EPIPHANY 3
January 24, 2010
the Rev. Ken Kroohs
(Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Ps. 19; I Corinthians 12:12-31a; Luke 4:14-21)
SHARING GOD’S LOVE
St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, High Point, NC
MAY THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH ... AND THE MEDITATIONS OF ALL OUR HEARTS ... BE ALWAYS ACCEPTABLE TO YOU --- OUR STRENGTH AND OUR REDEEMER AMEN
Some people cite Jesus’ baptism as the beginning of His earthly ministry. Other people cite the wedding feast at Cana of Galilee – His first miracle. A few people say His ministry began with His birth or even when Mary became pregnant and all those events can be cited as the beginning of His ministry.
That said, I have always felt this gospel describes the true beginning. What came before was the introduction ... the prelude ... the overture. Those events set up this event.
When we hear this gospel we are hearing how the predictions or prohpecies about Jesus were fulfilled. The prophecies that truly mattered. Not those about His place of birth, or death. But much more importantly WHY Jesus was sent. Not the where or when or even how — but the WHY.
Notice how this passage began: “Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit”, and how the prophecy from Isaiah began: “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me”.
Forget about how this fulfills an Old Testament prophecy! That is not important. Rather notice what both pieces of scripture make clear – we need God’s power. Or more accurately, we need to acknowledge and tap God’s power.
Is there a more difficult lesson for some of us? .... The poor need feeding — don’t worry God, I will take of this. The people need strength – don’t worry God, I will take care of this. We are in trouble, in pain — thanks for the offer God, but I can take care of this. .... How easily we forget that we need God’s strength and guidance. How easily we forget we HAVE the power of God for our use – if we bother to pick it up.
That discussion explains HALF the purpose, the half not verbalized ... half the purpose of this teaching. At the surface this teaching is about why JESUS came ... what HIS ministry was all about. But when we read on in the Bible we discover it is JESUS’ ministry, but also OUR ministry. We are to pick up the assignment Jesus was given and carry it on ... with the power of the Holy Spirit.
And a major part of that assignment, OUR assignment is to help other people understand. That is why Jesus always taught. He served the people but also always taught. So half of our assignment is to willing to speak up .. to inspire and teach. And by doing so we demonstrate how important it is for Christians to share what they know, and even what they do not know ... share with a group but more often share with an individual. Be willing to tell people that Christianity is about loving God THROUGH our actions towards other people.
That’s the half the Episcopal church tends to minimize. Other churches focus more on the speaking half whereas we as a group tend to focus on the other half. The half where Jesus says He, and we, have been annointed (that means ‘set aside by God’. Isn’t that an amazingly powerful idea that you have been set aside by God?) ... that we have been anointed by God to bring good news to the poor .. to proclaim the release of captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor - which generally meant the forgiveness of all debts ... economic freedom.
Sometimes people try to minimize this assignment. But as I study scripture I find that bringing good news to the poor is not simply saying “God loves you”. As James points out it is worthless to say that and leave the people hungry and cold. No, good news to the poor is: “God loves you and because God loves you we will bring you food, shelter, health care, safety”.
In essence what Jesus says when He announces that “today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” is that this assignment by God has been given by God to the people of God – and God expects it to be completed.
Let me shift here ---- being at Diocesan Convention on Friday, or any year, can make a person wonder if the church, the institutional church, understands either half of the assignment! I began writing this sermon (Ann, Bert and Heidi thought I was taking great notes!) as a motion was presented to conform section 2, paragraph b of the rules of order with section 3 of the constitution and canons — or something like that! I have no idea what that was all about and frankly, could not care less!
For a lifetime – probably a couple minutes, I was about to get upset! Then — the convention heard from a missionary to Haiti who said the cathedral was gone — the church buildings gone – but the community remained. Their belief in and love of God remain.
AND ---- what also remained was their need for and appreciation for the institutional church. The institution that needs correct rules of order to function. The missionary stressed how Episcopal Relief and Development YOUR CHURCH has been on the ground with aid since day 2. Your institutional church. She stressed how 100% of the monies contributed for Haiti will go to/through the institutional church in Haiti that knows the needs. ... The Episcopal church in Haiti.
She spoke about how those monies are being and will be used for the needs of the people: food, water, shelter, fuel for the hospitals ... and to bury their dead. ..... That hit me hard. That money I sent to help Haiti will help pay to buy their dead. Obviously that is true and very important – but I had never considered it before. And I had never considered how important it is to the survivors that their church, that institution is around to bury their dead loved ones.
Bishop Curry addressed this when he spoke about welcoming people into our community NOT to make a bigger church but to make a better world. I appreciated his comment that Jesus did not found an institution but a movement — that requires institutional trappings to function. But, we need to make sure we focus on the movement and not on the trappings!!
As Bishop Curry stressed, Jesus never told us to be members of a church — Jesus told us to be His disciples. And I could not agree more! I have told many people that if St. Christopher’s is not the right place for them I would help them find the right place. I say that because we are not called to be members of an institutional church EXCEPT as it helps us become deeper and more committed disciples of Jesus Christ.
I am well aware of the fact that the largest and quickest growing group in the United States according to many surveys is people who say they are “spiritual but not religious”. They believe in God but not interested in the institutional church. And that would be perfectly fine – if it worked. But people need to be in community. We need to be with others who help us learn, grow, develop. People who will support, inspire and challenge us. And people we can support, inspire and challenge.
I was actually somewhat disappointed when my turned ankle prevented me from attending Convention on Saturday. Honestly? Not devastated by somewhat disappointed because there were conversations going on about what it means to welcome someone into the Christian community and I am fond of pointing out that before you can ‘welcome’ you have to ‘invite’.
I make lots of non-friends when I say there is a reason the largest group of Christians are those who say they are “spiritual but not religious” and a reason therefore most are not working to ‘bring good news to the poor’ ---- they have no community with which to do that. They have no community to support, inspire and challenge them. I make non-friends when I say that I believe they are ‘spiritual but not religious’ because the church has failed them.
I point out that if a restaurant does not have customers we seldom blame the people who do not come in — we ask what the business did wrong. But how often we blame the people who do not attend church — NOT TO CHANGE THE MESSAGE, never change the message but how are we failing to spread the message?
If we believe people truly want to be with God – which I do; if we believe people truly want this to be a better world – which I do; if we believe God’s church is the best mechanism for accomplishing those goals, which I do — then the only possible answer is that we need to do the job God anointed us for ... set us aside for ... better.
As we consider that we need to remember the institutional church is not an entity in itself. Rather the institutional church, with all its faults and problems, is simply a conglomeration of people — of us.
St. Christopher’s does much better than most of these conglomerations of people - much better and that is something I am very proud of and hope you are. But we are far from perfect. We are much better than most others but still not all God wants. We work towards sharing God’s love with others, with reaching out to the poor and others God tells us to serve. But we could do so much more. Our potential is barely touched. Our potential as a community, but more importantly as individuals.
We need to constantly seek to come together to support, inspire and challenge each other to be more the Christian God set us aside to be.
AMEN
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