The Little Way

Community of the Franciscan Way

EASTER 2014

1116 Iredell Street, Durham, NC 27705

Colossians 3:1-4
A homily on the
Epistle lection for
Easter Sunday.

FREE

http://cfw.dionc.org

Deep Thoughts with

Basil the Boastful

Fellowship with
Beggars

A reflection on
community,
possession(s), and
the Eucharist.

A call to give alms

and to share
fellowship with the
poor.

Page 2

Page 3

Page 1

Colossians 3:1-4
by Joe Sroka
1So

if you have been raised with Christ, seek the

things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the
right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things that are
above, not on things that are on earth, 3for you have
died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you
also will be revealed with him in glory.
!
A few months ago, winter storm Pax brought
Durham and much of the surrounding area to a
standstill. Street traffic halted to a parking lot as cars
spun their tires uselessly in the snow. Automobiles,
dependable in fairer weather, were no match for the
untreated roads, and consequently over the next few
days, many of us would remember what our legs
were for. If you ventured outdoors, you found the
Easter 2014

streets to be quiet and empty, save for the abandoned

cars. In contrast to this, the small Episcopal church
behind Whole Foods continued to bustle with its
usual life. Morning Prayer, followed by breakfast,
and Evening Prayer bookended the snow-blanketed
days as the community wrapped itself in the prayer
of the church, perhaps with an extra jacket or two.
The surrounding streets were darker without the
typical headlights from traffic; the only light that
could be seen, in fact, was that which escaped from
the windows of the stone church as several homeless
neighbors spread their blankets on the floor of the
parish hall. For this church, the rhythm of life, set to
the Daily Office, was the same as it was the day
before the snow and the same as it would be the day
after the snow melted.
!
When the sun returned and the snow melted,
the little church continued in its usual place in the
Colossians continued on page 4
1

PRIESTS AND
POLICEMEN
An easy essay by Peter Maurin
Jean Jacques Rousseau said:
Man is naturally good.
Business men say:
Man is naturally bad;
you can do nothing
with human nature.
If it is true,
as business men say,
that you can do nothing
with human nature,
then we need fewer priests
and more policemen.
But if God the Father
sent His own begotten Son
to redeem men,
then we need more priests
and fewer policemen.
The CFW celebrated the Feast of Peter Maurin on
May 15th with a simple meal of vegetable soup and
hard-boiled eggs.

Artwork by Kelly Steele

Deep Thoughts with Basil the Boastful

by Basil the Boastful
If community is good, then it is founded upon Eucharist. Eucharist is thanksgiving and is rooted in love of
Christ. Love of Christ is rooted in the works of Mercy. The works of mercy include Almsgiving, which is
giving your excess to those who have not the basic necessities to sustain life. Life often masquerades as
death, and death often masquerades as life. Those who give up their life for my sake will gain life. Life is
a reward for a good death. One can only have a good death if ones death is not ones own. Suicide is
owning one's death. The pinnacle of lust for possession is suicide. If one lusts for possession, great and
small, one cannot give alms; for alms are given for the love of Christ. One cannot possess the Word, but one
can be possessed by the Word. One cannot possess possessions, possessions possess one. To possess
possessions is the path to suicide. There are many possessions to possess and only One Word to possess
you. Because the Word possesses all things, great and small, to possess possessions is to deny the Word his
due possession, which is you. If a good community is based upon Eucharist it cannot possess possessions,
for they will possess the community. And a self-possessed community is dead. T
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Easter 2014

Fellowship with
Beggars

well be a fellow connoisseur of beer and spirits-who wanted something Lewis was able to give.
And his action was only possible because the man
had first done Lewis the favor of treating him as
someone who might see his request for what it
by The Rev. Rhonda Lee
was: an invitation to grow as a disciple of Jesus
Reprinted from The Little Way, Easter 2012
Christ. The two mens interaction was gracefilled
!
My favorite story about C.S. Lewis has him
in its simplicity, an amusing enactment of Jesus
walking with a friend along an Oxford street one
instruction to Give to everyone who begs from
late afternoon. A man approached the pair and
you (Matthew 5:42, Luke 6:30).
asked them for money. Interrupting himself in
!
I think of C.S. Lewis sometimes when
mid-sentence, Lewis emptied his pockets into the
someone I dont know asks me for money on the
hands of the stranger, who went away delighted.
street. If I have money in my purse or pockets, Ill
Aghast, Lewis companion sputtered, You know,
usually give some of it away. On those occasions
hes only going to spend your money on drink.
when I dont, I offer a word and what I intend as a
Lewis calm reply Very likely. But you know, if I
kind look (although I realize the beggar may not
had kept it, I would only have spent it on drink.
interpret it that way, and I cant blame them).
!
Even if Lewis had
!
And then I ask Gods
never written the Narnia
forgiveness. I think of Lewis,
books, which I have enjoyed
too, when I drop off
for decades now, I would
groceries and beer at the
love him for that honest
hospitality house on Ninth
statement. It shows that by
Street. Like most of my
the grace of God, Lewis had
brothers there, I enjoy a
moved beyond the myth of
drink with friends, which is
individualism that tells us
why I often include beer on
that the contents of our
my shopping list for the
pockets--or purses, or bank
house. But not only has it
or brokerage accounts--are
been too long since I took
ours alone; that we have
some groceries over there,
earned them through our
its been far too long since I
own effort; and that we
sat on the porch and drank a
know best how to dispose of
beer, or coffee, or iced tea
them. He showed neither
with the guys. Thats the
contempt for the man who
invitation from Jesus that
begged from him as a lazy
Ive been missing out on
Artwork
by
Fritz
Eichenberg
so-andso who should get a
lately: not simply to transfer
job and earn the right to enjoy a pint at the end of
some of the gifts God has given me to another of
the day; nor pity for him as one so desperate for a
his children, but to enjoy them together, in the
drink that he might spend Lewis gift in the pub
fellowship that God intends for all of us. This
rather than at the grocery store. Lewis didnt set
summer would be a great time to accept that
himself up as the strangers judge, to boost his
gracious offer. Maybe some of you will join me. T
own self-image in the process. He simply treated
the beggar as a fellow child of God--who might
Easter 2014

Colossians continued from page 1

background:
nearly
invisible.
Hidden. Content in its life of daily
prayer and shared meals. But for
those few days when snow
covered the town, it was the only
visible life. For a time, it seemed
that the thing above, Christ, was
the only thing visible on earth.
Christ, who joins us to his death
and resurrection in baptism, was
not hidden but present despite the
storm that otherwise emptied and
silenced the town.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up unto the Lord.
We say this every time the
church gathers for Eucharist.
Upon hearing the phrase, we can,
without much thought, say the
response.
The
liturgy
has
habituated us to say such things.
But what does it mean to say this?
For our hearts, and our bodies, are
on earth. How are they lifted to
the Lord? When we hear lift up
your hearts, we stand, the typical
posture
for
prayers
of
thanksgiving, and as such, we
participate in the action of the
Eucharist. The habituation of our
speech and action in the liturgy
illuminates
this
passage
of
Colossians. In other words, what
we say and do at the Eucharist can
help us understand where Jesus is
and where we are. What does it
mean to be raised with Christ or
hidden with Christ in God?
!
If then you have been
raised with Christ. In order to be
raised with Christ, we must die,
drowning in the waters of
baptism. At the Easter Vigil, we
4

hear that through the Paschal

mystery we are buried with
Christ by Baptism into his death,
and raised with him to newness of
life. Baptism, our union with
Christ
in
his
death
and
resurrection, joins us to Gods

Baptism is not
just a new life
focused on the
things above but
also a dying of our
old life, where we
are now hidden in
Christ.
family the Church, washes away
our sin, and gives us new life in
the Holy Spirit. The letter to the
Colossians recalls a past event. If
then you have been raised with
Christ.
!
While baptism by water in
the name of the Triune Lord is a
one-time event, its memory and
mark cannot be escaped. The
church habituates us to be
baptized people. We say the
Apostles Creed in daily prayer,
recalling our Baptismal Covenant.
When we enter the church, dip a
finger into the baptismal font, and
make a sign of the cross over our
bodies, we are remembering our
baptism. It is possible that we do
not have a clear memory of our
baptism, perhaps because it
occurred at an age before our
memory developed. Nevertheless,

the letter to the Colossians focuses

our attention on our union with
Christ by baptism into his death
and resurrection. The speech and
actions of the liturgy, too, focus on
our communion with Christ.
!
Since we have been raised
with Christ, once in baptism and
continually in the liturgy, what is
the consequence of that event?
Being raised with Christ pushes us
to look through ourselves to
heavenly things, to seek the
things that are above, where Christ
is, seated at the right hand of
God. This is not Gnosticism,
shunning the material for the
spiritual world. In fact, it was
Jesus, the second person of the
Trinity, who joined the divine and
human in one flesh. So our
baptism makes it possible for us to
see and participate in the things
above, the divine life of the Trinity.
Where Christ is, at the right hand
of God, has everything to do with
who Christ is, one with God and
conqueror
of
death.
Thus
Colossians continues: For you
have died, and your life is hidden
with Christ in God. Baptism is
not just a new life focused on the
things above but also a dying of
our old life, where we are now
hidden in Christ. While we remain
in our corruptible flesh, our life is
no longer in this world but hidden
with Christ.
!
But is there something we
should say about our own death if
we are united to Christs death?
Are we called to precisely follow
in Jesus death? Allen Verhey
Colossians continued on page 5
Easter 2014

Colossians continued from page 4

writes: [Jesus death] was a
horrible death a death by
violence, the result of an act of
judicial murder by a tyrannical
government. It was the premature
death of a man in the noontide of
his days (Isa. 38:10). It was a
dying made worse by friends who
forsook him and enemies who
abused him, made worse by
abandonment, torture, and pain. It
was not the sort of death we
would wish for ourselves, not the
sort of death we should wish for
anyone. In that sense we should
surely not take Jesus death as
paradigmatic for anyones death.
Still, given that caution, his faith
and his faithfulness, his hope and
his patient love, his humility and
his courage are all on display in his
dying, and surely these are
paradigmatic for a Christians
dying (The Christian Art of Dying,
216-7).
The things that are above
are the virtues of Christ: faith,
hope, love, humility, and courage.
These are the things to set our
minds on, not only in our physical
death but our baptized lives as
well. Hidden with Christ, we are
given his virtues. But what does it
mean to be hidden with Christ?
The Eucharist reveals our life
hidden with Christ. In the
Eucharist, the body and blood of
Christ is hidden in the bread and
wine.
Remembering
Christs
passion, the central event of our
faith, we are nourished by his
body that is hidden in ordinary
elements. If Christ can seem
Easter 2014

unnoticed, the church assures of

his presence at the Eucharist and,
in receiving it, our union with him
is strengthened.
!
These are the reasons the
little church behind Whole Foods
prayed and shared meals despite
the interruption of the winter
storm. How could it do otherwise?
When everything in town is open
and life is busy, prayer at the
church can slip into the mundane.
Continuing to pray, despite the
storm, revealed our habits and
reminded us that we are a church,
constantly aware of our baptism,
doing nothing else but seeking the
things above. By setting its mind
on the prayer of the church and
seeking Jesus in the stranger and
homeless, the church attempts to
be faithful to its new life in Christ.
!
When Christ who is your
life is revealed, then you also will
be revealed with him in glory.
During those few days when we
were snowed in, Christ appeared.
He was more visible than usual.
Just as the Eucharist and Baptism
reveal Christs presence among us
through ordinary and earthly
bread, wine, and water. There was
a glimpse of Christ, too, in the
neighbors who gathered to pray
and share a meal. Christ appeared
as he always does even though we
too often overlook or dont expect
him. But it is in his revelation that
we share in his glory. Amen. T

A prayer
used by
St. Francis
I beg you, Lord,
let the glowing and honey-sweet
force
of your love
draw my mind away
from all things
that are under heaven,
that I may die
for love of the love of you,
who thought it a worthy thing
to die
for love
of the love of me.

Artwork by Fritz Eichenberg

Community News
by Blake Tipton & Natalie Wetzel
This past Advent, Christmastide, Epiphany, and Lent saw many tempestuous and wintry nights, so we have
been opening the parish hall of St. Joseph's Episcopal Church to the poor and needy. This is an opportunity
to provide a place for Jesus to stay, the same Lord born in a manger because the inn had nowhere for Joseph
and Mary. We drank coffee, picked off whatever food we could gather, told stories and jokes, and fell asleep
together many a night. And when someone arrived rather late in the night, we could hear Christ say, "I
stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that
person, and they with me." So we did.
Due to financial concerns we decided to close the Teresa House this summer. We are grateful for the
fellowship and hospitality that took place in the house this past year. Our hope is that we can focus our
energies more on works of mercy in our church and in the other two houses.
Were also working on some gardening. Thanks to Jamie, the St. Elizabeth House tilled its garden to prepare
for a late Lenten sowing this year. We planted peas and potatoes, clipped the covert wings on the chickens,
and are preparing for more crops soon. The Maurin House has a new front yard of fresh sod, and a big new
back porch. T

Thanksgivings
We give thanks...
For the marriage of
Michael and Molly Short
on December 28, 2013;
The baptism of
Frances Elizabeth Wetzel
on January 12, 2014;
And the marriage of
Guillermo Arboleda and Kelly Steele
on May 3, 2014.
6

Easter 2014

Panhandling
You got any change? The more money, rent, utilities, and food we get
donated, the more time we are able to spend around our hospitality
houses doing the Works of Mercy, getting to know people, praying,
celebrating the Eucharist and tilling our garden. Even though most of
us live at or below the official poverty line, without your pledges and
donations the CFW would not be possible. I spend a good deal of time
trying to convince people that voluntary poverty and simplicity are
healthy councils of the Gospel and that the precarity of having to beg
and living with very little is good for us. So please give generously. We
expect nothing and hope for everything.
Monetary donations can be onetime or pledges (which allow us to
plan a little better). Inkind donations (see Desires of the Community)
are also welcomed. Checks can be made out and mailed to the
Community of the Franciscan Way, 1116 Iredell St., Durham, NC
27705. If you have a question about a donation, please contact our
treasurer, Joe Sroka (srokajoe@gmail.com).

Desires
of the
Community
Coffee
Laundry detergent
Dish soap
Kitchen floor mops
Food
Toilet paper
Trash bags
Dog and cat food

Fr. Colin +

Weekly Round
At St. Josephs Episcopal Church
(1902 W. Main St., Durham)
Morning Prayer: 7:30am MonFri
Breakfast: 8:00am MonFri
Evening Prayer: 5:30pm MonFri
At Clare Chapel, Maurin House
(1116 Iredell St., Durham)
Holy Eucharist 6:25am MonFri
Evensong: 6:00pm Sun
Supper: 6:30pm Wed, Sun
At St. Elizabeth House
(302 Powe St., Durham)
Supper: 6:30pm Mon

All are welcome.

No Saturday events.
Special events as announced.

Easter 2014

Editors
Tim Callow
Leigh Edwards
Fr. Justin Fletcher
Jamie Kennedy Jones
Fr. Colin Miller
Mac Stewart
Meredith Stewart
Blake Tipton
Michelle Toomey
Allison Waters
Luke Wetzel
Natalie Wetzel

Contact Us
The best way to get involved in the
community or to contact us is to come to
the Daily Office at St. Josephs Episcopal
Church, Durham Monday through Friday
at 7:30 am and 5:30 pm.

The Little Way is a pamphlet of the Community of the Franciscan Way, a Mission of the Episcopal Diocese of
North Carolina. We seek a life of prayer, study, simplicity, and fellowship with the poor. We stand in the
tradition of the Catholic Worker Movement, founded in 1933 by Peter Maurin and Dorothy Day. Maurin,
St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and St. Teresa Houses offer shelter and food to the homeless. Rent, food and utilities
for the hospitality houses are paid entirely on donations. Funds are always used directly for the performance
of the Works of Mercy, and no one in the community draws any salary or other benefits.

The Corporal Works of Mercy

The Spiritual Works of Mercy

To feed the hungry

To give drink to the thirsty
To clothe the naked
To harbor the harborless
To visit the sick
To ransom the captive
To bury the dead

To instruct the uninformed

To counsel the doubtful
To admonish sinners
To bear wrongs patiently
To forgive offenses willingly
To comfort the afflicted
To pray for the living and the dead

Community of the Franciscan Way

1116 Iredell Street

Durham, NC 27705