Fr. Rick Spicer

This week many seniors around the country celebrated their graduation from high school and college. A milestone they will long remember although they are not likely to recall years from now the words they heard when they wore their caps and gowns. Nonetheless, they may recall the spirit of the advice they heard that this special moment was not just a graduation; it was also a commencement exercise.

They have ended one phase of their lives and are about to begin another as they move from familiar comfortable surroundings to new settings and experiences, be it another campus, a new job, enlisting in the armed forces, getting married, to name but some of the paths they could take. As Tom Wolfe once said, “You can’t go home again.”

…

PentecostRead More »

Back when GPS and smart phones didn’t exist, I relied on Thomas Brothers Maps to find my way around the rural areas of Snohomish County to visit parishioners. A family invited me one Thanksgiving to join them for dinner. The husband told me that he was going to deep fry the turkey. With great excitement, I studied the map to find the way to their home, located miles outside of Arlington.

When I got to their street, I couldn’t find their house. When I reached the end of the road, I studied the map again and discovered, that like many roads in Snohomish County, this one resumed on the other side of the hill. That meant driving all the way back to Arlington and taking another road out of town to get to my friends’ home. By the time I arrived, they had finished dinner. Too bad I didn’t ask for directions before leaving the rectory!

…

5th Sunday of EasterRead More »

Imagine yourself as an astronaut, walking outside your spacecraft, attached so you won’t drift off, watching the earth spin in awesome beauty.  Your mission is now finished and your air reserve is almost depleted. You reach for the hatch to open the door but there is none there. Alarmed, you scour the bolted surface but the door you came out is gone. Suddenly, a new and unseen door is thrown open and you are pulled in to safety. The one who threw open the unseen door becomes for you the gate to life.

Usually we don’t give much thought to doors or gates. We expect them to allow us to enter and leave when we want but sometimes they are locked or the handle is hidden from sight, preventing us from passing through to the other side.While we usually think of Jesus as the good shepherd, in this gospel, he also compares himself to a door when he tells his listeners, “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” As our door to God, Jesus pulls us to safety out of the cold dark world of sin into the warmth and light of God’s unconditional love and forgiveness.

…

4th Sunday of EasterRead More »

Today’s Gospel tells the familiar story of doubting Thomas. To me it is understandable that Thomas had doubts. He doubted the other disciples. He doubted himself. And he doubted the Lord. This changed when he saw the risen Lord. Upon seeing him, Thomas’ response was, “My Lord and My God.” Jesus’ next comment was meant for us, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

There are times when we too have doubts in our faith. That is part of being human. Faith asks us to take a step, a leap actually, away from all that we can see, hear and sense, a step away from the limits of our rational capabilities and a step into mystery. Doubts in faith are normal. It takes courage and determination to say, “I still believe, Lord. I believe in your Word. I believe that your Son became one of us as the Bible said He would. I believe that His sacrificial love on the cross earned for us the gift of new life. I believe that no matter what my eyes see or don’t see, my ears hear or don’t hear, no matter what my mind can determine or what its limits are, you are still there for me, loving me, filling me with a joy that doesn’t go away.”

…

2nd Sunday of EasterRead More »

On behalf of Deacon Larry and our parish staff, a Blessed Easter to all of you. Thank you for joining us on this special feast. Easter comes very late this year – although for those who can make it until 2038, Easter will come even later: April 25. Personally, by that date I am hoping to celebrate the Resurrection face to face with Jesus elsewhere.

You are here this morning because, like me, you know that Easter is the heart of our Christian faith. Had Jesus not risen, he would have been remembered as a footnote in history, some upstart crucified for calling himself “king of the Jews.” I am convinced that Jesus’ death and resurrection isproof of everlasting life. Not only faith, but also the evidence of an empty tomb, burial garments left behind, and the testimony of people like Peter and Mary Magdalene who saw the risen Lord have led many to that same conclusion

…

EasterRead More »