The Reverend Ronald J. Kolanowski
July 19, 2009
The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 11, Year B

Today’s readings provide a contrast between leaders who are like shepherds who lead their flocks astray and God’s idea of shepherding.  The lessons contrast God’s way of inclusion and the world’s ways of exile and division.

Jeremiah minces no words in the warning to those who are pushing the flock of God away, scattering and destroying many, leading them into exile.  “I will attend to you for your evil doings says the Lord.”  There are shepherds in our time who have placed God’s people in exile, leaders who use God to keep people in their place, causing great pain for many.  It is a pain experienced by people on the margins, those unable to exercise power, or those who are never able to belong, no matter what they do, because of who they are.  This pain is experienced by those who have immigrated to the United States and who now are no longer fully accepted in their home country nor fully accepted in the US.  This pain is felt by LGBT people who continue to be exiled by many denominations and segments of the Church.  It is felt by those who have experienced sexual abuse or other forms of abuse by church leaders and those in authority.  The reading also underscores that in spite of being scattered, God promises a restoration for His flock:  “I will bring them back to the fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply.”

The beloved 23rd Psalm stands in contrast to Jeremiah’s image of the shepherd who leads the flock astray.  Hearing the affirmation that God, like a shepherd, anoints my head with oil — chooses me — and meets my needs, can be a very powerful word for those who have been abused or exiled by other “shepherds.”  When ordination is prohibited for some within churches, what a good word that God anoints us!  Those exiled eat at the table prepared by God in the presence of their enemies.  The Eucharist, the communion table, is for us!  And to say that we will dwell in God’s house forever is a challenge and encouragement not to walk away.  This is God’s house for all — regardless of what some might say.

Our Epistle continues God’s message of inclusion versus our ways of division.  Ephesians reminds us that the separation between those circumcised and the gentiles, “the uncircumcised,” has lost its meaning through our common life in Christ.  “All are brought near by the blood of Christ….All are now reconciled in one body, through one cross.”  This is good news for us today.  Being reconciled in Christ, no one has to be circumcised; no one has to give up who they are to become part of the group.  No one has to adopt a different culture, orientation, or gender identity to be part of the body of Christ.

In the gospel Jesus took pity on the people who followed him, because he saw that “they were like sheep without a shepherd.”  The reading demonstrates how desperate the people were even to simply touch the fringe of his cloak.  I believe there is a two-edged message for us.  First, reaching out to touch Jesus, desperate for God’s presence, gives us a proper perspective that God is in charge.  Regardless of how much we work, or obsess about our lives, we cannot save ourselves or the world.  Many of us live our lives as if we have the power to fix anything on our own.  While I don’t mean that we shouldn’t do all in our power to live full and meaningful lives, there is much that we can’t control, and we have to allow God to be God, not ourselves. 

At that same time, we cannot live our lives in such a way that our belief in God’s power becomes an excuse to sit on the sidelines and not take action to advance God’s justice in the world.  One of my favorite quotes about government was said by Hubert Humphrey.  He said, “The moral test of government is how that government treats those who live in the dawn of life, the children; those who live in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who live in the shadows of life, the homeless, the needy, and the handicapped.”  While we acknowledge God as God and reach to touch Jesus to heal us, we must also engage in God’s work ourselves and not to look at the sky.  Verna Dozier, one of our church’s modern day prophets, said the problem with the church is that we don’t do what Jesus told us to do.  We are more interested in worshipping Jesus than we are in following Jesus.  Verna felt strongly that this is the problem with the church.  Jesus never asked us to worship him.  His called us to follow him:  to feed the poor, to care for the widow and orphan, to heal the sick — to do greater things than he did.  To suggest that we can turn Jesus into a totem or good-luck charm that we can just touch and all our problems will just go away is a dangerous interpretation of the Scripture that can keep us from engaging the needs for social justice in our midst.

With that in mind I want to invite you to take action on something today that can make a difference in the lives of those in the dawn of life, those in the twilight of life, or those in the shadows of life.  In pulpits across our state this morning priests and ministers connected with the Interfaith Fellowship for Universal Health Care are making a special appeal to their members to take action on health care.  Last week Governor Rell vetoed two important health care bills, SustiNet and the Healthcare Partnership.  There is the possibility that these vetoes can be overridden by the legislature.  The State Senate will be voting tomorrow to override these vetoes and needs everyone to contact their state senator by tomorrow morning and encourage them to allow these programs to move forward to their next phase of development.  Take the insert home in your parish bulletin where you will find phone numbers for both Democratic and Republican senators.

Please call your senator today and ask him or her to vote to override Governor Rell’s vetoes.  Let the Senate know that EVERYONE should have quality, affordable health care. 

May we follow Christ’s example to speak out for the least of those in our midst.  Amen.

Copyright © 2009 by the Reverend Ronald J. Kolanowski