September 18, 2005

The story in this morning’s Gospel doesn’t seem fair, does it? Those who work for a full day get the same pay as those who work only one hour. The ones who put in a full day’s work have every reason to be upset, don’t they?

Notice the landowner’s final statement; “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

It is the landowner’s option to be generous, as it is God’s option to be generous with us. If God was fair, if God really gave each one of us what we deserve, would any of us survive? I doubt it. God is generous with us. God has given us the free gift of God’s grace, God’s unmerited favor, even though we don’t deserve it. In light of such generosity, we are moved to be generous with those we encounter in our day to day lives.

Fr. John Claypool, Rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Birmingham, Alabama, once told an old rabbinic parable about a farmer that had two sons;
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As soon as they were old enough to walk, he took them to the fields and he taught them everything that he knew about growing crops and raising animals. When he got too old to work, the two boys took over the chores of the farm and when the father died, they had found their working together so meaningful that they decided to keep their partnership. So each brother contributed what he could and during every harvest season, they would divide equally what they had corporately produced. Across the years the elder brother never married, stayed an old bachelor. The younger brother did marry and had eight wonderful children. Some years later when they were having a wonderful harvest, the old bachelor brother thought to himself one night, "My brother has ten mouths to feed. I only have one. He really needs more of his harvest than I do, but I know he is much too fair to renegotiate. I know what I'll do. In the dead of the night when he is already asleep, I'll take some of what I have put in my barn and I'll slip it over into his barn to help him feed his children.”

At the very time he was thinking down that line, the younger brother was thinking to himself, "God has given me these wonderful children. My brother hasn't been so fortunate. He really needs more of this harvest for his old age than I do, but I know him. He's much too fair. He'll never renegotiate. I know what I'll do. In the dead of the night when he's asleep, I'll take some of what I've put in my barn and slip it over into his barn." And so one night when the moon was full, as you may have already anticipated, those two brothers came face to face, each on a mission of generosity. The old rabbi said that there wasn't a cloud in the sky, a gentle rain began to fall. You know what it was? God weeping for joy because two of his children had gotten the point. Two of his children had come to realize that generosity is the deepest characteristic of the holy and because we are made in God's image, our being generous is the secret to our joy as well.

Life is not fair, thank God! It's not fair because it's rooted in grace.

It is God’s nature to be just. But it is also God’s nature to be merciful. Thanks be to God!

How does this apply to the church? Sometimes, I think we folks who have been part of the church for along time forget what this church thing is supposed to be all about.

We have been given a charge by God. This charge is usually referred to as “The Great Commission.” It can be found in the 28th chapter of Matthew;
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Or, as Archbishop William Temple once summarized it, “The Church is the only institution that exists to serve those who are not yet members.”

Our commission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Our commission is to proclaim the message of the Gospel beyond the walls of this building.

In light of that, who is the most important person here this morning? It’s not the priest, or the wardens. It’s not the faithful volunteers, or the one who’s been a member the longest. The most important person here this morning is the stranger in our midst, the person who shows up among us seeking a community that will help them along with their spiritual journey.

We here at Holy Spirit have a special responsibility regarding the Great Commission. As the Toms River area begins to fill up, more and more people are moving farther south. This areas is growing fast. There are currently building permits for over 2,500 living units being considered in this area. It is projected that as many as 12,000 new residents will move to our area by 2008. Many of these folks will be seeking spiritual food. We must be ready to offer them a community of faith that will meet our new neighbor’s spiritual needs. If we are to be faithful to the great Commission given to us by Christ, we must begin to prepare our household of God to be an inviting place for those who will be seeking a new spiritual home.

Our new members will be given as much love and attention as those of us who have been part of this community from the beginning. That’s not fair, is it? But it is generous. Since God has showered his generosity on us, we must follow God’s example, and, with generous hearts, embrace the stranger in our midst.

September 11, 2005

The ministry of Jesus Christ is the ministry of reconciliation.

Reconciliation. What does that mean? The dictionary defines “to be reconciled” as “to reestablish a close relationship”.

That is the ministry of Jesus; to reestablish, to restore, our relationship with God. Through God becoming flesh in Jesus Christ, the chasm between God and this world has been bridged. Heaven and earth have been joined.

We have been reconciled with God through Christ. God’s grace flows freely through us. As the stewards of this wonderful gift, our mission is to enable this same grace to flow from us out into the world. Our mission is to carry on the ministry of Jesus Christ, being ministers of reconciliation in the world today. Our role, as Christians, is to help others, and each other, to reestablish a close relationship with God, and one another.

As the Book of Common Prayer tells us, on page 855 of the catechism, “The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” Once again, it all boils down to the summary of the law’ love God, and love your neighbor.

Who is my neighbor? From God’s perspective, everyone is my neighbor. As St. John tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life.” Whosoever. God’s love does not exclude anyone. Consequently, neither can we. We work towards the restoration of all people to unity with God and each other. In the kingdom of God, there is no “us” and “them.” In the kingdom of God, there is only “we.”

This is not a comfortable notion for us. Since we were children, we have been taught to compete, to divide people up into “us” and “them.” How can we be ministers of reconciliation, when our natural inclination is to dissect the human race into understandable groupings?

We can’t help others, or ourselves, restore their relationships on our own. But we don’t have to. If we are willing, God will fill us with his presence, with his spirit. It is God working through us that will engage in the ministry of reconciliation.

To be a receptive vessel for this gift, we may have to make some room in our lives for God. One way to begin this internal house cleaning is by confessing to God the things that have drawn us away from our relationship with him. We begin by confessing our sins. In the Book of Common Prayer, on page 447, we find the confession of sin referred to as the rite of the Reconciliation of a Penitent.

Part of this rite includes these words said by the penitent; “For these and all other sins which I cannot now remember, I am truly sorry…and I humbly beg forgiveness of God and his Church.” Part of the priest’s response is to say; “The Lord has put away all your sins…Go in peace.”

God’s willingness to forgive us, and put away our sins, makes the restoration of a healthy relationship possible. It becomes a new relationship.

There’s a story about a certain Catholic woman who was having visions of Jesus. The archbishop decided to check her out.

"'Is it true, ma'am, that you have visions of Jesus?' asked the cleric.

"'Yes,' the woman replied.

"'Well, the next time you have a vision, I want you to ask Jesus to tell you the sins that I confessed in my last confession. Please call me if anything happens.'

"Ten days later the woman notified her spiritual leader of a recent apparition.

"Within the hour the archbishop arrived. 'What did Jesus say?' he asked.

"She took his hand and gazed deep into his eyes. 'Bishop,' she said, 'these are his exact words: "I CAN'T REMEMBER. "

When we sincerely confess our sins to God, and intend to amend our lives, we start all over again with a clean slate, a new relationship with God.

Sometimes, restoring our relationship with God will lead us directly into the next step; restoring our relationships with our neighbors. God’s spirit may illuminate areas of our life in which we have hurt someone, maybe intentionally, or maybe just thoughtlessly. As ministers of reconciliation, we go to that person, and ask their forgiveness. We say, “I am sorry.” Such a simple thing. Those words will never undo the harm we have done. And, if we do not offer them sincerely, they are worthless. But, without them, there can be no hope of restoring the relationship.

The next step in becoming a minister of reconciliation is being willing to forgive others for the wrongs they have done to us. In this morning’s Gospel, Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” This is not always an easy thing to do. But it is essential if we are to be reconciled with our neighbor.

It is essential to our own spiritual health as well. Carrying a grudge for too long is like taking poison. The bitterness and anger eats away at our peace. Let go of it, for God’s sake, for their sake, and for your own sake.

Casting Call!!

Frank Davide of St. Theresa's Roman Catholic Church in Tuckerton has sent out an ecumenical casting call to the local churches for a Christmas production called "Journey for a King." The production will use recorded orchestral music from some of the world's great operas, as well as Broadway show tunes.

Both child and adult actors are needed.

Also Needed:

Actors/Actresses
Chorus
Stage Crew
Production team: publicity, advertising, bulletins, ushers, seating, etc.
Other: any other area of the overall production you think you or your organization would like to participate in.


Production dates: December 8, 9, 10 at 7:30pm and matinee on Sunday, December 11 at 2:30pm/

The first meeting & audition will be on Tuesday, Sept 13 at 7pm in the basement of St. Theresa's church.

St. Theresa's is hoping to raise funds to help with the construction of their new church, and also to establish an annual community-wide ecumenical event to celebrate the Christmas season.

No Man Is An Island

In many of our minds this morning are the images of the disaster in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Our hearts go out to those who are suffering great losses.

These horrible losses touch each one of us. As John Donne said;

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

We share in these losses. A part of ourselves is suffering right now. We respond by doing whatever we can to help those who are in such desperate need.

Our response to this disaster is important for reasons connected with our faith as well. There are those who find such stories of natural disaster and ask us “Where is your God now?”

I don’t have a good response to that question. All I know is that there are reasons why the laws of nature are in place. We can’t see the big picture. We don’t know what further disasters would result if these laws were suspended. And the result is that sometimes bad things happen to good people.

Natural disasters do not challenge my belief in God. A scenario which would call into question my faith would be imagining the high winds and floods, and then see no one showing up to help, no one risking their own lives to save someone else, see no communities rushing to provide aid , see no relief agencies spring into action, see no one acting in the name of their God to offer help, aid, and prayers.

If that was the response I saw, if I witnessed no response from those who are safe, then I would say that there is no such thing as a compassionate God.

Critics of religion are quick to point out that radical terrorists invoke the name of God when they commit their atrocities. What these critics often miss is people of faith responding to help those in need.

When we are faced with this present disaster, we see that our hands become the hands of God, our feet the feet of God, our words the words of God. As Stan Purdum, a writer and Methodist minister puts it: “This is a time to urge the church to be the church, and remember that when Jesus told us to love our neighbor, he had a really big neighborhood in mind.”

Sometimes, our religious tradition seems so complicated, doesn’t it? When that happens, I find it helpful to remember Jesus’ summary of the law:

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Love God, and love your neighbor. Pretty simple, really. But we need to remember the order of priorities. Our relationship with God must come first, otherwise we have little to offer our neighbor.

In this morning’s Gospel, Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." It is Jesus in our midst that makes the difference. Without the belief of Christ among us, we would be nothing more than a social club.

When we work together in the name of God, Christ works with us. When we reach out to those who are hurting in the name of God, we are empowered to re-present Christ to those in need of a word of hope. When we become the united body of Christ, working together towards common goals with Christ in our midst, we can literally transform the world.

Let us respond with the compassion of God to those suffering from hurricane Katrina. Let us also allow this tragedy to sharpen our vision so that we can see more clearly those in need all around us. Let us respond to those who are suffering, both spiritually and physically, with the healing power of God’s love.

Let us pray;

O God, we remember when the disciples of Jesus were terrified after a long night on a turbulent sea. When they cried to you for help, you stilled the sea and brought them to safety. We ask now that you comfort and still the hearts of those suffering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina.

We pray for those who have been displaced and who now must return to homes destroyed or damaged by the storm.

We pray for those whose lives were lost and for those who now must grieve the loss of a loved one.

We pray for those who are attempting to offer help and relief to victims.
While we wonder why such devastation can occur, where lives and property can seem held so capriciously in the hand of what is uncontrollable, we know, O God, that you count every hair on our head and that our names are written on the palm of your hand.

Let your loving grace wash over those who must now face damaged lives, homes, and possessions. Hold them close to yourself until they are sure of the security of your loving embrace. Calm their hearts and still their souls, O Lord. We ask this for the sake of your love. AMEN.

September 4, 2005