The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation

The Angel’s Easter Command - #EasterDay #sermon by Fr. Darren The resurrection account we heard read today comes from the Gospel of Mark, the earliest of the four Gospels. The evangelist tells us that three women disciples of Jesus got up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. You see, he had been so hastily entombed that his body had not been washed and anointed with perfume, as was the custom. Now, the women clearly put some thought into what th...ey would need. The story mentions how they went out and bought aromatic spices in order to perfume the body. But they forgot one rather important fact: the tomb was sealed with a very large and very heavy stone. It is only as they are walking to the tomb that they remember this little detail. They don’t have a team of strong men with them. They don’t even have a crow bar. And the chances of success are pretty minimal. Now, most reasonable people would have turned back at this point and rounded up a work crew. But the three women do not, in fact, turn back. They just keep going. Were they being foolish? Or did they just have great faith? I suspect it was the latter. Read the full sermon here https://incarnationsf.tumblr.com//the-angels-easter-command #easter2021 #easter #eastersunday #easterday #resurrection #gospelofmark #marymagdalene #marymotherofgod #marymotherofJesus #Salome #womendisciples #fear #proclamation #GoodNews #christisrisen #ChristIsAlive #theology #Christianity #Jesus #jesuschrist #episcopal #episcopalian #episcopalchurch #AnglicanCommunion #Anglican

Alleluia Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia. Happy #Easter! Alleluia. Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast,... Not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia. Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So also consider yourselves dead to sin, and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia. Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Alleluia. #EasterSunday #Easter2021 #happyeaster #HappyEaster2021 #episcopal #episcopalchurch #episcopalian #AnglicanCommunion #Anglican #christisrisen #ChristIsAlive

Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. #GoodFriday #goodfriday2021 #jesus #JesusChrist #episcopal #episcopalchurch #AnglicanCommunion #AnglicanCommunion

The Messiah’s Two Commandments - #sermon by Fr. Darren for Sunday October 25, 2020. In today’s Gospel reading, we get two snippets from a debate between Jesus and the Pharisees. The first snippet is about which commandment in the Law of Moses is the greatest. The second snippet is about the identity of the Messiah. Let me deal with snippet #2 first. Jesus wants to silence the Pharisees who have been plaguing him with trick questions. So he asks them a riddle about the identi...ty of the Messiah. He quotes the first verse of Psalm 110, written by King David about the crowning of a future Messiah. In that verse, David refers to the Messiah as my Lord. Now, biblical prophecy foretold that the Messiah would be a descendent of David. And in a patriarchal culture such as ancient Israel, the ancestor is usually given higher rank than the descendent. Why, then, would David refer to his own descendent as my Lord? Well, the Pharisees can’t solve this riddle, and they wisely stop pestering Jesus. We, on the other hand, have the answer. As the foster son of Joseph, Jesus the Messiah is the descendent of King David by adoption and can legitimately be called a Son of David. But as the only Son of God, Jesus outranks any earthly king, including his royal ancestor. Read the full sermon here https://incarnationsf.tumblr.com//the-messiahs-two-command #SummaryOfTheLaw #LoveOfGod #LoveOfNeighbor #Messiah #SonOfDavid #episcopal #episcopalian #episcopalchurch #anglicancommunin #anglican #anglicanchurch #AnglicanCommunion #theology #Christianity #Jesus

1) Upcoming Events (dial-in instructions to be sent separately) Friday, 10/23: Chinese Bible Study via Zoom, 3:30 p.m. Sunday, 10/25: Morning Prayer by Conference Call, 10 a.m.; Monday, 10/26: Vestry Meeting, 1 p.m.;... Friday, 10/30: Chinese Bible Study via Zoom, 3:30 p.m. Saturday, 10/31: Daylight Saving Time ends. Set your clocks back one hour before going to bed. Sunday, 11/1: Morning Prayer by Conference Call, 10 a.m. (All Saints’ Day & Pledge Ingathering); Tuesday, 11/3: Election Day; Friday, 11/6: Chinese Bible Study via Zoom, 3:30 p.m. 2) Annual Stewardship Campaign: The annual stewardship campaign has begun, and you should have received a stewardship letter and pledge card by now. (If you haven’t, let me know!) As you may imagine, next year will be a difficult one financially. We have had to cancel all the concerts and all the major fundraisers this year. Please give as generously as you can. The date of the Pledge Ingathering is Sunday, November 1All Saints’ Day. You may mail your pledge card back to the church any time between now and then. Thank you for your continued support of this parish! 3) Incarnation Radio Hour: The parish now has a monthly radio hour, broadcast via the parish’s Zoom account. The basic idea is that folks would volunteer to read a short story or poem, sing a song, play an instrumental piece, or perform a short radio play. Please contact Mathew Chacko if you are interested in participating or if you have any ideas for the program. The next Radio Hour is scheduled for Wednesday, November 11, at 4 p.m.

Give to God the Things that Are God’s - #sermon for Sunday October 18, 2020 Today’s Gospel reading looks like a straightforward debate over taxes, something we’re all familiar with. But there’s more going on here than meets the eye. An unnatural coalition of Jesus’ opponents has come together to bring Jesus down. I say unnatural, because the Pharisees were a Judean religious sect, while the Herodians were political lackeys of Rome from outside Judea. The Pharisees and the H...erodians didn’t have anything in common, other than their antipathy to Jesus. But as the saying goes: politics makes strange bedfellows. The Pharisees and Herodians posed the perfect gotcha question: Is it in accordance with God’s law to pay the Roman poll tax? It was a trick question, you see, and there was no right answer. If Jesus answered, No, it is not lawful to pay the Roman tax, then the Romans would have arrested him for sedition. If he answered, Yes, it is right to pay the tax, then he would have alienated a large percentage of the Jewish people, who resented the heavy taxation of their Roman masters. Either way, it would be the end of the Jesus movement. Or so Jesus’ enemies hoped! Read the full sermon here https://incarnationsf.tumblr.com//give-to-god-the-things-t #renderUntoCaesar #gotchaQuestion #denarius #authorityOfTheState #imageofGod #selfdedication #radicalStewardship #episcopal #episcopalian #episcopalchurch #anglicancommunin #AnglicanCommunion #anglicanchurch #theology #Christianity #jesuschrist

Dressing for the Feast - #sermon for Sunday October 11, 2020 In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew, we find Jesus arguing with the chief priests and Pharisees of Jerusalem. He tells them a parable, an allegory really, about the Kingdom of Heaven, an allegory that ends with a dire warning. He likens the Kingdom of Heaven to a royal wedding banquet. Now, the key to understanding any allegory is to know what each person, place, and thing in the story represents. In a sense, all...egories are written in code. This particular allegory is quite complicated. So, let me just go ahead and give you the decoded version. image God sent his prophets to the leaders of Israel and invited them into his Kingdom. But they refused. God sent more prophets. Some leaders of the people dismissed the call because they were more interested in money and power. Others reacted violently to God’s call: they killed God messengers, the prophets. Because of the violence of these leaders, God allowed their nation to be destroyed. God then sent missionaries and apostles to go far and wide, from one end of the earth to the other, to invite other people into the Kingdom of Heaven. And the missionaries and apostles invited many peoplesome righteous and some unrighteousto join the community of the New Covenant. Then, in the fullness of time, God came to examine those who had responded to this second invitation. And he found that some had not responded with a whole heart. Some had not spiritually prepared themselves for life in the Kingdom. These people were handed over to the angels to be cast into Hell. For many are invited to share eternal life, but few are found worthy, few are chosen. Read the full sermon here https://incarnationsf.tumblr.com//6/dressing-for-the-feast #ParableOfTheGreatBanquet #allegory #Israel #Church #KingdomOfHeaven #LastJudgment #spiritualPreparation #Jesus #Christianity #theology #episcopal #episcopalchurch #episcopalian #anglicancommunin #AnglicanCommunion #anglicanchurch

1) Upcoming Events (dial-in instructions to be sent separately) Friday, 10/16: Chinese Bible Study via Zoom, 3:30 p.m. Sunday, 10/18: Morning Prayer by Conference Call, 10 a.m.; Monday, 10/19 Finance Committee Meeting, 1 p.m.;... Friday, 10/23: Chinese Bible Study via Zoom, 3:30 p.m. Sunday, 10/25: Morning Prayer by Conference Call, 10 a.m.; Monday, 10/26: Vestry Meeting, 1 p.m.; Friday, 10/30: Chinese Bible Study via Zoom, 3:30 p.m. 2) Annual Stewardship Campaign: The annual stewardship campaign has begun, and you should have received a stewardship letter and pledge card by now. (If you haven’t, let me know!) As you may imagine, next year will be a difficult one financially. We have had to cancel all the concerts and all the major fundraisers this year. Please give as generously as you can. The date of the Pledge Ingathering is Sunday, November 1All Saints’ Day. You may mail your pledge card back to the church any time between now and then. Thank you for your continued support of this parish! 3) Incarnation Radio Hour: The parish now has a monthly radio hour, broadcast via the parish’s Zoom account. The basic idea is that folks would volunteer to read a short story or poem, sing a song, play an instrumental piece, or perform a short radio play. Please contact Mathew Chacko if you are interested in participating or if you have any ideas for the program. The next Radio Hour is scheduled for Wednesday, November 11, at 4 p.m.

Incarnation Radio Hour presents Stephen Vincent Benét's "The Devil and Daniel Webster" Date and Time: Wednesday October 14, 4 p.m. Pacific time. For the zoom call details please e-mail [email protected] Free to attend!... This is a short story by Steven Vincent Benét about a New Hampshire farmer who sold his soul to the devil in return for seven years of good crops. When the devil came to collect, the farmer called on Daniel Webster, who was born in New Hampshire but was Senator from Massachusetts and one of the greatest orators in American history, to save him. It’s a wonderful story with some good things to say about what it means to be an American - a useful story to hear just before an election. Here’s a sample of Webster’s oratory, a speech he made in the Senate that was once often memorized by schoolchildren, that may still have some relevance. When my eyes shall be turned to behold for the last time the sun in heaven, may I not see him shining on the broken and dishonored fragments of a once glorious Union; on States dissevered, discordant, belligerent; on a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal blood! Let their last feeble and lingering glance rather behold the gorgeous ensign of the republic, now known and honored throughout the earth, still full high advanced, its arms and trophies streaming in their original lustre, not a stripe erased or polluted, not a single star obscured, bearing for its motto, no such miserable interrogatory as What is all this worth? nor those other words of delusion and folly, Liberty first and Union afterwards; but everywhere, spread all over in characters of living light, blazing on all it sample folds, as they float over the sea and over the land, and in every wind under the whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear to every true American heartLiberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable! #StephenVincentBenet #TheDevilAndDanielWebster #radioPlay #radio #play

Producing the Fruits of the Kingdom - #sermon by Fr. Darren for Sunday October 4, 2020. The parable in today’s Gospel reading is commonly called the Parable of the Wicked Tenants. What Jesus has done is to take a prophecy of Isaiah that bordered on the edge of being an allegory, and he has reworked it into a full-fledged allegory about his own time, with himself as one of the characters. Just about everyone agrees that the landowner is God; the vineyard is Israel; the tenants... are the political leaders; the landowner’s slaves are the prophets; and the landowner’s son is Jesus himself. image The point of the allegory is clear. The leaders of the nation will come to ruin, because they have ignored the will of God again and again and would stop at nothing to get what they want, even if that meant killing God’s Son. And yet, we are told that their destruction is not just because they killed the Son of God, but also because they did not produce the fruits of the Kingdom. Read the full sermon here https://incarnationsf.tumblr.com//producing-the-fruits-of- #parable #parableofthewickedtenants #fruitsofthekingdom #FruitsoftheSpirit #ElectionsHaveConsequences #judgment #episcopal #episcopalchurch #episcopalian #anglicancommunin #anglican #theology #Christianity #jesus

Dear Members and Friends of Incarnation, We are about to enter a combined flu/COVID-19 season. Please get your flu shot before the end of October. It just might save your life! Darren Miner+... 1) Upcoming Events (dial-in instructions to be sent separately) Friday, 10/9: Chinese Bible Study via Zoom, 3:30 p.m. Sunday, 10/11: Morning Prayer by Conference Call, 10 a.m.; Wednesday, 10/14: Incarnation Radio Hour, 4 p.m.; Friday, 10/16: Chinese Bible Study via Zoom, 3:30 p.m. Sunday, 10/18: Morning Prayer by Conference Call, 10 a.m.; Monday, 10/19: Finance Committee Meeting, 1 p.m.; Friday, 10/23: Chinese Bible Study via Zoom, 3:30 p.m. 2) Incarnation Radio Hour: The parish now has a monthly radio hour, broadcast via the parish’s Zoom account. The basic idea is that folks would volunteer to read a short story or poem, sing a song, play an instrumental piece, or perform a short radio play. Please contact Mathew Chacko if you are interested in participating or if you have any ideas for the program. The next Radio Hour is scheduled for Wednesday, October 14, at 4 p.m. The program consists of a dramatic reading of Stephen Vincent Benét’s patriotic short story, The Devil and Daniel Webster. 3) Annual Stewardship Campaign: The annual stewardship campaign has begun, and you should have received a stewardship letter and pledge card by now. (If you haven’t, let me know!) As you may imagine, next year will be a difficult one financially. We have had to cancel all the concerts and all the major fundraisers this year. Please give as generously as you can. The date of the Pledge Ingathering is Sunday, November 1All Saints’ Day. You may mail your pledge card back to the church any time between now and then. Thank you for your continued support of this parish!

Dear Members and Friends of Incarnation, Please be careful about going outdoors, or even opening your windows. The air quality is unhealthy, and it is very hot. If you have an N-95 or KN-95 mask, wear it when going outdoors. These masks will filter out most of the smoke particles. Lastly, try to stay cool, and drink plenty of water. As you must have heard by now, COVID-19 has reached the White House. Please pray fervently for the end of this terrible pandemic. And wear a mas...k when you must be out and about! May God + bless you and keep you. Darren Miner+ 1) Upcoming Events (dial-in instructions to be sent separately) Friday, 10/2: Chinese Bible Study via Zoom, 3:30 p.m. Sunday, 10/4: Morning Prayer by Conference Call (with Blessing of Pets), 10 a.m.; Friday, 10/9: Chinese Bible Study via Zoom, 3:30 p.m. Sunday, 10/11: Morning Prayer by Conference Call, 10 a.m.; Wednesday, 10/14: Incarnation Radio Hour, 4 p.m.; Friday, 10/16: Chinese Bible Study via Zoom, 3:30 p.m. 2) Annual Stewardship Campaign: The annual stewardship campaign has begun, and you should have received a stewardship letter and pledge card by now. (If you haven’t, let me know!) As you may imagine, next year will be a difficult one financially. We have had to cancel all the concerts and all the major fundraisers this year. Please give as generously as you can. The date of the Pledge Ingathering is Sunday, November 1All Saints’ Day. You may mail your pledge card back to the church any time between now and then. Thank you for your continued support of this parish! 3) Incarnation Radio Hour: The parish now has a monthly radio hour, broadcast via the parish’s Zoom account. The basic idea is that folks would volunteer to read a short story or poem, sing a song, play an instrumental piece, or perform a short radio play. Please contact Mathew Chacko if you are interested in participating or if you have any ideas for the program. The next Radio Hour is scheduled for Wednesday, October 14, at 4 p.m., and it will be hosted by Fr. Webber. So, mark you calendars!

Dear Members and Friends of Incarnation, Next Sunday, we use a new Meeting ID and a brand new Passcode to access the Morning Prayer conference call. You should have already received instructions. If not, let me know right away. Also, after Morning Prayer on Sunday, the bishop has asked us to watch a Diocesan Eucharist with the Presiding Bishop preaching, followed by a Diocesan Forum. Again, you should have already received instructions on how to access these two events. But i...f not, let me know. Lastly, Sunday, October 4, is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, and I will be blessing your pets in absentia at Morning Prayer. Send me the names of your current pets, and I will mention them by name in the blessing. Darren Miner+ 1) Upcoming Events (dial-in instructions to be sent separately) Friday, 9/25: Chinese Bible Study via Zoom, 3:30 p.m. Sunday, 9/27: Morning Prayer by Conference Call, 10 a.m.; Diocesan Eucharist, 11 a.m.; Diocesan Forum, 12:30 p.m. Monday, 9/28: Vestry Meeting by Conference Call, 1 p.m. Friday, 10/2: Chinese Bible Study via Zoom, 3:30 p.m. Sunday, 10/4: Morning Prayer by Conference Call (with Blessing of Pets), 10 a.m.; Friday, 10/9: Chinese Bible Study via Zoom, 3:30 p.m. 2) Diocesan Eucharist and Forum: The bishop has asked the people of the diocese to attend (virtually) a Diocesan Eucharist and Forum on Sunday, September 27. The Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Michael Curry, will be preaching at the Eucharist and will also take part in the Forum afterwards. The Eucharist begins at 11 a.m., and the Forum follows at 12:30 p.m. Detailed instructions for accessing these events have been sent out separately. Because the Presiding Bishop is preaching at the Eucharist, there will be no sermon at our Morning Prayer service that day. 3) Change to Our Sunday Worship: We have been notified by Zoom, the company that facilitates our Sunday conference call, that, starting September 27, there will be a change to the Meeting ID that we have been using and that we will also have to enter an additional numerical Passcode in order to access the conference call. The new dial-in instructions have already gone out. 4) Incarnation Radio Hour: The parish now has a monthly radio hour, broadcast via the parish’s Zoom account. The basic idea is that folks would volunteer to read a short story or poem, sing a song, play an instrumental piece, or perform a short radio play. Please contact Mathew Chacko if you are interested in participating or if you have any ideas for the program. The next Radio Hour is scheduled for Wednesday, October 14, at 4 p.m., and it will be hosted by Fr. Webber. So, mark you calendars! 5) Facemasks Available: JoAnn Stewart has made some cotton cloth face masks. If anyone would like one, send her an e-mail with your mailing address. Note that face masks are now required by law in San Francisco when leaving the house.

[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Michael Curry issued the following statement on Sept. 18 following the death of long-serving Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The late John Fitzgerald Kennedy once said, while on earth God’s work must truly be our own. The sacred cause of liberty and justice, dignity and equality decreed by God and meant for all has been advanced because while on earth Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made God’s work her own. Because of her the... ancient words of the prophet Micah to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God have found fulfillment. May we follow in her footprints. May she rest in the arms of the God who is love and the author of true justice. Rest In Peace, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Shalom. The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry Presiding Bishop and Primate The Episcopal Church #RBG #RBGRIP #rbglegacy https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org//presiding-bishops-s/

The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like #sermon for Sunday Sept 20 by Fr. Darren Miner. "n today’s Gospel reading, Jesus uses a rather disconcerting parable to try to explain the inexplicable, namely, the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven. I call this parable disconcerting, because the main character, the landowner, doesn’t act rationally. Any rational landowner would pay his workers according to the hours they had worked. But this guy does something quite different. He pays everyone a ...full day’s wages, even if they had worked only one hour. Why would he do that? Well, consider the fact that the workers in question are day laborers. They typically earn one denarius a day, barely enough to feed their family for one day. So if they don’t get hired for a full day’s wages, their family goes without food. The landowner’s payment scheme in Jesus’ parable isn’t rational. But it is merciful. The landowner knows what’s at stake for these day laborers, and he makes sure that their families will all eat, no matter how few hours the laborers had worked. Even so, the landowner’s actions are not fair and equitable. Presumably, the early workers could have been given a bonus. And if they had, we would have no complaint with this parable. But there is no bonus!" Read the full sermon here https://incarnationsf.tumblr.com//the-kingdom-of-heaven-is #parableoftheworkersinthevineyard #parableofthegenerousemployer #Godsmercy #Godsgnerosity #Godsfreeagency #Godsresponsiveness #humanenvy #episcopal #episcopalian #episcopalchurch #anglicancommunin #anglican #anglicanchurch #theology #christianity #sermon

You Need to Forgive - #sermon for Sunday Sept 13, 2020 by Fr. Darren Miner "Last week, the Gospel reading dealt with the discipline of troublemakers who sin against other members of the church. Today’s Gospel reading deals with forgiving those same troublemakers. It starts out with Peter asking Jesus a question: How often do I have to forgive a fellow disciple who keeps on sinning against me? What a telling question! It tells me that things haven’t changed much in 2000 years.... If you have ever served on a parish committee or volunteered for a church fundraiser, you know what kind of little sins can happen. One person seems a little too bossy. Another person seems a little too temperamental. Yet another just won’t stop talking. And the next thing you know, tempers flare! And if left unchecked, such little flare-ups can grow into large wildfires. Jesus’ answer to this problem is quite simple: forgiveness. Now, Peter imagines that he should forgive someone no more than seven times. That seems like a reasonable limit to him. But Jesus responds that we should forgive one another seventy-seven times. In other words, forgiveness has nothing to do at all with being reasonable." Read the full sermon here https://incarnationsf.tumblr.com//6297/you-need-to-forgive #forgiveness #parableOfTheUnforgivingServant #payitforward #whyWeShouldForgive #howtoforgive #episcopalchurch #episcopal #episcopalian #anglicancommunin #anglican #anglicanchurch #theology #jesus #christianity