Homily for November 10, 2013

Homily for Veterans Day and Pledge Sunday, 2013

A few days ago I learned from Greg about the military expression C4I.  It is kind of memory aid for the core elements of military operations, i.e., Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence.  In our Christian lives I think of three core elements: accepting God's blessings, growing in the faith and giving back in gratitude. 

We are blessed by God in many ways; we've all heard that before but may not have really reflected on what it means.  Because God is our Creator everything we are and everything we make of ourselves are actually gifts from God.  All of our intelligence, strength and skills are God's gifts.  Everything we earn and achieve with our intelligence, strength and skills we have because of God's generosity to us. 

This is also true of our experience of community or belonging.  Whether we are talking about family, friends, clubs, neighbors or our church community the networking friendship and support we experience are also God's gift.  As religious people who are not just spiritual in the individualistic since, we are blessed with spiritual membership in the "Communion of saints" or "Body of Christ." 

Growth in our faith (growth in our relationship with God) in many ways is about control i.e. giving up control.  We have a natural tendency to want to be in control of what goes on around us even though it's mostly an illusion.  We have all heard the expressions "let go and let God," "let God be God."  And most of us have heard the even more powerful serenity prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.”  In our baptism we essentially give control to Christ of the things in our lives that are beyond us.  We trust that his example and teaching will guide us through the confusing aspects of this life for the greater good of ourselves and our loved ones. 

In spiritual growth we also draw inspiration and guidance from Christ for the use of all God's other blessings.  In particular we learn the Christian ethic of love of neighbor as Christ loved us.  And, we hear the call of God to take our place in the history of his kingdom giving back gratitude for all we have received. 

In gratefulness for blessings received we give of ourselves as a central piece of following Jesus example.  In other words through the love and inspiration of Christ we let go of control by living our lives as Jesus lived his rather than in a selfish and self absorbed manner.  We live for that greater good!

As we grow we come to realize that we can enjoy the blessings and benefits of faith community: like this building in which we worship, the beautiful ministry of music, the availability of a priest, opportunities for Bible study, centering and intercessory prayer, etc. because of the grateful generosity of one another.  Collectively we pay the bills for all these things.  And what's more we make a statement to the whole city around us that we are a people who cooperate together through the love of Christ for the greater good.  Sometimes the sacrifices we make are small sometimes they are larger but it all comes together to keep this community going and nourished in God spirit. 

This weekend we don't just give thanks to God through our personal generosity to this faith community and the larger Episcopal Church – we also acknowledge the generosity and self-sacrifice of our veterans who gave of themselves for the greater good.

I hope we also draw inspiration from their example.  They have put themselves on the line (literally) standing between us and the murderous intentions of others.  This is the example of people who are grateful for the gifts they received: freedom, democracy, the right to worship God and be part of the faith community which they choose.  And in gratitude for these gifts they freely gave of themselves embracing even the ultimate risk so that others may continue to enjoy these gifts in safety.

Let us be generous in the gifts of our time, talent and treasure in support of this faith community we call St. Stephen's.  Not just for ourselves and the blessings of spiritual nourishment we continue to receive here but also for that greater good which includes those who will be attracted to Christ by our example.  By God's grace and our generously cooperating with his grace, the blessings we receive here will be availability for generations to come. 

Homily for All Souls Day, 2013

Let us entrust our loved ones to God looking forward to our reunion in Christ! 

In early 1984 my Father was told that his prostate cancer had returned.  Five or so years prior he had been treated with radiation but this time it did not respond to treatment and grew rapidly. 

I was in New Orleans doing my Novice year for the order of priests and brothers I had joined.  I returned home for a summer break and we all braced ourselves for the inevitable. 

Complications with his kidneys put my dad in the hospital sooner than expected and at 2:00 one morning we received a call from the nursing station that we should come.  When we arrived he was already unconscious.  We prayed together, spoke to him and waited.  After about a half-hour he passed. We sat there in silence for a few moments, not shocked but overcome by the sacredness of the moment.  Strange as it may sound, I have never since felt so close to God or sure of God’s unending love! 

I am sure that most of us have similar stories to tell about family and friends.  Today we take time to both entrust our loved one into God’s care and remind ourselves of the promises we have in Jesus the Christ. 

As we just heard from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, all who belong to Christ will rise and we shall be reunited with them as we are united with Christ.  That is to say, our friends and family, who have gone before us await our reunion in Christ with the same hope as we do. 

In Jesus, especially in the Eucharist we are still united with our departed loved ones.  The spiritual bonds of love and friendship cannot be broken.  In Christ all are still one!  This is an important part of what we celebrate today.  Not just that all the faithful departed are with God and the Saints; but, that we remained spiritually united through Christ even while we are separated by death.  We can still pray for them and they for us. 

This does not necessarily make our feeling of loss go away.  Today, it is also very appropriately to ask for the healing we need in this life.  That sense of loss at the passing of friends and family hurts.  But it is not insurmountable.  God’s grace does heal us and empower us to enjoy our happy memories as we look forward to that Divine reunion! 

Today let us pray for our departed loved ones and for ourselves, trusting in God’s almighty love! 

Homily for October 6, 2013 St.Francis

Today we celebrate the example of St. Francis of Assisi.  We do this each year by the heartwarming blessing of the animals we choose to share our lives with.  There is of course much more to the man Francis and his example to us as a famous Christian. St. Francis leaves us a legacy of compassion for the poor and sick along with a great love for God. 

He was born in 1182, the son of a wealthy merchant. His early years were frivolous, but a failed attempt at a military career and personal illness led him into a life of prayer.  One day, in the church of San Damiano, he believed Christ spoke to him saying, "Francis, repair my house." He took the words literally, and sold a bale of silk from his father's warehouse to pay for repairs to the church of San Damiano. His father, of-course, was outraged and there was a public confrontation at which his father disowned him.  He in turn renounced his father's wealth.  Francis also had a flare for the dramatic and one account says that he not only handed his father his purse, but also took off his cloths, laid them at his father's feet, walking away naked.  He declared himself "wedded to Lady Poverty," renounced all material possessions, and devoted himself to serving the poor.  He got his meals by working as a day laborer. 

Francis was a man with a deep love for the Christian church, the poor and sick, and for sharing the good news.  In some ways he must've been known as a holy fool, an extremist in practicing certain Christian virtues but a man of inspiring passion and love of God who attracted many followers.  Eventually Francis and his followers were given papal approval to form a new religious order, the Order of Friars Minor.  They became highly influential as reformers of the church in their day, focusing people's attention back on their relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  Today their spiritual descendents staff the San Xavier mission just south of Tucson.

Our custom of blessing animals to commemorate Francis comes from one of many legends about him and from a canticle he wrote.  The legend is that, during a time of hermitage in a wilderness area Francis was moved to preach the Gospel to the animals of the forest.  We also have the famous Canticle of Brother Sun, Sister Moon in which Francis praises God through our blessed relationships with all of God’s other creations.  Here is an excerpt:

Be praised, my Lord, through all Your creatures,

especially through my lord Brother Sun,

who brings the day; and You give light through him.

And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor!

Of You, Most High, he bears the likeness.

           

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars;

in the heavens You have made them bright, precious and beautiful.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,

and clouds and storms, and all the weather,

through which You give Your creatures sustenance.

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Water;

she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire,

through whom You brighten the night.

He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth,

who feeds us and rules us,

and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Today my sisters and brothers, we take inspiration for ourselves from an man (Francis) who loved God and neighbor with such a great passion that he has been a Christian inspiration for 800 years!

Homily for September 8, 2013

Proper 18 C

My brothers and sisters, the most difficult piece of our being Disciples of Christ is often the simplest; allowing Jesus to change us! 

In our reading from Jeremiah we hear that God forgives those who repent!  This comes through the imagery of God’s people being like vessels shaped on a potter’s wheel.   A potter’s wheel is a round flat stone (like a table) that spins as the potter works.  The potter controls the speed of the wheel and places a lump of clay on the top.  Then the potter begins forming the vessel with his hands as the wheel is turned.  If the vessel becomes distorted during turning, the potter can collapse the clay back into a lump and simply begin again.  Jeremiah explains the symbolism as God being the potter and humanity the clay.

Some of us may be more cooperative with God's efforts to shape us than others but we are all being shaped.  The idea being that we should strive to cooperate with God’s shaping of our lives. 

Our second reading is from a personal letter from Paul to Philemon but it is also addressed to “the church in your house.”  In the first century, the Christian community gathered at a member’s home. It is likely that the letter was read during worship. 

“Onesimus,” is a slave who has run away from Philemon’s house.  While visiting Paul, he has been converted to Christianity, making him Paul’s spiritual child.  A common penalty for a salve running away for a master was death, so Paul is in a delicate position, pleading for the man’s life.  Paul urges Philemon to take him “back forever” as a “beloved brother” in Christ.  He is asking Philemon to treat Onesimus as he would treat Paul himself. 

In our selection from Luke’s Gospel we see Jesus talking about the cost or demands of being a disciple.  In the early days, being a Christian could very well cost you all you had (confiscated by civil authorities) and even your life (you could be executed for being a Christian). 

Jesus describes what is required of his followers. The word “hate” is used as an exaggeration; a method of speaking and writing that we still use today.  It was a common linguistic trait in Hebrew.  Jesus uses it here to make the dramatic point that one must be less attached to their possessions, even their life, than to Jesus himself.  The disciple must find his prime security and meaning in Jesus.  Not in family, property or in one’s own life.  One must be prepared to suffer, as Jesus did on the “cross.” 

Today, we don’t run the risk of capital criminal charges for being a Christian as did our predecessors.  Nor do we experience the prejudice here in the U. S. that others must live with in far flung parts of the globe.  We could lose friends, business opportunities and the like but generally we don’t have to pay much of a price for being Disciples of Jesus.  However, there is one “cost of discipleship” that we do have in common with all Christians.  And it can be intimidating. 

It is the demand of Jesus that each of his followers allow themselves to genuinely be changed by his Gospel and grace.  Sadly, the willingness to personally be changed is one of the hardest things we can be confronted with. Yet, that is the call.  To be transformed or remolded by the Gospel into the people God calls us to be.  Although giving up some of our self determination and be transformed into a better person by God’s grace is intimidating, it is actually one of Jesus’ most precious, beautiful and joyful gifts. 

In his book simply titled “Prayer” Richard Foster gives us a wonderful and simple prayer that is the perfect thing for us to take home with us today.  I’ll put this on my blog for anyone who wants to look it up form home and there are a few paper copies in the back of church for those who don’t care for using the Internet. 

Dear Lord Jesus, in my better moments I want nothing more than to be like you.  But there are other moments. . . Help me to see how good conformity to your way really is.  In my seeking for you may I be found by you.  Amen.  

Homily for the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ: August 2013

Today we celebrate the Transfiguration of Jesus.  Today is not simply about celebrating a moment of revelation in which Jesus’ divinity was made clear to his disciples.  This event also includes the experience and example of Peter, James and John who become an archetype for us.  They symbolically express how the presence of God in our lives can be both awe inspiring and transformative. 

Beginning with our story from the book of Exodus we see that Moses is transformed by the time he spends close to God.  The author expresses this transformation by describing the glowing or shining nature of Moses’ face.  Old Testament scholars will talk about this as expressing Moses’ privileged status as God's servant.  But I believe there is a deeper message for us Christians, Moses as another example for the rest of us. 

In the second reading we heard today, the author writes in the voice of Peter who most likely was author’s teacher.  He recounts testimony of hearing the voice of God declare Jesus as His Son!  In a sense reminiscing about the experience we hear of in today's gospel story.  He assures us of the reliability of the apostolic message by appeal to the transfiguration of Jesus in glory.  Here, as elsewhere, the New Testament insists on necessity of preserving these stories of Jesus and the truths of the faith; particularly that Jesus is the son of God. 

In the gospel story we heard today of Jesus’ transfiguration, Moses and Elijah play a pivotal role.  They represent the Old Testament traditions of the law and the prophets; which acted as a counterbalance for each other.  At the end of this episode, the heavenly voice will identify Jesus as the one to be listened to now.  He fulfills both the law (given through Moses) and the prophetic tradition (started by Elijah) and begins a completely new era of God's relationship with the human race.

Jesus transfiguration was a profound experience for the three disciples who were present.  Hearing from the tradition of Peter, we can see that it was held as a reality check or validation of Jesus' message and example.  It is also an illustration of how our lives will be transformed if we allow Christ to enter deeply into our spirit.  Just as it was a transformative experience for Peter, James and John.  We will certainly not glow like Moses or like Jesus himself.  But, like Peter, James and John we will be changed in gradual and yet noticeable ways.  We will become more tolerant of the irritating habits of others.  We will become more peaceful during times of stress, more thoughtful before taking action, i.e., we will become more Christ like.  We will even find that emotional and spiritual healing comes quicker after the many painful moments life in this world brings our way. 

My brothers and sisters let us take the example of Peter, James and John deeply into our hearts and each day ask Christ to send us his transforming grace.