A friend of mine was a new faculty member in history at a Midwestern university. As she began to get know people, she discovered that a fellow faculty member in art was a nationally known painter. When she finally saw his work at the winter faculty art show, she fell in love with his paintings. His use of color and light was phenomenal! The paintings made her spirit soar. The artist himself was surprisingly friendly and personable. It was easy to see why other faculty members and even students spoke so highly of him. As she talked with him at the show, she discovered that they were about the same age and had grown up in the same county in Iowa. No wonder she liked him! One day, a few weeks after the show, she ran into him on campus. When she said how much she had enjoyed seeing his paintings, he invited her up to his studio to see his latest work. As they walked around the studio, he explaining his various goals in the paintings, and she enjoying seeing his ideas come to life, an electric spark began to jump between them. He became more animated. She connected more deeply with his paintings. Would something more happen between them? There was only one obstacle. They were both married. They both loved their spouses and intended to keep the promises they had made to them. They let the electricity die down, as they backed away from the paintings. She gave him a light pat on the arm, thanked him for showing her his work, turned around, and walked down the stairs.
Perhaps when my friend and the artist gracefully backed away from the attraction they had suddenly felt for each other they remembered the passage from Matthew’s gospel we just heard. We are still in the middle of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, in chapters five through seven. Scripture scholars surmise that the historical Jesus didn’t sit down on the mountain and spout off all these prescriptions of moral theology in one go. Rather, it is likely that the evangelist carefully collected remembered teachings and sayings of Jesus and wove them together into the sermon.
Why would the evangelist have done this? Unlike the other gospels, Matthew was written to a community of mostly Jewish Christians. They would probably have been observant Jews who differed from their fellow Jews only in their allegiance to Jesus. Most likely too they lived outside Israel, having been forced to leave Jerusalem with other Jews when the Romans destroyed the city in 70 AD.
As the leaders of these dispersed Jewish communities adapted to life outside Israel, they debated how the Law of Moses could be kept in Gentile societies. What was important and must be retained? What could be reinterpreted or changed? What way of life does God expect of the faithful? What was the true intent of the Law beyond its surface commands? The goal was not to abandon the Law but rather to understand its importance in new circumstances. Indeed in our gospel reading last week, Jesus had said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” In showing that Jesus gave his followers a new way to be faithful to God’s commands, the evangelist thus reassured his hearers that they could observe the Law and still follow Jesus. All that was needed was to understand the Law in a way appropriate to their new situation.
The evangelist also had another concern. He was writing to a small group of Jesus’ followers who were beginning to draw away from their fellow Jews. Their way of life also differed significantly from that of the Gentiles among whom they lived. So the evangelist was also concerned to help his hearers strengthen their communities, so that they could truly begin to experience God’s realm in them.
As you hear the evangelist portray Jesus’ reinterpretation of the law, can you also hear that Jesus has shifted the focus from individual personal punctilious observance of the law to care and concern for the people our actions affect? It is not enough, for example, to observe the sixth of the Ten Commandments, “You shall not murder,” by refraining from taking up a knife or gun against someone. Haven’t we all felt “the urge to kill?” Anger is such a basic human emotion, one we need to recognize and acknowledge when we actually feel it. But if we care about the people we live with, if we really want to build up our communities, if we really want to grow in love, we will also realize how destructive anger can be. We will find ways of managing our anger that do not lead to physical violence or verbal abuse. More to the point, we will pursue forgiveness and reconciliation when we have been wronged or have ourselves wronged someone.
What about Jesus’ reinterpretation of the last commandment, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife ….”? Do you only disobey the commandment when you actually sleep with someone else’s spouse? No, says, Jesus. If you care about the promises and covenants that married people have made with each other, you might admire a married person, but you will not seriously entertain asking him or her to violate their relationship with their spouse. When my friend and the artist realized that they might do just that, i.e., break their promises to their spouses, they wisely backed away from each other.
In his teaching on divorce, Jesus is referring not to one of the Ten Commandments but to a prescription in Deuteronomy. In the ancient world, there was virtually no place for a divorced woman, other than to return in disgrace to her parents’ house. Here perhaps Jesus is reminding men that, if they care for the women with whom they have made a covenant, they will remain faithful to that covenant and not force their wives to become socially, morally, or economically bereft. Scholars and church people have debated over the centuries the intention behind Jesus’ reinterpretation here of common ancient practice concerning divorce. We now live in a different culture from that of the ancient world. And so we have come to realize that perhaps not all marriages are made in heaven. We may need to sorrowfully acknowledge our human frailty and our inability to keep our promises. We may come to understand that they may be times when dissolving the marriage will be a more compassionate choice than forcing partners to remain together in misery. But the underlying concern, then and now, is compassion for the spouses, children, and families of all those involved in the dissolution of a covenanted relationship.
In the last part of today’s reading, the evangelist addresses Jesus’ prohibition of oaths. Scholars disagree as to whether he was reinterpreting the third commandment, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,” or the ninth, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” The ancient world, in both the Jewish and Greek communities, had a complicated system of oaths. Suffice it to say, that Jesus was advocating maintaining personal integrity and compassion for others by speaking the truth without any external restraints. For us, the issue is not the taking of oaths, since we seldom take formal oaths in our culture. Most of us encounter oaths only in a court of law or if we are elected to public office, although there are those who take Jesus’ words here so strictly, including most Quakers, that they refuse to swear even in those circumstances. However, it’s not hard to see all the ways in which we engage in deceptive speech: distorting or bending the truth, gossip, or making promises we don’t mean to keep, for example. Doesn’t such speech undermine our personal relationships? Think of the political talk shows and advertisements. Many of us believe that the pundits, talk show participants, and advertisement voice-overs, who bandy about outrageous untruths, have all contributed to the current deeply polarized political climate. And how about the lies embedded in marketing? Will the latest gizmo, that the ads urge us to buy, really make us smarter, nicer, better looking, or richer?
At the heart of all of Jesus’ reinterpretations of the Law of Moses is compassion. Indeed, the same is true of much of the reinterpretation of the law undertaken by the rabbis since Jesus’ time. We are faithful to God when we share deep care for those around us and when we work to strengthen the bonds among us in our various communities. More important, our compassion and concern is ultimately grounded in the intents of our hearts. For me, Margaret Thatcher’s words in the film The Iron Lady indeed ring true: “Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. What we think, we become.”
God’s desire for all of us is that we grow in wholeness, trust, and personal integrity, and that our human communities reflect God’s realm. As disciples of Jesus we hope, pray, and trust that the Holy Spirit will lead us more and more deeply into that blessed place.
Showing posts with label Epiphany 6. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Epiphany 6. Show all posts
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Transformation
Suppose our Old Testament reading had begun this way: “Saddam Husain was an Iraqi military general, praised by all as a valiant warrior and a great man. In fact, the Christian God had granted victory to Iraq through Saddam.”1 Shocking? The way Saddam Husain was perceived by most Americans was exactly the way Naaman was perceived by the Israelites, i.e., as the hated and feared enemy. To be sure, Naaman was of exalted rank. As conqueror of Israel he was highly favored by his king. He was obviously wealthy. And consequently, he was arrogant and proud of all his accomplishments.
However, Naaman had a secret illness that no Aramean physician could cure. Although Scripture calls it “leprosy,” Naaman probably did not have what we have come to call Hansen’s disease, which is a contagious, debilitating, and ultimately disfiguring disease. In the Bible, the word that is translated “leprosy” covers a variety of skin conditions. Naaman could have had psoriasis, eczema, ringworm, even adult acne. Whatever it was, Naaman needed healing – and perhaps also spiritual transformation. However, he seems to have done little to initiate his needed healing. But God was at work!
God began Naaman’s journey of transformation through the counsel of his wife. The lowest member of their household, a captive Hebrew slave girl, had suggested that Naaman ought to visit a certain Hebrew holy man. Loaded down with silver, gold, and rich presents, he went instead to the man of his own station in Israel, the king – sending that worthy into near apoplexy. God initiated the second step in Naaman’s transformation by directing Elisha to offer his services. Of course, Naaman expected that the great prophet Elisha would heal him by coming out, bowing ceremoniously, accepting the costly gifts, waving his arms, and crying out to God on Naaman’s behalf. When Elisha’s servant came out and directed Naaman to immerse himself in the river near which the Arameans had once suffered defeat, Naaman was outraged. Once again, God stepped in, through the words of Naaman’s servant. Did Naaman feel foolish dunking himself up and down seven times in the muddy Jordan? Probably. But when the healing that Naaman had wanted actually happened, Naaman was not only physically clean, he was spiritually transformed as well. For, as we learn in the verses immediately following the ones we heard, Naaman returned to Elisha and declared, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant.” When Elisha refused any gifts, Naaman asked for two mule-loads of earth, so that he might continue to worship the Lord on his return home. Clearly Naaman had been physically healed. What was more important, through Elisha, he had also experienced a personal spiritual transformation that changed his life forever. Touched by God, he was healed both in body and soul.
The leper who begged for healing from Jesus in our Gospel story was at the complete opposite end of the social scale from Naaman. We don’t know much about this man, whether he was rich or poor, what he did for a living, or whether he had a family. However, we do know how those with skin diseases were treated in the ancient world – and right through the early twentieth century. The thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of Leviticus call for strict segregation of anyone with a skin disease. Called the “living dead,” even in Jesus’ time, a leper like this man was forced to live on the edges of his village. He was forbidden to touch anyone – not that anyone would want to touch him. This man was clearly desperate. Although he was putting Jesus in danger of ritual defilement by coming close to him, he screwed up his courage, took the initiative, knelt in front of Jesus, and begged for healing. His plight so moved Jesus that Jesus did the unthinkable: he touched the leper. And the leper experienced the physical healing that he had sought. Thus when the priests, as commanded in Leviticus, had indeed certified that he was free of disease, he would be restored to his family and village. Yet something more had happened. Jesus, of course, was afraid that he would yet again be mobbed by those who wanted nothing more than physical healing. So he cautioned the healed man to “say nothing to anyone.” However, through his encounter with God in Jesus, this man had also experienced a spiritual transformation. Disregarding Jesus, he became an ardent spokesperson for Jesus and began to “proclaim freely” the good news of Jesus’ coming. Who knows whether he knew the Torah or was doctrinally correct in what he proclaimed? His gratitude to God compelled him to share what Jesus had done for him. In effect, he was an evangelist. He was preaching the Gospel.
Does the encounter with God that leads to healing of both body and soul happen only in the Bible? We too segregated those with leprosy well into the twentieth century. Hansen’s disease, real leprosy, is still prevalent in some parts of the world, most notably north India. Without proper treatment, it can still be debilitating, disfiguring, and isolating. Fortunately, with the advent of modern drugs, Hansen’s disease is now rare in the U.S. On the other hand, when I was a girl, people rarely spoke about cancer, as if it were perhaps shameful to have a relative with breast or lung cancer. Those days are also mercifully behind us.
However, we do have a modern scourge that evokes as much fear and perhaps shame among Americans and others around the world as leprosy once did: HIV/AIDS. In the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in this country, AIDS was considered a disease of gay men, and those with HIV/AIDS were often shunned. Now we know that HIV/AIDS crosses boundaries of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, even nationality. But we know too that those who have discovered that they are HIV positive can also experience spiritual transformation, even as they seek available healing for their bodies. This past Tuesday HIV/AIDS activist Anne Fowler addressed an audience of Ohio University students and described her own spiritual transformation.2 Now sixty-five, Fowler was diagnosed with HIV six years ago. Although she took the diagnosis in stride, realizing that “It is not a death threat,” she also felt compelled to begin to speak out, especially to college students, about the importance of being tested. Across the ocean, women in Kenya are doing the same thing. Women fighting AIDS in Kenya (WOFAK) is an AIDS support organization that was started in 1994, by a group of women, many of whom had tested positive to HIV and were facing numerous challenges in coping with the diagnosis.3http://www.wofak.or.ke/about_wofak.html accessed February 9, 2012. Unwilling to remain silent and isolated, the women gathered together to support and educate each other. WOFAK now reaches over 15,000 women and 5,000 children through seven resource centers that provide comprehensive care and activities designed for people most at risk. Even those of us on the sidelines have seen our understanding of AIDS transformed and have been moved to reach out to those needing our support. Episcopal Response to AIDS (ERA) supports, fosters, and financially enables HIV/AIDS ministries affiliated with Episcopal faith communities in the greater New York area. Every spring spiritual writer and Episcopal priest Barbara Crafton invites her followers on the Geranium Farm website to support her as she walks in AIDS walk New York. Last spring she raised almost $5,000 just from the readers of her almost-daily e-mail meditations.
God willing, none of you has Hansen’s disease or are HIV positive. Some of you have battled cancer and other life-threatening conditions. The truth of the matter is that all of us are in need of both physical healing and spiritual transformation. We all come here in our brokenness. Some of us suffer from racism, sexism, nationalism, denominationalism, homophobia, or blindness to human need. Some of us came from dysfunctional families, and we still bear the scars of abuse of various kinds. The true good news is that Naaman’s encounter with God through Elisha and the leper’s encounter with Jesus are templates for every sinner’s experience of God’s grace and mercy. When we are freed from sin and made whole by God’s forgiveness, when we too are spiritually transformed, then we too can become living witnesses to God’s good news. We too can preach the Gospel.
In ten days, we will be marked with ashes, and we will begin once again our journey to Jerusalem through the reflective time of Lent. Between now and the beginning of Lent I invite you to reflect on your own experience of physical illness, spiritual transformation, and the proclaiming of God’s grace. How have we responded to our own experiences of healing? Have they been transformative? How do we regard those around us who are disabled or who need healing from conditions that alienate and marginalize their victims?
Perhaps we can begin by praying this prayer. Almighty and ever-living God, with mercy you look on our weaknesses. Stretch out your hand to protect us from danger and restore us to health of body and soul, through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.
1. Daniel B. Clendinen, “A Little Girl Heals a Great Man: Exclusion and Embrace,” Journey with Jesus, accessed at http://www.journeywithjesus.net/, February 8, 2012.
2. Based on the account in the Athens News, February 9, 2012, p. 10.
3. http://www.wofak.or.ke/about_wofak.html accessed February 9, 2012.
However, Naaman had a secret illness that no Aramean physician could cure. Although Scripture calls it “leprosy,” Naaman probably did not have what we have come to call Hansen’s disease, which is a contagious, debilitating, and ultimately disfiguring disease. In the Bible, the word that is translated “leprosy” covers a variety of skin conditions. Naaman could have had psoriasis, eczema, ringworm, even adult acne. Whatever it was, Naaman needed healing – and perhaps also spiritual transformation. However, he seems to have done little to initiate his needed healing. But God was at work!
God began Naaman’s journey of transformation through the counsel of his wife. The lowest member of their household, a captive Hebrew slave girl, had suggested that Naaman ought to visit a certain Hebrew holy man. Loaded down with silver, gold, and rich presents, he went instead to the man of his own station in Israel, the king – sending that worthy into near apoplexy. God initiated the second step in Naaman’s transformation by directing Elisha to offer his services. Of course, Naaman expected that the great prophet Elisha would heal him by coming out, bowing ceremoniously, accepting the costly gifts, waving his arms, and crying out to God on Naaman’s behalf. When Elisha’s servant came out and directed Naaman to immerse himself in the river near which the Arameans had once suffered defeat, Naaman was outraged. Once again, God stepped in, through the words of Naaman’s servant. Did Naaman feel foolish dunking himself up and down seven times in the muddy Jordan? Probably. But when the healing that Naaman had wanted actually happened, Naaman was not only physically clean, he was spiritually transformed as well. For, as we learn in the verses immediately following the ones we heard, Naaman returned to Elisha and declared, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant.” When Elisha refused any gifts, Naaman asked for two mule-loads of earth, so that he might continue to worship the Lord on his return home. Clearly Naaman had been physically healed. What was more important, through Elisha, he had also experienced a personal spiritual transformation that changed his life forever. Touched by God, he was healed both in body and soul.
The leper who begged for healing from Jesus in our Gospel story was at the complete opposite end of the social scale from Naaman. We don’t know much about this man, whether he was rich or poor, what he did for a living, or whether he had a family. However, we do know how those with skin diseases were treated in the ancient world – and right through the early twentieth century. The thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of Leviticus call for strict segregation of anyone with a skin disease. Called the “living dead,” even in Jesus’ time, a leper like this man was forced to live on the edges of his village. He was forbidden to touch anyone – not that anyone would want to touch him. This man was clearly desperate. Although he was putting Jesus in danger of ritual defilement by coming close to him, he screwed up his courage, took the initiative, knelt in front of Jesus, and begged for healing. His plight so moved Jesus that Jesus did the unthinkable: he touched the leper. And the leper experienced the physical healing that he had sought. Thus when the priests, as commanded in Leviticus, had indeed certified that he was free of disease, he would be restored to his family and village. Yet something more had happened. Jesus, of course, was afraid that he would yet again be mobbed by those who wanted nothing more than physical healing. So he cautioned the healed man to “say nothing to anyone.” However, through his encounter with God in Jesus, this man had also experienced a spiritual transformation. Disregarding Jesus, he became an ardent spokesperson for Jesus and began to “proclaim freely” the good news of Jesus’ coming. Who knows whether he knew the Torah or was doctrinally correct in what he proclaimed? His gratitude to God compelled him to share what Jesus had done for him. In effect, he was an evangelist. He was preaching the Gospel.
Does the encounter with God that leads to healing of both body and soul happen only in the Bible? We too segregated those with leprosy well into the twentieth century. Hansen’s disease, real leprosy, is still prevalent in some parts of the world, most notably north India. Without proper treatment, it can still be debilitating, disfiguring, and isolating. Fortunately, with the advent of modern drugs, Hansen’s disease is now rare in the U.S. On the other hand, when I was a girl, people rarely spoke about cancer, as if it were perhaps shameful to have a relative with breast or lung cancer. Those days are also mercifully behind us.
However, we do have a modern scourge that evokes as much fear and perhaps shame among Americans and others around the world as leprosy once did: HIV/AIDS. In the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in this country, AIDS was considered a disease of gay men, and those with HIV/AIDS were often shunned. Now we know that HIV/AIDS crosses boundaries of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, even nationality. But we know too that those who have discovered that they are HIV positive can also experience spiritual transformation, even as they seek available healing for their bodies. This past Tuesday HIV/AIDS activist Anne Fowler addressed an audience of Ohio University students and described her own spiritual transformation.2 Now sixty-five, Fowler was diagnosed with HIV six years ago. Although she took the diagnosis in stride, realizing that “It is not a death threat,” she also felt compelled to begin to speak out, especially to college students, about the importance of being tested. Across the ocean, women in Kenya are doing the same thing. Women fighting AIDS in Kenya (WOFAK) is an AIDS support organization that was started in 1994, by a group of women, many of whom had tested positive to HIV and were facing numerous challenges in coping with the diagnosis.3http://www.wofak.or.ke/about_wofak.html accessed February 9, 2012. Unwilling to remain silent and isolated, the women gathered together to support and educate each other. WOFAK now reaches over 15,000 women and 5,000 children through seven resource centers that provide comprehensive care and activities designed for people most at risk. Even those of us on the sidelines have seen our understanding of AIDS transformed and have been moved to reach out to those needing our support. Episcopal Response to AIDS (ERA) supports, fosters, and financially enables HIV/AIDS ministries affiliated with Episcopal faith communities in the greater New York area. Every spring spiritual writer and Episcopal priest Barbara Crafton invites her followers on the Geranium Farm website to support her as she walks in AIDS walk New York. Last spring she raised almost $5,000 just from the readers of her almost-daily e-mail meditations.
God willing, none of you has Hansen’s disease or are HIV positive. Some of you have battled cancer and other life-threatening conditions. The truth of the matter is that all of us are in need of both physical healing and spiritual transformation. We all come here in our brokenness. Some of us suffer from racism, sexism, nationalism, denominationalism, homophobia, or blindness to human need. Some of us came from dysfunctional families, and we still bear the scars of abuse of various kinds. The true good news is that Naaman’s encounter with God through Elisha and the leper’s encounter with Jesus are templates for every sinner’s experience of God’s grace and mercy. When we are freed from sin and made whole by God’s forgiveness, when we too are spiritually transformed, then we too can become living witnesses to God’s good news. We too can preach the Gospel.
In ten days, we will be marked with ashes, and we will begin once again our journey to Jerusalem through the reflective time of Lent. Between now and the beginning of Lent I invite you to reflect on your own experience of physical illness, spiritual transformation, and the proclaiming of God’s grace. How have we responded to our own experiences of healing? Have they been transformative? How do we regard those around us who are disabled or who need healing from conditions that alienate and marginalize their victims?
Perhaps we can begin by praying this prayer. Almighty and ever-living God, with mercy you look on our weaknesses. Stretch out your hand to protect us from danger and restore us to health of body and soul, through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.
1. Daniel B. Clendinen, “A Little Girl Heals a Great Man: Exclusion and Embrace,” Journey with Jesus, accessed at http://www.journeywithjesus.net/, February 8, 2012.
2. Based on the account in the Athens News, February 9, 2012, p. 10.
3. http://www.wofak.or.ke/about_wofak.html accessed February 9, 2012.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
We Are God's Fellow Workers
We’re going to begin with a little homiletic theater this morning. You may remain seated, but you’re also welcome to walk with me. The first time I came into St. Peter’s, I was struck, as are many people who see the sanctuary for the first time, by its beauty. However, it wasn’t long, as I walked around, before I began to feel surrounded by a great community of love committed to this parish and its future. We see the reflections of that committed community of love in all the windows and plaques, don’t we? Let’s just take a brief tour. And if you knew the people we name, take a moment to pray for those whom we name. [ I walk around church, reading the names on windows and plaques.] Don’t you feel that we’re surrounded by at least a small part of the “blessed company of all faithful people?”
How did all these faithful Christians come to commit themselves to a parish in this place? Many of you know the history of St. Peter’s well, having lived some of it yourselves. Some of you may be a little sketchier on that history. The Episcopal Church in Ohio dates from as early as 1804, when those who were given land grants in Ohio in exchange for service in the Revolutionary War, settled in Worthington and established St. John’s, in what was then a wilderness outpost. In 1817, the Diocese of Ohio was created, with Philander Chase, founder of Kenyon College and Bexley Hall seminary, as its first bishop. Growth in this part of the state led to the creation of a separate Diocese of Southern Ohio in 1875. St. Peter’s was part of that growth, having been established in 1841. A Vestry of twelve faithful men called the first rector, the Rev. James B. Goodwin. After meeting for worship in various places, the parish was finally able to erect this sanctuary, which was consecrated by Bishop Charles McIlvaine in April, 1859. The church that we see today, as our windows, plaques, and church records remind us, comes to us as a result of the many gifts of both money and time, and the commitment to the survival of this parish, of preceding generations. One hundred sixty-nine years later, we are now the stewards, both of this building and of this Christian community.
Those who committed their lives and their resources to this community took to heart Paul’s message to the Christian community in Corinth. You remember that the main concern that drove Paul to write to this community was the reports he had received of deep conflicts among them. He began his letter, as we heard a couple of weeks ago, by addressing head on his concern that a significant cause of the conflicts was factionalism, i.e., that people were proclaiming themselves followers of one human leader or another. In the portion of the letter we heard last week, Paul reminded the Corinthians that the Holy Spirit is the agent of the growth of the community. The Spirit’s goal for them was that they would grow up into Christ, into mature Christians ready to do and be Christ in the world. Now Paul has returned to his specific rejection of factionalism. He reminds the Corinthians that God works through all human actors. Whether it be Paul, or Apollos, or Peter, it is God working through human beings called to particular tasks. What is most important, all are part of God’s work together, all are fellow workers with God. No one can take special pride in the productivity of his or her acre in God’s field, since ultimately, all growth, all produce is a result of our cooperation with God’s grace.
Which brings us back to St. Peter’s. The time of our annual meeting is always a good time to take stock. We too are fellow workers with God. All of us who care about the continued life of this parish are in it together. All of us here, I hope, share two purposes: to continue our own formation as Christ-imbued people, to become more faithful disciples, and to see this parish community thrive and last for another 169 years in this place. If we share these purposes, then here is God calling us to do. I believe that God is calling us to continue the commitments made by those who came before us in this place. If we are to continue to grow up into Christ, if we are to continue to mature as Christians, then we need to commit ourselves to Christian education, not only for children, but for ourselves as well. Just as our bodies will starve without physical food, so too will our spirits starve without “soul food.” We have a discussion series on community ministry coming on Wednesday nights in Lent. Commit to participating in that series, regardless of whether you can come for Evening Prayer and potluck supper before the discussion sessions. Join us on Sunday mornings for a closer look at the Gospel of Matthew, which we are hearing all this church year. Or commit to reading something on your own that will stretch you and help you grow into Christ. If you need to, ask me for suggestions!
So our first commitment is to continued personal formation. Our second commitment is to support of this parish with our own resources, our own resources of treasure, time, and talent. Always, we give in gratitude for what God has given us. Always we recognize that whatever we give to God doesn’t begin to match the great gifts that God has given us. Always, we remember that “all things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee.” Historically, church people have returned to God a tenth of their resources, the tithe. Perhaps that’s where all the windows and other beautiful objects in this church came from. Many of us still do tithe. And those, who for good and valid reasons, cannot tithe, often honor God by at least intentionally committing whatever proportion of their resources they can afford. But notice that it’s not only some portion of our treasure that we are called to commit to God. God also calls us to return to God a portion of our time and talents. Allowing eight hours of sleep per night, all of us have 112 waking hours in a week. Can we commit 11 hours a week to good works? Could some of those 11 hours be used to enhance the life of this parish? And what about all those talents? What part of our talents have we committed to God?
So: first commitment to personal formation, second commitment to support of the church with our treasure, time, and talents. Third, God calls us to partner with God in creating a welcoming community of love in this place. I believe this means engaging in real ministry ourselves and inviting others to share ministry with us. I believe this also means committing ourselves to regular nourishment in the sacraments and inviting others to partake of God’s nourishment with us. We can, and do, put out tracts and pamphlets. We can, and do, send out flyers, place notices in print media, and send out an electronic newsletter. We can, and do, have a web site and a Facebook page. But what counts most in creating a vital and thriving community is personal encounter with others who are growing into mature Christians, personal encounter with those who are become more and more Christ-like.
No one person can do all of this, least of all your priest. We are all needed in this joint venture together. By virtue of our baptisms, we all have a ministry. Truth be told, as I look back on the history of St. Peter’s, I see active lay people who indeed worked hard to see this parish flourish. After the first twelve Vestry men called the first rector, others gave gifts and raised funds for the parish through operettas, suppers, a Pancake festival, a Dairymaid’s Festival, an Oyster supper, and many other events. Most recently, a building fund drive gave St. Peter’s its latest addition, consecrated by Bishop William Black in 1980.
“We are fellow workers with God.” We trust that God will continue to give the growth, that God will continue to allow this parish to flourish. As we trust in God’s providence, it’s our turn to plant the seeds and water them. As we follow those who came before and look toward continuing the ministry here through another year, may God also help us to commit ourselves to continued personal formation, to showing our gratitude for God’s gifts, and to intentionally living out our ministries as baptized Christians.
How did all these faithful Christians come to commit themselves to a parish in this place? Many of you know the history of St. Peter’s well, having lived some of it yourselves. Some of you may be a little sketchier on that history. The Episcopal Church in Ohio dates from as early as 1804, when those who were given land grants in Ohio in exchange for service in the Revolutionary War, settled in Worthington and established St. John’s, in what was then a wilderness outpost. In 1817, the Diocese of Ohio was created, with Philander Chase, founder of Kenyon College and Bexley Hall seminary, as its first bishop. Growth in this part of the state led to the creation of a separate Diocese of Southern Ohio in 1875. St. Peter’s was part of that growth, having been established in 1841. A Vestry of twelve faithful men called the first rector, the Rev. James B. Goodwin. After meeting for worship in various places, the parish was finally able to erect this sanctuary, which was consecrated by Bishop Charles McIlvaine in April, 1859. The church that we see today, as our windows, plaques, and church records remind us, comes to us as a result of the many gifts of both money and time, and the commitment to the survival of this parish, of preceding generations. One hundred sixty-nine years later, we are now the stewards, both of this building and of this Christian community.
Those who committed their lives and their resources to this community took to heart Paul’s message to the Christian community in Corinth. You remember that the main concern that drove Paul to write to this community was the reports he had received of deep conflicts among them. He began his letter, as we heard a couple of weeks ago, by addressing head on his concern that a significant cause of the conflicts was factionalism, i.e., that people were proclaiming themselves followers of one human leader or another. In the portion of the letter we heard last week, Paul reminded the Corinthians that the Holy Spirit is the agent of the growth of the community. The Spirit’s goal for them was that they would grow up into Christ, into mature Christians ready to do and be Christ in the world. Now Paul has returned to his specific rejection of factionalism. He reminds the Corinthians that God works through all human actors. Whether it be Paul, or Apollos, or Peter, it is God working through human beings called to particular tasks. What is most important, all are part of God’s work together, all are fellow workers with God. No one can take special pride in the productivity of his or her acre in God’s field, since ultimately, all growth, all produce is a result of our cooperation with God’s grace.
Which brings us back to St. Peter’s. The time of our annual meeting is always a good time to take stock. We too are fellow workers with God. All of us who care about the continued life of this parish are in it together. All of us here, I hope, share two purposes: to continue our own formation as Christ-imbued people, to become more faithful disciples, and to see this parish community thrive and last for another 169 years in this place. If we share these purposes, then here is God calling us to do. I believe that God is calling us to continue the commitments made by those who came before us in this place. If we are to continue to grow up into Christ, if we are to continue to mature as Christians, then we need to commit ourselves to Christian education, not only for children, but for ourselves as well. Just as our bodies will starve without physical food, so too will our spirits starve without “soul food.” We have a discussion series on community ministry coming on Wednesday nights in Lent. Commit to participating in that series, regardless of whether you can come for Evening Prayer and potluck supper before the discussion sessions. Join us on Sunday mornings for a closer look at the Gospel of Matthew, which we are hearing all this church year. Or commit to reading something on your own that will stretch you and help you grow into Christ. If you need to, ask me for suggestions!
So our first commitment is to continued personal formation. Our second commitment is to support of this parish with our own resources, our own resources of treasure, time, and talent. Always, we give in gratitude for what God has given us. Always we recognize that whatever we give to God doesn’t begin to match the great gifts that God has given us. Always, we remember that “all things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee.” Historically, church people have returned to God a tenth of their resources, the tithe. Perhaps that’s where all the windows and other beautiful objects in this church came from. Many of us still do tithe. And those, who for good and valid reasons, cannot tithe, often honor God by at least intentionally committing whatever proportion of their resources they can afford. But notice that it’s not only some portion of our treasure that we are called to commit to God. God also calls us to return to God a portion of our time and talents. Allowing eight hours of sleep per night, all of us have 112 waking hours in a week. Can we commit 11 hours a week to good works? Could some of those 11 hours be used to enhance the life of this parish? And what about all those talents? What part of our talents have we committed to God?
So: first commitment to personal formation, second commitment to support of the church with our treasure, time, and talents. Third, God calls us to partner with God in creating a welcoming community of love in this place. I believe this means engaging in real ministry ourselves and inviting others to share ministry with us. I believe this also means committing ourselves to regular nourishment in the sacraments and inviting others to partake of God’s nourishment with us. We can, and do, put out tracts and pamphlets. We can, and do, send out flyers, place notices in print media, and send out an electronic newsletter. We can, and do, have a web site and a Facebook page. But what counts most in creating a vital and thriving community is personal encounter with others who are growing into mature Christians, personal encounter with those who are become more and more Christ-like.
No one person can do all of this, least of all your priest. We are all needed in this joint venture together. By virtue of our baptisms, we all have a ministry. Truth be told, as I look back on the history of St. Peter’s, I see active lay people who indeed worked hard to see this parish flourish. After the first twelve Vestry men called the first rector, others gave gifts and raised funds for the parish through operettas, suppers, a Pancake festival, a Dairymaid’s Festival, an Oyster supper, and many other events. Most recently, a building fund drive gave St. Peter’s its latest addition, consecrated by Bishop William Black in 1980.
“We are fellow workers with God.” We trust that God will continue to give the growth, that God will continue to allow this parish to flourish. As we trust in God’s providence, it’s our turn to plant the seeds and water them. As we follow those who came before and look toward continuing the ministry here through another year, may God also help us to commit ourselves to continued personal formation, to showing our gratitude for God’s gifts, and to intentionally living out our ministries as baptized Christians.
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