“Give Us More Faith”

Sermon on Proper 22, Year C, given October 6 2013 by Ken Lyon at Grace Episcopal Church, Cincinnati OH.

Collect of the Day

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Hebrew Scripture: Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4

The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw.
O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?
Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save?
Why do you make me see wrong-doing and look at trouble?
Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.
So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails.
The wicked surround the righteous--therefore judgment comes forth perverted.

I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart;
I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint.
Then the LORD answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it.
For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie.
If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.
Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.

Psalm 37:1-10 Page 633, BCP

Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; *do not be jealous of those who do wrong.
For they shall soon wither like the grass, *and like the green grass fade away.
Put your trust in the LORD and do good; *dwell in the land and feed on its riches.
Take delight in the LORD, *and he shall give you your heart's desire.
Commit your way to the LORD and put your trust in him, *and he will bring it to pass.
He will make your righteousness as clear as the light *and your just dealing as the noonday.
Be still before the LORD *and wait patiently for him.
Do not fret yourself over the one who prospers, *the one who succeeds in evil schemes.
Refrain from anger, leave rage alone; *do not fret yourself; it leads only to evil.
For evildoers shall be cut off, *but those who wait upon the LORD shall possess the land.

The Epistle: 2 Timothy 1:1-14

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my beloved child:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am grateful to God--whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did--when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.

Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.

The Gospel: Luke 17:5-10

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" The Lord replied, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, `Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

"Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, `Come here at once and take your place at the table'? Would you not rather say to him, `Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, `We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'"

The Sermon

We humans are never satisfied! Whatever the situation is, it’s not what it should be, and we want it fixed, and we want it fixed now!

To paraphrase the prophet Habakkuk in today’s Old Testament lesson.

O Lord, how long must I cry for help. Why aren’t you listening? Violence threatens, and you will not save. Why do you make me see wrong-doing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. The law is flouted; justice never prevails. The wicked gang up on the righteous, and the truth gets twisted.

Habakkuk shouts to God: "What are you going to do about this!" And he stations himself in a watch tower, saying “I’m waiting for your answer, God.”

Who can’t identify with Habakkuk?

Just this week, there are plenty of things to feel that way about.

• The civil war in Syria, or the mall massacre in Nairobi, African migrants drowning off Italy,
• Closer to home, it’s said that the economy is recovering from the Great Recession, but that’s not the case for most Americans. The rich are richer, but the poor and middle class are still worse off than they have been for many years. But never fear, our elected representatives in Washington are going to make it right. Right! . No matter where you stand, I think you’ll agree that what they’re doing just doesn’t cut it.
• In our personal lives, we may also be experiencing situations that demand explanations from God. I have had times in my life when I’ve cried out, “My life is a sandwich I didn’t order!: or “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired!”
• Perhaps even in our life here at Grace Church, we worry that, for all our great values and all our dreams and for all our best efforts, we always seem to be between a rock and a hard place, resource-wise. The opportunities and problems are large, and we feel so small.

And so, like Habakkuk, we have cause to cry for help to God, and to castigate him for his inaction. "Things aren’t the way they are supposed to be! Come down here and fix this!"

And like Habukkuk, we wait for an answer. And the answer he gets is the answer we get. And it isn’t very satisfying: The answer? "Wait! We’re in the middle of things. In the end, it’ll be right. In the meantime, “the righteous shall live by faith."" In more modern parlance: keep the faith!

O o o

We humans always seem to want more. More money, more friends, more success, more peace, more strength, more love. As much as we might have, we feel that something is lacking. And, in today’s Gospel lesson, its faith.

The apostles demand of Jesus: Increase our faith!

And Jesus gives two answers, neither of which is very satisfying, but which do contain important truths, if we can get over being insulted by them.

The first answer: If your faith was as big as a mustard seed, you could throw this tree into the ocean!

What’s Jesus saying here? Let’s recognize that Jesus often exaggerates for effect, and that many times, he’s actually telling a little joke to make a point. So what’s the point? Obviously, we can’t pull up trees by the roots and throw them into the ocean. I know I’m hard pressed to pull up some of those little trees that keep coming up in our garden. So is Jesus belittling our tiny faith? I don’t think so. What if he’s saying instead, “C’mon folks, I know you have faith, otherwise you wouldn’t even be here asking. And the faith you have is enough. You’re not expected to uproot trees, or other superhuman acts. The faith you have is already sufficient to what you’re being called on to do." And I hear him saying as well, "Don’t use the excuse that you don’t have enough faith to keep you from doing what you already know you need to be doing."

And then there’s that other story about slaves and masters—terminology that is rather loaded and inappropriate today. Let me paraphrase in more modern terms:

Who among you would say to your assistant who has spent the morning sorting through your mail, typing up letters and handling phone calls, “We’re having a board of directors meeting, c’mon in here and join us at the table.” Wouldn’t you say instead, "How about getting us some lunch and setting it up for us. You can have your lunch later." Do you thank him or her for doing the expected? So you, also, when you have done all that was expected of you, say, “We’re employees after all, and we’ve simply done our job.”

Put that way, at least I can find myself in the story. But what does that have to do with the original question: Give us more faith?

If we’re wanting more faith so we can have the power to make things come out they way we want them to, then what we really asking for is to have a place at God’s table: to be equal with God. And that’s not gonna happen. God’s god; and we’re not. God’s in charge, and we’re not. We’re about as able to comprehend God’s thoughts about his world as we here today can comprehend a P&G CEO’s thoughts about his company.

I think the point of both of these responses to the request for more faith is the same: The faith we have is enough for us to do what’s expected of us—to live the faithful life.

"But what about my doubts?" you say.

Well what about your doubts?

Do you doubt God’s existence? You’re not alone. Many great people of faith have wondered. But consider the alternative: a world without God: a world with no purpose and no values, other than whatever people make up at the moment. You can choose to live in a world created by a loving God in which what people do is of eternal consequence. Or not, which is, as I believe some existentialists have described it, like living in hell.

Do you have doubts about your place in God’s creation? Do you wonder what you’re here for? I know I’ve had many moments when I wondered how I fit in. There are things I can’t do that other people seem to find easy. There are natural athletes; I’m not one of them. There are people who can make plans and stick to them—I’m not one of them. Not being a football hero is a problem perhaps only on the high school dating scene, but being disorganized and a procrastinator causes major problems and stress if you happen to come down in large, well-organized corporation. Perhaps you have your own list of things that, if you were only made differently, everything would be so much better. Maybe you’ve even spent time trying to make yourself do things that are—for you—unnatural acts. And have had about as much luck as cramming a square peg in a round hole.

But what if we trusted—had faith—that however we’re made is exactly how God intended for us to be made? What if we trusted that who we are, with our unique God-given gifts, and with the amount of faith we already have, was exactly what was needed in God’s world?

I’ve often heard is said that in order to succeed, you have to have faith in yourself. There’s truth in that, of course, but I think it’s better to have faith that God made us who and how we are for a purpose. If we have faith only in ourselves, we’re left to find our own direction and can end up living a life that’s not connected to anyone or anything larger than ourselves. If we keep God’s perspective always in mind, we’re more likely life a life that makes sense in the larger world—God’s world.

And how about faith in the institutional church? Being involved in the church can be pretty intense. I’ve heard it said that there’s nothing like church work to make you lose your religion—in fact, I’ve said it myself. But the overwhelming fact is that the church is the only game in town. And of course it can be intense: it’s dealing with things of real importance. It’s the only organization that even tries to make the whole world a better place; the only organization committed to exploring basic life and death questions, the only place designed to put you in touch with the meaning of your life, that can help grow your faith in a loving, caring God.

Sometimes we think of faith as a thing that we can possess, but it’s not like that. It’s more related to a way of living our lives. Faithful living begets faith and faith begets faithful living. It’s sort of a chicken and egg thing—you really can’t say which comes first.

Now I realize that that’s rather cryptic, so let me illustrate by telling about my own experience of understanding what faith is.

Somehow, as I grew up, I came to believe that “being saved” was the norm for the Christian experience. People would be living in sin and unbelief and then, through some life-changing event, they’d suddenly see the light, and become true believers in God and Jesus. I grew up hearing about the apostle Paul’s Road to Damascus experience, where he was knocked off his horse and blinded, heard Jesus speaking to him, and was suddenly changed from a persecutor of Christians to being Christianity’s most successful spokesman. I’d read about revival meetings where the preacher preached fire and brimstone, creating such a fear of burning in hell that people would confess their sins and throw themselves on the mercy of God and would promise to change their lives. Read “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” for a taste, if you’re not familiar with this genre.

I have to admit that “being saved wasn’t really part of the lives of the people around me while I was growing up, but somehow, it became important to me to hope that someday, I, too, might be “saved”--have that life-changing moment when all my doubts would be erased and all would become clear. In retrospect, I, like the apostles in today’s Gospel, couldn’t get mind around the idea that the faith I already had was sufficient. That God didn’t require any more of me to be loved and accepted by him.

It wasn’t until I came to this church that I heard about another way to think about faith. Talking with then-rector Ray Betts, I expressed my concern that I had not had that life-changing moment when I became a believer. Ray said gently, “Some of us believe that there is another way—we call it the sacramental life.” I came to understand that he meant that it’s through the regular practice of the faithful life that we grow in our faith. In my vocabulary of that time, I said, “Oh, we get saved a little at a time!” Ray was kind enough to let it go at that.

The truth is that faith isn’t an on-off thing. We can grow in our faith. Our faith can grow in us. As we are all created differently, there is no one-size-fits-all way this happens.

For many, including myself, our faith is supported through regular participation in the liturgies the church has developed to build our faith. The words and actions we participate in every Sunday remind us of who we are and what we’re about, even though there may be things that are we can’t get our minds around. There are still parts of the Nicene Creed that don’t make sense for me, but I continue to say them. I have faith that someday I may get a flash of insight brings new understanding. I have that faith, because it’s happened before. Words I’ve heard or sung many times before have suddenly struck me in new and amazing ways.

Small groups are a place where hearing others’ faith stories can be faith building. For me, Education for Ministry, both as a student and as a mentor, strengthened my faith. Most recently, leading the 9am Bible Study has been faith-building. But through it all, I think the most faith-building thing of all has been finding ways to use the particular gifts God has given me to work in support of Grace Church. There’s a place for me here, and our values express the hope that all sorts and conditions of people may also find a place for themselves here.

Oh, and before I forget it, contributing money is faith-building. I don’t say this just because my wife is chairing the Annual Giving Campaign. Jesus recognized a truth about human nature when he said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” There’s nothing that draws our interest and dedication to an organization like having our money in it.

Yes, as we go about living our daily lives faithfully, at home, at work, at church, our faith builds. There’s something about living faithfully—living as though one had faith—that brings more faith.

But what if we feel like we’re about to lose the faith we have? What if we’re tempted to simply give up trying to live faithfully? Stay home Sundays and play golf or read the New York Times Sunday edition, or simply sleep in?

Based on everything I’ve said, here's my advice: when you feel like you’re about to lose it—your faith—do something faithful: participate in Sunday worship, or help with the Community Dinner or help host Interfaith Hospitality Network or supervise the parolees, or join a small group, like the prayer shawl knitting group, bible study, prayer & mediation, or try out the Wednesday night healing service, or talk to a faithful friend.

OR

In those moments when you feel like your faith is holding on by a thread, read some psalms. They were written by people experiencing all kinds of faith-related situations, for others having similar experiences. Some of the lines in today’s psalm are especially pertinent for us today:

Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; *do not be jealous of those who do wrong.
Put your trust in the LORD and do good; *dwell in the land and feed on its riches.
Take delight in the LORD, *and he shall give you your heart's desire.
Commit your way to the LORD and put your trust in him, *and he will bring it to pass.
Be still before the LORD *and wait patiently for him.
Do not fret yourself over the one who prospers, *the one who succeeds in evil schemes.
Refrain from anger, leave rage alone; *do not fret yourself; it leads only to evil.

All of this is to say that faith is not an accomplishment, it’s a journey—and it’s a journey we can take together. I am amazed at how well the prayer that our Friday morning Prayer & Meditation group created recently expresses this:

O God, who is the creator of all that was, that is and that will be--who dwells within us. We're all in different places on our spiritual journey. We give thanks that Grace's doors of hospitality remain open so that we may learn and grow together as a group. We pray through the Holy Spirit within us..

I’ll close by reminding us of that short lesson from Habakkuk. When you’re angry with the state of your world, resist the urge to go up in your tower and wait for God to come and fix things, or to explain himself to you. God will fix things in his own good time and in his own—probably unexpected—ways. In the meantime, live by faith. Live faithfully. Keep the faith.

“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

Homily preached on Good Friday, 2013, at Grace Episcopal Church, Cincinnati, by Ken Lyon.

My reading today is taken from the Gospel of Luke—Luke’s account of Jesus’ ministry.

Luke 23: 33-34a: When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing. ‘

Sermon….

What a day! Jesus hangs before us on a cross! It’s the day we call Good Friday.

What a week it’s been! It started with a triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

What a life it’s been!

Born 30-odd years ago, Jesus grew up in Nazareth, a town up north in Galilee, where he apparently took up his father’s trade as a carpenter.

Just about three years ago, Jesus came south to the Jordan River not far from Jerusalem to hear John the Baptist preach. John was saying that people should turn their lives around because the Kingdom of God was imminent. John washed people in the Jordan River as a sign that they were cleansed of past misdeeds and were preparing to live in God’s Kingdom. John also preached that there was a person coming after him who would bring in that Kingdom.

As Jesus listened to John, there came a moment when he realized that he was that person John was talking about. In a flash of insight, he heard God himself saying, “You are my son, my beloved, with you I am well pleased.” In that moment, Jesus’ life was changed.

It took a little while—40 days alone in the desert according to the Gospels—for Jesus to discern what his new life would be about. Then, inspired as never before, he returned to his home territory up in Galilee. There he preached the good news that the Kingdom of God was near.

Jesus said many things about what the Kingdom would be like, but, in Luke’s account, perhaps this passage captures it best:

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. … Do to others as you would have them do to you.

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. … But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. … the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’

And Luke records that he taught his followers to pray thusly:

Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.

As a result of his preaching up there in Galilee, Jesus developed a large following.

One day, people came to him saying that they’d heard that Herod—the man who ruled over Galilee, the man who had cut off John the Baptist’s head—that Herod wanted to kill him. Jesus responded that it wasn’t right for a prophet to be killed anywhere but in Jerusalem.. And Jesus began heading for Jerusalem.

As he headed for Jerusalem, he began telling his disciples about how he expected things would end—with his death—but they didn’t get it.

Now, Jesus planned his entry into Jerusalem to remind people of the entry into the city of the kings who had ruled in Jerusalem before foreign powers had taken over. He arranged to ride in on a donkey, echoing the prophet Zechariah: “Lo your king comes to you triumphant and victorious …riding on a donkey.” His followers lay down their cloaks as had been done for the ancient king Jehu. And they shouted, “ Blessed is the king….”

And the powers that be in Jerusalem got the message.

The Romans saw this man being proclaimed as king to be a direct threat to Pax Romana—the peace that the Romans had brought within their empire.

The Jewish authorities--who were charged by the Romans with managing their people and keeping the peace--were caught in the middle, between the followers of this Jesus person and the Romans. They reckoned that it would be better to sacrifice this one person than to risk Roman wrath coming down on the whole population (and in this, they were prescient—because that’s exactly what happened during the Jewish revolts 30 and 80 years later, and finally—once and for all—100 years later).

If the way he entered Jerusalem sealed Jesus’ fate, he didn’t make things any better when he publically predicted the destruction of Jerusalem, and when he went into the Temple grounds and drove out the merchants who were selling things there.

And so it’s no surprise that today—Friday--we find Jesus has been condemned to be executed and is now hanging on a cross--the instrument that the Romans had used so many times before to quell insurgency.

And it’s at this moment of excruciating humiliation and pain that Jesus climaxes his ministry by saying, “Father, forgive them; for they don’t know what they’re doing.”

I’ve been told that every great story can be said to have a single sentence that all of the rest of the story is written to lead to. And I think that, for Luke, this is the sentence: Father, forgive them; for they don’t know what they’re doing.” I think, for Luke, this is what Jesus’ life and death was all about. For Luke, perhaps this is the reason that Jesus had to die the way he did—so he could say these shocking words from the cross to those who crucified him, and to all the world.

The more I think about these words, the more troubling they become.

We’re all familiar with the idea that if we confess our sins and ask forgiveness, that God will forgive us. But with these words, Jesus asks God to forgive people who haven’t admitted they’ve done anything wrong—and will never do so. Yet here Jesus asks God to forgive everyone involved in his death even for those who never will.

Who is Jesus asking God to forgive?

· Jesus asks forgiveness for Roman soldiers who nailed him to the cross. Jesus says that they don’t know what they’re doing, but if you had asked them, they would have told you that they knew perfectly well what they were doing. The shallower of them would have said they were following orders. But the more thoughtful would have said that they were protecting themselves and the other citizens of the area from the anarchy of revolt and the mass killings that would result. But Jesus asks God to forgive them anyway. And that same forgiveness would apply to all Roman authorities.

· And the Jewish authorities? What about them? Jesus asks God’s forgiveness for them, too. And this is particularly interesting for me, because as I read the Gospel accounts, it’s as though the writers of the Gospels hadn’t quite been able to internalize the radical forgiveness that Jesus asked for on the cross. For throughout the Gospels, the Jewish authorities get nothing but blame for getting the Romans to crucify Jesus. But no matter--they, too, are forgiven.

· And Judas, who led the authorities to Jesus so they could kill him? Even though the Gospel writers never described Judas as other than derogatory terms, Jesus asks God’s forgiveness for Judas.

· Who else might Jesus have had in mind? I think he almost certainly had his disciples in mind, even though he certainly didn’t see them from the cross. Well, he did see a few of the women, and perhaps the man known as “the disciple Jesus loved.” But as for the rest--the twelve men closest to him—they were nowhere to be found. According to one Gospel, they were probably running all the way back to Galilee. What were they thinking, I wonder? Perhaps, “Hey, this is more than I bargained for. I didn’t sign up for this!” But Jesus asks forgiveness for them, too.

· Of those disciples, the story of Peter is especially poignant. Peter was the one who said, only a few weeks earlier, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And who, only the night before, had promised, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” But, as we know, when push came to shove, Peter denied even knowing Jesus. What was he thinking? Did he know what he was doing? Whatever. Jesus asks God to forgive him.

Well, that was then, and this is now. How does this event in Jesus life and death story apply to us?

It points to the radical nature of God’s forgiveness of us and of those in the world around us. The radical truth is: God forgives it all.

He forgives the things we—and those other people--are sorry about. But he also forgives the things we—and those others--are not sorry about. And further, he forgives the things that we—and they--are clueless about.

And we are expected to follow Jesus example--to practice radical forgiveness.

In my life, I’ve done things I’m sorry about. I’ve asked God to forgive me, and, in some cases, I’ve asked the person I’ve wronged to forgive me. In other cases, I haven’t yet gotten up the courage to admit I was wrong. And in some cases, it’s too late. Yet, God forgives it all.

In my life, others have done some things that hurt me deeply. There were times—most times, perhaps—that they didn’t realize what they’d done, or at least know the extent to which I was feeling hurt. Rarely did they ask my forgiveness. Yet, God forgives it all. I need to, too.

In the life of our country, we’ve done some terrible things. Slavery and our treatment of Native Americans would be easy examples. As a country, we’ve said we’re sorry. Sometimes, we’ve tried to remedy the situation. And sometimes, the remedies have caused more harm than help. No matter, God forgives it all.

In the life of our country, some terribly wrong things have been done to us. I think first about 9/11—the killing of 3000 people by 19 suicidal hijackers. If Jesus had been a passenger on one of those airplanes, what would he have said? “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing?” I think so. I still have much to learn about forgiveness. God forgives it all.

How can we get our minds around this kind of radical forgiveness?

Here are some forgiveness do’s and don’ts from an article by one Dr. Ray Pritchard.

a. You do not forgive because they understand what they did.

b. You do not forgive because they have suffered as much as you suffered.

c. You do not forgive because they “deserve” forgiveness.

d. You do not forgive to gain some personal advantage over them.

e. You forgive in spite of what they’ve done.

f. You forgive because of God’s grace.

g. You forgive because that’s what Jesus did on the cross.

h. You forgive because that’s what Jesus does for you.

It turns out that forgiving is good for us.

There is a part of us that believes in fairness. Our ability to accept the forgiveness that’s offered to us—our ability to forgive ourselves--is proportional to our ability to forgive others. There is real truth in this line from our Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us as we forgive others.” The prayer of St. Francis puts the idea thusly: “It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.”

So forgiving is actually a gift we give ourselves. As someone has said, “Forgiveness is unlocking the door to set someone free … and realizing you were the prisoner!”

And not forgiving hurts us. One saying that captures this idea very well for me is, “Refusing to forgive is like taking rat poison and waiting for the rat to die.”

Jesus on the cross sets us an impossible example of forgiveness: “Forgive them; for they don’t know what they’re doing.” The best we can do is try to internalize this idea in our daily lives. As we do so, we may come to realize that forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude. And our lives may become an adventure in forgiveness.

As I said, Jesus sets an impossible example. So, as we struggle to come up to that example and fail, keep in mind: God forgives it all.

In our Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, we find a prayer that I think captures the idea that God’s forgiveness is offered unconditionally whether or not we knew what we were doing—whether or not they knew what they were doing. If you’re interested in looking it up, it’s on page 393 of the red Book of Common Prayer in your pew.

For ourselves, we pray:

Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father;

in your compassion forgive us our sins,

known and unknown,

things done and left undone;

and so uphold us by your Spirit

that we may live and serve you in newness of life,

to the honor and glory of your Name;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I have modified this prayer so that we might use it to pray for others as well:

Have mercy upon them, most merciful Father;

in your compassion forgive them their sins,

known and unknown,

things done and left undone;

and so uphold them by your Spirit

that they may live and serve you in newness of life,

to the honor and glory of your Name;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"There was a man …"

Sermon by the Reverend Susan Lehman at Grace Church on the fourth Sunday of Lent, March 10, 2013.

Collect of the Day

Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Old Testament Lesson: Joshua 5:9-12

The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” And so that place is called Gilgal to this day. While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the Passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. On the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

Psalm 32

Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away!

Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, and in whose spirit there is no guile!

While I held my tongue, my bones withered away, because of my groaning all day long.

For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and did not conceal my guilt.

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin.

Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in time of trouble; when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach them.

You are my hiding-place; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go; I will guide you with my eye.

Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding; who must be fitted with bit and bridle, or else they will not stay near you.”

Great are the tribulations of the wicked; but mercy embraces those who trust in the LORD.

Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the LORD; shout for joy, all who are true of heart.

New Testament Lesson: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

From now on, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable:

“There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.

But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’” So he set off and went to his father.

But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’

Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

The Sermon

In the name of God.

This is the fourth Sunday in Lent, a day of refreshment. The church in her wisdom has so ordered our liturgical calendar that mid-way through Lent we pray to God as our gracious father. In tender words of acknowledgment we pray: “Gracious father, whose blessed son, Jesus, came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world. Give us this bread,” we ask our heavenly father.

Historically, Christians have paused in their Lenten practices of fasting and self denial to observe what we affectionately call Refreshment or Mothering Sunday. Mothering evokes an image of God as one who feeds, tends, loves and forgives

In England it was the practice on Mothering Sunday for the faithful scattered throughout the diocese to journey on this fourth Sunday of Lent to their Cathedral--their Mother church--and there make special money offerings. It served to remind Christians that their parish derived its identity and authority from the Bishop, seated in his cathedral. This was also the Sunday when apprentices and household servants were given a day or two off so they could return to their families, bearing refreshments, gifts of food--a practice we have lost in the American church.

The lessons for today are about what feeds body and soul. The Joshua reading records the presence of God in the memory of those who ate the unleavened cakes of Passover—who were fed manna as they journeyed in the wilderness and now eat the fruit of the land of Canaan. The psalm we pray reminds us that our hunger is always for more than bread for the belly. We hunger for forgiveness and reconciliation. “Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven: whose sin is put aside:” who are free from guilt. The reading from 2 Corinthians picks up on this theme of forgiveness. Paul carefully makes the case that if we are in Christ, we are a new creation, reconciled to God, and given a ministry of reconciliation.

And what is this reconciliation? What does this kind of forgiveness look like? On this refreshment Sunday we hear one of the best known, perhaps most discussed of all Jesus parables: the one we call ‘The prodigal Son story. The prodigal, the younger of the two sons, in a voice that sounds insistent, if not petulant, demands: “Gimee, gimee my share of your property. And I want it NOW.” And so we read: this son takes his inheritance and all his stuff and goes off....and squanders it all. Squanders, what a wonderful word! and in “dissolute” living. We can only imagine!

And when a famine comes and he is starving, he hires himself out to feed … to feed the worst of the worst—pigs! What in the faith of Israel is “tref”—unclean--thus contaminates him and further isolates him from everyone around. The story reads: when he came to himself, he said: “Here I am dying of hunger, I will go to my father and confess: ‘I have sinned. I am no longer worthy to be called your son, treat me as a hired hand.’”

If this was truly a prodigal son story then it should end right here. For prodigal means a wastrel, a profligate. But the story does not end with his misery.

When he is still at a distance, his father sees him, has compassion, and runs—runs--to embrace him. A reconciliation. An occasion for feasting: kill the fatted calf. Adorn this son of mine in finery. The prodigal son reconciled. This should be enough.

But it is not enough in the mind of the gospel. For we always hear a second chapter: the story of the second son, the elder son. If we call the younger one the prodigal: what then shall we call this son? The one that for the most part is most like me. The one who watching all the activity surrounding this lavish feast, all the extravagance for the return of the prodigal, is angry. He refuses to participate. And when his father pleads with him, he says: “NO, No, all these years I have towed the line, worked like a slave, never disobeyed. Yet, I was never rewarded, with even a little extravagance.” And the father, the loving father hearing this says: “O my son, all that is mine is yours. You are with me always, but your brother, (the prodigal ), the one who was lost is now found; he who was dead is now alive.”

We may call this the Prodigal son story, but it is not about the sons. It is about the father. And it is a parable Jesus tells when he is asked why he welcomes sinners--takes meals with them. It is a story told to show what forgiveness—reconciliatio--looks like and it begins: “There was a Man, and he had two sons.” It is about forgiveness, about the mercy of God, about what in the end really does feed the soul, refresh the spirit. “Let me tell you about a man who had two sons.”

I am 72 years old and I ask myself, what kind of person would I be if every single day of my adult life, say for the past 50 years, I had begun my day with a reading, a prayerful reading of this wonderful account: There was a man who had two sons. I believe in my heart of hearts I would have been more gracious, more forgiving; less like that angry, embittered, self righteous elder son, the one who is law-abiding, responsible, contributing to society, but mean-spirited, begrudging his own father’s generosity. For I am persuaded our summons is not to take our clues from the children in this story; we are not called to be one of the sons; this is not about sibling rivalry; it’s not about the kids at all! It’s about the father, the adult, the dad: ‘There was a man...”

I think it is time that we in the church start acting like grown ups; that we start behaving like the father in the parable.

Grace church, I don’t know you very well, I am more of a “drop in.” I pray with you on an occasional basis. I see all the signs in your side yard; I listen to the announcements on Sunday morning: community dinners, work days and lunch with parolees, all kinds of music programs. You participate in and invite your neighbors to regularly scheduled healing services. Of all the churches in greater Cincinnati, I notice YOU are welcoming the recently re-activated Integrity group. I know many groups use your facilities and thus shape your presence, your ministry and mission here at the corner of Hamilton and Belmont. As an outsider, let me commend you: you have more going on in a given month, more engagement with the world, the body of God, than any other church I visit.

I look around at this large, extensive building you have and I wonder: how, how do you manage, financially, but more significantly, in terms of your own energy? This is not a congregation where on a Sunday morning you can just slip into a pew and let the timeless cadences of the liturgy roll over you. Every Sunday you pray with a different worship leader: ‘Fathers, Mothers, Healers, Lay Leaders, Retirees: all representing different styles, pieties and practices. And music: look at the song books you sing from; sometimes with John ringing the bells, or Bill at the organ, or maybe, Bill or Judy at the piano; and those drums that sit in the corner, I am just waiting for those

I am overwhelmed by the time, energy and devotion you manifest to be the church, the ecclesia, the fellowship of those who believe in the Lord Jesus and intend to be his disciples. I don’t know how you do it. I don’t know your business. I don’t know how you make decisions. I don’t know how you solve problems when there are disagreements, as there must surely be in this very complex ministry.

But this is refreshment Sunday and I am nourished by your witness. I think you are like the father in the parable we just heard. Jesus says: ”Let me tell you about a man who had two sons.” You are like that man. Your stony presence stands as one comes up the hill from Northside, like the father whose arms are outstretched to welcome those who pass by. Your doors are wide enough; your arms appear to be strong enough to embrace both the sinner who has gone astray and the self righteous embittered one. If you sometimes get weary or distracted, or even irritated with one another, do not let that take you off course. We are not meant to be like one of the sons: not the self indulged, “gimee, gimee, gimee” nor the whinnying: “it’s not fair, what about me.”

No. We are the grownups. We are meant to be like the father. Our calling is to proclaim: “Come, celebrate and rejoice, for what was dead is now alive: what was lost has been found.” This my friends, is the bread that gives life to the world.

Amen.

Deepening our Awareness of God

Sermon preached by Hawley Todd, TSSF, at the Grace Church Celebration of Wholeness and Healing on Sunday, January 13, 2013.

The Collect for the Day:

Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Acts 8:14-17

When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Luke 3:15-17,21-22

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

The Sermon:

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

Welcome to Grace Church on the first Sunday after the feast of the Epiphany. Epiphany is the time when the church celebrates the showing forth or the manifestation of the presence of God on Earth.

When you think of Epiphany, who here associates it with the coming of the wise men and the giving of the gifts to the newborn king? (Please raise your hands)

When you think of Epiphany, how many think of the reading we had from Luke today about the baptism of Jesus by John? (Same)

I normally associate Epiphany with the wise men. However, the early Christian Church associated it with both.

Epiphany was primarily about showing God revealed on earth, God being made present on earth. Another name for Epiphany is Theophany. So this is the season of humankind experiencing the presence of God in our midst.

As an interesting side note, Western Christianity associates the wise men with Epiphany and Eastern Christianity stresses the Baptism.

What I want us to look at today is how we can become more intentional about creating opportunities for “epiphanies” in our lives in the here and now.

When Bishop Breidenthal was here on Dec. 23, he baptized nine new Christians. That day was incredible and wonderful beyond a doubt. nine new Christians in one morning! Later on that day, Bishop Breidenthal met with the Mission Council. One topic emerged out of that meeting that really caught my attention. And that was a desire on many peoples’ parts to deepen their spirituality. Ken Lyon commented about developing our Mary sides as well as the well-developed Marthas in our midst.

So how does one deepen one’s spiritual life? There is no one size fits all answer to that question. However I would like to begin a dialogue with you about it.

Having worked with individuals as a spiritual director for over 30 years, I would like to stress first the importance of prayer. And by prayer, I do not mean heaping up words and phrases directed at God. Prayer is whatever occurs when a person and God connect. It is  the intentional focusing of our awareness in communion with God. It often includes communication. And in all good communication, it is two way. There is listening and speaking. So making time and space in our lives for prayer is essential.

My first suggestion for any one desiring to deepen one’s relationship with God is to schedule a time every day for prayer. For most of us, that is often best first thing in the morning or before going to bed. Or perhaps even both!

My second suggestion is to consider where and how you have encountered God in the past. For most Christians, it would fall into one of four quadrants. These are church/sacraments/worship, study/scripture, service, and or creation.

• Many young adults discover the reality of God by doing outreach, by caring for others. That is service.
• Other folks encounter God in the “aha moments” of studying the Bible, or classes like Ken’s Sunday Bible Study or Education for Ministry.
• Others love to worship;
• And still others discover God in holding a puppy or sitting next to the ocean.

So where have you encountered God?

Make time for those places in your life. Be like Mary and sit at the feet of Jesus – and make time and space for an epiphany to occur. Give God an opportunity to pour Grace into your life.

When the heavens open, will you notice? Or will you be so preoccupied with other things that you won’t even notice?

The Buddhists suggest a form of meditation called calming or peacefulness “prayer”. They think the average person is so busy with our minds racing from one thing to the next and we are so pre-occupied with our “stuff’ that we miss life altogether.

Let me teach you a simple form of prayer this morning that combines Buddhist calming prayer with a prayer to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Let’s actually do it right now.

Get as comfortable as you can in our nice wood pews. Have both feet squarely on the ground. Relax. Let go of tension and any need to get this prayer right. Take a few deep breaths. Breathe in deeply. Release it. Breathe in again. (In Scripture, the Holy Spirit is often depicted as the Ruach – the breathe of God. The same breathe God used to breathe life into each one of us.) I want you to take several more deep breaths. This time imagine each breathe to be the Ruach of God, the Holy Spirit entering deep within you. Breathe in the Holy Spirit. Fill your lungs and body with the presence of God. Breathe out all that holds you from being the person God created you to be. Breathe in the Holy Spirit. Do that several more times. Now I want you to focus your awareness on your breathe. Let go of all other thoughts. And when they arise, simply come back to watching your breathe. Watch your breathe as it enters your nose. Pay attention as the Holy Spirit, your breathe, enters and leaves your nostrils. Continue to pray, simply watching and paying attention to the air as it enters and leaves your being.

Deepening Our Awareness--Part 1

Sermon preached by Hawley Todd, TSSF, at the Grace Church Celebration of Wholeness and Healing Wednesday, January 9, 2013.

The Collect for the Day:  O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Welcome to Grace Church. Blessings and Grace to you.

Tonight we celebrate the Epiphany. Epiphany means a manifestation of the Divine. Another word for it is Theophany or a showing forth of Ultimate Reality. My hope and prayer is that every one of these services is a time of Epiphany for each and every one of us.

In particular the Christian Church has celebrated two events as especially showing forth of the Divine in the early life of Jesus.

The first which is often celebrated on Jan 6 is the coming of the wise men.

The second which is typically celebrated on the second Sunday in the season of Epiphany is the baptism of Jesus by John. That is when the heavens opened and God said to Jesus that he is God’s beloved in whom God is well pleased.

Interestingly, Western Christians put more emphasis on the coming of the wise men and Eastern Christianity tends to stress the baptism event.

Regardless of how Christians have celebrated the Epiphany, each of these services is an Opportunity for another epiphany for those of us gathered here tonight.

The presence of Christ is manifest in each and every one of us. That is essential to understand. We are all made and formed in the image of God. As one of the early Church fathers Irenaeus said “Jesus became who we are so that we could become who he is.” We are each called to manifest Christ.

And we are all the wise ones who find the presence of Christ made manifest in our brothers and sisters.

Yes we are simultaneously both the wise men and women and the Christ child. And we are the other characters in the story as well.

There is a wonderful dance that goes on here on Wednesday evenings. At one moment, we may be the drummer, another moment the person receiving love and healing, and then the next moment the person manifesting that love and healing to another. We flow from one role to another as the dance unfolds. And for me, that is the joy of the whole process. I never know what will happen. Yet I trust that God will be abundantly present and that each of us will be touched and blessed.

How is God being manifest in your life today? Where are the cutting edges of God’s activity? Are you being called to something new?

Many of us have been going through transformations lately. And I do believe that God/Spirit is being made manifest on earth in new and miraculous ways.

Yet in the season of Epiphany, when we think about how God is being made manifest in our lives, I invite you to consider how you might deepen your awareness of the Divine. How might you become more intentional about noticing what God is doing and where the Spirit is present in the here and now?

I will be preaching again on Sunday morning about deepening our awareness of God. Tonight I will have a Hindu/Christian slant. On Sunday it will be a Jewish/Buddhist/Christian perspective. And I am sure you each have your own equally valid perspectives!

Hinduism has one of my favorite scriptures which is known as the Bhagavad Gita. In it, Krishna instructs Arjuna concerning the spiritual life. Krishna explains that there are 3 primary ways, that one can approach the divine and grow in one’s sadhana/spiritual practice.

These are the 3 paths (yogas) of bhakti (love and devotion), karma (action and service) and jnana (wisdom – often translated as knowledge).

1. We can be in relation with God through our love, worship and adoration. Apprehending and expensing God as the other.
2. We can experience God in niskama karma – selfless service to our brothers and sisters.
3. And we can experience “God within” through deep wisdom.

All are valid and all are good. And personally, I believe we are called to pursue all three in some ways in our lives. Yet that is for you to find for your Self and authentically allow to take shape in your particular circumstances.

However it may be, what I particularly want us to pay attention to tonight is the presence of God that we encounter in one another.

Take time to honor one another.

NAMASTE – “Reverence to you” is the literal translation from the Sanskrit.

I have heard many modern teachers give different spins as to what those words may mean. At least on one level, it means that we honor and bless the image of God that we encounter in our sister and brother.

Namaste – I see and honor the blessing of divine presence that you are.

Namaste – may you discover “Tat Tvam Asi” – that art thou.

Epiphany Sermon 2013

Preached by Ken Lyon on January 6, 2012 at Grace Church, Cincinnati

Old Testament Lesson Isaiah 60:1-6

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms. Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

Psalm 72:1-7,10-14

1 Give the King your justice, O God, *

and your righteousness to the King’s Son;

2 That he may rule your people righteously *

and the poor with justice;

3 That the mountains may bring prosperity to the people, *

and the little hills bring righteousness.

4 He shall defend the needy among the people; *

he shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor.

5 He shall live as long as the sun and moon endure, *

from one generation to another.

6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown field, *

like showers that water the earth.

7 In his time shall the righteous flourish; *

there shall be abundance of peace till the moon shall be no more.

10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay tribute, *

and the kings of Arabia and Saba offer gifts.

11 All kings shall bow down before him, *

and all the nations do him service.

12 For he shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress, *

and the oppressed who has no helper.

13 He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; *

he shall preserve the lives of the needy.

14 He shall redeem their lives from oppression and violence, *

and dear shall their blood be in his sight.

New Testament Lesson Ephesians 3:1-12

I Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—assume that you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.

Holy Gospel Matthew 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Sermon

Earlier this week, I sent out an email saying that I studying for my sermon on the Epiphany this week. Almost immediately, I got an email back from Wanda asking: “What’s Epiphany?” I thank Wanda for giving me a great starting point….

What’s an epiphany?

A big Aha, especially about something one has been studying deeply or puzzling over for a long time. It’s unpredictable. It’s life-changing, or at least we come to see something important about life differently. Examples: Newton & gravity. So that’s an epiphany: A long-sought-for “aha” that gives new insight. We have lots of metaphors: A light-bulb over a cartoon character’s head. Light breaking into darkness. Like seeing when previously you’d been blind.

Later, as I was talking with my wife Carol about the Gospel reading about the visit of the wise men, she asked: What was the wise men’s epiphany? What a great question! So I thank Carol for giving me a way to approach Matthew’s Gospel for today.

First of all, we need to pretend that we’ve never read Luke’s version of Jesus birth, with the trip to Bethlehem for the census, the manger, the shepherds, and the angels. Matthew has none of that. Matthew’s story is about the magi visiting Jesus in Mary & Joseph’s home in Bethlehem some time (up to two years) after his birth.

For a thousand years, Israel had dreamed of a time when they would regain their former greatness—the greatness on the international scene that they’d experienced briefly under King Solomon, when Jerusalem was the capital for kings of other nations to visit.

Both our reading from Isaiah and our psalm show this longing for a return to former greatness….

In Isaiah,. “Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn ... the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

In the psalm, it is said of some future king of Israel: “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay tribute, and the kings of Arabia and Saba offer gifts. All kings shall bow down before him, and all the nations do him service. “

Clearly, Matthew has these passages in mind as he reflects on the meaning of Jesus entry into his world.

In Matthew, there are these astrologers in an country east of Israel, perhaps Persia. In their studies of the night sky, they see something that they understand to mean that a new King of the Jews has been born. It is normal practice for foreign nations to recognize the leaders of other nations, and of the birth of new kings. Think about the hullabaloo surrounding Kate’s pregnancy! ,So our astrologers, also called magi, or wise men or kings, decide to honor this newly-born King of the Jews by bringing gifts.

Seeking the new King of the Jews, they go to the palace of the current King of the Jews, King Herod, in Jerusalem. “Congratulations on the birth of an heir to the throne,” they say. But there’s no such person there. And this throws Herod--not a popular King and with plenty of reason to be paranoid about potential usurpers--into a tizzy. His first thought is that he needs to find and kill anyone who is a threat to his position. Bethlehem is the most likely place where such a usurper King might be born. After all, Bethlehem is where the great King David was born a thousand years before. He remembers that David was the man who overthrew the King Saul and took over as king in Jerusalem. He calms himself, and sends the magi to Bethlehem, asking him to let him know who this new king is, so, he says, he can come and worship him himself.

The magi proceed to Bethlehem, and are rewarded in the search for the king. They visit Joseph, Mary and Jesus in their home, and present them with the traditional gifts for a king, as mentioned in the earlier readings this morning. And then, realizing Herod’s treacherous motives, they sneak out of the country and return home. And Herod, realizing that he’s not going to hear back from them, orders the killing of all the male babies in greater Bethlehem under the age of two. But Mary & Joseph, realizing that Herod might come looking for Jesus to kill him, escape to Egypt just in time. After Herod dies, they still don’t dare go back home to Bethlehem, so they decide to settle in a backwater area of Israel called Galilee, in a city called Nazareth.

Now, back to Carol’s question: What was the magi’s epiphany? The magi were searching for the King of the Jews. They looked for him in the expected place, and he wasn’t there. They could have gone back home at that point, but they kept looking, and finally they discovered their sought-after king in a most unexpected place. Note that even when they discover that their first idea of who they would find is wrong, they keep on looking even when their search takes them away from the capital city to a small town away from the capital city. They are open to new thinking as they search…and they are rewarded with new insight into the nature of the future King of the Jews.

But the aha’s don’t end there. As mentioned earlier, the Jews had been longing for a thousand years for a new King that would take them back to the glory days of king David and Solomon—the days when Jerusalem was a capital city of a great nation that nations stood in awe of and came to with hat in hand.

As we know now, that vision of Israel’s future greatness with a new King David at its head was never to be.

But, Jesus’ followers, searching for the meaning of his life and death, had their own epiphany. In Paul’s letter this morning, we read what happened:  … it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that … the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Their aha was that they were thinking of Jesus kingship in the wrong way. They needed to rethink the nature of Jesus’ kingship. Jesus wasn‘t just the King of the Jews, he was the king of everyone. Once they expanded their vision of Judaism to include everyone, they changed the entrance requirements so that anyone could join up, which irrevocably separated them from their Jewish friends who didn’t share their aha. And the rest is history. Because of these followers of Jesus’ epiphany, Judaism’s monotheistic Yahweh God is now the basis not only for modern Judaism, but also the basis of two of the world’s major religions—Christianity and Islam. The redefinition of kingship by Jesus and his followers gave Jesus more impact on humanity than any earthly King in Jerusalem could ever have had.

Now, another question, closer to home: What does all this talk of epiphany mean for us personally. What does this teach us about the search for insight? For aha’s? For epiphanies?

One thing we learn is that it requires a combination of diligent searching plus the ability to consider thinking about things differently. For me, my search led me to take an Education for Ministry Class, and my searching there was rewarded with more aha’s in four years than I had experienced in my previous 50 years of living.

And so it is that epiphanies usually result in turning our thinking upside down. That’s what we mean by seeing things anew. The world doesn’t change, but our view of it does.

Finally, another question: How does this apply here at Grace Church?

When Carol & I came to Grace Church in the early 70’s, membership was declining, and people were fearful of the imminent demise of the church. We heard regularly about how we used to have to put up folding chairs in the aisles during some services. The underlying hope was that somehow those glory days would return, if we could just find the right leader.

As we all know, that was not to be, and I think it’s never to be. Grace Church will never be what it was in the 1950’s.

But our membership decline has provided plenty of motivation for searching and searching and searching for what God has in mind for us now. And, for those who have been able to be flexible enough to consider seeing things differently, some real epiphanies have occurred.

One that started in earnest in the 1970’s and continues today is reflected in what some of us still call the new prayer book. As we have become more aware that God’s love for his creation really is unconditional, we’ve developed a new, much more inclusive view of who is included in our worshiping community. The “new” PB is much less about groveling before a judgmental God and much more about being welcomed into God’s open arms. Grace’s value statements, written perhaps 10 or 15 years ago, are the result of what must have been a real epiphany on the part of Grace’s membership. As a result, we have come to see our value more in our inclusivity than in our numbers.

But what about today? I think we are still searching for a clearer view of what God is calling Grace church to be. And I believe that our search will be rewarded with more epiphanies—more insights.

Consider the fact that over a third of Grace’s total yearly attendance at worship services is at healing services--either on the second Wednesday night of the month or on the once-a-month Sunday morning healing service. What’s happening here? Is there a way of thinking about what Grace is about that takes into consideration this surprising information?

What if we think about Grace Church as a center of healing, thinking of healing most broadly?

Our values proclaim the healing of divisions between formerly divided groups of people. Every Eucharist as we participate in a common liturgy and drink of the common cup, we enact the healing of division between God and his people and between the members of those gathered here.

When we welcome the Rainbow band and the Narcotics Anonymous people into our facility we are welcoming into our community people who are rejected by many in our society.

When we host the community dinners, we are healing the divide between rich and poor.

Finally, in the Yoga classes and the Tai Chi classes, and we are hosting classes that are explicitly about healing body, mind and soul.

What if we came to see Grace Church as a center for healing? It would certainly enlarge our thinking about the nature of the Grace Church community. For those of us whose primary experience of Grace Church is at 10am on Sunday mornings, we come to think about all those people who are with us, but not on Sunday morning at 10, as being part of “us” not “them.” And as we did that, we’d come to understand that in this new kind of community, based on healing, our numbers were much greater than we had thought when we simply counted those we saw on Sunday mornings.

Yes, epiphanies are powerful things with wonderful implications. Let’s continue our search together.

Sermon on the Meaning of Baptism

Sermon Preached by Hawley Todd, TSSF, at Grace Episcopal Church, on the third Sunday of Advent, December 16, 2012, in anticipation of baptisms the following Sunday.

Welcome to Grace Church!

Are you excited? Can you hardly wait? One of the most wonderful days of the year is almost upon us.

I expect that you think I mean Christmas. Well that is one of the most Holy days of the year. It is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ into the world.

Yet what I am excited about is next Sunday. It is the most important day in the lives of several of our sisters and brothers. It is the day of their baptism--the day of their birth into Christ.

Of all the sacraments in the church, Baptism is the most important. It is the greatest healing service of all. It is the day we are marked and sealed as Christ’s own forever and receive the Holy Spirit. It is a day we are born anew. And we all get to participate! We all get to renew our lives in Christ!

So as we prepare this week for the baptismal service next Sunday, let’s take a few moments to reflect upon our lives. To facilitate that process, let me ask you a few questions.

What passage from Scripture grabs you the most? What passage resonates with your soul? Or let me put it another way. If God was calling to you from Scripture, what passage would He be using?

When I was a young man in my 20’s and 30’s, it was Micah 6:8. It goes like this:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
   and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
   and to walk humbly with your God?

For the past several decades it has been the passage from Philippians we read today (Philippians 4:4-7):

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

So take a few moments. What Scripture or Scriptures come to your heart and mind?

Take those words with you. Chew on them. Meditate upon them. Let them soak into the deepest parts of your being.

Let me ask you a different question about Scripture. With what person or character in the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament do you most resonate? Think about your life and think about the characters you know in Scripture. Who are you like? Who resonates with you?

I am a little embarrassed to say that I most resonate with Elijah. And especially with a story about Elijah that I expect most of you have never noticed.

Elijah had just had the biggest “God Moment” of his life. He had been in a contest with the prophets of Baal and God had worked mightily through him on Mt Carmel. And what does Elijah do? He gets scared and runs off into the desert to escape Jezebel and the hornet’s nest that he had stirred up. He collapses in the desert and asks God to just let it all end. Yet God feeds him and tells him to get up and get on with God’s work. I am sad to tell you but I totally relate to Elijah.

So who is it that resonates with you? John the Baptist? Elizabeth? Isaac? Jacob? Esau? Ruth? Jezebel? Peter? Paul? The rich young man? Saul? Hagar? With whom do you connect?

Okay, let me ask you a different question.

When our culture looks at the Christian Church does it see and encounter John the Baptist or Jesus of Nazareth?

Or how about Grace Episcopal Church in College Hill – does it reflect John or Jesus?

Look at our reading from Scripture.

Luke 3:7-18
John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

And the crowds asked him, "What then should we do?" In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise." Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?" He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you." Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

Some of what John says reminds me very much of Jesus. They are both concerned with caring for others and living authentic lives. Yet John seems to have an angry edge to him. Even more profound though is the comparison John made between himself and Jesus.

John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

And next week, we will have a baptismal service. It incorporates the baptism of John with water for the forgiveness of sins but it is so much more.

One of my absolute favorite passages in the Book of Common Prayer is in the Baptism Service. It is the Baptismal Examination on pp. 302 – 303

Please find a Prayer Book and turn to page 302. Let’s read it together. I will read the questions and I want you to read the answers.

Question     Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?
Answer        I renounce them.

Question     Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?
Answer        I renounce them.

Question     Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God?
Answer        I renounce them.

Question     Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Savior?
Answer        I do.

Question     Do you put your whole trust in his grace and love?
Answer        I do.

Question     Do you promise to follow and obey him as your Lord?
Answer       I do.

Baptism is about making a choice. And the choice is between all the things that bring us death and Jesus Christ who brings us life. We know Him first as our savior--as the one who rescues us and heals us. And over time we learn to put our whole trust in his love and grace--and that is an ongoing process as we grown deeper and deeper into relationship with Jesus as a living presence in our daily lives. And finally our hearts and minds are so filled with his love and grace that we desire to follow and obey Him as not only our Savior but our Lord and God.

And lest we think the baptismal service is just about those being baptized, we all re-affirm our Baptismal Covenant.

Turn to page 304. I want you to read this part with me. I will be the celebrant and you will be the people. We will start with the question that is the second from the bottom of the page.

Celebrant      Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?
People          I will, with God’s help.

Celebrant      Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
People          I will, with God’s help.

Celebrant     Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?
People          I will, with God’s help.

Celebrant      Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
People          I will, with God’s help.

Celebrant      Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
People          I will, with God’s help.

As we reach the culmination of the whole service, the candidates are washed and made anew in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

And then on page 308, the Bishop says to each newly baptized:

“N, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever.”

Jesus baptizes us with fire and the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit being active in our lives and ministries that reveals, manifests, incarnates the presence of Jesus.

Irenaeus said that Jesus became who we are so that we could become what he is. That is what Baptism is all about and that is what Christmas is all about--Receiving the Holy Spirit and being born anew to life in Christ Jesus. And that is what all of our sacraments are about. Being restored in Christ and being renewed in His love.

So when you come for prayers today, open your hearts and minds to receive the fullness of God’s kingdom.

Sermon at Grace Church Healing Service November 18, 2012

By Hawley Todd, TSSF

Readings:

Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25

Every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, "he sat down at the right hand of God," and since then has been waiting "until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet." For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,

"This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds,"

he also adds,

"I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."

Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Mark 13:1-8

As Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!" Then Jesus asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?" Then Jesus began to say to them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, `I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs."

Sermon: Great Expectations: Faith

Welcome again to Grace Church for our Celebration of Wholeness and Healing.

Who is Jesus? More specifically, who is your Jesus? And more importantly what do you expect of Him? As followers of Jesus, we are in some kind of a relationship with Him, so what do you expect? What do you anticipate He will do? Will He participate in your life in any way here on earth? Do you have any expectations for the life to come? Is your Jesus real? Does He exist still today? Or was He simply a great moral teacher who lived 2000 years ago and was a good example of what it means to be a human?

Who is Jesus? Your answers really do matter. They are of ultimate significance.

Our reading from Hebrews tells us something about who Jesus is. He is seated at the right hand of God. He is our Great High Priest and he has offered a sacrifice once and for all to wash us clean of our sins.

And in Mark Jesus warns us saying that many will come in His name saying that they are He and that we need to be careful not to be led astray.

Scripture and Tradition tell us many other things about who Jesus is and what we might be able to expect of him. Yet in your beliefs and in your experience, who is your Jesus? And while we're at it, Who is God? Who is the Holy Spirit?

Maybe here is a simpler question: What is Faith? After all, faith is an important topic for Christians and followers of Jesus. Jesus often says to a healed person – “your faith has made you well.”

So what is faith? The word faith has been used in many ways. There is faith which refers to the teaching of our traditions. But the faith that Jesus is referring to is an inner disposition of our hearts and minds. It is a stance we take in relationship to God. At its core faith is what the word Trust means in the common language of our day.

Years ago one of my teachers explained to me that to have faith is to open one’s heart and mind to whatever one has faith in. I like that explanation of faith. To have faith in Jesus is to be open to and trusting in Jesus.

So if we are open and trusting in Jesus, what are our expectations of Him? I expect him to show up. I expect Him to heal, touch, and bless each one of us. Both my reading of the tradition and my life experiences lead me to those expectations.

On Wednesday night, we looked at a very difficult scripture which is found in all three synoptic Gospels.

The key point was in Matt 13:58 where it says of Jesus in his hometown “And He did not do many deeds there, because of their unbelief.”

My sermon last Wednesday evening focused on what Science calls the “Nocebo Effect.” 

The nocebo effect is more or less the opposite of the placebo effect..

The placebo effect says that our expectations that good things will come from inert substances like a sugar pill often bring positive benefits to a patient. 

Medical researchers studying the Nocebo effect have shown that our negative expectations of a treatment program can influence the outcome in non-beneficial ways. Let me give you two quick examples.

In one test, researchers told a group that they were testing the effects of a drug to see if it had any analgesic effects at all or whether it was just totally ineffective. In reality, it was a proven pain killer. Yet many of the patients reported it has not effect at all.

In another test conducted in Italy, two groups of test patients were recruited for a lactose intolerance test. One group was lactose intolerant and the other group was not. They were told that they would be given a lactose pill to see its effects on the gastro-intestinal system. In reality they were given glucose which has no impact at all on the digestive system. Yet 44% of the lactose group and 26% of the non-lactose intolerant group reported digestive problems as a result of the pill.

Our expectations can be very powerful. In the first example, lack of belief got in the way of a powerful pain killer doing its job. In the second example, an expectation that problems might occur helped to bring those issues about in patients’ lives.

So what is our faith, our trust in Jesus, our openness to receiving the Grace and gifts He has for us today? When you come to receive healing prayer today, come with an open heart expecting the fullness of all good things God has in His heart for you.

I would like to close with a prayer that Paul prayed for the community in Ephesus

…I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sermon on Grace Value: Treat Every Person as a Child of God

Delivered by Hawley Todd TSSF at the Celebration of Wholeness and Healing on July 15, 2012.

This morning the homily will be on Grace Church’s Values and in particular focus on treating each person as a child of God.

First of all I would like you to read Grace’s values with me. However with one slight change.

Preface each one with saying “I, your name, will ....”

I ____ will ...

• Treat every person as a child of God.
• Grow and awaken continually to God's presence in our lives.
• Be guided always by honesty and integrity.
• Be nourished by people of every cultural background.
• Honor everyone's age, race, economic situation, sexual orientation, family configuration and religious approach.
• Serve God by sharing with those in need and by working actively for social justice.

What does "I will treat every person as a child of God" mean to you? What might that mean to God? And how does that impact our life as the body of Christ – as Grace Church?

I would like to start with where we are in our individual lives.

I can’t speak for you so I will share with you a little of where I am. I would truly love to see each person I meet as a child of God. Yet to be honest (which is another of our values) I fall short of doing that. Given my personal history, there are some people I look upon with mistrust and in some cases for good reason. There are people we naturally are attracted to and others that seem to push our buttons and rub us the wrong way. There are some folks we truly enjoy being with and others who require patience. Yet regardless of our personal inclinations and reactions to another, the Grace Values call us individually and corporately to treat each person as a Child of God. That is our goal. That is our primary value.

Yet given the fact that most of us are not fully there, how to we live into our values? We are making an excellent start by raising them up and explicitly discussing them. And at least for myself, it helps for me to look at where I am and be honest.

One of the spiritual practices that helps me the most is to ask God to transform my heart and mind into the heart and mind of the Lord’s. “Dear God take my thoughts and feelings and transform them into your thoughts and feelings so that I may truly be present with each person I met as you would have me be.”

The passage from Ephesians in this morning's reading says:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ

God destined us for adoption as his children. We – each one of us – is a child of God. We did not earn it. We did not buy a stairway to heaven. We did not choose God. God chose us! God chose you - specifically you - to be God’s child!

I personally find it to be extraordinary Good News that we are adopted as God’s children. As I was growing up, I assumed that parental love was strongest for biological children. Yet having done youth ministry and worked with families for many years, I came to realize that way too often there is a disconnect between being a biological parent and being a real parent who loves, cares for and nurtures a child. In fact, both of my children, Tina and Josh, are adopted. It took years of blood, sweat, and tears for Barbara and I to bring them into our lives. Adoption is a conscious choice that requires work and effort on the part of a parent. It doesn’t come easy and is never a mistake. I absolutely love and adore my children!

When God says that I am God’s adopted child, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God wants me as God’s child. I know that there is a clear intention on God’s part that I am part of the family. And here is the critical point. Not only did God choose me and you, but God chooses each and every one of us!

We are all part of God’s family and God wants us truly to treat one another as brothers and sisters. We are precious in God’s sight. We are family. No wonder Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves!

What does all this mean to us corporately as Grace Church? It means that we treat everyone who walks through our doors as loved by God and not only the ones who come here. Everyone is to be treated as a child of God. No wonder our values speak of "Honoring everyone's age, race, economic situation, sexual orientation, family configuration and religious approach." How could we do less?

No wonder our values say "Serve God by sharing with those in need and by working actively for social justice." We are caring for our brothers and sister when we do so! That seems like a given to me!!!!!!

All of our values grow out of the first one. And they all give flesh and bones to the commandments of Jesus: To love the Lord our God with all our heart mind and soul and to love our neighbors as ourselves!

As we seek healing today, may we seek to allow God to remove anything in our lives that keeps us from being the persons God created us to be – persons who honor and treasure one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

I would like to close today by having us re-affirm our commitment to living the Grace Church values. At the beginning we said them individually. Let us close by saying them corporately.

Please join me in praying the values by saying “We the family of Grace Church will…” before each line.

• Treat every person as a child of God.
• Grow and awaken continually to God's presence in our lives.
• Be guided always by honesty and integrity.
• Be nourished by people of every cultural background.
• Honor everyone's age, race, economic situation, sexual orientation, family configuration and religious approach.
• Serve God by sharing with those in need and by working actively for social justice.

Amen!

This morning's reading is Ephesians 1:3-14
1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
1:4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.
1:5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will,
1:6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace
1:8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight
1:9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ,
1:10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
1:11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will,
1:12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.
1:13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;
1:14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory.