St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church

Jesus Lets His Light Shine

Mon, 27 Feb 2023 20:16:00 GMT

In the 5th chapter of Matthew’s gospel Jesus said, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. “Now we have an episode in his life where he really lets his light shine. On this last Sunday in the season of Epiphany we have to remember that one of the major symbols or themes of Epiphany is Light. We have this glimpse of Jesus shining with the glory of the Almighty God his Father.

“After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters - one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. ‘Get up,’ he said. ‘Don’t be afraid.’ When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, ‘Don’t (tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’ [Matthew 17:1-9] (ATIV)

This vision will bring about a new and different relationship between Jesus and his closest disciples. This Sunday is the last Sunday in the season of Epiphany. On Wednesday we will enter the season of Lent. We will move into a period of reflection on our relationship with the God as we prepare for the glorious celebration of Easter and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Prior to beginning, the period of reflection and we have a glimpse of Jesus, glorified as the Anointed One of God. As we enter a period of reflection, it is like a train entering a tunnel. We have a glimpse of the Light at the end of the tunnel. We can look back to the Transfiguration and see Jesus glorified and transfigured as He really is. The lessons for this Last Sunday in Epiphany manifest the glory and power of a God known by names that describe his attributes:

El Shaddai - God Almighty

El Elyon - God Most High

El Olam - God Everlasting

In our Old Testament lesson, Moses is confronted by Adonai, the LORD on the top of Mount Sinai. He is confronted with the mighty power of God in the display of natural events such as the burning bush and the fiery cloud. They were indeed powerful signs of God’s presence. Have you ever been so close to a lightning strike that you smell the ozone in the air? Think of the purity and holiness of God as so startling, so awesome, that it is as if you were bathed in lights that are a hundred times as bright as the lights that light up a nighttime ball game. I suspect we would react like Peter, James and John in this morning’s Gospel reading. They were confronted with the Transfiguration of Jesus right before their eyes. They saw him changed with the dazzling brilliance of HIS glorious holiness. It is no wonder that they fell down in awe before Him. Peter, James and John formed the core group of the disciples and they accompanied Jesus when he raised from the dead the daughter of Jairus and when he went to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. As Peter recounts in his 2nd Epistle that they were fortunate to be with him on the mountain to see him in his glory with Moses and Elijah.

“We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. [2 Peter 1: 16-2 1] (NIV)

These two men in the Old Testament who also spent forty days and forty nights fasting before the Lord, who also went up on a mountain to meet with God and talk with Him. These two men, Moses and Elijah, who represent the Law and the Prophets. This reading gives us a Divine Echo from the 1st Sunday after Epiphany when we celebrated the Baptism of Jesus where he heard the voice from Heaven also declare; “You are my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.” Now in this instance, the disciples hear the voice from the cloud, another Old Testament symbol of the presence of God, say:

“This is my Beloved Son, listen to him.” These are appropriate brackets for the Season of Epiphany, when Jesus is manifested. He is manifested at the beginning of his earthly ministry and now toward the end of that earthly ministry he is manifested in all his glory before his closest disciples. You sort of get the feeling of what happens to ordinary humans when confronted by the divine. Here, Jesus is transfigured in all his majesty and glory, talking to Moses and Elijah and what does Peter do? He butts into the conversation mumbling something about building booths. For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid. They were terrified by what they saw. This is the normal human reaction to supernatural events that we see. In all the episodes of scripture when an angelic being confronts a

human the angel has to tell them to “Fear Not”, or “Be not afraid.” We are not prepared to be confronted by the supernatural, and the disciples just react normally to this event. But the outcome to all this was, “And suddenly looking around they no longer saw any one with them but Jesus only.” Listen to that, THEY SAW JESUS ONLY . That is the culmination of our Epiphany season when we can say that we see Jesus only. What happens when we see Jesus? How do we react when we come face to face with the reality of God? Do we just stand there in gape-mouthed awe? Being in the presence of God is awesome!!

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai his face shone like the sun. The same thing happens when there is a new awakening within. I love baptisms, because that is when you see a new light shine within the newly baptized. I have seen tears of joy and faces turning red as beets as the newly baptized have become a glow with the light of Christ. How do we react to a change in someone who has been fired up with the light of Christ? Do we allow that change in them to affect a change in us? Second, the GLORY OF GOD IS REVEALED IN THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS. Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus in conversation together. We do not know what they said, but I will bet they did a lot listening. Jesus told his disciples in last week’s reading that he had come to fulfill the law and the prophets. The law brings us an understanding of the right and wrong. The prophets bring us an understanding of the spirit of ethics and morals. Jesus exemplifies and fulfills the law and the prophets, in his body and through his blood. At this point the voice of God is heard to confirm the authority of his Son. God the Father confirms that someone greater than E.F.Hutton is here, and we better to do the same thing. “Listen to him!” Third, the GLORY OF GOD IS REVEALED IN WORSHIP. You notice the disciples fell on their faces when the cloud descended in them. I always tell my Old Testament classes that when you see a reference to a cloud that usually refers to the presence of God. The only attitude around the presence of God is worshipful respect. It is the only safe attitude. Even when the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he had to have a rope tied around his ankle, just in case something happened to him while he was in there. It’s the kind of respect you have to have when working around high voltage lines. We are never safe around God except when we are in an attitude of worship. Fourth, the GLORY OF GOD IS REVEALED IN A PERSONAL TOUCH. What a paradox, we have to be in awe of God, but he comes with the personal touch of Jesus. He touches each life that will allow him to enter. Christ would die for the whole world but that world is made of individuals, like you and me. The glory of God has that personal touch for each of us. John La Rue of the Christianity Online staff recalled how as a college freshmen he had been searching for answers in all the wrong places. He met a young lady who was really vocal in her defense of her faith. He threw in her face how all Christians are hypocrites. She asked him to answer the question, “Who Is Jesus?” Then she told him to read the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and seek an answer to the question. When he honestly sought an answer to that question, he was confronted with the obvious truth that Jesus is who he said he is. That night he got down on his knees and turned his life over to Jesus. One of the main problems we face in life is the problem of who is in control. We like to keep our hands on the steering wheel rather than let God have control. It is a matter of transfiguration, letting God’s light shine out and not just our light.

The following quote from Carlo Carretto reminds us that we can encounter God not only in extraordinary "mountain-top experiences," but also in the ordinary spiritual disciplines of prayer and sacrament. Yet even in these spiritual disciplines, it is God who comes to us:

“Personal prayer is the meeting place between the Eternal One and me; the Blessed Sacrament is the visible sign of my covenant with him. That is why I believe in personal prayer, and why ever day I wait to meet him in the Eucharist. To pray means to wait for the God who comes. Every prayer-filled day sees a meeting with the God who comes; every night which we faithfully put at his disposal is full of his presence. And his coming and his presence are not only the result of our waiting or a prize for out efforts; they are his decision, based on his love freely poured out. His coming is bound to his promise, not to our works or virtue. We have not earned the meeting with God because we have served him faithfully in our brethren, or because we have heaped us such a pile of virtue as to shine before Heaven. God is thrust onward by his love, not attracted by our beauty. He comes even in moments when we have done everything wrong, when we have done nothing... when we have sinned.” (Carlo Carretto, The God Who Comes [Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1994].)

Look what happened to the Jesus and the three disciples when they came down from the mount of Transfiguration:

“And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd about them, and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed, and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, ‘What are you discussing with him?’ And one of the crowd answered him, ‘Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; and wherever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.’ And he answered them, ‘O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.’ And they brought the boy to him; and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, ‘How long has he had this?’ And he said, ‘From childhood. And it has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘If you can! All things are possible to him who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’ And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, ‘You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again.’ And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ And he said to them, ‘This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.’ [Mark 9:9-29 RSV]

We are about to enter on a period of fasting and prayer. Jesus told the disciples that essentially, they had to be ready at all times for spiritual warfare. We must be prayed up to encounter the enemy at any time. Lent is a training period for us as we prepare to celebrate Easter but most importantly it prepares us for duty as a Christian.

DOCTRINAL POINTS

1. JESUS IS REVEALED FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY: Jesus and his three companions go up a mountain like Moses and Elijah did and encounters God. While Jesus is joined with God in prayer, the very glory of God present in him becomes visible.

2. JESUS IS THE ESCHATALOGICAL [END TIME] PROPHET OF THE NEW AGE: Just as Moses and Elijah are the prophets of the Old Testament Jesus is the prophet of the New Testament, that was foretold by Moses.

3. JESUS WILL BE ULTIMATELY GLORIFIED BY GOD: The vision affirms that the one who will suffer, die and rise will be glorified. God’s salvation will culminate in Jesus, the Suffering Servant.

APPLICATION/DISCUSSION

The episode in the gospel this morning shows us four things. First, that the GLORY OF GOD IS REVEALED IN CHANGE. The word Transfigured comes from the Greek word Metamorphosis, which denotes a complete change of state. We know about the metamorphosis of caterpillar to butterfly but this change that results in a light bursting forth comes from within.

The Law and God's Call to Reconciliation

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 21:29:00 GMT

After hearing the gospel this morning on the LAW, I would like you to think back to your childhood to the various LAWS your parents set for you: most of the time we did not understand the rules. We just knew that we had to obey them!

Rules like:

Don’t touch the stove … it’s hot

Don’t talk to strangers… unless it is your strange aunt Sue…. Or some other family member

Never pet a strange dog… you might get bitten

Never answer the door unless someone is home

Don’t run with the scissors in your hand… you might lose an eye

Don’t jump on the bed

Don’t stay out past midnight… nothing good ever happens after midnight.

Never tell someone on the phone your parents aren’t home

I remember once when I ran to the grocery store about a mile from our house. My son was in the third grade and I certainly trusted him to be alone for 30 minutes, but I warned him never tell anyone that I am not at home. To test his ability to follow this rule, I called him on my cell after I left disguising my voice, and asked to speak to his mother. He told me that his mother was in the shower and could not come to the phone, an interesting improvisation! My response was that I would hold on and wait for her to get out. He answered that it might be a long time because she is very dirty!

Rules. Our parents had lots of them. And then when we had young or heck, even older children, we had lots of them too. And most if not all of these rules set down by parents were typically followed by their threatening punishment, maybe time out, or being grounded from going out, or a big one for teens: being grounded from using the car.

These rules had a purpose. Some may be for our benefit. Mainly though, they were given to keep our children safe from hurting themselves and safe from being hurt by others.

I think that is what Jesus is doing with the Laws he outlines in our gospel today: teaching us how to adjust our internal feelings and behaviors so that we treat our neighbors with the love and respect that God expects. The righteousness of this new way of thinking of the kingdom of God is more than following rules. It reflects God’s love for us and asks that we grow in our own faith to reflect this love to others. Moving us to more of a Kingdom righteousness instead of self-righteousness.

This week’s reading follows the Beatitudes to form the Sermon on the Mount (5:1 – 7:29). It contains no parables or miracle narratives, only straightforward teaching: do this . We find here, as throughout Matthew, strong ties to the Mosaic law. The laws that Moses gave to his people. The opening verses of Chapter 5 that we read the last two weeks tell us that Jesus has left the crowds and is teaching his disciples. Jesus is the teacher, bridging familiar lessons from Jewish teachings to his own ministry as he instructs his disciples in the demands of a Jesus-following life.

Last week we heard Jesus say, “I did not come to replace the law but to fulfill the law." This week he goes further speaking not just about the Law but about the higher righteousness associated with it. This reading is a very rabbinical exercise of antitheses used as a teaching model to those who are listening. He begins, “You have heard it said”, going back to the Law that Moses taught, “You have heard it said”. He continues with “But I say to you”, and then he goes deeper into the meaning behind it.

We often read Jesus' statements in this discourse –“You have heard that it was said…” followed by “But I say to you…” — as contrasting, or even replacing, prior Jewish teachings with his own. We must take care in such contrasts, for Jesus neither erases nor discounts the teachings of the law. He uses the traditional teachings on murder, adultery, and prayer as essential grounds for building his case for righteousness. Using familiar, perhaps even too familiar, teachings, Jesus intensifies and radicalizes them for his listeners, extending these teachings into almost every area of life.

In this way, Jesus does “not abolish but fulfill[s]” the law (verse 17). No longer do the teachings on murder and adultery apply strictly to acts of murder and adultery. Instead, now they become doorways into the examination of many internal dynamics as well as external behaviors of our lives: anger, derision, slander, false generosity, litigiousness, arrogance, lust, temptation, alienation, divorce, and religious speech.

Jesus connects the dots for his disciples and for us…. from outward acts like murder and adultery to internal thinking like anger and lust. It is one thing to behave rightly in our daily activities. It is another thing entirely for our hearts to be oriented toward love.

Jesus offers a more radical way to live, one already hinted at in the list given during the beatitudes which we read during the Bishop’s visit. The poor in spirit, those who mourn, the pure in heart, all of these are blessed not because they are examples of the law, but because of their inward orientations of our hearts. The righteousness of this new way of thinking of the kingdom of God is more than following rules. It requires and empowers a life surrendered to God and to neighbor .

Jesus’ reframing of this idea of righteousness exposes the easy truces we make within ourselves. We can pat ourselves on the back for not committing murder while we ruin the reputation of a coworker through our words, we even call it “stabbing someone in the back.” The notion that we must reconcile with anyone who has something against us before we can give our gifts to God, stops us in our tracks. There is no easy, private relationship to God in these words. Resentment, alienation, and estrangement from others, prevent us from even giving our gifts to God.

We can pat ourselves on the back for not committing adultery, and yet we easily create time-consuming relationships with work, sports, or even the internet, rather than our spouse. Jesus shifts our attention from particular behaviors we must avoid to particular internal orientations we must cultivate.

Jesus tells us in the first few sentences of our gospel reading that reconciliation is an important part of our spiritual growth. It means that we recognize that we have made a mistake, that we have missed the mark, and that we are sorry for our actions.

Making amends means admitting that we are wrong. An act that takes great spiritual and personal strength. This admittance is the first step in reconciliation. Following then is forgiveness. Forgiveness from the person you hurt and forgiveness of self. Both are difficult. But both are imperative to our righteous life as children of God.

A friend of mine told me a story about reconciliation in connection with his father’s funeral. One of his father’s requests when he died was to have two of his relatives play the piano and sing at his funeral the song “Don’t Bring me Flowers at my Funeral.” He said it was a bit awkward hearing this song sung as everyone sat there in this old Baptist church in the mountains of North Carolina while looking at the flowers displayed at the front of the church surrounding his father’s coffin, flowers given in his honor.

He told me that the song is rooted in an old mountain Baptist tradition of giving flowers. Everyone in the spring during flower season, would bring flowers from his or her garden and lay them on the table in the front of the church. There was no altar in these old Baptist churches. Just a table at the front. And after all the flowers were in place and everyone took a seat in a pew, they would have some prayer time. After prayers, they would come forward to gather their flowers and then go to everyone in the room giving them a flower and make peace. These were sacred moments that made room for reconciliation. They would hand out flowers to members of their church community and ask, “Do you have anything against me?” “Do we have anything we need to discuss or work out between us?” If there was, he said we would take this time to talk it out. It was a time to make peace. And then exchange peace. Everyone left that day with a flower from everyone else in the church. With whom you were at peace. That bouquet of mixed flowers was a powerful reminder of that time of reconciliation. The importance of doing it before the relationship is too damaged, or the people involved are gone. Time is too precious to waste.

God gave us these parameters in order to know what it takes to live a good life as a community of people in one place. If you do this, then life will be good and if you do not, then life is much more difficult. The law is not a threat but outlines a way of life that will lead to good things. Obey the law, establish the covenant, and ask for forgiveness when we fall short.

Today, and every Sunday, we have built into our liturgy an opportunity to reconcile with our neighbors. You know when that is. I have mentioned it before. We have this same opportunity when we pass the peace, we turn to each other and say, “Peace be with you” before we come to the altar to break bread together. To share the mystery of our faith together. To kneel together in prayer, extending our hands to receive the bread and the wine, the one thing that brings us all together as sacrament of unity that overcome even the deepest estrangements between human beings. Sharing our brokenness and our hope of salvation, and Jesus shows up. Always. Amen.

The Disciple with a Salty Attitude!!

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 19:50:00 GMT

In this Sunday’s Gospel we are continuing with the Sermon on the Mount and move on to the next section after the Beatitudes that we heard last week. I can imagine that Jesus gets his disciples together and begins their Basic Training for Discipleship. He opens with promises of coming “Blessings” that have come to be known as the “Beatitudes”. The people in the beatitudes are those who are in need, weak and whom the world would deem unfortunate. Their reward is in Him whom they should emulate, the One they have chosen to follow. We hear Jesus proclaim that the disciples are and should be Salt and Light.

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. [Matt 5:13-20 (NIV)]

Jesus is demanding that the righteousness of his disciples EXCEED that of the Pharisees. To the people of his day he was asking that they outdo acts of the Pharisees in living out their lives for God. If they thought that the Pharisees went out of their way to follow the law and the commandments, he expected them to do more, leap buildings in a single bound, be faster than a speeding train, and just have a real salty attitude about it. Now, you might think that a person with a salty attitude is one is obnoxious and stubborn. In the context of what Jesus is talking about however, he wants the disciple to have the power of salt. To the people of the ancient Middle East, salt had Preserving, Healing and Flavoring Power. In order for the disciple to be effective in the world we have to have the same power. Just as salt was and is used to preserve meat when there is no refrigeration, so the church must be the preservative of God’s creation. It is through our faithfulness to the gospel that we preserve the integrity of the creation. The integrity of our faith, the church as the Body of Christ where the Word of God is faithfully preached and taught and where the Sacraments are faithfully administered. As faithful Christians, we become a moral and ethical influence upon those around us. The church is at its best when we live out our faith or let our light so shine that people see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. Salt also has power to heal. It was used for medicinal purposes as an antiseptic to clean out infected wounds. Do not get me wrong, it was painful, but the wound would be clean and healing could begin. There are many people who have been wounded by some tragedy or trial or some betrayal. They are continually filled with pain over the event which may have happened years and years ago. These wounds are stinking and festering and still threatening people’s lives. You have seen the news. The wounds are items such as homelessness, COVID, divorce, spouse abuse, child abuse, drug abuse, alcoholism, and lots more. All these are like an infected wound in society’s side. All these wounds are eating away at the soul of society. However, we have the cure in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Disciples who are salt are healers. They can see when we need healing to get us through life. They can be encouragers who get us through life with the Good News of Jesus Christ, and they sometimes use words. Mostly they use actions. Finally, Disciples have Flavoring Power. Can you imagine going to a movie and getting some popcorn. You go to your seat. You put your hand in to the hot buttered popcorn as the movie starts. As you put the popcorn in to your mouth, you find out it does not have any salt. They forgot the salt!! It is not the same. There is something wrong with popcorn or French fries and a host of other foods when there is no salt on it. Living out our lives without Christ would be like eating popcorn without salt. We can choke the popcorn down without the salt but it sure tastes a whole lot better with the salt. We can choke life down without Christ but it sure tastes better with Christ in it. On a campus ministry one night they were discussing this scripture and were listing the meaning of salt. The students came up with the ones I have just mentioned. “Salt can preserve. Salt can Heal. Salt can add flavor.” One young Chinese student however said, “Salt creates thirst.” The room got really quiet as they all thought and wondered if they had ever made anyone thirsty for Christ. We can make people thirsty for Christ by our salty attitude and our salty actions. Who we are shines out for all to see. This story is about a young fellow named Stevie, who by his actions had an influence on all who knew him. Dan Anderson, his boss, writes:

“I try not to be biased, but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His placement counselor assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy. But I had never had a mentally handicapped employee and wasn't sure I wanted one. I wasn't sure how my customers would react to Stevie. He was short, a little dumpy, with the smooth facial features and thick-tongued speech of Down syndrome.

I shouldn't have worried. After the first week, Stevie had my staff wrapped around his stubby little finger, and within a month my truck regulars had adopted him as their official truck stop mascot. After that I really didn't care what the rest of the customers thought of him. He was like a 21-year-old in blue jeans and Nikes, eager to laugh and eager to please, but fierce in his attention to his duties. Every salt and pepper shaker was exactly in its place, not a bread crumb or coffee spill was visible, when Stevie got done with the table. Our only problem was convincing him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished. He would hover in the background, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, scanning the dining room until a table was empty. Then he would scurry to the empty table and carefully bus the dishes and glasses onto cart and meticulously wipe the table up with a practiced flourish of his rag. If he thought a customer was watching, his brow would pucker with added concentration. He took pride in doing his job exactly right, and you had to love how hard he tried to please each and every person he met.

Over time, we learned that he lived with his mother, a widow who was disabled after repeated surgeries for cancer. They lived on their Social Security benefits in public housing two miles from the truck stop. Their social worker, which stopped to check on him every so often, admitted they had fallen between the cracks. Money was tight, and what I paid him was the probably the difference between them being able to live together and Stevie being sent to a group home.

That's why the restaurant was a gloomy place that morning last August, the first morning in three years that Stevie missed work. He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a new valve or something put in his heart. His social worker said that people with Down Syndrome often had heart problems at a early age, so this wasn't unexpected, and there was a good chance he would come through the surgery in good shape and be back at work in a few months.

Since I hadn't had time to round up a busboy to replace Stevie, and really didn't want to replace him, the girls were busing their own tables that day until we decided what to do. After the morning rush, Frannie walked into my office. She had a couple of paper napkins in her hand a funny look on her face.

"What's up?" I asked. "I didn't get that table where Belle Ringer and his friends were sitting cleared off after they left, and Pony Pete and Tony Tipper were sitting there when I got back to clean it off, " she said. "This was folded and tucked under a coffee cup." She handed the napkin to me, and three $20 fell onto my desk when I opened it. On the outside, in big, bold letters, was printed "Something For Stevie." "Pony Pete asked me what that was all about," she said, "so I told him about Stevie and his mom and everything, and Pete looked at Tony and Tony looked at Pete, and they ended up giving me this."

She handed me another paper napkin that had "Something For Stevie" scrawled on it's outside. Two $50 bills were tucked within its folds. Frannie looked at me with wet, shiny eyes, shook her head and said simply "truckers."

That was three months ago. Today is Thanksgiving, the first day Stevie is supposed to be back to work. His placement worker said he's been counting the days until the doctor said he could work, and it didn't matter at all that it was a holiday. He called 10 times in the past week, making sure we knew he was coming, fearful that we had forgotten him or that his job was in jeopardy. I arranged to have his mother bring him to work, met them in the parking lot and invited them both to celebrate his day back.

Stevie was thinner and paler but couldn't stop grinning as he pushed through the doors and headed for the back room where his apron and busing cart were waiting. "Hold up there, Stevie, not so fast," I said. I took him and his mother by their arms. "Work can wait for a minute. To celebrate you coming back, breakfast for you and your mother is on me."

I led them toward a large corner booth at the rear of the room. I could feel and hear the rest of the staff following behind as we marched through the dining room. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw booth after booth of grinning truckers empty and join the procession. We stopped in front of the big table. Its surface was covered with coffee cups, saucers and dinner plates, all sitting slightly crooked on dozens of folded paper napkins. "First thing you have to do, Stevie, is clean up this mess," I said. I tried to sound stern.

Stevie looked at me, and then at his mother, then pulled out one of the napkins. It had "Something for Stevie" printed on the outside. As he picked it up, two $10 bills fell onto the table. Stevie stared at the money, then at all the napkins peeking from beneath the tableware, each with his name printed or scrawled on it.

I turned to his mother. "There's more than $10,000 in cash and checks on that table, all from truckers and trucking companies that heard about your problems. Happy Thanksgiving."

Well, it got real noisy about that time, with everybody hollering and shouting, and there were a few tears, as well. But you know what's funny? While everybody else was busy shaking hands and hugging each other, Stevie, with a big, big smile on his face, was busy clearing all the cups and dishes from the table. Best worker I ever hired.”

Stevie was salt and light to those truckers. He had the right attitude about his job and

how he looked at life and lived it. Let us go out and be salt and light too!

A Time of Transition

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 21:46:00 GMT

Donna and I landed Friday after 15 hours of traveling back to Augusta from our pilgrimage to Assisi, Italy. Our travel included planes, trains and automobiles, no kidding. No less than 4 different planes, two trains and a bus ride is what it took to get there and then back again. In spite of being exhausted, we are both filled with so many stories to share, stories of new friendships, of discovery, and of faith.

On our first day of exploration, one of the many churches we visited was the Church of St. Mary Major, where we happened to cross paths with Monsignor Anthony Figueiredo. After watching a video on Assisi’s role in housing and hiding Jews who were fleeing from German persecution, the Monsignor allowed us to visit a most remarkable site being excavated that has not even been open to the public yet. Just discovered three months ago in the wall of the Bishop’s residence, there on the church’s grounds, was the very archway that St. Francis of Assisi walked through… the threshold that Francis crossed, who after hearing God’s voice tell him, “Francis, rebuild my church”, gave up his family wealth for a life of poverty and service. It is a doorway, dating to the Middle Ages, that leads from the old square into the bishop’s residence at which St. Francis stripped himself of his clothes and stood before the Bishop, renouncing all of his earthly possessions to live a life in service to others And to follow God’s call to rebuild the church. And the Monsignor allowed us a private glance at this most transformative place.

Since that first day, this idea of thresholds has presented itself over and over again during my travels… in my readings… in my discussions… and now in my sermon.

Thresholds are an amazing symbol of transformation. A threshold is not simply a boundary, but it is a frontier that cannot be crossed without the heart being passionately engaged and woken up. At this threshold, a great complexity of emotion comes alive: confusion, fear, excitement, sadness, and hope.

Life transitions are made of a beginning, a middle and an end stage with the threshold being the point between an ending and a new beginning. I bring this up because St. Augustine’s is at a threshold. We are in that liminal space between our past, our past with Rev. Jim, our past with who we were before Covid, or even who we were ten years ago, and our future. Liminal seasons can be challenging, disorienting and unsettling because we may feel that we are in the wilderness, not sure where we are and where we are going. Yet, liminal seasons are also exciting and innovative. The promise of a new beginning unleashes creative energy, potential, and passion.

Author Susan Beaumont says that the Judeo-Christian story is filled with liminal experiences. Our scriptures tell stories of characters who wander in and out of liminal times and spaces, being shaped further into the likeness of God through the power of luminosity ( How To Lead When You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, 3 ). And today’s gospel is a continuation of one of those stories.

Our gospel reading is a continuation of the story of Jesus’ baptism by John. This morning we hear of John’s being arrested, and yet, Jesus continues to move forward with his mission. Calling upon simple uneducated men that he encounters. To help spread the Gospel to all who will listen and to teach about God’s love and promise of salvation.

Jesus begins his ministry in liminal or transformative space. Rising out of the baptismal waters, Jesus enters the desert for a period of forty days and nights, a liminal pilgrimage during which his new identity is formed and tested. His return from the wilderness signals entry into a new life as teacher, healer, and savior (Beaumont, 4).

I said in my sermon on the Sunday we celebrated the Baptism of our Lord as well as the baptism of Corey Cooper. That Jesus walked in faith, hearing the voice of God and following the call to serve. We too are walking in that same faith, listening for God’s voice, waiting for God’s hand to guide us to transform into what is needed to continue God’s kingdom, to grow in our faith, and to help those who are in need.

God is giving us this opportunity. To be in this uncomfortable and yet holy time of transition, in order to prepare us for what is next for St. Augustine’s. We must and we will discern together what we want to be. We will listen to each other. We will clarify our purpose. We will live in a time where we do not try to recreate our past but use it as a way to guide us to our future.

Think of the life-changing transitions the apostles made when they accepted Jesus’ invitation: He simply says to Simon,

Andrew, James and John, “Follow me and I will make you fisher of men.” We are not told that they asked any questions before putting down their nets. No one said, ok, but how are we going to pay for this trip? No one worried where they were going to have dinner than night, or breakfast the next morning. No one asked to run home and pack an overnight bag. And no one said, “No. I don’t have what it takes. I am not good enough.”

Jesus called twelve rough and tumble men who made a living working hard. He did not require their resumes. He did not need them to be the elite in scripture. He simply said, follow me. And they did. Immediately.

Talk about a transformative moment. One that would change their lives forever. They were willing to embark on a new path of faith. One that was foreign and frightening. One that challenged everything that they had known and been taught. One that took courage and conviction and well faith. And for some, a decision that would cost them their lives.

Like St. Francis of Assisi, and Simon, Andrew, James and John, Jesus is calling us to walk in that faith of the unknowing.

At the end of our service today, we will hold our annual meeting. We will distribute reports on what your clergy and vestry has done this past year to fulfill the mission we have all committed ourselves to: That with God’s help, we will proclaim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will inspire people through worship, we will know one another by name, we will know and honor our neighbors as children of God and serve them in love, and we will strive for justice and peace respecting the dignity of all people.

During our meeting, we will be presented the budget that our finance committee has created and the Vestry has approved. We will vote for 3 new vestry members to replace the three that are rolling off. We will hear where we are in our search process for a new rector. But most importantly, we will recommit ourselves to our future together as followers of the way, and our mission as a part of that movement. Discerning together what God has in store for us as a congregation, listening for the path that God is asking us to take.

We are in our time of transformation, taking off our old ways and opening ourselves to what is next in the life of this parish. I must tell you, I am excited about what lies ahead. I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit that permeates this church and each one of you.

Jesus has said to each one of us in His own way, I want you. You are exactly who I want and who we need. Follow me.

Amen.

Behold, The Lamb of God

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 16:39:00 GMT

This is the second Sunday in Epiphany and on this Sunday, we depart from the Gospel of Matthew and turn to the Gospel of John. We hear John giving testimony about Jesus. Witnesses and their testimony are very important to any trial proceeding. The courts rely on truthful witnesses to accurately determine the guilt or innocence of an individual. A witness merely gives the relevant facts to the best of their recollection before a judge and jury. The witness tells what they saw in relation to the issue at hand. As comedian Red Skelton used to say through one of his many characters, “I calls them like I sees them!” I don’t know if many of you remember the Hanes underwear commercials on TV a few years ago where they had this tough looking, drill sergeant type lady who was an inspector of goods that came off the assembly line. She was called Inspector Twelve, and it was her job to insure that every product that came off the line was worthy of carrying the Hanes name. Her line in the commercial was, “It don’t say Hanes until I say it says Hanes. Likewise, in the reading this morning we hear John make the pronouncement that Jesus is the Lamb of God. Nowhere in the other Gospels do we hear of Jesus being given the title of the LAMB OF GOD.

Last Sunday we celebrated the Baptism of Our Lord and commemorated the inauguration of the Kingdom of God in time and history. From the moment we hear the voice from heaven declare, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” all history is changed. The messianic age has come upon the world. We stand on the threshold of a new age, and a new millennium. At the beginning of this age we are in now we hear again the words of the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Behold the Lamb of God!” [John 1: 29-41]

The Lamb of God is a picture of Christ our Passover who was sacrificed for us.

The Lamb of God is a picture of the precious blood of Christ, which redeems us.

“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” [1 Peter 1:18-19]

The Lamb of God is not of men but from God.

“Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?”

Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here, “Isaac said, “but where is the

lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. “And the two of them went on together.” [Gen. 22:8]

The Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” [1 Pet 2:24]

“… so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” [Heb 9:28]

The newly baptized Messiah is not the king that so many had believed would come to save Israel from the occupation of the Romans. The Messiah is the Paschal Lamb, the one through whose blood the angel of death will pass by the houses of the faithful. In this we see the plan of God involving sacrifice and suffering rather than glory and worldly praise. The Plan of God involves calling forth and manifesting to the world servants of His that will obey Him and execute His Plan for the salvation of the world. They will answer His call to vocation, to serve Him, to be illumined, to shine with His radiance and glory that He may be made known, be worshipped and obeyed to the ends of the earth. This season of Epiphany, which stands for the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, is the time when the church focuses on the mission and ministry of Jesus. We see how this mission is fulfilled through the life and work of the community of believers in Jesus Christ, then and now. Believers who are called, according to the Plan of God, chosen by Him to be His instruments and His servants.

This morning we will look at the Prophet Isaiah and his calling to be a prophet to Israel and his writing of a Servant who will not only recall Israel to the Lord but will be a light to the nations in order that God’s salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. Next, we will look at the Apostle Paul, then at John the Baptist and Jesus. In all their cases, we can see that those who are called forth to be servants of God are chosen by God from before their birth to be His servants. We know this to be true in the cases of John the Baptist and Jesus for the Gospel of Luke recounts for us their birth narratives. In those accounts we hear the Angel Gabriel tell both Zechariah and Mary of the impending births and specifically of the mission and ministry of John and Jesus. So like Isaiah says in today’s lesson of himself, the LORD called them from the womb, from the bodies of their mothers they were named to be His servants. That is an awesome thought, that the Almighty God, King of the Universe, Creator of all that is in existence, has called you. Not only has He called you but He chose you before you were ever thought of, by your parents. We have been called , we have been chosen , we have been selected , and we have been drafted, if you will, into His service to make His name known, worshipped and obeyed to the ends of the earth. That is our part in His plan.

Saint Paul in his letter to the church at Corinth points out to them that he was called by the will of God to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ and that they also were called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of the Lord. We do not have a scriptural reference of the pre-natal calling of the Apostle Paul. We are sure however, that God most assuredly had him selected before he was born to be his servant. That fact that he writes his name Paul indicates that he has recognized his calling from God. He has changed from being called Saul to the new man Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God. As he so clearly understood the working of God in his own life, and the complete change that he underwent to become the new creation, in Jesus Christ. He knew that it was only possible through the Grace of God that he had become God’s servant. That is why in this letter and in others to the various churches he says Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is through God’s Grace that we are called to be His servants. And it is through that Grace that we have that Peace which passes all understanding. That Peace which is part of the fruit of the spirit. That Peace which is evidence of the new life in Christ. That Peace which is evidence of the new heart and the transformed mind of the servant that has been called by God. The prophet Jeremiah said to the people of Israel;

“I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying ‘Know the Lord, ‘for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD, for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more.” [Jeremiah 31:33-3 4]

The prophet Ezekiel also told the people how God would give them a new heart to live up to their calling:

“A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart flesh .” [Ezekiel 36:26]

The new heart that Ezekiel and Jeremiah are referring to not merely the vessel that pumps the blood around our bodies, the heart meant the very core of a person’s being, the center of their existence as a person, their personhood. I am sure that many of us have answered the question, “How much do you love me?” by saying “With all my heart!” I know you did not mean to say or infer “With all my Blood Pump!” You meant I love you with all my very existence, with all that I am, with all the power and energy of my being. This is the heart of a person that the Grace of God transforms when that God calls person.

From Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Jephthah, Ruth, Esther, Deborah, Samuel, David, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel in the Old Testament to John, James, Andrew, Peter, Paul and the rest of the Apostles in the New Testament; those who have been called by God have been changed once they encountered the Grace of God in their lives. I heard a story on the radio in the car about how the Grace of God can change even a POW camp. There was a Japanese POW camp in the jungles of southeast Asia near the River Kwai, I am sure many of you have seen the movie “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and can recall the squalor of the camp and the living conditions portrayed there. Well this particular camp was a filthy, diseased mud-hole where prisoners were dying daily from malnutrition, various tropical diseases, not to mention apathy and brutality from the guards. Within one year from December, 1942 to December 1943, the camp was transformed into an orderly, clean, relatively free from disease, and where all the prisoners gathered for Christmas services to come together for prayer. What caused such a change? The death of one man. One prisoner, who was sick and dying from one of the many tropical diseases that afflicted the men there, besides the shortage of food, still could share his last bit of food with a fellow prisoner, before he died. The rest of the men in the camp pondered what would possess a man to give up his only means of survival in those horrible conditions. While they were burying him, they found in his possessions a Bible. They wondered if the answer as to why he acted like he did was in the pages of this book. So they took turns reading the Bible every day. And as they did, they were changed. They were transformed by the renewal of their minds and their attitudes to the situation they were in. The camp was transformed and by Christmas of 1943 every prisoner was at the services that were being held. The Grace of God had called them forth from the conditions they were in, to a new heart and mind indwelt by the Peace, which passes all understanding. It is God’s Plan to call us forth from the conditions we are in, to a new relationship with Him in Jesus Christ, His Son. In this morning’s Gospel reading John the Baptist declares, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John proclaimed four things about Jesus in this passage:

1. That He is the Paschal Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

2. That He was before all things, pre-existent.

3. That the Spirit of God rests on Him.

4. That He is the Son of God.

The result of these proclamations was that two of His disciples, Andrew and John then followed Jesus. Andrew’s answer to the call of Jesus was to find Simon Peter, his brother, and proclaim the Good News that he had found the Messiah. We too are called to react like Andrew and go and tell our brothers and sisters the Good News that we have found the Messiah when we have been transformed by the Grace of God. As we begin this New Year and face a new millennium, you will hear more and more of how you can fulfill the words of today’s collect. Be ready to answer the call you have received from God and let your light so shine that men may see your good works and glorify your Father, who is in heaven. William Willamon writes;

“ She works three nights a week at our church's center for the homeless. Three nights a week! No one in the congregation is so thoroughly involved in this demanding evening ministry.

Most of us think that she does it because she is such an exemplary Christian. She really knows Jesus and she knows how to serve Jesus. And that's true.

But when I commented to her about her great commitment to the work, saying to her that her commitment was sign of her great faith, she replied, "Great faith? I don't think so. I don't really have that much faith. That's the point of why I am here. I need all the help I can get seeing Jesus, understanding him, being with him. So I have to keep very close, and keep close very often, to those whom Jesus keeps close to. That's why I'm here. If I didn't have this place to see Jesus, I reckon I'd never be near him."

To be honest with you, that’s the reason I do Kairos Prison Ministry. Since that first weekend in 1986 I learned that I could see Jesus doing his thing in men’s lives. It is an awesome thing to behold God at work. Wherever people are doing ministry, you will see God at work.

You want to see Jesus? Come and see.

DOCTRINAL POINTS:

1. JESUS IS THE FULLNESS OF GOD’S REVELATION BECAUSE HE IS GOD’S CHOSEN ONE. JESUS AND THE FATHER ARE ONE. This revelation is found on the lips of John the Baptist. He is a herald, preparing people’s hearts for the coming of Jesus. He functions wholly as a witness to Jesus. In all things he is inferior to the Word. Although John’s ministry is prior to Jesus’, Jesus existed before John. The water baptism of John is only a preparatory to the Spirit baptism of Jesus.

2. THE THEME OF WITNESS IS VERY IMPORTANT IN THE FOURTH GOSPEL . John gives witness to Jesus’ identity. Jesus witnesses to the Father by revealing his name to his disciples. The disciples in turn witness to the Father and the Son through the Spirit/Paraclete. The purpose of testimony is to bring others to belief in Jesus That they might have life.

3. THE TRUE WITNESS TESTIFIES NOT TO SELF BUT TO JESUS . Although many thought that John the Baptist was the long-awaited one, he does not yield to their expectations of greatness for him but turns people’s attention to Jesus: Here is the Lamb of God, who will destroy evil in the world by taking away the glitter and power of sin. AT THE HEART OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS THE CALL TO WITNESS TO JESUS THAT OTHERS MIGHT HAVE LIFE.

APPLICATION/DISCUSSION:

1. WE ARE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS: God chose us long before we chose him. We try to live as Jesus taught; we make moral decisions based on W.W.J.D. ; and we take our name from his Christ-ians. we too are confirmed in what we are doing by the descent of the Spirit on Jesus.

2. WE ARE HOLY : We know we sin - as individuals and even as a group. We are always struggling as we are on a pilgrimage. We are not necessarily right, but one is always trying. St. Paul insists we are called to holiness. We are a holy people - sharing in God’s fullness of life. The church represents the restoration of the unity that was meant to be, the family of God before the divorce of Eden. Our holiness is a reflection of the holiness of God himself

3. WE ARE TO BE A LIGHT TO THE NATIONS : It is not enough, God says, for Israel just to be a restoration, The people are to be a light shining before the rest of the nations. A beacon’s light must extend outward for it to be a light at all. A candle cannot be hidden under a bushel. The call to evangelize by word and example extends to all of us. How will you today, this week let your light shine?

Baptism

Mon, 09 Jan 2023 20:21:00 GMT

Three years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Israel with a group from Christ Church Fredericka in Saint Simons. The trip was led by a priest, a Rabi, and a Presbyterian minister. I know this sounds like an opening to a joke. No, we did not walk into a bar. We did, however, walk together through the most sacred places on Earth, and the most conflicted. Within a confined area in the Old City of Jerusalem are the three most sacred sites for the three main religions in the western world: The Temple Mount, The Dome of the Rock, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where three faiths residing together: Judaism, Muslims, and Christians. The city is a cacophony of sounds and smells and languages. Muslim chants rang out at various times of the day marking a time of prayer; incense floated in the air of the sacred buildings we visited; Jewish men and women roamed the streets properly attired reflecting their faith tradition. And each is determined to claim his own territory with ferocity and pride and sometimes with anger.

I remember on our third day into our trip meeting an Imam. We met with him in an abandoned stall in a marketplace. It was obvious that we were not welcomed: Our guide exchanged emotionally charged words that I could not understand with men at the market and with the Imam’s handlers until finally the Imam appeared and we were allowed to speak with him. As our guide translated for us his words, the Imam made it clear that our country should keep out of the affairs of Israel. I knew after this trip that there will never be peace in the Middle East.

One of the day trips we took was to the Jordan River. The River flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and on to the Dead Sea. We stood on the banks of the river looking over to the country of Jordan. It was a surreal moment: Behind us was a large fenced deserted area that sported signs warning us of buried land mines. Across from us was an Arab nation and between was the river where John baptized so many people including Jesus. A small band of love between such conflict. This baptism was Jesus’ turning point to begin his ministry.

I bring this up because today we celebrate the baptism of our Lord. Our gospel tells the story of those present when John baptizes Jesus and hears God’s voice proclaiming, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) “And the Spirit of God descending like a dove alights on him.” (Matthew 3:16) God is telling the world that Jesus is the fulfillment of scripture and prophecy.

To best completely appreciate today’s readings, I must begin with the readings from Friday: The Epiphany of our Lord. An epiphany is about something hidden that is made manifest coming into the forefront. And while the Israelites were waiting for the coming of the Christ, only a few knew of the recent birth. But good news travels quickly, especially something as powerful as this.

On Friday we read Matthew’s account of the Magi traveling from the east to Jerusalem. Traveling following a bright star. The Magi were not sure what awaited them at the end of their journey. They were seeking to understand the star and what it meant that a king had been born. Their faith in following that star brought them deeper into the mystery to understand.

This is the nature of not only their journey but ours too. They were following the star faithfully. They followed the star until it stopped. They stopped when it did. Not when they saw Jesus. When the star stopped., and they knew then that the truth would be revealed. They still do not understand everything, and yet, they followed the light of that star and led by their faith to the mystery until it was revealed. This is a perfect example of faith seeking understanding. This is an important theme, not only during the season of Epiphany but in our daily lives.

And this brings us back to today’s reading from Matthew on the baptism of Christ in the river Jordan. Just as the Magi were on a journey of faith, Jesus too is on a journey of faith. He may not have known exactly the future. He too is walking in faith. He asked John to baptize him, to fulfill what has been prophesied. He knew that this was his destiny, his calling. And afterwards, he will know more. John and the rest of those standing near, the whole world, learned of Jesus’ destiny. THIS IS MY SON. He is the one. The truth is revealed in those few words.

For Christians, Baptism is our initiation. It and the Eucharist are the two main Sacraments of our faith. We are baptized and marked as Christ’s own forever. Thus, begin our faith journey. And in our journey, things are revealed. Just because we have been baptized does not mean that we understand it all, any more than the people standing at the river Jordan did either. Both baptism and the eucharist represent a mystery of God’s love. Knowing that we are saved but trying to live into what we individually are saved for in our own faith journey.

Christ’s baptism made manifest of who Jesus is to those who were there and to those who are followers of the way. It is a revelation of who WE are as we live into our own baptismal vows. We are a people of Christ. We are a people of the light. To follow the Christ who came as a light to all nations, a gift from God to his people. Through this gift we are saved. This is a season of light and a time to recognize that we are all continuing our own journey of faith, trusting to follow the light just as the Magi did, maybe not always understanding but always trusting.

In a few minutes, we will baptize Corey Benjamin Cooper into the body of Christ. Using water that Fr. Kurt will bless. With a bit of water from the Jordan River that I brought home from my trip.

We have no idea where Corey’s faith journey will take him. However, as people of the light, we are committed to helping Corey live into his faith just as we help each other live into ours. The paschal candle is lit in the back of the church behind the baptismal font. Representing the light of Christ in the world. After Fr. Kurt pour the baptismal waters onto Corey’s head in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, he will anoint him with chrism oil, making the sign of the cross, marking him as Christ’s own forever. We will then light a small candle from that Christ candle and hand it to Rebba and Jason as a symbol of Christ’s light now shining on Corey, around Corey and through Corey. We will all be gathered around him in that light as a church and a people of that light.

This is the beginning of Corey’s journey and it marks a time in ours. A people of faith seeking understanding. We, like the Magi, are called to step out on faith to follow the star, to lead even when we are not sure where we are going, for we are in a liminal space that is leading us to the glory of God and the answers to the mystery.

And I say to Corey, this is just the beginning of your journey! Thanks be to God!

The Mystery of God with Us

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 21:12:00 GMT

Last Sunday, we were confronted with the theme of the UNEXPECTEDNESS of God and how he does not always do the things that we expect him to. We heard about John the Baptist questioning Jesus because Jesus was not doing the things John expected.

So everyone was expecting a Messiah to fulfill their expectations. Many times, we have expectations of what a person is like based on his voice, if we have only talked with him over the phone, or based on a picture of him or what someone else has told us of him. We get input from all sorts of people on all sorts of subjects. We are quick to make assumptions about people, places and things based on our expectations. As you read scripture and the story of God's dealings with his people you should come to EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED. God does NOT operate according to our expectations: Abraham and Sarah did NOT EXPECT to have a son in their old age. Abraham did NOT EXPECT God to ask him to sacrifice his son. The Hebrews, in bondage in Egypt, did NOT EXPECT to be rescued by one of their own brethren who had been raised in the palace, who was a murderer and a fugitive from justice. This same Moses was not even eloquent enough to speak to the Pharaoh but had to have his brother Aaron speak for him. Samson did NOT EXPECT that in weakness, blindness and helplessness that he would overcome more Philistines at his death than he had during his lifetime. The people of Israel did NOT EXPECT that their greatest earthly king, David, would come from the small town of Bethlehem. Almighty God shows his great power by working through the weak earthen vessels of those we least expect to have power. Those of us who are chosen also do not expect to be worthy of his call. We spend a lot of time denying that he is calling us to his service. In 1935, the Mayor of New York City was Fiorello La Guardia; he went to night court in one of the poorest sections of the city and took over the bench as he gave the judge the night off. An old grandmother was brought in before him accused of stealing a loaf of bread from a store. She explained that her daughter's husband had run off and left her sick daughter with three hungry children. The storeowner wanted her punished as an example to others. But La Guardia did the unexpected. He sentenced her to a $10.00 fine or ten days in jail. Then he took his hat threw in a ten dollar bill, remitted her fine, then he fined everyone in the court Fifty cents for living in a city with so little compassion. They collected $47.50 for the grandmother.

Saint Paul reminds us that God’s power is manifest in our weakness and powerlessness. When we finally admit that we have no power to do or be anything, then our heart is open for him to move in and work a wonder. A lady had a sick child at home and she had to run to the pharmacy for some more medicine. When she came out of the store she realized that she had locked her keys in car and she had no way to get home and get the medicine to her baby who she had left alone at home. She was frantic and she was running back and forth trying to figure out what she was going to do about getting into the car. She was crying and praying at the same time. A man walked up and asked what was wrong. She explained what her problem was and he found a piece of wire in seconds the car door was open. She exclaimed that he was an answer to her prayer and that he was a really good man. He looked down and sadly said that she was mistaken, he was not a good man but a bad one because he had just gotten out of jail that morning. She cried out "Thank you Jesus, you sent me a professional!!" God does the unexpected when we finally empty ourselves to allow his Holy Spirit to move in and have his way with us. Part of the Prayer of Consecration, in Eucharistic Rite One, says it very nicely "Here we offer and present unto thee, 0 Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy and living sacrifice unto thee."

This Sunday, we heard in the lessons, UNEXPECTEDNESS Part II. For to King Ahaz of Judah the words of the prophet Isaiah seemed to good to be true. He said that by the time the child of the pregnant young woman was old enough to know right from wrong, that is how long it would take for the enemies of Judah to disappear. And the child's name would be Immanuel or God with us.

It seems that God has delighted to be with his people. He has shown himself to be consistent in that matter. However, God is rarely experienced without the involvement of other people. We live our experience of Him as a community, a community of love and faith. We experience Him and realize that He is with us. He promises to those that will follow Him that He will be with us. We see evidence of this in the scriptures when Jacob was fleeing his brother Esau for stealing his blessing he rested and had a dream and God said to him "BEHOLD I AM WITH YOU and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land". (Genesis 28:15) When Moses was confronted by God and Moses said to God "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt? He said BUT I WILL BE WITH YOU and this shall be a sign for you, that I have sent you when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt you shall serve God upon this mountain." (Exodus 3:11-13) When Joshua had taken command of the children of Israel in place of Moses God said, "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life AS I WAS WITH MOSES SO I WILL BE WITH YOU and I will not fail you or forsake you". (Joshua 1:5) When God selected Gideon they discussed as follows: "Pray Lord how can I deliver Israel. Behold my clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least in my family. And the Lord said to him, BUT I WILL BE WITH YOU, and you shall smite the Midianites as one man". (Judges 6:15-16) For Samuel and David it was evident that the Lord was with them, we read in scriptures "And Samuel grew and THE LORD WAS WITH HIM and let none of his words fall to the ground" (I Samuel 3:19) "Saul was afraid of David because THE LORD WAS WITH HIM but had departed from Saul". (I Samuel 18:12) The Lord spoke to Jeremiah when He called him "Be not afraid of them FOR I AM WITH YOU to deliver says the Lord". (Jeremiah 1:8) When the birth of Jesus was announced to Mary the angel said to her "Hail O favored one THE LORD IS WITH YOU" (Luke 1:28) When the angel announced to Joseph that the child Mary would bear would be the Savior he said the child would be called Emmanuel "God with us". Christ embodies that aspect of God that assures us that He is indeed among us and with us.

The turn of events with Joseph and Mary were quite unexpected for Joseph as we heard in the Gospel this morning.

“This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel'- which means, "God with us. " When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel, of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” [Matt 1:18-25(NIV)]

Now there are a couple of things I want you to notice about Joseph, first of all he does not say one word that is recorded in the scripture. On the other hand, Mary has quite a dialogue with the angel Gabriel and then sings the Magnificat at Elizabeth's house in chapter one of Luke's gospel. We might conclude that they are just fulfilling gender specific roles, with Mary being highly verbal and Joseph being the strong silent type. But we do notice a few other things about Joseph. First of all he was a righteous man; secondly, he was a compassionate man and thirdly, he was an obedient man.

William Willimon writes , “Years ago, I was talking to a little boy during a rehearsal of another church school pageant, in my old home church in Plymouth. And, I asked this clever little boy what part he had in the pageant. He said it was a rather small part, in fact insignificant. He had hoped to be a king, or a least a shepherd, perhaps one of the animals. But, he was very small so he was Joseph. “I don’t have much to do,” he said with childish resignation. But, not only did Joseph have a role to play, he played it very well indeed. The New Testament is at pains to show us that Joseph did not simply disappear after the angels and the shepherds went away, but that he carried out his responsibilities until he died.

At this time of the year when we celebrate the coming of the Christ child, it is good to take a look at the purposes of God on a cosmic scale, to stand back and take a look at the big picture. When we focus in on the Babe of Bethlehem, we see the action of God moving in such a way that we will comprehend his Incarnation and bring in to focus how he wants to relate to us. In John's Gospel we hear the term Father used for God many, many times. This was a new concept to the people of Jesus' day. God was Almighty, all-powerful, Judge, King and everlasting, but to think of him as Father was new to them. Jesus brought that concept with him when he came to give us insight into his relationship with God his Father. He came as a little baby so that he could experience what we go through. In that special relationship with Joseph, his earthly father, he caught sight of the way he could let us know how he related to God. Barbara Whitehead points out in an article in the Atlantic Monthly, several years ago, called "Dan Quayle Was Right" that family relationships is the critical issue facing us today and in the future. I can assure you that the men I have met and minister to in prison for the most part have come out of bad or poor family relationships, where the missing ingredient was Love. Many have had little if any relationships of a positive nature with their fathers. A father or lack of a father has a great influence on what happens in the family. Let us contrast Jesus' relationship with his Father. In Marks, gospel during the harrowing hours in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus called out;

"Abba, Father, all things are possible to you; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what you will. " [Mark 14:36]

In his anguish of the hour he called out "Abba” or “Daddy" showing how close his relationship is to the Father. At the point of his making expiation for our sins, he cried out in his humanity to his Father revealing the intimacy of their relationship. It is into that intimacy that we are adopted, so that as St. Paul says in his letter to the Galatians;

"God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba, Father! "[Galatians 4:6]

When we can speak to God as Abba, then we are truly filled with grace, as of the Father himself, through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. That gracious favor of God is manifested through the Love of the Christian community, which begins in the family. That brings us back to the rest of the story in the second chapter of the gospel according to Luke.

“When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look-for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you. "

"Why were you searching for me? " he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house? " But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” [Luke 2:39-52(ATIV)]

God in his infinite wisdom knew what he was doing when he put his Son in to a Blended family in Nazareth. Make no mistake about it when you have a man raising someone else's child, you have a blended family. Joseph is given the awesome responsibility of raising the Son of God. There are many men and women today who find themselves raising other people's children. Blended families are not something new on the scene. God shows us in the second chapter of Luke's gospel his plan for Blended families. His solution or plan is Love, Compassion and Dedication. How do we know this? By the way Jesus lived out his earthly life. Granted he was the Son of God, but he grew up in the home provided by Joseph of Nazareth. This man Joseph was dedicated to the Law of Moses and to God. He was obedient to the law and to God. He showed Jesus all the love and compassion a man can, because we see it leak out all through the ministry of Jesus. God's plan for the family is that the husband and wife be totally dedicated to him, first of all and the rest will fall into place, You notice that Jesus returned to Nazareth with his parents and was obedient to them, just like Joseph was obedient to God when he took Mary as his wife after she became pregnant by power of the Holy Spirit, ANYWAY.

In a sermon in Harvard University’s Memorial Church, Peter Gomes talked about the particular role that Joseph had to play in the Incarnation:

“Fear not Joseph, thou son of David.” You fear disgrace. You fear embarrassment and shame for yourself and for Mary. You fear public scandal. You fear that your reputation will suffer, but it will not happen. For out of this fear comes an opportunity that neither you nor your worthy ancestors could have imagined. And, what is this opportunity that comes out of real fear and alleged disgrace? It is this Joseph: you will become the guardian of God. You will be the protector of the Savior of the world. You, Joseph, will become foster parent to hope. Even your lucky ancestor Joseph could not have imagined such an opportunity, and it has come to you unasked, unsought after, and undeserved.”

Sometimes you have to just step out in faith and trust God that, as he said, "He will be with YOU."

DOCTRINAL POINTS:

1. This passage belongs to a series of colorful events in Matthew’s Infancy Narrative which serve as a foreword to Jesus’ public ministry. It identifies who Jesus is, how that is so and what role Jesus plays in salvation history.

2. The just Joseph always did what was right . His decision with regard to Mary shows that he obeyed the Law in a spirit of mercy. God would have him go even further and take Mary to his home. As Jesus teaches later (Mt 23:34-40), the heart of the Law is the love commandment which supersedes every other demand. Furthermore Joseph does as he is told—the true disciple who hears the Word of God and puts it into action, even in the unexpected and sometimes suspect events of life. God’s ways can be surprising.

3. Jesus is son of David not through physical begetting but through Joseph’s acceptance of a child conceived through the Holy Spirit. The initiative for this conception comes not from human impulse but from God alone. Even the child’s name is given by God, not by the parents. The meaning of the name discloses Jesus’ role for humankind: He is to save God’s people by releasing them from the bandage of sin through his words and deeds of compassion.

4. Jesus is Son of God in fulfillment of the messianic promise to the house of David. By the Spirit he is Emmanuel, God-with-us . From now on God is present in human history in Jesus (Mt 28:20). Whatever Jesus does God does. The promise of God’s abiding presence is fulfilled in Jesus who reveals the limitless love and providential care of God for us.

APPLICATION/DISCUSSION: THE INCARNATION

1. A theological term for the coming of God's Son into the world as a human being. The term itself is not used in the Bible, but it is based on clear references in the New Testament to Jesus as a person "in the flesh" [Rom. 8:3; Eph. 2:15; Col. 1:22].

2. Jesus participated fully in all that it means to live a human life. But if Jesus were merely a man, no matter how great, there would be no significance in drawing attention to His bodily existence. The marvelous thing is that in Jesus, God Himself began to live a fully human life. As the apostle Paul declared, "In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" [Col. 2:9]. The capacity of Jesus to reveal God to us and to bring salvation depends upon His being fully God and fully man at the same time.

3. Our human minds cannot understand how Jesus can be both fully God and fully man. But the Bible gives clear indication of how this works out in practice. No person may see God and live [Ex. 33:20]. He dwells in unapproachable light [1 Tim. 6:16]. Can we, therefore, only know Him from a distance? No! God has come near in the person of Jesus [Matt. 1:23]. He has taken on a form in which He can be seen, experienced and understood by us as human beings [John 1:14,18]. Jesus reveals God to us perfectly since in His human life He is the image of God [2 Cor. 4:4], exhibiting full likeness with the Father [John 1:14]. Jesus' godhood in His manhood is the key to our intimate knowledge of God.

4. This does not mean, however, that Jesus' humanity is only a display case for His divinity. Jesus lived out His human life by experiencing all the pressures, temptations, and limitations that we experience [Heb. 2:18; 4:15; 5:2,7-8]. That is why Jesus' life really is the supreme human success story [Heb1. 5:8]. Jesus was a pioneer [Heb. 2:10], (RSV), showing in practical terms the full meaning and possibility of human life, lived in obedience to God. In this respect, Jesus is a kind of second Adam [Rom. 5:14-15], marking a new beginning for the human race.

5. Jesus would have performed a great work if He had done no more than set a perfect example. But His full humanity is also the basis on which it is possible for Him to represent us-- indeed, take our place-- in dying for us. The Bible makes this clear when it speaks of "one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all" [1 Tim. 2:5-6].

6. When He ascended to His Father after His resurrection, Jesus left behind some of the human restrictions experienced during His earthly life. He received at that time His original divine glory [John 17:5]. But the joining together of deity and humanity that marks His incarnation did not come to an end with His ascension. Jesus took His resurrected body with Him back to heaven [Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9]. In heaven now He is our divine Lord, our human leader, and the great High Priest who serves as a mediator between God and man [Heb. 3:1. (From Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

Advent 3

Mon, 12 Dec 2022 20:02:00 GMT

I spent this past weekend at one of the holiest places in Georgia doing holy work and eating some of the best bacon and fried chicken ever to be cooked!

I spent two days at Honey Creek. As a member of the Commission on Ministry. Along with the Standing Committee, we interview folks who are discerning a call to serve God and the church as an ordained minister: either as a priest or a deacon. It is the CoM’s objective to listen, question and help discern with these individuals, their calls. Sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes the answer is no. And sometimes the answer is not yet.

I have served on the Commission for the last 5 years, being appointed by Bishop Benhase and continuing to serve at the pleasure of Bishop Logue. Typically, we sit around a long table all 8 to 10 of us and interview each aspirant, those aspiring to become postulants for holy orders. We ask them soft fluffy questions. And then lead up to the rather tough questions that require them to articulate their call to serve God. These times are holy, those who walk into that room share some of the most intimate details of their lives, their vulnerability is required to allow those who are walking this journey with them to help discern one of the most powerful and meaningful decisions they will make: to clarify and submit to this call.

This weekend, though, we tried a new method to this old process. We set a weekend to meet the aspirants on the holy ground of Honey Creek, to eat our meals together, to pray and worship together, and to spend time not so much in interviews but in discussions.

We were looking for the clear signs that these individuals not only have a call but also exemplify the gifts that each order requires. Often these signs are glaringly obvious. Other times, they are a bit more obtuse and need to be teased out from the corners of the person’s life stories.

It is human nature to ask for clear signs that we are making the right decisions. Just as John the Baptist in our gospel reading from Matthew is asking for signs that he is the Messiah. “Are you the one who is to come?” he asks. “Or are we to wait for another?” It may seem strange that he asks these questions. However, he is expecting one kind of savior, one that comes as a warrior king to save Israel. Yet, what he sees is someone quite different.

Jesus of course sends back his answer through his disciples: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” (Matthew 11:4-5)

In other words, look at these signs, and then you tell me?

A week ago, the gospel from Matthew chapter 3 told of John the Baptist’s high hopes as he hyped about the Messiah, whose Coming he was to prepare. He explained to the crowd who went to listen to him in the wilderness of Judea: “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

(Matthew 3:11-12)

It is possible that this expectation of the Messiah emboldened John in his preaching. He was notably fearless in confronting the Pharisees and Sadducees, calling them a “brood of vipers,” and calling out Herod for divorcing his wife and marrying his sister-in-law. It was because of this that Herod had him arrested and put behind bars. But perhaps John did not mind going to prison because he was expecting that once Jesus had settled into his role as the Messiah, he would make everything right. He would make quick work of their Roman enemies and rescue him from prison.

After many months of waiting in prison, it has become evident that Jesus did not live up to all the hype that John heaped upon him. When he heard what Jesus had been doing: healing the sick, casting out demons and teaching people that the meek and the persecuted are blessed, telling them to turn the other cheek and to love not just neighbors but enemies, he sent his disciples to Jesus to ask if he is the one who is to come, or should they look for another. It has become disappointingly clear that John’s expectation of Jesus did not pan out.

Like John, we have expectations of God and may have experienced being disappointed by God – some of us more regularly than others. Many of us believe God to be invincible and powerful and expect that God would use his divine powers to heal the sick, solve world hunger, wipe out injustice and racism, stop all wars and reward our faithfulness with material and spiritual blessings. Like John the Baptist, we wish Jesus, our Savior, would not act like us finite, ordinary humans, but rather be more like Captain America or Superwoman or any of the many Marvel heroes and heroes.

But Jesus is not this kind of savior. He did not come with military might or wealth. His way of saving the world is through soft power – sacrificial and loving service. It is no wonder that when one looks at the religious landscape, at conservative, liberal, progressive, religious right, or via media Christians, John’s question seemed to have become the reality as people reject the Jesus of the gospels and look for another version of the Messiah that fits their lifestyle and ideology.

This Advent, as we get ready to welcome Christ anew, we are given another opportunity to get it right. For although Jesus did not give an easy and clear answer to John, he gives him some concrete hints about what he’s up to: “Go and tell John what you hear and see… the signs that I am doing are out there for everyone to see!

These words of Jesus recall the words of the prophet Isaiah in today’s lectionary. These words describe what will happen when the Messiah comes. It was not a popular image associated with most of the Jews’ expectation of the Messiah at that time and yet there it is, hidden in plain sight.

In other words, Jesus tells John that the work of God is not bombastic or earth-shattering as John and many of us imagine it to be. John expected that Jesus would come with an ax to cut down the trees that are not bearing fruit, separate the wheat and store it in the barn and burn the chaff. Instead of this, Jesus tells him to break free from his narrow expectation that has figuratively imprisoned him, to see beyond the destructive and angry God that he expected the Messiah to be, and open up to the God who heals, who teaches to transform people, who desires not the death of sinners but that all might repent, who shows love, mercy, and compassion. In short, the gospel invites us to open our eyes and our ears to the handprints of God in the hidden, non-traditional, and unpopular, amid our anguish, disappointments, and doubts.

Then, perhaps, when we begin to see God in these “hidden” places, we can be a sign to the world that what Jesus said is true. We can be Jesus’ answer to John’s question. We can be the blind whose eyes were opened, the lame whose legs can walk again, the lepers who have been cleansed, the deaf whose ears have started hearing, the dead who have been raised, and the poor who have received good news. The Good news of God’s healing and hope for us all.

There was a billboard sign on Bobby Jones Expressway about 10 years ago that read, “Don’t make me come down there. Signed by God.”

While I thought this was funny, it really is a bit sad that so many thinks of God’s return as a threat. Something to fear. I, however, see His coming not as a threat but as a promise.

On this Gaudete Sunday, as we wait and prepare, we are also called to rejoice. The coming of the Messiah and the Gospel of Jesus Christ are the Good News the angel will speak of when appearing to the shepherds, “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:10) This brings us hope even amid our struggles so that when the Christ child arrives at the manger, we can rejoice and sing with gusto, “Joy to the world! The Lord is come.” For now, we pray, “Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us.”

Advent2.ZIP

Mon, 05 Dec 2022 17:39:00 GMT

At this time of the year we are busy with the preparations for Christmas and all that it requires to focus our hearts and minds on the Christmas story. This time of the year also brings with it the Nativity scenes in stores and on people’s lawns. The Nativity scenes used to have a place on the lawns of courthouses and city halls, but no more. If that occurs, we have an invasion of the ACLU, descending like a SWAT Team on a bunch of bank robbers. We have the annual battle between the anti-religion forces and those who wish to commemorate Christmas in the old fashioned way. It is a fight that has become all too familiar at this time of the year. This morning’s lessons speak of the coming of the King, the branch from Jesse's roots that shall come forth. They speak of the king that shall rule righteously, the one in whom all the Gentiles shall hope. The appearance of John the Baptist is like an invasion of the unfamiliar and unexpected.

He came to the people of Israel and gave them a message of repentance that they should seek the forgiveness that God offered them for their sins. As the collect says: "Give us grace to heed the warnings of the prophets and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer." This season of Advent has been set aside before Christmas so that we might quiet ourselves down long enough to take stock of our lives and prepare for the coming of our Redeemer. The message today can be summed up in the words Repentance, Forgiveness, Hope and Encouragement. It is really a miracle that we can even stop long enough during this hectic holiday season to hear the words of Advent. What are the words you hear most often? Are you ready for Christmas? I have yet to meet anybody who was ready for Christmas! What ever happened to Advent? It seems that in the rush to get Christmas over and done with we just blow right through Advent at a Warp Factor 5. No one wants to hear about Repentance. What has that to do with Christmas? Let us think about Gifts, Parties, Food and Happy times! By the time Christmas does come everyone is knocked out from all the shopping and preparing for Christmas that we all just fall out and that is when things get quiet. It is quite a reversal of what it should be. The focus of Advent season is on preparing for the coming of the LORD. The Christmas season focuses on the first coming of the LORD as a baby. John preached about his coming as a man to begin his ministry, and we look forward NOW to his coming again, in glory, to claim his kingdom. We are talking about the same LORD but we are looking at his coming from three points of view. The secular world has taken his coming as a baby and the arrival of the three wise men, with gifts for the Baby Jesus and used it as an excuse to go on a buying binge. As a culture, we act like he did not come the first time. We pay no attention to the fact that he came as our Redeemer, to live and die for our sins, to be resurrected and ascended, and to be glorified at the right hand of the Father. The Reason for the Season is tied up in these words:

Repentance-Forgiveness-Hope-Encouragement.

Repentance: The action on our part that prepares us and our hearts to receive the coming king. John preached to the people, to repent and prepare themselves for the one who was coming after him. He looked into the hearts of the Pharisees and Sadducees and saw that they were not properly prepared for the baptism of repentance that he was offering. His words revealed their real attitude. They were hoping in their relationship to Abraham for their salvation. They had not properly cleansed and renewed their hearts. Their attitude was not right. That was why he told them that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Recall how Nicodemus came to Jesus by night and Jesus told him that he would have to be born again. Nicodemus could not understand it and Jesus had to explain that he was talking about being born of the Spirit, from above. In other words, being baptized by the Spirit into a whole new relationship. That could only come when the heart had been properly prepared and cleansed and made ready to receive that baptism. The fire that John referred to was the celestial, refining fire of God's Spirit'. Do you recall that the Bishop intones the Veni Creator Spiritus" at services of ordination. It goes:

Come Holy Spirit, our souls inspire,

Enlighten with celestial fire.

The Holy Spirit's celestial fire is refiner's fire that bums off all the impurities, like the silversmith does when refining silver. He fires the silver ore until all that is left is the pure silver. When the Holy Spirit does his work in our hearts, we are changed people. We are ready to receive the Forgiveness that Jesus brings as the Redeemer of the world. He came to bring the forgiveness of sins that we may be made right with God. As it says in Psalm 72:7

In his time shall the righteous flourish;

there shall be abundance of peace till the moon shall be no more.

Forgiveness of sins is what the Gospel is all about- it is the theme of the parable of the Prodigal Son, which could rightly be renamed the parable of the Forgiving Father. The core of the Lord's Prayer is the Forgiveness that we expect from God, but only if we forgive others. I did not appreciate what forgiveness meant until I made my retreat to the Jesuit Center for Spiritual Growth. My director had me concentrating on my sin for 24 hours and by the time I met with him again, I was a miserable wretch. He asked me how I felt and I said that it felt like I had betrayed God's love for me. He then said to me, "Well, you know there is Forgiveness." Wow, just hearing the word was like taking a boulder off my back. It felt so great I wanted to jump up and down. I’M FORGIVEN!! You cannot imagine the joy in those words after you have spent 24 hours searching scripture and coming to grips with your recalcitrant unrepentance. It is no wonder that John and Jesus had such a hard time with the Pharisees and Sadducees. Unforgiveness towards others is a bar and it blocks up the flow of God's Spirit into our lives to bring healing and wholeness. Once it is dealt with, Forgiveness it opens up the way for Hope to flow into our lives. St. Paul wrote to the Romans:

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." [Romans 15:13]

Hope: We must have hope in our lives if we expect live the fruitful lives that God intends for us to have. One of the triggering causes of suicide is loss of all hope. When the suicide-prone person loses all hope, they are very susceptible to committing suicide. The human spirit needs "hope to cope" with the pressures of life. Hope is like the pilot light in the hot water heater or gas range. It is that little spark you need to ignite your afterburners to get you going when the going gets rough. Hope is built up through encouragement.

Encouragement is a great Christian word; it has the same root as the word "comforter". In the fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostle a man named Joseph was surnamed Barnabas, which meant Son of Encouragement, sold some land and brought the proceeds to the Apostles. He also accompanied Paul on his journeys. The word encouragement carries the connotation of one who comes along side to help. The Holy Spirit comes along side to encourage us, support us and strengthen us as we strive to serve the LORD. We might consider these aspects of the ministry of encouragement:

1. Encouragement includes exhortation: Spurring one on to greater effort.

2. Encouragement is honest: It helps us to see ourselves as we are.

3. Encouragement is verbal: It gives good reports of progress.

4. Encouragement is exemplary: It leads by example.

5. Encouragement sees progress: It looks for improvement.

6. Encouragement is reciprocal: We both improve.

7. Encouragement fosters growth: Giving and receiving helps all to grow.

I remember a student I had out at Fort Gordon in my electronics classes, in the 1980’s named Kenneth Henderson. Kenneth was an encourager. We would spend the break periods talking about how the LORD was moving in our lives. If you were feeling down he would always quote from the 1st letter of John, "greater is he that is in you than he who is in the world". He was always carrying a PMA- Positive Mental Attitude. Later in 1995 when I began teaching the Bible, he appeared in both my Old and New Testament classes. I cannot begin to tell you the encouragement I felt to see his smiling face in the class. The reading from Isaiah is filled with words of encouragement; in fact it is so full I would call it a ZIP file. In case you are not familiar with the term ZIP file, it is used to describe a computer file that has been compressed to take up a lot less space and it is designated a zip file because to retrieve all the original information you have to UNZIP it. It is great to use when you only have so much space on a floppy disk. This reading from Isaiah is like a ZIP file because it is so rich in symbolism for the coming messiah. St. Paul reminds us that our most important source of encouragement is the scriptures that we might have hope in the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In this season of reflection let us gather around the Advent wreath. Let this time be one of preparation and repentance as we look forward to his coming in glory.

DOCTRINAL POINTS: Gloria Hutchinson writes in Homily Helps.

This material follows the infancy narrative and is the beginning of Jesus' "public ministry." Because Jesus' public ministry begins with his baptism at the hands of John the Baptizer, Mt must describe John carefully. John must fit in with the kingdom of heaven that Jesus announces and yet offer no competition to Jesus as the Christ.

1) Kingdom of heaven. The Baptizer is the first to preach the coming of the kingdom of heaven and in the exact same words that Jesus will later use (4:17). (Strangely, the NAB has "reign of God" in 3:2, but "kingdom of heaven" in 4:17. The Greek has "kingdom of heaven" in both places.) In Mt, the Baptizer has the unique role of being a part of the new kingdom of heaven even prior to Jesus 'ministry because he is the prophetic forerunner of Jesus.

2) "The one who will follow me." This messianic title calls to mind the coming of the day of the Lord prophesied in Mal 3:23. The "one who will follow" is mightier than the Baptizer, showing that he is not just a prophet but can be compared to the mighty Lord of the Old Testament. The fact that John is not fit to carry his sandals is also a reference to his exalted status.

3) Judgment. The Baptizer heralds not only the coming kingdom but also the coming judgment. He uses the same language that Jesus uses later against false prophets and Pharisees (7:19; 12:34; 23:33). The baptism of the "one who will follow" involves salvation by the Holy Spirit for some and punishment by fire for others. (The first reading develops the themes of salvation and judgment. The second reading emphasizes salvation.) His baptism is the final judgment.

APPLICATION/DISCUSSION :

1. I wonder how many of us have given the silent treatment to someone who has offended us. A recent Maryknoll magazine story described a Chinese couple that had not spoken to each other in 20 years. After a first-class quarrel, they simply refused to forgive one another. On his deathbed, the husband decided to become a Catholic. But the priest refused to baptize him until he and his wife were reconciled. "It would be making a joke of Christianity," the priest said. He and the couple's son prayed for them and laid hands on them. A week later the man and his wife were reconciled. Two days after their reunion, the husband, newly baptized, died peacefully.

2. There are times when we would rather have six cavities filled than forgive someone. Maybe they have wounded our pride, rejected our help or stomped on our cherished beliefs. Or maybe they have offended us by being different or objectionable. We cannot tolerate their appearance, their attitudes or their politics. We are lambs. They are wolves. And we refuse to live peacefully with them.

3. While John the Baptist ate plenty of honey in his lifetime, he didn't waste any of it on his words of warning to those who thought they had it made with God because they were members of a chosen people. If they wanted to get into the Kingdom, they first had to repent and produce fruit worthy of the sons and daughters of Yahweh.

If we have grown complacent with ourselves as Christians, thinking that all is well because we attend church regularly and obey the laws of the Church, the Advent voice of John should shake us up a bit. Essentially, he's saying, "It isn't enough to be a member in good standing of the Church. God can raise up new churchgoers from these stones." Sincere repentance is required of us as citizens of the Kingdom, which is always, close at hand. The Baptizer urges us to repent of whatever pharisaical attitudes and actions prevent us from forgiving or accepting others.

Swords into Plowshares

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 20:50:00 GMT

Happy New Year, St. Augustine! If you are like my wife and daughter, you might be confused about my opening remarks; however, I am referencing the church year and not the Gregorian calendar. Advent begins the church year, that period in which God comes to us. All the scriptural readings during this period embody themes of hope, peace and a future without fear. Our singing voices beseech “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” during Advent and is replaced during the Christmas season with the child named Immanuel, “God with Us.” Although Advent ends with the coming of the Christ in the form of a baby, this is not the focus of today’s readings. Today, we do not start at the beginning. We start at the end known as the eschaton, the end times when God’s plan reaches fruition. The Gospel tells the listener to be ready for Christ’s unexpected return with some going about their daily tasks being taken while others would not, this is known, popularly, as the Rapture. I will not be preaching on these scriptures leaving this fantasy to the Left Behind series. However, this reminds me of a recent bumper sticker, “In case of Rapture, this car will be unmanned.” This bumper sticker led to another bumper sticker, “In case of Rapture, can I have your car?”

This prophetic voice of judgement, peace and absence of fear is reflected in a verse in the second chapter of Isaiah:

He shall judge between the nations

and shall arbitrate for many peoples;

they shall beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation;

neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4 NRSV)

Swords into plowshares; spears into pruning hooks . Isaiah’s words are reflected in the book of Ecclesiastes, “A time to kill,” and “a time to heal,” a “time to tear down” and a “time to build up” (Isaiah 3:3). What can we say about the recent national election? Was it a time to tear down or a time to build up? Some may see this election differently.

This election has been, again, a bitterly contested battle. Almost seven billion dollars were spent on political advertising nationwide. What was the opportunity cost for this expenditure – the next best alternative expenditure for this money? Political ads frequently point out the flaws of the other candidate but pay little time to how the candidate believes that he or she can make a difference. Those in power seek to remain in power; those not in power seek to gain power. Politicians running for office promise to reach across the aisle in a bipartisan, a working together, fashion but rarely do. Many citizens across the political spectrum wish that elected officials would work together to solve some of our country’s financial and social problems. Even Charlie Brown’s friend, Linus, of Peanuts’ fame in a recent political cartoon hopes that this will happen. He is standing in the proverbial pumpkin patch, the same one he stands in awaiting the rise of the Great Pumpkin on Halloween, but this time he makes another wish. He calls out, “Tonight is the night the Great Bipartisan Pumpkin will come. Charlie Brown’s sister, Sally, standing next to him, believes that he has lost his mind.

“Swords to plowshares, spears into pruning hooks.” Is Linus’ hope a pipe dream? How did we become such a divided nation? According to Amanda Ripley, author of the book High Conflct: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out , it occurs when healthy conflict grows to unhealthy high conflict. High conflict is destructive conflict. It divides couples, families, and groups into a good-versus-evil kind of feud in which “we” are good and “they” are evil. We know our position is superior to the other and we tenaciously fight for it without hearing the other’s voice. We are confused why anyone with common sense would believe the way they do. Whenever we encounter the other, either physically or on television or on social media, we have a gut reaction. Our chests begin to tighten, and we experience anxiety, fear, and dread. The two groups, “them” and ‘us” become polarized isolating ourselves into separate corners pointing fingers and yelling at the other. Nothing gets done. Once the conflict increases to a certain point, the original issue withdraws into the shadows, and conflict itself takes over and becomes the focus. We become like those two families in that 19th Appalachian feud, the Hatfields and the McCoys, who drew a dividing line separating one family from the other looking for evidence of any infraction and responding with violence.

“Swords to plowshares, spears into pruning hooks.” Do we need to wait until the end times before we find peace? Does the church offer any advice for this destructive conflict? The answers to these questions begin with a reminder of who we, the “us” and the “them”, are. Regardless which group we hang with, both are created in the image of God and loved in all our diversity. We may differ in our political persuasions, but we all have one thing in common, the incarnation of the divine within each of us. When we are face to face with our neighbor, even our political rival, we are staring into the face of Christ; therefore, we should, respect the dignity of everyone. Treating them with dignity includes truly listening, keeping an open mind, restraining that counterargument until you have heard the other, and seeking common ground wherever you can find it. However, if we remain in our respective corners and do not interact with the “them”, it is difficult to respect the dignity of the other. It is difficult to demonize the other once you interact with those with differing views and know their story.

When we pull back into our respective corners isolating ourselves with only people that think like us, we soon begin to fear the other. Does scripture offer us any solace? Yes! God frequently commands us through scripture: Do not fear. “Fear not” or some derivation of these words is repeated over 500 times in the Bible. For example, “Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the LORD your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.”(Deuteronomy 31:6) But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. (Isaiah 43:1). And one of my favorites: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. (John 14:27)

Isaiah prophesises that the Lord will arbitrate with or judge all people in the end, but who does Isaiah say will bring peace? They shall beat swords into plowshares. They shall beat spears into pruning hooks. God teaches us but we are the ones who make peace. Every conflict brings an opportunity to love “them”, to carry out Jesus’ command to “love our enemies.” Our words and future actions can either work for peace and reconciliation or can continue the strife and conflict. The future is in our hands. We cannot change the other, we can only choose what we do or say.

“Swords to plowshares, spears into pruning hooks.” So, in these contentious political times, remember who you are. Remember that God will never abandon us. Choose action that heals not destroys. As our opening collect directs, put on the armor of light – the armor of Christ - which lights the darkness within the chasm that lies between “us” and “them” and will illumine the path to reconcile each to the other. Therefore, we will no longer be “us” or “them;” we will all be children of God.

Amen

By Your Endurance You will Save Your Souls

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 20:33:00 GMT

This Sunday we have heard a lot about the future times of the world. In Systematic Theology this topic is call Eschatology, which comes from the Greek word “Eschatos” which means “last things.” The study of the last things or end times is called eschatology, or as I like to call it ES-CATO-LOGICAL. The prophet Malachi tells us about the Day of the LORD, which to the Old Testament hearer meant a day of destruction and doom. It was definitely an apocalyptic time when they referred to the Day of the LORD. Malachi the prophet is concerned with the moral and religious laxity and apathy of his day. He promised that there would be vindication for those faithful and close to God. There would be punishment for sinners. If we try to live according to God’s will for our lives then Malachi’s message gives us hope and encouragement. Let me take a little aside with reference to the word hope. Last week’s collect referred to hope. Hope can mean a kind of wishful desire rather than the firm conviction intended by the Bible. Read this passage from Romans chapter 4 & 5.

18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 19 Without weakening in his faith , he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about a hundred years old-and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." 23 The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness-for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us . Rom 4:18-25, 5:1-5

Hope always centers itself around faith. For Abraham, his faith and trust was displayed in his obedience to God, but not so with the people of Malachi’s day nor for us. If we are disobedient and running away from God then Malachi’s message is a warning and a call to return to God. The New Testament uses the word Repent to indicate a return to God. The Greek word used most often for repent is Metanoia which means to turn around, or as I used when I used to drill soldiers, the command “Rear, March” or as sometimes said “To the Rear, March.” There is a complete 180 degree turn is made. Malachi and Paul both exhort their hearers to turn to the Lord with all their hearts. Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians is an exhortation to live godly lives and stay busy at work for the Lord. There is an apocryphal story about a young monk running up to St. Francis of Assisi as Francis was hoeing the garden and the young monk excitedly exclaimed that he had just seen Jesus coming up the path toward the garden. He asked Francis what he was going to do about that? Francis calmly replied that he was going to finish hoeing the garden. I guess the young monk expected Francis to stop hoeing and immediately run out and start an evangelistic campaign or something else that was a spectacular spiritual event. Francis gives us an insightful look into the mind of Christ when it comes to our activities while we await his return. We are to carry on, to endure, to be patiently go about our work as we await his sure return. In fact, he told the disciples that BY YOUR ENDURANCE, YOU WILL SAVE YOUR SOULS! To hang in there and be patient about and trusting as we go about serving the Lord, or in other words, by our perseverance. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians seems pretty harsh when he said that if a brother will not work then do not let him eat! The churches in Paul’s day participated in communal meals and there were some people who were just hanging around the community. They were people who were content to relax and await the Lord’s return. Since Jesus clearly told them that even he did not know the day or the hour of his return, that it would be better to keep busy at their work and be an example to others of patient endurance. He does warn the disciples and us that we can expect persecution. The disciples were in wonder at the magnificent setting they found themselves in as they had spent most of the ministry with Jesus in Galilee and are now in Jerusalem. I guess it is kind of like growing up in one of the small towns in Georgia and then going to Atlanta for the first time. It would be sort of overwhelming. Jesus however warns them with these words.

“Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, "As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down." "Teacher," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?" He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and, 'the time is near.' Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away." Then he said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. "But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life. Luke 21:5-19 (NIV)

You may have noticed that the NIV translation I just read used the words “Standing Firm” in place of the word “endurance” that we find in the NRSV translation. Maybe that is a better translation for what we should be doing, STANDING FIRM in our convictions for Christ, STANDING FIRM in our worship of him, STANDING FIRM in love and service to one another, STANDING FIRM on our commitment to Christ. On the back of the cross I wear are the words “Christ is counting on you.” When the rector of the Kairos weekend places the cross around the neck of the inmate who has just completed his Kairos weekend he says, “Christ is counting on you.” The inmate replies, “And I am counting on Christ.” Perseverance is the name of the game in Kairos and in the kingdom of God. A few weeks ago I told you that Walter Payton, the Chicago Bears running back of a few years ago had gained over nine miles in yardage. One of the guys on ABC’s Monday Night Football commented, “Yeah, and that’s with someone knocking you down every 4 or 5 yards.” I read of another example of perseverance in a story that John Killinger wrote for Atlantic Monthly about the days of the great western cattle ranches. When they had a new horse they wanted to break in, they would harness the wild, bucking steed to a little burro. Bucking and raging, convulsing like drunken sailors, the two would be turned loose like Laurel and Hardy to proceed out onto the desert range. They would be seen disappearing over the horizon, the great steed dragging that little burro along and throwing him about like a bag of cream puffs. They might be gone for days, but eventually they would come back. The little burro would be seen first, trotting back across the horizon, leading the submissive steed in tow. Somewhere out there on the rim of the world, that steed become exhausted from trying to get rid of the burro, and in that moment, the burro would take mastery and become the leader. That is the way it is with the kingdom and its heroes, is it not? The battle goes to the determined, not to the outraged; to the committed, not to those who are merely dramatic. Being committed is what relationships are all about. Once at a Marriage Conference, I heard about commitment being the foundation of marriage. We are also in the midst of stewardship season, even though from the looks of the stores around town it appears to be already Christmas season. It is stewardship season because we reflect on what God has done for us and through us and in gratitude, we give back to him a portion of what he has given us. It is a time of making commitments, to the church, to the diocese and to God. How committed should we be in this gathering of the Body of Christ? Our commitment as disciples should mirror what we see in the commitment that God was willing to make to us. That is seen in the cross. If you want to see how committed you should be, look for your example right up here. Almost all the things Jesus told his disciples would happen did happen. Many of them suffered at the hands of people who hated what and whom they represented. But they were forewarned just as we are. They knew that if they persevere until the end, they too would be victorious. Commitment and perseverance results in endurance. The day-to-day effort to respond to the activity of God in our lives produces the pure fruit of obedience. Later, as the gifts of bread and wine are placed on the altar. let us offer ourselves to God, asking that he open our eyes to the many ways he is active in our lives and in the world. May this new vision fill us with trust and hope and commitment. The Nelson Bible dictionary tells us that the cross is the decisive eschatological event. In it the curse that brought God's wrath was reversed. Ever since then, God has been progressively accomplishing His judgment against the forces of wickedness in heaven and earth.

Psalm 110:1 is a key verse for understanding the redemptive side of eschatology. The King will reign until He defeats His enemies. As He returns to begin the final preparations for His reign, He will gather the ELECT to Himself. The redeemed will be evaluated by the Lord (Romans 14:10; 1 Cor. 3:14-15) and will receive their reward of eternal life. The curse will be reversed, the Abrahamic covenant fulfilled, all earthly distinctions eliminated, and God's people will live in eternal fellowship with the Father and His Christ.

The point of eschatology throughout the Bible is to provide encouragement to believers in their witness for Jesus Christ (Matt. 24:14; 1 Cor. 15:58). It is not mentioned to encourage idle speculation or controversy. The reason God grants us a view of the future is to encourage us to witness for Christ and serve Him in the present. We serve him through our commitment to him and to God. We persevere, we never, never, ever give up.

The night before he met his tragic death, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in an apocalyptic mood. He looked ahead, beyond the moment, beyond the Civil Rights Movement, beyond his own life, and spoke of seeing “the promised land.” This is the vision, at the end, that gives one a hope that endures beyond our end:

“I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind . . . I just want to do God’s will. And he’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” (Martin Luther King Jr. Speech, 3 April 1968. Memphis, Tennessee.)

William Willimon writes, “My moderate, mainline church doesn’t care much for talk of this type. We leave apocalyptic to the fringe groups, in their pre-fabricated steel buildings out on the edge of town – the Branch Davidians. We don’t care much for this talk of ominous signs in the sky, buildings ripped off their foundations, and cosmic meltdown.

On this pleasant Sunday, most of these stones seem fairly well in place, fixed, forever fixed. And though we had some anxious moments during the Cold War and the Nuclear Arms Race, we have surely worked all of that out now. Sure, the economy could be better, but we are fairly well fixed, “fixed in stone” so to speak. So we don’t resonate much to Jesus’ talk of cataclysm and catastrophe. People with good stock portfolios and large homes do not enjoy being told that God is going to get all of us in the end. If a temple, built to last for the millennia, with stones two tons thick, won’t last forever, what will?

A while back, we had a new roof put on our home. It was an expensive undertaking and I was annoyed that we were having to do it. I told the roofer that this time around I wanted quality shingles. Something that would last. “We guarantee these shingles will last for 30 years,” the roofer told me. I was pleased. Then the roofer added, these singles will last longer than I will.” Friends, it does something to you to know that an asphalt shingle is more immortal than you are.

Jesus, look at these shingles!

I have stood in the ruins of the great temples at Luxor. One moonlit night, a couple of my college friends and I caroused in what’s left of Hitler’s great stadium at Nuremberg, the Acropolis at Athens, the crumbling and looted pyramids at Giza. Jesus, look at these stones.”

DOCTRINAL POINTS:

1. THIS DESTRUCTION IS GOD'S JUDGMENT UPON ISRAEL AND SYMBOLIZES GOD'S

FUTURE JUDGMENT AT THE END OF THE WORLD . Luke closes Jesus' public

ministry with his teaching daily in the Temple. He predicts that the glorious temple will be destroyed. For the reader of Luke's gospel that had already been fulfilled in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. As readers of Luke we stand between the two events.

2. JESUS PROPHECIES THAT BEFORE THE END HIS FOLLOWERS WILL BE

PERSECUTED BY BOTH JEWS AND GENTILES : Suffering will even come from

those bound together by blood and love. They are not to be misled. The time of the

testimony must precede the end.

3. DISCIPLES MUST SUFFER AT THE HAND OF OTHERS ON THE WAY TO

GLORY : Blessed are they for they walk the way of the Son of Man. Just like John the

Baptist and the prophets of old who suffered for their service to the Lord, disciples can expect to be persecuted for their testimony to the Lord.

4. BY ENDURANCE "TO THE END" DISCIPLES DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY

ARE THE GOOD SEED SOWED IN GOOD SOIL . They are those who hold the

word in their hearts and "bear fruit through perseverance" (Luke 8:15).

APPLICATION/DISCUSSION:

1. The prophet Malachi was one of several prophets who wrote about the coming Day

of the Lord. It would be a day, which would bring vindication for those close to God

and punishment for the sinners. If we try to according to God's will, then Malachi's message gives us hope and encouragement. If we are running away from God

Malachi’s message is a warning and a call to return to God.

2. The second reading from Thessalonians was addressed to those Christians who

were convinced that the second coming of Jesus was imminent. Rather than go

about daily work and duties, they spent their time idly waiting and interfering in the

lives of others. Paul writes they were busy being busybodies.

3. The destruction of the temple and Jerusalem as predicted by Jesus had already

take place when Luke wrote his Gospel. This event was seen as a symbol of the end

of the world. Today we live under the threat of nuclear war or some other nuclear

disaster at the hands of terrorists. We spend millions of dollars on high-tech

defense systems [remember the "Star Wars" space defense systems of the 1980's?]

and anti-terrorist systems.

4. In Peggy Noonan’s Wall Street journal essay “God is Back” we see that the tragic

and apocalyptical events of 9/11 remind us of the Day of the Lord when disaster will fall on us suddenly. But we also see another dynamic at work, the total refocus of our attention on God. We might even say we have had a Metanouia in this country with our return to God. Let us pray that it is a total commitment to God that will lead to revival.

All Saints

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 20:36:00 GMT

Saturday morning, I had my first experience leading a contemplative program at Saint Paul’s downtown Augusta. Suzanne Pursley-Crotteau designed the Quiet Morning program to be scripture driven. We read the appointed readings for the day and then spent an hour sitting in the quiet of whatever place we chose at the church to hear God’s voice. We sat for an hour in silence after each reading. That means I spent three hours not talking! And by the third hour, my mind finally became quiet after the hectic week, and I was able to pray and listen. I did not know this was available for everyone in the convocation, so I will be sure to announce the next time Saint Paul's offers this opportunity. I believe there will be one offered in Advent and again in the time after Pentecost.

Well, that is how my day started. And then after being calm and quiet for 3 plus hours, I came home to THE GAME! No doubt in anyone’s mind that Georgia will be ranked #1 as she ought to be.

Somewhere late in the 3rd quarter, or maybe at the beginning of the 4th, one of the announcers said that Quarterback Stetson Bennet loved to read and he paraphrased one of his favorite quotes from Churchill. I did not catch what he said, but maybe Stetson chose appropriately: ..."if you are going through hell, keep going." Or maybe it was "Never, never, never give up." Either one of these fits what Stetson has been through the last few years.

Interestingly, I can see either one of these being applicable to today’s All Saints' Day service. Life as a follower of Christ is not easy. Sometimes we have to keep going, putting on a game face. Driving forward until we get to the other side of the mess that life often brings, never ever giving up, because giving up is not an option. These reflect the work involved in being a follower of the way. And they also hint to the fact that we may not always do it with grace. Which leads me to my point.

Nadia Bolz-Webber, a Lutheran pastor and a person who appreciates what being in recovery from life writes in her book Accidental Saints: Finding God in All of the Wrong People . “What makes us saints of God is not our ability to be saintly but rather God’s ability to work through sinners.”

I have spoken about this before: when in seminary after studying about Abraham, I knew that God could use me too, a sheep of his own fold, a lamb of his own flock, a sinner of his own redeeming. Maybe you, at times, feel the same way.

I mean, think about Rahab, the prostitute who God sent to help the Hebrew spies. With her help, they conquered the city of Jericho. Or how God used King David, known as being an adulterer and murderer. Or Paul who before his vision of God, harassed and persecuted Christians. And then we have Peter… who denied Jesus three times. And I could go on naming other great saints who, well, were often sinners too.

In each case, their repentance made them courageous Christians. They figured it out. Sometimes they got it wrong. But when it counted the most, they got it right. They answered God’s call and did the best that they could do.

Even though they were sinners, each was used mightily by God to encourage, teach, heal, minister, lead and grow the early church.

The great saints of the church, the heroes of the faith who gave their lives for the gospel, were in fact folk just like us. We start there. And if we think about it, we really already know that.

We can easily picture a 21st century St. Peter losing his temper and making rude gestures in traffic. If St. Teresa of Avila lived today, she might use the last Keurig coffee pod coffee grounds in the break room and not them. If St. Bridget or St. Francis lived today, they might have embarrassing pictures on Facebook of their younger and wilder days.

We know that the saints were everyday human beings just like us, and we can be sure they made the same mistakes and had the same frailties. And yet something within them led them to do great things for the gospel, to live and sometimes die with incredible courage and boldness. How did they do that? If we are all saints, then we are all called to live as though our lives and our memories will still be important a thousand years from now. How can we live so that our legacy strengthens generations of the faithful to come after us?

What the saints had was an unshakeable commitment to follow Jesus, no matter where that took them. And we have an incredibly vivid portrait of where following Jesus takes us in our gospel lesson from Luke today.

After a series of blessings and woes, Jesus says, “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt”.

This. Right here. God is calling us to love all of those who are hard to like much less to love: those who we would rather walk away from instead of being curious and asking questions on why they felt the need to reach out and hurt others. Listening to their responses and loving them through the hurt of their past, the brokenness of their lives, or maybe just the meanness of their heart.

Love your enemies. And this takes great time and patience and perseverance and trusting in God. This is not our default setting: to love those who hurt us. This is how God uses us best.

We may not feel like we can live like the people who bravely faced the lions in the coliseum and went down to glorious martyrdom, or even our “saintly” neighbor down the block who never misses Sunday worship (or an opportunity to remind you that she never misses Sunday worship). We may not feel like we can live like these people, and if we are honest, we do not really want to. Dying violently or living joylessly seem to be the two dominant models for sainthood in our society, and neither fulfills Jesus’ hope for us that we might have life and have it abundantly.

Jesus speaks to us from the heart of frail, suffering, flawed humanity, because that is where he lives. He chooses to be with and in the pain of the world, and he calls us to follow him there. That was the special charism of the great saints. They were not spiritual athletes, accruing an ever-escalating number of holiness points. They knew that their own weaknesses combined with the desperate need of the world created the very conditions for God to work miracles, and they gave themselves to that process wholeheartedly.

That sounds backwards, doesn’t it? It seems like the saints would bring all their strength and intelligence to bear on the levers of power and wealth. Instead, they entrusted their weak and wounded selves to the Jesus they found at the bottom of the world, at the bottom of the chasm within themselves, looking up at them and telling them they were blessed. They heard him there. They followed him there. And through them, he changed the world.

I believe this is why we have each other and the church: to cheer each other on; to remind each other to never, never give up; to recognize God’s working in each other and to reflect that back. This is why it is so important to come together every opportunity we can, so that we can remain involved in St. Augustine’s purpose to serve God, to remind ourselves and each other of our commitment to help those who are not easy to help or to love. Because in worshiping together, we are one.

Today we celebrate those who have gone before, those who have led the charge given us by God, but today is not just about heroes of the faith, and it is not even just about our own beloved departed who have gone before us. This is not “Some Saints Day.” This is “All Saints Day.” All of us. All of them. As our Presiding Bishop likes to say, "All y'all" are a part of something so much bigger than we can ever be by ourselves.

And as the hymn we so often sing on All Saints says, “for the saints of God are just folk like me, and I mean to be one too.”

When the Son of Man Comes, will He find Faith on the Earth?

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 17:54:00 GMT

Back in the 1960's there was a movie called "The Graduate" and it made a big star of Dustin Hoffman. The soundtrack music was sung by Simon and Garfunkel and one song, called "Mrs. Robinson" had a line that went "Heaven holds a place for those who pray." In our daily lives, in Christ, we certainly hope so and have faith in that fact. It is the supreme duty of the Christian to persevere in prayer and faithfulness. We look to heaven with prayerful persistence for all our needs. The theme of the lessons today is persistence and we see that in the reading from Genesis and the reading from Luke. In the Epistle we read where Paul points out to Timothy that he should be persistent in his reading of scripture as the authority of his life in Christ. So, if persistence in Prayer and the Perusing of scripture is the order of the day and every day, then the question that Jesus asked at the end of the gospel reading today will apply.

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said, "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.’” For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!"' And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you; he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" [Luke 18:1-8]

As I have mentioned before Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and he is deadly earnest about developing his disciples and preparing them for his departure. The issue of faith is very important.

How could Jesus be sure that they would remain faithful through all the adversity that they would face? They would have to develop a persistent confidence in God. They would need to develop a persistent prayer life. Jesus uses two unlikely individuals in his parables. Remember the dishonest steward who was wasting his master's money? The point of that parable was that disciples should be wise and shrewd in their dealings and seize the opportunity to be resourceful. In this parable we are confronted with a judge who did not care about God or man. He was about as bad a judge as you can find. People did not expect justice from this character. Yet the poor widow in this parable continually comes to him, bugging him to settle her case and give her justice. A widow in those days was about as forlorn a person as you could get. She was powerless! If you remember the story Ruth and Naomi, poor Naomi said to call her Marah, because the Lord had dealt bitterly with her. She was at the mercy of whoever would have mercy on her. This poor widow in today's reading did not have a faithful daughter-in-law to help her. No, all she had was her persistence. Jesus points out that even this rascally judge will respond to persistence, how about God? Will he not also respond to those who, in faith, persistently come to him? The point of the parable is not that God is like the unjust judge or that he will give us what we want when we bug him enough about it. The point is that he answers when we have the faith to come to him in the first place. Now we may not like the answer, which could be YES, NO, or WAIT. I really do not like that WAIT answer, because most of the time, that is the response I get. God is fully ready, willing, and able to answer our prayers and needs. The question we must face is whether we ready, willing and able to handle his answer.

However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?

How can we be sure that he will find faith on the earth when he returns? The disciple has two tools at their disposal, Persistent Prayer and the Scriptures. Paul pointed out to Timothy that

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

[2 Tim 3:14-4:51]

The scriptures can make one wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. They are God breathed or inspired and useful for teaching, rebuking, and correcting and training in righteousness. All these are intended to build up the disciple in faith. They are known as the word of God and we learn from the letter to the Hebrews that it like a sword:

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

The word of God is able to convict us of our sin, lack of faith and just about any other attitude that is out of line with the will of God for our lives. As the famous British author Sir Walter Scott lay dying asked his attendant to read to him. There were thousands of books in his library and the attendant asked him which book? Scott replied, "Need you ask? There is but one book." So, his servant got the Bible and began to read. The Bible is the Book of Books and for it to have its intended effect in our lives we must:

(1) Accept its authority. There are a lot of things, which have authority with us.

a. Sometimes its People: “Well, the boss said to do so and so."

b. Sometimes it is Culture: "Well, everybody is doing it!"

c. Sometimes it is Tradition: "Well, we've always done it this way!"

d. Sometimes it is Reason: "Well, I've always thought it was like that.”

e. Sometimes it is Feelings: "Well, it just feels right."

Sooner or later, hopefully sooner, we learn that there is only one reliable and trustworthy authority - God's Word.

(2) Incorporate its insights into our minds. Remember how Paul wrote Timothy that, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness"? We accomplish this by listening, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on God's Word.

(3) Practice its principles. Paul said that we read scripture so that the each person of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. If the Son of Man is to find faith on the earth when he returns then we are going to have to apply the principles and not just read them. James writes in his epistle that we should be doers of the word and not just hearers. Another soldier entering a village on Okinawa 55 years ago noticed that it was different from the others. It was neat, clean, orderly, and happy. It seems that two men had found a Bible left behind by a missionary. They read it and accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. One became the leader in the town and the other opened a school where he incorporated Biblical principles in the students and the Bible was studied. One hard-boiled sergeant commented to a reporter, "I can't figure this out. This kind of people coming out of only a Bible and a couple of old guys who wanted to live like Jesus!"

Dr. Emile Cailliet was for many years a professor at Princeton Seminary. In his youth he was a total unbeliever. In fact, he vehemently opposed any kind of faith. He fought in the French Army in World War I, and the terrible pain of human life and death around him confirmed his conviction that there was nothing in religion that could satisfy men. But he longed to have something that would help him in times of difficulty, so he compiled a notebook which he called, "The Book That Would Understand Me." Whenever he ran across a quotation that struck fire in his mind, he would copy it down in his book. Still a young man when the war was ended, he sat down one day to read the collection that he had put together. As he read it, his heart sank. He saw that since it came from himself, it had no power to minister to him in times of pressure and stress; it seemed flat and empty.

About that time a remarkable thing occurred. Purely by accident, one day his wife wandered into a courtyard she had never seen before. She realized she was in a Huguenot church, and she saw an old man sitting at a table. For some reason, unknown to her, she walked up to him and asked, "Do you have any Bibles in French?" Without a word, the man picked up a Bible from the table and handed it to her. She was afraid to give it to her husband because he had ordered that religion not even be mentioned in their house, but she finally told him of this unusual experience. He said, "Give me the Bible. Let me read it."

For the first time in his life he began to read the Bible. He started in the Gospels, which fascinated him. For many hours he read through several of the books of the Bible. Finally, he put it down, and, bowing his head, he said, "At last I have found the Book that understands me." He opened his heart to the Lord and became a Christian. Ultimately, he became a professor in a seminary. He bore testimony to his dying day that he never varied from that view of the Bible: "This is the Book that understands me."

When the Son of Man comes will he find faith on the earth?"

I have an audiotape of a testimony of a man named Tom Papagnia who used to be in the Mafia and has since been converted and started his own ministry in Powder Springs, GA. He grew up in New York and was part of the Gambino crime family from the time he was 15 years old. For over thirty years his mother prayed for him and he was eventually saved in a little church in Georgia, which was situated in a doublewide trailer. When he went back to visit his mother, who was dying of cancer in a N.Y. hospital, he told her he had changed. She told him she knew that because when he walked in the door, she saw Jesus come in the room with him. "I can stop praying now my prayers have been answered", she said. How do we build that kind of faith?

The answer to that question hinges on whether we incorporate into our lives the two pillars of a life of Faith, Prayer, and the Bible. I tell the confirmation classes that with a Book of Common Prayer and a Bible you would have essential tools of the Christian life. Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury for Henry VIII put together a Book of Prayer for the Common people so that everyone would be able establish their lives in Christ through daily prayer and Bible reading. These two books go together like salt and pepper. In fact, there is an edition out now with NRSV and BCP under the same cover. This was done so we could have our tools in one chest. The disciple’s life of faith requires perseverance and persistence in prayer and reading scripture. Since the World Series is almost here, I think an illustration of perseverance would be appropriate. On opening day of the 1954 baseball season the Braves visited the Cincinnati Reds, two rookies began their major league careers with that game. The Reds won 9-8 as their rookie Jim Greengrass hit four doubles in his first big-league game. That was a sensational start for a young player. But the rookie starting in left field for the Braves went 0 for 5 that day. That was not a very good start for one Hank Aaron. Probably a better example would be the comment made by one of the announcers on Monday night Football about Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears a few years ago. He said that Walter had accumulated over nine miles in career rushing yardage. The other announcer said "Yeah, and that's with someone knocking you down every four of five yards!" Walter Payton knows that everyone gets knocked down even the best, but to be successful you must get up and run again just as hard. To help us in running and living the Christian life and being a disciple, we have to be persistent in prayer and study of the Bible. Paul gave the Disciples at Ephesus seven tools for the standing firm in the Christian life. I recommend that you put these on daily and pray these for yourself and your family. Paul wrote:

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

[Eph 6:13-18]

You will notice that he ends with persistent prayer; it is the overarching cover of the other six. If these are followed then, the question: " When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? Can it be answered with a resounding YES!!?

From Release to Libertarian

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 20:06:00 GMT

One of my favorite television shows, second only to West Wing , is the show Ted Lasso . If you have never seen it, I strongly recommend you do. The main character is Ted Lasso, an American-born, college football coach who is hired to coach an English soccer team in an attempt by the team’s owner to spite her husband, who had just divorced her for a much younger woman. Ted knows nothing of European football. What he does know

is people.

Throughout the show, Ted demonstrates empathy and kindness to everyone, even those who seem to not deserve it. His acts of kindness range from offering a comforting word, to baking biscuits for his boss. Throughout each episode, viewers see how Ted's actions take off as others emulate him, knowingly or not. The shows kindness message has spread, and people around the world are talking about it.

While this show is being recognized for its message on kindness, it also teaches about authenticity, leadership and gratitude, all reflected in one small thing Ted consistently says that has stuck in my mind from the moment I first heard it: Every time someone does or says something helpful, he says, “I appreciate you .” Instead of “I appreciate it.”

This is Ted’s mantra. He appreciates people for who they are, and not just on what they can contribute. So, when you do watch the show, which can only be found on Apple TV, you will not find his team AFC Richmond necessarily a winning team. Quite the contrary. However, Ted does not care. Because what he focuses on are the individuals. He pushes them to be the best that they can be by helping them to realize the power of their abilities both on and off the pitch, helping folks to appreciate themselves in the process. Ted lives gratitude. He teaches it. He lives it. He shares it. Having gratitude and giving thanks are important aspects in our culture.

This show has become a world-wide phenomenon. It shows just how hungry the world is for goodness and kindness and hope. If you are ever in need of just that, then this is the show to watch.

Our readings today reflect the importance of gratitude, not for a need to feel good, but as an act of faith.

In our Old Testament reading from 2 Kings, we read the story of Naaman the Syrian who is cured of his leprosy by the Prophet Elisha. He was a man of position, serving as a commander of the army of the king of Aram and was considered a mighty warrior.

Naaman hears that Elisha, the prophet of Israel, can heal him, so he makes the trip to see him. When the two meet, Elisha tells him rather dismissively that he needs to take a bath in the Jordan River. Well, Naaman’s pride gets the best of him and he refuses to follow this simple direction. I mean, he is a man of great power. A great commander of an army and a brave warrior. Why should he take orders from Elisha, a mere prophet of Israel, to bath in the dirty Jordan River. And so, Naaman ignores Elisha’s suggestion and he prepares to go home.

But it is a servant who convinces him that he should follow this simple request and so he consents to dip himself in the Jordan. When he does, when he finally allows reason to override his pride, for at least this moment and he is miraculously healed by the simple act.

The display of power, so transparently without sacrifice or incantation, awakens Naaman to the fact that Yahweh of Israel is the true God. So, the lesson for us today is why question God’s methods? Instead, we should listen, obey, and respond with a grateful heart. God is good. God is God and we are not. And that is enough.

Likewise in our reading from Luke, in an account of a similar episode, we see another foreigner, a Samaritan, the least likely of all, returns and gives praise to the God of Israel for his healing.

Luke’s gospel tells the well-known story of ten men with a leprous skin condition that rendered them unclean and, therefore, on the outside of society. They seek healing, and Jesus gives it. Only one of them returns thanks to Jesus; the others are too busy getting back into their proper societal position.

And really, who could blame them? These ten men had been outcasts, forced to live on the outskirts of their towns away from family and friends and the comforts of their society. Lepers tended to roam together looking for good, begging for assistance from a great distance, learning to yell in loud voices, both from the need to warn others, and to beg for help from across the way.

And so they cry out to Jesus: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” They must have had knowledge of Jesus. They knew his name and called out to him to cure them. All we are told is that Jesus saw them and said “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”

During this time, the local priest had duties other than leading worship on each Sabbath. He was also something of a health official. If a person was miraculously healed of leprosy, it was up to the priest to inspect the body, to test for a complete removal of the disease, and to announce the person healed. The lepers immediately demonstrate their faith by following Jesus’ instruction even though they still have their disease.

The Greek preposition used en which can mean in, when, while, during , literally translates in the going. They were cleansed in their going ( jesuswalk.com )

Notice that Jesus does not question them about their faith. Their actions to reflect that. Only as they are on their way, do we find out that “they were made clean.” Jesus responds to their cries for mercy by drawing from them an act of faith that results in their physical healing. There came a point -- as they began to obey Jesus -- that their healing took place all of a sudden. Had they disbelieved Jesus and laughed at his command as illogical, they would not have been healed. They believed him -- that is, had faith -- and received their healing as a result.

Then we have the ending. With the tenth leper. The only one who once cleansed, returns to give thanks. It is the final words of this reading that resonate with me. As he lay prostrate before Jesus, giving thanks and praising God for being cleansed, Jesus tells him to get up. “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

I like to think that the tenth leper was completely healed in the spiritual sense. He recognized the source of his blessing. The other nine may have been caught up in ego or in self-accomplishment. Jesus asks where the other nine are. Only one returned to glorify God. And it made a difference in his life. He was made whole. Physically and spiritually.

Nine had new skin free from disease — one had new theology

Nine had new careers returning home — one had new conviction

Nine had new opportunity — one had a new hope

Nine had a new outlook — one had a new vision

Nine were restored — one was remade

Nine were released — one was liberated

(Veronica Martin Thomas, I Wanna be Whole, Union Presbyterian Seminary.)

Like the Samaritan, let your faith make you well, move your heart, and inform your every breath and choice, and give all of the glory to God. Amen.

Increase our Faith

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 17:44:00 GMT

We hear this morning the plea of the Apostles for Him to increase or strengthen their faith. I looked at the lessons for this morning two weeks ago and saw in the lessons, including the Psalm a call to faith. If you wondered why the apostles felt the need to plead for more faith, here is the rest of the story. When we look at the verses that precede our opening verse in the gospel reading we find this:

Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent, forgive him." The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith! " [Luke 17:1-5]

They did not feel capable of living up to the standard that Jesus had just set for them. If my brother sins against me seven times in a day and seven times comes back and says to me "I repent" then I should forgive him? Jesus said

"If your brother sins, rebuke him and if he repents , forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent, forgive him."

Jesus commanded his disciples, when he referred to a brother sinning against another brother. He was talking about in the fellowship of believers, there should be a constant relationship of love abounding that they would feel free enough to rebuke another brother when that brother sins against another. THEN, if the brother REPENTS, turns away from his sin, then we are COMMANDED, not suggested, but COMMANDED to forgive. NOW you see why the disciples cried out INCREASE OUR FAITH! I remember, about ten years ago crying out for the LORD to increase my faith when I came down with a virus of some sort. I found myself calling out to the Lord, like the Apostles, "Increase My faith and strengthen me to prepare to preach your word. For I felt the body aches and the sore throat and the stuffy head coming on and I asked the Lord to allow me to be healed in order to preach. I knew that he would and I only asked that he help me to feel better in order to prepare. I had faith in Him that he would take care of me just like He always has. It seems that the Apostles, like me, were asking for more faith, thinking that more faith would be better than the faith that they had. I guess, like we tend to think, that having something is good but more of it would be better. If I have $100 then $200 would be better and that does make sense. Just like having or earning $200,000 a year is a whole lot better than $50,000 a year. Jesus, however, points out to the Apostles, to you and me that it is not the amount of faith that you have but that you have faith. It is like having a little toothache as opposed to a big toothache. A toothache is a toothache! The issue is you either have it or you do not. If you have got it then you have got it. What becomes a matter of increase or strengthening is our relationship with God.

What we perceive as a loss of faith or a decrease in our faith is likely a turning away or a lessening in our relationship with God. Do you recall that poem called “Footprints "? It is about a man looking back on his life and his walk with the LORD he sees their footprints in the sand side by side. At the most difficult times, in his life there is only one set of footprints. He is quick to accuse the LORD of leaving him at the times he most desperately needed the LORD with him. The LORD reassures him that He loves him and would never leave him. Then the LORD tells him that at the most difficult times of his life the reason there is only one set of footprints is because that was when the LORD carried him. The point of the story is that the LORD is faithful and trustworthy to be with us, always. We have to maintain and strengthen our relationship with Him. This was the reason why the Prophet Habakkuk was crying out against the LORD, in our Old Testament lesson. The result of the people of Judah's failure to maintain their relationship with Yahweh God was the invasion of the nation by foreign armies and the wholesale slaughter of the people. There is no justice. Destruction and violence are everywhere, the righteous are surrounded by the wicked. This was going on within the nation of Judah, even before the arrival of the Babylonians. The people disregarded the warnings of the Prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah who told them that they would be invaded if they did not return to the LORD their God. They did not listen much less heed the words of the prophets and so on their very doorstep the marauding armies of Babylon were descending. This was not new to them for when they sinned and turned away from the LORD in the wilderness he chastised them.

So God's anger mounted against them;

he slew their strongest men

And laid low the youth of Israel.

In spite of all this, they went on sinning

And had no faith in his wonderful works. (Psalm 78: 31-32)

Throughout Psalm 78 we hear of their constant rebellion and breaking of the covenant they had with God. They had no faith in Him. It was not a case of a little faith, but no faith at all, and because they had a broken relationship with him. You might ask what has that to do with us? After all we are a Christian nation, we now know better than they and would never do that! When you look at the evening news and read the newspapers and the weekly news magazines can you honestly tell me that there is not Violence and Destruction in the land? Is not the wicked surrounding the righteous? Is not sickness and disease slaying our strongest men and laying low our youth? In spite of all this we seem not to recognize that as a nation and a culture we have turned away from the LORD our God and turned inward to ourselves and to satisfy our own selfish desires and material wants. As Christians we should be feeling like the inhabitants of Jerusalem, under siege by an invading army. I hope we have the will and determination that carried us through the Second World War, the Gulf War and 911 because we will need it. This is where faith comes in, for as Jesus said if we have faith as small as a mustard-seed meaning if we have ANY faith at all, we can cause the sycamore tree to be uprooted. In Matthew’s Gospel he says to cause a mountain to be cast into the sea. In other words, we could do the seeming impossible. What looks to us, as an impossible task is easy in the sight of God. I remember one Kairos weekend I had a man sitting at my table who I thought would not get one thing out of the weekend except to gain some weight. It was reported to us "street people" at his table that he was hard of hearing and all weekend we saw no change of expression on his face. It seemed to me that we had failed with him. Well at the closing service he got up and spoke louder than I had heard him speak all weekend and gave a stirring testimony to the effect of God's love on him. It just showed me once again that where we think things are not going, as they should they are going right along on His timetable. That prison ministry is aptly called "KAIROS" for it is indeed God's Special Time. That is why the focus should be on our relationship with God and not our faith and any increase in our faith, like it was for us to possess. We are always interested in getting more and more of something even faith in God. WE want to be able to get a handle on it, control it, and make it ours. God is a very jealous God He requires FAITH AND TRUST from his people. Faith is not something you can get or acquire, it is a Grace given by God, a free gift and completely unmerited by our own efforts. So we cannot increase faith, we can have it and then increase, strengthen or deepen our relationship with God the Father, through His Son Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. In Kairos we seek depth not surface luster so that his will and timing will be done. If you study the Bible and look over the long years of salvation history and God's relationship with those who believe in Him and who trust in Him, you will see a pattern of God moving and acting in His time.

Many of the Patriarchs, Prophets, Priests and Kings died before they saw the fulfillment of God's Promises, but they did not waver in their trust and faith in Him who they accounted worthy to believe in. They may have had doubts at times but they continued to trust Him. Even Jesus, His Son had doubts in the agony of the Garden of Gethsemane, but still he Trusted, and Trusted and Trusted right up to the Cross. This is Supernatural business we are about - there are Evil supernatural forces at work in the world to turn us away from God and His saving grace. All we have to do is Trust Him. It is not easy, by a long shot, for Jesus said that the way is narrow and the road hard that leads to Life. It does not take a lot of faith, but it takes a deep, deep awareness of God's love for you and deep relationship with Him to overcome the trials of this life to attain to eternal life. As Jesus told us in the Gospel of John when he prayed his High Priestly prayer, "Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee, since thou hast given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom thou hast given him. And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." To know someone is to be in a relationship with them and to know Jesus Christ and be in relationship with Him is to Know God and have eternal life in Him. So it is not how much faith you have but your relationship with God. Because when you know Him, you have that Peace which passes all understanding. Listen closely to the Blessing at the end of this service and think about a Peace that will fill your heart and mind with the Knowledge and Love of God and of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. How can we do this? By getting to know Him through His Word and through communication with Him by Prayer. We think nothing of staying on the phone talking with our friends and getting to know them, how about staying on our knees and getting to know Him better? The more we pray, the more He wants us to pray, after all He enjoys getting to communicate with us also. He already knows us better than we know ourselves but he does want to communicate with us. The more we communicate with God the more spiritually aware we become and our relationship with him deepens. And as our relationship deepens, we have an awareness of what might be called a deeper Faith in God. We move from being just believers, to becoming followers and eventually disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us face it, if all we have done is what was commanded of us, then we are truly unworthy servants indeed, for we have only done what was our duty to do. We must strive to know Him better and increase our relationship with Him for then we will attain to eternal life. A TV news report was showing a group of skydivers jumping out of a plane and floating down to earth. All of sudden the picture went haywire. The news anchor explained that the photographer sent out to film the story had jumped out of the plane. He was filming until he reached for the D-Ring to pull the ripcord of the parachute, when he did not find it he realized he had left it on the plane. HE HAD JUMPED WITHOUT HIS CHUTE. Up to that point it was a nice trip down, because he had faith in a parachute he was not wearing. Do you not walk around pretending to have a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that you have yet to put on? Get in relationship with Jesus and have a deep, deep awareness of how much he loves you.

DOCTRINAL POINTS:

1. LIMITLESS FORGIVENESS OF OTHERS IS POSSIBLE FOR THE BELIEVER: Jesus' use of hyperbole indicates that it is not quantity but quality that is critical. What is faith? It is not magic in which human beings try to control divine power for their own ends. Rather, genuine faith is a personal relationship with a loving and forgiving God. If the disciples [themselves forgiven sinners] had faith the size of a mustard seed, even the impossible would be possible.

2. A HUMBLE SERVANT RECOGNIZES THE DEPTH OF HIS INDEBTEDNESS TO GOD: The parable Jesus uses pictures a servant who does double duty. He plows, keeps sheep, prepares supper and waits table, all ministerial terms for Christians of Luke's community. No master would say to the slave, "Allow me!" He need not be grateful to the servant who is just doing his duty. Humble servants are to put into action the little faith they have and they will do great things. In the end all is a gift and there is no room for boasting.

APPLICATION/DISCUSSION: Br. Clark Berge, SSF, is a member of the Society of St. Francis, and the Guardian of Little Portion Friary in Mt. Sinai, NY;

"Increase our faith!" the disciples say to Jesus in this morning's Gospel. Jesus replies with the parable of the mustard seed (Luke 17:6). A little faith can have a huge impact. These are encouraging words to people in small congregations, small religious communities around the world, because small numbers of faithful people can make a big difference in the world. Yet when numbers are down, or when we feel overwhelmed by life's odds, many feel they are failures. Today is a good time to examine our thoughts and feelings about being like the mustard seeds in God's dominion. Jesus' words are meant to encourage his disciples. The message of faith's victory is consistent in the Bible. The Scriptures are full of examples of the potency or strength of small groups of faithful people, and the power of small or insignificant people.

Being part of a small group in the church or world does not mean that that group or individual is missing something. Smallness is in many ways a gift. Small groups can take on tasks or living situations that are outside the scope of larger institutions: small groups of Christians living in neighborhoods that are predominantly non-Christian can witness to the power of Christ in a different way. Small groups of concerned Christians can embrace social outcasts, showing the love of God in a particular place and time. Change in our churches and other social institutions generally comes from the fringe, a dedicated minority that won't go away; the embrace of the church has become more generous, more inclusive over the years because of the voices and experience of little people on the edge with great faith.

The 16th Sunday after Pentecost

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 19:49:00 GMT

This past Thursday, our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry gave the homily at the Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Washington National Cathedral. If you did not get to watch it live, you can find it on YouTube.

He used a reading from Luke’s Chapter 10, just six chapters before our gospel reading this morning… and he began with this story from his childhood:

I was probably, I’m guessing, 12 or 13 years old when I had a conversation with my father; or better yet, it was a monologue. He spoke, I listened. He wanted me to do something, and I don’t remember what it was. I’m 69 years old now so it was a long time ago, but he wanted me to do something, and I have to tell you, I didn’t want to do whatever it was. But of course, I didn’t say anything to him, but somehow my facial expression betrayed my innermost thoughts. And he read my mind, and he blurted out as parents often do with pre-adolescent children, “You know, the Lord didn’t put you here just to consume the oxygen.”

Now I do not think Michael Curry’s father was making a philosophical or theological statement nor was Curry himself using it that way. And yet, the wisdom of this statement makes the point that Luke is making in our gospel reading today. We were not created just to consume. We are here to give back. To give back to this world to give back to each other. To give back to the God who created us and gave us the ability and gifts to help others.

Our gospel reading from Luke this morning is not a story that reveals hidden truths about the afterlife, nor about the actual description of what the afterlife will be like. It was not intended to be taken that way. But it is a spiritual story about a lack of compassion and how our lives are impacted by our life’s choices. This is a story intended to help us reflect on how we should live in this life as disciples of Christ.

Jesus tells the story of a poor man named Lazarus. It is interesting to note that Lazarus is the only name given to anyone in Jesus’ parables; His name is a Greek variant of Eleazar which means 'God has helped’ or ‘God is my help’. All the rest of them had only labels: the sower, the father, the prodigal son, the debtor, the master, the Pharisee, the virgins. This guy, on the other hand, got a legitimate name. And because Jesus never did things like that unintentionally. This is a reminder to us that no poor person is invisible to God. Each needy person that we pass on the street is known to God by name and loved by God.

This is a parable of startling contrasts, but its central message is simple: be alert to the needs under your nose. We are not told how long Lazarus stayed by the gate of this rich man but I am guessing that he visited that gate daily to be given the scraps of bread from the rich man’s table. What we do know is that the rich man walked by him time after time and ignored Lazarus’ condition – hungry, covered in sores and comforted not by people but only by dogs. He closed his eyes to the needy right there at his own gate.

This is a great story with no ambiguity about it. We have an obligation as Christians to feed the hungry. To help those less fortunate. To give back with thanksgiving a part of what we have been given through God’s grace. For without an eye for the needy around us, our life becomes self-centered and callous. Jesus is asking his listeners then and now to open their eyes to what is around them, and to open their ears to the simple commands of the Gospel: love your neighbor.

It is not that the rich man in the parable did not believe in God and in the teaching of the scriptures. But he did not choose to live his faith. And so he found himself in agony after his death because of the choices he made in the way he treated others throughout his life.

I recently attended a funeral at an Episcopal church in south Georgia of a man who drowned while attempting to save the life of his young son. After the rector gave his emotional homily, four men who worked with and for the man who died spoke about him. I learned a valuable lesson that day: NEVER let 4 lawyers speak at a funeral! The first three were actually pretty good but the last, well, all I can say is that he most certainly has aspirations to become a preacher!

But frankly, I do not see how the priest could have told them no. They spoke about their friend, their boss, their coworker, and the transformation he had in his spiritual life. You see, this man who died was a well-respected lawyer. His gifts in criminal defense and civil litigation put him in demand all over the country as well as in Great Britain, Spain, Ireland, and the Bahamas. He was often invited to speak on CNN and was quoted in the NY Times, the LA Times, the Washington Post. And other major news sources because of his expertise in Constitutional Law.

Mr. Page Pate easily fits into the category of the wealthy man who dressed in purple linens in our parable this morning. However, this is where the likeness ends. And what follows is why I am telling you, his story.

One of the speakers said that Page was a believer. Like any good Episcopalian, he had questions. Like many of us, Page wanted proof and evidence to fortify his faith. He began by setting out to prove that the crucifixion and more importantly the resurrection was truth. He said that Page did what any good criminal attorney would do: he did his research. And after thoroughly gathering evidence, he concluded that the resurrection and all it stands for Was truth. No question. And after that, his life changed.

Unlike the rich man in our reading, Page lived his faith. His tenacity to help the wrongly convicted became his life’s passion.

Because of this passion, Page became a founding member of the Georgia Innocence Project (GIP), an independent nonprofit organization located in Atlanta that works to correct and prevent wrongful convictions in Georgia. Founded in August of 2002, the Project collaborates with a network of pro bono lawyers, volunteers, and students, Georgia Innocent Project attorneys and staff to conduct investigations into criminal convictions. To date, GIP has helped free and exonerate 12 men who lost a combined total of 275 years in prison. Studies estimate that an astounding 4-6% of men and women in prison are innocent of the crimes for which they are imprisoned. In Georgia alone, that means at least 2,100 number of people are currently incarcerated in prison for crimes they did not commit.

I went to the Project’s website and found one gentleman who had spent the most years behind bars. Johnny Lee Gates was released in May of 2020…. Having spent 43 years in prison in a Muskogee County jail for a crime he did not commit.

No, Page was not a man who sat still when he saw a wrong that he could help to correct. And he used the gifts that God gave him to do so. Helping the wrongly accused to get out of jail and begin a new life was Page’s passion. What is yours?

What is God calling you to do to make the world a better place? How is God calling you to fulfill your discipleship by sharing the gifts that God has given you?

Every hungry man, woman and child in the world is on our conscience. Every person who suffers weighs heavily on our hearts. Every injustice is a travesty that should be addressed. And while we did not create the problems, we can certainly be part of the solution. Helping those in need does not necessarily mean withdrawing money from your account. John preached last Sunday on the dangers of that! Sometimes, it means being kind. Opening a door. Loving the person who is hard to love. Honoring each other’s authentic, weird, difficult selves. Giving someone a ride. Buying someone a cup of coffee and listening to his or her story. Standing up for the bullied. Not judging. In a world of homelessness, hunger and loneliness; in a world filled with war and hatred and violence, where can we share God’s gift of unconditional love?

Our Old Testament reading from Amos warns us about worshiping money. We are shown in our Gospel that choosing self over others will take us to a place of misery and suffering in the end. The rich man is not presented as being cruel to Lazarus or mistreating him. He was ‘condemned’ for doing nothing, for seeing the miserable state of Lazarus and doing nothing about it. The choices we make in the way we live make a difference not only to others but also for ourselves.

At the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King, the great Mahalia Jackson stood up and sang one of Dr. King’s favorite songs that epitomized why he sacrificed his life. It said very simply:

If I can help somebody along the way, if I can cheer somebody with a word or song, if I can show somebody they’re traveling wrong, then my living will not be in vain.

If I can do my duty as a good person ought, if I can bring back beauty to a world of rot, if I can spread love’s message as the Master taught, then my living will not be in vain. Then my living will not be in vain.

And so I will end this morning quoting words used by St. Ignatius: Who will I help today?

Amen.

Shrewd Stewardship

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 15:24:00 GMT

If you as old as I am, you will remember how inconvenient it once was to withdraw cash from your checking account. You had to write a check and go to a bank or a grocery store and cash it. Automatic teller machines (ATMs) have made it much more convenient. However, crooks have become ingenious in their efforts to separate you from your money. They can phish for your financial information by posing as your bank requesting your card and PIN numbers. They can use skimmers, devices which are attached to the card readers to capture your card numbers. Several years ago, in the 1980s before skimmers were developed, two enterprising men decided to build their own ATM from scratch and installed it into a wall on a public street. When the card was inserted, the customer received an error message and the card was ejected…but, not before the card details were recorded, which was used later by the crooks at a real ATM. Wow! What geniuses those two were!

One of the advantages of preaching periodically is that I can choose which readings I choose to preach on. Then why, you might ask, did I decide to preach on this Gospel, which many commentators described as “the most puzzling parable that Jesus ever spoke” (Barclay, 1999, p. 146) or “regularly avoided by preachers” (Borsch, 1988, p. 17)? After reflecting on the Gospel and reading a few commentaries, I found comfort in one interpretation; maybe you will, too.

The Gospel for today is known as the Parable of the Dishonest Steward. Occasionally, it is known as the Parable of the Prodigal Steward, especially since it immediately follows the Parable of the Prodigal Son. To be considered “prodigal” is to be wasteful with your money or other resources. It is a story of a manager who believes that the gig is up. He has been incompetent, irresponsible, and wasteful in managing his master’s resources, and now, he believes that he is being called on the carpet and will be fired. He is about to lose his income, his home, and his reputation. What is he to do? He is no good at manual labor and begging is beneath him.

Sweating one’s future is a good motivator. Suddenly, he has a flash of insight. You can almost see the lightbulb appear above his head. He decides to conspire with each of those who owes his master money. One by one, he tells each to cut their respective bills. ( You , who owe $500, subtract $100 from it. And you who owe $1,000, change the debt to $500, and so forth.) Therefore, if the worse comes to pass and the steward is fired, he can go to those he helped and say, “Do you remember what I did for you? If you won’t help me, I will tell everyone that you refused.” This being an honor-shame culture, a refusal to help the steward would bring dishonor to that individual who refused.

Now that the steward has prepared the best as he can for his future, the stage is set. One can almost imagine the steward timidly approaching his master, sweating profusely, expecting to be fired. The disciples hearing this story are probably eager, too waiting for the steward to get his comeuppance. Now he is going to get his just desserts! However, Jesus’s parables do not always proceed as one expects. Rather than firing the steward, the master praises the employee for looking out for his own interests rather than his master’s business. Since the master in this and similar parables is a substitute for God, is God praising the steward for unscrupulous behavior? Is Jesus after completing the parable supporting such behavior when he states, “ If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? ” What about my apparent support in the introduction? Was I praising the crooks who built the ATM machine and cheated the people out of their money?

The answer to all these questions is no. In both examples, the ATM scam and the parable, what is being praised is, not their morality, whether the behavior is the right or wrong, but their unwavering commitment and focused motivation to secure dishonest wealth. How many have ever heard a story of some ingenious con man and have responded, “If he or she would only apply that same ingenuity and motivation to do good, what a better person and world this would be.

So, if God is the master in this parable, who is the steward? The steward is each of us. The parable of the dishonest steward gives us an opportunity to reflect on all that God has given us and to evaluate what we have done with it. Are we serving God with the same single-minded devotion as we do in acquiring our treasures on Earth.

The Gospel ends, “You cannot serve God and wealth.” The King James translation for this gospel substitutes the word “mammon” for “wealth.” These two terms are essentially the same; however, wealth recalls the Christmas Story with Ebenezer Scrooge in his counting house greedily counting his money, which limits how I believe our gospel writer defines “wealth.” Mammon is not only our material possessions, but it is also the rabid pursuit of worldly things and pleasures at the expense of our spiritual future . The Gospel of Matthew mirrors today’s Gospel from Luke with the scripture: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

(Luke 16:13)

So, have you been good stewards with your mammon, the riches of treasure, time, or talent? Or have we squandered what has been given to us by God? How have we used the good earth that God has given us? How have we treated our own bodies? How have we treated others? Have we respected “the dignity of every human being” (even those we do not particularly like) as we have affirmed in our baptismal covenant? Jesus’ parable of the dishonest or prodigal steward provides us an opportunity to reflect on how we have used what God has given us and if using as much single-minded devotion in building treasures in heaven as we doing in worshiping a “god” with a small “g.” , “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Mt 6:19-21).

Amen.

Works Cited:

Barclay, William. The Parables of Jesus. Westminster John Knox Press, 1970.

Borsch, Frederick Houk. Many Things in Parables: Extravagant Stories of New Community. Fortress Press, 1988.

Salvation is the Name of the Game

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 21:09:00 GMT

Today is the twenty-first anniversary of the horrific events of September the 11th, 2001, another date that will live in infamy. In those days and months after 9/11 we stood a people united in tragedy. The normal events of our life have been tragically and irreparably changed. As I stood and watched the collapse of the 2nd tower my mind would not comprehend what I was seeing. The bottom of the screen said the first tower had already collapsed and I could not perceive what I was reading. My mind went into denial of what my eyes were telling me. It is amazing to me how our minds will reject reality when we find it unbelievable. It is inconceivable to us that someone would take an airliner with innocent passengers aboard and fly it into a building filled with equally innocent people. Our concepts of fairness and justice cry out against such a circumstance. As the facts of what took place began to unfold we had to come to grips with a hideous form of evil that consumed close to five thousand lives with in a few minutes. We are only learning now that of the four aircraft hijacked that day only one was unsuccessful in accomplishing its diabolical mission. There were people on board the fourth plane who were determined to save others.

Our lessons this morning indicate that our real problem is with saving mankind. The lessons read this morning are rife with the topic of the day, which is salvation. The redemptive act of God Almighty in His Son Jesus Christ is the Salvation of the world through His sacrifice on the cross. The whole point of His life here on earth was to stay the course and complete the mission, given Him by God the Father. That mission was and is the salvation or redemption of mankind. If anyone had an intimate knowledge and understanding of salvation it was the Apostle Paul, who in this letter to Timothy that was read this morning, utters those wonderful words that in the 1928 BCP Eucharistic service was called the Comfortable Words and are still found in the Rite One Eucharist.

"This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." [I Timothy 1: 15]

That is the crux of the issue, Jesus came to die for us, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and bring about the forgiveness of our sins. Out of His own mouth Jesus told us that He came forth to save us. Later in Luke's Gospel Chapter 19, we read of the episode with Zacchaeus. Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem, and He was passing through Jericho. The local tax collector, Zacchaeus, wanted to see Jesus, but because of the crowds and him being so short he could not see. Can you just see him jumping up and down behind the crowd of people trying to see Jesus? Well, "Zacc" runs ahead and climbs a sycamore tree so he can see. Jesus comes to the tree and tells "Zacc" to come down because He wants to have dinner at his house. "Zacc" is so happy that he tells Jesus that he will pay back anyone he has defrauded and will give half his possessions to the poor. That's a whole lot different than the Rich young ruler in chapter 18 who could not give up a thing. Anyway, Jesus said to him,

"Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a Son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." [Luke 19: 1 01]

In Matthew's account of the birth of Jesus, the Angel told Joseph that his name would be Jesus because "He will save his people from their sins" The name Jesus is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Joshua or Yeshua or Yahweh-shuah , which means Yahweh, is salvation or Yahweh saves.

This theme of God as Savior is found throughout the Old Testament. This morning's Psalm in the daily office reading refers to the God of our Salvation. The Venite, Psalm 95 talks of the Rock of our salvation. When you read the gospel of Luke you see that he hammers away at the fact that Jesus came to save us. When the angels announced to the shepherds that Jesus was born, they said that a Savior was born in Bethlehem. The fact that his birth was announced to the lowly shepherds sets the agenda for who you would find Jesus with. The announcement was not made in Jerusalem; the word did not get there until the Wise men arrived in town. The Word came to the outcasts. That's precisely where we find our gospel opening up this morning. The tax collectors and sinners were coming to hear Jesus and the religious elite was upset that he was hanging around with such people and contaminating himself with them. They were still grumbling when he went in to eat with "Zacc". I guess they were mumbling and grumbling so much that Jesus told them three parables, the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal (or lost) son. He wanted them to see how ridiculous it was to be exceedingly joyful over finding a lost animal and then not be joyful over a lost person, repenting and returning. It seems they were hard, judgmental and unforgiving in their attitude toward their fellow man. Their contempt of people who did not measure up to their standards was an important facet of their lack of humility before God. They failed to recognize their own need of Grace. What is so Christ like in the people of the parable is their persistence. They kept searching until they found the lost sheep or coin. That is what Jesus told the crowd at "Zacc's" house, that He had come to SEEK the lost. There is a sense of urgency about that seeking.

There is a poem called the Hound of Heaven that speaks to that pursuit by the Redeemer. In 1981, a Minnesota radio station reported a story about a stolen car in California. The police were searching intensely for the vehicle and the driver. They were even placing announcements on local radio stations to contact the thief. The real owner of the car had placed a box of crackers loaded with rat poison on the front seat. As he was on his way home to take care of the rat problem, he stopped at a convenience store and the car was stolen. Now they were frantically trying to contact the car thief to save the thief s life. So often we run from God because we are afraid of his punishment, and we are really eluding rescue. Have you ever lost a favorite tool, or misplaced a favorite piece of jewelry? Do you remember how you looked and looked and turned the house upside down looking for it? That's the picture Jesus wants to convey, that determination to find the lost object. What kind of a God is this that will leave behind the ninety-nine GOOD sheep who did not stray away, and go after a dirt-bag lost sheep? We have not come to grips with the God who loves us all so much that He is concerned over the lost that have strayed away. Now while you think you are safe in the sheepfold; you never know when you might stray away! Would you not want to be searched for if you were lost? In John's Gospel Jesus said, "I AM the Good Shepherd" and in that context is the fact that the sheep was lost. At the Church of the Good Shepherd there is that lovely stained glass window depicting Jesus with the lost sheep in his arms. What is so wonderful about that scene is the fact that the Son of God came to save US and could not, rather would not save himself, from physical pain, torture and death, for our salvation. He endured the temptation to throw away his whole mission one more time before he achieved his destiny. In his agony and seemingly his defeat he was paradoxically tempted to throw his mission away by saving himself. For if he saved himself, he would not be able to save us. He had to die on the cross to save us from our sins. The rulers, the chief priests and scribes had achieved what they wanted and they had Him hanging on the cross, and what did they say?

"He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!" And again from the soldiers; "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself." One of the two men being crucified with Him also taunted him; "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!"

Save, Save, Save yourself they kept hammering at Him, but He would not. He had worked that out the night before in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He had asked the Father to remove this cup from Him. But in obedience to the Father He said "Nevertheless, Not as I will, but as You will." Throughout the New Testament, in the Gospels, The Acts of the Apostles and the several Letters of the different Apostles, the theme is Salvation. When Jesus said it would be hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, the disciples asked, "Then who can be SAVED?" After the day of Pentecost, Peter and John testified before the council, when they had been arrested for healing a cripple that,

"There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." [Acts 4:12]

In Philippi, when Paul and Silas were unjustly beaten and jailed, an earthquake occurred. The jailer was about to commit suicide because he thought all the prisoners had escaped when Paul stopped him. The man came trembling to Paul and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" I realize that all this talk of saving and salvation sounds very other denominational, but the facts are clear that, if you are Christian, you are by your faith a saved person! God's plan is a seven-step plan and is thoroughly Orthodox and liturgical. These are the facts:

1. God loves us.

2. We are sinners.

3. We are dead, in our sins, without Christ.

4. Christ died for us.

5. We can be saved by faith in Christ.

6. We can be saved and know it.

7. Once saved we are children of God and should obey him.

When we realize the fact that we have been saved we are full of joy, but nothing like the celebration that goes on in heaven. The early Christians really celebrated that salvation in their worship, which is why our principal act of worship is called the Eucharist. It is thanksgiving for so great a salvation. The psalmist gives us a hint of that joy when he says;

"Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; wash me, and I shall be clean indeed. Make me hear of joy and gladness, that the body you have broken may rejoice.”

[Psalm 51:8-9]

Jesus said, "there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." That is because God's overwhelming concern is for those who are lost and have strayed away from Him. Peter writes in his second letter;

"The Lord ... is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." [2 Peter 3:9]

With that mission it is no wonder that there is joy in heaven. If there is joy in heaven, then there should be joy here when people come to know, believe and trust the Lord. If the mission of Jesus was to seek and save the lost, and we are now the Body of Christ then our mission is also to seek and save the lost. Our mission is to proclaim to the world this Good news of God in Jesus Christ. For us here at St. Augustine, that is accomplished through worship, service and evangelism. In our worship of God we acknowledge our salvation through dwelling in him, by receiving the Body and Blood of his Son. We reach, out and serve him in service to others and by so doing we evangelize, spread the Good News by being examples or icons of Christ in His servant hood. If we would see Jesus today, we would have to look for him among the sick, the hurt, the crippled, the disadvantaged, the outcast, those we call sinners, the prostitutes, the drug addicts, the drug runners and sellers, and the prisoners. In other words, any place where there is pain and suffering in body, mind and spirit. If we are part of his plan of salvation today, we will have to do it through our Worship, Service and Evangelism, Then they will know the Good News that Jesus Saves. Today we celebrate God’s mercy. We recall his love shown unendingly and faithfully to his people in the desert. Paul teaches us that God’s love is freely given; it does not depend on the human person’s worthiness. God takes the initiative.

We celebrate the Father’s love shown in Jesus—a prodigal love that has no limits. Today and every day the bread and wine are signs of this love. They symbolize and are the reality of God’s love and mercy. Let us today allow their healing power to penetrate our weakness, to heal our hurts, and then to empower us to go out and heal the hurting one in our midst. God is not in a hurry and we must not be either. The waiting may be the place where the Lord is most present.

DOCTRINAL POINTS: Luke By Pat McCloskey, O.F.M. in Homily Helps

1. Paul is presented as thanking the glorified Jesus for his mercy. Paul has received an overflowing measure of grace together with the gifts of faith and love. All of this was totally undeserved, especially since Paul had been such an enemy of Christ and his Church.

2. What Jesus has done for Paul should bring assurance to the Christian community that they, too, can depend on the mercy and patience of Christ. In fact, there is a Christian formula that sums up the Church’s experience quite nicely: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Thus, Paul’s example and Christian experience should lead all believers to put all their trust in Jesus.

3. The stage for this wonderful story is set very clearly. The tax collectors and sinners (not much difference) are there with the ever-present Pharisees. Jesus could not possibly be any good in their point of view. You could tell by his company. Jesus is not about to take any of their nonsense, and so tells three examples of the marvelous, unlimited love and forgiveness of God. All three are a condemnation of his critics’ own narrow, bigoted, self-righteous stance. In a dramatic way, Jesus gets across that their point of view is opposite and diametrically opposed to God’s point of view. And they are supposed to be the professional religious!

4. They are so caught up in their own cynicism that they would not be able to find it in their hearts to rejoice with the shepherd who found his sheep or the woman who found the coin. They give virtue a bad name. They are the original party poopers. God’s magnanimity finds little companionship with their narrowness.

APPLICATION/DISCUSSION:

The words of the Prayer of Consecration in Rite One include the plan of salvation and even though we may think that Episcopalians are not into all that talk about saving, we are! Jesus told us at the last supper that his blood was going to be poured out in remission for our sins.

1. GOD LOVES US: All glory be to thee, Almighty God, our heavenly Father, for that

thou, of thy tender mercy, didst give thine only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption. Is that love or is that LOVE!

2. WE ARE SINNERS: Who made there, by his one oblation of himself once offered, a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, for the sins of the whole world. That is all of us.

3. WE ARE DEAD, IN OUR SINS, WITHOUT CHRIST: And although we are unworthy, through our manifold sins to offer unto thee any sacrifice, yet we beseech thee to accept this our bounden duty and service, not weighing our merits, but pardoning our offenses, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

4. CHRIST DIED FOR US: In his holy Gospel, he commanded us to continue, a perpetual memory of that his precious death and sacrifice, until his coming again. In remembrance of his death and passion, we may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood. Again and again we are reminded that Christ died for us.

5. WE CAN BE SAVED BY FAITH IN CHRIST: We most humbly beseech thee to grant that, by the merits and death of thy Son Jesus Christ, and through faith in his blood, we, and all thy whole church, may obtain remission of our sins.

6. WE CAN BE SAVED AND KNOW IT: And here we offer unto thee, 0 Lord, our selves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy and living sacrifice unto thee. You usually don't offer up yourself without knowing that you are saved.

7. ONCE SAVED WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD AND SHOULD OBEY HIM: We and all others who shall be partakers of this Holy Communion may worthily receive the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son Jesus Christ, and made one body with him, that he may dwell in us and we in him.

Humility and the Good Scissors

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 15:33:00 GMT

I remember when I was growing up, my mom had a pair of scissors that were not allowed to be used by anyone but her. These were the GOOD scissors. You know what I am talking about.

My mom had a special place for her pair. They were stashed in the drawer of her make up table. One time, I did muster the nerve to use them. I made sure she was not home. I found them nestled in the drawer and used them to cut whatever project I was working on and then carefully slipped them back in place. I thought I was so slick.

Until she got home. Somehow, she knew that her GOOD scissors had been moved! How did she know?! I bet your family had a pair of the GOOD scissors. Or maybe it was the good something else that was saved for special occasions.

Like the GOOD dishes that were only brought out for important company or holidays. Or maybe your family had the GOOD silver. And when company came and stayed, we always used the GOOD sheets on the bed and the GOOD towels were placed in the guest bathroom.

Funny how we save the GOOD stuff to be used when we want to make an event really special, or maybe to impress someone, or maybe we save the good stuff as a way to honor our guests so that they know their visit is important.

And when we had company, our guests were always seated at the head of the table and were given first choice of whatever we were having for dinner. I was 12 before I ever knew that chicken had more than wings! That is what was usually left by the time the platter of fried chicken made its way to the children’s end of the table.

My mother was always a gracious host. The hostess with the mostest. She always laughed. And while she took pride in making sure our guests felt welcomed and honored, I never felt that she did any of this out of an exaggerated sense of pride. I never had the sense that she did this out of a desire to exalt herself, to get admiration or attention.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to excel and achieve and to be loved or admired. However, this need or act can be destructive and self-defeating when, in our desire to impress people and get their attention, we think less of them in order to exalt ourselves.

Our gospel reading from Luke challenges us to address this need to exalt ourselves for the sake of being loved or accepted, by being humble. This is like one of those paradoxical teachings of Jesus, for example, “Those who save their life will lose it” and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. In other words, Jesus is once more turning everything upside down.

Three times in the Scriptures we hear this teaching of Jesus. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever discovers humility will be exalted in the heart and mind of God.

If we are to be a follower of Jesus Christ, we are to learn this quality of humility. This really seems to be in juxtaposition to what our culture teaches: be proud. Be first. Be successful. This is the American way to reflect our success.

And these qualities are important. But so is being humble. Humility does not mean we must feel inferior or put ourselves down. It does not mean that we must compare ourselves to others and come up short. Nor does it mean to be timid or to be afraid to speak up and speak the truth.

Anglican author C.S. Lewis wrote, “… humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less .” What a great mantra for us as leaders in our community and in our church. Confidence and humility are not opposites. They coexist in great leaders. In great humanitarians. In great Christians.

In my research this past week, I came across a woman named Vani Kola, an Indian venture capitalist and the founder and managing director of Kalaari Capital, an Indian venture capital firm in the early stages of development. She was listed as one of the most powerful women in Indian business by Fortune India in 2014.

The 57-year-old businesswoman believes that 'confident humility', even if it may sound like a paradox, is a deep self-awareness of strength and weakness. While confidence is about having the conviction in what one knows, humility is about accepting what one does not know or understand.

I think she has hit the nail on the head.

The Hebrews thought that they had all the answers: follow the law. Certainly, their interpretation of the law is to be righteous.

Many people today feel the same: they have all the answers. They are quick to quote scripture to point out who is living righteously and who is not. Holding tightly to what they believe is the correct interpretation of what God through Jesus wants from us to be righteous. But with everyone feeling that they have all the answers to bring us into unity, we seem to be moving further and further apart.

We have watched this struggle play out presently in our Christian institutions, presently reflected in the division within the Methodist churches, just as in our own during the Lambeth Conference. Good people trying their best to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Time after time in scripture, Jesus teaches either through words or actions, what is really important: inclusivity. Loving others who we may not want to include on our own guest list.

In Jesus’ time it was those considered unclean, physically or spiritually. Today, our culture’s list of “the other” is a bit more extensive: Drug addicts, Immigrants, strangers, and people who do not speak and look like us; homeless, the LGBTQ+ community, political rivals, those who have hurt us in the past. The list continues from broad labels to those that are specific to us specifically.

St. Augustines is in a time of transition: a time that we all will be given the opportunity to evaluate who we are and what we want. Last week in my sermon, I made a reference to finding out what our WHY is and how we plan to then achieve it. To do that, we will need to take a deep open and honest look at who we are and where we want to go. Do we want to change? Will that mean that we will need to be more inclusive not only of others who do not look like us but maybe do not act exactly like us? Who are children of God?

Your vestry has voted to begin a survey utilizing the company Holy Cow that will help us do just that: to ask questions, to begin holy conversations that will help us to follow God’s path for us as a church and us as individuals. To deepen our own faith and to help lead others to find and deepen their own.

This is hard but important work. This is kingdom work. And it will take humble leadership. Being open to different, open to listening, open to consider something that may not be familiar. At the same time, being accepting. As our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry says, “to be accepting and affirming of the other, of all children of God.”

Amid all this, we will have our stewardship drive led by Kim Bragg. And she and her team will challenge us to put our money and our energy where our hopes and wants are. Again, kingdom work.

We will be busy for the next few months. Finding our way, planning our course, and reflecting the leadership of our faith. Answering the call to step up to lead when your vestry and team leaders ask. Following what God has asked of us: to share the good news. To love one another. To support each other. To have a presence in our community as a leader as well as follower of our faith, and to put our faith in the Lord.

Amen

God's Grace and Our Why

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 15:24:00 GMT

This weekend a team from St. Augustines participated in a Diocesan endeavor called Leading with Grace, which is the study of a curriculum geared toward equipping clergy, vestry and lay leaders with the tools they need to grow their parishes. This weekend was the 3rd of 4 sessions with the last one to be held at Honey Creek the end of October.

We hosted two other churches these last three sessions: St. Paul’s in Augusta and St. Michael’s in Waynesboro…. Keeping them fed and caffeinated and as comfortable as anyone can be while sitting in a parish hall on aluminum chairs for long periods of time.

The last few sessions had been pretty straight forward, pulling from what I learned when I attended CDI, our Church Development Institute years ago. This past weekend however, was different. And quite frankly, it was life changing for me. I think it will be for the members of this congregation as well.

We discussed mission and vision statements, goals and objectives, and we discussed WHY. That’s right. Mother Becky led a component on strategic planning, and she started by asking us “Why our church?” “Why St. Augustine’s?”

I knew it had to be a trick question. Of course, we knew why we attend and love our home parish. I sat there a bit smug, smiling and shaking my head at Ray and Donna and Emily, who were smiling too. Until Mtr. Becky went on. What is the WHY that motivates you to come to St. Augustines, she said. And she started us thinking about the Why behind all that we do in our lives.

And then she said, “ You must know the Why before you can create a vision… a mission… and any goals .”

And as I thought about today’s gospel as I was driving home late last night, I realized that this story of the stooped woman who is healed by Jesus has the answer to our Why.

Our gospel begins with Jesus teaching in the temple. There must have been a huge crowd there, it was the Sabbath and all orthodox Jews who obey the law would have been at Synagogue. Envision Jesus teaching, when all of a sudden he calls out to a woman. How he saw her among the crowd is hard to imagine. She was so stooped over. Held hostage by a spirit that had crippled her for 18 years is what we are told. Imagine spending the last 18 years in a bent over position facing the floor, unable to life up her head up, unable to stand up straight and look people in the eye during a discussion. No, she shuffled around in this position of submission, unnoticed, until Jesus did.

When Jesus sees her, he calls her over, tells her, “Woman, you are free from your ailment.” And when he laid his hand on her, whether in the form of a blessing or a healing touch, she stood up straight. Imagine that! After 18 years, she stood tall. And what was her response? She began praising God. She did not earn this gift of being healed that was given to her. She had not even asked for it to be done. Jesus did not know this woman, or else he would have called her by name. She did not have to do anything to be given this grace-filled healing. That is what grace is: God’s love freely given to humanity. It is God’s gift to us.

Now the gospel goes on to tell us that Jesus was immediately called out by the leaders of the synagogue who were indignant for his healing this poor woman on the Sabbath. Jesus was always in trouble with the authorities, those who felt that the law, the rituals were more important than the message of loving and caring for one another. Because to love one another has no boundaries, no days of the week that we cannot do it. No stopping once it starts. And of course, Jesus then does what he does best: he teaches them why they are wrong. And they were put to shame.

What an amazing lesson. A lesson about the gift of God’s grace, and how we, like this stooped woman, respond to it by praising God.

I can just hear Jesus saying, Now I have touched you. Do you believe that my touch can change the world through you?

I firmly believe that we all have had a divine encounter like this woman in our reading. If you are not sure that you have had one, then start paying attention, and you will see them more often than you think. Those nudges. Those things that keep popping up until we finally address them. Those coincidences that well, are not really coincidences. The people that God puts in our paths. Or puts us in theirs. Divine encounters that may change our lives, or may change the lives of others.

Divine encounters that help us remember that we are God’s children and that he is with us always and has set us free from the bondage of sin and fear.

And I think that our gospel then calls us to consider what has tied us down lately. Or maybe this last year. Or maybe like the woman in the synagogue, for most of our lives? What does our faith in Jesus set us free from? Or maybe you have already been loosed. I like to say that I was saved by a man crucified on a cross on a garbage heap in Jerusalem 2000 years ago. I have been set free since then but did not know it for a long time. And I am continually being saved every time I realize I can be free of whatever holds me back, those freeing moment when I let go of somethings that are binding me.

I think then that this is our why: Sharing what we know about God’s grace. Either sharing it with people who do not know or maybe who do not believe. Or do not remember. We can share our own experiences of being released from those things that bind us, remembering that this gift is not earned but is freely given.

Our Episcopal theology emphasizes the gratuitous nature of grace and its importance in the life of the church where grace is sacramentally represented and made known.

So, I say that this is the answer to Why St. Augustine’s. We have so much to share with others, certainly through our sacraments, as visible signs of God’s grace. But we also have ourselves to share with others. This church, this congregation has the capacity to love beyond measure, to embrace others by fulfilling our baptismal covenant: to continue in the Christian fellowship, to proclaim the gospel, to serve Christ in all persons, and to strive for justice and peace.

As my mentor and friend Deacon Lynn Anderson once said when I asked her why she became a deacon, she simply said, “ I can’t not.”

That is what I say about our Why. We cannot not share the love of Christ. And if we know that love, then we cannot not invite others to share in that love. Instead of saying we need to grow this congregation I think we should say, We need to be better at sharing what St. Augustines represents . What St. Augustines has to offer. What she means to us needs to be shared with others. How can we not.

In our class Saturday, Mtr. Becky showed a YouTube video by comedian Michael Jr. I will be sure to include his name in this upcoming Canterbury Tales so that you can look him up and listen to this video.

Michael Jr. is a comedian who spends a lot of his time following his why. He says that the key to life is not to know the what but to know the why. If you know your why, you have options as to what your what can be. For instance, he says his why is to inspire people to walk in purpose. My what , he says, is stand-up comedy, writing books, being with friends.

He shows a clip of a time when he had a show in Winston Salem, NC. He likes to take a break halfway through his show and to talk to the folks in his audience. So that night he met a music director at a school. He asked him to sing a few bars of the song Amazing Grace . It was nice. Beautiful. He obviously has talent. BUT then Michael asked him to give the version of the song. “As if your uncle just got out of jail, and you had been shot as a kid, you know, give me the hood version. You know what I mean.”

And let me tell you, the version that he sang made me weep. I could not help it. The version he sang was full of his own personality, his own soul. His version of what grace meant to him. It still gives me chills when I think back on it. The music director had people in the audience on their feet cheering, giving him a standing ovation. Hands raised in the air. He had touched their soul with his Why. The What was his music. The Why came from his soul and was his purpose.

When the man finished and everyone had settled down, Michael said, “Here is the thing. The first time he sang, he knew what he was doing. The second time I asked him to sing, he knew WHY he was doing it.”

When you know your why, your what has more impact because you are walking in or towards your purpose.

Jesus knew his purpose. He knew his why. The stooped woman found her why . She then found her purpose and that was to praise God for the grace he had shown her.

We too need to be able to name our why so that we can fully walk in our purpose as children of God as members of the larger national church, as members of this church. Because when we are able to articulate our why, we will be so filled with the holy spirit, and so focused, and so on fire that nothing will be able to stop us from fulfilling the vision of St. Augustines. And our programs will be filled and our pews crowded. Our outreach magnified, because our message will be filled with the power of knowing firsthand what we need to do to fulfill the why that God has given us so freely.

And I say, how can we not.

Amen.

Sources

Michael Jr: Know Your Why . YouTube . September 10, 2015. (accessed on 8/21/2022)