week. Free from their past, free from regret, free from fear, free from self-limitation, free from old hurts and mistakes. They’re free. And then tell them again. Because it’s hard to believe. And then tell them one more time, because it takes a while to get used to this truth. And then tell them once more yet, because freedom takes some practice. Tell them they’re free, and then tell them to come back next week to hear this same good news, because the world will often try to convince us otherwise and so the freedom that sets you free, well, it takes a little while to sink in."

“Faith is the electricity of the spirit”

From the Episcopal Cafe -"Bartimaeus -Speaking to the Soul: The real miracle"

"Healing of the Blind Man" – Carl Bloch

"After a lifetime of blindness, Bartimaeus cries out to Jesus in desperation. Jesus hears his cry. He clearly sees the blind man’s faith fighting through the darkness. Like Bartimaeus, we turn to Christ in disappointment and pain when all else has failed. Jesus is used to that. He knows our frailty, our shaky mix of fear and faith. And that’s as it should be. It is the human condition. Our faith is not a destination. It is a journey. And the journey is fraught with detours and potholes.

"First there are the roadblocks we build ourselves…our doubts, our inhibitions, our reluctance to let go and put things in God’s hands. Then there are the obstacles that others erect. Some were quick to tell Bartimaeus to pipe down and stop bothering Jesus. They thought Christ had better things to do than bother with this nuisance." 

"Faith is the electricity of the spirit. It informs our hopes. It inspires our love. It is the foundation of the New Covenant. We do not come to God through genetic descent from Abraham. We come to God through our faith in Jesus Christ… through our belief in a miracle that took place 2000 years ago. Far greater than the discovery of electricity, the internet, the theory of relativity and the mechanics of the universe… all the acquired wisdom of the ages… far, far greater is the transformative miracle of faith."  

Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Oct. 28

The Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude is celebrated on October 28th. The Church commemorates them together due to ancient Christian traditions and writings that suggest their collaboration in spreading the Gospel and a shared martyrdom in distant Persia. Their cooperation and shared mission continue to inspire and guide the Christian community, reminding us that great deeds can be accomplished by working together.

St. Simon the Zealot
St. Simon was a devoted disciple of Jesus (Matt. 10:4, Mk. 3:18, Lk. 6:15, Acts 1:13). He was distinguished from Simon Peter because he was called “The Zealot” by Luke or “The Canaanite” (Matthew, Mark). His epithet “Zealot” or “Zelotes” suggests that Simon may have belonged to the Zealot party. This ardent Jewish nationalist group resisted Roman occupation. While the Bible doesn’t explicitly confirm this connection, it underscores Simon’s passion and fervor for his beliefs and serving Christ with dedication. St. Simon the Zealot is one of the lesser-detailed apostles in the New Testament, and as such, much of his iconographic representation has been established by tradition. Art often depicts him with a saw due to his alleged martyrdom from being sawn in half.


St. Jude (Thaddeus)
St. Jude, also known as “Thaddaeus,” (Matthew, Mark) was another faithful disciple of Jesus (Matt. 10:3, Mk. 3:18, Lk. 6:16, Acts 1:13). Luke calls him “Judas ,son James”. He is not that Judas! He is specifically remembered for his inquiry into why Jesus revealed himself to only a select few rather than the entire world. This intriguing question, posed by St. Jude in John 14:22-24, reflects his contemplative nature. Catholics believe the Apostle Jude, who is referred to twice as “Jude, the brother of James” (Lk. 6:16, Acts 1:13) to be the same as the brother of St. James of Jerusalem and a relative of Jesus, who wrote the Epistle of Jude (Jude 1:1). Protestants differ on this, taking a more direct reading of James of Jerusalem and the Epistle of Jude’s author as brothers of Jesus (Matt.13:55, Mark 6:3) and, therefore, unable to be the same as the apostles.


Brothers in Apostleship
Both St. Simon and St. Jude were witnesses to significant moments in the life of Jesus and the early Christian community. They followed Jesus as he preached and ministered until his crucifixion, witnessed his resurrection, received his teachings during the 40 days post-resurrection, and were present at his ascension. Their enduring commitment led them to the upper room, where they joined fellow disciples in awaiting the promised Holy Spirit and became apostles of the Early Church.

Tradition holds that they ventured to distant Persia, where they fearlessly preached the Gospel. Their unwavering dedication to spreading the Good News ultimately led to their martyrdom. St. Simon’s and St. Jude’s relics are believed to be located in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

The Acts of St. Simon and St. Jude
The Acts of Simon and Jude is an apocryphal text that narrates the missionary journey of the apostles Simon the Zealot and Jude to the Persian Empire. Like many other apocryphal acts of the apostles, this text was written to provide a narrative about the later lives and missions of these apostles for whom the canonical scriptures offer limited information.

In this account, the apostles arrived in the ancient city of Babylon and began preaching the Gospel. Their endeavors, however, were not without resistance. The apostles encountered two powerful magicians, Zaroes and Arphaxat, who tried to oppose their missionary efforts with their magical abilities.

In response, Simon and Jude began performing a series of miracles that served as a resounding counterpoint to the magicians’ enchantments. These miracles, performed in the name of Jesus, served as a testament to the power of Jesus and validated their message in the eyes of the local population. Even influential figures within the Persian realm found themselves drawn to the Christian faith, leading to a profound wave of conversions. After many successful conversions and establishing Christian communities, both apostles met their death as martyrs for their faith.

40 Old Testament Stories that Every Christian Should know – #3 Cain and Abel

Pastor Vicki Zust was the rector of St. Paul’s, Clarence, NY. Having completed a 2 year cycle of reading the entire Bible she decided to try something different. As she writes, “So I went through the Old Testament and wrote down the stories that a lot of our theology and history depends on. It turns out there are 40 of them.”

 Here is #3 Cain and Abel. Read it here.

"This story is about the first time that crime enters the world. Cain and Abel are names that we know, they are brothers, Abel is a shepherd and Cain is a farmer.

"Both offer sacrifices to God. Abel’s is accepted, but Cain’s is not. We aren’t told specifically why, just that Cain became angry and God asks him why he is angry and says, "…If you do the right thing, won’t you be accepted? But if you don’t do the right thing sin will be waiting at the door ready to strike! It will entice you, but you must rule over it." It’s not really clear from this response if Cain has already done something wrong, of if God knows what is about to happen or both.

"So Cain takes his brother out for a walk and kills him. Then God asks him where Abel is and Cain says the best known line from this story, "Am I my brother’s keeper?"

"God sends him away and turns him into a nomad, but yields to Cain’s pleas and places a mark on his forehead so that anyone encountering him won’t kill him. (Which, of course begs the question, if Cain & Abel are the only children of Adam and Eve, who is it that is going to kill him?)

"Cain goes on and settles in the land of Nod.

"The point of the story, I think, is that we humans get jealous of each other and lash out at each other because of it. That jealousy is the root of much of the sin and violence in the world and perhaps we need to work on that in ourselves."

The Episcopal Lingo, Part 9, Death, Part 2 of 2

Parish Church

We have covered rites of passage marked by colonial churches—birth, initiation and marriage. Last half of death this week as well as the conclusion of this series.

Because of the frequency of death, a culture of death grew up around objects – mourning attire, mourning rings, the family Bible and a funeral banquet, several which are foreign to us today. They provided a way to remember loved ones and reassert the necessity of survival – in a sense creating a community of mourners. Hair in mourning rings was a substitution for the departed. Lists inscribed in treasured family Bibles in a sense replace the chil¬dren whose short lives were narrated there

Mourning clothing of the sort worn in colonial Virginia had antecedents in the Middle Ages, when elite mourners wore black clothes (although other colors, including brown and red, were also considered proper for mourning). The clothes were worn men participating in burial rites and close relatives. First Mourning lasted where black was worn. Second Mourning last another three months colors shifted to grays. Mourning rings grew popular in the colonial period with rings color reflecting that of the mourning clothes. Wills spelled out who was to get the rings.

Family Bibles were part of mourning – reasserted family unity and survival and were a way for church tasks to be brought home. The choice to keep family records in a Bible was doubtless driven by practicality: paper was not readily available, so it made sense to record one’s records in the white spaces of a book one already owned. Bibles had collections of genealogies anyway.

Mourning ring engraved George, Martha Washington with their hairMourning ring engraved George, Martha Washington with their hair

Death was a great drama in the colonial period. Deathbeds were not spaces dominated only by close kin, and deathbed scenes were not necessarily intimate. Rather, the deathbed was a more broadly social scene, in which clergy and neighbors participated. Clergymen regularly visited the sick, sometimes leaving home in the middle of the night to celebrate Holy Communion at a parishioner’s bedside.

The funeral rituals had four central elements: a burial, a meal, a liturgy, and a sermon

The burial service employed more collects, prayers, psalms, and scripture selections than today’s service to place the reality of death in the context of the faith and teachings of the church with its proclamation of resurrection and another life beyond death. The burial service could not be used for those where “unbaptized, or excommunicate, or have laid violent hands upon themselves.”

Typically there was a full sermon at death expositions of an appropriate scripture text, not simply eulogies to the departed. There was significant attention given to these sermons and tended to be an education in themselves. John Thompson of St. Mark’s Parish preached on discourses on sin and judgment, the right use of time, true repentance, and righteous living, a call to faithful attendance upon one’s religious duties, and a vigorous affirmation of the promised resurrection.

Virginia clergymen’s funeral sermons made three main points about death and salvation from the pulpit. First, salvation was not absolutely as¬sured. Second, salvation came from God but was related to living a good and holy life (whether the parsons were suggesting that a good and holy life testified to or earned salvation is not entirely clear). Third, parishioners should not postpone repentance until just before death. They were trying to inspire parishioners to lead good and holy lives.

After the service there was the burial – Given the distance between the church and the house due to the size of parishes, families wanted beloved decedents to be interred near the home so that mourners could visit graves easily. Household burial was also a mark of status since it was clear that the decedent was a propery owner. Finally there was the desire to be resurrected with one’s own kin.

The Anglican church did not monopolize burial as it did over marriage. Dissenting denominations—at least those with licensed clergy and authorized meetinghouses—were free to bury their own according to the rites and customs peculiar to each.

Finally a large meal was served at the home after the church service and burial. (Today the reception in the Church is similar to this ). These meals served the purpose of reminding the living that they were indeed alive, that life went on and helped to bring them back to their normal lives. The standard funerary meal consisted of "funeral biscuits" or "mourning biscuits" and wine. The biscuits were probably molasses seasoned with caraway and ginger and often shaped in the design of a heart or cherubim. The funeral biscuits were typically dipped in alcohol before being consumed. 

The End of October, Early Nov. – a summary

Halloween originated in Celtic cultures the day before Samhain, the beginning of the Celtic winter. It focused on death blending in the supernatural. The Catholic Church incorporated non-Christian traditions into its holidays to bring people to the church. It scheduled All Saints (Nov 1 ) and All Souls (Nov. 2) after Halloween. All Soul’s focused on those who had died without the supernatural. All Saints celebrated all who believed and were baptized. The word saint originally meant “holy”. Later it became a feast day commemorating all martyrs.

How do we get Halloween (Oct. 31) from All Saints (Nov. 1) and All Souls(Nov.2)?

What is the Halloween connection ?

Halloween originated in Celtic cultures and  spread to Christian.

The word Halloween is a contracted form for All Hallows’ (holy persons or saints) Evening- the day before All Saints.  

Halloween has been on Oct 31 because of the Celtic traditions.   Halloween also focused not only on death but on the  concept of death blending in the supernatural.    The Church scheduled All Saints and All Souls after Halloween.   The emphasis on All Soul’s  focused on those who had died only and did not dwell on stories surrounding death.

All Soul’s did  satisfy many Catholics’ interest in death and the supernatural. But the unchristian idea of wandering spirits persisted in some areas. Conceding that they could not completely get rid of the supernatural elements of the celebrations, the Catholic Church began characterizing the spirits as evil forces associated with the devil. 

Celtic Tradition

Nov. 1 marked Samhain, the beginning of the Celtic winter. (The Celts lived as early as 2,000 years ago in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and northern France.) Samhain, for whom the feast was named, was the Celtic lord of death, and his name literally meant “summer’s end.” Since winter is the season of cold, darkness and death, the Celts soon made the connection with human death.

The eve of Samhain, Oct. 31, was a time of Celtic pagan sacrifice, and Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to return to their earthly homes that evening. Ghosts, witches, goblins and elves came to harm the people, particularly those who had inflicted harm on them in this life. Cats, too, were considered sacred because they had once been human beings who had been changed as a punishment for their evil deeds on this earth

The Roman conquest of England brought two other festivals commemorating the dead.

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Sunday Links, Oct. 20, 2024

22nd Sunday After Pentecost Oct. 20, 11am.

  • Web site
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  • Location – 823 Water Street, P. O. Box 399, Port Royal, Virginia 22535
  • Staff and Vestry

  • Wed., Oct 16, Ecumenical Bible 10am in the Parish House reading the lectionary for Oct 20
  • Wed., Oct 23, Ecumenical Bible 10am in the Parish House reading the lectionary for Oct 27

  • All articles for Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024