"Seeing a Great Light"

It is a pleasure to welcome you to our Christmas festival celebration.  Christmas is a time of promise, hope, and joy.  Our children from All Saints’ and La Iglesia Luterana have set the scene for our celebration in this year’s Christmas pageant.  La Iglesia Luterana is a Spanish speaking congregation that worships here on Sunday afternoons.  The children are wonderful, and on behalf of all of us I thank them for their presence and participation.  May this season be one of peace and happiness, and may God’s love and blessing be with you.

In the Gospel of Luke we heard that "an angel of the Lord stood before [the shepherds], and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for see -- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.'"

This year and every year we enter anew into the story of Jesus' birth.  It is more than simply coming together to sing the glorious hymns and carols of the season, or to read the Biblical texts and recount the events that happened so long ago.  We are by being here, by listening to the stories about walking in darkness and seeing a great light, by retelling the account of Joseph and Mary traveling to Bethlehem to be registered and then giving birth in a manger because there was no vacancy at the inn, by singing carols and hymns of praise, by participating in a communion meal of bread and wine, -- we are, by all these things, entering into the events of the past as though they were happening now. 

What we are doing brings our history as Christians into the present and makes that history a living drama of our human condition two thousand thirteen years after the fact.  This story of Christ's birth is our story; we are like the shepherds who were visited this night by the angel of God bringing good news of hope and great joy for all people.

On this Christmas Eve, as we worship in this sacred space the night deepens and the hours will soon extend into the dawn of a new day.  The night is quiet and still.  There is a silence that embraces us.  "Silent Night, Holy Night," the dark silence that will surround us later in our service, is a prelude to the new light that will shine throughout our Christmas celebration.  It is a light of new life and hope for all people.

As the Prophet Isaiah said, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness -- on them light has shined."  The light that shines through the darkness is God's gift of the Incarnation.  It is the Word that has become flesh, God who has taken the form of a human being, born as an infant destined to live and minister to those who exist in the dark shadows of society. 

The light shining through the darkness, the Incarnation of God, is about God's Son living as we do through the life cycle of birth, growth, maturity, death and resurrection to new life.  As one of the Christmas collects says, may we "who have known the mystery of the true light on earth also enjoy him perfectly in heaven."   It is the light breaking through the darkness that reminds us that life is precious and fragile, relationships are of greatest importance, and love, compassion and justice are worth having and sharing. 

The Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston, retired President and Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School, has suggested that we wrap ourselves up in Christmas and “once again enjoy those visions of angels and shepherds and the manger and the baby in the straw and the animals and Mary and Joseph and keep it exactly the way it's always been….  For this one special day, let us relax into the peace that is holy and into a time where time itself seems to stand still and the winds and tides of change are held back with the sounds of angelic voices drifting through a starry, cold night.”

The true meaning of Christmas is the story of our lives and the drama of God's creation.  Birth, life, and death are the realities of our human experience.  They are also the realities of God.  God, acting in the birth of Jesus, bestows the promise of eternal life and the rebirth of innocence, love, compassion and hope for peace and justice.  This is "the good news of great joy for all the people."  May God's radiant presence, the light shining through the darkness, be a blessing for you this Christmas and always.  Amen.

The Holy Way

In this season of Advent we continue waiting, watching, and preparing with hopeful expectation for the coming of Christ at Christmas.  What do we hope for and expect this year?  What are we looking for in Advent, the coming of Jesus this Christmas?  Are we looking for a good time with our families and friends?  Are we looking for a joyful service with the children’s Christmas pageant and our worship on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?  Are we looking for gifts that others will give to us?  Are we looking for satisfaction from others to whom we will give presents?

Jesus would answer, “Yes” to all of this, but then he asks a more important and far-reaching question, “What are you looking for?  A prophet?  Someone to promise you a better life for everyone in the days and months to come?”  Jesus says “Yes” to all of this.  And then he adds, “Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.”

Matthew’s Gospel tells us that Jesus spoke to the crowds and asked, "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind?  What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces.”  Was this the level of their concern, or was there something more?  Jesus continued his questioning and then told them they had gone out to see something more than a prophet.

What the Gospel wants us to know is that Jesus is more than a prophet; he is the Messiah who fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah.  Isaiah said that God “will come and save you.”  What did this mean?  It meant that  “the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy….A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way…the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. “

This prophetic theme and the fact that Jesus is the expected Messiah is what Matthew’s Gospel is all about. Matthew builds his case by reporting that when John the Baptist was in prison and heard what Jesus was doing he wanted to know whether Jesus was the Messiah.  Who was this Jesus?  Was he the Messiah, the one anointed by God, or did he and his followers have to wait for someone else?   To answer his question John sent his disciples to find out.  Jesus then told them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."

Think about this.  What the prophet Isaiah said would happen was really coming to pass.  This was big news.  It was revolutionary.  Now, over 2000 years later, in our own time, look around at our neighborhoods, our cities, state, and country and ask whether diseases are healed and whether the poor have good news brought to them. What would make life better for everyone?  What can we do to fulfill the prophet’s description of “the Holy Way?”  How do we build that highway so everyone “shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away?“  Jesus ministered to the poor, the bereaved, the downtrodden, the sick, and all who suffered because of oppression and discrimination. 

The biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann has said, “Advent is about readiness to acknowledge, receive, and participate in the revolution that clusters around Jesus. The word from the epistle of James is to have patience. That is not passivity, but it is resolve to stay with it, to watch for the possibility, and not to settle for fatigue, resignation, or cynicism.  The ‘patience’ in James means to continue in ‘joy and gladness,’ with no ‘sorrow or sighing.’”

Our season of Advent is about getting reading for a new day of equality and opportunity for everyone.  It requires both patience and endurance, and it demands that we have an expectation that life will improve for all who are oppressed and marginalized in our society.  As we read in today’s Psalm, “Happy are they whose hope is in the LORD their God; Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; who keeps his promise for ever; Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, and food to those who hunger. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind; the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous; the LORD cares for the stranger; he sustains the orphan and widow, but frustrates the way of the wicked. The LORD shall reign for ever, your God, O Zion, throughout all generations. Hallelujah! “

May our Christmas celebration coming so quickly renew our hope and expectation that the Lord who lifts up all who are oppressed may reign for ever in the lives of all people.  Hallelujah!  Amen.

Abound in Hope

This season of Advent is a time to abound in hope.  We renew our hope for the coming of Christ at Christmas bringing new life filled with justice, peace and compassion for all people.  It is the season of God becoming human, the Word made flesh so we may know that life can and should be better for the people in every nation, and of every race, and religion.

In the November 14^th issue of our e-Parish Messenger I wrote about the new Diocesan logo.  The Bishop’s staff created the logo to reflect our Christian vision of hope and the expectation that things will get better for the people of Rhode Island.  My interpretation of the logo is this: the anchor grounds us theologically as the people of God, water reflects our baptism in ministry and service, the wave is about the tensions we live with between present-day reality and God’s ever evolving new creation, and the Cross represents Christ’s resurrection to new life.  The logo focuses on who we are as the Episcopal Church in Rhode Island, and it inspires us to fulfill the mission of the Church “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” It is an image of hope, a fitting theme for this season of Advent that we all may abound in hope.

The passage we read from Paul’s Letter to the Romans is about hope.  Paul wrote, “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.”  He also quoted the prophet Isaiah, "The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope."  Then he offered a blessing, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

John the Baptist in proclaiming a call to repentance expressed hope for a new day. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  It is a call to turn away from older ways of being and doing things and turning toward a new day of embracing hope and salvation.  God’s promises are about to be fulfilled, the kingdom of heaven has come near, a new day is on the horizon.  It is time to abound in hope.  John said, "I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

An important way to abound in hope is to recall some of the more trying and tragic times in history through which we have struggled and out of which comes an expectation of hope for a better life for those in need.  Last Thursday the world lost an important leader and freedom fighter for civil rights, compassion, and respect for the dignity of all people.  Nelson Mandela was instrumental in ending apartheid in South Africa, and he inspired people everywhere to embrace our common humanity.  We give thanks for his life knowing that he abounded in hope in the midst of a time of great injustice. 

Closer to home last Monday I participated in a conference call with a few colleagues who are

working to develop a publication to honor the 50^th anniversary of the death of Jonathan Daniels.  

 Jon was a seminary classmate of mine who, in 1965, spent a semester on leave from seminary to work for voter registration and integration in Alabama.  While there, he along with several others was arrested and jailed for six days.  When released they walked over to a cash store in Hayneville, Alabama.  As they neared the store, a special deputy named Tom Coleman came out of the store, exchanged a few words, and then fired a shotgun at the group.  Jon was killed as he stepped in front of a black girl to save her life.  Coleman was tried by a jury of white males and after just 45 minutes of deliberation was found not guilty by reason of self-defense.  The young girl whose life was saved is Ruby Sales who is a graduate of Episcopal Divinity School and founder of the SpiritHouse Project in Atlanta, Georgia.  The SpiritHouse Project is “an intergenerational network of diverse people who work for racial and social justice.”

Jonathan Daniels is remembered each year on the Episcopal Church calendar on August 14^th.  His name is listed in the book of contemporary martyrs at Canterbury Cathedral, England.  The commemorative project for the 50^th anniversary of Jon’s death intends to examine some of the lessons we have learned.  Jon was greatly moved by a passage in the Gospel of Luke.  It was the Song of Mary the Magnificat, “From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name…. He has scattered the proud in their conceit.  He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.  He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty…. He has remembered his promise of mercy.”

Several questions are being considered in developing this commemorative project:  What is the relationship between martyrdom and social justice?  What is the role of the Church?  What about the unfinished work of racism and other oppressions?  What is happening among today’s movements for social justice?  Several people will be asked to submit essays in response to these questions.

Before he took a leave from seminary Jon had a fieldwork assignment here in Providence.  His ministry in South Providence and was focused on civil rights, voter registration, and equality.   Our Diocese is now launching the Jonathan Daniels House to carry on this work.  The mission of Jonathan Daniels House is to honor Daniels by planting a new community committed to continuing the work of service, justice and reconciliation that he lived and died for.  A more complete description of the program is to be announced soon and college graduates from the national Episcopal Service Corps will be in residence to serve in some nonprofit social agencies.  May we all abound in hope for the new life we celebrate at Christmas.  Amen.

Walk in the Light of the Lord

It’s hard to believe, but it is already the first of December.  The year has gone by very quickly, and now everyone seems to be hurrying to prepare for the Christmas holidays just three weeks away.  What are we to make of all the frenetic energy of this time of year?  People everywhere are rushing to buy presents in stores or on-line, planning holiday travel, buying wreaths and trees, and ordering their Christmas ham, turkey or goose, whatever is part of their tradition or custom.

There is a certain darkness to all this.  It is not that the days are short and the nights are long; the problem is that so much of our energy consumes us with things that have little or no ultimate meaning.  We are so preoccupied with playing the materialistic and consumerist game that we fail to ask what this new season we call Advent is really about.  We need to reclaim this season of the Christian year for what it means.  It is all about waiting, watching, and preparing with expectation and hope for a new day for us and for all people everywhere.

Advent not only marks the beginning of the Christian year, it is a time of watching and waiting for the coming of the Messiah, God as a human person, born as we are into life on this earth, born to live, grow, love, suffer and die just as we all do.  It is the incarnation of God, Christ’s birth among us; and we are to prepare for it with a sense of joyful anticipation.

Advent is the season of the shortest and darkest days of the year.  Outside it is more often dark and gray than it is shiny and bright.  We adorn our church with the dark purple colors of Advent.  We hear the gospel account of Jesus telling the disciples and us to be awake and ready, "for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming."

This coming will be a source of light and hope.  As Paul stated in his Letter to the Romans, “Let us lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light."  To dramatize the coming new light, we light an additional candle on the Advent wreath each week.

The Prophet Isaiah said that in the days to come all nations should be prepared for something extraordinary.  “Let us go to the house of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths…. Nations shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.”  Peace, nonviolence, and justice will reign. “Let us walk in the light of the Lord.”

Isaiah’s is an amazing proclamation calling for an end to fear, war and terror.  Our world is filled with divisions, both secular and religious, social and economic, so that any possibility of peace and justice seems remote and unlikely.  Isaiah’s is an audacious and revolutionary claim.  Yet, in the midst of all this, Isaiah’s words are prophetic, “let us walk in the light of the Lord.”

We are, however, living in darkness when it comes to hearing these prophetic words and then acting on Jesus’ statement to his disciples that we must prepare and “be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

Paul echoes this theme telling us that we should “lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”  He elaborates on what this means: “let us live honorably…not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.  Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

The Rev. Catherine A. Caimano, Canon for Regional Ministry in the Diocese of North Carolina, has written, “Our faith is about how Jesus Christ, born into this world as a small spot of light in the darkness, helps us to believe… that love and forgiveness and redemption and hope have a part in every choice we make…. To put on the armor of light is to rejoice that we have marched right into this darkness and found that we are not alone.  We will not be left in our suffering; we will be met with hope and peace and love in the moments that we dare to take off the kinds of armor that the rest of the world seems to demand that we wear -- cynicism and defensiveness and isolation and fear.

“The moment that we bare our true hearts and true souls is the moment that we find we are suddenly clothed with the kind of joy that all the other sparkle of this season can’t even begin to imitate. That’s when we put on the party that is Christmas -- not before our time to truly prepare.

“So for these four weeks, we put on the light, one small candle at a time. We remind ourselves to take off those things that we do not need and wrap ourselves in the warmth of what is coming -- the light of the world, slowly, appearing when we most need it.”

Isaiah’s vision of peace and justice is a wonderful image to sustain our hope for the community of nations.  We can ponder the events of this time of year and reflect upon the source of reconciliation among all people including ourselves in unity with God.  The possibility for reconciliation is always present, and Isaiah's time-honored instruction transcends time and space.  We can hope for justice when we allocate funds for education, health care, and the welfare of the poorest citizens in our midst.  We are to be ever vigilant, watchful, and full of expectation and hope for the days to come.  So let us walk in the light of the Lord.  It is the Incarnation of God.  Amen.

Ambassadors of Reconciliation

St. Paul, in writing to the Colossians said, “May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light…. For in Christ all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.”

Today as a central part of the Offertory we are all invited to give thanks to God for his abundant gifts.  We shall bring our pledge cards, our commitment to support the work and ministry of All Saints’ Church, to the Altar and place them in the basket.  The ministry of the church is not only important, it is absolutely necessary in encouraging ourselves and others “to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light,” and to work in reconciling all things to God.

Many years ago when I was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Southern Ohio, my bishop was Roger Blanchard.  Roger was a person of towering stature. He was committed to young people, especially those of college age, and he was persistent in the pursuit of justice, compassion, equality, and opportunity for everyone.

During the time of his ministry in Southern Ohio Bishop Blanchard sent a regular letter to all the clergy.  It had a title, the A.O.R., which stood for Ambassadors of Reconciliation.  That phrase taken from the fifth chapter of Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians summed up for him and for the clergy and parishioners of the diocese what we are all called to do.  We are to be ambassadors of reconciliation, bringing “all people to unity with God and one another in Christ.”  This is our mission, and it is why we give thanks to God for his abundant gifts.

After Bishop Blanchard’s death an endowed fund was established to carry on the ministry to which he was committed during his life.  Among the areas of his ministry was an emphasis on social justice to affirm the dignity of every person.  He said, "We take our stand on the theological conviction that a new humanity was created in Jesus Christ, to every member of which he has given equal worth by dying for all without discrimination"  Roger was an inspiration to me and the values he espoused have had an enduring impact on me everywhere I have served.

The ministry of the Episcopal church and all of us at All Saints’ who profess the Christian faith is our responsibility.  It is your ministry and what you do as we work together to reconcile all people to God through Christ.  Our pledges, our energy and commitment to the ministry and the work of our church involve several areaas: worship, pastoral care, education and ethics, and management. 

The first area is worship.  Worship, giving praise and glory to God is at the center of our Christian life.  It involves our services of Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Evensong, weddings, and funerals.  All of us participate by joining in the prayers, hearing the Word of God through our Biblical readings, singing hymns as members of the congregation and the choir, serving as readers, acolytes, altar guild members, Eucharistic ministers, or pastoral care givers.  Our worship and our use of the Book of Common Prayer unites us theologically and spiritually as the people of God here at All Saints’ and wherever we go. 

The second area is pastoral care.  It includes the ministry we do through outreach to those in need, providing food, clothing, thanksgiving baskets, visiting those in nursing homes or assisted living centers, making sandwiches for Crossroads, or listening and responding to the stories of people who come here simply because they know they are welcomed and cared for. 

The third area is education and ethics.  What we provide in Sunday school for our children, adult confirmation and inquirers’ classes, occasional forums, and entertainment for children from Crossroads Family Center are all part of this ministry.  Another part is the work that each one of us does beyond the walls of this Church – your employment, your concerns about peace, justice, opportunity, and reconciliation – all of this is your ministry. 

The fourth is management.  Management includes all the work that is necessary to maintain this magnificent building, our programs, our hospitality to others including AA, the City Meal Site, and La Iglesia Luterana.  Your vestry, committees and teams that enable us to fulfill God’s call are all part of the fabric that makes up our common life.  Our relationship to the Diocese of Rhode Island and the national church is reflected in the apportionment payment we contribute each year.   All of this is what I have labeled “Life Together” in our e-parish messenger.

I share these several areas with you because it is important for all of us to understand and know how we depend upon one another and how each person here participates in fulfilling our ministry of worship and service.  I give thanks for all of you, and I invite you to join me in giving thanks to God for his abundant gifts.  To quote again our reading from Colossians, “May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.” Amen.

The Peaceable Kingdom

Our Scripture readings this morning focus on the tensions we experience as people of faith.  This tension is the on-going human struggle between the realities of our lives and the vision of new life, a new creation, new heavens and a new earth.  It is our spiritual struggle for a more just world.  We live with the hope and expectation that life for everyone and all the life on our planet will be better.

For example, we see the injustices that surround us, the homeless and hungry people who have little or no hope, the uninsured and the unemployed, the victims of violence and the victims of natural disasters like this past week’s typhoon in the Philippines.  We are familiar with injustice at many levels, but we also have a sense, a hope for a better tomorrow, a time in which there will be greater understanding, compassion, care and opportunity for everyone.

We heard in the Gospel of Luke, “When some [of the disciples] were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down…. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.’"  It sounds so much like the circumstances that affect the lives of so many of our citizens and people around the world.

Against the dire prediction about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, we also heard the words of Isaiah who had prophesied many years earlier.  Isaiah wrote, the Lord God said, “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.  But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight…. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent -- its food shall be dust!  They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD.”

Isaiah had predicted the restoration and rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem in 515 BCE following the Babylonian captivity.  Hundreds of years later Luke has Jesus foretelling the destruction of the temple.  It happened a generation after Jesus’ death in the year 70 CE. The building, destroying and rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem represents the tension that exists between what is and what is to be.

Edward Hicks was a painter who spent years working on paintings titled, “The Peaceable Kingdom.”  He was born in 1780 in Pennsylvania.  His parents were Anglicans.  His mother died when he was just eighteen months old and he was then raised in a Quaker family.  In 1812 he became a Quaker minister.

On the Wikipedia web site there is an article about his life, his working career, his paintings and exhibitions.  The article points out that Hicks' Peaceable Kingdom exemplifies Quaker ideals.  He painted 61 versions of this composition.  What we are looking at today is the culmination of his work, and the original of this painting is in the Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts.  The animals and children are taken from Isaiah, including the lion eating straw with the ox.  Hicks used his paintings as a way to define his central interest, which was the quest for a redeemed soul.

John Braostoski, a Quaker member of the Shrewsbury, New Jersey Meeting, wrote in the February, 2000 issue of Friends Journal that Edward Hicks was a painter who “had a genuine feeling for the Scriptures along with hope for a continuing sense of insight open to all.”  Over a period of several years he portrayed in his paintings titled The Peaceable Kingdom “a delicate balance of difficult and unresolved issues.”  His Biblical text was from Isaiah chapter 11: “The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.”  Our passage from the 65^th chapter of Isaiah is similar: “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox.”

Look carefully at the photo.  Edward Hicks’s “wild animals are seemingly domesticated and brought into line with loving kindness…. The sense of light in the gorgeously rendered creatures, trees, and air becomes the subject…. Hicks believed in the Inner Light and its power; he felt it, therefore he saw it.  Most importantly, he saw it in others, including the lion…. The world was all light to him, that special Light…. [He] allows us to see the Light coming out of all living beings and the world, speaking to that which shines within every one of us.”

It is important that in our present-day human condition we continue to embrace the tension between what is and what can become in realizing a vision of new heavens and a new earth. The ongoing struggle between what is and what can be better is a spiritual struggle.

Katie Givens Kime, writing in the current issue of The Christian Century magazine (November 13, 2013, p. 20)  says, “The paradox of God’s lofty promise in Isaiah is that all will be resolved and that all is resolved.  The good news is that this frees us: we are not prisoners of our circumstances.  The world is and shall be bigger than all the limitations we encounter in ourselves, in others, and in the material universe of gravity, violence, aging, suffering and injustice…. Living in the moment is a continual spiritual struggle…. In seeking… to imagine and to insist on God’s intention for a just world, we participate in it, which may be the best news of all.”  Amen.

Ethics of God’s Grace

On All Saints’ Sunday we call to mind the size and solidarity of God’s people.  The people of God comprise a vast community that spreads beyond the boundaries of race, language, religion, and condition; beyond time and space, and across the divide of death.  In each faithful person, the Christian proclamation of hope and promise for eternal life is an actual reali

The hymn by William How that we sang as our processional hymn praises all the saints.  “From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast, through gates of pearl streams in countless host,...Alleluia.”  In singing praise to the saints and the faithful people of every age we praise God who has triumphed through them and whose bountiful grace and mercy we see in their lives.  They are examples of God’s grace.

The word “saint” means “holy.”  In the Bible, the saints are God’s holy people.  As we heard in the Book of Daniel, his dream was interpreted to mean they are the angels who share God’s divine nature,  “the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom for ever—for ever and ever."

Christian orthodox churches list the saints of the Hebrew Bible in their liturgical calendars, and for all Christian teachers the holy women and men of ancient Israel provide a rich resource of illustrations for describing their sanctity or holiness.  The late William Stringfellow, an attorney and lay theologian who lived on Block Island, described saints as “those men and women who relish the event of life as a gift and who realize that the only way to honor such a gift is to give it away.”

The celebration of All Saints is not just a recollection of the martyrs and prophets of every age; it is a festival commemorating all who are faithful.  On All Saints’ Day we celebrate our lives and the lives of everyone within the vast community of God’s people today and every day throughout the ages and into eternity.

Our reading from the Gospel of Luke, called the Sermon on the Plain, is chosen for commemorating all the saints.  It is a shorter version of Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount.  The sermon provides the basis of Christian ethics, how we are to act in relation to others.  It was addressed to the disciples and others in the hill country of Galilee in the early days of Jesus’ ministry.  A group of blessings begins the sermon, the Beatitudes, and then it deals with social duties in a series of contrasts between the teaching of Jesus and the ancient legal traditions of that time. 

Jesus directs his words, “Blessed are you” to the crowd around him, and he matches each blessing with a woe. The need for social change and transformation is apparent.  It may well be that Luke, in expressing both blessings and woes, is not making simple comments of joy and grief, but is stating prophetic words that are intended to bring to pass the things about which they give promise or warning.  Let’s look at each blessing in its particular situation:

“Blessed are you who are poor” reflects a strong characteristic of Hebrew religion in which God is the vindicator of the poor and the needy.  The ruler or government authority, as God’s agent, has responsibility for the poor.  In the time of Luke, in first century Palestine, a large class of destitute, unemployed, and landless peasants lived side by side with wealthy farmers, great landed proprietors, and rich bankers.  Do you see a similar situation in our cities today?  God’s kingdom belongs to the poor; the rich already have their reward.  The implication is that God is actively at work and will demonstrate his rule with power.  Those who heed the promise and warning will share in God’s reign.

“Blessed are you who are hungry now” reflects the ancient theme of God’s readiness to relieve both physical and spiritual hunger.  Throughout the gospels the actions of Jesus include a dominant focus on the importance of meals.  He shared meals with the disciples, he ate with sinners and tax collectors, he fed the multitudes.  In his teachings he referred to someone who gave a great banquet, and he told a story about a fatted calf and killing it so they could have a feast.  In these events both the spiritual and literal senses of being hungry are held together.

“Blessed are you who weep now” is a beatitude that must be seen against the actual distress of an occupied country.  Its roots are in the prophecy of Isaiah who proclaimed the promise of the new Jerusalem: “To proclaim the year of God’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.”  The meaning is more inclusive than personal or individual bereavement.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you.”  This beatitude predicts suffering for the disciples and draws an analogy with the fate of the prophets with whom they are compared.  The meaning is that when God’s kingdom is fully realized, God will give a great reward to those who suffer.  Those who suffer and are persecuted because of their faith will share the reign of God.

All four of these blessings are addressed to people who are poor, hungry, miserable, and expect to be treated harshly.  The kingdom of heaven is promised to them and it will be their happiness and satisfaction.  Both the physical and spiritual life is included in these promises. All of them form a revolutionary messianic proclamation.  The gospel has been called an ethic of grace.

The culmination of this ethic of grace is to “love your enemies, to do good, and to lend expecting nothing in return.... Be merciful, even as God is merciful.”  “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”  “Blessed are you” who live in this way.

The beatitudes and woes provide us with the real meaning of sainthood.  The saints are those who possess the love and grace of God.  We celebrate the great women and men of the Bible and all those throughout history, as examples of God’s grace.  They are examples of this ethic of grace because they fed the hungry, clothed the naked, built houses for the homeless, freed those who were in prison or oppressed, comforted the broken-hearted, and worked for justice and peace.

Saints are all around us.  They are the teachers in our schools; the medical personnel in hospital emergency rooms and trauma centers; workers in assisted living settings and nursing homes; volunteers who tutor school children in need of skills to read and understand math and science; social service personnel who aid immigrants, the poor and downtrodden.  They are the people who have gone before us here at All Saints’ Memorial Church, and they are all of you who gather each week to worship and give glory to God.  Later in our service we shall “sing a song of the saints of God, for the saints of God are just folk like you and me.”   Amen.

The Joy of Salvation

Almost every day during the week when I am in the church office there are individuals who stop in and ask for help.  They are women and men, young and old, homeless, or impoverished with toddlers or young children, unemployed and hungry.  Most of them hope to receive a gift card so they can buy food, infant supplies or household items from Stop & Shop.  I listen to their stories, and when it is appropriate and I have gift cards on hand, I offer them a card.

There are times when a person who comes to see me just needs to tell their story.  They no longer have any welfare support from the State, or they have a rent payment that is past due, or a utility bill they cannot pay and the electricity has been shut off.  Many of these people are fearful of being evicted, as their situations are desperate. Some of the people have been referred to us because they were told we might be able to assist them.  My policy is never to give money or a check, but only a gift card in the amount of $20.00.  But, as you know, not much can be purchased for that amount.

When I run out gift cards, I normally buy ten of them, and no longer have the funds to buy more cards, the best support I can offer is to listen and refer them to another place where they might find assistance.  I also tell them about the City Meal Site and the food that is available here every week on Tuesday.

On Tuesday afternoons around 3:00 a crowd begins to gather outside the parish hall entrance waiting for the City Meal Site to finish preparing a hot meal that will be served to them beginning around 4 or 4:30.  Normally, 200 or more people show up at our church for a meal.  The meal is served by a group of 15 to 20 volunteers who come from churches on the East Side and Greenville, and from Brown University, Providence College, Johnson and Wales, and a technical high school that sets up the tables and place settings every Tuesday morning.  The cost of each meal is about $2.70.  Food that is prepared and served and the place settings are either purchased at a very low cost or donated by area bakeries and other suppliers.

Our experience at All Saints’ is not uncommon.  It reflects the fact that we are living during a very difficult and troubling economic time.  Many federal and state programs have been curtailed or eliminated because of sequestration.  It is a time in which financial wealth seems more important than compassion to some of our national leaders.  As a consequence it is our poorest citizens and children who suffer with greater hardship than at any time since the Great Depression. 

Where is there a sense of hope?  What has happened to our collective responsibility for compassion, care and healing?  How can we in this city, state, and nation support wellness for all people?  Can the people I see ever regain a feeling of joy and well-being?

Our Scripture readings today are about joy and wellness.  The prophet Jeremiah said to the exiles in Babylon that they should seek the welfare of the city.  They are to build houses, plant gardens, eat the produce they grow, and have families for themselves and their sons and daughters.  All this is to be done right in Babylon where they are placed in exile.  The point is that, despite the destruction of Jerusalem, the captivity of the Israelites, and all the hardship they have to endure, contributing to the welfare of Babylon will also benefit them.   Jeremiah said in his letter that the Lord of Hosts said, “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

Then in the Letter to Timothy attributed to Paul, Timothy is told to present himself to God as a worker approved by God whose ministry is to explain the word of truth.  Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead.  There is hope in the resurrection to new life, so Timothy is to  “endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus.”  Salvation is the hope and joy that comes from health and well-being.

The culmination of endurance and resurrected new life is the subject of the Gospel of Luke.  It is the familiar story of Jesus healing ten people who were sick with leprosy. Although ten people were healed, only one of them, a Samaritan, returned to thank Jesus.  Jesus asked where were the other nine?  The Samaritan who came to offer thanks was an outsider who rejoiced in the relationship that emerged with Jesus.  In his response with thankfulness for being healed, Jesus said it was his faith that made him well.

Our ministry, yours and mine, is to live with gratitude and thankfulness for every gift we receive.  When health is restored, whether physical, emotional, or economic, when compassion is given and received, we are to give thanks to God for the gift of life bestowed upon us through Christ’s resurrection.

There is a sense in each of these readings from Jeremiah, Timothy and Luke that endurance or perseverance matters.  No matter the place nor the circumstances of one’s life, enduring in faith will result in joy, thanksgiving and well-being.  We are to trust in God, to live our lives filled with the transformative power of healing, and to speak the word of truth and compassion for all in need.  This is our praise and thanksgiving to God, the author of our salvation.  Amen.