Giotto di Bondone (1295-1337): Nozze di Cana (1304-1306), Public Domain

11 January 2022

Dear Friends in Christ,

Evensong and Benediction returned this past Sunday at 5:30 pm. It was a particularly beautiful offering of worship. The fading of the sun through the stained glass windows mystically illuminated the church, and the acolytes and musicians executed their ministries masterfully. As well, despite the current challenges of the pandemic, we have been able to safely continue solemn masses, and those services are building strength upon strength.

Our weekday worship is showing the fruits of devotion too. As I am writing this, I have been reflecting on several of this week's daily Evensongs chanted by the congregation. Monday through Friday, Evensong is sung in the church at 5:30 pm. This is a practice that we began during Advent, partly because some of you wanted to sing the Advent O Antiphons* for the Magnificat.

Even though the pandemic has been hard on the church, St. Mark’s has persisted amid the challenges. In fact, not only have we persisted, but at times we are thriving. Our Advent Lessons and Carols service for the First Sunday of Advent was a great success, welcoming newcomers to our church with a “well-stocked” reception. The solemn masses of Advent and Christmas were inspiring, and I continue to receive emails and texts from parishioners who absolutely loved the Epiphany high mass. The congregation showed amazing generosity by purchasing over 100 gifts for Responsive Caregivers, and our stewardship campaign produced modest gains.

All this being said, I can tell that the pandemic is weighing upon the congregation. The congregation has become more dependent on the choir when singing, and to be frank, most of you smile a lot less than before. Your faces seem heavier these days, and I can tell that many of you are “full of thoughts.” I said a long time ago that 2022 could be the toughest time during the pandemic, because this is when everything is supposed to return to normal, and yet no one feels normal right now.

This Sunday we have the privilege of hearing the Gospel story from John about the wedding at Cana. This story about God’s super-abundance is exactly what the church needs to hear at this moment. Six jugs of water designated for the rites of purification are transformed into the most delicious wine by Jesus. Each one of us is currently in a state of constant COVID purification. Testing, health monitoring, physical distancing, masks, vaccines, boosters, plastic barriers, banned hugs, Zoom meetings, daily case counts, and general anxiety have us in a looped state of neurotic purification. Sadly, such jugs of tasteless water will not bring us happiness, but only sterility of heart and soul. Beyond all our precautions, we need the super-abundant life of our feasting Lord Jesus if we are to have true joy, and thankfully such joy is eternal, outlasting every challenge of our present life.

As this pandemic grinds on, my advice to you is to pray more and worship more. This is not the time to stay seated or to push pause on the spiritual life, but rather this is the time to stand up and move forward into God. God has blessed the world immensely through the miracles of science, vaccines, and medicine, and God’s super-abundance continues to multiply through the Sacraments of the church and the faith of the people. Pandemics fade but the gifts of God are eternal. Do not forget that you are a Christian, and God has reserved the best wine for this very moment.

Blessings,
Father Paul Lillie +
Rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Honolulu

* The O Antiphons are refrains for the Song of Mary [Magnificat] sung during Evensong from December 17-23, the greater weekdays of Advent leading up to Christmas. If you wish to read the texts, look up the hymn O come, O come, Emmanuel in the Hymnal 1982. Each antiphon is a different stanza of that hymn. At Evensong on these days we sing the specific verse of Veni Emmanuel before and after the Song of Mary.