Sermon
June 6, 2021
A few weeks ago, during one of the classes I teach, I recalled a time in the early 1980s when HIV/AIDS was still an unnamed, and frighteningly fatal disease. It had emerged seemingly, out of nowhere. Those who were suffering and dying from this new illness and those who were their friends or family were all shunned. Treated like lepers. Categorically refused access to hospitals, and doctor's and dentist's offices; and all too frequently rejected by families, lovers, friends, and employers. They were alone - hidden away in their homes, rejected by their communities, dying in isolation.
There were very few of us who
remained in their midst. It was a tragic time that once lived through will
never be forgotten.
As I recalled this segment of our nation's history with my class, I suddenly found myself saying, "And you know what? I can say that I am really proud of the Episcopal Church. During this time, its Red Doors remained open to all. Many Episcopal Churches created feeding and home care programs for those who had been abandoned. They conducted funerals for lives tragically lost, and they prayed by the side of those who were dying and those who mourned."
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians, "For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." During this painful period, the Episcopal Church continued to be a house built by God. A house that was open to all and filled with compassion and caring. A house that was open to all in love, agape love; to all - all - of God's children.
I think that many times we either
lose sight of or just remain in the dark when it comes to all that our church,
both historically and in the present, has done and is doing to meet the
challenge of bringing into the lives of the suffering the love and compassion God
intended. And when that happens, we also lose sight of who we are and where and
how we fit in the larger family of our church's voice in a world filled with
chaos and suffering.
As I read through today's gospel passage from Mark it occurred to me that in this story Jesus was being treated as a leper, not unlike those living with AIDS in the 80s and early 90s. The crowd was demeaning him, calling him demented, crazy, dangerous to have around. They declared his teaching unacceptable. Even his family was ashamed, indeed mortified by what he was proclaiming. They urged him to flee – to hide. To "get out of Dodge."
But Jesus did not flinch. He stood alone amidst jeering voices of rejection, firmly planted. Alone, but loved by God. Alone in God's house. The house that he had brought to the world, to give to the world. A house built on agape love for all.
"Who are my mother and my brothers?" he questioned those who sat around him. And, answering his own question, he continued, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother." Those who do God's will – his will only – those are members of God's family. It is those who live in God's house.
And so today my message is that we must never forget that by the grace bestowed on us through our baptismal covenant we are all members of God's house. All members of Christ's family. All his mother, his brothers, his sisters.
And we who have committed
ourselves to be members of Christ's family must never forget that we do not
exist unto ourselves. We are part of a larger family – our church in the world.
To be a faithful House of God is to remain in fellowship with all of our brothers
and sisters, and to be an active member of the family that proclaims God's agape
love to a world of chaos and suffering.
And so, I want to share with you, my house of God family, why I continue to be proud of the of the Episcopal Church. I want to let you in on some of the work that goes unnoticed, unseen, unacknowledged by most of us. Work that is carried out by the Episcopal Public Policy Network (EPPN) and Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM). Two programs that are charged with carrying forward the mandates of the National Convention’s resolutions on social justice. Of which, by the way, there are many.
Now I do not want to lose you here. The acronyms and the term social justice may have caused you to put in your ear plugs and take a little nap while I finish my homily. But this is important information. Information that should excite your spirit, stir your imaginations, inspire you to learn more about our extended family's work in the world. Work that is essential to the church’s continuing as a House of God.
There is little need to discuss initiatives such a racial reconciliation, creation care, and immigration reform. Those initiatives are well publicized throughout each of the dioceses and addressed by diverse trainings, programs, and services.
But there is more – much more. Here are a few that you may not have heard of. They may surprise you. You, like I, may end up saying, “Wow, I really am proud of the Episcopal Church.”
The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021. The Momnibus is a suite of twelve bills addressing a wide range of issues related to maternal health, from growing the perinatal health care workforce and funding community-based organizations that work on health equity, to improving maternal health care for those who are incarcerated and those with mental health issues.
The Keeping Women and Girls Safe from the Start Act of 2021 (S. 765)
expands the ability of the U.S. government to prevent gender-based violence and
provide early interventions at the onset of humanitarian emergencies. The
legislation will help strengthen staff training and integrate important
interventions to mitigate risks for gender-based violence in all humanitarian sectors
and will enhance partnerships with local organizations to strengthen capacity
and update objectives for the protection and empowerment of women and girls.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act (S.1541), and Rep. Bobby Rush’s the Martha Wright Prison Phone Justice Act (H.R. 2489), would restore the Federal Communication Commission’s authority to regulate all prison and jail phone call rates. The legislation carries forward Ms. Wright-Reed’s decades-long fight for affordable prison phone rates. Phone calls were the only way she could stay in touch with the grandson she raised and loved during his incarceration.
A lease sale has opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling in January 2021. The EPPN is working with multiple other organizations to help stop the progression of oil and gas exploration in the critical ecosystem of the Arctic Refuge in Alaska. Drilling in the Arctic Refuge would devastate one of the most diverse Arctic ecosystems. Noise pollution and oil spills resulting from exploration and drilling could imperil wildlife and prove fatal for already endangered species.
Finally, I would be painfully remiss if I did not highlight the incredibly brave work of our Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Michael Curry. He leads by example offering insight, reflection, and prayer on all fronts. Whenever God calls the church to have a voice, Bishop Curry responds publicly and without hesitation. His brave voice upholds the integrity of our House of God, and he invites us to join him.
Two weeks ago, during his Pentecost sermon at the National Cathedral Bishop Curry told listeners that the Way of Love the apostles spoke of on Pentecost transcends all societal boundaries and unifies people across cultures. "This Way of Love, this is not the province of any religion in particular," he said. "There's no copyright on love. Love is completely ecumenical. Love is completely interfaith. Love is bipartisan. Love is diverse. Love is multiethnic…The way of unselfish, sacrificial love is the way to heal our land and to heal the world."
Everyone is challenged right now.
The present moment can be overwhelming, frightening, and depressing. We are all
struggling to figure out who we are – where we are – how do we find the path
forward? The credibility of information, any information, is suspect. Our
family ties have been weakened by political divisiveness and Covid isolation.
Uncertainty surrounds us.
But the good news is, despite it all, Jesus is still with us, and we are still his family – we are still a House of God. It is in this house that we meet Jesus as his mother, his brothers, his sisters. It is here that we make the commitment to be a family member. A commitment to work as family members whose goal is to love – agape love. To welcome the stranger. To heal the afflicted. To affirm, "Here I am Lord." To be able to say, “Yes, I am a member of Christ's family and, yes, I am proud of the Episcopal Church.”
