Trinity Church
Towson, MD
RCL Year C - 7 Pentecost (Proper 9) - July 7, 2013
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This is the weekend after our celebration of this country becoming a
sovereign nation, happening some 237 years ago, on July 4, 1776. What is interesting is that the actual legal
date of separation from British Rule in America was actually July 2, 1776 when
the Continental Congress voted to accept the “resolution” of independence. After
this resolution was debated and revised, it was writ in the famous declaration
on July 4th. I have done some teaching in the past about how close and
interrelated the foundation of government in this country is to the foundation
of our beloved Episcopal Church in America; independent from, but now in full
communion with the Church of England.
A few years ago, I was able to attend “The Lost Colony” on Roanoke
Island, in Manteo, NC. I had seen it as a child, but I got the chance to see it again, as an adult (and as a priest). I don’t know if you have ever had the chance to see it,
but it is an outdoor production reenacting the early English settlement
chartered by Elizabeth I to Sir Walter Raleigh on Roanoke Island in 1584. Anyhow… It is amazing to me how much “church”
there is throughout the play, up to and including the priest, Fr. Martin, who
accompanied them on the voyage, baptized Virginia Dare (who was the first
recorded Christian baptism in North America), and suffered with them through
the hardships that led to their mysterious disappearance.
It must have been amazing to be that mission minded… to be that focused on bringing not only
western civilization to a unknown foreign land, but to also bring their church
with them. Though the play didn’t cover it, we also know that the native
American ally of the colony, Chief Manteo, was also baptized there with
Virginia Dare. What courageous missionaries they must have been for what they
were willing to do in order to share their belief in Jesus Christ as Lord with
a much different culture than theirs.
Today’s Gospel lesson is about mission… about Jesus words of urgent preparation to 70
disciples… telling them to go out into the nearby towns and villages and
proclaim the good news to repent – that the kingdom of God has come near. Jesus
has prepared them for the work they must do to build up the body of believers. He
prepared them for their “mission” among the villages and towns… The “hard” work... The hard work that will not be received by
everyone, especially in their hometowns… Hard work that will be the source of
ridicule and laughter to some, and the way to salvation for others, but ALL
must be reached.
It’s all Mission. Mission framed
in the sense of urgency to Go Out! The
willingness to be sent to go out and do what God has given you to do! I think that this was Jesus teaching us how
mission is to be done… Not relying on ourselves, but trusting in God to provide
what is needed for what must be done. Focus on God’s providence in the face of
challenge and rejection. Mission done with urgency and complete trust in what
God provides.
How come when it comes to modern mission in the church, we don’t follow
that biblical example? We would rather
complain about our scarce resources than trust in God’s providence and love for
us.We focus on our sensitive nature and how we may feel when the negative
rejections come, rather than rejoicing in the many blessings that God has
provided for us. We would rather be sure of our own security than to risk it
boldly spreading the Gospel.
Jesus sent them out, and gave them instructions, to spread a message of
repentance to everyone, knowing that some will refuse them and some will
listen. The scripture tells us that they went out and casted out demons and
anointed many with oil and cured them. Jesus wants no less from us… Jesus wants us to be bold… bold and daring to
be the church in the world. Bold enough to proclaim that the kingdom of God has
come near, and is hear with us in the living body of Christ, the church. The
Church… the community where we worship, engage in dialogue, learn and challenge
each other. The community where we hold each other up, support each other, and
reach out into the world around us bringing us all closer to the kingdom of
God.
We can learn a lot from our history… The history of our country is
ingrained and entrenched with the missionary efforts of those Christians, both
lay and ordained, that have gone on before us, spreading the good news and
building up the kingdom of God as they went. We are here today in this
Christian Community because a group of Episcopalians started to worship
together in Epsom Chapel in 1838 (just a couple blocks from here).
We share that wonderful legacy of foundation and mission, and we have
the responsibility to continue… to continue to build up the kingdom of God right
here in Baltimore County.
And we have the opportunity today, just as we do each and every day… Every time we walk down the street, or see our
neighbor in the yard, or talk to a friend in the grocery store; we have the
opportunity to share with them the terrific and life giving presence that we have
in our lives, because of our relationship with Jesus Christ.
And we have an opportunity to ask them to be a part of that fellowship and
partner with us in mission and come and worship with us. Not forcing them into
the car or scaring them into believing this or that, but simply inviting them and
welcoming them to be a part of a community that nurtures and nourishes souls
with the love and grace of Jesus.
We can only imagine the hardships that the first missionaries experienced,
but they trusted that God’s provision and grace would give them exactly what
they would need at the time that they would need it. As a result, Trinity Church,
this very community, continues to be a thriving community of faith. Our
forbearers knew something about mission and providence!
Since its missionary inception, this church has survived 175 years of
wars, suppression, depression, economic calamity, and even ritual and
liturgical change. And we keep going. We continue to be formed, informed, and
transformed by the living presence of Jesus Christ in our lives, as we
celebrate Him and worship Him.
Bishop Katherine Jefferts-Schori has challenged us in the Episcopal
Church in the United States to continue to vision itself as a missionary church,
a re-creation, “a new Church.” Our
challenge is to go forth from this place envisioning that “new church,” using
that Biblical lesson of urgency and providence, trusting that God will be there
with us. Be there with us as we reach
out to welcome others and invite them to become part a thriving and vital, focused
and engaged community… A steadiness in
this unsteady and ever changing world around us.
We are each responsible, each responsible for our own faithfulness. We
are not responsible for the response we may receive when we offer our
ministries in Christ’s name, but we are each responsible for being faithful
stewards ourselves… responsible for our own faithfulness to what we are doing. The
only thing that we are assured of… Our only sure and certain hope is in the
life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is with that
assurance, and only with that assurance, that we can go out and proclaim the good
news in this world both boldly and faithfully.
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