St. Ed Said

The Rev. Aron Kramer, Rector St Edward's Episcopal Church Sunday, May 10, 2026 Acts 17:22-31 Psalm 66:7-18 1 Peter 3:13-22 John 14:15-21 Last week I asked: what if the God you are waiting to meet is already outside? Outside the walls, the building, the places we have designated as holy. Already in the street, the wrong places, the off-center places, in the Galilees of our lives. Today's Epistle has been niggling at my brain for years. I always find myself unsettled by this text. But I had a revelation this week, and I wonder if we have in this story an answer to that question. Paul is standing in the middle of Athens, and he is upset. Acts tells us Paul was distressed — the Greek word is paroxynō. It is a visceral word, meaning agitation, close to rage. He has walked through this city and the sheer number of religious shrines and devotion has undone him. Every corner, every street, another shrine. Ancient writers said Athens had more gods than people, and something about it uns...

As many of you know, the Alleluia Booklet was distributed at Easter to everyone who attended the service. It was also sent to many others via mail. Today, May 7th, 2026 is the day the story of Eliot's desire for a hug comes up. I wanted to share this with you all and suggest that you start thinking about an Alleluia story for the 2027 booklet. Here is my story from today, May 7th, 2026: _____________________________________________________________________________________ It was the longest moment of my life; I hope I never have to experience it again. When the Dr, the fellow actually, finished telling us about Leukemia, words that went in one ear and out the other and how this disease was affecting Eliot’s blood and bone marrow, the Fellow finished by explaining how they would cure it. The words “cure it” screamed through my head, when he finished and had left the room, I remember this feeling of great elation, great joy, great relief and I hugged Sara, Eliot’s Mom, lin a big bear ...

Did you all notice the small offhanded note in the Acts reading today? Not the vision of heaven Steven has at this moment. It’s not the stones being prepared to be thrown. Not the prayer of forgiveness that ends the story. It’s the coats, the coats given to one of the most important biblical characters in all of the New Testament. Acts tells us that when the crowd rushed Stephen, the witnesses, the men who had testified against him, the men whose job it was to throw the first stones, these men laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. It seems like such a small detail in the middle of a murder. I tried to do a little research about stoning, because as we hear over and over, the Jews did not put people to death. They did not have a method of capital punishment. However, stoning was not a chaotic mob throwing whatever was at hand. I am not sure what you all know about this process, but it is much more methodical and intentional than we think. Stoning was a procedure. It ...