A Sermon by The Rev. Bonnie Matthews: Proper 28 Year C
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Sermon November 13, 2016
Proper 28 Year C
Isaiah 65:17-25 Canticle 9 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 Luke 21-5-19
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
One week ago today I had the honor to renew the vows I spoke during my Ordination to the Sacred Order of Deacons. The proximity of my renewal of vows and the collect for today caused me to reflect on the gathering prayer and the beginning of the examination
In both the collect and the first portion of the diaconal examination a commitment is made to study Holy Scripture that has been written for our learning. As we read the Holy Scriptures, we are to mark them and inwardly digest them, and we are called to pray that we might seek nourishment from them.
With intention, a deacon is called to model life upon scripture during the examination. While the collect does not outright state this, I believe when we ask to embrace and hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life we are petitioning for God’s grace to assist us in modeling our lives after Jesus.
Trinity Episcopal Church does this. In the five years I have been here we have grown. We have grown spiritually and we have grown in mission. I have been blessed to serve with you. I have had the privilege to worship and work in collaboration with you to further God’s Mission in this little corner of the world.
You are on a precipice, about to step into a new vision of what Trinity Episcopal Church is to be. Your love for this community is prevalent in your cares and concerns for one another, for this community and for your neighbors. You are a place of welcome, hope and healing.
I see it when you welcome the stranger into this house of worship, when you come to the aide of someone who is hurting or mourning, when you rejoice with someone who is celebrating. Your participation in Loaves and Fishes, Church By The Pond and its feeding program, Trinity Academy, The Choir School of Hartford, and Covenant to Care and most recently your work with IRIS and sponsoring a refugee family that is still to come, demonstrate your response to God’s call of mission. The examples I have given you are examples of how your lives are modeled in scripture.
Our final hymn today is one of my favorites because it speaks to the collect, my diaconal vows, and the mission of all the baptized. When our worship service has ended and we sing this hymn, allow the music and the words to enter your heart with the knowledge that God has called you in to mission:
We all are one in mission, we are all one in call, our varied gifts united by Christ the Lord of all. A single great commission compels us from above to plan and work together that all may know Christ’s love.
We all are called for service to witness in God’s name. Our ministries are different, our purpose is the same: to touch the lives of others by God’s surprising grace so people of all nations may feel God’s warm embrace.
We all behold one vision, a stark reality; the steward of salvation was nailed upon a tree. Yet resurrected Justice gives rise that we may share free reconciliation and hope amid despair
Now let us be united and let our song be heard. Now let us be a vessel for God’s redeeming word. We all are one in mission, we all are one in call, our varied gifts united by Christ the Lord of all.
This is my last Sunday as a deacon serving Trinity, our journey together is coming to an end. This song reminds me that we are all called together. We are all called together in mission. This hymn assures me that moving forward our paths will be intertwined.
The culmination of our presidential election shows me how our lives may be joined together in mission. The results are a journey many did not see. Unfortunately this country is reeling with division, there is no winner, nor would there have been if election results had been reversed.
Because I had taken some vacation time this week, I have been able to step back from the events surrounding this election week. I have had the opportunity to hibernate from the world around me. I have done so by minimizing my exposure to social media, the news reports of those protesting, and the violence that has ensued. Most importantly I have set aside more time for prayer.
Our friends, our family, our neighbors and those we do not know may have voted differently than we did. Each of us cast our votes out of individual hopes and fears for what this country may become. After having time to absorb what this country is experiencing I better understand the fear of many for what may be.
There are concerns for religious freedom, sexual identity, gender equality, the right to seek freedom in coming to this country, the fear of racism, and the fear of financial oppression. There are divisions between those of privilege and those who have none.
We have the ability to take fear, which when given the opportunity can and will destroy, and turn it into understanding, understanding each other.
My friends, now more than ever, we have the Christian responsibility to respond as scripture has taught us rather than react in anger.
Reflecting on the outcome of the events of this week I sought solace through reading comments posted on the Episcopal News Service. Most of those comments called us to pray.
One comment resonated with my thoughts on what scripture teaches us.
Here, I quote from a portion of a comment by New Hampshire Bishop Rob Hirschfeld:
“At such a delicate and vulnerable moment such as this, I take strength in remembering that, for followers of Jesus, such fractious and anxious, even dangerous, times as these are not unusual or even strange. Sure, times like these may seem strange for a certain class or segment of American Christians, who have for many decades enjoyed access to privilege, wealth, and power. But, nervous times as these were not at all strange for the first disciples of Jesus and certainly not for the vast numbers of saints who have come before us. They are not strange for a majority of Christians in the Holy Land, in China, and in many other places on the planet. They were not strange even for generations of Americans who have faced sacrifice, war, and economic hardship. Even Jesus, on the night before he died, told his followers to find their true peace in him and, in the midst of persecutions, to take courage for he has already conquered the world with his love. (John 16:32-33)”
As we begin the prayer of The Great Thanksgiving let us remember when the consecrated bread and wine are elevated for all to see we hear the words behold what you are and our response is may we become what we see. And we see Jesus, the bread of heaven and the cup of salvation. Now let us do as Jesus has taught, let us embrace the opportunity to be the face of Jesus.
Now is the time to listen to our neighbor, for those who may have privilege, now is a time to better understand the concerns of the non-privileged. It is a time to have compassion for those who are hurting. It is a time to talk with our children, and grandchildren about their concerns for what they see this country going through and if you feel called, to be the peaceable voice of those who are hurting.
Most importantly, now is a time for prayer; individual prayer and corporate prayer. Pray that our president elect and the elected leaders of this country may be guided by truth and knowledge in doing what is right and just for all of this country, the privileged and the underprivileged. Pray for peace and understanding that this country may overcome its divisions through respect, understanding and acceptance of the other.
In the words of Steven Charleston: Now comes the hard part. As this new day dawns, joyful for some, sad for others, we face a single question: how will we walk together when our paths seem so different? There is a word for it. Grace. May we have the grace to be humble in victory and hopeful in defeat. May we have the grace to overcome our fears. This is the hard part, the time of seeking the common good, not for ourselves alone, but for those younger lives watching us. May our first step be made in prayer, spoken in different ways but with a shared appeal: give us your grace, dear God, to care more for one another than for winning."