The Rev'd Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year A (Proper 29) - November 23, 2009
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Psalm 100
Ephesians 1:15-23
Matthew 25:31-46
This is it! This is what the whole year has been building up to. Today we acclaim Jesus Christ as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! But the idea of King isn’t exactly the best image for us Americans. When we think of King, we remember our country’s history, and us declaring independence from any sort of “king” in England or anywhere else for that matter. When we think of Kings, we think of tyrant rulers or monarchs claiming some sort of “divine” right to lead a nation. It’s just not a comfortable image of us…
So why do we say, Christ is King! And where might be his kingdom?
An elementary answer for us might be to say that Christ is King and he is seated on the throne in his heavenly kingdom. We have all heard Jesus himself acclaim, when asked at his trial, that his kingdom is not of this world.
The diocese of North Carolina has just launched an adult teaching and reflection series on “the kingdom of God.” It starts out by looking at the various stories in the scripture that describe the kingdom of God. It is called a reflection series, because the persons that participate in the class are to take the reading and reflect on “the kingdom of God” and what it might look like to them.
The “Kingdom of God” has been described throughout the scriptures during this whole season that ends with this day… The feast of Christ the King.
If you have paid any attention throughout this long season, you have heard a lot about The kingdom of God…
The Kingdom of God is compared to a person who sowed good seed on fertile ground that grows up and is ripe for the harvest.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant or a pearl of great value, or yeast, or a buried treasure in a field…
The Kingdom of God can be compared to a king who wished to settle his accounts and forgives a great debt…
The Kingdom of God is like a landowner who hires laborers for his vineyard…
The Kingdom of God is like a landowner who had a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country; only to have his only son killed trying to claim rights to the vineyard.
The Kingdom of God is like a King who gave a wedding banquet for his son and had the one guest that wasn’t wearing the robe cast out into the street...
The Kingdom of God is like Ten Bridesmaids with lamps, 5 were prepared and went into the feast, and 5 were unprepared and were unable to get in…
The Kingdom of God is like a Man Going on a Journey who gives his three slaves talents, only to return to find that one didn’t do anything with the talent he was given…
So, after all of the teaching about the Kingdom of God over the past 5 months, what is the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven like to you? And what does it mean for you to say that Christ is King?
We have all heard the stories – some of them over and over again. I have used the images in sermons, and offered my own reflections throughout this season of growth for you to have an idea of the Kingdom.
We each, everyone in this room this morning, has his or her own idea of what the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven is like. So take a minute and picture it in your head.
It is through this lens (though our own ideas of kingship) that we look at today’s readings.
Jesus says, “All the nations will be gathered before the Son of Man and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
It is easy for us to assume here that the sheep are good, and the goats are bad. But that’s not the case. There can be good goats and bad sheep. The audience that Jesus is talking to would immediately recognize that it’s not that the sheep and goats are good and bad… The relationship that Jesus was pointing out was more about their personalities, and the types of animals they are.
Sheep are gentle creatures that will be led. The shepherd calls them by name and they follow. They know the shepherd and the shepherd knows them. They trust the shepherd to lead them to green pastures and clean water. They depend on the shepherd for safety in times of trouble. The shepherd for the sheep is most often the difference between the sheep’s life and the sheep’s death.
Goats however, are different… They are stubborn animals, they have to be herded and rounded up. They are not good followers… they don’t listen, and they don’t respond well to any authority. They make their own decisions and most often depend on their own instincts to guide them. They have horns, so they think that they don’t need any shepherd to protect them. They think that they can protect themselves.
But remember, Jesus isn’t talking about sheep or goats here, he says that he “will separate people – one from another.” He is talking about divine judgment; when we who are on this earth will get the opportunity to stand before God and be separated…
Those who have desired to follow the Good Shepherd, those who have trusted and depended on God to guide them, they will spend eternity with God.
And they will be divided from those who have followed the devices and desires of their own hearts - those who have depended on themselves and not trusted in God. Those will spend eternity separated from God, because they chose in this life to separate themselves from God.
But you know what’s strange about this passage. It’s that Jesus isn’t the judge in the passage at all. He is simply the one that divvies up the creation that has already divided itself - He re-claiming what is already his and unites with God that which wants to be re- united. And he separates that which doesn’t want to be united with God.
Jesus then goes on in the passage to explain how you can tell the difference. And the difference between sheep and goats, between eternity with God or without God, all has to do with hospitality.
I’m not talking about whether or not we set out the correct forks or matching napkins for a place setting, or if we offered to refresh our friends cocktail, or help someone move into a new apartment.
I am talking about true, deep, meaningful, engagement of the “other” in this world. The forgotten and neglected of society. The hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, and the confined. That is where true hospitality starts - with the radical engagement and assistance of our true neighbors. The ones in this world, who the world has forgotten.
It involves laying aside our personal prejudices and judgments – and going out of the realm of worldly thought, or even our own personal thoughts of whether or not we think that they deserve it.
Jesus tells us very clearly that one day all the people of the earth will be divided. One day we all will be separated and we will have to be accountable for our actions or lack thereof.
Jesus Christ is king and his kingdom is not of this world. It is of another world called the Kingdom of God. A kingdom with no other king. A kingdom with no other kind of authority. So what does it mean for you to say that Christ is King?
Are you willing to help Christ build up his kingdom? Are you willing to have Jesus take on the role as Lord of your life? Do you let him lead you, and mold you? Do you trust him fully and allow him to protect you, teach you and guide you on your journey through life?
Are you willing to and do you engage the other, the forgotten of the world, and treat them as if they were Christ? Do you help them and heal them? Do you extend to them an arm of hospitality, seeking to serve the Christ in them?
Or do you keep doing what we have always done, going where you have always gone? And do you keep trusting your own self righteousness to save you?
These are very tough and challenging questions for us to hear, but the answers are simple.
Either the answer is yes or the answer is no…
It is how we choose to answer these questions that determines if we end up like the sheep…
or like the goats…
Monday, November 24, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
RCL Year A (All Saints' Sunday) - November 2, 2008
The Rev’d Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year A (All Saints’ Sunday) – November 2, 2008
Revelation 7:9-17
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12
Happy All Hallows’!
This is one of those special days toward the of the liturgical calendar where we pause for a minute and remember all the holy ones (All Hallows’)… the Saints that are part of our life as Christians… the saints that have gone on before us, the saints that are here today and the saints that will come after us… all part of that great communion or gathering of saints.
Most of you You know that the Episcopal Church celebrates a liturgical calendar with “saints” days on it. Those celebrations are contained in a book called Lesser Feasts and Fasts. They mark days that commemorate special folk that have been martyrs, strong witnesses to the faith, or great theologians.
Folks like Joseph of Arimathaea, the man in scripture who was a secret disciple and gave his new tomb for Jesus to be buried in… His life was filled with lore and stories about him bringing the Holy Grail (the cup of the last supper) back to England. His feast day on August 1st.
Or – folks like Richard Hooker… who was a priest in the church in 1600, and probably the greatest Anglican Theologian that ever lived. He gave us his masterpiece The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, in which he brings about the foundation of church being grounded in Scripture, Tradition, and Reason. His day is Tomorrow – November 3rd.
Or Justin, the Martyr at Rome in 167, who started a school in 150 to teach Christianity. He started to defend Christianity in the Hellenistic world that surrounded him and wrote what are called apologies (spiritual defenses) and got into public debates with the Greek philosophers. He was arrested with his companions because of these arguments, under the accusations of ignorance and his teaching of immortality… After being given a chance to renounce his faith – of which he didn’t – he was put to death. His day is June 1st.
But you know, as much as I love to learning about the great witnesses that have gone before us… I want you all to know most of the Saints’ that I know were not great witnesses to the faith, nor will they be martyrs, or great confessors, or not even great theologians. But they are Saints none the less… And that includes us. We are all saints…
There was once a wise priest who, was once asked, “How many people were at the early celebration of the Eucharist last Wednesday morning?” He replied, “There were three old ladies and the janitor… several thousand archangels, a large number of seraphim, along with several million of the triumphant saints of God.”
He had a grasp of what it meant to be celebrating communion with the great ‘cloud of witnesses’ or the communion of saints at every Eucharistic feast. It is actions like this that become the answer to our deep human urge to be part of something larger, to not just stand alone… It gives our simple individual lives meaning.
It has been said that “one drop of water, when left alone, evaporates very quickly. But one drop of water in the immense sea endures.”
We are connected to something larger… we are very much a part of that great communion of saints. We are as St. Paul said, “Children of God.” We hold that divine seed of Christ within us, because we have been created by the one true living God! We are Holy – All Hallow – We are blessed! We are Saints! That’s what we are! Because everyone who claims Christ as Lord and Savior, and has been baptized into Christ’s life, death, and resurrection has been purified and made holy, and made saints to dwell in the fellowship of the communion of saints. And this is our feast day!
This is our day to celebrate the everlasting life that we have as a result of our faith in Christ and our adoption as Children of God. That’s a lot to take in…
We have a special day on the calendar that is ours… I don’t know if any of us realized that... But not only do we have a special day, we share it with all the other great ones that don’t have another day specifically assigned on the liturgical calendar…
You can probably sit for a second and think of who those great ones are… You could name all the saints in your life… it could be your husband or wife, your sister, brother, cousin, child, nephew, grandparent… the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, the peacemakers… anyone in whom you have been able to recognize that Christ within…
That Christ that is the light… the light of the world…
The Rev. Elizabeth Canham was our guest preacher last year on this great feast of All Saints’… she reminded us that a saint is like a stained glass window… it lets the light of Christ shine through. I like the metaphor that Samuel Coleridge uses that says… “a Christian is like a keyhole, though which other folk see God... All of the Christians in our lives are saints; it is just that some of them have day jobs and most of them will never have a feast day named for them.
The challenge this morning is for us to be that stained glass… to be that keyhole…
To be that person on the day job that lets the light of Christ shine through us… Allowing others to see that Christ within us because we live with that unquestionable faith in the God who created us, redeemed us, and is sustaining us…
It has been a long season of learning… learning how to live a life of discipleship… Learning of how to be the church and love one another, growing and learning about how to reach out to others and show others the kingdom of God… Learning how to build up God’s kingdom using our earthly treasures and talents. Letting the Christ that we believe in, whom we emulate… who is known by us, and who knows us – be known to the world.
And when it gets rough, that is when it is most important… That’s when we reach down deep, into our innermost selves, and trust that God in Christ within us will help us. It is our training to become saints…
Have you ever noticed the baptismal covenant promises, that we will say in a few minutes when we renew our baptismal vows, never says that we can do it all by ourselves… It never says that we have been shown, therefore we are on our own… It always says, with God’s help…
It is with God’s help that we are able to resist evil, and proclaim the Good News of God in Jesus Christ… It is with God’s help that we continue to learn about our faith in the apostles’ teaching, and continue to love “the other” our neighbor as our self. It is an ongoing process… with God’s help… so as assured as our sainthood may be, it is up to us to continually strive to become the best saints we can be – with God’s help…
Mother Teresa, a true saint in her own rite, did everything that she did with God’s help. She sheds some wisdom for us on “sainthood” when she says that we need to always keep in mind that a Christian community is not composed of those who are already saints… But of those who are striving to become saints. Therefore, she reminds us that we are to continue to love on another as Christ loved us, and become extremely patient with each other's human faults and failures.
As we stand in a few minutes and recite and renew our baptismal vows, we will once again get the chance to own these for ourselves, we get the chance to be refreshed, and transformed, as we seek to be formed in the image of Christ…
My prayer for us is that we all pay attention to the words as we own them once again… and seek to do the things that we promise to do together as followers of Christ… and then live a life worthy of the sainthood that we have all been given.
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year A (All Saints’ Sunday) – November 2, 2008
Revelation 7:9-17
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12
Happy All Hallows’!
This is one of those special days toward the of the liturgical calendar where we pause for a minute and remember all the holy ones (All Hallows’)… the Saints that are part of our life as Christians… the saints that have gone on before us, the saints that are here today and the saints that will come after us… all part of that great communion or gathering of saints.
Most of you You know that the Episcopal Church celebrates a liturgical calendar with “saints” days on it. Those celebrations are contained in a book called Lesser Feasts and Fasts. They mark days that commemorate special folk that have been martyrs, strong witnesses to the faith, or great theologians.
Folks like Joseph of Arimathaea, the man in scripture who was a secret disciple and gave his new tomb for Jesus to be buried in… His life was filled with lore and stories about him bringing the Holy Grail (the cup of the last supper) back to England. His feast day on August 1st.
Or – folks like Richard Hooker… who was a priest in the church in 1600, and probably the greatest Anglican Theologian that ever lived. He gave us his masterpiece The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, in which he brings about the foundation of church being grounded in Scripture, Tradition, and Reason. His day is Tomorrow – November 3rd.
Or Justin, the Martyr at Rome in 167, who started a school in 150 to teach Christianity. He started to defend Christianity in the Hellenistic world that surrounded him and wrote what are called apologies (spiritual defenses) and got into public debates with the Greek philosophers. He was arrested with his companions because of these arguments, under the accusations of ignorance and his teaching of immortality… After being given a chance to renounce his faith – of which he didn’t – he was put to death. His day is June 1st.
But you know, as much as I love to learning about the great witnesses that have gone before us… I want you all to know most of the Saints’ that I know were not great witnesses to the faith, nor will they be martyrs, or great confessors, or not even great theologians. But they are Saints none the less… And that includes us. We are all saints…
There was once a wise priest who, was once asked, “How many people were at the early celebration of the Eucharist last Wednesday morning?” He replied, “There were three old ladies and the janitor… several thousand archangels, a large number of seraphim, along with several million of the triumphant saints of God.”
He had a grasp of what it meant to be celebrating communion with the great ‘cloud of witnesses’ or the communion of saints at every Eucharistic feast. It is actions like this that become the answer to our deep human urge to be part of something larger, to not just stand alone… It gives our simple individual lives meaning.
It has been said that “one drop of water, when left alone, evaporates very quickly. But one drop of water in the immense sea endures.”
We are connected to something larger… we are very much a part of that great communion of saints. We are as St. Paul said, “Children of God.” We hold that divine seed of Christ within us, because we have been created by the one true living God! We are Holy – All Hallow – We are blessed! We are Saints! That’s what we are! Because everyone who claims Christ as Lord and Savior, and has been baptized into Christ’s life, death, and resurrection has been purified and made holy, and made saints to dwell in the fellowship of the communion of saints. And this is our feast day!
This is our day to celebrate the everlasting life that we have as a result of our faith in Christ and our adoption as Children of God. That’s a lot to take in…
We have a special day on the calendar that is ours… I don’t know if any of us realized that... But not only do we have a special day, we share it with all the other great ones that don’t have another day specifically assigned on the liturgical calendar…
You can probably sit for a second and think of who those great ones are… You could name all the saints in your life… it could be your husband or wife, your sister, brother, cousin, child, nephew, grandparent… the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, the peacemakers… anyone in whom you have been able to recognize that Christ within…
That Christ that is the light… the light of the world…
The Rev. Elizabeth Canham was our guest preacher last year on this great feast of All Saints’… she reminded us that a saint is like a stained glass window… it lets the light of Christ shine through. I like the metaphor that Samuel Coleridge uses that says… “a Christian is like a keyhole, though which other folk see God... All of the Christians in our lives are saints; it is just that some of them have day jobs and most of them will never have a feast day named for them.
The challenge this morning is for us to be that stained glass… to be that keyhole…
To be that person on the day job that lets the light of Christ shine through us… Allowing others to see that Christ within us because we live with that unquestionable faith in the God who created us, redeemed us, and is sustaining us…
It has been a long season of learning… learning how to live a life of discipleship… Learning of how to be the church and love one another, growing and learning about how to reach out to others and show others the kingdom of God… Learning how to build up God’s kingdom using our earthly treasures and talents. Letting the Christ that we believe in, whom we emulate… who is known by us, and who knows us – be known to the world.
And when it gets rough, that is when it is most important… That’s when we reach down deep, into our innermost selves, and trust that God in Christ within us will help us. It is our training to become saints…
Have you ever noticed the baptismal covenant promises, that we will say in a few minutes when we renew our baptismal vows, never says that we can do it all by ourselves… It never says that we have been shown, therefore we are on our own… It always says, with God’s help…
It is with God’s help that we are able to resist evil, and proclaim the Good News of God in Jesus Christ… It is with God’s help that we continue to learn about our faith in the apostles’ teaching, and continue to love “the other” our neighbor as our self. It is an ongoing process… with God’s help… so as assured as our sainthood may be, it is up to us to continually strive to become the best saints we can be – with God’s help…
Mother Teresa, a true saint in her own rite, did everything that she did with God’s help. She sheds some wisdom for us on “sainthood” when she says that we need to always keep in mind that a Christian community is not composed of those who are already saints… But of those who are striving to become saints. Therefore, she reminds us that we are to continue to love on another as Christ loved us, and become extremely patient with each other's human faults and failures.
As we stand in a few minutes and recite and renew our baptismal vows, we will once again get the chance to own these for ourselves, we get the chance to be refreshed, and transformed, as we seek to be formed in the image of Christ…
My prayer for us is that we all pay attention to the words as we own them once again… and seek to do the things that we promise to do together as followers of Christ… and then live a life worthy of the sainthood that we have all been given.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
RCL Year A (Proper 25) - October 26, 2008
The Rev’d Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year A (Proper 25) – October 26, 2008
Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Matthew 22:34-46
It’s on Sundays like today that bring back memories of when I was little… and the priest would stand up and say what is called the “The Summary of the Law.”
Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith… “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind.” This is the first and great commandment, and the second is like unto it, “thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” On these two commandments, hang all the law and the prophets…
Some of you can probably remember…
This summary of the law was recited at every communion service, right after the 10 commandments… In fact, it is still done as part of the Rite I liturgy or as part of the penitential order that can precede Rite II… and it can be wonderful thing for us to profess together this unswerving call to total love…
But, so often it becomes just another part of the liturgy and it is so mundane that it is more like going through the motions. We all stand there and kind of reel it off together and drone on - without letting it permeate, challenge, or transform us.
Then we go through the rest of the service, and out the door to our nice cars, off to our beautiful homes, and to our comfortable American lifestyles.
But I would like us to stop… and take a minute this morning and let the reality of what Jesus is saying seep in just a bit… Seep in long enough to become part of our being…
Please take notice that the word used in this text is “commandment.”
It is an imperative! It is not a choice. Thou shalt! Commandments are requirements that are not meant to be ignored. Some of you that have been in the military, or have been around the military enough to know that a command is an order. It is something that you must follow, or you or someone else gets hurt and could possibly die, or even worse.
In our everyday lives, the 10 commandments have been getting lots of press. Some of you have probably seen or heard about the plethora of signs with the Ten Commandments along our streets or on private property, especially here in the south, all in reaction to the banning of the Ten Commandments from being posted in public places.
I even saw one in Salisbury the other day on someone’s front lawn. Many of us drive past these signs every day. I always wonder what some folks are thinking… It seems to me that some folks look at these biblical “commandments” as some kind of laundry list of God’s “rules” that we must follow… Forcing us to live by some sort of “purity code”… Others claim it is the foundation of our countries greatness… our wonderful (self – perceived) “Christian” legal system to be forced on everyone.
I feel that Jesus is teaching us today in this reading that it goes much deeper than that. Doesn’t it?… it goes deep down into the fabric of our lives, and penetrates our soul, and our very source of life… Love God with all… Everything… Love God with ALL your heart, ALL your soul and ALL your mind… Everything! Everything that we are… everything that we think… and with every breath we take… Love God with your everything… all your heart, soul and mind….
And then Love your neighbor as yourself… The other that has been created by the one you love. The one you love with everything that you are… To love the ones bound to you in this common life… the ones that may or may not look like you or talk like you, but all most certainly bleed like you....
So the big 10, the 10 commandments, the LAW of God brought to the Israelites by Moses is summarized into what it really means for us to be in a right relationship. How we truly should live in order to be in right relationship with God and with one another.
How profound - What would it mean if we really tried to do that?
What affect would it have on our lives or on even our community of faith right here at Christ Church? If we were to examine our lives right here, right now, what changes would we have to make? How would we live our lives differently? I have a feeling that if it were a test we would all fail miserably.
What does loving with all your heart, soul, and mind mean? How do we love with every ounce of our being: Let’s break that down see what it entails.
Let’s start with the heart. If we are talking about loving with the Heart we are talking about the way we love. The scripture says, “Where your treasure is, there is your heart will be also.” So what are your treasures?
Here is a definition of “treasure” I would like us to wrestle with: when your mind is empty, daydreaming, when you are sitting at a stoplight, standing at the kitchen sink, or even the last thing before falling asleep, where does your mind go? That is your treasure! It is the thing that fills up your heart with worry, concern, joy, or satisfaction. It is your first priority, your interest, it is the center of your energy and attention.
Would your love of God and the strangers called “neighbors” be on top of that list? On the top of your list? So -- Where DOES your heart turn most of the time?
Soul. Otherwise called our Psyche, or Spirit. The soul is probably the most difficult to define, but it is usually seen as the deepest part of a human being – the core, the intangible, eternal essence of a human. The soul of a person cannot truly be known by another; it is always in a state of being discovered. What is at the deepest core of your being, the part no one else really knows about, but the part that holds your most profound sacred and valued essence – your divinity? Is that God within you? Does that very, very deep core essence of yourself, love God beyond all things, totally, insatiably, constantly, and fully?
And Mind. Our mind is our rational, logical self… it is the key to understanding and reason. Some argue it is the part that makes us human. It is the way we think things through, our external value system, the scale upon which we weigh life. Saint Paul speaks of “putting on the mind of Christ.” To love God with our minds means that we do not see the world around us with the eyes of culture but we see it with the eyes of God.
Our mind is not faith, but our mind seeks to grasp our faith with understanding. If we love God with all our minds, our value system is not based on materialism… And things that, as Jesus reminds us, “moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal.” It is total abandonment of power, possession, and popularity. The mind of God places its treasures in the Kingdom of God.
And, ah, yes: the neighbor. To love our neighbor as ourselves. So, “Who is your neighbor?” asks Jesus. Our neighbor is anyone who stands beside us on this small planet, our island home. Distance is no obstacle to neighbors. A neighbor is any other human being with whom we share the image of God, which is to say, ALL human beings.
A neighbor is not based on worth, on quality of life, on intelligence or beauty, on health or sickness, on moral development or religion, on race on color or sexuality or even geography. We are ALL neighbors to one another. So what does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself?
Do we want to have enough food and shelter for basic human survival? Do we want medical care? Do we want an education? Do we want our children to flourish safely and develop into all they can be?
To love our neighbor as ourselves usually requires two things in our culture: a pocketbook and a suspension of judgment. If you own a house much larger than you need, and you know there are people being evicted in your hometown… What does that mean in terms of loving your neighbor as yourself?
If your closet is full of coats, hats, and shoes, and you know there are children in town without warm clothing, what does that mean in terms loving your neighbor?
If you buy a new car when the old one is still in fair working condition and there are others who can't even buy gas… What does that mean in terms of your total love of God?
If you eat steak and or dine out in restaurants, and you know a third of the world is starving to death, what does that mean in terms of loving your neighbor?
This is a list can go on and on and on. And we, brothers and sisters, fall extremely short.
The two great commandments that Jesus presents to us are simple, but they have teeth: they are tough and costly. Basically, we don’t comply and perhaps we weren’t meant to. That is one of the beauties of God’s call to us to love; it always stretches us, forming and transforming us… pulling us from wherever we are to be more and more.
It is like the horizon, always beckoning, but never reachable. The secret is our want to live out the commandments in our lives no matter how poorly we actually do it. The secret is in our heart’s desiring. Do we really desire to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and souls and minds and to love our neighbor as ourselves? Truth be told, many – some right here in this room - may say no. We don't mind loving God or our neighbor, but forget we forget that it takes our total commitment.
If we, in our own lives, want to make a choice, a decision, to love God and our neighbor as God asks us, what changes would that require of us? The answer for us may lie the word “hang.” “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” This is the word that usually gets overlooked in the text. “Hang” can mean the way we put our clothes in the closet, as we hang up our clothes, or it could mean what we do with our hat, as a peg we hang our hat on.
But in this text, the word “hang” is the same one used for “Jesus, whom you slew and hanged upon the cross.” That one little word shifts the entire meaning of the Great Commandment, doesn’t it? To love the Lord with all our hearts and souls and minds, and to love our neighbor as ourselves is a sacrifice. It is a crucifixion. It means to completely die to ourselves.
It means to come though our baptismal waters – and be reborn to life anew... Ready to love with a love that costs us everything. Everything… It is the Great Kenosis: a total emptying. God asks no less of us. God asks for everything. God asks for all… All that we are, all that we have, all the time.
Do we even dare? Do we dare to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind… and love our neighbor as our self… And what might life on this planet look like if we did?
(some of the images in this sermon taken from a sermon by the Rev. Sister Judith Schenck)
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year A (Proper 25) – October 26, 2008
Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Matthew 22:34-46
It’s on Sundays like today that bring back memories of when I was little… and the priest would stand up and say what is called the “The Summary of the Law.”
Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith… “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind.” This is the first and great commandment, and the second is like unto it, “thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” On these two commandments, hang all the law and the prophets…
Some of you can probably remember…
This summary of the law was recited at every communion service, right after the 10 commandments… In fact, it is still done as part of the Rite I liturgy or as part of the penitential order that can precede Rite II… and it can be wonderful thing for us to profess together this unswerving call to total love…
But, so often it becomes just another part of the liturgy and it is so mundane that it is more like going through the motions. We all stand there and kind of reel it off together and drone on - without letting it permeate, challenge, or transform us.
Then we go through the rest of the service, and out the door to our nice cars, off to our beautiful homes, and to our comfortable American lifestyles.
But I would like us to stop… and take a minute this morning and let the reality of what Jesus is saying seep in just a bit… Seep in long enough to become part of our being…
Please take notice that the word used in this text is “commandment.”
It is an imperative! It is not a choice. Thou shalt! Commandments are requirements that are not meant to be ignored. Some of you that have been in the military, or have been around the military enough to know that a command is an order. It is something that you must follow, or you or someone else gets hurt and could possibly die, or even worse.
In our everyday lives, the 10 commandments have been getting lots of press. Some of you have probably seen or heard about the plethora of signs with the Ten Commandments along our streets or on private property, especially here in the south, all in reaction to the banning of the Ten Commandments from being posted in public places.
I even saw one in Salisbury the other day on someone’s front lawn. Many of us drive past these signs every day. I always wonder what some folks are thinking… It seems to me that some folks look at these biblical “commandments” as some kind of laundry list of God’s “rules” that we must follow… Forcing us to live by some sort of “purity code”… Others claim it is the foundation of our countries greatness… our wonderful (self – perceived) “Christian” legal system to be forced on everyone.
I feel that Jesus is teaching us today in this reading that it goes much deeper than that. Doesn’t it?… it goes deep down into the fabric of our lives, and penetrates our soul, and our very source of life… Love God with all… Everything… Love God with ALL your heart, ALL your soul and ALL your mind… Everything! Everything that we are… everything that we think… and with every breath we take… Love God with your everything… all your heart, soul and mind….
And then Love your neighbor as yourself… The other that has been created by the one you love. The one you love with everything that you are… To love the ones bound to you in this common life… the ones that may or may not look like you or talk like you, but all most certainly bleed like you....
So the big 10, the 10 commandments, the LAW of God brought to the Israelites by Moses is summarized into what it really means for us to be in a right relationship. How we truly should live in order to be in right relationship with God and with one another.
How profound - What would it mean if we really tried to do that?
What affect would it have on our lives or on even our community of faith right here at Christ Church? If we were to examine our lives right here, right now, what changes would we have to make? How would we live our lives differently? I have a feeling that if it were a test we would all fail miserably.
What does loving with all your heart, soul, and mind mean? How do we love with every ounce of our being: Let’s break that down see what it entails.
Let’s start with the heart. If we are talking about loving with the Heart we are talking about the way we love. The scripture says, “Where your treasure is, there is your heart will be also.” So what are your treasures?
Here is a definition of “treasure” I would like us to wrestle with: when your mind is empty, daydreaming, when you are sitting at a stoplight, standing at the kitchen sink, or even the last thing before falling asleep, where does your mind go? That is your treasure! It is the thing that fills up your heart with worry, concern, joy, or satisfaction. It is your first priority, your interest, it is the center of your energy and attention.
Would your love of God and the strangers called “neighbors” be on top of that list? On the top of your list? So -- Where DOES your heart turn most of the time?
Soul. Otherwise called our Psyche, or Spirit. The soul is probably the most difficult to define, but it is usually seen as the deepest part of a human being – the core, the intangible, eternal essence of a human. The soul of a person cannot truly be known by another; it is always in a state of being discovered. What is at the deepest core of your being, the part no one else really knows about, but the part that holds your most profound sacred and valued essence – your divinity? Is that God within you? Does that very, very deep core essence of yourself, love God beyond all things, totally, insatiably, constantly, and fully?
And Mind. Our mind is our rational, logical self… it is the key to understanding and reason. Some argue it is the part that makes us human. It is the way we think things through, our external value system, the scale upon which we weigh life. Saint Paul speaks of “putting on the mind of Christ.” To love God with our minds means that we do not see the world around us with the eyes of culture but we see it with the eyes of God.
Our mind is not faith, but our mind seeks to grasp our faith with understanding. If we love God with all our minds, our value system is not based on materialism… And things that, as Jesus reminds us, “moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal.” It is total abandonment of power, possession, and popularity. The mind of God places its treasures in the Kingdom of God.
And, ah, yes: the neighbor. To love our neighbor as ourselves. So, “Who is your neighbor?” asks Jesus. Our neighbor is anyone who stands beside us on this small planet, our island home. Distance is no obstacle to neighbors. A neighbor is any other human being with whom we share the image of God, which is to say, ALL human beings.
A neighbor is not based on worth, on quality of life, on intelligence or beauty, on health or sickness, on moral development or religion, on race on color or sexuality or even geography. We are ALL neighbors to one another. So what does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself?
Do we want to have enough food and shelter for basic human survival? Do we want medical care? Do we want an education? Do we want our children to flourish safely and develop into all they can be?
To love our neighbor as ourselves usually requires two things in our culture: a pocketbook and a suspension of judgment. If you own a house much larger than you need, and you know there are people being evicted in your hometown… What does that mean in terms of loving your neighbor as yourself?
If your closet is full of coats, hats, and shoes, and you know there are children in town without warm clothing, what does that mean in terms loving your neighbor?
If you buy a new car when the old one is still in fair working condition and there are others who can't even buy gas… What does that mean in terms of your total love of God?
If you eat steak and or dine out in restaurants, and you know a third of the world is starving to death, what does that mean in terms of loving your neighbor?
This is a list can go on and on and on. And we, brothers and sisters, fall extremely short.
The two great commandments that Jesus presents to us are simple, but they have teeth: they are tough and costly. Basically, we don’t comply and perhaps we weren’t meant to. That is one of the beauties of God’s call to us to love; it always stretches us, forming and transforming us… pulling us from wherever we are to be more and more.
It is like the horizon, always beckoning, but never reachable. The secret is our want to live out the commandments in our lives no matter how poorly we actually do it. The secret is in our heart’s desiring. Do we really desire to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and souls and minds and to love our neighbor as ourselves? Truth be told, many – some right here in this room - may say no. We don't mind loving God or our neighbor, but forget we forget that it takes our total commitment.
If we, in our own lives, want to make a choice, a decision, to love God and our neighbor as God asks us, what changes would that require of us? The answer for us may lie the word “hang.” “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” This is the word that usually gets overlooked in the text. “Hang” can mean the way we put our clothes in the closet, as we hang up our clothes, or it could mean what we do with our hat, as a peg we hang our hat on.
But in this text, the word “hang” is the same one used for “Jesus, whom you slew and hanged upon the cross.” That one little word shifts the entire meaning of the Great Commandment, doesn’t it? To love the Lord with all our hearts and souls and minds, and to love our neighbor as ourselves is a sacrifice. It is a crucifixion. It means to completely die to ourselves.
It means to come though our baptismal waters – and be reborn to life anew... Ready to love with a love that costs us everything. Everything… It is the Great Kenosis: a total emptying. God asks no less of us. God asks for everything. God asks for all… All that we are, all that we have, all the time.
Do we even dare? Do we dare to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind… and love our neighbor as our self… And what might life on this planet look like if we did?
(some of the images in this sermon taken from a sermon by the Rev. Sister Judith Schenck)
Sunday, October 19, 2008
RCL Year A (Proper 24) - October 19, 2008
The Rev’d Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year A – Proper 24 – October 19, 2008
Exodus 33:12-23
Psalm 99
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Matthew 22:15-22
[note: this is a transcription of a dialogue sermon that was given with the children of the parish (and the adults… some of the answers were the children’s, some were the adults]
(showing the children and congregation a quarter)
What have I got here…
A: a coin…
what is this?
A: A coin, a quarter…
Is it a quarter? Can we all agree that this is a quarter?
A: Yes…
Who’s is it? Is it mine? Who does this belong to??
Is it mine? It came out of my pocket… but, is it mine (gives to another)
A: yes
Is it yours? Who does it belong to???…
A: it belongs to God… [child’s answer]
It does? How? Tell me how it belongs to God?
A: God made it… God made the world and the world made that… ([child’s answer] I like children’s theology – they are in the right thinking, they really are…)
This is a quarter… It’s made now of nickel… (probably out of silver at one point in our lives) we pulled the silver out of the mine, right?... and we made it into a quarter, and we use it for what? And we use it to do what? What do we use money for?
A: To pay for stuff…
To pay for stuff! So, what do we use a quarter for?... (not a lot now a days) What do we use money for?
A: We buy toys and candy and stuff…
A: We buy stuff that we need
Pay for stuff… What do we use a quarter for??? (other than to buy bubble gum?)
A: Pay for things… toys, food, bills… etc…
What did we use before we had money…
A: We bartered for stuff… we traded [adult’s answer]
We bartered and traded, right? So this is what happened before we had coins, we bartered and traded for stuff… instead of exchanging money for stuff.
When Jesus was in the temple, right, that is where Jesus was teaching today, he was in the temple… what happened? Do you remember what happened in the story I just read? What happened???
The Pharisees, in the temple now, I might add… The Pharisees presented Jesus with Roman Coin, a denarius (show picture) A Roman Coin… what does that look like?… What is this??
A: A coin…
What does that have on it???
A: persons head and words…
A persons head? And words? It has a persons head and words… the head… that’s Caesar, that was the Roman Emperor, and it the Latin words said, “Caesar the Divine”
And this was in the Jewish temple… ooooo…
Do you think that things like this were allowed in the Jewish temple?
A: NO!
No way! Not a chance! Why is that?
A: Don’t know.
Caesar on the front to the coin (a man’s image on it) and with words on it “Caesar the Divine” – that was considered what? That’s idolatry – idolatry, pure and simple, claiming something else or someone else had some divine power other than God.
So, they had money changers that sat on the outside of the temple…
Do you remember the story about Jesus and the money changers sitting outside of the temple? Jesus was upset at the money changers sitting on the outside of the temple, but He wasn’t upset because they were doing their job and changing money… Jesus, he was upset because they were taking a cut for themselves and lining their pockets…
They had money changers that changed the Roman coins, the denarius that people received for doing their job (a denarius was a days wage)… into this… (show picture of Jewish Shekel) this is what they changed it into…
This is what they changed it into… what is that? Is that another coin??
That’s a Jewish coin.
This is a Jewish coin… called a shekel. A shekel was a unit of weight, before they made coins… because they used it in the barter system… they traded items back and forth and a shekel was originally a unit of weight.. so they made a coin in order to represent a shekel… and then a shekel became what something costs, instead of trading…
Look at this and tell me what’s on that?
A: a hat
No, it’s not a hat…
A: a cup…
A cup? Ever seen one of those in here – in the church? Have y’all ever seen something like that in here??? A cup?
(showed the communion chalice) What is that?
That’s a cup! Isn’t that what we put the wine in? And the other side of the coin, what’s on that, wheat? That’s wheat…. And what do we use wheat for??? To make bread…
So they took the Roman coin at the temple and converted it into the Jewish shekel that didn’t have the image of a person on it… and made it acceptable for use in the temple, because the shekel didn’t claim divinity for something else other than God. So, this is the coin they used in the temple…
But guess what… we’re not Jewish, are we?… So, when we give to God, what do we do…
A: we pray…
A: we are giving God our money…
Are you giving God “your” money? Is it “our” money? Are we giving God our money or giving something that already belongs to God??
But you know what, God knows that we need to live in this world… So God only expects us to give back 10% of what God gives us, and some folks consider that a lot... But we know it’s only a small amount considering the multitude of blessings that God provides for us in our lives.
So, how do we convert this quarter, something that we receive for doing our job, something that is used to pay our taxes, (to the adults) something that is used sometimes as a score card, or a weapon in our lives…. into something that is acceptable to God…
How do we convert this quarter into something that’s acceptable?
A: we keep it…
Do we keep it?
A: we give it away and then they give it to someone else…
I am going to take this image here, this quarter with the image of this dead president’s head… because if we ever take time to look at it, all the money in the U.S. has a dead president’s head on it… Whether it is 10 dollar bill or 100 dollar bill it all has a president’s head… and put it in here.
What have I got here? Is this an envelope? What does it say? Offering? (puts the quarter in the offering envelope) We take that and put it in the collection plate when it comes around… Then what are we doing with it?
A: We are helping other people…
What are! How is that our responsibility as Christians? How do we use it to help other people?… A: Because when we give to help other people we are helping them because they don’t have any money…
A: We helping other people see God…
When we give to the church… we are, in fact, helping others... we are helping other people see God or experience God! It is spreading the kingdom of God… So, why is it that when give to the church, we so often fall into the same mindset that Moses had in the Old Testament lesson?… when he was so bold with God, and said, "God show me your glory!" He commanded God to show him His glory.
So often when we give to the church we are saying, God, show me your glory! We want to see the immediate results of our almighty dollar being worked out…
Instead, when we give money, we should trust that we are building up the kingdom of God. Nothing else… nothing more… nothing less… We are to trust that the money that we give is used to build up the kingdom of God…
So that’s why when we, as a church, make a decision to give money to the diocese, we are spreading the kingdom of God… And when the Diocese gives to the national church, we are spreading the kingdom of God….
And then the us and the diocese and national Church can use our resources to help other people. Sometimes they combine what we give with other offerings to fund its various programs… (for Episcopal Relief and Development, and the United Thank Offering (Presiding Bishop’s Fund)), We are spreading the kingdom of God…
So – when we give money to the church… we are helping to spread the kingdom of God!
Thanks be to God! Amen!
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year A – Proper 24 – October 19, 2008
Exodus 33:12-23
Psalm 99
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Matthew 22:15-22
[note: this is a transcription of a dialogue sermon that was given with the children of the parish (and the adults… some of the answers were the children’s, some were the adults]
(showing the children and congregation a quarter)
What have I got here…
A: a coin…
what is this?
A: A coin, a quarter…
Is it a quarter? Can we all agree that this is a quarter?
A: Yes…
Who’s is it? Is it mine? Who does this belong to??
Is it mine? It came out of my pocket… but, is it mine (gives to another)
A: yes
Is it yours? Who does it belong to???…
A: it belongs to God… [child’s answer]
It does? How? Tell me how it belongs to God?
A: God made it… God made the world and the world made that… ([child’s answer] I like children’s theology – they are in the right thinking, they really are…)
This is a quarter… It’s made now of nickel… (probably out of silver at one point in our lives) we pulled the silver out of the mine, right?... and we made it into a quarter, and we use it for what? And we use it to do what? What do we use money for?
A: To pay for stuff…
To pay for stuff! So, what do we use a quarter for?... (not a lot now a days) What do we use money for?
A: We buy toys and candy and stuff…
A: We buy stuff that we need
Pay for stuff… What do we use a quarter for??? (other than to buy bubble gum?)
A: Pay for things… toys, food, bills… etc…
What did we use before we had money…
A: We bartered for stuff… we traded [adult’s answer]
We bartered and traded, right? So this is what happened before we had coins, we bartered and traded for stuff… instead of exchanging money for stuff.
When Jesus was in the temple, right, that is where Jesus was teaching today, he was in the temple… what happened? Do you remember what happened in the story I just read? What happened???
The Pharisees, in the temple now, I might add… The Pharisees presented Jesus with Roman Coin, a denarius (show picture) A Roman Coin… what does that look like?… What is this??
A: A coin…
What does that have on it???
A: persons head and words…
A persons head? And words? It has a persons head and words… the head… that’s Caesar, that was the Roman Emperor, and it the Latin words said, “Caesar the Divine”
And this was in the Jewish temple… ooooo…
Do you think that things like this were allowed in the Jewish temple?
A: NO!
No way! Not a chance! Why is that?
A: Don’t know.
Caesar on the front to the coin (a man’s image on it) and with words on it “Caesar the Divine” – that was considered what? That’s idolatry – idolatry, pure and simple, claiming something else or someone else had some divine power other than God.
So, they had money changers that sat on the outside of the temple…
Do you remember the story about Jesus and the money changers sitting outside of the temple? Jesus was upset at the money changers sitting on the outside of the temple, but He wasn’t upset because they were doing their job and changing money… Jesus, he was upset because they were taking a cut for themselves and lining their pockets…
They had money changers that changed the Roman coins, the denarius that people received for doing their job (a denarius was a days wage)… into this… (show picture of Jewish Shekel) this is what they changed it into…
This is what they changed it into… what is that? Is that another coin??
That’s a Jewish coin.
This is a Jewish coin… called a shekel. A shekel was a unit of weight, before they made coins… because they used it in the barter system… they traded items back and forth and a shekel was originally a unit of weight.. so they made a coin in order to represent a shekel… and then a shekel became what something costs, instead of trading…
Look at this and tell me what’s on that?
A: a hat
No, it’s not a hat…
A: a cup…
A cup? Ever seen one of those in here – in the church? Have y’all ever seen something like that in here??? A cup?
(showed the communion chalice) What is that?
That’s a cup! Isn’t that what we put the wine in? And the other side of the coin, what’s on that, wheat? That’s wheat…. And what do we use wheat for??? To make bread…
So they took the Roman coin at the temple and converted it into the Jewish shekel that didn’t have the image of a person on it… and made it acceptable for use in the temple, because the shekel didn’t claim divinity for something else other than God. So, this is the coin they used in the temple…
But guess what… we’re not Jewish, are we?… So, when we give to God, what do we do…
A: we pray…
A: we are giving God our money…
Are you giving God “your” money? Is it “our” money? Are we giving God our money or giving something that already belongs to God??
But you know what, God knows that we need to live in this world… So God only expects us to give back 10% of what God gives us, and some folks consider that a lot... But we know it’s only a small amount considering the multitude of blessings that God provides for us in our lives.
So, how do we convert this quarter, something that we receive for doing our job, something that is used to pay our taxes, (to the adults) something that is used sometimes as a score card, or a weapon in our lives…. into something that is acceptable to God…
How do we convert this quarter into something that’s acceptable?
A: we keep it…
Do we keep it?
A: we give it away and then they give it to someone else…
I am going to take this image here, this quarter with the image of this dead president’s head… because if we ever take time to look at it, all the money in the U.S. has a dead president’s head on it… Whether it is 10 dollar bill or 100 dollar bill it all has a president’s head… and put it in here.
What have I got here? Is this an envelope? What does it say? Offering? (puts the quarter in the offering envelope) We take that and put it in the collection plate when it comes around… Then what are we doing with it?
A: We are helping other people…
What are! How is that our responsibility as Christians? How do we use it to help other people?… A: Because when we give to help other people we are helping them because they don’t have any money…
A: We helping other people see God…
When we give to the church… we are, in fact, helping others... we are helping other people see God or experience God! It is spreading the kingdom of God… So, why is it that when give to the church, we so often fall into the same mindset that Moses had in the Old Testament lesson?… when he was so bold with God, and said, "God show me your glory!" He commanded God to show him His glory.
So often when we give to the church we are saying, God, show me your glory! We want to see the immediate results of our almighty dollar being worked out…
Instead, when we give money, we should trust that we are building up the kingdom of God. Nothing else… nothing more… nothing less… We are to trust that the money that we give is used to build up the kingdom of God…
So that’s why when we, as a church, make a decision to give money to the diocese, we are spreading the kingdom of God… And when the Diocese gives to the national church, we are spreading the kingdom of God….
And then the us and the diocese and national Church can use our resources to help other people. Sometimes they combine what we give with other offerings to fund its various programs… (for Episcopal Relief and Development, and the United Thank Offering (Presiding Bishop’s Fund)), We are spreading the kingdom of God…
So – when we give money to the church… we are helping to spread the kingdom of God!
Thanks be to God! Amen!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
RCL Year A (Proper 22) - October 12, 2008
The Rev’d Kenneth H Saunders III
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year A (Proper 23) – October 12, 2008
Exodus 32:1-14
Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23
Philippians 4:1-9
Matthew 22:1-14
I heard a story a few years back about a small parish that had just called a new priest to lead them. They were so happy to have the young and educated pastor to help them grow and do the Lord's work in their community.
The first week the pastor gave a fantastic sermon and everyone was so pleased. After Church they greeted each other and they told the priest how pleased they were that he accepted the call to serve their small parish.
The second week the pastor delivered the same sermon. (you know they say, that all great preachers only have one sermon…) The people were still happy that they had the new priest and they didn't mind too much that he repeated the same sermon from the previous week.
Again, on third Sunday the pastor gave the same sermon. The parish was now wondering if this guy was a complete dud, after all he delivered the same sermon three Sunday's in a row.
So, the vestry decided to talk with the priest about his lack of performance in the pulpit. On the fourth week right after the service, and after hearing the sermon four times in a row the vestry met with the priest.
They told him how wonderful it was to have him there and how they enjoyed him and his family and were so pleased that he had accepted to come to their community. However, they also said that they were a little upset… Upset that he had delivered the same sermon now four weeks in a row.
While smiling he looked at them and said, "I'll change my sermon when you start listening!"
During the past few weeks we have heard some powerful and inspiring lessons from the gospel of Matthew. And they all point towards our response to the Lord’s invitation. Through the gospel lessons we learned that we are called to be the Church and live a life of faith and obedience… We are called to react, to forgive, and to witness to others what we believe. This has been the theme that has been repeated over and over and over again during these past few Sundays.
Today we were presented with Jesus telling us the parable story of a wedding banquet which a king gave for his guests. In scripture, a wedding banquet is often used as a metaphor for the great messianic feast, the kingdom of heaven, that we all have an opportunity to be a part of.
In the Revelation of St. John the divine, we are told that at the end of times... after all the wars, tribulation, destruction, and rebellion takes place... The Lamb of God, who is Jesus the Christ, will come down from heaven, and be seated on his throne with all his angels in all his power and all his might. He will be dressed like a beautiful bridegroom who is awaiting his bride. His bride, the Church.
The bride of Christ is the Church, which is adorned in all her beauty and splendor, just like a bride is dressed on her wedding day. And that is why the Church is decorated with elegance… with beautiful vestments and sometimes gold and silver, revealing the Lord's beauty. And then the marriage feast of the Lamb will take place, the feast of feasts, and all will be invited to the supper.
However, we have to make sure that we have our wedding garment. It is our baptismal garment that becomes our wedding garment, our ticket into the kingdom of God… If we don’t have the wedding garment we will not be able to join the party. As we heard in the lesson this morning; a man that had been invited did not put on the wedding garment that had been provided and was thrown out of the banquet into the street.
At baptism we were baptized into Christ's death and then raised with him (re-born in him) in order to walk in new life. We were sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit through the anointing with Holy Chrism. In most churches we are given a white robe which is our wedding garment, and we are given a candle which is the light of Christ and a cross to remind us to follow him.
We are walked down the isle, and make our first procession into the Church as a memeber of the body of Christ, as we were welcomed into the household of God. And then we were invited to the Lord's Table to feast on the bread and wine, that spiritual nourishment for our journey which is his body and blood.
This invitation didn't just go out one time but continually goes out week after week after week, as the Lord wants us to share his hospitality. Whether we respond or not is our responsibility.
I said a few weeks ago, that what we do in response to God’s grace in our lives is up to us… God has given us a grand opportunity, to be part of a community that worships, learns, and fellowships together… But it takes more then us just showing up to the feast… It takes action… action to honor our great host by donning the wedding gown of salvation… because the wedding garment doesn't do us any good, if we don’t put it on…
I am not talking about what you wear, or don’t wear to church, I am talking about what you do in response to the invitation that you are so freely given…
Do you accept the salvation (the wedding garment) that you are offered?
And when you do, what do you do in response, Do you put it on?
Our Lord expects us to continually answer the invitation, and come an visit God at God’s house, after all, isn't the Church God's house? At God’s house we receive a foretaste of that heavenly banquet which God has prepared for us… We know that God’s house is our house and that we are always welcome! - Because we are invited back week after week after week... and the Lord means what he says when he said that he would be with us.
He wants us to come and sit at his table and feast on the food of eternal life, the food that nourishes our immortal souls… mainly his Word and His body and blood. The Lord offer us an open invitation which was given to us at baptism, and he continually invites us to come to worship, to learn, to our share faith and fellowship with one another. But, as I said, it goes further than us just showing up for the feast…
We have to be willing to put on the wedding garment, the garment of salvation… and live our lives in response to God’s love for us. We do this by witnessing to his love in the world… by living our lives in a way that testifies to his love…
St. Francis, as I talked about last Sunday afternoon at the Blessing of the Animals, said a lot of things in his ministry, but I think one of the most profound things he said was… Preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ at all times… when necessary, use words…
It is not about going out and babbling scripture at other folks… expecting them to understand and to be “converted” or “saved” from hellfire and damnation. It is about living your life in such a way, that others realize that you have something special going on... You have that something so special that it radiates forth from you... and they are interested, and they ask you about it… Then you have the open opportunity to share with them the invitation that you have received, and invite them…
It is all in how we respond… It’s all in how we live… Some people respond to this invitation and others don’t… However, as we heard in the gospel reading from Matthew, if we don't respond, God will invite other people who will respond... who "want" to respond.
Perhaps our gospel lessons for the past few weeks have been a bit repetitive on purpose. Perhaps we are not listening to what Matthew is telling us. Sometimes when we hear the scriptures read in church or anywhere else, we tend to hear what we want to hear and then forget or ignore the rest. We like to pick and choose bits and pieces of the gospel, rather than listening, hearing, and accepting the whole gospel.
Today we are once again invited to hear the gospel's call to faith, and to be the church in the world - living out our baptismal covenant by loving God, loving one another and witnessing to the truth…
Let us be constantly striving to don our baptismal garment, to live out our response to the salvation so freely given to us…
So that on that day… we will be prepared to sit at the table of the Lord, and be partakers of that heavenly banquet...
The Great Wedding feast that has been prepared for us!
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year A (Proper 23) – October 12, 2008
Exodus 32:1-14
Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23
Philippians 4:1-9
Matthew 22:1-14
I heard a story a few years back about a small parish that had just called a new priest to lead them. They were so happy to have the young and educated pastor to help them grow and do the Lord's work in their community.
The first week the pastor gave a fantastic sermon and everyone was so pleased. After Church they greeted each other and they told the priest how pleased they were that he accepted the call to serve their small parish.
The second week the pastor delivered the same sermon. (you know they say, that all great preachers only have one sermon…) The people were still happy that they had the new priest and they didn't mind too much that he repeated the same sermon from the previous week.
Again, on third Sunday the pastor gave the same sermon. The parish was now wondering if this guy was a complete dud, after all he delivered the same sermon three Sunday's in a row.
So, the vestry decided to talk with the priest about his lack of performance in the pulpit. On the fourth week right after the service, and after hearing the sermon four times in a row the vestry met with the priest.
They told him how wonderful it was to have him there and how they enjoyed him and his family and were so pleased that he had accepted to come to their community. However, they also said that they were a little upset… Upset that he had delivered the same sermon now four weeks in a row.
While smiling he looked at them and said, "I'll change my sermon when you start listening!"
During the past few weeks we have heard some powerful and inspiring lessons from the gospel of Matthew. And they all point towards our response to the Lord’s invitation. Through the gospel lessons we learned that we are called to be the Church and live a life of faith and obedience… We are called to react, to forgive, and to witness to others what we believe. This has been the theme that has been repeated over and over and over again during these past few Sundays.
Today we were presented with Jesus telling us the parable story of a wedding banquet which a king gave for his guests. In scripture, a wedding banquet is often used as a metaphor for the great messianic feast, the kingdom of heaven, that we all have an opportunity to be a part of.
In the Revelation of St. John the divine, we are told that at the end of times... after all the wars, tribulation, destruction, and rebellion takes place... The Lamb of God, who is Jesus the Christ, will come down from heaven, and be seated on his throne with all his angels in all his power and all his might. He will be dressed like a beautiful bridegroom who is awaiting his bride. His bride, the Church.
The bride of Christ is the Church, which is adorned in all her beauty and splendor, just like a bride is dressed on her wedding day. And that is why the Church is decorated with elegance… with beautiful vestments and sometimes gold and silver, revealing the Lord's beauty. And then the marriage feast of the Lamb will take place, the feast of feasts, and all will be invited to the supper.
However, we have to make sure that we have our wedding garment. It is our baptismal garment that becomes our wedding garment, our ticket into the kingdom of God… If we don’t have the wedding garment we will not be able to join the party. As we heard in the lesson this morning; a man that had been invited did not put on the wedding garment that had been provided and was thrown out of the banquet into the street.
At baptism we were baptized into Christ's death and then raised with him (re-born in him) in order to walk in new life. We were sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit through the anointing with Holy Chrism. In most churches we are given a white robe which is our wedding garment, and we are given a candle which is the light of Christ and a cross to remind us to follow him.
We are walked down the isle, and make our first procession into the Church as a memeber of the body of Christ, as we were welcomed into the household of God. And then we were invited to the Lord's Table to feast on the bread and wine, that spiritual nourishment for our journey which is his body and blood.
This invitation didn't just go out one time but continually goes out week after week after week, as the Lord wants us to share his hospitality. Whether we respond or not is our responsibility.
I said a few weeks ago, that what we do in response to God’s grace in our lives is up to us… God has given us a grand opportunity, to be part of a community that worships, learns, and fellowships together… But it takes more then us just showing up to the feast… It takes action… action to honor our great host by donning the wedding gown of salvation… because the wedding garment doesn't do us any good, if we don’t put it on…
I am not talking about what you wear, or don’t wear to church, I am talking about what you do in response to the invitation that you are so freely given…
Do you accept the salvation (the wedding garment) that you are offered?
And when you do, what do you do in response, Do you put it on?
Our Lord expects us to continually answer the invitation, and come an visit God at God’s house, after all, isn't the Church God's house? At God’s house we receive a foretaste of that heavenly banquet which God has prepared for us… We know that God’s house is our house and that we are always welcome! - Because we are invited back week after week after week... and the Lord means what he says when he said that he would be with us.
He wants us to come and sit at his table and feast on the food of eternal life, the food that nourishes our immortal souls… mainly his Word and His body and blood. The Lord offer us an open invitation which was given to us at baptism, and he continually invites us to come to worship, to learn, to our share faith and fellowship with one another. But, as I said, it goes further than us just showing up for the feast…
We have to be willing to put on the wedding garment, the garment of salvation… and live our lives in response to God’s love for us. We do this by witnessing to his love in the world… by living our lives in a way that testifies to his love…
St. Francis, as I talked about last Sunday afternoon at the Blessing of the Animals, said a lot of things in his ministry, but I think one of the most profound things he said was… Preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ at all times… when necessary, use words…
It is not about going out and babbling scripture at other folks… expecting them to understand and to be “converted” or “saved” from hellfire and damnation. It is about living your life in such a way, that others realize that you have something special going on... You have that something so special that it radiates forth from you... and they are interested, and they ask you about it… Then you have the open opportunity to share with them the invitation that you have received, and invite them…
It is all in how we respond… It’s all in how we live… Some people respond to this invitation and others don’t… However, as we heard in the gospel reading from Matthew, if we don't respond, God will invite other people who will respond... who "want" to respond.
Perhaps our gospel lessons for the past few weeks have been a bit repetitive on purpose. Perhaps we are not listening to what Matthew is telling us. Sometimes when we hear the scriptures read in church or anywhere else, we tend to hear what we want to hear and then forget or ignore the rest. We like to pick and choose bits and pieces of the gospel, rather than listening, hearing, and accepting the whole gospel.
Today we are once again invited to hear the gospel's call to faith, and to be the church in the world - living out our baptismal covenant by loving God, loving one another and witnessing to the truth…
Let us be constantly striving to don our baptismal garment, to live out our response to the salvation so freely given to us…
So that on that day… we will be prepared to sit at the table of the Lord, and be partakers of that heavenly banquet...
The Great Wedding feast that has been prepared for us!
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