We are the blessed...blessing all...

SERMON

Christ Church, St. Michaels Parish

July 31, 2016

Luke 12:13-21

I have never been much of a TV watcher. In fact, over the course of the past ten years I can truthfully say that I have watched almost no TV at all. But recently, wanting to keep abreast of the presidential candidates and their various antics, I began to watch the evening news hour.

At first, I stuck with CNN, with an occasional foray over to Fox News to keep Devin happy. After several days I bravely ventured over to our local channels and out of the country networks such as BBC. I guess, at least in the old days, one would call this channel surfing – perhaps it still is called channel surfing.

At any rate, in these wanderings from channel to channel I was making a valiant effort to find a network that would provide more than three minutes of news to every five minutes of advertising. Three minutes of news, or commentaries, delivered at such an aggressively fast rate of speech that I sometimes found it hard to follow what people were saying.

My efforts to locate more informational content and less aggressive marketing met with no success. Station after station greeted me with frequent and prolonged advertisements of every size and shape. Advertisements designed to intrigue and convince; to seduce and to capture. Advertisements designed to create a culture in which the products being brokered, including medications for every ailment imaginable, were publicized as “must haves” if life was to be experienced in the fullest, most comfortable and emotionally exciting way possible.

Perhaps those of you who have watched TV on a regular basis over the course of the past few years are not so affected by this intrusion of these up-close and in-your-face sales pitches. But, for someone who has been out of the TV loop for many years, the experience of this intrusion of marketing that far surpasses program content has been a rude awakening.

So, you may not be surprised when I say to you that when I first re-read Luke’s parable of the Rich Fool in preparation for today’s sermon, I immediately thought about the plethora of TV salespeople who daily play on our greed.  

Salespeople whose entire focus is to convince us that our incredibly rich lives should be even richer than they already are. Salespeople who continually encourage us to store up more and more treasures for ourselves. Salespeople who put forth an incessant “white noise” that threatens to thwart the ability of the eyes and ears of our hearts to experience the multiple blessings that God’s presence in our lives provides.

Jesus’ teaching in the Parable of the Rich Fool directly addresses the potential impact of television’s massive ad campaigns. Quite simply, Jesus is saying, “Take care! Be on your guard against your greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”

Jesus first says this to the man who asked Him to arbitrate between him and his brother.

In ancient times, the firstborn was guaranteed a double portion of the family inheritance. More than likely, the man who was addressing Jesus was not the firstborn and was asking for an equal share of the inheritance. Jesus refuses to arbitrate the brothers’ dispute and gets to the heart of the matter saying, life is so much more than the “abundance of possessions.”

Jesus then proceeds to tell the man the Parable of the Rich Fool.

This Rich Fool was materially blessed by God; his land “produced plentifully”. As God continued to bless the man, instead of using his increased wealth to further the will of God, he was interested only in accumulating and storing his abundant crops, for his own personal use, his growing wealth. So the man builds larger barns in place of the existing ones and starts planning an early retirement. Unbeknownst to him, this was his last night on planet earth.

Jesus closes the story by saying, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So, it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.”

The point of the Parable of the Rich Fool is twofold. First, we are not to devote our lives to the gathering and accumulation of wealth. If money and possessions are our master, that means that God is not. Remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 24, “No one can serve two masters…. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

The second point of the Parable of the Rich Fool is the fact that we have been blessed by God not with the expectation of hoarding our blessings, our wealth, for ourselves. We have been blessed by God to be a blessing in the lives of others. We are blessed by God in order to build the kingdom of God.

In 2 Corinthians Paul writes, “And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.” (2 Cor 9:8)

We are blessed by God, so that we can in turn be a blessing in the lives of others.

So, if God has blessed you with material wealth “set not your heart on it” but “be rich toward God.” That is the message of the Parable of the Rich Fool.

Incessant TV commercials are but one of the multiple distractions in our lives that encourage us to accumulate our many blessings - for ourselves. The messages sent out via various media are almost exclusively focused on “me” what is good for me? I have come across very few messages, whether on TV, FB, or other media, that focus on “the other” – how can I bless “the other”? And yet, it is “the other” that God calls us to bless – with our blessings.

What does this message that calls us to be a blessing to others mean for us here at Christ Church in a multi-layered time of transition – the upcoming presidential election; the arrival and investiture of a new bishop in the Diocese of Easton; and the initiation of a search for a new rector here at Christ Church?

It means nothing more, or nothing less, than it has always meant from the very beginning of Scripture when God made his initial covenant with Abraham saying, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing…And Abraham went, as the Lord had told him.” (Gen 12:1-4)

God tells Abraham that his blessings are meant to be shared, not hoarded. In blessing Abraham, God was intentionally seeking to bless the world – to bring the world to a place of abundance and peace for all.

Of course, our ultimate blessing from God was the gift of his son Jesus, who came not only to bring salvation, but also, and most importantly, to show us the way – the way to offer compassion, care and love – the way to share our treasures – our blessings. It is only through that sharing that we are able to share in the abundance and peace of God’s eternal kingdom.

Bestowing our blessings on others – often referred to as charity – goes deeper than merely taking out our checkbooks and donating money to a good cause. It also means more than just showing up on a Sunday to worship with friends in familiar and beautiful surroundings.

Bestowing our blessings involves investing – not only our money, but more importantly ourselves in the community of Christ – the church – our church. Investing time, talent and treasure to build the community into a land of “milk and honey;” a garden that flourishes and produces enough to feed any and all in the community far and wide.

Bestowing our blessings consists of the very same selfless, unconditional and voluntary loving kindness that we see in Jesus – it’s the way Jesus loves us and the way that Jesus commands us to love, to be a blessing, to others – all others.

So in this time of transition, we cannot lose sight of the fragile nature of God’s church in this place and at this moment in time - this fragile time when old ties are broken and new ties have yet to be established and strengthened. If we do not listen carefully to the parable of the Rich Fool, we may well hear God’s words ringing in our ears, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things that you have prepared, whose will they be? So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

In this fragile time of transition, we cannot allow the white noise of TV commercials and the pervasive messages throughout society that focus on “me,” to block out – to overshadow – our call from Jesus to put our treasures where our heart is – to invest, in every way possible, in this blessed community of Christ – this blessing that God has bestowed on us – Christ Church, St. Michaels Parish, and the Christ Church community of St. Michaels.

In Paul’s 1^st Letter to Timothy he writes, “As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.” (1 Tim 6:17-19)

Let us give thanks to God for the many blessings that he has bestowed upon us, and let us be a blessing to our church and to our community. AMEN

Kingdom of Heaven Seeds

SERMON

Christ Church, St. Michaels Parish

July 3, 2016

On June 15, 2016 – just a couple of weeks ago – my grandson Nathaniel Goodyear, age 13, graduated from the Brooklyn Community Montessori School. This, as all you parents and grandparents well know, was a big event.

Invitations were sent out several months in advance by my daughter Sarah. She was tireless in ensuring that everyone who should be there would, in fact, be there. On the big day my ex-husband Dick Goodyear; Carmen, his third wife; Dick’s youngest son by his second marriage, Sam and his wife Adair; Dick’s brother Sam; my daughter Sarah and her partner Laura; Nathaniel; and little old me, were front and center in the school’s auditorium for the late afternoon ceremony.

You got it a great many Goodyears and one lone Garrity.

Before going further with my story, I should let you know that the Goodyears, although Episcopalian by baptism, are not church goers. As Dick Goodyear has said many times, “I am not in favor of organized religion.” Much to my chagrin, both Sarah and Nathaniel have come to feel the same way. What their falling away from the church is all about is good food for another sermon. But for today, the important point is that I, as a firm believer and participant in what our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry calls the Jesus Movement, was alone amidst a family who are most definitely not “believers.” Otherwise known as the Nones.

After the graduation ceremony came to a close, we all trekked a fair distance to a very little restaurant for what turned out to be a very big and very long dinner. I was seated across from Dick and his son Sam who were literally the only people I could hear amidst the chatter of the other dinner guests, some very loud Brazilian music and the bustle of the wait staff.

Young Sam (whom I had never met), Dick (whom I have not seen for at least 15 years) and I started off by talking about, what else, but the upcoming presidential election. That conversation led us to the Wall Street take on Donald Trump - Sam works on Wall Street, and so has the “inside scoop” on things. I was soon being regaled with the various financial escapades of some very prominent Wall Street traders and their impact on world events. As the conversation progressed I felt that we had wandered well out of my usual conversation milieu. To put it in the context of this morning’s gospel reading from Luke I felt a little like a lamb in the midst of wolves.

But then, out of nowhere Sam, with a truly worried look on his face, leaned across the table and said, quite passionately, to me, “It’s very hard being in the Wall Street business – so much corruption and dishonestly. It’s very hard – really very hard not to get caught up in the dishonesty.” I was totally surprised by this appeal for support. I put my hand on his and said, a bit timidly, “I will pray for you.” Not sure how this interjection of spirituality would go over, I smiled at him and leaned back in my chair.

No bombs exploded. In fact, not even the slightest acknowledgement of my offer of prayer was made. The discussion revolving around Hillary and Donald and the Wall Street trading business continued, as before – and, no I will not go into who is voting for whom.

After what seemed like a very long and incredibly noisy two hours, dinner was finally over. We exited the restaurant and gathered outside the front door for goodbye hugs and kisses. As people drifted off in various directions, I found myself standing alone, still very close to the restaurant entrance. Sam, who had already started to walk off, turned and came over to me. He took both my hands in his, leaned over and said, quite passionately, “Please pray for me, I really need it.” Wow.

At that moment I thought of today’s gospel reading in which Jesus sends the seventy ahead of him as he travels the road to Jerusalem. He tells the seventy that the ‘harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few.’ In other words, Jesus says to his followers, I want you to be my point people. Go - scout out the territory. There are only a few of you, but there are many people out there in need of salvation. Gather around you those who will listen – teach them what I have taught you - prepare the way for my presence in their hearts and minds, make ready the way for healing and salvation.

These initial seventy were Jesus’ first missionaries in the world. They were his emissaries and the embodiment of his love. They were heralds declaring God’s love for the world through their words and actions. They were the first brave souls to engage in the work of the mission of the Church – the mission of Christ.

Over the past two thousand years that mission has not changed. The seventy sent out in pairs by Jesus and the hundreds of thousands who have followed in the footsteps of the seventy have all been commissioned with the same mandate:

·        To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom

·        To teach, nurture and baptize new believers

·        To respond to human need by loving service

·        To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation

·        To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth

These five marks of mission perfectly describe Jesus’ charge for all missionaries. That was the work of the seventy then and that is our work now, to go out into the world as Jesus’ point people, preparing the way for his presence in the lives of those whom we encounter, all the while seeking to safeguard the integrity of God’s profoundly stunning creation.

But here’s the catch, this missionary work is not always easy, comfortable or without personal harm of some sort. Jesus warned the seventy, “See I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves;” and, on top of that he added “Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals.” Jesus didn’t mince words as he told the seventy that they were going to meet people who would be hostile to their message. Dangers in the form of rejection and ridicule would abound; in some cases, persecution and perhaps death would be a reality.  

Jesus then added a third crucial point of all mission work. He told the seventy, “greet no one on the road.” In other words, we must caution against getting distracted by the conversations and demands of life and work that take us away from the work that we have been given to do. We must not lose our missional focus.

And then, a fourth mandate - be humble, eat and drink whatever your hosts provide - don’t get caught up in looking for the best food, the most comfortable lodging, the people most like you. Stay focused on the work at hand – forget about greener pastures. Be present where God has put you. Creature comforts should be at the bottom of any packing list of items needed to heal a broken world.

Then, our gospel reading fast forwards to the seventy returning from their mission with joy, and declaring, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us.”

Although we are never given a laundry list of what the seventy actually accomplished on their various journeys, it would seem pretty clear from their comments, and their joy, that they had experienced some measure of success. For certain, they planted seeds – perhaps the smallest of seeds – but seeds, nevertheless.

The seventy planted “kingdom of heaven seeds.” Matthew in his gospel tells us, “Kingdom of heaven seeds are usually the smallest of seeds, but when they grow, they become the largest of garden plants and become a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32)

The seeds are small, easy to carry along with us but challenging to cast – to plant. The casting, or planting as the case may be, requires courage, passion, and a commitment to be at one with the original seventy. As Jesus said in last week’s gospel reading, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

How does all this relate to us?

At Nathaniel’s graduation party a seed was planted in young Sam’s heart. Who knows if it was cast on rock, if it will blow away in the wind, or if it was planted in fertile ground? Most probably I will never know. In fact, most of us will never know the outcome of our seed casting and seed planting. Most of us will never be lucky enough to shout out with joy to Jesus, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us.” But, that is not important. As one of Jesus’ missionaries in the world our call is simply to do the work that that has been given to us to do, and to love and to serve God as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord. To remember that:

Christ has no body on earth but ours; no hands but ours; no feet but ours.

Ours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ looks out into the world.

Ours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good.

Ours are the hands with which he is to bless others now.  (Mother Teresa)