August 16, 2020 Sermon - “Have mercy on me, Lord, son of David, my daughter is tormented by a demon.”

Proper 15-A, 2020

“Have mercy on me, Lord, son of David, my daughter is tormented by a demon.”

I admit, there have been a few times in my life when I have felt as if I am walking around in a fog, and this is one of those times. It’s a feeling I image to be some mild form of trauma to my brain, and my ability to process it all if there is such a thing. Maybe it’s just my way of trying to survive. Because everything I read in the media or watch on the evening news seems to be bad.  Just bad news. The pandemic and the devastation from it overwhelm me. The economy is beyond my comprehension. Certain reactions and reactions to social justice break my heart. Where is the Good News? That’s what I want to know. 

And yet, even with these feelings, there’s still that part of me that believes there is good news.  Jesus taught us that it is our job, our responsibility to spread the Good News.  And Jesus was always very clear that no matter how bad things seem, no matter what the situation, we are called to bearers of Good News.  Being called to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel is not always easy.  Oh, it’s easy to say, or to preach the Good News but when we’re out there in the real world it becomes more difficult.  We’d rather stow it away than give it away. And yet, even today I feel drawn to look under my mattress or in our pantry to see if it might be hiding.

In our story today we meet a Gentile woman who comes begging Jesus to heal her daughter. I personally find this story about Jesus and the Canaanite woman painful and disturbing.  But I also find it very timely this morning. 

It’s painful because when I first read the story, it felt like I turned on the evening news and saw Jesus’ treatment toward the Canaanite woman exactly what we have been observing in our own society over the past weeks and months and it just isn’t becoming of our Jesus.  His treatment of her upset me.  

She shows up with three strikes against her before she asks anything of Jesus. Not only is she not a Jew but the Canaanite people AND she’s a woman. But she throws all of that aside and is willing to risk everything, including her life, to come to Jesus on behalf of her daughter who is tormented by a demon.  She has no doubt heard of Jesus’ teachings and healings or she wouldn’t be there. She has, more than likely, tried everything she knows to help her daughter. So, for her, coming to Jesus on behalf of her daughter was, in her mind, her last hope for healing.  Certainly we can all appreciate her situation. 

So, she calls out to Jesus, “Have mercy on me, Lord, son of David, my daughter is tormented by a demon.”  And what does Jesus do?  He ignores her. Jesus treats this woman as the outsider she is. She may as well have been invisible. It’s no secret the Canaanite people were no friends of the Jews but here we have Jesus doing exactly what he told us not to do - refusing to speak to her because she was different; because she didn’t look like him, because she was an outcast, and because she was not a Jew.   

 Is this not the same Jesus that told us to love our neighbor no matter whom they are?  Is it not this same Jesus that told us to love our enemy?  Is this not the same Jesus who sat at the table and ate with sinners, tax collectors, prostitute,  all people just like her, all the ner-do-wells of his society? The same Jesus whose disciples were chastised for easting without first washing their hands.  This is the table where Jesus shows the world who God is. 

Even the disciples seem to pressure him to send her away.  Did they not also hear Jesus’ command to love?  This woman is a heroin. She is going to speak to power no matter what it takes.  She refuses to be ignored and continues to plead her case. And Jesus’ response? He turns to her and insults her by calling her a dog!  At this point in the story I am very confused. I feel that what I am reading is utterly opposed to what I expect from Jesus.  What is going on?

According to David Lose’s blog, In the Meantime, the traditional interpretation of this story says that Jesus isn’t really being mean to her, he’s just testing her – putting barriers in her way to see if she’ll overcome them.  And then when she passes the test, he gives her an “A” by healing her daughter.  We all know better. The whole idea of Jesus testing us just falls flat for me. I don’t buy it. The Jesus I know doesn’t test.  It’s the worl tests, but not Jesus.  And besides, this runs contrary to almost every other story of Jesus in the Gospels.  In fact this is the only place in Scripture where Jesus loses a verbal contest.

What is going on here is that this woman, whether she realizes it or not, is being used by God as a vessel for God’s plan to expand Jesus’ horizons, his understanding of just who is a child of God, who is welcomed at the table. This is a pivotal moment in Jesus mission.  Until now Jesus believed his mission was specifically focused on Israel. But because of the audacity, persistence, and faith of this woman, Jesus’ focus is broken wide open.  “Yes, Lord,” she rebukes him, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”  

With her painful, persistent, and faithful pleas the Canaanite woman demands to be seen, to be heard, and to be recognized as a child of God who is welcomed at the table.  It is through her plea she teaches Jesus something about himself and his mission that is crucial for him to learn; that God welcomes all of God’s children to the table.  

Jesus’ perspective is changed. His new perspective moves him from narrow-mindedness to one of total inclusion.  Barbara Brown-Taylor says: “You can almost hear the huge wheel of history turning as Jesus comes to a new understanding of who he is and what he has been called to do.”  God’s purpose “Is bigger than he had imagined, that there is enough of him to go around.” It is good news to recognize that God works through this marginalized woman to bring insight to Jesus. And it’s great news to realize that Jesus listened; listened to an outsider, to one of the most vulnerable in society – JESUS LISTENED!

What might it look like if we were to humble ourselves to listen to what the “other” whether other are Black. White, Latinx, Hindu, Buddhist, or anyone we consider different from us? What might we learn? What good news might we bring to them?  If the Good News of the Gospel is only good for me and people just like me, then it’s not good.  

This story captures Jesus’ expanded sense of mission in Matthew’s Gospel, the same Gospel that ends with Jesus’ Great Commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” - take the Good News to the ends of the earth. All are welcome at the table.

It’s way too easy for us to assume that God is on our side, looks like us, favors our positions and endorses our views.  It’s really easy for us to imagine God is just like us. Imagining God looking like us is, in a sense, the whole point of the Incarnation – that God became one of us, allowing us to imagine being in relationship with God.  The problem is when we imagine God is ONLY like us – as in, not like anyone else, says Lose.  The Good News is that God looks like every one of us no matter our race, color, ethnicity or religion.  

Just as the Canaanite woman taught Jesus that God’s mission and vision and compassion and mercy are bigger than what he may have initially imagined, so might the Canaanite woman teach us the same thing in our time when people are dying of COVID, or standing on line at food banks, or suddenly find themselves homeless or without jobs as our cities and towns deal with peaceful protests turned riots. I know I’ve said this before but I believe it bears repeating:  Every time we draw a line between who’s in and who’s out, we will find the God made manifest in Jesus is on the other side. n God’s house everyone is welcome at the table of love. And this is Good News. Amen

 

“Same Storm, Different Boat”

Proper 14A 2020 – August 9 2020

First Sunday Back

1 Kings 19:9-18; Psalm 85:8-13; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33

You all have heard the expression, “We’re all in the same boat.” It means, according to the Cambridge dictionary, “to be in the same unpleasant situation as other people.”

The disciples on the sea were all in the same boat. They were storm-tossed and afraid, not sure they’d make it to morning’s light.

I’ve heard a lot of people use “We’re all in the same boat” about the Pandemic we’re dealing with… It’s been affecting every country. A lot of business are hurting. The illness can affect all ages.” Usually people use the expression to help us engender compassion for one another. “Since we’re all in the same boat, we might as well work together.”

19th century British theologian G.K. Chesterfield once said, “We are all in the same boat on a stormy sea, and we owe each other a terrible loyalty.”

But there’s another, similar, phrase that I think feels a little more accurate.” .

“We’re all in the same storm, But we’re in different boats.”

I recently saw this phrase attached to an image that showed a raging sea, with lightning and waves and rain and wind…. And in the water were several different types of boats.

A battleship, a big yacht, a sailboat, a rowboat, a life-raft.

You’re experience of the storm would be a lot different depending on what kind of boat you were in, wouldn’t it?

I think we can look at the world today, and all the issues we’re dealing with and see that we all may be experiencing the same storms…. But many of us are in different boats.

For example, its so lovely for me to be able to finally worship together again… to actually preach to people and not just to my iPhone! For 5 months we have been apart. How we’ve dealt with it depends on what kind of boat you’re in.

For people like me, during this time of isolation and pandemic, I admit I’ve been in a pretty comfortable boat, perhaps even a yacht. I live in a nice house with my husband who is working at home and we get to have his kids with us every other week. I’ve been able to come into the office when I want, and here I have fellow staff and parishioner volunteers I can talk with – at least from a 6’ distance. All my loved ones are healthy and, while keeping all the safety protocols, I’ve been able to get out and do the business I need to. It’s not been all easy, but over all there have been bright sides to this storm cloud for me.

But for others, the effects of the COVID storm have been harder to navigate…. If your single, or unable to get out as much, the isolation can lead to depression and loneliness. Many Seniors living in facilities haven’t been able be with their family for months! Some people have had to put off needed medical procedures. Plenty of workers haven’t had the option to work from home, while some are still unemployed or have seen their business lose money. And heaven help those who don’t have a home at all to quarantine in. Same storm. Different boats.

We could apply that same saying to other issues going on in the world today. The political tensions and racial tensions in this country are storming around us… the various boats we are in affect how we experience these things. What kind of boat are you in? A boat built by privilege, education, and resources? Or a boat that has been pounded by storm after storm of prejudice and lack of opportunity. Your perspective and mine might be different depending on what kind of boat we find ourselves in. We might even differ in how we understand the storm… are these strong winds pushing us to new shores? leading us to positive change? Or do the gales threaten to break apart our only means of navigating the waters? Same storm. Different boats.

I guess another aspect we can consider is this: Do we get to choose our boats? Or do our boats choose us? I think both are true to some extent. I guess we could ask the same about the storm. I certainly know that some people have had to deal with storms much bigger than I ever have… but I think the key aspect here is, in this life, God never promised us clear sailing. We all have storms. Sometimes, like in the story of Elijah in the cave, and Jesus sending the disciples ahead in the boat, it seems that God actually, purposefully, sends us out knowing we’ll encounter a storm.

How we experience those storms and handle those storms has to do with - what kind of boat we’re in…. and what kind of boat we choose…

Some aspects of our boat are just handed to us by the circumstances of life, or the structures of society. Other aspects we have a choice in. I think the words of the serenity prayer fit here: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.

Let’s get back to our biblical texts for today.

In our Old Testament lesson, Elijah has just confronted King Ahab and defeated the Prophets of Baal. It was a fantastic display of God’s power - Elijah called down fire from heaven and everything! But King Ahab’s wife, Jezebel is none to happy and has vowed to have Elijah put to death. So Elijah is fleeing for his life. The storm that Elijah faces is ungodly corrupt rulers leading Israel astray, and who are set against him and against God’s will. It was the storm faced by the other Israelites as well. On top of that, there was drought and famine in the land. Elijah has cried out to God, “I’ve had enough Lord,” he said, “Take my life.” But God sustains him with miraculous food and drink in the desert… and in that strength, he travels 40 days and nights to go to Mt. Horeb. Which is where our passage begins. The word of God comes to Elijah and asks, “What are you doing here?” A question he asks Elijah twice… So maybe Elijah hadn’t been following God’s navigational chart in the first place.

Elijah begins his lament again, “I’ve been zealous for you, God, but all the Israelites have rejected you! I’m the only one left, and my life is on the line.” It sounds like he thinks that he’s the only one experiencing the storm, and that he’s all alone in the boat. Elijah finds the baggage of fear and anxiety into his boat, perhaps of even depression.

He looks for the voice of God in the storms on the mountain – in the wind, in the earthquake and in the fire. But God isn’t there. God appears in the still, small, voice…. In the sound of sheer silence. In the silence Elijah can hear God’s voice. Yes, there is a storm in Israel, but God has a plan. God assures Elijah that he is not the only one out on this stormy sea. There are 7000 others who will carry on the fight.

The same storm looks a lot different when you know you are part of a whole fleet, and not just a lone boat tossed on the waves. The boat fueled by faith and solidarity is a lot better than the boat of fear and isolation.

The story we have in the gospel today falls right on the heels of the story we heard last week – the feeding of the 5000. If you remember, Jesus had been trying to find a solitary place to pray after the death of John the Baptist, but was met by the crowds. In his compassion he healed and fed them with 5 loaves and 2 fish. Finally, at the end of the day, he sent the disciples away in a boat while he dismissed the crowd. Jesus finally took the solitary prayer time he needed.

I think Jesus knew they’d be encountering a storm. In the evening the boat was already far from shore and buffeted by the wind. But Jesus does not go to them until the 4th watch of the night, between 3-6 am. Jesus must have known they’d be frightened, but he also was clear what he was called to do – to re-center himself in prayer, and in his Father’s will.

I believe God knows that dealing with adversity and the storms of life can open us up to encounter him. Dealing with storms helps us learn and builds our strength. I don’t believe God causes the storms in our life, but God doesn’t always prevent them either.

There’s a Contemporary Christian song called “Sometimes he calms the storm.” It’s chorus goes like this:

Sometimes He calms the storm


With a whispered peace be still


He can settle any sea


But it doesn't mean He will

Sometimes He holds us close


And lets the wind and waves go wild


Sometimes He calms the storm


And other times He calms His child

How are the disciples experiencing this storm? What kind of boat are they in? It had been a long and confusing day, and now they’ve been compelled by Jesus to get in their small fishing boat to go on ahead. As the wind and waves kick up, they find themselves in a boat of fear and anxiety, which just added to their exhaustion and confusion. Were they angry that Jesus wasn’t with them? Angry that he seemed to have abandoned them?

Maybe. But they were also obedient. Jesus had told them to go to the other side. It would have been easier to turn around and head back to shore. But if they had been disobedient, they would have missed what Jesus was doing in that storm.

At the right time, Jesus does come to them, miraculously, walking on the water. God’s timing is often different than ours. And when Jesus does come, the disciples don’t recognize him at first. One of our constant refrains when we are battling the storms of life needs to be, “Where are you Lord?” and to keep a look out for how Jesus comes to us.

Jesus responds with words of comfort, power and assurance. “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid.” Have Courage, I AM. Fear not. In saying “It is I, eigo emi in Greek, he is using the very name of God – Yahweh. I AM who I am. Fear Not. God is God.

Peter is ready to accept this, and, at Jesus’ invitation, steps out of the boat of fear into the waves of faith. He doesn’t make it long before he falters, but he shows us just what the power of Jesus can do. And then, when Jesus gets in the boat, the storm is calmed for all of them. Finally, all of their eyes are opened and they proclaim, “Truly, you are the son of God.”

In this world, there are storms. The kind of boat we have can make a difference in how we handle those storms. Same storm. Different boats. Some boats we may not get to choose, which means we need to refrain from judging other people’s boats, and to be ready to help out those in vessels less sea-worthy than ours.

But we do have some say in how we equip our boats, and what passengers and cargo we take along with us. Do we load ourselves down with baggage like self-pity, fear, self-interest or anxiety. Or can we trust that God is God, and decide to weather the storms with faith, centeredness, and hope?

We are called to follow God’s leading in obedience, even if it leads us into scary storms. We are called to look out for Jesus on the waves, and be ready to meet him when he calls. And always, we are called to invite him into our boats, where we can find his peace and power.

A boat with Jesus aboard can whether any storm. Amen.

"Abundance of Bread"

Proper 13A 2020 – Loaves and Fishes (Aug. 2, 2020) 

Isaiah 55:1-5; Psalm 145: 8-9, 15-22; Matthew 14:13-21

Tomorrow, August 3rd, is Marcel and my first anniversary. We were married last year at St. Michael’s Parish Retreat at Shrine Mont. Those of you who have been part of St. Michael’s since that time know that it was a “surprise” wedding… not to the two of us but to everyone else except our families and a few friends. 

There were a lot of things that attracted me to Marcel as we began to get to know each other… He is a hiker, like me. That’s actually how we met. We’re both in the James River Hiker’s Meetup Group.  He’s a strong Christian, which, of course, is very important to me. He speaks French, having grown up in Canada… and I was a French teacher for my first career. Not only that, we were both beginning to study Spanish, so we can actually text each other in three languages. He had started taking salsa dance lessons when we met, so that’s been fun. He plays the guitar. He used to be a scuba instructor. He has studied massage therapy.  He also dabbles in writing sci-fi novels. And, as some of you know who came to our open house last February, he brews his own beer. 

One of the simple things that endeared me to Marcel early on was the fact that he baked his own bread. Week in and week out he made the bread he and his three boys would use in sandwiches for lunch and toast for breakfast. He uses a bread maker, which might seem like cheating to some purists, but it’s just part of what he did to provide for his family’s daily bread. It was simple, economical, and delicious. Besides, it smells great when it’s baking! 

The first Thanksgiving he spent with my family a couple of years ago in West Virginia, he brought along several loaves of homemade bread. As we were preparing to sit down for dinner, My brother’s wife leaned into me and whispered, 

“He’s cute AND he bakes his own bread? What more do you need? 

Of course these days, we’re actually trying to cut back on the bread… We need to counteract the last few months of reduced activity and the COVID – 9 pounds so many of us have added on.

But bread is a comfort food indeed. 

There’s a story I first read in the book, Sleeping with Bread: Holding what gives you life.

“During the bombing raids of World War II, thousands of children were orphaned and left to starve. The fortunate ones were rescued and placed in refugee camps where they received food and good care. But many of these children who had lost so much could not sleep at night. They feared waking up to find themselves once again homeless and without food. Nothing seemed to reassure them. Finally, someone hit upon the idea of giving each child a piece of bread to hold at bedtime. Holding their bread, these children could finally sleep in peace. All through the night the bread reminded them, ‘Today I ate and I will eat again tomorrow.’”

You can understand the fear and anxiety the children must have felt, and the great need they had for healing and security. Holding the bread helped to ease their troubled souls. It gives them a hope for abundance in the midst of the scarcity they’ve experienced. 

I wonder if that’s part of what’s happening in the story of the feeding of the 5000. This miracle by Jesus is the only one that is told by all four Gospel writers, which tells us how very central this story is to understanding who Jesus is and what God is up to. 

Jesus himself was experiencing some anxiety or grief, and in need of comfort after the death of John the Baptist. That’s why he took a boat to go to a solitary place to get some time alone. But the crowds that had heard about him and had been following him ran on foot to get to where he was going to land. And when Jesus saw them, he had compassion on them and began to heal the sick. 

How are we, like the crowd, searching for answers and seeking healing? 

How do we, like the children in the refugee camps, have trouble sleeping at night, anxious about what tomorrow might bring? 

How are we, today in the 21st century, looking for what will truly satisfy our needs and desires? 

The passage we read from Isaiah says, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” 

Many of you have found ways to find centeredness, wholeness, and satisfaction in these strange times. You’ve embraced new ways of being that have brought you back to yourself, and closer to God. 

But there are also many of you out there, and many in the world, who are anxious, hurting, grieving, and experiencing scarcity. 

  • COVID numbers aren’t going down as quickly as we’d like, and we don’t want ourselves or our loved ones to get ill. 

  • Many parents are scrambling to figure out how to manage remote learning for school this fall, especially if they need to work away from home.

  • Our cities, Richmond included, continue to experience additional property destruction when peaceful protests go rogue, while real change in racial justice issues seems slow to come.

  • Our national politics continue to be divisive and it’s only going to get worse as the election approaches.

  • Meanwhile, on a personal level, many people are out of work. Many are grieving loved ones who have died, who they haven’t been able to celebrate the way they would have wanted. Many people are in need of their own physical or emotional healing. Lots of us are uncertain about the future. 

  • We are hungry for good news, hungry to find meaning and purpose, and some are just plain hungry, in need of basic necessities. 

The crowds in Galilee sought out Jesus because they knew that he offered what they were hungry for: healing, compassion, respect, and love. 

And then, when he turned five loaves and two fish into a feast to feed 5000 men, plus women and children, - and have leftovers! – well, I think they were delighted and amazed. 

This story of multiplying the loaves and the fishes is preeminent example of God’s lavish abundance in the midst of scarcity, of God’s provision in the midst of need, but it is by no means the only story. 

Just like the meal around a thanksgiving table is a place where family stories are remembered and retold, so I imagine it was with the feeding of the 5000 in the desert. 

Jesus’ miraculous feeding in the wilderness would have reminded the people of all the other stories they knew. 

God provided the Manna in the wilderness to Moses and the Hebrew people as they left slavery. 

Elijah being fed bread by an angel as he was fleeing King Ahab, and then later the Ravens bringing him bread and meat each morning and evening. 

There’s that wonderful story of the Widow of Zarapheth, whose jar of flour and oil never ran out, even in the midst of famine. 

And all through the Hebrew Scriptures, like in the Isaiah passage we read today, we see images of a great feast and heavenly banquet that show God’s lavish abundance. 

“Ho, everyone who thirsts,come to the waters;

and you that have no money,come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,and delight yourselves in rich food.

Incline your ear, and come to me;listen, so that you may live.”

Over and over again, the bible tells us that where we are afraid or grieving, anxious or lacking, God provides an abundance… in ways we cannot imagine.  

And of course, as we Christians look back at the story of feeding the 5000, we remember other stories too. We remember especially how Jesus fed his disciples on the night before he died with the bread and the wine, his own Body and Blood. We remember how the grieving disciples who were walking on the road to Emmaus recognized their traveling companion as Jesus when he came in for supper and broke the bread at the table. We remember the abundance Jesus offers us as you and I receive the bread and wine of communion… a sacrament we have been hungry to celebrate together again. One that we can enjoy together next week here at church, or that I can bring to you in your own home. 

This feast of abundance and satisfaction is one that we get to be part of making happen.  

Jesus does not let his disciples sit on the sidelines in providing bread for the hungry. He told them not to send the people away. “YOU give them something to eat,” he said. 

Sometimes even when we feel like we don’t have enough ourselves, Jesus reminds us that we still have much to offer those who are hungry and thirsty for the basics of life and for the good news of the everlasting life Jesus promises.  

God uses us, materially, emotionally, and spiritually, to bring his abundance to the world. 

As our psalm today said, “You open wide your hand and satisfy the needs of every living creature.”

So for the rest of today, and perhaps for the rest of the week, I’d like you to reflect on the ways Jesus has brought abundance into your life, even in the midst of scarcity. 

For the crowd, Jesus is the one who gave them the comfort food of bread.

He spoke their language, sharing the good news in ways they could understand. 

His therapeutic touch brought healing. 

And his teaching showed them the steps to the dance of life. 

I imagine many of the crowd fell in love with Jesus that day. 

Maybe you and I, like the crowd, can fall a little deeper in love with Jesus as we reflect on how he satisfies our deepest desires with his abundance. Amen. 

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Sermon Series: Race & Reconciliation

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Service for Reconciliation, Justice and Peace

Proper 7A – June 14, 2020 - The Rev. Jeunée Godsey

Lord 

Take our Eyes and See through them

Take our ears and hear through them

Take our lips and speak through them

Take our hearts and fill them with your fire. 

In the past few weeks, our eyes have seen a lot, our ears have heard a lot. 

Maybe your lips may have spoken a lot… or maybe you’ve been holding your lips tight. 

And our hearts…. Many are on fire right now… Where is God’s fire? 

Perhaps now more than ever, it is important for each of us to pray that we see, hear, and speak through the lens of God’s truth. 

We are experiencing unrest and confusion in our country right now. Demonstrations and protests against racial injustice and police brutality are indeed circling the globe following the murder of George Floyd on May 25th in Minneapolis. Of course, it’s not just him. The cover of Time magazine this week was outlined with the names of 35 people, starting with Treyvon Martin, ending with the most recent: Michael Dean, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd. 

My friend, The Rev. Dr. Nyasha Gumbeze, priest in New Zealand posted about the Black Lives Matter protest she and other clergy were marching in in Auckland, while my Scottish Episcopal Priest friend, and fellow Ukulele player, posted about how in Bristol, England, a statue of the  Edward Colston, a civic leader and notorious slave trader was pulled down and thrown into the dock. Here in Richmond, of course, there have been ongoing demonstrations in the city and around the area. Mostly Peaceful. Some decidedly not. 

Our Governor has ordered that the General Robert E. Lee statue be removed, but meanwhile, other protesters have pulled Jefferson Davis off his pedestal on Monument Avenue, and Christopher Columbus was thrown into Byrd Lake by those who see him as a symbol of colonization and white supremacy due to his major role promoting the enslavement of the Natives People of Hispaniola.

I’ve mostly been staying away from TV news, but the images from around the country and around the world are both disturbing and heart-breaking, and sometimes exhilarating and hopeful. 

Let me just pause here to say that there is a clear distinction between Violent riotors and looters who seek to destroy, 

 and peaceful protesters, engaged in positive social action and demonstration. Peaceful protests  may still indeed disturb the status quo and the traffic flow….but protest is an effective element to work for constructive change to end racism and racial inequality.

There’s also a difference between the many good police officers and members of law enforcement who seek to serve and protect their communities, and the bullies who use a badge to dehumanize and intimidate, and the systemic issues that allow such brutality, discrimination and injustice to be perpetuated in our institutions and communities. 

As Christians we do not condone violence. Not by riotors, and not by corrupt police officers. But as Christians, we are also called to stand with the oppressed, to stand with those seeking the welfare of the people, and to work to carry out God’s will of justice and mercy. Sometimes that’s gritty work. 

When Jesus sees the crowd coming to him, looking for truth and solace, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. 

He gathered his disciples around him, and said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” 

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and sent them out, as apostles. (Disciples learn and walk in the masters path. Apostles go, being sent to do the masters work.) 

Jesus gave them authority over Jesus told them, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. 

That’s the work Jesus gives us as well- all of us, white, black, or brown, or any other color.

We are called to be agents of healing, to rid the world of the demons of racism, hate, discrimination, and inequality. 

When someone is baptized, they are asked to renounce evil and accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. 

Our renunciation is three-fold: 

Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual force of wickedness that rebel against God?

Do you renounce the Evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?

Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God? 

The response to each of them is “I renounce them.”

These three renunciations move from the cosmic, to the global, to the personal. 

We may not get it, but we can see there is cosmic evil / Satan, that works against God, but God has won already. 

I definitely get Personal evil. My own sinful desires are usually the easiest to recognize. We all know we have sinful habits. We all know we screw up and need reform. While we know many of our faults, we also have blindspots to places that still need to be redeemed in our lives. 

But The Evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God? That’s systemic evil. That’s the evil that is beyond one person, or one entity. That’s what makes it so hard to deal with. This is exactly where racism comes in. It lives alongside other evil powers like corporate greed, prejudice of all kinds, war, environmental degradation, political corruption, economic injustice, and so on. It’s so big and so complicated that we oftentimes don’t even try to renounce it or resist it. We go along to get along. Or when we do renounce or resist, our efforts feel like a drop in the bucket.  

As a white middle-class woman, I have the privilege to decide I don’t want to think about racism, to turn off the news and go about my weekend in suburbia without even having to worry things my black and brown brothers and sisters always have in the back of their minds…. That they will likely be watched suspiciously in a store, or pulled over by police simply because of the color of their skin. Or that their college age son might not even make it home. These are things I don’t have to think about or talk about Just because I’m white. 

Scripture tells us that we cannot remain silent. We are called to speak out. More than speak out, do something. 

PROVERBS 24:11-12 says,

If you do nothing in a difficult time, how small is your strength!) 

Rescue those being taken off to death, and save those stumbling toward slaughter.

If you say, “But we didn’t know about this,”

won’t He who weighs hearts consider it?

Won’t He who protects your life know?

Won’t He repay a person according to his work?

The Message puts it even more clearly. 

11-12 Rescue the perishing; don’t hesitate to step in and help.If you say, “Hey, that’s none of my business,” will that get you off the hook?Someone is watching you closely, you know— Someone not impressed with weak excuses.

Edmund Burke nailed it when he said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” 

I know many of you have actively been working for justice, peace, and racial reconciliation. You have mentored children in interracial children’s camps, and proactively joined discussion groups to help break down racial barriers. You’ve sought to educate yourself about the systemic issues that have led us where we are today. This is good. But we are not done yet. 

In Our Gospel today Jesus says the apostles are sent out. Where they find people of peace, worthy folk, who will allow the message of God’s Good News to be preached, they are to spend time there. Those people of worth, or people of peace will provide for the messengers, feed them, help them share their message with the wider community. 

Sometimes the message isn’t received. So then, Jesus says, shake the dust off your feet and move on. We cannot force people to change. Judgement is God’s. (But Jesus doesn’t make that judgement sound too good, does he?) 

What if we turned Jesus’ words around 180 degrees? What if God has called others to be apostles to us? To cast out the demons in our lives? To heal our souls from the sin-sickness we have experienced? What if we are called to be the worthy households, people who can receive the words of peace – words that describe a future peace, and not reject them. What if we supposed to be those who serve the apostles, who offer harbor, who hear and accept the good news of God’s kingdom and in turn share it with our neighbors. Who protect the messengers from those who would persecute them, and who are willing to be persecuted ourselves for the sake of God’s message of justice and reconciliation? 

Maybe we are the ones being evangelized. We, the average white person with a good heart but still not fully understanding our part in dismantling racism.  Maybe we are the harvest Jesus is so concerned about.  

Many of you know that until last November, I had live my seven years in Richmond on Monument Avenue, in an apartment in a grand old house that was just half a block from General Lee. I loved that apartment. I loved sitting out on the front porch. I loved walking up and down the Street. I enjoyed the majesty of the monuments. I knew they were all about the confederacy, which of course I knew was wrong headed, but I didn’t really give it much thought. Old history I figured. I often took pictures of the sunrise or the sunset with General Lee featured prominently in the middle.  I posted him often on my Facebook page. 

But one black death after another crossed the news. One black lives matter protest after another. Then, in 2017 Charlottesville happened. The protests and counter protests about the cities decision to take down a statue of Robert E Lee ended in the death of a woman, as a white supremacist drove into a crowd of protesters. Wow. Protests over statues. 

It wasn’t until one of my black friends said to me as I gave her my address and she dropped me off, “I could never live on this street. It just hurts too much.”  Something like scales dropped from my eyes. I saw things differently than I had before. She wasn’t judging me, or even trying to convince me. She was simply speaking her truth. It sounds stupid, but I hadn’t really considered how such a symbol could cause such pain. 

I stopped taking pictures of General Lee. 

One small evil was cast out of my soul by her words. 

I’d say that we each have a role to be both apostles who are sent out, and people of peace who are willing to receive the words of the apostles sent to us. 

We sometimes we are agents of another’s conversion. 

Sometimes we are the ones being converted. 

We are sent by God into the public square and into voting booth to make change. 

We are also asked to feed and support those on the front lines of change. 

Rev. Becki included an article in our weekly e-news of 75 things white people can do to fight racism. You may find something in that list that encourages you to take action. 

At our baptism service, After the three-fold renunciation of Evil, we affirm our faith by accepting Jesus as our Savior, Trusting in his grace and love, and following him as our Lord. 

We then make 5 promises about how we plan to live out our faith.  

These are the action items I leave you with today. 

Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers? PRAY

Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord? RESIST & REPENT

Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ? PROCLAIM 

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself? LOVE

Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every humanbeing? 

STRIVE FOR JUSTICE. PEACE, RESPECT & DIGNITY FOR EVERY HUMAN BEING. 

This should be nothing new for most of us. But let this be a new day for all of us. 

Lord, take our eyes and see through them. 

Take our ears and hear through them. 

Take our lips and speak through them. 

Take our hearts and fill them with your fire. 

Proper 8, 2020

Mt: 10-40-42

June 28, 2020

Reverend Becki Dean

 “Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward,” Jesus tells his disciples in our reading from Matthew.  “Whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous, and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”  

Jesus makes being a disciple sound so easy in today’s Gospel; at least when compared to last few weeks when he told them, in verses 9 & 10, “…take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. And in verses 16-20 how they would face persecution; in verse 21 the rejection they would encounter within their own families and then last week, “…Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have come not to bring peace but a sword…”

In today’s verses Jesus tells the disciples three things are necessary to receive our reward:  welcoming the prophet, welcoming the righteous, and giving a drink to the thirsty. It seems pretty straight forward. Jesus wants us to be welcoming? We do that!  Jesus wants us to pass out food?  He wants us to live a righteous life?  We do that too!  When it comes right down to it, St. Michael’s is welcoming, hospitable and caring. On the surface, today’s verses make discipleship seem like a cakewalk

But, as I read this Gospel again, I realized, Jesus isn’t talking about giving.  He is talking about receiving!

Don’t misunderstand.  Giving is important. But receiving, the other side of the coin, that’s not as easy.  Like, how many of us are willing to receive as generously as we are willing to give?  We know as Christians we are to minister to those on the margins. We remind ourselves every time we renew our Baptismal Vows, answering the questions. “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?” And “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?” Our response, “I will with God’s help.” And I believe we all answer sincerely from our hearts. 

But here’s the thing: the majority of us don’t live on the margins; Says Debbie Thomas in her blog, Journey with Jesus, we’re used to occupying the center.  We’re used to being the ones who wield institutional and cultural power over the very people we set out to help.  We’re accustomed to being the privileged ones who compassionately extend welcome, generosity, charity, and hospitality to others less privileged than ourselves. And we’re really good at knowing what the marginalized need without asking. Having never walked in their shoes we think we have the answers to their needs.

When Jesus told his disciples not to carry anything with them, the understanding was that they would assume a posture of humility and depend completely on the hospitality of the people they were sent to serve. Can’t we see?  Even as we give, we are also to receive.

Ancient Jewish people had a custom.  They called it shaliah. People were expected to treat the king’s emissary as if he were the king himself.  If the king sent you a message by a messenger even with bad news, you better not shoot him!  You had better treat the king’s messenger as if he were a VIP; roll out the red carpet, offer the messenger coffee and a donut, and be prepared to put him up for the night! It was simply expected.

Shaliah! The messenger bears the image of the one who sent him. 

The messenger bears the image of the one who sent him.  The apostles bore the image of Jesus – and Jesus bore the image of God – so the apostles also bore the image of God.  They were to speak with God’s authority.  They were to act by God’s power.

Those who welcomed the disciples took the final step of Shaliah, by providing support. The image of the apostles bore the image of Jesus who is the image of God.  

“Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me,

And whoever welcomes me welcomes 

the one who sent me.” (v40)

Shaliah! The messenger bears the image of the one who sent him.

Jesus points us to three categories of people God expects us to help.

The first are the prophets. In the Bible prophets were the people who spoke for God, who said, for better or worse, what God told them to say.  Mostly God sent prophets to straighten people out, to tell them to repent or else! Frequently he sent prophets to reprimand the rich and powerful for mistreating the poor and powerless; the widows and orphans.

Prophets were not popular.

Whether or not we are aware, Jesus continues to send us prophets.  And no matter what message the prophet brings we are to pay attention.

Next, Jesus wants us to help righteous people, people who obey God, people who try their best to do what God calls them to do, people who love God and neighbor, those who lives honor God.  Jesus said if we welcome people like that, not only will they be rewarded, but so will we.  

Last, and maybe most important to God, is the assistance we provide for the little ones.  Little ones could be nearly anyone, children, the poor, the homeless, those who are deserving of justice and mercy, anyone who is vulnerable. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells us that he will reward those who feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, or help the sick, or visit the prisoner.  “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”  (25:40)

All of this is to say to us today in the 21st Century:  look at where we are in this present moment and ask ourselves the hard questions.  Are we the prophets God has called us to be?  Do we speak the truth even when it’s easier to be silent?  Can we say with confidence that we have always been the people God calls us to be?  Do we look the other way when our system of justice is unjust for our brothers and sisters who are not our color, race, ethnicity or religion? 

Are we the righteous people God calls us to be?  Do we truly love our neighbor, near or far off, as much as we love the neighbor most like ourselves?  Does the life we lead honor the God we love?

This is a very painful time for so many who have never known freedom the way you and I know freedom.  But it is also a time of pain and grief for many of privilege, authority and power who look just like me.  For me personally to know that I have not recognized my participation in racism in this life of privilege that I was born into leaves me broken. I have not received the voices of my brothers and sisters who live on the margins have been trying to tell me for so many years in the way God wants me to receive their voices.  I have not fought for justice and mercy for the vulnerable and, until this present moment, I have not heard their cries.  It is my state of privilege and arrogance that has prevented me from hearing those cries of the prophets in my midst, on my news channel, on my social media, even my ministry to them that God called me to. There’s no excuse.  I can do better.  I will do better.  I will not turn away or be silent.  Through these 21st Century prophets my eyes have been opened and my ears unstopped.  I will, with God’s help, keep my eyes and ears open for opportunities to help the prophets, to spread God’s inclusive love, to educate myself to what the prophets are telling us.  I will strive, with God’s help, to live the life God has called us to live. I will, with God’s help, Won’t you prayerfully join me?  Maya Angelou once said “You do the best you can.  When you know better, you do better.”  Every opportunity to help is an opportunity to receive; to receive someone’s story, to receive someone’s desires, to receive a new friendship.  It is in this receiving that we are abundantly blessed by our all-inclusive God.  Shaliah!

Re-Gathering Plans for August 9th!

July 23, 2020

Dear Friends,

The diocese has just approved our plan for regathering for worship and we look forward to doing so in a way that both honors our spiritual traditions as well as provides the utmost in safety and health protocols. August 9th at 9:30 am will be our first time to regather for Sunday worship.

I know many of you are anxious to see your church family and receive the sacrament of Holy Communion. At the same time, I also know that many remain cautious and are not ready to resume gathering in groups. It is important that each person make their own decision, based on their comfort and risk level, whether it is the right time for them to regather.  

First of all, know that we will continue to offer an online version of worship. Once we start to regather, the online format will change. While we may start online streaming simply, we are also exploring better audio-visual equipment for recording and streaming our services. This will not only be beneficial for this period of dealing with remote worship during the pandemic, but also will strategically situate us for future growth and evangelism in a highly-connected world. So, while our first efforts at streaming our live service may not be as polished as our pre-recorded services currently are, you can expect that we will continue to learn and grow technologically as we share the Good News of Jesus.

Also, once we begin worship, Becki and I will also make ourselves available to bring communion to those of you not yet ready to come to church.  We can do this by household, small group, or meet you or your small group at the church. Please call me to make arrangements. (804-272-0992w / 434-603-1782c)

If you feel ready to join us for in-person worship, here is what you need to know:

·        The sanctuary will be thoroughly cleaned before each service, and volunteers will clean any high touch areas as needed during and after the service.

·        Hand sanitizer stations are available in the narthex and up front before receiving communion. You are invited and encouraged to bring your own hand sanitizer.

·        To attend, you must not have any COVID-19 symptoms and have not knowingly been exposed to someone with COVID-19 in the previous two weeks.

·        You will need to make a reservation. You may do this by:

o   Calling the church office before noon on Thursday (804-272-0992) or

o   Signing up on the Sign Up Genius each week. The link sfor the following week will be sent out in a Monday email, or you can go to www.signupgenius.com/findasignup and where it says, “Search for a Sign Up by sign up creator's email,” enter StMsBonAir@gmail.com. Any St. Michael’s Sign ups will show up there.

o   For the sake of evangelism and hospitality, we will be holding 2 slots for guests each week, should we have someone just show up at our front door

·        Based on our polling, we believe we can safely accommodate almost everyone who is ready to start gathering at our one 9:30 am service each week. You will need to give the total numbers of attendees and their names for each reservation.

o   The Sanctuary slots (30) are for household units of 1-3 people. If you have more than 3 people, please reserve 2 slots, and you may all sit together in the same pew. 

o   The Chapel slots (10) are by individual, since only 2 individuals can fit on our 5 available pews with appropriate social distancing. If you have 2-6 persons in your party, reserve 2 slots and you can all sit together in the same pew. 

o   If we run out of room, please add your name to the waiting list. We will contact you if space opens up, and register you first for the following week if you are available. 

o   If we find we continue to have waiting lists, we will move toward a second service.

·        If you have been ill, shown any symptoms of COVID-19, or been around anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last 14 days, you should stay home.

·        Note that if someone who attended in-person worship tests positive for COVID-19, we will contact the others at the service. You’ll be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days unless you have a subsequent negative test.

·        Please use the restroom before you leave home to cut down on church usage, but the restrooms are available and a volunteer will sanitize the surfaces in the bathroom between uses.

·        You'll need to wear your face coverings at all times, except when receiving communion.  If you forget your mask, we will have a limited supply available.

·        You will need to keep physically distanced by 6' between family groups, and not pass things between people outside family groups.

·        All worshippers will enter by the front center doors.

·        Please plan to arrive early to help us not be rushed during our check in process.

·        As you arrive, the door will be opened for you, and an usher will take your temperature at your forehead with a no-touch thermometer, and your name checked off the reservation list.

·        A full-service bulletin will be available for pick up at the entrance.

·        An offering plate will also be available on a table at the entrance, or you may continue online or mail in offerings.

·        You will be seated from front to back in the church.

·        You will be released from the back to the front to avoid “traffic jams” in aisles.

·        People will exit on the side aisles and use the side doors to reach the outside. This one-way traffic pattern will help keep us physically distanced.

·        If you wish to socialize after worship, you are welcome to do so, as long as you keep 6’ physical distance between family units and move your conversation out of the walkways where others are trying to exit. (Try the front lawn, memorial garden, area near the parish house, or staying/ returning to your pews which mark the 6’ distance.

·        There will be no refreshments available after the service, though, as always, a paper cup dispenser in the bathroom allows you to get water. You may also bring your own water bottle.

Additionally, if you are able to volunteer as ushers, greeters, or “sanitizers” please call the church office and let us know, since some of our regular volunteers are not yet ready to return in person.

I know these “rules” may seem somewhat antithetical to the warm, open hospitality we normally value, but I believe that by following these guidelines we can still enjoy a joyful and cordial time of fellowship and worship.

Blessings,

The Rev. Dr. Jeunée Godsey

Sermon Series - Kingdom Parables: Planting, Weeding, Growing

Proper 10A 2020 – Parable of Sower

July 12, 2020

The Rev. Jeunée Godsey

A sower went out to Sow… that’s how Jesus begins his parable. In fact, As we begin chapter 13 in the Gospel of Matthew the parable we heard today is the first of 7 parables which try to describe the Kingdom of Heaven. 

A parable is a story meant to explain something bigger. Literally it means, to throw along side .. putting an example along side of what you are trying to explain.. it makes a sort of comparison. Jesus uses stories and parables that take common everyday images from 1st century life in order to offer some images that begin to explain what life in God was like. He talks about farmers and housekeepers, shepherds, landlords and such. 

Today we have the 1st of 3 parables in a row about gardening and planting. We’ll hear them all these last three weeks of July. Today we have the Parable of the Sower and the different soils. Next week we hear the parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, and the following week we hear the parable of the Mustard Seed. Seeds planted in the ground with different results… all to give us images to illustrate what the kingdom of God is like. 

So, while we often think of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, maybe these next few weeks we need to think of Jesus as the Good Gardener. Except is he really that good a gardener? Think about the willy-nilly way the sower is planting his seed… just throwing it hinder and yon with no regard for where it lands. 

Compare that with the great work going on in St. Michael’s Garden. 

Here I am standing in St. Michael’s yard, and just behind me is our community Garden. 

Jesus tells us the story of the sower who goes out and sows… The sower scatters the seed everywhere. Some lands on the path, the rocky ground, the briar patch, and some on good soil. 

And while Jesus doesn’t normally explain his parable, this parable has a “magic decoder ring…”

Jesus just explains what it means. 

The seed is the word of God. The soils represent different environments in people’s lives in which that seed is scattered: Hardened, rocky, thorny, or good soil. The sower is not named. Perhaps it is Jesus himself. 

But even Jesus’ own explanation doesn’t exhaust the meaning of the story. Parables are not really meant to have just one interpretation. We can’t just ask, “what does it mean?” and walk away satisfied with one pat answer, all wrapped up and stored on the mental shelf of “lessons learned.”

Jesus tells parables not to have us ask questions of them. 

Jesus tells parables so that they can ask questions of us.  

So what questions does the story of the sower ask you and me? 

At least two, I think. 

What kind of soil are you?

What kind of sower are you?

What kind of soil are you? 

I think very few of us are just one kind of soil. When I look at my own life, I can see how on any given day, on any given hour there are parts of my life that are like the hard path, or rocky ground. There are thorns that choke out other concerns and there are places that are growing and being fruitful.

What kind of soil are you?

There are places in my life that are hardened by convention and routine. The hard packed earth of “this is just the way I am,” or “we’ve always done it that way” won’t let new seeds germinate, even when they are seeds of God’s will.

Perhaps the hard path represents areas of your life where you are most resistant to change, or areas that you just aren’t really to till up because what’s packed underneath is too painful to unbury. 

Perhaps the hard path represents areas of our lives that we feel the most control over, or the most secure of, and therefore are the most hesitant to stir anything up, especially when you don’t know what a new crop might yield. 

But what promises of abundance do you and I miss by having hard places where the seed of God’s word doesn’t even get a chance to take root? 

What kind of soil are you?

Ever get excited by something new, but fail to carry through? For me, beginning new things is always more fun than sustaining them through the long haul. Jesus speaks about this in the Rocky ground. 

There are people who joyfully embrace the teachings of Jesus and accept God’s forgiveness and promise of new life, until they realize that it might mean they have to dig up some of the rocks that are blocking their growth. The initial feel-good stage of faith or spiritual practice gives way to some dry spells and challenging weather, and if the roots of faith haven’t gone very deep, our faith can languish. Sometimes this can happen when someone has a mountain top experience of God, but doesn’t know how to live in the valley. Or when someone turns to Jesus in desperation, and finds true acceptance and forgiveness, but doesn’t go on to build the relationship. 

When hard times come - lost job, illness, divorce - they don’t have the depth of faith to carry them through. When difficult decisions have to be made they find it easier to go along with the world or the crowd than to stand the heat of making an unpopular decision based on Christian principles. It’s easy to get scortched and wither. A feel good experience one day a week, or revelations that come while away on a spiritual retreat or mission trip are great, but won’t really make a difference in the spiritual harvest of your life unless it’s rooted in daily discipleship of prayer, study, service, and godly relationship with which make the soil of your life richer and richer year. 

What kind of soil are you?

Life during the COVID crisis has had a different rhythm. In some ways, we are not in the same rat race as we were. But for many of us, what prevents our growth in God is simply letting other things choke out our faith. 

Sometimes administrivia fills my days, to do lists are ongoing, I want to start decorating my house like all the pictures I see my neighbors posting in Facebook. And what am I cooking for dinner tonight? These are really even the thorny issues so many other people have to deal with. 

I lie in bed some nights and wonder, “Where was God in all that?” Did I grow today at all? Did I help anyone else grow? Did I choke out God’s Spirit? I know there are weeds in my garden. What weeds are in yours? 

What kind of soil are you?

Thank goodness that you and I are not always hard, or shallow, or crowded with preoccupations. Sometimes God’s seed falls on soil that’s rich and fertile. The right word at the right time can make a world of difference. The yield from those seeds is phenomenal… life-changing even. 

I think that these are sometimes the nuggets of wisdom and truth we receive, from scripture or Godly advice. These seeds in the good soils are those times when we see God’s path for us clearly and we follow it, or we begin to use our gifts in ways that honor God and we are finding joy in fulfilment and meaning. 

When God’s seed is growing in your life, the job there is to be patient. Tend to the fragile signs of new life. Feed and water it well. Pull the weeds while they’re still small. Expect the fruit of God’s planting to yield great things. 

I wonder if we can really choose what kind of soil we have in our lives, or merely learn how to observe ourselves and do what we can to enrich the soil of our lives at any given time.  

In the passage we heard earlier from Romans, Paul wrote, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… We are set free from the law of sin and death.” Jesus does not condemn us because we have had hard places in our lives, or shallow soil, or thorny weeds. Jesus sets us free so that we can turn over a new leaf, or - a new spade of soil. 

Even when the soils of our life are hard, or shallow, or crowed, Jesus continues to broadcast seeds of blessing and opportunity hour after hour, day after day, even though much seems to be wasted on us. God is abundant in his generosity. 

God is a generous sower. 

What kind of sower are you? 

Jesus method of sowing is meant to be a model for us. How do you spread the seeds of God’s love as you walk through life? The seeds we have to share shouldn’t wait of perfect planting conditions. Jesus gives us a model of reckless abandon when it comes to spreading God’s love in word and deed. Jesus doesn’t just hedge his bets and plant where the soil seems the most fertile, he scatters it here and there and everywhere. 

Any actions we do, big and small, done in God’s name, scatter God’s seed and have the potential for Divine Harvest. Sometime the seed has to be scattered over and over again until the soil is ready to receive it… and in good time, it just might. Are you a generous and reckless sower of seeds of God’s love? The seeds you scatter might be kind words to a neighbor, Praying with your children or grandchildren, volunteering to help those in need, or reaching out to those who are alone. Seeds of God’s love might look like starting a study group around issues of racial justice, Sharing an answer to prayer with a friend, finding ways to introduce spiritual topics into a conversation. 

What kind of soil are you? 

What kind of sower are you?

To conclude I want to share a cute this piece I collected quite a time ago.. It’s called Gardening God’s way. While it talks about planting not just scattering, I think it the seeds I think are the kind of seeds we need to be planni

Plant three rows of peas:

Peace of mind

Peace of heart

Peace of soul

Plant four rows of squash:

Squash gossip

Squash indifference

Squash grumbling

Squash selfishness

Plant four rows of lettuce:

Lettuce be faithful

Lettuce be kind

Lettuce be obedient

Lettuce really love one another

No garden without turnips:

Turnip for worship

Turnip for service

Turnip to help one another

Finally, in our garden

We must have thyme:

Thyme for God

Thyme for study

Thyme for prayer

Water freely with patience and

Cultivate with love.

The bible says you reap what you sow, 

and so may you reap 30 fold, 60 fold, 100 fold of God’s blessings. 

The Rev. Jeunée Godsey

St. Michael’s Episcopal Church

Proper 11A Romans 8:12-25

July 19, 2020 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43  


I’ve got a problem with this Gospel reading today. 

Let me rephrase that. 

I’ve got several problems with this Gospel reading today. 

First of all, the weather this last week has been way too hot to hear about the weeds of evil being thrown into the furnace of fire to be burned up, accompanied to the tune of weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

Oh LORD! Please don’t let ME be a weed in the wheat field of life! 

But my major problem with this passage comes from the impracticability and irresponsibility of it all. You just can’t go letting weeds grow all over your garden! 

Believe me... I’ve done it…It’s not pretty. You have to get those weeds early before they do much damage, or sure enough, when you do try to pick them, you uproot your garden plants as well. 

I’m pretty lucky right now. I live in a new home with new mulch, and the weeds are pretty easy to pluck up as they poke through. But I don’t have a great history with weeds. One of my old homes had this insidious sort of crabgrass that was all gnarly and sent its tentacle roots into my flower beds and bushes, encircling all my plants, then, when I tried to pull it up, I’d end up uprooting my daffodil bulbs or other flowers as well. I never managed to get it under control. 

Obviously those weeds are sown by the Devil.

I guess it’s my frustrating experiences of the past that color the way I see Jesus’ parable today. 

“For in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.” True enough, but it goes on. “Let both of them grow together until the harvest.” Now, that’s where I have trouble. Maybe wheat and daffodils aren’t quite the same, and maybe Jesus’ weeds and crabgrass aren’t quite the same, but if you let the weeds and crabgrass continue to grow, it adversely affects the harvest or the garden doesn’t it? It does make a difference, doesn’t it, whether you have a beautiful garden or a weedy garden? I think it does. I don’t want to see weeds instead of flowers.

So if this parable Jesus teaches about the weeds and the wheat is an analogy of the Kingdom of God, how are we to understand it? God doesn’t want this to be a “weedy world” does he? Don’t we have some responsibility as Christians to work against evil in the world? Don’t we in our baptismal covenant “renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?” Don’t the we promise to “persevere in resisting evil?” Shouldn’t we be out there, weeding the world from evil? 

Maybe I’m overreacting. Maybe life is as simple as “live and let live, and let God sort it all out in the end.”  That would certainly make life a heck of a lot easier, wouldn’t it? I wouldn’t need to worry about anyone or anything. I could just enjoy the sun and look forward to that Holy Harvest Day.  Just so long as I am sure I’m not a weed.

Well let’s look at this parable more closely, to see what we can glean from it. First of all, you’ll want to remember that this is just one of Jesus’ parables about the Kingdom of God in Matthew. 

This parable of the weeds comes just after the parable of the sower and the four soils we heard last week. In the same chapter, Jesus speaks of the kingdom as a mustard seed and as yeast, as a fine pearl and as a treasure. 

But for now, let’s see how this parable of weed and wheat helps us understand the Kingdom of God, as it pertains to the World and Ourselves. 

So what about Wheat and Weeds in the World?

Like Jesus’ parable of the sower and the soils, Jesus offers a rare direct interpretation of this parable. “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.” 

While Jesus’ allegorical interpretation of the parable seems to focus on the end of the age, this parable doesn’t get all it’s meaning from the Final Harvest, even though we do get some dramatic language about that time.

This parable focuses more on the questions of the servants, “Lord, didn’t you sow good seed?” And, “Do you want us to gather up the weeds?” This parable focuses on how do deal with kingdom life in the present, not just about the final end times. 

“Lord, didn’t you sow good seed?” The answer is Yes. 

“Do you want us to gather up the weeds?” The answer is No, at least not outside your own little plot. 

The parable of the weeds illustrates a spiritual truth that has been true ever since the very first Garden:  Whenever God creates something wonderful, the Devil tries to spoil it.  

God sows good seed and Satan sows bad. This is an important thing to remember. Too often, people start blaming God for the bad things in the world. But God doesn’t create evil. Evil is a perversion or counterfeit of the good. 

One reason Jesus told this parable is to highlight what was happening in his own time. Jesus was sowing seeds of the kingdom of God, and he began to see the fruit of faithful disciples. Meanwhile, however, controversy grew around him. Enemies tried to trip him up, and eventually had him killed. I don’t believe the evil of suspicion and hate leading up to Jesus’ death were part of God’ plan. But God knew the enemy’s tactics and the frailty of the human heart and took them into consideration in his plan for our salvation. 

So the evil in this world is not of God. When things go bad, we don’t necessarily need to be wondering why God is testing us. We can look for God to guide us through the weed patches of life. 

Also, when God sows good, we can expect some spiritual backlash. It happened in Jesus Day. It happens now. As your eyes become more open to spiritual things, you will begin to see it as well. 

I can’t tell you how often a new ministry gets ready to start and lo and behold, a significant number of the participants are struck ill or have car trouble.  

There are times when God works to bring about exciting positive change in the church or community or the world, and soon the grumbling begins, or things go sideways. We just need to be aware that when God does something new, the devil often tries to spoil it, and we need not be surprised. One positive thing we can do is to pray for God’s protection. Prayer is a form of spiritual “Round Up” that helps eliminate evil and its effects. 

Now, bad things happening isn’t always the Devil’s fault. Life is messy, and sometimes the bad stuff just happens. Besides that, it’s not always clear what’s good and what’s evil. One person’s weed is another person’s flower. Baby’s breath is considered a weed in California, but it appears in almost every flower arrangement. You might not like having Dandelions in your yard, but the greens are edible, it can be made into wine, and the seed pods are magical in the hand of a child. 

Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between the weed and the wheat at first, and we need to be careful not to judge other people or other situations too quickly. Sometimes whether something is a “noxious weed” or “helpful herb” is a matter of perspective. 

The weed Jesus mentions is thought by many scholars to be bearded darnel, a weed that in its early stages closely resembles wheat, making it almost impossible to identify.  As the plants mature, the roots of the weeds and wheat intertwine, making them almost impossible to separate.  It’s not until the grain matures that you can tell the difference.

If the darnel is not separated out, however, it will ruin the flour because it is both bitter and mildly toxic.  The usual solution was to separate the grains after threshing by spreading them on a flat surface and having people remove the darnel by hand, which is a different color at that stage.

This parable points out that even when the good and bad grow together, God takes the time to gather the good and rid the harvest of evil. God won’t let evil ruin the bread at the heavenly banquet. 

I think this parable points to why time in this world is so confusing right now. 

For example, I personally believe that a renewed movement to eradicate racial injustice is good seed, sown by God. I believe good seeds have been sown to help reform our criminal justice system to provide greater justice and accountability. Yet, it also seems that some bad seeds are being sown by the Enemy, who wishes to destroy the Good God may be up to. Violence, hostility, blaming, suspicion, hatred. It’s sometimes hard to tell the wheat from the weeds. 

When is a hard conversation offering different points of view, simply that… a hard conversation?… It may be a necessary tilling up of the soil of hardened opinions so you can plant good seed for future harvest. 

Or,  when is the confrontation of a fight truly good verses evil? Just because someone thinks differently than you do, doesn’t mean they are a weed, or worse, “a son of the Devil.” At the same time, evil abounds, and not everyone trying to effect change has good motives. 

Unfortunately, many in our society have gotten to the point of demonizing people who have different political views or different solutions to hard issues. Even more so in an election year. 

It’s gotten to the point that even dealing with COVID seems to a mixture of Wheat and Weeds. Good information or bad? Best of intentions or conspiracy theories? It’s hard to know what’s what. 

Sometimes good and bad are so intertwined that our efforts to rid the world of bad end up hurting the good. 

The truth of the matter is that there are not some people who are “Wheat” - all good, and some people who are “Weeds” - all evil. Each of us produces weed and wheat in our lives. Each community or church or organization is a mixture of wheat and weeds. We’re all a garden that contains both. 

We are indeed called to work against evil and injustice in this world, but we know that we will never reach perfection this side of heaven. Weed and wheat will always be together in the same field. That is where this parable is good news. God takes care of the final harvest. We don’t have to. It’s not our place to be the final judge. 

Hopefully you are tending the good seed God has grown in your life. Hopefully, through regular self-examination and confession, you are pulling the weeds of sin in your life before they have much chance to grow deep roots and send runners into other parts of your life. Hopefully your friends and family are tending to their own fields as well… because you know, if your neighbors yard is full of weeds, its hard to keep those weeds out of your yard. If you spend time with those who are evil, prejudice, or hateful, those noxious seeds can get in your garden too. 

I’d dare say most of us have at least one corner of our interior property that we haven’t tended very carefully. Sometimes we have been the ones sowing the bad seed in our own gardens, through poor choices, or selfish desires. Sometimes the bad seed has come from an enemy. When our lives are so entangled with the growth from the bad seed, that we can’t see how to pull up the weeds without destroying everything. 

It can seem pretty hopeless. But our God is a Master Gardner. 

The key here is to not judge yourself out of the kingdom. And don’t let others judge yourself out of the kingdom, either. God can see the good wheat in your life, even if at times it seems strangled by the weeds. And don’t be afraid of the fire. The fire of God’s love burns away any weed of evil that stands between you and him. That’s what I believe Jesus means when he says he will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin to throw in the fire.  

God’s forgiveness burns away the weeds of guilt. 

God’s healing burns away the weeds of brokenness. 

God’s holiness burns away any weeds of unrighteousness.

God’s love and peace can burn away the weeds of hate and division.

The weeping and gnashing of teeth comes from the Devil, who has been denied his harvest of weeds.

The good news is there’s not just one final harvest at the end of time. Season after season God wants to gather up the fruit in our lives, and burn off the weeds.  And parcel by parcel God will sort out the wheat field of the world in his own time. In the end, we can trust in the Lord of the Harvest. 

Amen. 

Proper 12-A, 2020

July 26, 2020

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Reverend Becki Dean

Jesus said to the disciples, “Have you understood all this?”  They answered with a resounding, “Yes.” Now, right off the bat, I’m suspect.  Really?  The disciples understood this.  They haven’t understood anything else Jesus tried to teach them.  And now they get it?  I don’t think so!

In her book, Seeds of Heaven, Barbara Brown-Taylor says Jesus’ parables of the Kingdom were “a way of weaving things holy with the ordinary stuff of life; a way of breaking open our everyday understanding of things and inviting us to explore them all over again.”

           So, let’s explore today’s parables.  

There was a story that went around a number of years ago when Bill Clinton was president.  As the story goes, Bill and Hillary were taking a walk one afternoon when Hillary spotted a man at a gas station along the way, stopped and had a conversation with the gentleman who turned out to be the gas station attendant.  It seemed to the President to be a pretty lively conversation.  As Hillary and the gas station attendant said their goodbyes the attendant said, "It was great talking with you."  Following the exchange Bill and Hillary continued their walk.  Curious, the President looked at Hillary and asked if she knew the man.   Hillary admitted she did.  She told the President that they had gone to high school together and had even dated for a while.

"Boy, were you lucky that I came along," bragged the President.  "If you had married him, you'd be the wife of a gas station attendant instead of the wife of the President of the United States."

"My dear," Hillary replied, "if I had married him, he would be the President of the United States and you would be the gas station attendant."

The problem is we humans have a difficult time seeing the big picture; we think we have the proper perspective on an issue when in fact we’re out there in left field.  Jesus understood this inclination for us to get it wrong; especially when it comes to things spiritual.  So, he told a few parables intertwining the Holy with the ordinary.  He said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed.”  

Some of us probably remember when girls use to wear mustard seed necklaces.  When I was a young girl, they were all the rage.  The seed was centered in a small glass ball and worn on a chain around your neck.  The seed was so tiny in that glass ball.  So why would Jesus choose something so small to represent something as large as the kingdom of heaven? 

 He did it because even though the Kingdom of Heaven is exponential in size, we are so often blind to its presence.  It’s hidden in plain sight and yet we miss it. Think of the seeds planted in our garden that Jeunee mentioned a couple of weeks ago; some of them so very tiny, and yet look at their size now and the amazing amount of fruit they have produced, “some thirty, some sixty, and some 100 fold. That’s the irony in Jesus words. The KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is like a mustard seed. If you have ever seen a mustard seed or a mustard seed necklace then you know how ridiculous this statement sounds. Mustard seeds are as small as a grain of sand. Yet one seed grows into a huge large bush large enough for birds to build their nest among its branches.  The ordinary mustard seed knit within the Holy.

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”  Jesus’ followers would have known that three measurers of flour with the yeast required for leavening would produce about 100 loaves of bread.  All from a tiny amount of yeast.  That’s a lot of bread; so much bread that the woman had enough bread to share with her entire community.

A few months ago, when we were first quarantined due to COVID 19, I decided to bake some cookies; only I didn’t have any yeast.  Katherine Townsend came to the rescue and gave me some yeast.  Now you all know that it’s only Kerry and I living in our home so imagine my surprise when I baked those cookies with the smallest amount of yeast. As I added the yeast, I thought, “this can’t possibly be enough!” Once baked, I had more cookies than I knew what to do with!  If you haven’t figured it out, I don’t bake or cook very often!  But what was really cool for me was the folks with whom I was able to share all those cookies.  

Like the mustard seed, small things produce beyond what seems reasonable; the ordinary woven into the Kingdom.  Again, Jesus used this one sentence parable to show us how blind we are to the presence of the Kingdom of Heaven.  Douglas Hare’s Commentary on Matthew suggests Jesus is trying to get the point across that, "God is at work, even though our human eyes often fail to perceive what is happening." Which is comforting in these days of pandemic and social justice.

I love the parable of the pearl.  There’s an ancient legend about a monk who found a precious stone. A short time later, the monk met a traveler, who said he was hungry and asked the monk if he would share some of his food. When the monk opened his bag, the traveler saw the precious stone and asked the monk if he could have it. Amazingly, the monk gave the traveler the stone. 

The traveler departed overjoyed with his new possession.  However, a few days later, he was back, searching for the monk. He found the monk, returned the stone, and made a request: "Please give me something more valuable, more precious than this stone. Please give me that which enabled you to give me this precious stone!" 

I love this parable because Jesus does not say the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl of great value. He says the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant; a merchant who finds a great deal on a perfect stone and does everything in his power to purchase it.  But it’s the merchant’s response that is significant because his response gives us the meaning of Jesus’ parable – commitment! Commitment to a greater cause; commitment of the whole heart; commitment to the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.  

As Christians we understand that imperceptible things have real influence.  Unfortunately, we get tied up in the minutia of our day to day existence.  We get caught up in issues of social justice; we become overwhelmed with the unknown in this pandemic and with huge social problems like world hunger and innocent children flowing into our country in order to avoid the violence in their own. We can’t even pick up the newspaper or watch the evening news for fear of the next act of violence perpetrated upon children of God and the deceitfulness that comes with it as everyone plays the blame game.  We are so overwhelmed it’s no wonder we overlook the tiny ordinary seeds of God at work among us. 

Because you see, the Kingdom of heaven is not sometime in the future; it is not some day in the distant future.  The Kingdom of heaven is present now.  It always has been.  It always will be.  We pray, “…thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as in heaven…”  The Kingdom is within each one of us.  It’s in the little ordinary things we do; that, woven together with the Holy, grow the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth.  It’s those little things that have tremendous power.  

Remember, when God moved in history for the salvation of mankind, God did not call in a legion of angels; God did not call a meeting of all the principalities of the earth.  God did so with a seed planted in the womb of a peasant girl. That microscopic seed would one day be the leaven, weaving together the old ways of living with a new alternative way of living that would change the world.

Paying attention to the ordinary stuff of life being knitted into the Holy; right here, right now. That’s what heaven is like.  Amen.


"Weary Heavy Burdens"

Proper 9 A – July 5, 2020 (Independence Day) 

Psalm 145:8-15Romans 7:15-25aMatthew 11:16-19, 25-30

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

When I read this verse earlier this week, letting these words from Jesus wash over me were like taking a deep drink of cold water.  I don’t know about you all…. But I’m feeling a little weary these days. Somewhat burdened as well.

Maybe I shouldn’t feel that way. I mean, I don’t want to complain. Summer is here! I just got back from a vacation at the beach. My family is healthy, thanks be to God. Marcel and I both have our jobs. The weather has been good overall.  And have you see those beautiful sunrises and sunsets we’ve gotten the last week or so, thanks to the Sahara Dust Storm?  Life is Good.  I’m hoping Life is Good for most of you, too. 

But I also know that we have people in our community who are battling cancer, mourning the death of a loved one, feeling insecure financially, or dealing with other challenging issues. They may be feeling especially weighed down or wearied by those challenges. Our prayers continue for you. 

Life is always going to have its ups and downs, its joys and sadness, its triumphs and challenges. But am I alone in just feeling extra weary right now? 

I think a large part of it is the ongoing effects of the Coronavirus and the unknowns about the future. In the last few weeks there’s been another upturn in new cases of COVID-19, and in some places in the country hospitals are filling up. We are not even at the predicted “second wave” stage… we haven’t managed to get through the first wave yet. 

Businesses are opening up… St. Michael’s will soon be offering opportunities for regathering. But life if far from “back to normal.” Funeral and wedding plans have been put on hold or greatly altered. Vacation plans for many have been cancelled, and what next fall’s School Year will look like is uncertain. Most of us thought we’d be done with this virus by now. We’re tired of wearing masks and not hugging. We also are burdened by the worry or anxiety of possibly getting the virus. If I got it, would it be a mild case like it is for so many? Or could I end up really sick, or even in the hospital? I think the wide variability of how the virus affects people contributes to the overall malaise we feel.  

Besides the weariness of dealing with COVID, the last five weeks have brought turmoil to our country and our world over issues of racial justice and police brutality. There is sin and brokenness in our world, and it has been on grand display the last few weeks…. There’s Sin and brokenness on all sides. Racism and police brutality; violence and destruction. Anger and hate. Denial and blame. There’s sin and brokenness in our world, and sin and brokenness living inside each one of us, too. 

Paul writes, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. … I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me…. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin.”

What Paul is saying here is that sin is often not a conscious intentional act. Yes, it includes doing wrong things… but it also includes not doing right things. “Things done and left undone” as our confession says. 

One definition of the Greek word for sin “hamartia” is “missing the mark.” I think we often miss the mark by taking shortcuts, or by trying to avoid a hard tasks or discussion. We often want the path of least resistance and fall into that especially when we are feeling tired or burdened.  

Do you really want to take the time to figure out how much you got in tips or side jobs to declare on your taxes, or just take the easy way out and make a low-ball estimate, or leave it off your tax return completely? Is it really worth the hassle to make your kids read a book or do their chores when they are perfectly happy doing their computer games?  Certainly its not a sin to be a bit lazy here and again…unless you become neglectful. 

Maybe some of us are missing the mark by not taking the COVID virus seriously… wearing our masks out in public and limiting our close contact. Maybe some of us are leaving undone the God’s important call to be reconciled one to the other, especially in understanding and working toward racial equality and justice in our society. It can feel wearying and burdensome. 

What’s the answer? We have it in scripture: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Jesus has forgiven us already of our sins, sins known and unknown.”

Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

It seems a funny to have this juxtaposition from Jesus of him wanting us to release our burdens on him, with the image of putting on the burden of a yoke. 

A yoke is something we don’t see everyday, but was very common in rural, first century Palestine where Jesus taught. It is a wooden frame for joining two draft animals, usually oxen. A wooden bar lays across the neck and shoulders of the animals and is held in place by leather straps around their necks. The oxen were hooked to a plow or cart. The yoke was used to direct and control them and kept them working together to harness their combined strength pulling in the same direction.

David Henderson, a pastor in Colorado, writes this about the symbolic meaning of the yoke: “…in Jesus’ day, the word yoke was also a synonym for obligations, the sum of all of the duties that someone had to shoulder to fulfill a commitment in a certain area. So, for example, monthly principal and interest payments would be the yoke of the person who takes out a mortgage.

So rest and yoke are nearly opposites.”  The yoke seems the opposite of freedom, especially as we think about this independence day holiday. 

“The unexpected twist is that Jesus brings these two words together to describe what happens when we follow Him. When we take on His yoke, He says, we experience the unexpected: rest.” And in that rest, we find true freedom. 

So if we rephrasing Jesus’ words, we might come up with something like this: “Come to Me, all you who are worn out and weighed down by scrambling to meet the demands of others, and I will bring quiet to your spirits. Come to me all you who are feeling bound up and burdened, captive to the world’s narrative, and I will give you my truth. Walk beside me, stay tethered to me, make me your daily companion in conversation, learn from my ways. Use my strength as you engage your work in the world. I will stop the clamoring in your souls. I will bring you peace. I will give you freedom.”

Taking on Jesus’ yoke means that we are keeping in step with Jesus… Not lagging behind, not trying to get out in front, but relying on Jesus’ strength, walking with him, side-by-side, going where he goes, turning where he turns. 

And while wearing the Yoke of Christ still instills a sense of obligation and work for the Gospel, it is also meant to free us from those burdens we are not meant to be carrying around. 

In Jesus’ day, the burden that so many people were carrying was the burden of keeping all the laws of the Jewish tradition, the 613 laws in the old testament and all the rituals. It is overwhelming. Jesus reminded them of the great commandment to Love the Lord your God with all your Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength, and Love your neighbor as yourself. 

In order to Love God, Love our Neighbors, and Love ourselves, we need to let go of the burdens of Guilt and Shame. We need to stop placing the burden of Blame on others. We need to rest in the truth that we are each beloved children of God, beloved by God, and it is God’s Spirit that will keep us through this time of pandemic and time of social upheaval. 

We need to take on the yoke of Christ, to “Clothe ourselves in Christ” as it says elsewhere in the bible. When we can do that, when we can rest in Jesus’ presence we gain so much. We can know our essential worth and value to God and the world. We can see others with Christ’s eyes, even those who are different from us. We can hold the the difficulties of this world in the larger picture of God’s unfolding kingdom. 

When we are yoked with Christ, Christ bears us up, directs us, and leads us. We know that, with Christ, our efforts in this world can bear fruit. We are not in this alone. We have God, We have Jesus, We have each other. 

Amen. 

Pentecost — Spiritual Gifts

Pentecost 2020 – COVID 19

Have you ever had a job that you were completely unsuited for? 

One year I took a job doing data entry for medical billing for a company providing psychological services to seniors in long-care facilities. We had just moved, I and I knew I was probably only a year away from seminary, so I wasn’t really looking for a career job. A neighbor told me this place was hiring and I got the job. 

I was not very good at that job. I am just not made to deal with data day in and day out. I could never get very fast at it. I would much rather be talking to the therapists on the phone about other aspects of the work.  Luckily for me my boss decided that rather than fire me for being such a lousy medical coder, they’d make me the office manager to I could put more of my administrative and relational gifts to use. 

While it’s definitely not the job for me, I give God thanks for all those people who love dealing with data, and numbers, and who can do things like medical billing to help us get our insurance to pay for the procedures that we need when we go to the doctor. 

It should be no surprise that different people have different gifts, skills, abilities, passions, and personalities. We need all sorts of different skill sets in order to make the world go ‘round. 

But this is true not just for the business world. It’s true in our deepest vocation, both in our jobs and in our areas of ministry. The root word of Vocation – Vocare – means to call, and so our vocation and our ministries are meant to be our Calling. What are you called to? 

Our passage today from 1st Corinthians talks about some of the different Spiritual gifts given to believers by the Holy Spirit that help followers of Jesus serve Christ in their own unique way. 

After his resurrection and ascension, Jesus told the disciples were told to wait in Jerusalem until they had received power from on high. Then on the Jewish Festival Day of Pentecost, Shavuot, power from the Holy Spirit enflamed each one of them, and they were able to speak in different languages. As they boldly went out into Jerusalem, crowded with pilgrims from many different places, each could hear the great deeds of God being praised in their own language.  

On Pentecost, the miraculous gift of tongues put to use in a powerful way. All the Gifts of the Spirit are miraculous in their own way, which is especially evident as they are used to build up the body of Christ to do Christ’s work in the world.

When we are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, we receive the Holy Spirit in us, and the Spirit endows each believer with spiritual gifts. It’s up to us to unwrapped them and begin to use them. Pentecost is sometimes called the “Birthday” of the Church. Well, if that’s the case, then we’re the ones who have received the gifts!

In our passage this morning, Paul lists quite a few spiritual gifts. Besides tongues and the interpretation of tongues, he includes wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, and discernment. And there are many other gifts outlined in other biblical passages. These include 

Teaching, Administration, Exhortation, Shepherding, Mercy, Leadership, Evangelism, Music, Craftsmanship, Artistry, Helps, Singleness, Giving, Hospitality, Humor, Martyrdom, and more. 

Of course, that last one, Martyrdom, is a gift that can really only be used Once! 

Do you know what your Spiritual Gifts are? If you’ve taken one of our Spiritual Gift classes, or served on the vestry in the last few years, you’ve been asked to take a Spiritual Gift inventory. I included a couple of inventories in the weekly email that went out on Friday this week.  If you don’t have a sense for your spiritual gifts, now would be a good time to discover them. The church and the mission of God are going to need everyone’s gifts as we figure out what our “New Normal” will look like as we move through and beyond the COVID-19 crisis.

Depending on the Spiritual Gift Assessment, some of my gifts move ranking a bit, but generally, my top gifts are Faith, Leadership, Apostleship, and Administration, … With Exhortation, Teaching,  Shepherding, and Hospitality coming up pretty high too. 

I’m not going to take time this morning to talk about all the various kinds of Spiritual Gifts… although I’m glad to recommend some websites or books for you if you want to learn more. I want to talk with you about what spiritual gifts are and what they are for, Why you would want to know your gifts, why its important the Christians use their gifts, and how it benefits us as individuals and as a community. 

Paul says, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” 

At the end of the passage he uses the analogy of the body. “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”

Later, Paul says, Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.

…if the ear would say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?”

I recently read a beautiful story told by Gary Inrig in his book, Life in His Body.

“Several years ago, two students graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law. The highest ranking student in the class was a blind man named Overton and, when he received his honor, he insisted that half the credit should go to his friend, Kaspryzak. They had met one another in school when the armless Mr. Kaspryzak had guided the blind Mr. Overton down a flight of stairs. This acquaintance ripened into friendship and a beautiful example of interdependence. The blind man carried the books which the armless man read aloud in their common study, and thus the individual deficiency of each was compensated for by the other. After their graduation, they planned to practice law together.”

This shows in a tangible way what it’s like as we come together in the Body of Christ. We need each member of the Body exercising their particular gift. Working together we can do great things for God.

So here are some things we know about the Gifts of the Spirit:

  • When we receive the Spirit in baptism, we receive the gifts

  • They are given by God, as God chooses. We don’t get to pick our gifts. 

  • No gifts are better than others… they are just different. Some are “out front” and “Out loud” gifts like Teaching and Leadership, others are “behind the scenes” and “Quiet” like helps, mercy or healing. 

  • No one has all the gifts

  • Everyone has at least one, and most people have a whole set of gifts that work together. 

When you discover, develop and deploy your Spiritual Gifts in service to God.

  • You will feel fulfilled, in flow with God’s Spirit, and effective. The results are usually more than you could have accomplished all by yourself. God will be able to do great things through your work and you join with other members of the body. 

  • On the other hand, When you try to serve outside of your areas of giftedness, you can often feel depleted, ineffective, and out of synch. Maybe you’ve had that experience. It can be disheartening because you wanted to serve, but somehow ended up serving in an area that was not the best fit. It can make you feel like you have nothing to offer. But that isn’t true. You just need the right fit, and maybe some practice and growth in your gift area. 

So one thing that is good about knowing your areas of giftedness is that you can say Yes or No to opportunities in ministry without guilt. Let’s say you know that you don’t have gifts in administration. If someone asks you to organize a church event, you can, without any guilt at all say, “I’m sorry, No. organization and administration are not my gifts. But, I do have gifts in Hospitality and Prayer. Would those gifts be helpful for this effort?”  

Another important thing to remember, is that While we all have different Gifts of the Spirit that vary, we are all supposed to exhibit ALL of the Fruits of the Spirit. The Fruit of the Spirit is what Grows in our life when we allow God’s Spirit to continually form and transform us. 

In Galatians, Paul says “the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, generosity, and self-control.”  So, it’s not like I can Say, “I’ll take the Love, Joy & Peace, and you take the Patience, Generosity and Self-Control!” 

When the Holy Spirit is active in our lives, ALL this fruit continually blossoms and grows in our lives. 

The main thing to remember with this talk about the Gifts of the Spirit, is that it is not about Doing – Doing more for the church or doing more for God. It’s about Being. It’s about discovering and Being the person God imagined you to be when God created you.  When we understand our beloved-ness as Children of God and members of Christ’s Own Body, then the Gifts God’s Holy Spirit has given us are released to be a blessing to us and to others. 

Let me end by sharing a famous poem by Marianne Williamson that some of you may have heard before. It was quoted by Nelson Mandela in one of his famous speeches.

Our Greatest Fear —Marianne Williamson

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,talented and fabulous?Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other

people won't feel insecure around you.We were born to make manifest the glory ofGod that is within us.It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,we unconsciously give other peoplepermission to do the same.As we are liberated from our own fear,Our presence automatically liberates others.—Marianne Williamson

When you unwrap and deploy the Gifts of the Spirit God has set within you, you Shine, and give glory to God. Amen. 

Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

[Other Languages]

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs-- in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

`In the last days it will be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,and your old men shall dream dreams.

Even upon my slaves, both men and women,in those days I will pour out my Spirit;and they shall prophesy.

And I will show portents in the heaven aboveand signs on the earth below,blood, and fire, and smoky mist.

The sun shall be turned to darknessand the moon to blood,before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day.

Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' "

Psalm 104:25-35, 37

25 O Lord, how manifold are your works! *in wisdom you have made them all;the earth is full of your creatures.

26 Yonder is the great and wide seawith its living things too many to number, *creatures both small and great.

27 There move the ships,and there is that Leviathan, *which you have made for the sport of it.

28 All of them look to you *to give them their food in due season.

29 You give it to them; they gather it; *you open your hand, and they are filled with good things.

30 You hide your face, and they are terrified; *you take away their breath,and they die and return to their dust.

31 You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; *and so you renew the face of the earth.

32 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; *may the Lord rejoice in all his works.

33 He looks at the earth and it trembles; *he touches the mountains and they smoke.

34 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; *I will praise my God while I have my being.

35 May these words of mine please him; *I will rejoice in the Lord.

37 Bless the Lord, O my soul. *Hallelujah!

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

No one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-- Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-- and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

John 7:37-39

On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 

From Psalm 139: 1, 12-13

O LORD, you have searched me and known me… For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.

Romans 12:4-8 

For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Ephesians 4:7-13 

But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift. … The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.   

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. 

1 Corinthians 12: 27-31  

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.   And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues.   Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?   Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?   But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. Love

Exodus 31:1-11 

The LORD spoke to Moses:

See, I have called [him] by name… and I have filled him with divine spirit, with ability, intelligence, and knowledge in every kind of craft, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, in every kind of craft. Moreover, I have appointed with him [others] of the tribe of Dan; and I have given skill to all the skillful, so that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, and the ark of the covenant, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, the table and its utensils, and the pure lamp stand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin with its stand, and the finely worked vestments, the holy vestments for the priest Aaron and the vestments of his sons, for their service as priests, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the holy place. They shall do just as I have commanded you.

Psalm 150

 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!

 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!

 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!

 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!

 Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

1 Peter 4:10-11

Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. Administration

Apostle

Battle

Craftsmanship - Artist 

Discernment

Evangelism

Exhortation

Exorcism

Faith

Giving

Healings

Helps

Hospitality

Humor

Intercessory Prayer

Knowledge

Leadership

Martyrdom

Mercy

Miracles

Missionary

Music

Pastor

Poverty

Prophecy

Service

Singleness

Suffering

Teaching

Tongues - Interpretation

Tongues - Prayer Language

Wisdom

What are spiritual gifts?

Spiritual Gifts are special, extraordinary abilities God gives 

to build up the body of Christ, the church, for ministry to its members and, through its members, the world.

Spiritual Gifts are not:

  • Acquired skills or natural talents

  • Expected Roles or Particular Offices or Orders (ie, a “Pastor” may or may not have a strong gift of “pastoring”) 

  • For self-gain or divisive

  • The same for everyone

Spiritual Gifts are:

  • Unmerited Blessings from God

  • Means for discovering God’s will

  • Means and guarantees for effective Christian service

  • Revelation of the presence of the Risen Christ


When will we re-gather?

A pastoral note from Reverend Jeunee…

(from May 9 Constant Contact e-blast)

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope." Ps 130:5

Dear St. Michael's community,

On Friday, our governor announced that Phase 1 of a reopening strategy will begin in our state a week from now which would include easing some restrictions on churches. 

Many of you are wondering when we will be able to gather together at St. Michael's on Sunday mornings and for other important events like funerals or weddings. Moreover, you are wondering how we will address such important issues as Holy Communion and congregational singing. 

The short answer is "We don't yet know all the answers." 

St. Michael's, out of love for our community, will not rush to re-gather.

Earlier this week, our bishop, The Rt. Rev. Susan Haynes, put out a pasotral letter indicating that her office, with the input of a panel of experts, will be issuing guidelines in the next week or so. (See a copy of that letter here.) In the meantime, she said, in Phase 1, our worship will not significantly change. We continue safer at home, with limited gatherings of fewer than 10 people, physically distanced, to carry out the necessary work of the church. With the governor's declaration yesterday that churches can gather at 50% capacity during Phase 1, once we receive updated guidance from our bishop, your clergy, wardens, and program staff will make a more definitive decision about how St. Michael's can best move forward, and when our first re-gathering Sunday might be. 

Here are some things I can say: 

  • We will continue some form of online worship even after we begin to regather. This will allow our most vulnerable parishioners to continue to connect with the church even if they are not yet ready to be in larger groups. 

  • Our practices will look different than they have before. Those practices will change over time as the virus abates. Try to be flexible.

  • Communion will likely be in one kind only (bread) for a while, and how we receive communion will look different at first. Rest assured we will follow important sanitary and safety precautions.

  • Physical distancing is still important, but social connection is also very important. Please continue to reach out to each other, especially to those who live alone. 

  • Be wise about your own health and safety. Make decisions that are right for you and your family. Even after the church begins to regather, if you are vulnerable due to age or compromised immune system, do not feel pressure to return to public gatherings. In fact, you may need to exercise self-discipline to stay home even when you would want to be with others. 

  • I feel that God is stirring our spirits during this crisis, and we have the opportunity to be creative, find new ways to share the Gospel, to focus on priorities, and to build a deeper community. Let's take the best of what we are learning into our future. If you have been hearing from God during this time, I'd love to hear what's been on your hearts and minds! Call or email me. 

  • We are blessed that St. Michael's is full of such great people! I am so grateful for our all our volunteers, for Rev. Becki, for our program staff - Doris, Crystal, and Christian, and for the vestry. You have kept things going in the areas of pastoral care, outreach, administration, worship, buildings and grounds maintenance and beautification. And thank you for all the faithful parisihoners who have been keeping the faith at home! Remember, you are the Church!

I am anxious to see you all face to face, and to praise our Lord together in worship, but as we wait with patience, may God's blessing be upon you. 


Peace, Rev. Jeunee+  rector@stmichaelsbonair.org 

Ascension Sunday

Easter 7A 2020 (COVID 19) Lessons for Ascension

Last week, during the children’s and youth service, one of the questions that the kids were asked was, “If you could ask God one question, and know that God – the spirit of truth - would answer, what would you ask? 

A couple of the young people asked, “What does heaven look like? What is it like up there?” 

I think the disciples in our readings today had the same question. Today, we heard the story of the Ascension in both our lesson from Acts and the lesson from the Gospel of Luke.  

Jesus gives his disciples their last instructions, and then he miraculously rises up into the sky. 

The disciples are awestruck, and they stand there staring up after him. 

They also were probably thinking, “I wonder what it’s like up there?”

Actually, its kind of funny how we read the lessons out of order, just because our liturgy always has the Gospel read last… But as many of you know, the same author wrote The Gospel of Luke and then the Acts of the Apostles… so today, we actually read the very last part of the Gospel of Luke, and then the Very First part of the Acts of the Apostles. 

Like a Good sequel, The Gospel ends with a good ending, but the next volume picks up right where the first book left off. 

The feast of the Ascension was actually last Thursday, but it’s such an important day, we usually  remember it the Sunday following. Last Thursday, I shared a meme on my Facebook page for Ascension Day. It said, “Today is the feast of the Ascension. For those of you who wonder what that means, it’s the day Jesus started working from home!”

It’s the day Jesus returned from Earth to his heavenly home. He went to prepare a place for us in his his Father’s House. 

In the mystery of the Trinity and the incarnation, we know that the Second person of the Trinity has been with God in heaven since the beginning, and all things were created through him. About 2000 years ago, That Second person of the Trinity became incarnate, flesh and blood, and was born as a baby boy in Bethlehem. His parents named him Jesus, per the Angel Gabriel’s instructions. 

The Earth became his “workplace” where he lived, taught, and healed. After his death and resurrection, He appeared several times to his disciples, and finally on the Ascension, 40 days after his resurrection, he returned home. He now works remotely! 

The disciples are standing there, when all of a sudden, two men in dazzling white come and stand among them. Who are these two men? Maybe they were the same two men in Dazzling White who met the women who came to the tomb in Luke and asked the question, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, He is Risen!” 

These angels, or messengers from God may have reminded Peter, James and John of seeing Moses and Elijah up on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured before them. This certainly was another transfiguration type moment, as Jesus rose up into heaven. 

But the question the angels ask the disciples at the Ascension is a little different this time. 

They are standing, looking up, maybe wondering what heaven is like… maybe just in awe, but the messengers call the men’s focus back down to earth. “Why do you stand there looking up into the sky? He’ll be coming back the same way.”  I like to imagine the angels saying something like, “Why are you just standing there? Don’t you have work to do? He’s coming back, you know. Get going!” 

The disciples then returned home and do the most important thing. They continue to praise God and to be together. I believe it was there that they began to reflect on what Jesus had told them. 

Wait for Power from on high.

Soon you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. 

“you will be my Witnesses in Jerusalem, AND in al Judea And Samaria, And to the ends of the earth.”

Those were the last words Jesus said before he ascended. “You will be my Witnesses.” 

So, while it can be fun for us to imagine what Heaven is like, I think the point of the Ascension is that, now that Jesus is working from home, remotely, through his Spirit, and we are the ones through whom that Spirit works. 

We will celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit next week at Pentecost, but we who are Christians have already received the Holy Spirit. We were baptized with water AND the spirit, and so we are already empowered by Jesus to be his witnesses. 

So the question you need to ask yourself now is, Where is your Jerusalem, your Judea, your Samaria, and your Ends of the Earth? 

For the first disciples, Those geographic instructions made literal since. They were in Jerusalem. The good news of Jesus started with them there, and spread to the rest of Judea, their home country… Back to Galilee and beyond. 

Samaria was a little different.. The Samaritans were physically close to the rest of Judea, but they were different and despised. They worshipped differently. There was bad blood between Jews and Samaritans for religious and historical reasons. They didn’t mix. They were from the “other side of the tracks” so to speak.  But Jesus had already begun to break down that barrier. He talked with the woman by the well in Samaria. He told the parable of the Good Samaritan who showed what it was like to Love your Neighbor as yourself.  So the disciples were also called to go to the Samaritans, to those who are different and despised by others. 

This radical way of being community – of including men and women, rich and poor, insiders and outsiders was one of the reasons the early believers were persecuted, and when they were persecuted in Jerusalem, they spread out to other cities and countries. By extension, their witness to the Good News about God then travelled to the ends of the earth. The disciples and apostle Paul went from city to city sharing the stories about Jesus, and how through his life, death, and resurrection, we all have forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. Miracles and Deeds of power through the Holy Spirit accompanied their proclamation, and people turned to faith. We are benefits of them carrying out Jesus’ command to be witnesses to the ends of the earth 

So, for us today, what does this mean to be witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth?  The angels tell us we shouldn’t just stand around looking up into heaven… either waiting to join Jesus there, or waiting for him to come back here. We’ve got work to do. We’re not just supposed to wonder what it’s like “up there”…. We’re supposed to help make “up there” come “down here.” To help “God’s will be done On Earth, as it is in Heaven.”

To be a witness means to share what we have seen, to share what we know with those around us. We can be witnesses not just in words, but in deeds. 

So let’s think about those different areas where we are called to be witnesses today. 

Our Jerusalem would be our home turf…. This would include your church and your family. People who share your values. These are the people who generally will accept you no matter what. Your witness to God shows up here in sharing stories, praying together, and supporting one another out of love. Here, people know who you are. It should be easy to share our faith in our Jerusalems… but there are many who are afraid to even take this small risk. But it’s the first circle. 

Next, Judea was the larger area around Jerusalem that shared the same culture. So for us, our Judea could be our neighborhoods, our city, our wider community. Maybe our book club, or workout buddies, other groups of friends. We witness there in word when we share an answer to prayer, or offer to pray for others. We witness when we share how something we read in a spiritual book, or heard in a sermon made us think. We witness to the power of God when we take a meal, or help out with a project, or serve the wider community because of our faith. 

Our Samaria is a little more challenging. Jews and Samaritans didn’t want to hang out together. But It was a challenge that Jesus tells us we were to overcome…. Our Samaria can be people of a different socio-economic group, people of a different ethnicity than us, people with different political persuasions,  people of different faith traditions, or no faith at all. People we might be tempted to despise for one reason or another. We are called to overcome those barriers. For many of us, service is an obvious place to start… feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, showing compassion to all, no matter what their circumstances. It’s more of a stretch for us to build relationships, but we are called to do that too. We are called not only to do good for others, but to listen respectfully to those who think differently, and to find ways to show in word in deed the faith we carry within us. 

Finally, to the ends of the earth… Some of you have been called to literal world-wide mission. I think for most of us this part of our mission is meant to remind us that No matter where we are, no matter what we are doing, we are to be Witnesses of Jesus to the world. 

I remember one of the very first confirmation classes I taught to a group of adults. We were talking about the Baptismal Covenant, and the 5 promises we make, which include 

Will you proclaim by work and example the Good News of God in Christ? 

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving you neighbor as yourself?

Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being? 

This man said, “Man. That’s a lot. Like, I don’t even think I could put one of those little fish on the back of my car because, frankly, I don’t drive like a Christian.” 

I think he got it. To be a witness in all the world means that our words and actions in every part of our lives should reflect that we are followers of Jesus. Whether we are driving, doing our taxes, speaking about the political situation of the world, working, shopping, travelling, volunteering, or anything else. The witness of our words and deeds are to match the beliefs of our hearts. 

While we may be limited in this time by the extent that we can literally travel to the ends of the earth, in our global economy and networked world, the ends of the earth are only a few clicks away. Your online witness goes far and wide. 

In all the spheres where we are called to witness, the important thing to remember is that we do not do this out of our own power. We are to work from the power of the Holy Spirit… so prayer is an important part of our witness as well. 

And remember, Jesus isn’t really working remotely. Jesus, through the power of the Spirit, is closer to us than we can even imagine. So let us continue to gather in our Jerusalem’s to continually praise God, and then be his witnesses in Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth.