Sermon for Proper 14, Year C

Audio recording is here.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Fear.  It’s in the air. 

Fear that the economy will fall back into recession.  Fear that you’ll lose your job.  For the unmarried person, fear that the person you ask out on a date will say no.  Fear that the Royals will lose! Fear that the politician you hate the most will be elected President of the United States.  Fear that you can’t pay next month’s bills.  For me, in the weeks before I arrived at St. Luke’s, fear that the new parish might be slow to accept me.  Fear that you won’t finish an important project at work by the deadline.  Fear that God isn’t here beside you as you struggle through this life.  Fear that you will die alone and unloved.

Fear.  It’s in the air.

Our Gospel passage from Luke begins with Jesus saying to his disciples, “Do not be afraid.”

This isn’t the first time that Luke uses these words.  This is the same message given to Zechariah when the angel told him his wife Elizabeth was pregnant with Jesus’s cousin John the Baptist.  It’s the same thing the angel said to Mary at the Annunciation when she was told she was pregnant with God’s son. It’s the same thing that Jesus proclaims to Saint Peter before he tells him that he will be a fisher of men.[1]

“Do not be afraid.”

In the previous cases in Luke, “Do not be afraid” comes before the announcement of a significant event.  Something daunting, something life-changing.

In this case, Jesus says “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” This is no small matter, it is just as daunting of a message as the angel telling Mary that she is pregnant with God’s son.

Out of his own delight, God gives us the kingdom.  The word kingdom is hard for us to relate to.  The last time we had a king in this country, we rejected his authority and declared our independence!  The kingdom of God refers to an inbreaking of God’s love, peace, freedom and justice into the world. We will never see the kingdom of God fully realized in this life, but only in the life to come.

We see inbreakings of the kingdom of God in this life in what is often referred to as “thin places.”  Thin places are moments in which time itself seems to stand still and the divide between this world and the next is very thin indeed. In these thin places, God’s love becomes tangible to us and we get a glimpse of heaven itself.  The sacraments are thin places, and particularly the Holy Eucharist, where we are transported in time to the hill upon which Jesus died and we are fed the bread of heaven and the cup of salvation.  In these thin places, heaven kisses earth.

But thin places are not only to be found in the sacraments.  They are also found in the face of the homeless person you see on the street corner.  In the cries of the sick person you are nursing and taking care of.  And in subtle things like hugging a child. Hearing those repetitive words “I love you” from a family member.

The thin places happen all around us, whether we’re aware of them or not.  How do we predispose ourselves to be aware of them?  Through consistent prayer, Bible study, silence, contemplation, selflessly serving others, and regular reception of the sacraments of the Church.   Without these things, we aren’t able to put aside our fear and be aware of the inbreaking of God’s kingdom around us.

Do not be afraid, for God is giving you his kingdom of love, peace, freedom and justice. 

It is in this context that Jesus tells his disciples to sell their possessions and give alms, and make purses for themselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

When we graciously accept God’s loving kindness towards us, when we are intentionally aware of the thin places that we encounter throughout our lives, it is then that we are led to share that love and compassion with others.  Jesus is telling us to put first things first!  To be concerned about the things that truly matter in life.   

In the past couple of weeks, one of my employees at the bank had to miss a few days of work due to a very sick parent.  We have been under deadline for a few important projects, and the timing couldn’t have been worse.   I was planning on having a serious talk with her on her first day back in the office, about the importance of finishing these projects on time as we had committed to do, but ironically, before I could schedule the meeting, I started reading through our gospel passage today and became convicted that in this case, I needed to put first things first.  I almost overlooked a thin place that was right in front of me.  God was using her to extend compassion, healing, and love to her extremely sick mother.  I was being driven by fear about finishing the projects late, but God said to me, “Do not be afraid, for I am giving you the kingdom.”

What gives you anxiety in your life?  What are you most afraid of?  What is keeping you from recognizing the thin places in your everyday life? 

Jesus then goes on and tells his disciples to be ready!  Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit!  Be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour!

In the same way that the kingdom of God is seen partially in this life and fully in the next, so too is the command to be ready for both now and eternity!  Jesus comes to us at unexpected times throughout our ordinary lives.  In the face of the poor person we see at the street corner.  In the hug given to us by a friend.  In the simple words, “I love you”.  In the bread and the wine at communion.  But he will also return at the last day.  We aren’t being called to “be ready” out of fear of punishment, but in anticipation of blessing.  The certainty of Christ’s coming is not a cause for panic, but a cause for watchful anticipation for blessing.[2]  This call to be ready isn’t a cause to be overly critical of our own sins and failings, but rather to be ready to receive blessings like we could never imagine.  To be watchful and ready for thin places in this world, to be watchful and ready for the whole shebang in eternity.  To be ready for the foretaste of the heavenly banquet when we receive communion in a moment, and to be ready for the heavenly banquet itself in eternity with God.

Do not be afraid!  For God, out of his own delight, gives you his kingdom of love, peace, freedom and justice.  When the world around you brings about fear and anxiety, do not be afraid!  Be watchful for the inbreaking of God’s kingdom in the thin places.  And be ready in anticipation of Christ’s coming, both now and for all eternity.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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[1] David Lyon Bartlett and Barbara Brown. Taylor, eds., Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008), 335.

[2] Ibid 338.

Eucharistic Sacrifice and Facing East

There has been a flurry of Anglican social media activity on these topics in the past couple of weeks (here, here, and here).  I posted the final article (here) on my Facebook page, and an acquaintance sent me these thoughts (paraphrased by me):

"This article is about as backward thinking as I have seen recently.  Is God "out there" (as in liturgical East), or is God in the Body of Christ amongst the people with whom we worship (as in liturgical West)? When I am confronted with an altar against the wall, I celebrate from the north end, like the first Anglican church on this continent.  The idea of Eucharistic "sacrifice" is Roman Catholic thinking at its worst; the next thing will be transubstantiation."

This discussion is very interesting to me. I'm learning that many Episcopal clergy who went to seminary between 1965-1990 (ish) feel the way that my acquaintance does. In this view, Vatican II brought about a "rediscovery" in the Western Church of the two things that we're discussing: 1) versus populum celebrations; and 2) the Eucharist primarily as a meal (and less so, or not at all, as a sacrifice).  In contrast, my Facebook feed has been exploding over the past 2 weeks with coherent, well-thought-out articles about celebrating ad orientem and the Eucharist primarily as sacrifice.  All from Episcopal clergy, mainly from priests aged 45 and under, and from folks who affirm the ordination of women and the full inclusion of LGBT Christians in the life of the Church.

At seminary, the class I took on the Sacraments taught essentially what this article teaches about Eucharistic sacrifice.  It was taught by an Episcopal prof, 41 years old, with a ThD from General Seminary, using current-day Anglican and Lutheran textbooks.  In fact, my primary paper in that class was was entitled "Bloodless Sacrifice as found in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer." 

The 20th century Liturgical Renewal Movement has brought about many changes to liturgical theology and practice in The Episcopal Church.  But many of us feel the baby has been tossed out with the bathwater.  The Eucharist is not just a holy meal, it's also a reenactment of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  It's a thin place in which all time converges at that moment when Jesus was sacrificed for us at Calvary.  In other words, at the Mass, the clergy and people are transported to the green hill far away where our Lord was crucified.  Yes, it's a holy meal in which we are fed spiritual grace, but first and foremost it's a sacrifice.  We are fed spiritual food and drink, but only after Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

This is the foundation for the discussion of ad orientem celebrations of the Eucharist.  It is only with this theology in mind that it makes sense to face liturgical East.  The priest leads the people in praying toward Calvary.  The priest makes his or her sacrifice on behalf of the people - the same sacrifice that was made on the cross.

To address the point about how this "Roman Catholic thinking at its worst, the next thing will be transubstantiation."  Eucharistic sacrifice, and ad orientem orientation is entirely Anglican.  Rome is irrelevant to this discussion, except that when these ideas are traced, they existed in England prior to the Reformation. Also, transubstantiation isn't a scary word in my book.  It's not the word I use to describe what happens at the Eucharist.  Instead, I would say that before the Eucharistic Prayer, it's bread and wine, and after the Eucharistic prayer, it's the body and blood of Christ.  That's why we genuflect to the tabernacle, that's why we bow to the altar, that's why we prepare ourselves via confession and absolution before receiving the most precious body and blood of our Lord.

As a side note, I would never celebrate from the north side of the altar.  The catholic position is eastward or westward facing.  Either is permissible and sometimes appropriate; eastward facing makes the most sense to me.

 

I find this article to be refreshing and indicative that the Episcopal Church is rediscovering things that were lost in the 1970's.  Old things are being made new.  It's time to rediscover a Eucharistic theology that is coherent with both the early Church and with our post-Reformation identity.