Advent 4 A - St. Joseph. - A Sermon - 2019

Advent 4 A – Mt. 1.21 “…you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

We are almost, almost there..almost to Christmas Eve but we still have just a little more Advent to go…this season of waiting, longing for the light, longing for God to come and make it right..
This morning in our reading from Matthew we hear about Joseph… husband of Mary, adoptive father of Jesus.  It could easily be said of him that he is the hidden man of Christmas..
I’d like to start by talking a bit about his time.  From there to point to three things to notice about him and then to try to bring this home for us… to see what God might have to say to us today in the 21st century through this passage.

First, Joseph’s world..Judea at that time was under Roman occupation as it had been for the past 60 years…around 6 or 7 BCE, the ever increasing need of Rome for money to finance its campaigns and public works led, in Judea, to enslavement, deportation, profound harshness, high taxation, and in 4 BCE, after an uprising, the crucifixion of over 2000 so called rebels ..The major crossroads and thoroughfares were marked by cross after cross.   Part of the Roman strategy for ensuring conquered peoples stayed conquered was through taxation – systematically draining the country of its resources – and Romanization..in which they attempted to remove all of the old identity and substitute Roman identity.

How far they had fallen from the glorious times under King David .. they must have clung to the promises of Isaiah and the other prophets who pointed to a time a peace in which God would save his people… how long would they have to wait?  Now remember there had been by the time of Joseph nearly five hundred years of silence – no word of the Lord from the prophets…and all that time, they waited for God to act…so when Matthew tells us that Joseph was a righteous man, other translations say “just”, he is telling us that even in the darkness of 500 years of silence, even under the weight of Roman occupation, Joseph had kept the faith, he held to the promises and tried to live faithfully – and to honor the covenant God had made with Israel at Mt. Sinai. I marvel at his faithfulness – we are so impatient as a people we can barely stand to wait five minutes much less a lifetime for a hope which we may not see realized in our own time.

So, the first thing to notice about Joseph is this deft description of him from Matthew– he was righteous – that is, in right relationship with God, honoring God’s law, – not holier than thou which is the way we sometimes that term righteous… living by the covenant was everything to him…he lived as one who was just and embraced God’s promises… being very careful to observe God’s laws.    Now, notice how  in the next breath, Matthew tells us that Joseph, upon learning of Mary’s pregnancy and assuming adultery,  was unwilling to expose her to public shame and planned to break their marriage contract quietly… he had every legal right to make a big public stink about it – in fact, the invoking of justice and punishment on Mary, would have been considered his obligation and responsibility to the community of the faithful.  Instead, he chose mercy..and resolved to dismiss her quietly.  This was an act of social courage..but more than that – it shows us - in Joseph’s character – the perfect balance between justice and mercy.  Think about who else we see that in… think about Jesus with the woman taken in adultery,, let those who are without sin, cast the first stone.. we see the stamp of Joseph on Jesus.   Think about how often we hear about Jesus and how he was grieved at the hardness of heart those who would use the law to skirt living out the loving kindness of God.

So, the first thing to notice about  Joseph is how he holds in himself  the balance  honoring the law of God, that is, holding in balance justice, and  mercy.

The second thing to notice about Joseph is this – he listens to his dreams…Matthew tells us that he listened to his dreams not just once but three times.. if you read on into Chapter 2.  Do you listen to your dreams?  Have you ever felt like God has spoken to you in a dream?
 I heard a story this week  about listening to dreams .  This happened more than 20 years ago.  A friend has a sense that she and her husband were supposed to adopt a child from China..her husband, a priest, was not very enthusiastic about the idea.  He agreed to pray about it.. and woke her up one morning saying that he had had a dream..(she said , he never remembers his dreams).. the dream just gave him a passage in the bible – Samuel -Chapter 1 and 2.  It’s the story of Hannah praying for a child.  They read it but couldn’t understand what it was about.  My friend prayed and asked God to help her understand the message and she heard this – there is a childless woman who is praying for a child, she will become pregnant, but will be unable to keep the child, and will give it to the priest – just like Hannah did with Samuel.
By this, they felt that they were supposed to move forward and began the long process of international adoption.  They finally, after many delays, travelled to China and brought home their daughter …and her birthday was exactly forty weeks (Nine months- a full pregnancy) to the day of his dream.  My friend and her husband listened to his dream…

So the second thing to notice about Joseph is that  he listened to his dreams and was faithful to act on what he had been told…how about you?

The third thing to notice about Joseph is to consider how he responded to what surely seemed like a very unexpected move of God.  Matthew tells us that “just when he had resolved to do this-“ that is , set her aside, the angel  - the messenger of the Lord- appeared in his dream…How in the world, he must have wondered,  could Mary be pregnant?  The angel said this is of the Holy Spirit.  He had to completely change his thinking, to do a 180,   the real meaning of repentance, metanoia,  – a transformation or change of mind…turning around your mind.. most of us stay locked into our own mindsets and become pretty immovable in our convictions – not Joseph…the angel said to him—don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife…sometimes, not always, sometimes  our inability to change has roots in fear..in Joseph’s case, he had to have a lot of social courage to be willing to take on what must have looked in the public eye like a very bad situation…but he could do it because he was persuaded by his dream  that God was moving… and the angel said… You are to name him Jesus for he will save his people from their sins… and all of this is to fulfill a promise of God given through Isaiah which he would have known.. and this would have stirred hope in him that God was finally acting and coming to save his people..

So, the third thing to notice about Joseph is willingness to change in response to a move by God which probably seemed profoundly  unexpected …how about you, could you do this?


So, three things :  balancing law and mercy, listening to his dreams, and being willing to change his mind about how God is supposed to act.

Now, I want to try to bring this home a little more – the angel said to Joseph, “you are to name him Jesus for he will save his people from their sins.”   Notice, the angel did not say, he’s going to get rid of the Romans.. but he will save his people from their sins.  The mission was a lot bigger than just dealing with a political situation.. the mission was and is to free us – both individually and collectively - from our sins…and, to reconcile us with God. 
At Advent, in this time of reflection, we have an opportunity to get a little clearer on what is separating us from God –If sin is missing the mark , if sin is where we fall short…… what sin do you need to be freed from? What is weighing so heavily on you?   What sin do we as a people need to be freed from?  St. Paul tells us that Jesus came so that we might know the glorious liberty of the children of God.    Jesus’ mission to save is not limited to long ago but is present, active and powerfully at work here and now. He is speaking peace to us, speaking forgiveness and healing to us, speaking life to us.  Can we hear it?

This week we will give thanks to God once again for the great love and mercy shown to us in the incarnation – that blessed event – but let’s don’t forget that even now He can enter every heart that invites him in...

And let’s remember blessed St. Joseph – and  in our own lives seek to balance God’s law and  God’s loving kindness, his mercy  as he did, to listen to our dreams as he did, and to be willing to change our minds responding in faith to God’s future as he did..
And…May you be blessed and know God’s love and power to save anew today.

Proper 19C - The Company We Keep

Proper 19 C 

Luke 15.5 – And when he has found it he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

 St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Charleston, SC. - September 15, 2019

“Daughter, it’s the company you’re keeping - that’s the problem!”  That was my father… and when I was growing up,  my daddy regularly tried to talk to me about the importance of the company we keep. He would say things like, if you want to do well in school, then, associate with the smart kids.   To my own kids I try to say – be with people who build you up not tear you down.  And, generally speaking, if you want to keep your faith strong, your marriage strong, your mind agile, stay around those who are trying to do the same… Good advice all around and it makes a lot of sense. 

 And yet, look at the company Jesus kept.  Yes, he stayed close to the twelve but then think about the criticism he got from the Pharisees and scribes in today’s reading from Luke. He  tells us, “All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus and the Pharisees and scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ “ 

          The setting probably would have been in an open public area, say, like Hampton Park,  not in the synagogue.  This also tells us that along with the tax collectors and sinners, the Pharisees and scribes were also coming out to hear Jesus.  So, the picture here is two normally separate worlds in collision and Jesus is standing in the middle.   I am seeing him seated with the twelve  and the crowd standing around.  And,  over on one side , apart, are the Pharisees and scribes..

          I  want to remind you that these were not bad guys – the Pharisees and scribes were people who were really serious about their faith and practicing it.. trying to live it.. Let’s call them the Church people of Jesus’ day[1]…. and they were horrified that Jesus was eating and hanging out with  known sinners.  The tax collectors, in particular, were really hated because they were fellow Jews who had been hired by the Romans to collect taxes, and the deal was this- they had to collect whatever was owed to the Romans – but then, if they could squeeze anything else out of the family, they could use any means necessary to do so and so they enriched themselves, basically, by extortion and stealing from their neighbors while the Romans looked the other way.  So they were hated, and yet there they were along with the other  folks who were considered sinners by the faith community in that place – for us, think about drug dealers, gang members, or haters of religion.   And, then, perhaps there are also the people who had gotten disconnected from the faith community-  or just lost and off the track in some way..And there is Jesus,  talking with them, eating with them,  laughing with them.. apparently perfectly willing to engage.

And the Church people were horrified… Let me ask you – would you be horrified if you had it on good authority  that Fr. Phil was regularly having lunch with a group of  drug dealers or crooked lawyers?  (That’s not true, lest I start a rumor) What would you think about that?  

 So, Jesus, no doubt, either observed the grumbling or had it reported to him …You can imagine, too, that this was not the first time.   He probably had encountered this more than once and, so, he responds by telling a story… and he kept on telling variations of  the same story – all  the same theme –Here’s the theme:    It brings God great joy to regain relationship with someone who had been lost – for whatever reason.

          It’s been said, too, that the 15^thChapter of Luke –from which our reading is drawn today  – is the heart of the gospel of Luke—and it has the three “Lost” parables- the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost sons also known as the Parable of the Prodigal Son.   If you are ever restless at night, can’t sleep,  and want to pick up something in the Bible to read.. turn to this 15^th chapter of Luke.

          I want to focus our attention now on one detail from the gospel reading today…. it’s this line – “When he has found it, [that is, the shepherd has found the lost sheep]  he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices.” (Luke 15.5)

          This morning when you came in, I hoped you received a small picture of a shepherd carrying a sheep on shoulders.  Hold this image in mind. …In researching  today’s sermon, I learned that a sheep that is lost eventually lies down and becomes helpless.  It  will  not move on its own even if prodded.”[2]  It just gives up.  So, the shepherd has to literally pick the sheep up and lug it  back to the fold. 

          I wonder if you have ever had times when you were lost in some way and  became immobilized – whether by fear, grief , confusion, being overwhelmed, being exhausted beyond imagination, or just giving up… I have had those times- I suspect most of us have too…

          Sometimes we are able, inwardly and through the mercy of God and the power of the Holy Spirit,  to find the  strength to get up and continue on,  but sometimes God has to come find us by sending someone to us. 

          This past week, with anniversary of 9-11, the images seemed to be everywhere – and especially those of first responders struggling to carry people out of  the wreckage of those collapsed buildings…Now that is a picture of being carried.   I also think about Harriet Tubman and her underground railroad – literally carrying people to freedom..and then, there is St. Christopher.  You know the story  - there was a man whose job it was to help people ford a river.  One night, a child came to him and asked to be taken across.  He picked the child up on his shoulders and starting making his way across the river.   Instead of the very light child he had started out with, he found  that the child was getting heavier and heavier  - almost crushing him under his weight.  Finally, reaching the other side, Christ revealed himself  and the man understood that he had been carrying Christ – who was  himself bearing the weight of the world.  And, then perhaps one of the most famous stories in the bible  about carrying another is that of the Good Samaritan… and each of us has our own stories about times when we have been carried and when God has carried someone else through us.

These are so important  for us because  they remind us that we are called, as part of the body of Christ,  to seek out and welcome those who have gotten lost in some way.. and that we are called to bear one another’s burdens.   Did you know this is what you signed up or were signed up for at Baptism?

          Jesus came to carry out the Father’s mission of reconciliation.  One really clear place we see the Father’s mission is in the Prophet Ezekiel, God – who at the time is mightily fed up with the kings and priests of Israel,  says – “See here, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.” [3] Our God comes to find us when we get lost and cannot move and sends us out to find the lost and sometimes to carry one another. 

          Now please understand, this is not easy…it will be misunderstood by those on the outside – sometimes even by those in the family of faith.  Mistakes will get made along the way.     Know this, if you ask the Lord to send  you to the lost, and to send the lost our way…  you need to be prepared.   But, also remember, remember, we do not do this in our own strength but through the power of the Holy Spirit….and  Jesus, himself,  is our yoke fellow – he says “My yoke is easy and my burden is light,”[4]

         
     No, sometimes, it’s not easy… For instance, What would you do – as a local church did – if you started a midweek family service followed with a free pizza supper and, at first, you were happy to see that the service had caught on and young families were attending.  But, then, gradually you realized that  the service and the supper were increasingly being attended by street people – unbathed, some addicts, some mentally ill and very unstable.. and the families with young children felt unsafe,  objected and finally stayed away… If you were that priest, what would you do?

It’s all well and good to say that we will seek the lost but what happens when they show up for church and it’s not so pretty?

God willing, it’s what happened when I showed up for church many years ago, lost as I could be.  I found loving care  and a way to reconnect with the love and faithfulness of God…

But beyond that, when we leave here on Sunday morning, we are the Church in the world.  Don’t let that threshold back there be an amnesia line – where once we cross on our way out,  we forget what we are about.  When we are here, we are Church gathered.  When we leave, we are the Church scattered.   If you are willing , God will begin to open your eyes to see the people who need to be connected with God.  They may not be able to connect with a Church family yet or maybe not  ever… but they can connect with you who are the Church in the world.  We don’t necessarily have to seek the lost in an environment which is far away or dangerous – but, more often, we encounter those who are lost  at work, in our own neighborhood, and, perhaps, most difficult of all, in our own families.

          The call to follow Jesus, to be the Church – to be his hands, to see with his eyes, to know his heart,  to carry out his mission.. is ours.  Sometimes, it feels like the most natural thing in the world and sometimes it’s a real challenge.. but when we go out to find the lost sheep, or turn everything upside down to find the lost coin, (the one precious to God),  when we meet the lost son or daughter or the road and welcome them home, then we are keeping company with Jesus. and, I cannot imagine any company better than that. 

Lord God, lover of souls, open our eyes and hearts to those around us who need to be reconciled to you.  Then, we pray, give us the grace to speak and the wisdom to know when.  For we ask it in the name of and for the sake of Jesus.  Amen.

---

[1]Clarence Jordan – The Cottonpatch Gospel

[2] Jeremias – Parables. P.134

[3]Ezekiel 34:11

[4]Matthew 11:30.

When the Knock Comes - Sermon for Proper 12C

The Friend at Midnight - Jesus Mafa

Proper 12 C – Luke 11.7    “Do not bother me.”

 Be present, Lord Jesus, be present.  Speak to us through your living Word, speak to us in the small still voice..speak to us through our sisters and brothers..and enable us, by your grace, to listen and to hear.  

When the doorbell rings we have a choice about how to respond.  

Our doorbell rang the other day and John answered it.  Here is what happened. It was the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and John decided he would visit with them a little bit.  So, he did and later said it was a good conversation.  They prayed for us and then gave him a copy of the Watchtower.  He commended them on their missionary zeal, and everybody went home happy.  In years past he would have just not responded. 

Yes, there are many different ways to open the door when that ring or knock comes…we can answer in great joy as we welcome friends or family .. we can open the door almost grudgingly if we think it’s a salesman  or someone we don’t want to see– or we can even pretend like we’re not home – even though the cars are in the driveway.  We have a choice about how to open that door.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus teaches us about prayer in  a parable in which a friend goes to his neighbor and knocks on the door at midnight to ask for bread.  I want to look at this with you to see how God might be speaking to us through this text today.

Jesus covers a lot of ground in this parable in just these four little verses  A couple of background notes to begin:  

First of all remember, that in Luke, prayer is a major theme – it’s a golden thread that runs the whole of the gospel… and in this part of Chapter 11, Luke has  gathered some of Jesus’ key teaching about prayer –Jesus’ disciples say to him, “John, that is the Baptist, taught his disciples to pray – teach us to pray” and Jesus responds  by teaching them the prayer we know as the Lord’s Prayer – that great treasure of the Church.    Luke, fine editor that he is, also adds this parable of Jesus as well as a few other of his sayings on prayer.  

 The traditional interpretation of this little parable about the Friend at Midnight  is that, just like the man knocking persistently on his friend’s door,  we are encouraged to be patient and persist in prayer… to not give up… keep knocking , keep asking, keep seeking…and there is some good counsel in that…I don’t want to take away from that interpretation at all but here’s the thing, the words of Jesus, in a way, are like diamonds… as we turn them, the light reflects and we see different facets…and Jesus’ words speak to us in different ways at different times. So we need to dig a bit…

One way of working with a parable is to imagine yourself, in this case, in each of the three characters and to ask – who am I most like in this?  Right now, am I more like the one who is knocking on his neighbor’s door at midnight asking for bread to feed a friend who has just arrived?  Or, am I  more like  the hungry traveler who has just shown up at a friend’s house in the middle of the night? Or,  right now, am I  more like the one who has been in bed, sound asleep for quite a long time when the knock comes? 

Where would you put yourself?

When we work with a parable , we also have to ask not only who I am most like in this but also who or where is God in this…and what does this tell me about what God is like?

 If the main point  here is to not give up in prayer…then,  we are the one knocking.  In the parable, Jesus tells us that the one who is already in bed will finally get up and give his neighbor the bread not because of their friendship but because  of the persistence of his friend – he is shamelessly bugging him and he wants it to stop so he can go back to sleep!  

What does this seem to say about God?  That we have to keep bugging him, pestering beyond all reason, and then God will finally give in and  we will get what we want?  (My kids certainly perfected that when they were younger).  Does it tell us that God is like a  parent who withholds until we have proven our self in some way?  I think Jesus would probably say that is missing the point! 

 If you read to the end of the passage for today, I think Jesus dispels that pretty well—He tells us that the Father is a giver who really wants to give us GOOD things –and Jesus says – no parent, if a child asks for food, is going to give that child a snake – something that would harm or potentially kill them.  No, our God is the giver who wants life for us…and wants to give us good things and lest we think this is about material goods, Jesus tells us that chief among those gifts is the gift of the Holy Spirit – the best gift of all – the abiding presence of the Living God in our lives.  

When the friend knocked on his neighbor’s door – the neighbor responded , “ Don’t bother me; the door is shut, we are all in bed.  I can’t get up and give you anything.”  I am imagining some other fairly strong language in there too. 

Now, we might think of ourselves as the one knocking on the door of heaven  but what happens if we flip the parable and we are more  like the one who has already gone to bed and that it is God who is knocking on our door.  Trying to wake us up.. 

How often have we said to God – don’t bother me –..  and that “don’t bother me” can take lots of forms – like sorry, Lord, I don’t have time to pray , this isn’t a good time,  I don’t have time to go to Church,  I don’t have time to help ….don’t bother me or  - at least,  not right now…

When it comes to prayer, attempting to speak with God, we most often pray in our times of need – sometimes, most painfully.  We speak, we may beg, and try to bargain  but it is so hard for us to listen and all the while God is trying to get our attention –

Because, our God is always reaching out to us – knocking on the door of our hearts and minds – wanting to give to us good things and to bless us and not hurt us… and the Lord does not give up – he is shamelessly persistent… God is present – with us always .. like the air we breathe which is unseen but which sustains us in every moment.  And yet, how often we have said –don’t bother me..just let me sleep.    How many blessings have we missed in that way?  

And, how often do we turn away  and say to each other – to our fellow human beings in whom God dwells –don’t bother me.. I don’t have time for this… Sometimes we say this to family members, and to others who seem to have inconvenient and untimely needs…Please understand… I am not judging you… I have done this.. I suspect we all have.  

 As Christians, we believe the spirit of God dwells in every person –and, that in welcoming others, we welcome the Lord…when we make a place, a space for others, and get ourselves out of the center, we also make a place for God  …and I know that you understand this and how even the smallest gesture can convey welcome— or not…

I want to tell you a story about something that happened to me – right here at St. Marks’.  In  the early 1990’s .. Father Carl Wright, now Bishop Wright, (he of brief tenure) was being installed as the rector of this church - St. Marks.   I had come to help celebrate as one of the clergy of the diocese but was not vested.  So, I sat in the congregation (right over there).  I sat towards the inside of the pew and an older woman (obviously a long time member) sat in the pew with me – just the two of us.   Right before the service began, she leaned over and said.. “I want you to know that I am not turning away from you – I just need to stretch out my leg because of this knee” and she patted her knee…I hadn’t even noticed that she was slightly turned away from me…but she had and she was concerned that I might interpret that body posture, her body language, as somehow unwelcoming. I was bowled over by her sensitivity… It’s been almost thirty years and I have never forgotten that small but profound act of welcome….

 Which leads us to one more thing to notice –in the parable,  the request is for three loaves which  here are more like rolls – this is enough bread for one meal for one person – and it is not a huge request.. It’s a  “give us this day our daily bread”  kind of request …No, a traveler has come but the need is actually fairly small and simple – a request to share what you most likely already have…in this case, it was a request to share leftovers. 

When the knock comes to our door, if we don’t listen carefully we may assume that we are being asked for more than we can give and its easy to feel overwhelmed.. Sometimes it really is just as simple as listening.  As St. Benedict says, we are called to listen with the ear of the heart…  

   God is knocking, God is speaking to our heart.  Can we hear what God is speaking to us?  

So, yes, persist in prayer… persist in speaking to God but persist most of all in listening …  This week I’d like to invite you to try to stay open to the presence of God in those you encounter especially those who may seem unlikely…God may be speaking to you through them.. or you may be a word from God for them.  Above all, stay alert for the knock on the door  whether it comes at midnight or in the morning or in the middle of the day……and be willing to answer that door – not grudgingly but with gladness.      

Let us pray:   

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(Collect for - Proper 22 -BCP) 

   

Easter 6C - To Be Made Whole 2019

Easter 6C  * John 5:1-8 * St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Charleston, SC *  5/25/19

Lord God, heavenly Father, fill our hearts with love toward you.  Remove any anxiety or  fear of judgement as we encounter you this day.  Pour out, we beseech you, your healing mercies on us, our churches, and our country.  For we ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Do you want to be made whole?  Jesus stood before the man who had been crippled for thirty-eight years…

Now, if  Jesus asked me that, I imagine I or you would say YES!  But did you notice- the crippled man did not say yes…Instead, he started making excuses—I  didn’t have anybody to put me in the pool. 

A little background would help … just outside the temple precincts in Jerusalem was a pool which during Jesus’ day was thought to be a place of healing.  Sometimes known as Bethzaida or Bethzawa, it was fed by underground springs.  It was a trapezoidal shape and had porticos surrounding it.  Those in need lay in the porticos. 

            Some scholars think that the Romans had dedicated it to the God Asclepius – the Greek god of healing and medicine.  The idea associated with it was this:  When the waters seemed to move (probably the underground spring bubbling up), it was thought the divine presence (or an angel) was very close by and the first person who could get into the water would be healed…

The man Jesus spoke with said – I don’t have anybody to put me in the pool – that was his explanation –

Jesus said to him – Do you desire to be healed?

Have you noticed that sometimes what is said and what is heard are two different things?

            The man heard Jesus’ question as judgement – As in, you’ve been here 38 years, you must not really want it.. you must want to stay crippled…

            To be fair, though, sometimes it is easier to stay in that familiar place  than to change.  This reminded of an older couple at church I served… they argued constantly and loudly… I remember asking them – “Aren’t you tired of arguing all the time?  Why not think about stopping?  The wife looked at me and said – what ever would we talk about?  Sometimes its easier to stay in the old familiar places than to change.

            Jesus, though, in that question was going deeper – there was no judgement – He stood before the man and asked what is your heart’s desire?

What if Jesus stood before us, before you here and now  and asked that question?

Let that question percolate in you, if you will.

Do you want to be healed?   Imagine the change in this man’s life – 38 years is a long time – he’s gotten comfortable – it was a predictable life—

But when Jesus got involved – well, his world was about to get a lot bigger.

So often we live a small, safe life – we get used to our situation and we feel , for the most part, in control…

A clergy friend, Phil McLarty, who has served as both a Methodist and a Presbyterian minister  tells this story which is to the point…

“.. He was living in Odessa, [Texas] and served as a chaplain for the local Police Department. One night he got a call from dispatch, who asked him to meet a police officer at a run-down, flea bag motel in a very rough part of town. A man staying there had called the local AA chapter and said he had decided life was not worth living. They called 911, of course, and a police officer was sent over to intervene. When Phil got there, he found the police officer standing at the door of the man’s room.

The man was drunk, of course. He went in and sat down on the bed beside him. Sobbing and slurring his words,  Phil writes, he told me how he didn’t have much to live for any more, how he’d been injured on the job and was no longer able to work, how his wife had left him, and how he’d lost his house and car and most of his belongings. He said he spent most days in that depressing motel room by himself watching television.

McLarty asked.. “Why don’t you get out of this place and move into Lincoln Tower, where you can be around other people?”  Lincoln Tower was a very affordable, nice little retirement community nearby, where the coffee pot was always on, and there was usually a game or something going on in the game room. “Why don’t you move over to Lincoln Tower?” We could help make that happen?  he asked. “Oh no, the man said,  I couldn’t do that,” he said, “Why, this is where all my stuff and my friends are.”[1]

It is so hard to help people sometimes and addressing what seems to be an obvious need often does not solve the deeper problem.   maybe you’ve had an experience like this – I know I have..

Back to our gospel story –  Jesus said to the crippled man– take up your mat and walk -and he did… Notice - the man’s body was healed but he had a long way to go to be fully restored – if you read on.. you will notice that he didn’t even think to ask  the name of the one who healed him and when he found out  Jesus’ name, he promptly reported him to the religious authorities who were upset because Jesus had healed him on the Sabbath.  As one of my kids would say – that’s just messed up.

            But to here and now --   the Lord Jesus stands before us asking  - just as he stood before the crippled  man – no matter what our age is, no matter our life circumstances – do you desire to be made whole?   

Our God is the god who heals – who makes whole…

And that healing often takes an unexpected form-  sometimes that healing is physical and God acts through the care and expertise of medical folks. Sometimes,  relationships are healed and most often God heals us from the inside out – our hearts and minds are healed.

Before us  today is the Lord who wants to give us everything – who understands and lives the fullness and freedom and wholeness of life that God desires for us –

Think about our collect today—listen to how it starts…

“O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding…”

So, what to do – what if the Lord asks you that question? How would you answer?  What if he asks this church that question? What if he were to ask our country that question?  Or, would we rather stay comfortable in our infirmity holding onto an illusion of control? Or would we rather just keep arguing because its too much work to figure out what else to talk about?

            Now, let’s say you go home and think about this—and you come up with something that needs healing and wholeness.

If so, I want to invite you into the classical spiritual discipline known as discernment.  That is, don’t just do it (like the reverse of the Nike slogan) – bring your thinking to people you know who listen to God and ask them to pray  with you…

Consider if it opens the door to greater wholeness and healing or if it would bring injury to others (that might be a cue that it’s not from the Lord).. Spend some time in discernment. Don’t just do it!

Notice one last thing – the man did not answer yes – to Jesus’ question but Jesus healed him any way…love and mercy don’t keep score – it’s not a quid pro quo – you do this for me and I’ll do that for you.. You believe in me, have faith  and I will heal you..No, that’s not the Jesus’ way.

Jesus says, “Forget the Pool! This is about the overflowing river of life – that we heard about in our reading from the Revelation to St. John today –  this river pours out from the throne-room of heaven—it is the same river on the banks of which stand the tree of life whose leaves are given for the healing of the nations…  that shining river which flows through the Heavenly Jerusalem and in, through and out of Jesus – this is the river that brings healing to all it touches..

  Do you remember this saying of Jesus?   It comes from the  Gospel of John just a little way over from our reading today – “Jesus stood up and proclaimed.. if anyone believes in me- out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.”

Forget the water in the pool – it’s Jesus - the water of life, our resurrected Lord in whom the shining river flows – who can bring healing and wholeness to any situation.  He stands before us…asking the question – do you want to be made whole?  AMEN.

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[1] https://www.sermonwriter.com/sermons/john-51-9-do-you-want-to-be-made-well-mclarty/

Easter 2C - Peace be with You 2019

Easter 2 C  - John 20: 19, 21- St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Charleston, SC – 4/28/19

Risen Lord, you speak the word of  peace to us.. grant that this day we might hear that word as your word to and for us…and that we might be changed forever. Amen


Peace be with you… His first words to them… perhaps, unexpected… The last time he had seen them, they were running away – running for their lives as he was arrested at Gethsemane– And here they were, shut up in a room, scared to death,  for fear of the religious authorities ….They certainly did not expect to see him, despite what the women had said, and the Emmaus road travelers,… and when their face to face  moment came, did they expect to be chastised?  O ye of little faith! Or something stronger perhaps… but, instead, it was an unexpected, grace-filled response (to tag Fr. Philip’s sermon last Sunday) – for his first words to them were – Peace be with you.
 These are also His words to us. Here and now.
Peace be with you– I want to ask you --where in your life today do you need peace? –
 The word is Shalom which means not just – no fighting or  an absence of conflict or the ending of hostilities , say, as in a war….(although that can be part of it ) but, its so much bigger than that – it means – restoration, wholeness and healing of that which is broken.
What brokenness in us – in you and me- needs this word of healing , this word of peace today?
Is there something in your past that haunts you,  some current struggle, or anxiety about the future? Remember,  Jesus word to you, to us, today – Peace be with you.
This is a word that heals – and our world needs this peace.. the peace that passes understanding.. the peace that only Jesus our Lord can bring..
It’s the word that changes everything.
Jesus speaks peace to them and to us  and then he says – as the Father has sent me , so I send you—the word behind the word sent is the Greek verb apostello – you can hear our word – apostle in it.  As the Father has apostled me, so I apostle you.
And, then, he ties in the work of forgiveness which he entrusts to us.. There is not much that heals better than forgiveness.  Just an aside, truly we can only forgive because we have been forgiven.
But to be sent goes beyond even this… to the larger sense of righteousness.  This is not a word that we use a lot today but what mean is simply  bringing something into right relationship - with God and each other – this righteousness is  about healing brokenness with faithful mercy and loving justice.
There is an idea in Jewish thought that speaks to this – It’s the Hebrew phrase tikkun olam (pronounced tee-KOON oh-LUHM) means "world repair."   It means taking part in repairing the world by acts of  loving kindness, justice, and righteousness. [1] Would you agree with me that this old beautiful, broken world is badly in need of repair?
            There is a fine story from the Jewish mystical tradition about this very thing…it’s  told by Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen .. I heard her tell this story on Krista Tippet’s program – On Being --  the story was given to her by her grandfather as a gift  on her fourth birthday.  [I love that idea… what if we gave each other stories for birthday presents] ..   This story is a grandparents’ way of explaining beginnings to a little one -- It’s called the Birthday of the World and it goes like this…

“In the beginning,    there was only the Holy Darkness,
the Ein Sof, the source of life.
Then, in the course of history,
at a moment in time -  this world,
the world of a thousand, thousand things,  emerged.
 it emerged from the heart of the Holy Darkness as a great ray of light.  (Remember, let there be light)
And then (perhaps because this is a grandparent’s story to a child) there was an accident. 
The vessels containing the creation light, the wholeness of the world, broke.
And  the  light of creation, the wholeness of the world
was scattered
into a thousand, thousand fragments of light.
And the fragments of light fell…
Fell  into all times, happenings, and into all  creation and into all people, 
where they remain deeply hidden until this very day.
 The whole human race is a response to this accident.
We are here because we are born with the capacity to find the hidden light in all people and all events,
  to lift it up, to make it visible, to restore it to itself  and to make it whole once again,
and thereby, to repair the world.”

“This is a very important story for the world today. The restoration of the whole world, tikkun olam,  is a collective task.   It involves all people who have ever been born, all people presently alive and all people yet to be born. We are all  sent to be healers of the world. “ (Dr. Reman)

 And it ”… opens a sense of possibility.  It’s not about healing the world by making a huge difference.  It’s about healing the world that touches you. That’s around you. Around us.  This is where our power is.
Today so many people feel powerless to deal with the world’s wounds”  (Dr. Reman) …but this story reminds us that we are not powerless to repair the world.

Sometimes, you and I  may have ideas about grand things we would do for the world – if only, if only …I had the time, the money, the connections, the power…(If I were a rich man)  .. well, you know how it goes….(please notice… I don’t want to dissuade anyone from trying to  launch a big idea because I am sure there are some big ideas here..) but for most of us, being sent – being apostolically sent  doesn’t have to mean launching a grand scheme or going half way around the world –  it means looking for the light and  healing the parts of the world we touch…with the medicines of  truth and mercy.
            Jesus said -- As the father has sent me, so I send you…
You and I, this Easter,  are sent with a message and given a job – to declare Peace be with you, and in that telling of peace, we are given the wild, effective energy of resurrection power..

Later, as we leave church  today – let the love and energy of the peace we pass to each other -  go with you into the world – don’t leave it at the door..  BECAUSE we are Jesus’ people for the healing of the world, for the gathering of the fragments of light buried  deeply in our fellow human beings and in that which unfolds around us.  We are Jesus’ people for the restoration of shalom. And, thank God, it is not all up to us,  remember, remember, remember , we are not in this by ourselves… remember the Lord’s promise to us – I will be with you.  (repeat that)… It is God working through us to bring this Shalom, this peace into being…
            So, starting here and now… … where in your life today do you need Jesus’ healing word of  peace?  Where are the places in the world you touch?  Where is there brokenness?  In our family? At work? In our neighborhood? In our community?


Today…Hear the wildly unexpected word our Lord has for us  – Peace be with you. And…As the Father has sent me, so I send you.  Amen.

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[1]https://www.learningtogive.org/resources/tikkun-olam

In Honor of the Rev. Absalom Jones - February 13, 2022

 

Epiphany 6C – Feb. 13, 2022 – St. Mark’s Charleston  Sermon on the Feast Day of the Rev. Absalom Jones. (1746-1818)

A video version of this sermon may be found HERE.  Sermon begins at 16:00

           If I had to think about a single verse that speaks to my heart about Brother Absalom, it would be this one from our Old Testament reading this morning.  “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. (Jer. 17.7)

          Today we celebrate and give thanks for continuing legacy of the Rev. Absalom Jones, whose feast – whose birthday into heaven - February 13-  we mark today.  He heard these same words we did from our gospel reading – the Beatitudes, and I believe, was both comforted and challenged by them. In them - he glimpsed the God and Father who could be trusted to care for the “Oppressed and Distressed”, and as the Lord Jesus tells us – this is either good news or bad news depending upon where you stand.

 Jesus said:  Blessed are the poor, blessed are you who are hungry now, blessed are those who weep now, blessed are you when people hate you, exclude you, revile you...rejoice for great is your reward in heaven.

         Hold those words in your heart as we  take a little time this morning to share some of the story of  The Rev. Absalom Jones  - first black Episcopal priest in this country–...

          Born  in 1746 into slavery on a Delaware plantation, his owner recognized that he was bright , took him out of the fields, and brought him to the house where, as a child, he begged anyone who could read to teach him.  He saved his pennies and bought books including a basic reading primer and a copy of the New Testament.  He was , during this time, able to gain very rudimentary skill in reading. 

          In time, the owner of the plantation died, leaving it to his oldest son who decided he did not want to run a planation but that he wanted to be a merchant in the booming town of Philadelphia – at that time, the largest city in American colonies.         So, the owner sold the farm along with Absalom’s mother, sister, and brothers.  Taking Absalom, (and perhaps others) he relocated to  Philadelphia in 1762.  Absalom was 16 yr old and went to work in his owner’s new store  which ...” sold the fruits of slavery: rum, molasses, coffee, chocolate, pepper, and more. .[1]

          At the time of Absalom’s arrival, of the approximately fifteen hundred Black Philadelphians, all but about 100 were enslaved [persons].[2]   He was given permission to go to a night school run by the Quakers for enslaved persons and continued his education – mostly in math.  Attending St. Peter’s, then Anglican, later Episcopal, Church with his owner during that time,  he met a lovely young lady– also enslaved-   by the name of Mary.

          In 1770, at the age of 24, he married his beloved Mary, and with the help of loans and gifts from sympathetic Quaker friends, he and Mary’s father were able to purchase her freedom.      This was critical because had she borne their  children while enslaved, the children, under Philadelphia law at that time, would have been enslaved until they were 28 yrs of age.         Absalom was extremely anxious to gain his own freedom and, repeatedly but unsuccessfully, offered to buy it – because if he owned property, it could easily be taken by his owner. He and Mary, through their hard work, had saved enough to be able to purchase  his freedom but when denied  - they took that money and bought a lot and a small house which he put in Mary’s name.

          When Brother Absalom was finally granted his freedom in 1784 at the age of 38 , he continue to work at the store but now was paid what he described as a “good wage.”  He left St. Peter’s and began worshipping at the St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church with  Richard Allen who would become his life-long friend. 

          At that time, the Methodist Episcopal denomination was just beginning, and  St. George’s was a mixed congregation.  Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, became lay preachers and lay ministers to the black members of the St. George’s congregation which, under their care, began to grow. 

          It was during this time, in 1787, that they formed what was known as the Free African Society “a mutual aid benevolent organization that was the first of its kind organized by and for black people. Members of the Society paid monthly dues for the benefit of those in need.”[3]

          The St. George Church leaders decided that the building needed to be expanded to accommodate the growing congregation.   Jones and Allen led the fundraising effort (and later the building effort) among the black congregants which resulted in the financing and construction of a handsome gallery.  Upon its completion, and without notifying them “The church leadership decided to segregate the black worshippers in the gallery. “[4]   Richard Allen left a detailed record of what happened next,

“A number of us usually sat on seats placed around the wall- and on Sabbath in the morning we went to church, and the sexton stood at the door and told us to go in the gallery. He told us to go and we would see where to sit. We expected to take the seats we formerly occupied below not knowing any better. We took those seats. Meeting had begun and they were nearly done singing and, just as we got to the seats, the elder said, “Let us pray.” We had not been long on our knees before I heard considerable scuffling and loud talking. I raised my head up and saw one of the trustees, H.  having hold of the Rev. Absalom Jones pulling him  off his knees  and saying, “You must get up; you must  not  kneel  here.”  Mr.  Jones  replied,  “Wait  until prayer  is  over.”  Mr.  H.  M.  said,  “No, you  must  get  up now,  or  I  will  call  for  aid  and  force  you  away  ”  Mr.  Jones said,  “Wait  until  prayer  is  over,  and  I  will  get  up  and trouble you no more.”   With that he [the trustee] beckoned to one of the other trustees, Mr. L. S. to come to his assistance. He  came  and  went  to  William  White  to  pull  him  up.  By  this  time, prayer  was  over and  we  all  went  out  of  the church  in  a  body  and  they  were  no  more'  plagued  by  us  in the church. Notwithstanding we had subscribed largely towards furnishing St. George’s Church, in building the gallery, and laying new floors and just as the house, was made comfortable, we were turned out from enjoying the comforts of worshipping therein.”

History of the Afro-American Group of the Episcopal Church. by George F. Bragg, DD. 1922. p.47-48

          So, they rented a room and began meeting.  Later, they  bought property and built a church.  They struggled over whether or not to form as an all black congregation within the Methodist Episcopal Church or to affiliate with the Episcopal Church – many of whose members had offered financial and moral support as they were starting what would later become St. Thomas’s African Church..

          According to Richard Allen’s account, the Methodist Episcopal Church leaders  were not well pleased and stated they would never recognize their new  Church and that, if they persisted,  they would be disowned from the Methodist Church.          So, it was settled that St. Thomas African Episcopal Church came into being on April 12, 1787.  Richard Allen went on to become the founding bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1816.

          The leaders of St. Thomas  did something interesting  in their negotiations with the Episcopal Bishop – they would only join the Episcopal Diocese under three conditions:   that they be recognized as a body, already organized,; that they should have guaranteed to them local independence and self control of their affairs, forever, and lastly, that one of their number should be licensed as Lay Reader, and if found fit, ordained as their minister. (p.59- TAAG).  That Lay Reader, of course, was Absalom Jones whom they knew, respected, trusted, and loved because of his tireless efforts among them . He was ordained as a deacon the following year- taking  charge of the Church when he was 49 yrs of age.  It is important to remember that “Absalom spent the first 38 years of his life as a slave, before it was possible for him to become the Episcopal church’s first black priest.” [5]

          He is  described in the  Pennsylvania Diocesan record in this way, “ though deficient in literary qualifications for the ministry [meaning, he was not conversant in Latin and Greek], he was a man of good report and Godly conversation...held in great reverence and esteem among the [black] persons in the city. “Zealous for the prosperity of the Church, and unwearied in doing good, he was especially beloved in consequence of his devotion to the sick and dying at the time of the prevalence of that awful scourge, the yellow fever. “  He had remained in the city and persuaded his church members to do the same to help with a relief effort, while other clergy and many citizens  had fled  - trying to get away from the pandemic which claimed somewhere between four and five-thousand residents of Philadelphia alone. About one out every ten residents of that city.

          Deacon Absalom continued studying for the priesthood and, during that time, he began a day school at the Church – the first of several.  He was finally ordained as a priest – seven years later- in 1802 at the age of 56. He continued to serve St. Thomas in the following years until his death in 1818 at the age of 71. 

 

          The fruit of his tireless labors continues....“Because no state-supported education was available for blacks in Pennsylvania, Jones began schools of his own. He also petitioned the state legislature and Congress for the immediate abolition of slavery. In 1808, Jones published a sermon on the abolition of the slave trade. and, in 1808, Congress banned the importation of slaves.   As the number of free blacks in the North increased, interest in transporting free blacks out of the country also grew. Many whites who opposed slavery also opposed a racially mixed society. In 1817, Jones helped organize a massive convention to denounce the plan to transport free blacks to Africa,” [6] to the country we now know as Liberia.

          One bit of context, I haven’t touched on yet but want to because it can help us understand some of the larger framework in which he was struggling to bring about change.

          When he came to Philadelphia in 1762 as a 16 yr old, the American Revolution was waiting in the wings.   The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in 1774 when he was twenty-eight .  Hostilities began the next year.  All the while,  he is starting life as married man, being a lay minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, working in his owner’s store and saving money.  The Quakers were agitating hard for abolition, and, in Virginia, the British governor had offered freedom to any slave who would cross over to the British side.  Four years later, the British occupied Philadelphia for ten months in 1778 ..

He finally was given his freedom in early 1784. The year after the Treaty of Paris was signed – ending the American Revolution. 

          What a tumultuous and anxious time – and yet he pressed on....

          Historians Arthur K. Sudler and William Carl Bolivar, Director   Historical Society & Archives at the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, describe him this way.....

          “Jones was an earnest preacher.  He denounced slavery, and warned the oppressors to “clean their hands of slaves.”  To him, God was the Father, who always acted on “behalf of the oppressed and distressed.”  But it was his constant visiting and mild manner that made him beloved by his congregation and by the community.  St Thomas Church grew to over 500 members during its first year..... Known as “the Black Bishop of the Episcopal Church,” Jones was an example of persistent faith in God and in the Church as God’s instrument. “[7]

          He pressed on – despite suffering slavery, despite being surrounded by hostility from so many quarters...

He understood so many of the issues we continue to deal with today – the critical importance of education , home ownership as a key to building stability and wealth,  the absolute necessity to keep pressing for freedom for all of God’s people...to keep challenging that which robs human beings of their God-given dignity... he understood these things- Do we?

          He pressed on and  proclaimed trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in  the never-ending comfort and hope of the words of Jesus in the Beatitudes which  “... could miraculously still be heard beneath the din.”. of hostility, slavery, and white supremacy....., conferring dignity to those who had ears to hear.

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.” Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven.”

Two final thoughts...

How might we celebrate him?  What part of his work speaks to you?  What will you pick up and make your own?

And, above all,  let us  be encouraged and inspired his example and give thanks to God for the life of this  persistent, courageous and faithful pastor, advocate for education, and ardent abolitionist, Absalom Jones, priest and brother.  Amen.

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[1] Slavery, St. Peter’s, Absalom Jones, and the Journey To Freedom - St. Peter's Church (stpetersphila.org)

[2] Slavery, St. Peter’s, Absalom Jones, and the Journey To Freedom - St. Peter's Church (stpetersphila.org)

[3] A New Biography of Absalom Jones - House of Deputies

[4] Ibid

[5] Slavery, St. Peter’s, Absalom Jones, and the Journey To Freedom - St. Peter's Church (stpetersphila.org)

[6] Jones, Absalom | Encyclopedia.com

[7] A New Biography of Absalom Jones - House of Deputies  - Arthur K. Sudler and William Carl Bolivar Director Historical Society & Archives - African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas