Homily for February 10, 2013

Homily for the Last Sunday after Epiphany Cycle: C

A burglar broke into a house one night.  He shined his flashlight around, looking for valuables when a voice in the dark said, “Jesus knows you're here.”  He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off, and froze.  When he heard nothing more, after a bit, he shook his head and continued. 

Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he heard “Jesus is watching you.”  Freaked out, he shined his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice.  Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot. 

“Did you say that?” he hissed at the parrot.  “Yep,” the parrot confessed, squawked and said, “I'm just trying to warn you that he is watching you.”  The burglar relaxed.  “Warn me, huh?  Who in the world do you think you are trying to warn me?”  “Moses,” replied the bird.  “Moses?” the burglar laughed.  “What kind of people would name a bird Moses?”

The bird replied: “The kind of people that would name a Rottweiler Jesus.”

My sisters and brothers let us enjoy the full glory God would share with us. 

In our reading from Exodus, Moses returns to the people after receiving the commandments from God on Mt. Sinai.  He is so transformed by the experience that he seemed to glow; which frightens the people.  This is the second time Moses was on Mount Sinai.  The first time, the people of Israel, under Aaron’s leadership, made a golden image of a calf as a symbol of God.  So irate was Moses when he discovered the revelry around the Calf that he smashed the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written.  God was angry that the people had broken the commandment against casting the idol, but in time has forgiven them; he has invited Moses to ascend the mountain again to receive a replacement set of tablets. 

A final point: the word translated “shining,” karan, can be easily confused with keren, meaning horn.  This is because written Hebrew of that century did not include the vowels, only the consonants.  Thus Jerome mistranslated the word, and Michelangelo (centuries later) sculpted Moses with horns! 

In second Corinthians Paul uses this story of Moses and the veil over his face to symbolize people putting barriers between themselves and God’s glory.  Jesus, Paul points out, breaks these barriers and opens us to the full glory of God.  Remember Moses wore a veil lest the radiance of God’s glory, shown in his face, be too much for his hearers. 

In our story from Luke’s gospel, Jesus is transfigured; glowing with God’s glory!  Jesus power and status is confirmed in healing the possessed boy that could not be healed by others.  Luke is describing for us a very powerful yet very human Jesus.  He both cures a very troubled boy and rebukes his followers for their lack of faith and dedication all on the heels of a truly glorious moment. 

An aura of unnatural brightness is linked with mystical appearances in Exodus and Acts; as a symbol of transcendence.  In Jewish tradition, both “Moses and Elijah” were taken into heaven without dying.  Their appearance at Jesus’ transfiguration is a symbol of support for his agenda.  That is, his teaching is in accord with the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament.  Jesus is clearly doing God’s will. 

We take this day to look at Jesus power and glory as our last step before entering lent and following Jesus through the final weeks of his earthly life. 

Paul’s message seems to be of greatest importance today.  He begs us to ask ourselves, what veils do we put between ourselves and God?  How do we keep God out or at a safe distance?  Do we stay so busy that we can’t possibly recognize his activity in our lives?  Do we have so much noise: music, TV, etc., in our lives that we can’t possibly hear his quiet presence?  As silly as it may sound it is vitally important that we learn to watch and listen for the Holy Spirit.  Quiet time, weather spent reading favorite prayers or doing centering prayer is a must.  Even just 5 minutes a day will begin to make a felt difference in our lives.  Let us not shy from the gift of being blessed and strengthened by the loving glory of God! 

Homily for February 3, 2013

The 4th Sunday after Epiphany Cycle: C

My brothers and sisters, we must follow God’s call, one simple step at a time. 

In our first reading we heard the call of the prophet Jeremiah.  As a youth, too young to command the attention of leadership, he is called and appointed by God.  Note the intimacy, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you… and consecrated you.”  In the late 600s BC, King Josiah guided the people back to godliness by removing all traces of foreign worship and by making Jerusalem the one place of worship.  Jeremiah had a key role in these reforms; his mission was to do away with corruption and ungodliness, and to promote ethical conduct and virtue. 

In this passage, the word translated as “formed” is the Hebrew word yashar.  It is a technical term for created; in the way a potter creates (or forms) pottery from clay.  The idea that God himself forms a child in its mother’s “womb” was widely accepted in this day.  God has known Jeremiah since his first moment of existence – both intellectually and in his capacity for action. 

In our second reading Paul continues describing for the Corinthians the gifts of God and there prober uses.  In particular, he wants them (and us) to understand that the flashier gifts are not the most important.  Love (perhaps the simplest and easiest to take for granted) is the greatest of all God’s gifts.  It gives meaning to all the rest of our Christian lives!  Without it our actions, no matter how noble or powerful, are really empty!  Love, never comes to an end of its usefulness.  It is transcendent, continuing beyond this era, into the time when we will be fully one with Christ. 

Our Gospel today picks up where last week’s story left off.  Last week we heard of Jesus reading from Isaiah in the Synagogue at Nazareth.  Now we see the people’s reactions.  Jesus is first held in awe by the people of his home town and then rejected violently. 

From time to time we have been discerning the way God is calling us to live our Christian love.  We have used Mission Statements, visioning days and goal setting.  We have also talked of our individual call and discernment as part of that picture.  It can all get quite overwhelming and even tedious.  For some of us all the talking gets frustrating because we want to be doing.  For some off us the dreaming is easy but finding a place to start doing is a mystery.  We have spent much time listening to God’s voice coming through the voices of each other and we have made great strides on making our church a welcoming and attractive place.

One success is very obvious, have fulfilled that long dream of a second building and will begin (again) moving in and making use of it now that the flood damage is repaired. 

Despite the challenges of our local economy we have continued in a small way our commitment to outreach, Youth and Sunday school.  We have developed new ministries with the military: The Chaplains’ Foot Locker and even presented a workshop on ministry with veterans at our Diocesan Convention.  These are not small accomplishments. 

We of-course cannot stop here and rest on our laurels.  There are next steps to be discerned and plans to be made.  For example, how can we grow our outreach back to its former status?  What are the next steps for our Worship Life together?  How can we most appropriately invite others to join us in this faith community? 

My brothers and sisters let us pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the courage to follow that guidance, one small step at a time.