Sermon for Sunday, July 21, 2013

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 11

Year C

July 21, 2013

                                               Amos 8:1-12                                                       Psalm 52

                                          Colossians 1:15-28                                         St. Luke 10:38-42 

Hymns: 618, 657, 686, 662 

If anyone wonders where I get to get my rather universalist views from, the author of Colossians must surely bear some of the responsibility. In the passage for today we are told that “God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things” through Christ.

There are no limits in that statement. There is no holding back. All things have been reconciled to God through Christ. It includes you. It includes me. It includes the world.

This is one of the reasons I have a hard time with the concept of hell. Certainly the jewish tradition had no hell. And I'm not sure that there is a lot of biblical support for it.

Of course that leaves many of us struggling with things like Hitler and other monsters in the world. What happens to them if there is no hell? I think there are two possible answers. One is that like the rest of us they are reconciled to God and end up in heaven. Which might actually be a form of hell to have to live up to the enormity of the evil the perpetrated against others through all eternity. Or perhaps they are just snuffed out of existence. Who knows? And really, at this point in our faith walk, who cares? We should all be focused on what God calls us to do and worry less about how others responded to God's call in their lives.

God didn't choose just a select group to be reconciled with as some would like to believe. That, in my mind is way too limiting of the love of God. And as heretical as some might find this rather simple view of mine, there is a message in from the prophet Amos that I feel is even more earth shattering.

It is a message for us true enough, but I feel it is even a more important message to politicians and those in power. What has shocked me in recent years is the apparent ability of people to separate their responsibilities to their creator from their life in the world. The message from Amos is a powerful warning to those in power. This should not be particularly surprising as God tends to always speak powerful messages to those in positions of power.

Amos warns that those who “trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land” are going to be called to account for their actions. Amos was apparently one of the earlier liberation theologians. Actually when you look at the words of the prophets, they were all liberation theologians. This understanding has often been expressed as God's preferential option for the poor. In the words of Gustavo Gutierrez, “God demonstrates a special predilection toward those who have been excluded from the banquet of life.”

Too often our political leaders in this day and age clearly have a preferential option for the rich and what to ignore the poor, I guess in the futile hope that they will go away.

God wants each and every one of us to live into that special predilection to those who have been excluded. There may have been many reasons for the exclusion. But not one of those reasons will represent God to those who are excluded.

We are called to step out and take risks. It is not easy. And it certainly is not safe.  

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 8, June 30, 2013

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 8

Year C

June 30, 2013

I Kings 2:1-2, 6-14              Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20

Galatians 5:1, 13-21                     St. Luke 9:51-62  

The words form the first part of the lesson on Galatians today has significant power for me as I though about them and the church in general, and about St. Peter’s in particular. They speak to us in a time when our current society seems to judge that individual needs and concerns are overriding factors in living life.

And Paul points out quite openly that we are set free in Christ. And that freedom is absolute. However Paul also warns against embracing that freedom and using it as an excuse for self indulgence. And that is what separates our freedom in Christ from the more self centered, individualized freedom that the world would so easily call us to.

Paul calls us on the one hand to not submit to the yoke of slavery, but at the same times calls us to become slaves for one another. And I think that is the key message for us to take home today. We are called to be slaves to one another.

That is not an easy call to live out. All of us have the desire to want our own ways. And yet being a slave to others calls for us to put others ahead of us. It calls on us to see the best of others in all circumstances. It calls for each one of us to give up battling to be right.

As a slave to others, god calls us to let go of self and ego and to embrace the call to seek to severe Christ in each of those around us. All of you who have been in relationships with others know what this is like. It can be frustrating. It can be challenging. Sometimes it can seem like an impossible burden.

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 6 Year C

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 6

Year C

June 16, 2013

                     I Kings 21:1-21a                                              Psalm 5:1-8

                     Galatians 2:15-21                                         St. Luke 7:36—8:      onnday of 3   

Who is in and who is out?  Often we categorize people by whether they are in or out.  Are they part of the cool, acceptable crowd?  Or are they out? 

The Gospel today deals with those in and those out.  Those who are in are often very comfortable with their status.   They have no fears.  The Pharisee’s were part of the in crowd in the Jewish world that Jesus lived in.  Women who were sinners on the other hand were definitely on the outside.  They were looked down on.  They were unappreciated.  They had nothing worthwhile to offer society or those around them.  

It seems like in our society today everyone needs to be a part of the in crowd.  No one wants to be in the out crowd.  But of course, who could blame them?  Jesus was being invited to be a part of the in crowd in.  But as usual Jesus was not very accommodating.  And Jesus had his own agenda.  And very often that agenda never agreed with what the in crowd wanted.

Now the in crowd is easily upset with what Jesus had to do or say.  The Pharisee is scandalized to the seas as is letting this sooner or woman to Sonoma.  Wisely the Pharisee observes that if Jesus was really a prophet he would’ve known what type of woman this was, that she was a terrible sinner.

The in crowd always wants to judge the out crowd.  That seems to be the nature of things.  And the problem with Jesus was that he refused to judge people.  Jesus wanted to accept everyone as they were.  Jesus wanted to touch every one right were they were in their life.  The out crowd is always about changing people to make them fit in.  Jesus was about accepting people the way they are.  And the in crowd finds that point of view just a little bit frightening. 

The challenge for us is how do we make St. Peter’s more like Jesus response and less like the Pharisee’s?  Sadly too many outside of the church see a place filled with Pharisee’s only too happy to judge them and condemn them, rather than seeing a place filled with Jesus like people who want to embrace them with open arms of love and acceptance.  

Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year C, April 21, 2013

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Year C

April 21, 2013

                        Acts 9:36-43                                              Psalm 23

                     Revelation 7:9-17                                    St. John 10:22-3      onnday of 0   

Hymns:  371, 410, 314, 388 

“My sheep hear my voice … no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

The early church was a much different church from the church today.  The Gospels were written as the church was struggling against many forces in society.  So you might wonder what the lessons of the Gospels can hold for us today, in such a different place and in such a different time. 

But often the messages of the Gospel are timeless.  The church has used and reinterpreted the lessons of the scriptures though out history.  The church wants to make the lessons practical and applicable in every time and in constantly changing circumstances. 

The early church faced a lot of struggles.  And so do we today.  Admittedly much different struggles today, but struggles nevertheless.   And so we look to the scriptures for comfort and guidance. 

We hear the voice of Jesus and are comforted in that voice.  Jesus provides a familiar voice in the struggles and challenges we face in the world and in the struggles and challenges we face as a congregation. 

Congregational live can be a challenge.  Learning to live together in a faith community.  Living to live as a faith community as we struggle with differences. 

It is amazing the things that parishes can find challenging.    I was reading this week about a sculpture entitled “Jesus the Homeless”.  It is a power presentation of Jesus depicted as a homeless person, sleeping on a park bench.  The only way you can tell it is Jesus is by the nail marks in the feet.  Sadly two cathedrals turned it down.  Jesus was homeless once again.  This could have been a powerful message speaking to the poor and homeless in the community, giving them a chance to hear the voice of the shepherd.  But the chance was missed. 

Sadly those in power could not hear the voice of Jesus in that situation.  I think for most of us it is hard to hear the voice of Jesus unless we hear a voice very much like our own.   All too often we can only see Jesus when we see someone like ourselves.  The idea of a homeless Jesus is a scary thing for many people. 

We covet the familiar in our lives and in our parish.   And that presents a challenge for any parish in transition as St. Peter’s is right now.  It is only in being willing to try the change will we have the opportunity to grow and develop.  And yet in the midst of it, we can rely on the familiar voice of God in our life in the face of change. 

St. Peter’s needs to be open to new things and change.  When you call a new parish priest there will be lots of change and transition.  It will be a challenge to every one.  The next priest will bring talents, skills, and abilities which may be different.   She or he will have different strengths and weaknesses.  But you can count on the familiar voice of Jesus to be in your midst as you go through the challenge of change.  

You may be challenged with new ways of doing things.  You may be challenged with different attitudes and ideas.  But the familiar voice of Jesus will be there with you, guiding, building, and strengthening.  

The key is to be open to new ideas and the opportunity to experience life in a community of faith in a new and different way.   And yet, each of us will still have the familiar voice of Jesus with us in this journey. 

Will we be willing to trust in God as we go through the next change, or will we, like those rejecting the sculpture of Jesus the Homeless, reject, fight and fear the new and different and challenging.  I pray that God will give us all the strength to embrace the change, relying on the familiar voice of Jesus speaking to us, kindly, gently, lovingly, and encouragingly as we move forward.   

Second Sunday of Easter

Year C

April 7, 2013

                        Acts 5:27-32                                              Psalm 118:14-29

                     Revelation 1:4-8                                            St. John 20:19-3      onnday of 1   

Hymns:  199, 7, 208, 469

Today is known as Low Sunday.   Churches tend to be packed on Easter Sunday, but now we are back to the normal, and many just take a Sunday off.  So we few are here!  

And of course today is St. Thomas Sunday.  Poor St. Thomas, you have to feel for him.  He is always held up as the skeptic against the example of the other disciples.  And yet, this is not quite fair as a comparison.  After all, the disciples had already experienced what Thomas himself asked to experience.  Thomas was not asking for anything other than that which they had already experienced.  He wanted to see Jesus in person just as the other disciples had.  It seems a perfectly reasonable request to me. 

Those others disciples were not a shining example of blind faith.  They had been able to see Jesus and believed and that is the same experience that Thomas wanted to have as well. 

To tell the truth, I actually think Thomas is a pretty good example for all of us in the Christian church today anyway.  I believe that a little bit of disbelief and skepticism can be quite healthy and good for us both as individuals and as the church.  Disbelief allows us the opportunity to ask question and opens up the possibility of deepening and exploring our faith. 

And yet some people and church leaders show what I feel is an unhealthy fear of a little or like in my case, a lot of, disbelief.   In some churches the honest questioning about faith and what we believe is quite threatening.  People never speak of it because they fear they will be judged as either very weak in their faith, or worse as no longer Christians. 

People are afraid to even express any doubt or concerns for fear about what others – or God will think about us. 

This quite frankly is not good for our own spiritual development or for the development of the church as a whole.  To be fearful of growing, developing, and questioning is extremely unhealthy.  Thomas was not afraid to speak his own truth, that he needed more in order to belief.  He was not afraid to speak out his concerns regarding his faith to those around him. 

We need to feel that it is safe to express our doubts, our understandings, perhaps even our fears about our faith walk in our lives.  

Only when we feel safe to do this can we truly grow, develop, and challenge ourselves and our faith. 

I pray that God will grant all of us the strength of heart to not fear to express ourselves.  I pray that God will grant all of us the strength of character and charity to be open to listening to people expressing their doubts and struggles.  That will make St. Peter’s a healthy place to learn and love.  

Sermon for Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013

Easter Day

Year C

March 31, 2013

                        Acts 10:34-43                                              Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

                     I Corinthians 15:19-26                                     St. John 20:1-18   

Hymns:  180, 371, 207, 208

“I truly understand that God shows no partiality…”  That is what Peter said.  Sadly many people who claim to be Christians believe that God show partiality and a lot it. 

People who believe that only if you believe like them you will go to heaven.  People who believe that only if you belong to their particular denomination, will you go to heaven.  Probably the most extreme example is the Westboro Baptist Church.   But there are those even in our own community who also believe this.  They believe in a god of partiality and I find this extremely sad. 

I want to do something rather unusual this Easter Day.  You see, today I’m not going to talk about the resurrection.  Instead I want to talk about Peter’s revelation in today’s first reading.  Of course this reading from Acts comes after the resurrection.  It deals with the early history of the church and the church leaders, in particular Peter. 

You see, in spite of the experience of the apostles in living with Christ and living through the experience of the resurrection, they still had their pre-conceived notions of how God was acting in the world around them.  The resurrection experience had not yet transformed them or Peter.  There was still work to be done in his life.  The resurrection experience merely prepared him for changes he could not even imagine. 

Too often I feel that in the Christian community we look at the resurrection or conversion experience as a one time event in which we are somehow magically transformed by God and that is it.  But there is usually always much more head of us in that experience.  It is merely the first step when God begins to work in our lives. 

In this particular instance Peter was struggling with the issue God’s partiality.  Yes, Peter and the apostles believed that God was indeed partial to some.  That God had a preference for some people over others.  It was a deeply ingrained believe and not an easy one for Peter to overcome.  In fact, in a dream he had to get the message repeated three times from God before it sunk in. 

What brought Peter to this point was a dream.  In the dream, all sorts of unclean animals are placed before Peter and he is told to kill and eat them.  He had been raised all his life to not eat certain things because God did not what him to. 

It was a life long, and scripturally based belief that Peter was struggling with.  So there were very good reasons in Peter’s mind for not wanting to accept this change from God.  And yet, once the light dawns on Peter, he embraces is whole-heartedly.    

Not only that, but in the stories culmination today, Peter actually expands this dream to include something completely different from what was in the dream.  Rather that restrict his dream to a literal interpretation of exactly what he had seen, that is that God had done away with dietary restrictions, Peter greatly expanded the interpretation of this dream to include the understanding that the good news of the resurrection and power of Jesus was open not to just those of the Jewish heritage, but to everyone. 

Peter issues that powerful statement we hear in the first reading:  “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation any who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”  There is something very important in this simple sentence that is important for the Christian church.  

You see, many in the church say, yes that is true, BUT we “have to do what is right” to be acceptable and you are not doing what is right.  But remember, Peter originally believed that the preconceived notions that God was overturning were WRONG.  Not only that, but peter went to far as to expand it to include more that was just in his dream. 

So it is not just say, ok, sure as long as you do what I think God wants you to do, you are good to go.   Rather it is understanding the potential that God is trying to correct something that is wrong. 

We individually and the church as a whole needs to be open to the possibility that our understanding of what is right and what is wrong from God’s perspective may actually be the wrong thing that needs to be change!   This is pretty frightening stuff both from an individual and a organizational perspective. 

But like Peter, we need to be open to seeing things in a new light.  And the church as an organization needs to be open to seeing things in a new light as well.  That is probably the greater obstacle.  Churches are like glaciers when it comes to change.  They move very slowly, if they move at all.  And yet, by our failure to be open to seeing what God may be doing or how God may be trying to change us, we lose out on opportunities to grow and open our community to becoming more and more inclusive. 

Just imagine what the church would look like had Peter not boldly embraced this change.   It would not be what it is today. 

Just imagine what the church would look like had brave people not fought against slavery.  It would not be what it is today. 

Just imagine what the church would look like had brave people not fought against racial inequality even after the battle against slavery had been won. 

And imagine for a moment how people felt when those in power in the church argued in favor of slavery and racial inequality.  Imagine the damage that did to the cause of the gospel message.  Imagine what it did to the message of Easter. 

I believe we are each called to be in the forefront of expanding the meaning of the gospel to all.  St. Peter’s is called to be a beacon of light and hope in Seward.   And I believe it is! 

I don't think there is any danger that God will ever judge us for being too easy on our fellow human beings or for loving them too much. 

So this Easter, as we celebrate the joyous event of Christ risen.  Let us all commit ourselves to a church that is in the forefront of the spreading the gospel message.  Let us be in the forefront of speaking out for those who others would denigrate and despise.  That is what Jesus did.  That is what Christians do. 

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year C, March 17, 2013

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Year C

March 17, 2013

                        Isaiah 43:16-21                                              Psalm 126

                     Philippians 3:4b-14                                     St. John 12:1-8   

Hymns:  456, 495, 304, 473

Today is the final Sunday in Lent.  Next week the church will observer Palm Sunday and then the following Sunday, Easter Day. 

In my last sermon just before the start of Lent, I challenged you to consider a path of gratitude and thankfulness during Lent.  I hope you have.  But today I want to talk about change.  It is something we are, I fear, all too unwilling to be thankful for. 

We find in the reading today from Isaiah a warning from God that new things are about to be done.  Warning about new things coming is probably a good idea.  No one seems to particularly like new things.  We all love the old things.  And yet we are warned in this same passage to “not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.”  This is a hard teaching for Episcopalians!  In fact, even with lots of warning, change is still hard to deal with. 

I’m reminded of this struggle we all have with change in a story line from the series “The Vicar of Dibley”.  In the first episode a “woman” priest is sent to the parish as their new vicar.  The initial shock left everyone silent.  As some of the parishioners began talk about change they observed that there is good change and bad change and that is true in the world today.  But what makes it so difficult is our inability to come to agreement on which changes are good and which are bad.  This is reflected locally and in the wider world.  It effects everything from what you do here at St. Peter’s when you make changes to what is going on today in the world wide Anglican Communion. 

Make a river in a desert as it says in Isaiah and you are sure to find some who would find reason to complain.  The river is not in the right place.  There are too many people or animals around now.  The environmental balance has been changed.  There is now too much traffic.  It used to be nice and peaceful and quiet here and now it is so loud and disruptive.  And you have to deal with the mud. 

Look at the Israelites, they were freed from slavery and provided manna from heaven and yet still managed to complain about it.  The old times were better they said.  We are sick and tired of this manna they complained.  The very food sent down from heaven by God was becoming tiring to them.  The grass always is greener on the other side!  And I’m sure if we look in our own lives we will find plenty of times when we complained and perhaps the complaint was not really all that justifiable. 

Why do people complain about change so much?  I think it is because we mourn the loss of the familiar.  The familiar is comfortable and easy to go along with.  It doesn’t cause stress or anxiety.  People also don’t like change because of the fear of the unknown.  Change puts us face to face with something new.  Something that may be unpalatable or undesirable.  Or maybe just something that is different.  Like a river in a dry place. 

But there is something even more important in this passage today.  God says that she is about to do a new thing and yet we do not see it.  There are two things here particularly important.  First that God is doing a new thing.  There are some who would prefer, who pray for and who fight for God to only do the old things.  There is no understanding or comprehension that God may indeed be doing a new thing in their life or in the life of the Church.  Those who would paint God in a nice neat corner are only bound to be disappointed.  \

The second part of that verse “do you not perceive it?” should be a warning to us.  A warning to not try and fight against the new things God is doing.  But this can be painfully difficult.

How do we know that all the new things going on now are from God?  That is the critical question.  Those against the new things clearly see the answer as no, they are most definitely not from God.  Those in support of the new things clearly see the answer as yes, God is working powerfully among us.  Personally I think that the Christian community would be in much better condition if everyone kept in mind that they just might be wrong.  This sort of humility seems to be sadly lacking in many of the conversations in the Church today.  An embrace of the idea of the possibility of error in my own thoughts would allow greater charity towards those we disagree with.  It would also lower the level of strife for those fighting so hard for what they feel is right. 

There is one thing that is very good about change, whether you are in favor of it or not.  Change forces us to re-evaluate what is going on in our lives.  And that is a good thing.  It is healthy and an opportunity for spiritual growth.  It can cause us either to strengthen the views we already held or be an opportunity for the possibility of changing them.  Whether in the end the change was necessary or perhaps quietly done away with, self examination of our own lives and of our own, sometimes closely held beliefs is good.   

Change forces us to wake up from the lethargy of the usual, of the common, and to look at things in a new light.  That may feel like a dangerous thing.  But it is life giving. 

As Christians we are called to face change with expectation and hope.  We need to view change with the expectation and hope that God just might be doing a new thing in our lives.  So when we are faced with changes, we should not react with a gut level reaction to immediately reject it.  Instead we need to think about it.  We need to test it out. 

Perhaps, just perhaps it can help us grow.