Listen to the Sermon for October 10, 2010 ~ Proper 23c
Read the Sermon for October 10, 2010 ~ Proper 23c
Category: Religion
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Follow Him, Seek Him, Love Him
The chorus from W.H. Auden's Christmas Oratorio is on my mind today as I reflect upon my life and ministry and the people and places I have known:
He is the Way.
Follow Him through the Land of Unlikeness;
You will see rare beasts, and have unique adventures.He is the Truth.
Seek Him in the Kingdom of Anxiety;
You will come to a great city that has expected your return for years.He is the Life.
Love Him in the World of the Flesh;
And at your marriage all its occasions shall dance for joy.(W H Auden – 1907-1973)
This poem is set to two different tunes in The Hymnal 1982 of The Episcopal Church. Here's a beautiful choral setting: The Way, The Truth, The Life (Royal Holloway Choir, University of London, Samuel Rathbone & Rupert Gough)
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Transition
I am preparing to leave one community of faith where I have served as interim for the past year and am anticipating appointment as interim in another location in the near future. The community I am leaving is preparing to welcome a new spiritual leader. The community to which I go will be saying farewell to theirs. In the midst of all this change, I am reflecting on the wisdom St. Paul shared with the Corinthian Church regarding transitions in leadership.
The Corinthian Christians were having difficulty adjusting to new leadership. In his first letter to them, St. Paul describes how transitions are a normal aspect of the life of Christians in community. His focus is upon the common purpose of building up the Church in its mission.
For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul’, and another, ‘I belong to Apollos’, are you not merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labour of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building. – I Cor. 3:4-9
I might have written it this way:
It is human nature for one to say, ‘I liked Fr. So and So’, and another, ‘I didn’t like Fr. Such and Such’. Both are Pastors who tried to help you in your journey of faith using the gifts the Lord gave to each of them. One planted seeds, another watered them, but the resulting growth came from God. So, it’s really not about the Pastor, it’s about God! Each of us Pastors has a common purpose and that is to help you have enough faith to do the work God has prepared for you to walk in. – I Ron 3:4-9
I am not the Pastors who came before me. Nor am I the Pastors who come after me. God has gifted each one of us in different ways according to the leadership God desires the Church to have in a particular place and time. Each of us brings something different to the communities we serve. Each one builds upon the work of those who came before, so the changes each one brings are not intended to dismantle things. Instead, the changes are related to the common purpose we share and are to be understood as additions or enhancements to what has been. Our common purpose is to help you be the Church in mission. It’s not about Fr. So and So or Fr. Such and Such. It’s not about me. It’s about God and God’s mission of reconciliation in the world beyond those red doors.
Change is difficult for many people. We don't like it when something upsets the equilibrium and pushes us out of our comfort zone. So we resist and complain. Resistance to change, while human, can undermine the true spiritual
discernment that has led to this union of Pastor and People, thwarting
God's purpose. Most complaining about change when a new Pastor arrives constitutes avoidance of the real work to which God is calling the faithful. Valuable spiritual energy is wasted in an activity that is useless to the cause of Christ!This time of transition is a unique opportunity for God to work wonders through divine interaction with the new relationships that are being formed. God is creating a new context in which to bring about growth. Trust God enough to invite your new Pastor and encourage one another to fully express the gifts God has given to help you be the Church. You will grow, the Church will grow, and the Kingdom of God will grow.
So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. – I Cor. 3:21-22
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Who exemplifies Christ’s humility?
Today I was reflecting on a favorite passage of scripture, Philippians 2:1-11, sometimes called the "Philippians Hymn" or the "Kenosis (meaning "emptying") Hymn." The writer exhorts Christians to conduct themselves toward one another with humility and to have the same mind as Christ.
Who, I wondered, have I known that exemplifies such humility as described in this passage?
In a split second, a person and a situation came to mind. In a way, it was a very small thing, almost imperceptible, but at the time it touched me and cemented my respect for this gracious person.
Gay and I were being introduced to the Vestry at Christ Church Cathedral in Houston. We had been visiting with the Dean, Walter H. Taylor, and his wife Mary. When it was time to go into the room where the Vestry was gathered, as we started through the doorway all four of us were together. But when we arrived in the room, Mary was not with us. The instant I realized she had waited out in the hallway, I knew why she did it. She wanted us to be the entire focus of the Vestry's attention. It was a simple, but profoundly thoughtful and gracious gesture on her part. I've never forgotten it nor have I forgotten the lesson Mary taught me. She stepped back so that we could step up!
Mary's gesture that evening exemplified Christian humility of the sort described in the Philippians Hymn and particularly the fourth verse, "Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others."
Who have you known that exemplifies Christian humility? Who in your life has stepped back so you could step up? How has their example touched your life and taught you a lesson you needed to learn?
It's something to think about.
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Confirm Thy Soul in Self Control
As we approach this Independence Day, my thoughts are on the internal threats to our nation and the need to restore unity. Whatever problems we face, "we the people" are much stronger than a mob of individuals pointing fingers, insisting on our own way, and fighting over ideologies. We also know better than that and we've always been more effective in solving our problems by pulling together than by pulling apart!
So, for those of us who believe we are called to pray for our nation – for one another – now would be a very good time! There are many fine prayers for such an occasion, but the one that has been on my mind this week is best known as the hymn, America the Beautiful. Every word is packed with the kind of spirit we need to restore our unity of purpose. But the words that are ringing in my ears are these:
America! America! God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law.In order to face one another and to work effectively with those with whom we differ, we need the humility to admit that none of us has yet achieved the perfection we seek. Whether or not we ever actually achieve it, we'll come closer if we pursue it in the company of our fellow Americans. Let us humbly ask God to mend our flaws.
We also need divine help in gaining self-control so that our impulses and anxieties will not drive us apart. Many of our problems are truly frightening. No wonder we are so anxious and so prone to knee jerk reactions. We can't listen to one another or really seek understanding in that condition. Let us ask God to calm us down.
And, we need to respect the boundaries that make it possible to live and work together. Some of those boundaries must be imposed from without, but the most important ones must be established within us. Jesus taught us that all the Law is summed up in one commandment, "love your neighbor as yourself." When that law is at work, we are most inclined to do the right thing in relation to our brothers and sisters at home and abroad. So, let us ask God to write that law in our hearts so that we all might be truly free.
It will come as no surprise to some of you that I am a longtime Judy Collins fan. In 1993, she and the Harlem Boys Choir led a host of people on the National Mall in singing America the Beautiful. It is one of the most moving performances of this prayer/hymn I know. Maybe you'll enjoy watching the video and singing along.
Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!
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Hunger never takes a vacation.
We're having a special emphasis on relieving hunger at our church this Sunday. We're calling it "Loaves and Fishes Sunday." Leaders of our Trinity Interfaith Food Pantry will provide inspirational talks at both services and educational materials at the receptions that follow in the Parish Hall.
The idea for this summertime emphasis comes from St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in Granby, Colorado, where my family and I have worshiped from time to time. They realized that donations of food and funds to fight hunger drop during the summer months while people are on vacation. Yet hunger never takes a vacation! Therefore, this is an important time of year to ask people to be mindful of our Lord's call to feed the hungry.
Our three-year Revised Common Lectionary includes the story of the Loaves and Fishes as told by Matthew in Year A and as told by John in Year B. However, for some reason, Luke's version (Luke 9:10-17) is skipped in Year C. So, in order to set this up as an annual emphasis, I petitioned the Bishop of Kansas to allow us to use the story of the Loaves and Fishes from the Gospel of Luke instead of the Gospel reading appointed in the lectionary for this Sunday.
The story of the Loaves and Fishes is the only miracle story that is recounted in all four of the Gospels and it carries a powerful message. Here's the gist of it:
• The disciples come to Jesus with a problem – the people need food.
• Jesus told them, "You give them something to eat."
• The disciples protest that there isn't enough food.
• Jesus told them to "Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each."
• Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, blessed and broke them, then gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
• All ate and were filled.
• There were twelve baskets of leftovers.The lesson: When we place what seems not enough in the hands of Jesus, he transforms scarcity into abundance to fulfill his mission.
We place our contribution and our commitment into the hands of Christ. He adds his blessing and returns them to our hands, multiplied, so we can carry out his mission. Recognition of our inadequacy is the first step, but never the last. That recognition reminds us that God's work is always humanly impossible and prompts us to trust him to add everything needed to make us adequate to the task. Without him we can do nothing!
So, on Loaves and Fishes Sunday, we are aware of the immensity of the problem of hunger in the world, in our nation, and in our community. It is overwhelming to realize that in 3.8 million U.S. households, (3.5 percent of all U.S. households) one or more household members were hungry at least some time during the year because they could not afford enough food. We feel inadequate to even make a dent in the problem, Jesus. And yet he says, "You give them something to eat." So we bring what we have – food from our pantries, funds from our pockets, the work of our hands – and give it to him. He will take it, break it, bless it, and give it back to us to share, with the promise that because it is his work that is being done, there will be more than enough.
Let's try it and see what happens.
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The Most Resilient of the Resilient
In September of 2008, Galveston Island was inundated by Hurricane Ike. Two and one-half feet of salt water (infused with who knows what else) covered our lot.
The following spring, I was amazed at the resiliency of the trees, shrubs, grass, and other plants in our gardens. I posted photographs on this blog of the blooming things as evidence.
Then, last winter, we had a hard freeze in Galveston. We had a hard freeze in Lawrence too, where I have been working. The freeze in Galveston was not kind to the tropical and semi-tropical plants. When I was in Galveston two months ago, I felt heartsick over the damage the freeze had done to our gardens.
Today, Gay and I pulled into the driveway in Galveston and were greeted by a happy sight. Several of our hibiscus plants, which had been cut back, have new growth from around the roots. And, a duranta is blooming its heart out, as if it is the cheerleader for all the other plants.
I'm amazed at the extent of resiliency of the plants in our gardens. To paraphrase Jesus, if this is possible with the plant world, who knows what might be possible with human beings, with whom God has a very special relationship?
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon
and the stars that you have established;
4 what are
human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals*
that you care for them?
5 Yet you
have made them a little lower than God,*
and
crowned them with glory and honour.
6 You have
given them dominion over the works of your hands.-Psalm 8:3-6a
Human beings are the most resilient of the resilient! Maybe you'd like to be a hibiscus or a duranta. I'll take my chances as a human being any day.
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Managing Polarities
On Monday, I participated in a workshop on "Polarity Management" led by Pastor Roy
Oswald, co-author with Pastor Barry Johnson of Managing Polarities in Congregations: Eight Keys for Thriving Faith
Communities. In Monday's workshop, we explored the principles found in the book.A polarity is a pair of interdependent yet seemingly oppositional truths. When a conflict occurs around a polarity, Oswald and Johnson write, "both sides will be right, and they will need each other to experience the whole truth." While problems can be solved and conflicts can be resolved, polarities are indestructible and must be managed. These are important distinctions for Church leaders to make at every level, congregation, judicatory, denomination, and ecumenical.
Oswald and Johnson devote a chapter to each of the following polarities:
(1) Staying rooted in the faith's heritage while fostering creativity in faith life;
(2) Nurturing mission while maintaining a healthy institution;
(3) Creating a stable congregation but one that is able to embrace change;
(4) Supporting clergy leadership while encouraging lay participation;
(5) Responding to members' needs while simultaneously caring for others;
(6) Manifesting God's unconditional love while challenging people to grow and to serve;
(7) Making it easy to become a member while ensuring that membership has meaning;
(8) Helping members fulfill their callings while ensuring that all tasks of congregational life and ministry are accomplished.
The workshop, like the book, showed the positive and negative aspects of each pole, how to recognize when imbalance is occurring between them, and how to address and correct the imbalance.
For those not currently experiencing conflict, polarity management can be a good prevention tool. For those in the midst of conflict around a polarity, it would help people recognize the legitimacy of both sides and create a more cooperative context for the ongoing dialogue and activity around the polarizing issue.
Maybe if followers of Jesus Christ become better at managing the polarities within their communities, they can more effectively address polarities in the culture.
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For the sake of creation, as we pray, let us so live.
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico threatens life, property, commerce, and occupations along the Gulf Coast. It is a tragedy of phenomenal proportions and it will be years or perhaps even lifetimes before the damage is behind us.
There is plenty of blame to go around and there are plenty of people to do the blaming. Many of us, our families and friends, are directly affected by the spill. My own wife teaches the children of people who are employed by BP. Some of us are in strategic positions of leadership to influence decisions about the cleanup of this spill and the future of offshore drilling.
Whatever our opportunity to make a difference may be, Christians everywhere are concerned for the protection of living creatures and ecosystems that are affected by this disaster. As stewards of creation, all of us are called to pray about this situation. We are in need of divine guidance so that our actions will match our prayers. During the last couple of weeks, I have been led to several prayers in the Book of Common Prayer. I share them with you in hopes they will help you as they have helped me.
For fruitful seasons
Almighty God, Lord of heaven and earth: We humbly pray
that your gracious providence may give and preserve to our
use the harvests of the land and of the seas, and may prosper
all who labor to gather them, that we, who are constantly
receiving good things from your hand, may always give you
thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.For stewardship of creation
O merciful Creator, your hand is open wide to satisfy the
needs of every living creature: Make us always thankful for
your loving providence; and grant that we, remembering the
account that we must one day give, may be faithful stewards
of your good gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with
you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.For Knowledge of God’s Creation
Almighty and everlasting God, you made the universe with
all its marvelous order, its atoms, worlds, and galaxies, and
the infinite complexity of living creatures: Grant that, as we
probe the mysteries of your creation, we may come to know
you more truly, and more surely fulfill our role in your
eternal purpose; in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.For the Conservation of Natural Resources
Almighty God, in giving us dominion over things on earth,
you made us fellow workers in your creation: Give us wisdom
and reverence so to use the resources of nature, that no one
may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yet
to come may continue to praise you for your bounty; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For the Harvest of Lands and WatersO gracious Father, who openest thine hand and fillest all
things living with plenteousness: Bless the lands and waters,
and multiply the harvests of the world; let thy Spirit go
forth, that it may renew the face of the earth; show thy
loving kindness, that our land may give her increase; and
save us from selfish use of what thou givest, that men and
women everywhere may give thee thanks; through Christ
our Lord. Amen.For the Future of the Human Race
O God our heavenly Father, you have blessed us and given us
dominion over all the earth: Increase our reverence before
the mystery of life; and give us new insight into your purposes
for the human race, and new wisdom and determination in
making provision for its future in accordance with your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.And, finally, there is a very special prayer composed by my colleague and dear friend, The Rev. Lillian W. Hyde, Rector of St. George's Episcopal Church in Texas City, Texas. Several of her parishioners and many of their neighbors work at the nearby BP Refinery.
Eternal God, we pray for the protection and preservation
of the Gulf of Mexico and the lands and waters it touches.
Guide those who labor to contain the oil; strengthen those
who work to protect land and creatures; have mercy on those
whose livelihoods will suffer; forgive us for our carelessness,
and give us wisdom to be good stewards of creation, so that
generations yet to come may praise you for your bounty. AmenFor the sake of creation, as we pray, let us so live!
P.S. The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church was an oceanographer before she was ordained. Here is an important message from her regarding the oil spill and our connectedness.
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Ember Days
In the Episcopal Church, we observe Ember Days four times a year primarily by offering prayers for the ministry. Those who are preparing for Holy Orders in this Church customarily write "Ember Day Letters" to their bishops.
The name for the observance may come from the Anglo-Saxon ymb-ren – a circuit or revolution; something that recurs. Or, it may come from the German quatember, a corruption of the Latin quatuor tempora – "Four Times."
The observances are always on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of the weeks following St. Lucy's Day (December 13), The First Sunday in Lent, Pentecost, and Holy Cross Day (September 14). These times are almost equidistant in the circuit of the year. Prior to Christianity, they appear to have originally been times of prayer and fasting originally related to the agricultural cycle. Some believed that the weather on each of the three days predicted the weather in each of the following three months. Excellent articles about Ember Days may be found on Episcopal Cafe and Wikipedia.
In any event, we are invited to pray at this time for those to be ordained, for the choice of fit persons for the ministry, and for all Christians in their vocation. The prayers which follow are from The Book of Common Prayer and are especially appropriate for use on Ember Days.
I. For those to be ordained
Almighty God, the giver of all good gifts, in your divine providence you have appointed various orders in your Church: Give your grace, we humbly pray, to all who are [now] called to any office and ministry for your people; and so fill them with the truth of your doctrine and clothe them with holiness of life, that they may faithfully serve before you, to the glory of your great Name and for the benefit of your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
II. For the choice of fit persons for the ministry
O God, you led your holy apostles to ordain ministers in every place: Grant that your Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may choose suitable persons for the ministry of Word and Sacrament, and may uphold them in their work for the extension of your kingdom; through him who is the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
III. For all Christians in their vocation
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers, which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.