Sermons

Sermon for 21st Sunday after Pentecost

[Texts: Psalm 34:1-8; Mark 10:46-52]

We had a delightful toddler with us for part of our flea market yesterday. To my surprise, he seemed fascinated with me. Maybe it was simply the Turkish scarf I was wearing, but I like to think that on some level he sensed the deep resonance I felt with him. Like him, I was a shy child, the sort who watches others quietly, taking in rather than putting out, sometimes making judgments.

To be honest, I should also confess that an early experience of being shamed as a toddler after unacceptable behavior on my part also led me to spend a good part of my early years in a sort of hiding. Most early photos show me averting my gaze from the camera, hiding behind others, slouching, unable to claim and occupy fully my physical space. I was reminded of this when the mother of a friend who had not seen me in over 30 years startled me with her observation about some photos I had sent her from my ordination to the priesthood. She said that I looked very much as I had in college, except that I was no longer hiding behind my hair. I don’t think this is simply because it’s a couple of feet shorter. So, the psalm for today describes a central portion of my spiritual journey in its fifth verse: “Look upon him and be radiant, and let not your faces be ashamed.” It was the one I chose to be read at my previous ordination in the Presbyterian Church.

Over the years I worked hard on overcoming this and what I regarded as other serious deficiencies or handicaps, whether obvious or hidden. I volunteered as a DJ at two FM radio stations in Philadelphia, trying to get over my fear of speaking in public, recognizing it’s pretty safe when nobody can see you. I forced myself to write articles for a local newspaper every week to deal with writer’s block. I took a few group singing lessons before I started at seminary and discovered the sky didn’t fall when the others heard My voice. I signed up for ballroom dancing lessons when two weddings were coming up -- not knowing, of course, that a power failure would cut out the band at one and that a string quartet would play throughout the other in a lovely room without a dance floor. So, my supposed remedies have met with mixed success. Of course, I still have some issues I am trying to address for I am still a work in progress just like you.

But I don’t believe that anyone, including myself, could have predicted that I would have a profession that involves public speaking and chanting or that I would become so glib in my speech at times. Perhaps glib speech is not huge when you consider the problems of the world. Dishonest or untruthful speech, of course, is, whether it’s related to international crises or political elections.

But every once in a while I am taken up short by an encounter with a person, one whose speech comes from a far deeper and soulful place than too many of my own words, and whose face is radiant with the light of God. Maybe it’s happened to you, as well. You suddenly encounter a person—such as our bishop, in my experience-- who is seeing you from the depth of his or her soul, listening from such a centered place, and inviting you to respond.

Jewish theologian Martin Buber describes two modes of speech in his classic I-Thou. One is “I-Thou” a relation of subject-to-subject in which humans are aware of each other as being deeply related. The other is “I-It,” a relation of expedience, of subject-to-object. In the “I-Thou” relationship, human beings do not perceive each other as consisting of specific, isolated qualities, but engage in a dialogue involving each other's whole being in holy interactions. At times, I have found myself virtually speechless, as I struggle to adjust to such an amazing invitation from another to be myself, to be the person God has created me to be, the person God loves simply as I am. Through these individuals, I have an inkling of the kind of holy speech that Christians are called to and the stillness and love and lack of ego out of which their words are formed. When I live in this awareness, I begin to understand why Christ is called the Word of God.

In our story of Jesus and Bartimaeus, we find precisely this I-Thou relationship at work. It’s not so different today than in the time of the bible, as people are described by what limits and isolates and even shames them (e.g. the blind, the lame), as opposed to what binds all of us together as children of God in a mystical unity. Jesus sees Bartimaeus, described simply as a blind beggar and presumably someone he does not know, as the complete person that he is. While his blindness may be as obvious to Jesus as to everyone else, Jesus doesn’t assume that this is his main problem or identity. He asks him the very same question he asked two of his closest disciples: “What do you want me to do for you?” And Bartimaeus is given the grace to not be silenced by those who would make him ashamed as they speak sternly to him, as if this blind beggar has no right to speak to Jesus. He speaks even more loudly, shouting out boldly. When Jesus responds to him, he spring up, throwing off his cloak, a garment perhaps that hid him in the past, as he reaches toward the light of Christ and then begins the way of following Jesus, now a new man.

As the psalmist writes: “Look upon him and be radiant, and let not your faces be ashamed.”

Let us pray: Loving God, your will for us and for all creation is to be healed. Give us the courage to throw off whatever binds us in shame and doubt, whatever causes us to see ourselves and others as diminished rather than your beloved children. Help us reach toward your light – not for ourselves alone, but to give glory to you and to honor all whom you have made in love. Amen.

25 October 2009 by Jane Tanaskovic Brady

19th Sunday after Pentecost [Job 23:1-9, 16-17; Psalm 22: 1-15; Hebrews 4:12-15; Mark 10:17-31]

Sermon for the 19^th Sunday after Pentecost

[Text: Mark 10:17-31]

I’ve been thinking a lot about this unnamed man who kneels at the feet of Jesus, this man with the burning question: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Matthew reveals that he was young; Luke writes that he was a ruler and that he was rich (although we can assume this from Mark because we are told he “had many possessions”.) You may remember the lawyer who elicits the startling parable that Jesus tells about the man least likely to be chosen who acted like a neighbor to a man left for dead along the road by the thugs after they stole everything he had. Here today we have another question about salvation coming also from someone who adheres strictly to the law.

Even people who didn’t really know this man addressing Jesus well might describe this man as a righteous one by his status in life--taking cues from the way he was dressed, the way he spoke, perhaps the fact that his nails were clean and manicured. After all, the gospels were written from within the culture of the ancient world (Greek, Roman, and Hebrew) where material prosperity was believed to accompany spiritual virtue. So those who didn’t have it were doubly shamed both by their material deprivation and hunger as well as by the assumptions that people made about their characters. Of course, the gospels go out of their way to assert that it was precisely these outcasts of society who Jesus befriended and chose to spend time and share meals with.

I suspect, if we are honest, things haven’t changed as much as we might hope. We have all overheard the derogatory comments about people who are on welfare or those who are illegal and taking jobs from natives in this nation of immigrants. However, I hope that your friends know better than to make these comments to you directly because they have a sense of your character as faithful Christians, as people who follow Christ, who won’t stand for such demeaning speech from people who somehow need to feel better about themselves by climbing on the backs of others but won’t admit it.

In the story immediately preceding our text for today, Jesus has just told his disciples that in order to receive the kingdom of God, they must somehow become like little children. But the rich man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. As if eternal life is something he can add to his list of accomplishments, knowing that he has the means and the discipline to do just about anything he wishes, rather than a free gift of God that in the end no one can possibly earn, something impossible without God’s agency. He is a man used to action and his actions—not to be criticized here certainly, but rather commended-- have ensured that he follows the law: “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” And then Jesus looks at this man on his knees, sees him clearly, loves him, and gives him precisely/ironically what he’s asked for—something to do—the perfect gift. So we have the two tasks: “Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

It could be that this man is addicted to his status, to his wealth, and to his possessions and that Jesus recognizes the burden they impose on him. After all, perhaps the man wouldn’t be on his knees if all was right in his soul or if he enjoyed genuine relationships not based on status and wealth that sustained and nurtured him. We can read in the news of how many people with great wealth make messes of their lives, whether it’s the lottery winner who is worse off than before the huge windfall, the sports hero who is bankrupt or in jail, or even the one raised up in a rarified world of inherited wealth, private clubs, Ivy League schools, and positions on the boards of major cultural institutions who suddenly takes his life one day.

Most of us I think assume that the man just goes away, unable to bear what Jesus has told him. The text says: “When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.” The truth is, I suspect, most of us—myself included, if we’re honest--couldn’t do this either. It’s just too hard. Indeed, it strikes us as impossible, in spite of all our good intentions. Yes, there are instances who do this – St. Francis for one, Mother Theresa, people who join religious orders who take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. But we think of them as saints, not sinners, not people like ourselves.

In the letter to the Hebrews, we read “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden…” Yes, I believe with all my heart that this is true; this is a cornerstone of our faith and of our identity. But when we are dealing with narratives, as we are in the gospels, we are dealing as it were with snapshots or glimpses of many men, women, and children described in the Word of God (the Bible) who interact with Jesus the Word of God during moments caught in a particular time. We cannot follow the time before or after their encounters, but sometimes they live in our imaginations.

As I continue to ponder this man, I’ve begun to wonder whether, in fact, he did do exactly what Jesus asked, as the disciples did. With the apostles, the response to follow Jesus was immediate. But here we find Peter, at least, willing to begin naming some of the consequences and cost of their decision: “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” While the apostles are laborers – fishermen, tax collectors – this rich man no doubt enjoyed the benefits of a good education that taught him to think and to assess consequences and the resources that allowed him the leisure to do so. And he could begin to take in the import of the answer he received from Jesus immediately: “He was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.”

While some like Paul are stricken on the road to Damascus with a blinding light, I suspect the majority of us need time to ponder, to weigh decisions, to go back and forth a bit before we come to a decision we can accept or a vocation in which we can settle. Change and transformation are inevitably difficult – in spite of the gains to be won, there are inevitable losses, even deaths of what we love in life and in this process of choosing and of following Jesus that leads to our salvation that begins in this world and continues in the world to come.

But just suppose it’s possible that this man was the same as the young man who in Mark’s gospel was following Jesus and appears in the garden of Gethsemane after Jesus was arrested and all his closest disciples had deserted him and fled. We read (14:51-52): A certain young man was following him (Jesus), wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.” The truth is, we just don’t know; but we should try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, not give up on them. The truth is “for God all things are possible” and God’s time is not our own. And we can be sure that whatever the young man’s ultimate decision, Jesus continued to love him, just as he loves us in the midst of all our failures and uncertainties. These too often often obscure for us (but not for God) the reality that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

STEWARDSHIP – BAPTISMAL COVENANT

Stewardship Sermon

By Kathy Waugh

December 14, 2008

STEWARDSHIP – BAPTISMAL COVENANT

LOVING GOD, WE GATHER HERE THIS MORNING IN YOUR NAME. WE OFFER YOU ALL THE MOMENTS OF THIS DAY AND PRAY THAT THE TIME WE SPEND WITH YOU DEEPENS OUR AWARENESS OF YOUR LOVE FOR US AND INCREASES OUR GRATITUDE FOR SUCH GREAT LOVE.

FILL US WITH THE GRACES WE NEED TO COME TO APPRECIATE MORE FULLY THE MYSTERY OF YOUR PRESENCE IN OUR LIVES.

WE ASK THIS PRAYER IN THE NAME OF JESUS WHOSE LIFE, DEATH AND RESURRECTION IS THE SOURCE OF OUR PEACE AND THE CAUSE OF OUR GRATITUDE BOTH NOW AND FOREVER, AMEN.

GOOD MORNING! THANK YOU GOD FOR ALL THE BLESSINGS, CHALLENGES, WORRIES, FEARS, FRUSTRATIONS, SUCCESSES, AND PEACE YOU GIVE ME TODAY.

“IF THE ONLY PRAYER YOU PRAY YOUR ENTIRE LIFE IS “THANK YOU” THAT WILL BE ENOUGH (MEDIEVAL CHRISTIAN MYSTIC, MEISTER ECKHART).

WHAT ARE YOUR BLESSINGS TODAY? IF YOU WOKE UP THIS MORNING WITH MORE HEALTH THAN ILLNESS…YOU ARE MORE BLESSED THAN THE MILLION WHO WILL NOT SURVIVE THIS WEEK

IF YOU HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED THE DANGER OF BATTLE, THE LONLINESS OF IMPRISONMENT, THE AGONY OF TORTURE, OR THE PANGS OF STARVATION, YOU ARE AHEAD OF 500 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE WORLD

IF YOU CAN ATTEND A CHURCH MEETING WITHOUT FEAR OF HARASSMENT, ARREST, TORTURE OR DEATH, YOU ARE MORE BLESSED THAN 3 BILLION PEOPLE IN THE WORLD

IF YOU HAVE FOOD IN THE FRIDGE, CLOTHES ON YOUR BACK, A ROOF OVERHEAD AND A PLACE TO SLEEP YOU ARE RICHER THANT 75% OF THE WORLD

I BET YOU HAVE HEARD THIS PHRASE BEFORE: WORK LIKE YOU DON’T NEED MONEY, LOVE LIKE YOU’VE NEVER BEEN HURT, DANCE LIKE NOBODY’S WATCHING, SING LIKE NOBODY’S LISTENING, LIVE LIKE IT’S HEAVEN ON EARTH”

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH STEWARDSHIP? DID I GET YOUR ATETENTION? HAVE I PICQUED YOUR INTEREST? I AM PREPARING THE WAY FOR STEWARDSHIP.

THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES – I WROTE DOWN MY THOUGHTS FOR TODAY BEFORE I READ THE SCRIPTURES SELECTED FOR DECEMBER 7, 2008.

MARK 1:1-8 – THE BEGINNING OF THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD. AS IT IS WRITTEN IN THE PROPHET OF ISAIAH, SEE I AM SENDING MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY, THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING OUT IN THE WILDERNESS; PREPARE HE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT. “IT IS JOHN THE BAPTIST IN THE WILDERNESS;

TODAY I’M HAPPY TO TALK TO YOU TODAY ABOUT STEWARDSHIP - MY COVENANT, MY PROMISE TO GOD THROUGH MY BAPTISM, THROUGH SCRIPTURE. BUT WAIT A MINUTE IT ISN’T JUST ABOUT ME AND MY STEWARSHIP – IT’S ABOUT YOU, TOO.

THIS MYSTERIOUS CONVENENT, THIS SPIRITUAL JOURNEY, THIS WAY OF LIFE HAS TRANSFORMED MY LIFE. MY COVENANT, MY PROMISE IS GOD ALIVE IN ME. I WANT YOU TO BE ALIVE WITH THE SAME FIRE.

THIS MORNING I WILL TALK ABOUT THE THREE BASIC ELEMENTS OF STEWARDSHIP/COVENANT: TIME, TALENTS, AND TREASURES. THE WAYS IN WHICH I HAVE GIVEN BACK TO GOD WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN ME.

IN THIS DAY AND AGE MOST OF US HAVE UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE INTERNET – THAT AMAZING CYBERSPACE OF KNOWLEDGE. WHEN I GOOGLED STEWARDSHIP (WHO EVER HEARD OF GOOGLING 10 YEARS AGO!), THE FIRST WEB SITE TO COME UP WAS “THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH WELCOMES YOU” AND A SNIPPET THAT KEPT REPEATING ITSELF ON THE PAGE: STEWARDSHIP – USING THE GIFTS GOD HAS GIVEN US TO DO THE WORK GOD IS CALLING US TO DO”

I COULD TALK ABOUT THE WORKING DEFINITION OF CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP, STEWARDSHIP AND PHILANTHROPY, OR THE THREE FACES OF STEWARDSHIP. INTERESTING, INSIGHTFUL, EDUCATIONAL AND CERTAINLY MATERIAL FOR GRACE CHURCH’S ONGOING CHRISTIAN FORMATION GROUP THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. INSTEAD I’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU WHY I GIVE.

I AM SO CONNECTED TO THIS CHURCH – THIS PARISH. I GIVE BECAUSE THIS PARISH FAMILY WELCOMED ME AND MY YOUNG FAMILY OVER 30 YEARS AGO.

I GIVE BECAUSE MY CHILDREN WERE BAPTIZED, CONFIRMED, AND SOME MARRIED IN THIS CHURCH. I GIVE BECAUSE I CAN STILL SEE OMAR COMING UP THE AISLE HAULING A LARGE WOODEN ANIMAL FOR OUR CHRISTMAS PAGEANT. I CAN SEE THE VARIOUS BABIES OF THE PARISH LYING IN THE MANGER CHRISTMAS EVE – I’VE LOST TRACK OF THE NAMES OF THOSE BABIES, BUT MANY OF THEM NOW HAVE BABIES OF THEIR OWN. I GIVE BECAUSE THE MUSIC HAS MOVED ME TO TEARS, FILLED ME WITH THE JOY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, I GIVE BECAUSE WAYNE HELPS MY DAUGHTER COME UP TO THE COMMUNION RAIL, I GIVE BECAUSE JOANN MACRAE, KATHY MURRAY, AND LYN SABIN CARRIED ME AT TIMES THROUGH THE INTERIM PERIOD, I GIVE BECAUSE DORIS RUFE WAS FEARLESS IN HER GIVING, I GIVE BECAUSE VISITS WITH OUR PARISH’S SHUT INS (PRISCILLA, BETH, THE GOWERS) HAVE TAKEN ME TO MY KNEES IN WONDER, I GIVE BECAUSE FATHER BRUCE HAD US DANCING IN THE AISLES,

I GIVE BECAUSE BEN COOK CLAPPED EVERY TIME HE ESPECIALLY LIKED AN ANTHEM, MID GREEN’S ROAST BEEF DINNERS, RUTH SHORTER’S FAITHFUL COFFEE HOUR, RUTH WAS THE ABSOLUT EMBODIMENT OF HOSPITALITY, HEARING THE VOICES OF OUR YOUTH QUIETLY SINGING AS THEY WALKED THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS, HUMMINGBIRDS, MARCELLA WAILING ORGAN, TRUDI’S VISION OF A CLEAN CHURCH – SEE HOW ENDLESS IT IS. I LOOK OUT AT ALL OF YOU AND SEE THE GIFTS YOU HAVE GIVEN ME. I WONDER IF YOU KNOW THAT.

I SERVE AS A SERVANT OF GOD IN MANY WAYS, SOME KNOWN AND SOME UNKNOWN - THE GARDENS, THE CHOIR, EUCHARISTIC MINISTER, AND VESTRY. MY SERVICE MAY COMBINE A TALENT AND TIME; I LISTEN TO GOD SHOWING ME THE WAY TO BEST USE A TALENT OR MY TIME. WHAT ARE YOUR TALENTS?

MONEY – I LIKE MONEY – I DON’T LOVE IT – THAT’S A SIN. BUT I LIKE MONEY. WE ALL LIKE MONEY. THE CHURCH LIKES MONEY – IN FACT THE 1988 GENERAL CONVENTION PASSED A RESOLUTION THAT AFFIRMED THE TITHE AS THE MINIMUM STANDARD OF GIVING FOR EPISCOPALIANS. BAM – IN YOUR FACE!

“GIVING IS AMONG THE MOST SPIRITUAL AND EVEN SACREMENTAL THING THAT WE CAN DO TO CONFIRM OUR BAPTISMAL IDENTITIES. JESUS REFERENCED THE TITHE IN MATTHEW 23:23; AGAIN IN LUKE 21:1-4 (GIVING OUT OF DEVOTION NOT DUTY) IF YOU WANT TO ARGUE AGAINST A TITHE OR DENY ITS SIGNIFICANCE, YOU WILL BE OBJECTING TO THE BIBLE – GOD’S WORD.

AM I FAITHFUL TO MY COVENANT? ABSOLUTELY NOT. I HAVE QUESTIONED MY GIVING – AND BATTLED WITH MYSELF. I WANT TO BE FAITHFUL, I REALLY STRUGGLE SOMETIMES AND I REALLY DON’T LISTEN TO GOD ALL THE TIME. I LOVE TO SHOP – I AM THE QUINTESSENTIAL SHOPPER – THERE – I’VE SAID IT. NOW THERE ISN’T ANYTHING WRONG WITH MY HOBBY OF SHOPPING UNLESS IT INTERFERES WITH MY SPIRITUAL COMMITMENT TO GOD. I PRACTICE “FIRST FRUITS” – MY CHECK TO GRACE CHURCH IS THE FIRST TO BE WRITTEN AND HEADS UP MY BUDGET BOOK. ONE OF MY GOALS IN RECENT YEARS WAS TO TITHE. I MADE MY GOAL SEVERAL YEARS AGO –WAS IT HARD - YUP – IS IT SACRIFICIAL? – YUP THIS YEAR WITH GOD’S HELP I AM PRAYING TO BE FAITHFUL TO MY PROMISE.

IS IT HARD TO CRUNCH THOSE NUMBERS? YOU BET – THE GLORIOUS THING ABOUT TITHING IS THAT IT BRINGS REWARDS BEYOND MEASURE OR UNDERSTANDING. I RECENTLY READ AN ARTICLE ABOUT GIVING – THE ARTICLE STATED THAT AFTER STUDIES WERE MADE AND RESULTS IN, GIVING MAKES YOU HAPPY, GIVING MAKES YOU LIVE LONGER, AND GIVING MAKES YOU WEALTHY – MONEY WEALTHY. THE MORE YOU GIVE THE MORE YOU RECEIVE. DIDN’T TAKE A RESEARCH STUDY FOR US TO KNOW THAT!

WE ALL ARE FACING MORE TOUGH TIMES IN OUR COMMUNITY, OUR STATE, OUR NATION, AND THE WORLD. FINANCIAL GIANTS ARE COLLAPSING; PEOPLE ARE LOSING THEIR JOBS, THEIR HOMES, AND THEIR DIGNITY.

FOR YOU MY PARISH FAMILY, I HOPE YOU WILL GIVE THANKS FOR ALL GOD HAS GIVEN TO YOU AND PRAY ABOUT YOUR COVENANT WITH GOD. BE FAITHFUL AS YOU MAKE YOUR SACRIFICIAL OFFERING OF TIME, TALENTS, AND MONEY. THINK ABOUT EXTENDING YOUR GIVING TO SOMEONE IN NEED, REACH OUT TO YOUR NEIGHBORS, YOUR FRIENDS, SOMEONE IN OUR PARISH. THE GIFTS YOU GET BACK FAR OUTWEIGH WHAT YOU GIVE.

AMEN

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Last modified: July 20, 2010