A Radiant Presence

I welcome you to our Christmas celebration. While our magnificent church continues a massive restoration project we are gathered here in this more intimate space.  What makes this time so important for our worship is the Christmas promise of hope and joy to all the world.  It is a time for peace, respect, and an end to violence.  Our prayers and celebration this year are for peace and happiness for you and your family, and may the love of God always be with you.

"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.'"

Each year at Christmas we enter into the story of Jesus' birth.  It is our story, and by being here, singing those wonderful carols and hymns of praise, we enter into the events of the past as though they were happening right now.

Imagine the story of Jesus’ birth.  Mary and Joseph were ordinary simple people.  Joseph was a carpenter, a laborer married to Mary who was pregnant and about to deliver a baby.  Where was their family?  Why did they have to leave home and travel to Bethlehem to be registered?  Were they refugees?  Did they not have any friends or relatives in Bethlehem?  We don’t know the answer to these questions, only that Mary and Joseph were alone and had to find shelter for themselves.  There was no room in the inn so they were left to fend for themselves, and they found a bed of hay in a stable.  There they gave birth to a baby boy and laid him in a manger.

How incredible is this!  God chose these poor people to bear his birth in human form.  What this means is that God is not only with us, but God is known in the lives of the poorest and loneliest people everywhere.  It means that God knows and loves each person regardless of the circumstances of their life.  It is miraculous, wonderful good news.  God was and is in Christ, a baby born in a manger and named Jesus.  He grew into adulthood, became a rabbi and ministered to outcasts, tax collectors, prostitutes, and foreigners.  Later he was killed and buried, and then he rose again three days later.

What we are doing by retelling and reliving this story, as we do at Christmas every year, is to bring our Christian history into the present.  It becomes a living enactment of our human condition two thousand and fifteen years after the fact.  The story of Christ's birth is our story, and we are like the shepherds who were visited by the angel of God bringing hope and good news of great joy for all people.

This is a sacred moment that gives us a sense of peace and joy that is separate from all the usual frenetic happenings of the season.  It is a sense of God’s radiant presence in our lives. We have done our shopping, decorated our homes and places of worship, and we have planned our menus and holiday events.  We can now embrace the darkness of this night as a prelude to the new light that shines throughout our Christmas celebration.  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." 

We know well the darkness that surrounds us this year.  There are millions of refugees around the world, people with no home.  There are those who are hungry and malnourished, victims of gun violence, people who are unemployed, and those with little or no education.  Then, there are people living with fear and feelings of insecurity because they have lost a sense of hope.  Many of them have lost a sense of their identity. For all these people and for so many others the darkness is very real.

However, there is light that shines through the darkness.  It is God's gift of the incarnation; the Word of God becoming flesh by taking the form of a human being.  It is the incarnation of God born as an infant named Jesus who is destined to live and minister to those who exist in the dark shadows of society.  Although destined to die a torturous death on a cross of wood, after three days he rose to new life, a life of love and the promise of eternal life for all people. 

During the past several weeks we prepared for this great day.  We sang “O Come, Emmanuel,” God be with us, be part of who we are, love us and care for us and for all creation.  God is love, a love that knows no boundary, a love that transcends all and is within every living creature.

There is no better news.  The light shining through the darkness is about God's Son living as we do through the life cycle of birth, growth, maturity, death and resurrection.  As the Christmas collect says, may we "who have known the mystery of the true light on earth also enjoy him perfectly in heaven."  The take-home message is that life is precious and fragile, relationships matter, and love, compassion and justice are worth having and sharing. 

This is the story of our lives.  It is the drama of God's creation, and it is the true meaning of Christmas.  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, and hope for peace and justice.  It truly is "the good news of great joy for all the people."  May God's radiant presence, blessing, peace and joy be with you this Christmas and always.  Amen.

The Time of God’s Coming

On this final Sunday in the Advent season we have arrived at the final days of our preparation for the birth of God in human form.  It is the time of God’s Incarnation, God coming into our midst in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

Elizabeth, the mother of John, and Mary, the mother of Jesus were related so their sons were cousins.  In the gospel of Luke these two women were waiting expectantly for the birth of their children.  We just heard Mary’s song, the Magnificat, sung by our choir.  Mary expressed what she experienced in her own life and hoped for in the lives of others: "God has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.  He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty."  

This passage in Luke, and the verses of Mary’s song are a reversal of what had been taken for granted during those days.  The accepted values and norms were to be turned upside down, and a new day of justice, fairness and equity was coming.  It reflected what the ancient understanding of the year of jubilee was all about.  It was "the promise God made to Abraham and his descendants."

Today the great Song of Mary reminds us that we need places where friendship and companionship are a reality without regard to social status or economic standing.  The upside-down values of the Magnificat tell us that God's economy is different from ours, that people and relationships matter, and true fidelity to God and others demands a renewed or a new attitude and understanding about respectful human relationships and the purpose of life.

The biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann said, “We are summoned by both cousins.  John issues a call to disciplined readiness; Jesus is an agent of deep newness.  Readiness and newness are counter-intuitive in a weary society like ours.  We are invited to embrace that which is deeply inexplicable among us. When we do, we may be amazed like those who heard the shepherds’ testimony (Luke 2:18) and exuberant like the singing church (Colossians 3:12-16).”

In our weeks of worship in this intimate Parish Hall setting we have been fortunate in coming together as friends and companions without regard to race or class.  We are truly members one of another and we look forward with hope for the completed restoration of our church.  New windows have been installed, cracks and falling walls have been repaired, the interior has been freshly painted, work on the roof is underway.  Soon we will be back in a renewed and restored sacred space for worship.

All this has taken much longer than imagined or anticipated, so I want to express my thanks to all of you for your patience and understanding along the way.  Maintaining a building like this, given its age and structure, is an ongoing effort.  Even as we finish the current phase there will be more work to do, including masonry repair on the brownstone, and the clerestory stained glass windows. Their day is yet to come.

During coffee hour following our service we shall set up a projector and screen so you can see a power point presentation of the work that has been done so far.

In the meantime as we move toward the celebration of Jesus' birth, born in a manger while shepherds stood around, may we sing praise to God who brings to birth our human yearning for freedom, peace and justice for everyone.  Amen.

Rejoice with all your Heart

One of the more satisfying experiences of the Advent season is to listen once again to the magnificent prophecies found in the Hebrew Bible.  The prophet Zephaniah proclaimed, “Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel!  Rejoice and exult with all your heart…. The Lord, your God, is in your midst;… he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival.”

In a world threatened by fear, terrorists, global warming, and a rising sense of xenophobia, a new commitment is needed to make life more responsible and respectful for future generations.  We need leaders in every nation today who are committed to bringing diverse people and nations together to find common ground and develop policies that are humane and respectful of diversity. Jews, Christians and Muslims are known as “People of the Book;” we are all descendents of Abraham.  As Christians our hope this year is for peace and justice, and especially for international collaboration that respects the dignity of every human being and nation.  When that happens we will be able to “rejoice and exult with all our hearts.”

Our world does not always encourage us to be aware of God’s presence in our midst.  Even the very idea of God seems at times to have lost all relevance for modern life.  We can be victimized by this attitude.  Our own daily experiences can lead us to believe that God is not as present to us now as in past generations.

Nevertheless, as the prophet Zephaniah said, God is in our midst.  Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, adds to this proclamation, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  Let your gentleness be known to everyone.  The Lord is near.  Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

These joyful songs remind us that God is not absent from all of us who live now during the time between God’s coming in Jesus’ birth and God’s coming at the end of time.  God is already in our midst.  God’s love is not lessened by violence or prejudice and bigotry, Nor is it lessened by natural disasters, plague or famine.  God’s purpose is not diminished.  God’s presence is real, and the fact that God’s peace is beyond our human understanding is an affirmation of a more authentic presence than one that is directly obvious.  It means that God is present in the manner of love rather than in a manner of absolute power over human freedom.

What this means is that the choices we make belong to us.  God is powerful in, through, and by the way of love.  It is up to us to know and accept that.  And, it is up to us to live in such a way that it makes a difference in our lives, in who we are and in what we do.  God’s presence is a disarming and a surprising presence; it is a love that appears in a fragile way; in the birth of a baby and in death by crucifixion.  This is a vulnerable presence of love and it is the source of hope for all humanity.  God’s love obliges us to love one another.  God’s presence, God’s power, is the power of love and hope.  God is in our midst, with us and with all people everywhere, working in and through human lives every day, but not in any coercive way.

John the Baptist announced God’s presence in our midst.  He spoke to the people who were so filled with hope and expectation that they questioned whether he might be the Messiah.  “John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’”

John proclaimed the good news of God’s coming and he called upon his followers to repent, to make a profound change in the direction of their lives.  This repentance was to be the beginning of a new moral integrity and a physical simplicity.  This is one of the world’s most ancient religious insights: the presence of the holy in the midst of human life requires and creates a fundamental change in the human condition.  The slow-moving, heavy burdens of our lives brought on by a culture of consumerism and moral indifference is incompatible with the holy.  God is holy.  God is in our midst, and the excess of our lives, the chaff that must be separated from the wheat, will be burned.

This weekend is called the National Gun Violence Prevention Sabbath Weekend.  It is a weekend devoted to the difficult task of separating the chaff  of violence and death by guns from the holy and good life proclaimed by John the Baptist.  The Christian gospel sees no need for guns.  When John the Baptist, who in some ways had an evangelical style of religion, was asked by the crowds about what we should do, he told them to share what you have with others; don’t control more than you need; practice nonviolence towards others; refrain from financial extortion, threatening behavior, and making false accusations against others; and be satisfied with what you have.

The great theme, “For unto us a child is born” should be our song of exultation and rededication.  The celebration of the birth of a child in Bethlehem, the Incarnation of God in human form, is the celebration and commitment to the enduring power of hope, peace, love and new life.

Yes, good friends, God is in our midst.  In the words of the ancient Advent hymn we sang at the beginning of our service:

           “O Come, desire of nations,

bind in one the hearts of humankind;

bid thou our sad divisions cease

and be thyself our King of Peace….” 

As the prophet Zephaniah said, “Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel!  Rejoice and exult with all your heart.”  And, as Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord always;…Rejoice!”  May God’s peace and love “guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  Amen.

Playing Hide and Seek

This season of Advent is a time of watching, waiting and preparing for promises to be fulfilled.  We watch as the horrors of war unfold in the Middle East and parts of Africa.  We watch closer to home with tragic shootings in California, Colorado and here in Rhode Island.  We watch and we wait for justice and peace in all of our institutions, governments, and systems both at home and abroad.  Watching, waiting and preparing takes many forms and occurs in all facets of life's experiences: individual, social, political, and theological. 

Much of the emphasis in Advent is on theological waiting and preparing.  We wait for the birth of the infant Jesus, the messiah or the second coming of Christ.  Our theological waiting, however, is incomplete if we do not continue to struggle for transformation, the change that is needed in all those areas in which justice is wanting.

There is a story told by Elie Wiesel about an ancient Hasidic master who was praying and studying in his small study when his young son burst in sobbing.  It seems the boy had been playing hide and seek.  He hid very well, and his playmate got tired of looking for him and went home.  The boy sobbed: "Its unfair.  He should have kept looking for me!"  The rabbi smiled gently and said: "Yes, it is unfair.  But now you know how God feels.  God hid himself very well, and people have given up looking for God.  God is sad too.  It is unfair!"

There are times in our lives when God does indeed seem to be hiding.  When a person experiences pain or sadness, sickness, or the death of a friend or relative; when people in our cities go hungry or become victims of violence; when people die from starvation; when a nation is torn asunder by war, or when thousands are killed by natural disasters. When these conditions happen it is easy to conclude that God is very well hidden.  Where is justice to be found?  How can healing occur in the midst of tragedy and travesty?  Where is God at the very time God is so needed? 

The history of men and women and God playing hide and seek is as old as creation.  Adam and Eve hid from God in the Garden of Eden; today, our hiding from God is as common as ever.  We hide in our consumerism, racism, sexism, parochialism, nationalism, and all the other isms we fabricate to separate person from person or group from group.  We hide from the hungry, the homeless, the elderly, the poor, the oppressed, and seemingly from all who are in need of something from us.  As we hide from them we hide from God.  How much easier it is to hide than it is to seek! 

Seeking and looking requires energy and action; it may be risky and costly, and one may even have to change direction from time to time.  Hiding, however, is a passive exercise, requiring only the acceptance of the status-quo, letting things be as they are, or perhaps letting things take their own course, or waiting for time to cure all ills, and not worrying about criticizing or challenging or changing much of anything.

The early Christians who believed in Jesus knew about the energy required for seeking justice and peace.  Their hope was based solely on the experience of God's gifts.  They were to watch, look, and be prepared to change, to turn in a new direction in order to receive the gift.

John the Baptist announced the impending gift: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”  Israel had been demoralized, exiled and in need of a word of reassurance.  To confront change is difficult unless there is a secure foundation and a firm center.  John the Baptist made a demand for repentance, thus preparing the way and making ready for the one who would come after him.  What this means for us is that we are to be in a constant state of watchfulness and readiness.

How are we to prepare and make ready?  What paths must we straighten, and what rough ways are in our lives that we need to make smooth?  What is your story about your search for God?  How are you preparing for Christ’s coming into your life bearing gifts of peace, love and hope?

As we speak of being ready for Christ's coming it is much more than being ready for the birth of a baby in a manger in Bethlehem.  It is a readiness for God to enter into the very context of our lives bringing the gift of God's new life -- the gift of peace, love, and justice.  That gift comes when we are ready to change the conditions in our communities and in our world that will no longer allow for violence, hatred, war, hunger, and poverty.

The Gospel was first proclaimed to a community of people who knew that Jesus had come, a community who believed in him.  Today we need more than an aggregate of individuals who believe in God and then continue to play hide and seek.  We need a convicted and broad-based multitude of believers and doers gathered together in faithfulness to the God of Jews, the God of Muslims, and the God of Christians -- it is the same God.  It is with that conviction and faithfulness that the rough ways can be made smooth so the gifts of life, love, peace, joy, and hope can enter your life and the lives and hearts of all people.  Amen.

Abound in Love

The first Sunday in Advent is the beginning of a new year in the Christian calendar.  It is a time of hope and anticipation, a time for reflection about the Advent themes of darkness and light.  It is a time of judgment, hope, and love.  In Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians we heard, “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.”

The dark days of the coming winter season are all around us.  So is the darkness of violence and fear that is gripping the lives of so many people around the world.  Advent, regardless of our worldly conditions at any given time presents us with the knowledge of God that arises from the dark night of the soul and the anguish of real events.  It is an anguish brought about by disasters and terrible suffering. 

Advent is more than our preparation for the Christmas holiday season; it is more than making our lists of things to do and shopping for presents.  It is a reminder that God is the God of history, and the events that happen internationally, nationally, and politically concern God as much or more than what goes on in your life or mine.  Advent announces that God is coming with power that can shake the foundations of the earth.  It is a power of judgment just as much as it is a power of hope for peace, justice and new life.

Think for a moment about our national fear of Syrian refugees.  A large majority of our states have said they would not support refugees from Syria.  What is the response of the Christian Churches? 

The National Council of Churches issued a statement:  "From the very beginning, the Church has identified itself with refugees. Our ancestors in faith were themselves refugees when they fled the chariots of Pharaoh after escaping from slavery. Jesus himself was a refugee when his family fled to Egypt to escape the sword of Herod.  Whenever early Christians were persecuted, they were made refugees.  Since the first century, when people have fled violence and other calamities, and sought refuge in other places, often the welcome they received in these foreign societies was symbolized, and indeed motivated, by the open embrace of churches providing sanctuary and material assistance.”

Bishop Knisely, in a statement about the Episcopal Church said, “The Episcopal Church has been resettling refugees for over 75 years and we will be active in welcoming Syrian refugees to America.  It is wrong to discriminate against those fleeing violence, oppression or certain death merely because of where they come from or because of their religion.  In the Book of Leviticus, God says to the people of Israel, ‘the foreigner who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the foreigner as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.’  We are, therefore, called to welcome the stranger and aid our brothers and sisters in their time of need.”

An emphasis during Advent is to tear down the walls we have erected that divide us.  This includes the walls that separate what is sacred from what is secular.  The challenge that Advent presents to Christians is to make sacred what we have labeled secular.  Our places of employment, our institutions of education and government, our social communities, our neighborhoods are all perceived as secular environments.  Advent says that these are all part of God's creation and we should treat them as sacred relationships.  The work and ministry of compassion and justice is universal and is to be spread everywhere.  The purpose of sacred spaces is to renew our spirits and give us strength to go out and repair all of creation to the glory of God.  We are to pray with open eyes so we might see the complexities and injustices of institutions, societies and the world, and then pray and work for justice and peace.

An example of praying and working for justice is told by the late Jesuit Priest, Walter Burghardt.   He wrote about a story that happened in New York on the day following Thanksgiving:  "The cab driver… was in his 30s and had shoulder-length hair tied in a ponytail.  He had 'prayed to God for guidance on how to help the forgotten people of the streets who exist in life's shadows.'  He recalled that God replied, "Make eight pounds of spaghetti, throw it in a pot, give it out on 103^rd Street and Broadway with no conditions, and people will come.'  He did, they came, and now he goes from door to door giving people food to eat.  The cab driver prayed to God who was there; he listened; he gave the simple gift God asked of him; he gave "with no conditions"; and people responded.  Here is our Advent:  Make the Christ who has come a reality, a living light in your life and in some other life.  Give of yourself…to one dark soul…with no conditions."  ("Sir, We Would Like to See Jesus," in An Advent Sourcebook, ed., Thomas J. O'Gorman, p.9)

In the midst of all the hunger, destruction and death that occurs daily throughout the world, Advent is a wake-up call to hope.  I repeat what Paul states so well in his letter to the Thessalonians: "May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you.  And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus will all his saints."  What more could one ask for?  It is hope arising from the depths of human suffering that leads the way to God and gives energy, patience, persistence, and courage for living through whatever happens.

Advent is about love and the glory of God's goodness.  Jesus said, "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.  People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory…. When you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near."

Let us watch, wait and work with anticipation and great hope for justice and peace, and for the coming day of the Lord.  Amen.

Don’t Be Led Astray

In the Gospel of Mark we are told that Jesus came out of the temple.  He had been in the temple teaching and as we heard last week he told the story about a poor widow who gave everything she had to the temple treasury.

In our reading today as Jesus emerged from the temple one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!”  The temple was very large and most impressive.  As Katherine Grieb, professor of biblical interpretation and New Testament at Virginia Theological Seminary tells us, “The Jerusalem temple newly reconstructed by Herod the Great at great expense, was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  The project began about 20 years before the birth of Jesus, and the inner sanctuary was completed quickly,” although completion of the entire temple required many years. “The huge retaining walls that supported the temple were composed of great white stones as long as 40 feet, some of which still stand as part of the Western Wall.” 

The disciple must have been amazed when Jesus then asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."  What did Jesus mean by this?  Was he predicting the destruction of the temple as it happened many years later in 70 AD? 

Mark then tells us that Jesus moved across the way from the temple and was sitting on the Mount of Olives when the first four disciples he had called, “Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?’"

In replying to their question Jesus said they were to “beware that no one leads you astray.”  They could expect false prophets, hear about political conflicts, “wars and rumors of wars,” and natural disasters, earthquakes and famines.  Then he added, “This is the beginning of the birth pangs."  Or as another translation states, it is the beginning of their sorrows

Jesus, in effect, told his disciples and he is telling us that God does not abide in buildings.  Temples, churches and mosques are important and matter to us as holy places, but what is really significant is that God is alive within the human community. 

God also opposes the forces of exploitation and injustice.  Earthquakes and famine happen but what results afterwards is hope for our human future, the realization of the kingdom of God and the new life that evolves.

Think about this for a moment.  We all know about disasters, storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, violent attacks, wars and other forms of devastation.  Following a tragedy there is grief and the slow and difficult process of cleaning the rubble and healing.  How true this is when we see what happened in Paris on Friday.  Finally, over time there is a new day when all things are made whole and new once more.

Mark’s continues his account beyond our reading today with words of warning.  Jesus referred to the coming crisis as a “desolating sacrilege.”  The temple was under the control of the Jewish authorities and it was being used for political purposes.  Jesus’ concern was the impending end of the political world that had been organized around the temple.

Jesus then said, “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants.  Pray that it may not be in winter [because] there will be suffering such as there has never been.”  He was speaking to those who were oppressed and persecuted.  The implied judgment was about liberation, relief from oppression, and the importance of human dignity.

What all this means for you and me today is that, when we are feeling anxious, stressed out, or living in a state of fear, we must be wary of those who claim they can rescue us from our distress.  They just might be the “false messiahs and false prophets who appear and produce signs and omens to lead us astray.”  Jesus warned his disciples, and he warns us, that we should not be fooled by false prophets and promises.  Instead, we should spread the good news of his love and the inclusion of all people in God’s heavenly kingdom.  May God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.  Amen.

Open Hearts and Generous Spirits

I usually begin my sermons with a prayer asking God to open our hearts, enlighten our minds, and kindle our spirits.  I believe that if we open our hearts to the reality of our authentic humanity, keep our minds alert to the needs around us, and set our spirits on fire to make a difference by sharing God’s love with others we will be doing the work of the church and the ministry to which we are called.

Today’s gospel story of the poor widow is a case in point.  It is about trusting God to the extent that even a poor widow can contribute out of her poverty.  Her heart was open, her mind alert, and her spirit was generous.

A widow who lived in poverty showed her generosity by putting two small copper coins in the treasury of the synagogue.  The two coins amounted to a penny which represented 1/64 of a day’s wage.  Jesus described it as “everything she had.”  Widows in Jesus’ time did not earn wages.  Widows lived in poverty except for being part of a generous family or receiving compassionate support from the community.  For a poor widow to give anything in support of the temple was a sacrifice of possessions that in all likelihood could not be replaced or earned.  It was one way in which the religious establishment might well be accused of “devouring a widow’s house.”

The contrast between the scribes with their long robes and places of honor and the poor widow could not be greater.  For the scribes religion was a matter of public prestige and all the pageantry that went with it.  They were the revered doctors of the law who wore long robes while parading along the cobble-stoned streets bowing as they received greetings and signs of public respect.  However, their piety of saying long prayers for the sake of appearance was merely “lip service”; their hearts were closed and far away from God.

Jesus in speaking to his disciples about the widow said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury.  For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."  She had complete trust in God. 

This is a story about taking God seriously even in the midst of poverty.  It is about giving without expecting something in return, serving even when it might lead to hardship.  It is a story reminding us that God is always present in our lives.  God loves and trusts us so we can risk giving ourselves to others in their need.  It is by serving others and giving generously from our abundance that we serve God.

The Rev. Dr. Scott Weimer a Presbyterian minister suggests that the poor widow had a genuine heart, a grateful spirit, and a generous attitude.  She captured Jesus’ attention by giving everything she had.  In other words, she gave from a genuine heart.

As we noted, the religious leaders liked to be seen in their long robes as a badge of their position and authority. Jesus saw through this and how they took advantage of their positions.  They got the best seats in the synagogue and places of honor at banquets.  The religious leaders probably paid no attention to the poor widow, perhaps they didn’t even recognize her.  Jesus noticed her and pointed out that she gave more than all those who were contributing to the treasury.  She had a grateful spirit and contributed all she had.  

The poor widow also had a generous attitude.  Her genuine heart and grateful spirit led to an attitude toward others that was most generous.  By sharing this story Jesus challenged his disciples to have a generous attitude. "All of [the scribes] have contributed out of their abundance; but [the poor widow] out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."

Next week we shall observe our Commitment Sunday.  We are not asked to contribute everything we have, but we are asked to bring our pledge cards and place them in a basket on the altar.  What we determine we can give in thanksgiving to God for the abundance we receive demonstrates our genuine hearts, our grateful spirits, and our generous attitudes. Together we depend on the generous annual giving of every member in order to achieve our need for $100,000 in the new year.  Our overall budget exceeds $200,000, so what we give is barely half of that and the remainder comes from income from our trust funds and the rent we raise from the City Meal Site and the Hispanic Lutheran congregation.

Annual giving and our stewardship of the environment and other resources are important.  We are the stakeholders of our magnificent and historic church and it is up to us to maintain it and use it for the glory of God and the needs of all the people we serve.  All Saints’ Memorial Church is well worth supporting.  Our programs of regular worship with a wonderful choir, our Sunday school education, parish events, outreach to those in need, and the pastoral care we provide for people who are sick, in assisted living or nursing homes, are constant demands on our resources.  It is important to have a place where people can gather for worship, rest and prayer, fellowship and discussion, to share a meal, and be part of a caring and welcoming community.

Let us pray:  O Lord, you have taught us that you require much from those to whom much is given; grant that we who benefit from a glorious heritage may share abundantly with others what we so richly enjoy, and in serving them may we know the glory of serving you.  Amen.

Making All Things New

All Saints' Day is a time for us to reflect on the vast number and diversity of God’s people.  This includes all of us, those who have gone before us and those who are now are in the nearer presence of God.  It also includes those with whom we live and worship today, and those who will come after us. 

The people of God spread beyond the boundaries of race, language, religion, and condition; beyond time and space, and across the divide of death.  In every faithful person the Christian proclamation of hope and promise for eternal life comes to fruition.  When we sing praise to the saints and the faithful of every age we praise God who has triumphed through them and whose bountiful grace and mercy abide in their lives.  They are examples of God’s grace.

Our gospel story about the raising of Lazarus covers a wide range of emotion: grief, crying, anger, and mourning.  As we heard, “Jesus, greatly disturbed, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.  Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’… He said to Martha, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?  So they took away the stone.  And Jesus looked upward and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me.  I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’" 

This is a wonderful story for All Saints.  The troubling disturbance, reassurance, disbelief, thanksgiving, and release comprise the breadth of human feeling as presented in this story.  The experience of death and resurrection, of making all things new, is the story of all the saints throughout human history.

The word “saint” means “holy.”  In the Bible, saints are God’s holy people.  They are the angels who share God’s divine nature.  In any life story of a saint it is important to remember that saints are also human.  They are not perfect, for perfection belongs to God.  The saints are people who have heard God's call to serve human need, to be good stewards of creation, to live faithful lives as baptized members of God's household, and to celebrate the great "cloud of witnesses" whose lives have contributed so much to our own.

Just as we have release and resurrection from death in the gospel account of the raising of Lazarus, in the Revelation to John we have a vision of the end of time.  John “saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,…. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’ And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’… ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.’"

John saw the new creation.  The “sea”, a symbol of turbulence, unrest and chaos, is no more.  Sorrow, death and pain, the emotional feelings of the old earth will be wiped away.  God is sovereign over all creation and everything that happens in human history.  God will give the gift of eternal life to all who seek him.

All of us today are bound together in this great community of love and forgiveness.  Saints possess nothing except the love and grace of God.  We celebrate the great women and men of the Bible and those who have lived through the centuries.  They are examples of the grace spoken in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, -- those who feed the hungry, clothe the naked, build houses for the homeless, free those who are in prison or who are oppressed, bind the broken-hearted, work for justice and peace. The saints around us are people whose lives teach us and challenge us to be merciful, "pure in heart," and loving our neighbor.  We need these saints and we need one another.  We grow together, and together we become the community of the saints of God.  We are earthen vessels, but nevertheless also saints.

One of the great hymns of praise sometimes sung during a service of Morning Prayer, or by our choir on All Saints’ Sunday when we can use the organ in the church, is the Te Deum Laudamus.  It is a song of praise to God and it summarizes the calling of all people and all the saints to everlasting glory:

“Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. The glorious fellowship of apostles praise you. The noble fellowship of prophets praise you. The white-robed army of martyrs praise you. Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you; Father of majesty unbounded, your true and only Son, worthy of all worship, and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide. You, Christ, are the King of glory, the eternal Son of the Father. When you became man to set us free you did not shun the Virgin’s womb, you overcame the sting of death and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. You are seated at God’s right hand in glory.  We believe you will come to be our judge. Come then, Lord, and help your people, bought with the price of your own blood, and bring us with your saints to glory everlasting.”  Amen.

The Comfort God Gives

Every time we come together for worship we pray to God and offer intercessions for those in need.  We pray for the Universal Church, its members and mission; for the nation and those in authority; for the welfare of the world; for the concerns we have in our community; for the sick and those who suffer or are in trouble; and for those who have died and are in God’s eternal care.

We also offer prayers of thanksgiving for the blessings we receive, for this good earth and our desire to care for it, for anniversaries of births and weddings, and for our families, friends and neighbors.  Worship is about hearing the Word of God, praying for ourselves and others, and giving thanks to God for all the gifts we receive.

I have found that one of the most important ministries I do is visiting people who are hospitalized or are in a nursing or rehabilitation setting.  Meeting with them, hearing their concerns, responding with prayer and Communion often brings solace and a real sense of God’s compassion and care.  When our Eucharistic visitors take the Sacrament to others I am sure they also experience the presence of God.

In today’s reading from the Book of Job, Job’s dialogue with God focused on his suffering, his prayer, and it finally comes to an end.  “Job answered the Lord: ‘I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted’…. The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning;… And Job died, old and full of days.“

My friend Rabbi Jim Rosenberg has written, “God is challenging Job to step outside of his limited, subjective point of view. He is offering Job a glimpse of the world not as people see it but as God sees it, a view informed by God’s indestructible power and indestructible joyfulness in the process of creation. Reviewing his life from this altered perspective, Job is able to make peace with his suffering and to thank God for the gift of this new and radically expanded vision of reality.”

                       

Rosenberg goes on to say, “The universe is mostly not about us.  From the perspective of the God of the whirlwind, all of human history hardly registers on the calendar of eternity.  Rather than being a source of terror, this perspective can be most liberating.  Once we acknowledge our mortal limits, we are free to delight in the here and the now, even though we must admit that we can never understand the suffering of the innocent or the prosperity of the wicked.   We are free to immerse ourselves completely in the river of life, the only life that has been given to us….  So we need to hold on and enjoy the ride.  Our mortality is in fact our greatest gift.”  Then, in spite of all the sufferings of this life Job was blessed by God and “died, old and full of days.”

Job’s struggle with God was his prayer that brought him to the realization of his mortality and the limits of life.  In a real sense Job was made whole.  The Gospel of Mark picks up this theme in another story of healing.  Stories about healing consume much of Mark’s account of Jesus’ ministry. When the disciples called the blind man and led him to Jesus, he threw off his cloak.  “Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.”

The Christian writer, Frederick Buechner reminds us that Jesus spent a lot of time healing people. Like Job before him, he specifically rejected the theory that sickness was God's way of getting even with sinners…."Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick;” he said. "I came not to call the righteous but sinners."

Buechner says, “Ever since the time of Jesus, healing has been part of the Christian tradition…. Jesus is reported to have made the blind see and the lame walk, and over the centuries countless miraculous healings have been claimed in his name.”

Miracles are welcomed events that defy rational explanation.  Miracles happen all the time.  When we pray for someone in need we are often asking God to restore that person to wholeness.  So, when the blind are able to see, when someone with cancer recoves, when a community is restored to life following a disaster, it is a miraculous event.

In our relationships with a person who is sick or in trouble we should know that God often responds to our supplications in ways we might not understand.  In services of healing, the clergy lay hands upon the sick person and pray, “I lay my hands upon you in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, beseeching him to uphold you and fill you with his grace, that you may know the healing power of his love.”  Our relationships are about being a source of comfort to others, helping them know that, regardless of what happens, they can trust that God is with them.  May they and all of us, like the blind who now see, and like Job who suffered, be blessed and live joyful lives filled with hope.  Amen.