Trinity Episcopal Church

Fr Dave’s contact information: (207) 284-4852, or by email at: fatherdavedalzell@gmail.com

Fr. Dave is available by appointment. Please use the contact information above.

A weekly message from Father Dave:

Sunday’s Readings can be found here:
Readings for Sunday, March 29th

This Sunday’s readings are great, and are readings filled with a message of hope for a time like this. In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear about Jesus raising Lazarus from the grave. One of my favorite parts of the story is when Lazarus stumbles out from the tomb, all resurrected, and yet still bound. And in his Gospel, John writes that: “Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’” For Lazarus, there’s this challenging moment when he’s suddenly alive again and yet still bound, and probably confused and scared. Perhaps we can relate to Lazarus in that moment, raised to new life, but bound, and waiting to be set free.

This Sunday’s Gospel is actually one of my favorite stories about Jesus in all of the Gospels, and the reason why is SO relevant to this moment of time we are now in. It is in this story about Lazarus, where Jesus weeps at the news of the death of his friend. And of all the things Jesus was, in all of the Gospels, one of my favorite and I think most relatable images of Jesus, is that of a friend, moved to tears, at the death of his friend.

Above and beyond everything else that Jesus was and did in the Gospels, Jesus was also a friend. Which is a way that we can be like Jesus, for others. We can be a friend for others, a loving caring friend, just as Jesus was for Mary, and Martha, and Lazarus, people who were Jesus’ friends.

Through our friendships, we actually get to be just like Jesus. Which is really cool, when you think about it. And so during this super weird, strange, and scary time, when we pick up the phone and call one another, or send a text, or an email, or FaceTime, or Skype, or zoom in for a cocktail, or drive by someone’s house to honk and wave, or go to the grocery store for a neighbor, however we reach out to one another, in whatever ways we check in on our friends, we are literally loving and caring for one another just as Jesus, in today’s Gospel, loves and cares for his friend Lazarus, and his friend Martha, and his friend Mary.

In one of our faith’s core stories about resurrection, we also get this great sub-story where we learn that Jesus had friends, and cared about them. Just like us. How have your friends cared for you, in the past week? How will you care for your friends, in the week ahead? All of it is opportunity to be like Jesus, and none of it requires walking on water, or being perfect, or super-human in any way. In today’s Gospel, one of the things we learn about Jesus, is that being like Jesus can be as simple as caring for friends, a thing we are all called to do, during this un-expected time.

As always, please wash your hands.
And stay calm.
And check on your neighbors.
And call one another.

In Christ,
Fr Dave

PLEASE NOTE:

The Bishop has suspended access to all the church buildings in the Diocese. The letter from the Bishop is available on the Diocesan website and facebook page. During this time, no one should be stopping by the church for any reason.  Questions can be directed to Father Dave Dalzell.

The Episcopal Church is posting daily morning and evening reflections, on their website and facebook page:
https://episcopalchurch.org

Sunday Worship is being live streamed from the National Cathedral, on their website and on facebook:
https://cathedral.org/online/

The Diocese of Maine is posting lots of helpful information on their website and facebook page:
https://www.episcopalmaine.org

Bishop Brown wrote a Sunday sermon reflection for churches in the diocese this week. The video will go live on the Diocesan website and facebook at noon on Sunday. You can read the message here:
Bishop Brown’s Sermon for Sunday, March 29th