The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it....

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it……

It is Christmas Day and I am sitting at my parent’s house with my Grandmother, my Aunt Sally, my Uncle Donald, my brother Thomas and my parents. Of course Lucille (Thomas’ dog) and Owen are with us too. I am certainly missing my brother Knox’s presence.

Brunch is in the oven and we have just returned from the Christmas Day service at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Daddy officiated and I preached. I also got to stand at the altar during Eucharist and learn from one of the best. It was a glorious Christmas present! One of my gifts to Daddy was to preach my sermon without him reading it. As you know, Daddy reads everything I write. I really wanted him to just enjoy the sermon. I think he did and so did the rest of my family. So, I thought you all might enjoy reading it as well.

My heart is full and I am so thankful for the amazing Christmas present that God gave us, His son Jesus. Happy Birthday Jesus and Merry Christmas to you all!

Christmas Day Sermon
December 25, 2011
John 1:1-14
Preached at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Murfreesboro, TN

I will never forget the moment, I was in deep pain and felt I couldn’t go on. It was a few days before I was to meet with the Commission on Ministry and I was petrified! How could I possibly do this? How could I sit in front of a whole lot of people that I didn’t know and pour my guts out on the table? I just couldn’t fathom the fact that God was calling me to be a priest. I would have to walk away from this meeting and just have faith. Extreme faith. Faith I wasn’t sure that I had. I had convinced myself that I couldn’t possibly become a priest. I called your rector, who happens to also be my Dad, and cried and cried and expressed all of my fears. He listened and let me panic for a minute. Then, he very calmly said to me, Mary Balfour, look for the light. He repeated himself, look for the light. Once more, look for the light.

In today’s Gospel reading, John tells us, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome us.” John is rejoicing that the light had come! The people needed to know then and now, the light had come in to the world! “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” Hallelujah, he is here! His Father, our Father made this miraculous day happen. He sent us His son. To teach us to love our neighbor, to show us God’s immeasurable love and most importantly to love us no matter how dark the day may feel. Our Lord and Savior is here. He will help us find the light and not be overcome by the darkness.

John states, “the world did not know Him.” It is a hard concept to get our minds around now, the world did not know Jesus? How can that be? How is that possible? You mean there wasn’t a huge party for Him! That seems impossible, doesn’t it?

One thing I have learned this semester in seminary is how much understanding the context in which the Gospels were written can help us to grasp their full meaning. When studying the Bible, I often have to think about what it would mean to live during Jesus’ days. I guess it would seem pretty strange, doesn’t it? right? There is a baby, born in a manager to a virgin no less. He grows up to be young man performing miracles all over of the place. He asks the people to trust and to have faith. Sometimes they didn’t except him. Often He was rejected. As humans, I think we can understand that the concept of rejection. It is not a comfortable feeling to be unwelcome or isolated. Several times this semester, far away from home and lonely, I have had to tell myself to look for the light, look for Jesus.

Jesus didn’t give up though. He was persistent. He taught them and us how to be children of God. John goes on to express to us, “But to all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of man, but of God.”

Even though it is His Birthday, Jesus is the one giving us a present. He is teaching us how to be in relationship with God. In actuality, it is the greatest gift of all time. There isn’t a box big enough for it. There isn’t enough wrapping paper to wrap it. There isn’t a bow big enough. There is a card though and it says: “Here is your present. Here is your gift. Trust me this is the greatest gift I can give you. Be in a relationship with God. Be His child. He loves you so much and I am here to show you. I am here to show you that He is the way out of the darkness. He is your light.”

Finally, John says, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” We have seen His glory, working in us everyday. He is helping us be the people He is calling us to be. Helping us be His children. Just think, Jesus walked this earth. He helped so many see the light then and now and all the time in between. All we have to do is say YES! Show me the light!

So, Jesus thank you for helping me find the light. I did look for you that day in my fear and anxiety and I found you. You helped me get through that day and many others. Thank you for helping me to realize my call in life. Thank you for the best present you could ever give me, showing me the way in the midst of my own darkness and loving me for exactly who I am, your child.

Today is a holiday for gift giving. God gave us Jesus. Jesus gave us a way back to the Father. Be like our God, and give yourself and each other the gifts of grace and peace, forgiveness and light. May these be with you today and throughout the year. Merry Christmas. Amen.

Blessings to you all as the ride continues…Mary Balfour

Give thanks with a grateful heart.......

Give thanks with a grateful heart…

I will admit this was a tough week. Here are the words that have been playing over and over in my head all week: Papers, Lord give me the strength, papers, get your thoughts organized about what you are writing, papers, Samuel (I am writing a paper on him), theological reflection (I am writing a paper on it), papers, Lord thank you for giving me the strength, oh and a bit of little Hebrew…

I am so thankful to have completed my first semester of Seminary!!! Thank you Lord for guiding me all the way. I did it with your help and I give thanks with a grateful heart.

I do have a few things to finish: papers, finals and Bishop Parsley visiting! Owen and I will be heading to the Deep South on Thursday. I am going to my cousins wedding, spending time with friends in Birmingham and then heading home to TN for Christmas with my precious family.

I want to take this opportunity to thank my classmates and all of those here at the Seminary of the Southwest for a wonderful first semester. You have welcomed me with open hearts. You have supported and loved me, and for that I will be eternally grateful. We come from all walks of life, but we are one in the Body of Christ. Watch out world, you have an amazing group of future priests coming your way!

I really can’t thank you all enough for supporting me on this journey. It is an incredible ride and let me tell you I am one lucky girl to be a part of it. I am so excited about what the future holds for all of us. I look forward to continuing to share my journey with you next semester.

One last thing, if you haven’t read Bishop Sloan’s reflection on his future as the next Bishop of Alabama please do so. Here is the link: www.dioala.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/3150632. Together we can do it!

Blessings to you all as the ride continues…Mary Balfour

Saints and Bishops.....

Saints and Bishops…

Every time there is a feast day on the liturgical calendar, we celebrate it at Christ Chapel! Wednesday was St. Andrew’s day and we rejoiced with a high mass Scottish service using the 1637 Scottish Book of Common Prayer. It was such a magnificent service! I am not sure I have ever been to a mass that “high” and I really appreciated it. The service was filled with old language, incense and bagpipes. St. Andrew’s day was a highlight in my week.

Bishop Parsley is coming to Austin to visit my fellow postulants and me from the Diocese of Alabama. We are thrilled that he is coming to visit. It will be exciting to show off our school to him. This news was another highlight of my week.

Several of my classmates and I have been working on a project to show off the new SSW videos. (If you haven’t checked them out, please do: http://www.ssw.edu/videos.) Every bishop will receive a copy of the video in January. We have been writing our bishops and other bishops we may know, encouraging them to watch the video and share the video with people interested in coming to SSW. This is a really fun project. I love SSW and I want to do all I can to make sure that future seminarians come to visit! If you are a bishop and you are reading this, be on the look out for your videos!

I also want to encourage you all to check out the SSW Advent meditations. I had the honor of writing one myself. You can go online everyday and hear the person that wrote it read their meditation. I really enjoy starting my day off listening to these thoughtful and meaningful meditations. www.ssw.edu/advent2011.

I continue to work on papers and exams and I am making it! I have a full weekend of writing and preparing for a group project that is coming up next week. I ask for your continued prayers as my classmates and I finish out our first semester of seminary.

I continue to whisper your names in Chapel and I celebrate you all in my heart and prayers.

Blessings to you all as the ride continues…Mary Balfour