Refresh Our Hearts

The Sunday following Labor Day has become the traditional time for church congregations to gather once again for the fall, winter, and spring seasons.  We have had a hot and stormy summer but now is the time to refresh our hearts and share the faith in everything we do in the name of Christ for the common good. 

Our choir has returned from its summer recess, and so we join again in singing the Gloria in excelsis following our opening Collect.  We have prayed asking God to cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of his Holy Spirit so we may perfectly love God and magnify his holy Name.  In our worship, through our prayers and hymns, we offer praise and thanksgiving to God for all the gifts we receive.

In today’s first reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah we heard a story about going to the potter’s house where the potter was working at his wheel.  “The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.”

Have you ever worked with clay and experienced what it’s like to throw a pot, add color and fire it in a kiln?  It is wonderful to watch how clay is transformed into a beautiful vessel.   At Rhode Island College a new Art Center has been under construction and some of it is opening this year.  I walked through it on Friday.  It contains a large studio for ceramics, and other studios for metalsmithing, woodworking, jewelry design, printmaking, and sculpture.  It is fascinating to see how works of art are created.  Painting a landscape or portrait on canvass; glass blowing; making stained glass; forming pots, tea kettles, vases or cups out of clay; playing a musical instrument; or constructing a building from an architect’s drawing, are all ways of creating something good from the raw materials God has provided. 

The word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah telling him to go to the potter’s house.  His visit there reflected the Lord’s desire to do to the nation of Israel what the potter did with the clay that was spoiled.  He would “pluck up and break down” a nation that is evil, but he would “build up and plant” a nation or a kingdom if it turns from evil and amends it ways.

Jesus also talked about creating what is good.  He used the image of a tower and asked, if you intend to build a tower, would you not first sit down and estimate the cost?  Or, if you are laying a foundation would you do so without intending to complete the project?  Jesus applied this analogy to discipleship.  It is the same theme as in Jeremiah: a commitment is required to create a work of art, and a commitment is required to follow Jesus and work for the common good.

Then, in writing a personal letter to his friend, Philemon, Paul’s own experience as a prisoner adds another dimension to these practical applications.  Paul’s letter to Philemon was also addressed to Philemon’s church.  The letter begins with a greeting of grace and peace from God and the Lord Jesus.  Paul writes about praying “that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ.”  Then he refers to the joy and encouragement he has received from their love “because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed.”

Paul then gets to the central point of his letter.  While in prison he adopted a child, Onesimus, who had been “useful” to him.  Onesimus had been a slave to Philemon and had run away.  While visiting Paul in prison he converted to Christianity, so Paul in his letter makes an appeal to Philemon to accept him no longer as a slave but as a beloved brother in Christ.  Paul asked that Onesimus be welcomed in the same way that Philemon would welcome him.  Moreover, if Onesimus had wronged Philemon in any way, or if he owes anything, it should be charged to Paul’s account.  Then, he wrote, “let me have this benefit from you in the Lord!  Refresh my heart in Christ.”  I know “that you will do even more than I say.”

In the conclusion of his letter Paul added a paragraph we did not read this morning.  It is a greetings from his fellow workers, and a final benediction, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”

These three accounts about the potter creating something good, the commitment required for discipleship, and receiving one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, are filled with hope and joy for all of us here at All Saints’.  This is the time of year when we should all “refresh our hearts in Christ” as we renew our life together in this place.  We have much to do as we work, in the words of the Prayer Book, “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” 

Here is a list of a few of the resources we have and things we are doing.  We have a wonderful ministry and outreach on behalf of the arts.  Our sacred space includes historic stained glass windows and beautiful woodcarving.  We share our sacred space with the Hispanic Lutheran congregation, La Iglesia Luterana.  We are in the midst of planning a youth arts festival later this year with the New Urban Arts Collaborative and the RiverzEdge Arts Project.  The Rhode Island College Chorus will hold their fall concert here next month. We hope it will be followed by an African Dinner prepared by several of our parishioners.  The food that is donated and purchased, prepared and served through the City Meal Site reaches out to our most needy citizens.  And the Eucharistic meal of bread and wine we celebrate each week is a foretaste of God’s heavenly banquet.  In our ministry of service and outreach we offer hospitality and give thanks to God for the gifts we receive.

All that we do reflects the commitment we make as disciples of Christ, following Jesus’ command to love God and care compassionately for everyone we meet.  As Onesimus was received as a brother in Christ by Philemon, so do we receive all who come here as sisters and brothers in Christ.  And, as Paul wrote in his letter, let us “refresh our hearts in Christ.”  It is our joy, fellowship, and service in thanksgiving to God.  Amen.