Last Epiphany B 2024

The Rev. Dr. Kenneth H. Saunders III
St. James Episcopal Church 
Greeneville, TN

• 2 Kings 2:1-12
• 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
• Mark 9:2-9
• Psalm 50:1-6

I have always loved science. In fact, the first time I went to college many years ago, I was a science major. I loved both biology and the physical sciences (chemistry & physics). The combination of the two led to my first career as a health physics technician. I was hooked since my first experience of looking into a microscope in the 7th grade. 

There was a whole other world out there that I couldn’t see with my naked eye, and I found it fascinating. In my nuclear job, I took surveys every day, looking for particles I couldn’t see with my naked eye by using a detector device specifically designed to react to the radiation that the particles were emitting. The clicks on the device would allow me to hear and measure the energy being emitted. Because, of course, I couldn’t see it. It gave me another perspective, another way to find what I was looking for.

Have you ever heard the Dr. Seuss story of Horton Hears a Who? It is one of my favorite Dr. Seuss stories. If you’ve never read it, you should sit down and read through it. It’s only 72 pages, and it has plenty of pictures. Some of you might say, “Oh, that’s a silly children’s book. I remember reading that to my kids.” But if you have read it, did you ever pay attention to the story? Dr. Seuss does a fantastic job of using perspective to explain things. Those who know the story know that Horton is an elephant that hears a sound from what he perceives as a speck of dust on a flower. Horton is convinced there is something to this, and he listens closely to the small voice coming from the speck of dust. 

He realizes that there is another world there and that the other world is called Whoville, and it is so very tiny, so very, very small, that to Horton, it looks like just a speck of dust, but to the Whos, it’s their entire universe... Horton then decides to protect the small flower and convince others in the jungle of his discovery. 

The story of Horton Hears a Who has many levels and dimensions. It’s about being responsible and keeping promises. It’s about being very small in a vast world, but even though you are small, you are just as important as those larger than you. It’s also about every citizen in the community working together for the town’s well-being. It is all multi-level. Multi-levels that are based on different perspectives.

There are lots of levels in today’s scripture stories. We could sit together, study the gospel passage, and look at it in several ways, but I don’t think the two of us would have the same perspective. It’s because our individual lives are often the lens through which we look. 

When we comment about what we think or feel, it’s usually done in light of our experiences. It doesn’t make it right or wrong; it just makes it our perspective. Sometimes, to get a different perspective, we have to back up some to see more of the big picture (maybe up a mountain) instead of being up so close that we only see the little speck of dust that is our own little world. 

Have you ever noticed that things have a different perspective when you back up or get closer? We often gain other solutions and can come to different decisions based on new information. When we back up, we see how important the big picture is…  and when we get close and listen, then, like Horton, we can hear the Who and protect the flower.

Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain, literally up on a high mountain away from everything, possibly to get a different perspective. There, Jesus was changed before them, transfigured – and his clothes became a dazzling white as nothing on earth could bleach them. 

Jesus appears on the mountaintop with Elijah, the Prophet was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire as we heard in our Old Testament Lesson. And there is Moses, the most excellent Prophet that Israel has ever known. The one that led them out of Israel and gave them the Torah… the commandments from God from up on Mount Sinai. 

We hear this story but often need clarification about what it really means. We often think this is just a simple sign of Jesus’ divinity. But it is more of a revelation of perspective. 

Jesus is there to complete the work that those extraordinary prophets of old started, revealing to them the power, love, and fullness of the kingdom of God. It is a reminder to us that this world that we live in has many layers and many dimensions. Sometimes, the dimensions that are hidden from us appear, and then we get to take a look at a different reality, gasp with wonder and awe, and then afterward see things totally differently. (N.T. Wright)

Peter, James, and John experienced this transformation and were terrified. They were so afraid they didn’t know what to do or say. So, Peter says the first thing that comes to his mind, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. Let us make 3 dwelling places (or tents), one for You, one for Elijah, and one for Moses.”

They were having a direct encounter with the Kingdom of God, and he got so caught up in the moment that they wanted to house it, shelter it, and hold onto it, keeping it isolated in a tent. Peter doesn’t “get it,” just like sometimes we don’t “get it.”

We take the situations that we experience, the encounters that we have. We want so much for that feel-good feeling to last that we do everything that we can to contain it, preserve it, and protect it, or worse, we try over and over to recreate it instead of just letting it happen and living into it, letting the experience show us and teach us. Instead of learning to look at things from a different perspective and seeing another way or a different reality that may be scary and uncomfortable, we opt for the familiar and comfortable.

It was like the way it was when I was a child, the way it was when we raised our children or the way we think it ought to be based on our own isolated experiences.

For the second time in the New Testament, we hear the voice of God coming out of a cloud. This time, it’s telling us, “This is My Beloved Son; listen to him.” Elijah and Moses paved the way, and Jesus is here to finish the job. If we really listen to Jesus and follow Him, and do what he calls us to do, then we learn to see things differently, with a different perspective...  see things through a different lens.

Jesus calls each of us to be molded and formed by our experiences, not necessarily to hold onto them, but to learn from them, and then we are to continue to follow, grow in faith and love, and go out and proclaim the Kingdom of God.

We may not see or understand the vast world around us, and we may not even realize our impact on that world by the things we do or the decisions we make. But we must remember that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves. 

As Episcopalians in the United States, we are part of the Anglican Communion. If you put us all together, we are the world’s 3rd largest body of Christians. It means we are not alone out here, floating around like a speck of dust.

It means that there are people all over the world today, some at this very minute out there hearing the same lessons, saying some of the same prayers, sharing the bread and the cup, and engaging in the liturgy of corporate worship.

If we allow ourselves to back up a bit (maybe go up a mountain), change our perspective, and see the more extensive body around us, we just might see how important what we do is and that we are not doing it alone. Then, and only then, we might be open enough to an encounter with the living God who loves us and cares for us so very closely. It’s about perspective! 

We can choose to let the four walls of our beloved St. James be the tunnel vision of our experience and try to shelter it and protect it, or we can encounter the living God in bold and bright new ways, letting Jesus lead us to places we may be resistant to go and experience some of the fear and discomfort that goes along with that.

We can all work together, like the people of Whoville, to make our voices heard or let our speck of dust cease to exist when the flower drops to the ground…

Even more simply. We can follow Jesus and live for what will be or try to build tents and live for what was.

2B Epiphany 2024

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III

St. James Episcopal Church

Greeneville, TN

• 1 Samuel 3:1-10(11-20)
• 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
• John 1:43-51
• Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17

In today’s lessons from the Holy Scriptures, we get many images of call and response. God’s call and God’s people’s response. Jesus’ call and the follower’s response. I’m not talking about calls like you would make on the telephone or by yelling across a room. 

This is a deep-seated sense of call. A hearing, not necessarily with your ears, but with your whole body. A feeling deep down, deep in your bones. It’s like when you hear an older, wiser person talk. They sometimes say, “I know it in my bones.”

These people often have the gift of discernment, or the ability to perceive and respond, by the Holy Spirit’s movement, respond to God’s will. It is sometimes referred to as spiritual sensitivity. It’s said that a spiritually sensitive person is “in tune” with God’s heart. But, I think the lessons we heard today go beyond just call and response. They are about God speaking, God’s people listening, and God’s people hearing and knowing. They talk about honoring God with lived lives and responding to God fully by following.

Samuel’s mother, Hannah, was initially unable to have children. Eli, the priest, happened upon her when she was praying silently for God to give her a child. Eli blessed her and asked that God grant her request. She gave birth to her child and named him Samuel (God heard me). Samuel was her long-awaited child, and she thought it only proper to honor God by giving Samuel to God's service. 

We can only imagine how hard it would be to give up a child, our only child, to be raised by someone else. We can hardly comprehend that grief. Samuel grew up in the service of God, but he was not a servant to Eli. And Eli, in his advanced age, was not a master, nor was he merely Samuel’s caretaker. I think the relationship was more like father and son, or even grandfather and grandson, or at the least, mentor and student. 

I find it fascinating that God called out to Samuel in the story, and it came 3 times before he even knew what was happening. Then, Eli perceived that God was calling to the boy and that Samuel needed to listen. 

The scene in the reading from Samuel is all too familiar. The word of the Lord was rare, and visions were not widespread. When was the last time you saw a vision of a pillar of fire, a column of smoke, or maybe a parting river or sea? No, we haven’t seen many visions that we perceived to be from God recently. That doesn’t mean they’re not there. It just means that we don’t recognize them. 

God sometimes needs to call us repeatedly until we finally understand God is calling. Until we finally start listening. I know that when I began the process of discernment and self-discovery in the process of Holy Orders for the church. I realized that I had been called as a young adult. Called but didn’t listen. That doesn’t mean I never heard. It just means that it took a while for me to understand that it was from God. After spending most of my life running in the other direction, finally, at 35, I stepped up and said, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Perceiving, hearing, and listening to that divine voice is something we are each called to do, but it’s complicated. The best that we can hope to do is honor God with our life. That’s what Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth is saying. In this reading, like in all of scripture, context matters. We have to remember that Corinth is a large port city in Greece. It was an epicenter of big trade on the Gulf of Corinth’s shores that led out to the Mediterranean and the known world. 

Corinth saw all types, sorts, and conditions of people. Some people say that it was more like the Las Vegas of the day, known for its riff-raff, its prostitutes, and pagan temples. I had a study group of pastors that used to say, “What happens in Corinth stays in Corinth.” In Paul’s letter to the Corinthian Church, Paul addresses their struggles and points them toward a righteous living that honors God.

He reminds them that regardless of what surrounds them, they are vessels of the Holy Spirit, bearers of the divine spark, and he calls them to glorify and honor God with their life. He calls them to listen and respond with honor. Listen to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit and respond with honor in their actions. In this case, what do they do with their bodies? 

In the case of our gospel reading, Jesus has just been baptized by John in the River Jordan. We were there last week as Jesus came out of the water, the heavens were ripped open, and a booming voice came down from heaven, “You are my son, the beloved. With you, I am well pleased.” God spoke, and some thought it sounded like thunder. 

Now, we are with Jesus as he goes to the region of Galilee the day after he is baptized. He starts on what I like to call “his recruiting tour” as he rounds up folks from the towns and villages around the Sea of Galilee, most of them fishermen. Today, we hear of Jesus calling Phillip, a contemporary of Andrew and Peter, from Bethsaida. A small fishing village on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. There, Jesus told Phillip, “Follow me,” and Phillip then found Nathanial. 

Nathanial comes off as uninterested in this man Jesus from Nazareth and even asks Phillip, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Again, in our reading, context matters! Nazareth was considered the equivalent of a place on the “wrong side of the tracks.” Indeed, it is not a place for a messianic teacher to be from. But Phillip’s invitation was simple: “Come & see.”

Nonetheless, possibly reluctantly, Nathaniel goes to Jesus, and Jesus identifies Nathaniel as an “Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” Nathanial replies that Jesus is the Son of God and King of Israel. And Jesus tells Nathaniel, you haven’t seen anything yet.

In their interaction, Jesus calls Phillip, and Phillip turns around and calls or invites Nathaniel. It reminds us that sometimes, in our travels, we depend on others to help show us the way. Like Eli showed Samuel. The simple invitations in this portion of John’s Gospel account are “follow me” and “come and see.” No flamboyant promises are made other than you haven’t seen anything yet.

 

Phillip and Nathaniel heard Jesus’ call and responded with their life. They responded to something they perceived to be much bigger than they were. They knew that Moses and the prophets spoke of one who would come, and when Jesus arrived, they answered the call.

So, where does that leave us today? How do we hear the voice of God? How do we respond to God’s Call when it seems like God isn’t saying much or doing much? I would like to remind us that we need to remember to stay still enough to listen. Listen to that still, small voice from God that comes through at the most unexpected times in the most unforeseen and strangest places. And sometimes through the most incredible people and in the most unexpected situations.

When that happens, then hear God out; believe me, you will know if it’s of God. A good litmus test for it would be something that Bishop Curry always says, “If it’s of Love, then it’s of God.” If it builds up, honors, restores, empowers, and heals God’s people (which is all of humanity), then it’s of God. 

The next thing we need to do is honor God. Put God first at all times and in all things. God put us first by entrusting us to be bearers of the Holy Spirit. We need to honor God by putting God first. Remember that God loves you and wants to use you to help restore this broken world. God calls you and me into a relationship to function together as Christ’s body on earth. 

We are Jesus’ hands and feet as we lift up, heal, and work for justice and peace. St. Theresa of Avilla reminds us when she says: “Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.”

And finally, like Phillip called Nathaniel, we are called to bring others into a relationship with Jesus. We are responsible for making other disciples who will follow Jesus in a way that leads to life and salvation. Phillip simply told Nathanial to come and see. In this day and age, it might be “click and watch,” but whatever it is, it is a first step for them to see what a relationship with Jesus could do for them. Inviting them to worship with God’s people and be nurtured by the word and sacrament of our Lord. 

Things may be quiet now, but we know God is still speaking. Folks may not hear initially, but we know God’s people listen, hear, and understand. We know this world needs help, and we know God’s people are honoring God and trying to respond fully by following Jesus in the way. So, we continue to follow Jesus and invite others to Come and See what life in Christ is all about.

Baptism of Our Lord 2024

The Rev. Dr. Kenneth H. Saunders III

St. James Episcopal Church

Greeneville, TN

• Genesis 1:1-5
• Acts 19:1-7
• Mark 1:4-11
• Psalm 29

When we make promises, do we intend to keep them? I would hope so. Especially when we stand up in church, vow before the living God, and make promises. We would undoubtedly keep those. But sometimes, the promises we make have no bearing on our lives. They haven't seeped down and become part of who we are.

I love the collective prayer that we used to begin today's service. "Grant that all baptized into his Name may keep their covenant." Keep the covenant that they have made. So, it's not just about making commitments to the covenant with God; it's also about keeping the covenant with God. But how do we, as believers, keep our baptismal covenant in situations that are often riddled with emotion, fear, uneasiness, and anxiety?

The baptismal covenant says that we will renounce evil and turn to Jesus because we believe. We will turn to Jesus and swear an oath to trust, obey, worship, persevere, proclaim, seek, serve, love, seek, strive, and respect. Isn't that what we are supposed to do as Christians? The whole Christian ethic surrounds baptism and is based on what we do after we say that we believe… 

It is our beliefs brought forth into actions. That shows others who we believe God to be. Maybe that's why I like to phrase from St. Francis so much, "Preach the Gospel at all times, when necessary, use words." You've heard me use that one many times before. 

It's more than merely claiming Jesus is Lord and Savior; it's showing others he is Lord by our actions of love. It's putting meaning and action to our saying. This doesn't make us perfect or better than anyone else. Because the good lord knows we are as broken and flawed as all the rest. And it also doesn't mean that we live our lives by some Puritan ethic that is neither realistic nor attainable. It means that we are committed to following Jesus and turning to him to free us from evil and death so we may live in the right relationship with God.

We know a covenant is more than laws, moral principles, or empty promises. A Covenant with God means living in a bound relationship, sealed by an oath. A covenant made with God that says we will strive to be formed, informed, and transformed by following the way of Jesus, letting Jesus guide and strengthen us, choosing the good and right, and not being driven by our selfishness. 

The covenantal promises made at our baptism might be called the superglue of our salvation. A solid bond to God that is often tested by the world but cannot be broken. And yes, we try them. We test these covenantal promises every time we get rattled, every time we get upset, every time we are backed in a corner, every time we are pushed to the edge. Those are the times we need to check ourselves and ensure we keep up our end of the covenant. Because we know that God is keeping up God's end. 

Always loving us, never forsaking us.

2024 has just started with its own challenges as we face an election year with continued hatred and distrust among people on both sides of the political spectrum. In the days to come, our baptismal covenant will surely get a workout as it's pushed to the limit.

The questions are asked, "Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ? Will you seek and serve Christ in ALL persons, loving your neighbor as yourself? We will strive for justice and peace among ALL people and respect the dignity of every human being?" We say, "WE WILL with God's help!" We will, we will, we will?

When John baptized Jesus in the river Jordan, the heavens were opened, torn apart, and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus, and the voice of God spoke, "You are my son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased." On the bank of the Jordan River was the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry. Jesus, at his baptism, forged for us a renewed covenant with the living God, lived out in relationship. Lived out in flesh and bone, washed water rather than written in stone. 

A practice we use in the church to begin again is baptism into a new life and a new way. Jesus enters the waters as a human being and emerges from the waters with the unshakable assurance that he is the Son of God, the Beloved.

The attention in the story from Mark's gospel shifts quickly from John to Jesus. Jesus sees the Spirit in physical form – like a dove – and it is Jesus alone who hears, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you, I am well pleased." And with the act of the baptism of Jesus, everything for Jesus and us as followers becomes new and different.

The way we see Jesus is different. The Word of God is no longer a future promise nor a prophetic dream of what is to come. It is there. It is a present, living reality in the flesh. Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit and is here to baptize all who come to him with God's Spirit and seal them as Christ's own forever. 

As John was baptized with water, Jesus was baptized with the Holy Spirit. The great gift of God - God's Spirit upon us – becomes ours just for the asking. God is revealed through Jesus to all the new believers, as it says in the Acts of the Apostles. That same Christ comes to us now through the power of the Holy Spirit. "Receive the Holy Spirit" becomes the gift that Christ's disciples offer those who confess the name of Jesus. And then the world is transformed.

Paul arrives in Ephesus to find believers who have been baptized. He asks them: "Did you receive the Holy Spirit?" they don't understand what this means, although they are believers. Then Paul asks the significant question: "Into what then were you baptized?" They answered, "Into John's baptism." 

Paul does not discount John but explains how John's baptism was completed by the coming of Jesus. Our repentance, our change of heart and mind, and the transformation of our thinking about God are all completed by the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Paul lays his hands on the believers in Ephesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit is given to them. And on and on, the story continues. We are here today, standing in the realm of that great mystery.

Jesus' life, death, and resurrection make it possible for all of humanity to know of God's love and grace and to receive the gift of God's Spirit. As baptized persons, we are bearers of that Holy Spirit. It is a great and tremendous power, and with it comes a great responsibility. 

We have said we believe, and we have received God's holy Spirit, now what. Our entire Christian life 

boils down to what we do after we say "we believe." Have we kept the covenantal promises we made at our baptism? Have we lived out those promises as propagators of God's kingdom, bringing others into the covenant, into a life lived in the power of that relationship?

Going forth from the font, after we have received the waters of rebirth and been made anew, how shall we live? We should live out our baptism today and every day. We should live as someone who has been crucified with Christ. So it is no longer we who live, but the Christ who lives in us. Live as someone dead to selfishness, ambition, and conceit. We should live for the good of others and for the glory of God.

Will you proclaim the Good News of God in Christ by word and example?

Will you seek and serve Christ in ALL persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?

Will you strive for justice and peace among ALL people and respect the dignity of every human being?

WE WILL with God's help…

We have the chance to measure everything in our lives, everything we do, by the covenantal oath, that promise we swore at our baptism. Sometimes, we are challenged, and it's complicated. But in the toughest times, we must continue resisting evil and turn to Jesus. Turn to Jesus and trust, obey, worship, persevere, proclaim, seek, serve, love, seek, strive and respect.

Now, brothers and sisters, let us stand together and renew the solemn promises and vows we made at our Holy Baptism when we once renounced Satan and all his works, turned to God, and promised to serve God faithfully in his Holy Catholic Church.