Preacher:  Robert D. Lewis, Psy. D.

 The Diocese has designated today as Passion & Purpose Sunday, a day to explore the meaning of Christian vocation and our calling as God's servants in the world.  It is also a day to celebrate the opportunity God has given us to nurture vocations in our youth, both priestly and lay vocations, as we help them claim their God-given gifts and their place in God's world.

Dr. Robert Lewis has been a member of St. Luke's since his early childhood.  He has worked with our youth, serves on Vestry, and is also a member of the Commission on Ministry for the Diocese of New Jersey.

Preacher: The Rev. Dirk C. Reinken

An exploration of the meaning of Christian vocation. Vocation comes from the Latin vocare, which means to be called out. Christian vocation is God's call to each of us to go forth as servants of the Gospel, as ministers.

We are each gifted by the Spirit to participate in Christ's ministry of reconciliation. Reconciliation means, in its broadest sense, the building up of community - breaking down barriers, overcoming divisions, drawing together.

In discerning our vocation, Frederick Buechner's words describe it well: "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."  This Easter season, framed as it is by the giving of the Holy Spirit on Easter Day in John's Gospel, and on the 50th Day (Pentecost) according to St. Luke, is a time for us discern our vocation, how God has gifted us in baptism, and called us to use that gift in service to the ministry of reconciliation in the world.

Preacher: The Rev. Dirk C. Reinken, Rector

Duration:  11 min 07 seconds

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! This is the faith of the church that we are called to proclaim, and the life we are called to live.

Using the example of The Rev. Canon Andrew White and the Anglican Church of St. George, the preacher reminds us that the way to faithful living and faithful service amid the challenges of the world is to follow Paul's encouragement: Seek the things that are above. Set your mind on Christ.

Christ is risen, the world has changed.  Though we may not always see that, the more we live as if it were true, the more we come to see that it is, indeed, true.

 Surrendering is our pathway back to God's love - our task is to allow ourselves to let go and give God the burdens, so the light of God can shine through us.

Verse: "The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,and he shall bear their iniquities." (Isaiah 53:9)

There are at least two ways to look at the Atonement.  One is the idea that Jesus went to the Cross to take the punishment that was due for us - that Jesus took upon him the wrath of an angry God that was otherwise our just punishment.

Another way is the idea that, on the Cross, Jesus is standing with us in the depths of our human brokeness.  By Jesus standing with us, the power of that brokeness to separate us from God and each other is somehow put to an end once and for all.  Through his free self-offering, Jesus is suffering with us and for us so that suffering can be transformed into new life. This understanding of the Crucifixion is at the heart of the Anglican tradition.

The Glory of the Cross that John speaks of in the Gospel, therefore, is the glory of God with us.  The name Emmanuel for the Savior announced at Jesus' birth means God With Us.  The full meaning of that name comes clear on Good Friday.

Verse:  John 13:2
"Knowing that . . .he had come from God and was going to God."

Maundy Thursday is about the creation of community, about Jesus using the supreme act of love of self-offering to remind us of our origins, our purpose, and our destiny as God's beloved.