St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
February 5, 2017
Year A: The Fifth
Sunday after the Epiphany
Isaiah 58:1-12
Psalm 112
1 Corinthians 2:1-16
Matthew 5:13-20
The Days are Growing Brighter
So,
last Sunday evening at around 5:00 I came into church to set up for the Last
Chance Mass.
This
is a normal part of my Sunday routine but last week I realized that something
had changed: there was enough natural light in here that I didn’t have to turn
on the lights, at least not right away.
Yes,
it’s still cold and we have a long way to go, but the days are growing
noticeably brighter – once again, the light is beginning to overcome the
shadows.
And,
not a moment too soon, right?
For
some of us, the brighter days bring us physical relief.
I
know a couple of parishioners who suffer from what’s called “Seasonal Affective
Disorder,” a depression that’s caused by the reduction of sunlight during the
winter.
And,
even if we’re not plunged all the way into depression, this time of year can still
have real effects on our bodies and our minds, leaving us feeling the blues.
For
many of us, there’s not much light when we get up in the morning and there’s
not much light when we get home in the evening.
At
the same time, for many of us lately the world has seemed spiritually dark,
too.
Many
of us start each day with dread or fear.
What
will be the latest news out of Washington?
What
new horror will have occurred in some seemingly God-forsaken corner of the
world?
And,
many of us start each day with dread or fear about matters closer to home,
closer to our hearts – worries about our health or the health of someone we
love – concern about how we’re going to pay the stack of bills on the kitchen
table – hopelessness about our neighborhoods, with their ruined streets stained
with the blood of our young people, poorly served by decades of leaders, places
where, unfortunately, gangs have all too often replaced family and church.
You
know, I talk to a lot of people and what I’ve realized is that many of us have
been suffering from what I’ll call “Spiritual
Affective Disorder” – a spiritual depression, a despair caused by the shadowy
time in which we find ourselves living.
But,
at the same time, maybe because so
many of us are down and stressed out, I’ve noticed that we’re beginning to take
care better care of one another.
I’ve
noticed that, in ways large and small, we are beginning to stand up for one another,
increasingly willing to defend the weak and oppressed.
I’ve
noticed that we’re beginning to do what our bishop always calls us to do – risk
something big for something good.
No,
we’re not there yet – we still have a long way to go - but I’ve noticed that, once
again, as always, the light is beginning to overcome the shadows!
The
days are growing brighter.
And
that light that we see is the Light of Christ shining in and through us.
As
I’ve been preparing for today’s annual parish meeting I’ve been looking back at
the year just past but I’ve also been reflecting on what is now my long
association with St. Paul’s, first as a parishioner and now as your rector.
If
you were here a few weeks ago, you may remember that I told the story of how
Sue and I ended up in this church, walking through those same doors back there,
and finding a place that would transform our lives in ways we couldn’t begin to
imagine.
But,
you know, good news is meant to be shared, so after a while we began to tell
some of our friends and family about the light that we had discovered here.
Although
many of these people were very familiar with Jersey City, I’d tell them about
St. Paul’s, and they’d assume it was one of the other St. Paul’s in town.
I’d
patiently tell them, “No, it’s on Duncan, by St. Dom’s” and often they’d look
at me blankly – or, sometimes they would think I was talking about First
Baptist Church around the corner on the Boulevard.
They’d
say, “Oh, right, the church that looks like a castle!”
And,
I’d say, no, not that one. The church around the corner on Duncan.
The
truth is our beautiful church is kind of tucked away here, easy to miss. In
fact, Sue went to St. Dom’s for four years and never knew this church was here!
This
situation wasn’t anybody’s fault – lots of people worked really hard to keep
this place going especially during some hard years there for a while – but
thinking about how so few people knew we were here, I’m reminded of Jesus’
description of the lamp covered by the bushel basket.
I
hope – and I think – that, with God’s help, over the past few years together we
have taken the basket off of our lamp and let the Light of Christ – let our
light - shine not only here in our beautiful old building but out into our
neighborhood, and out into our city.
Over
the past few years, with God’s help, we have shined the Light of Christ when we
have worked with people all across our city in Jersey City Together to “loose
the bonds of injustice” – to fight for decent schools, safe streets, and
affordable housing.
Over
the past few years, with God’s help, we have shared our bread with the hungry
when we’ve invited anybody and everybody to our community suppers, and the
Thanksgiving feast, and as we’ve done a little better with our food pantry
donations, and now as we bring a hot delicious lunch to guests at the homeless
drop-in center.
But,
you know, not all bread is baked, so we’ve also fed people by offering them so
much art and beauty in this place – the reverence of our worship, of course,
but also concerts and exhibits and plays and readings.
And,
just yesterday a bunch of us from St. Paul’s along with friends from Grace were
over at Incarnation helping to create the Lighthouse, which will provide light
– and safe harbor – for people who were forced to flee their homelands and have
been granted asylum here in the U.S.
It
was beautiful to see.
My
beloved friends, the days are growing brighter.
And
that light that we see is the Light of Christ shining in and through us.
If
you listened to today’s reading from the Prophet Isaiah, you may have noticed
that he essentially says that if we feed the hungry, if we let our light shine,
then, you know what, our light will grow even brighter and stronger!
It’s
true: the more we give, the stronger we become.
And,
that’s exactly what’s happened here at St. Paul’s.
We’ve
let our light shine and our light has grown even brighter and stronger, as
longtime parishioners have taken on new ministries and responsibilities and as
new people have been drawn to the light, bringing different experiences,
skills, and hopes, enriching our community.
We’ve
grown stronger by giving more to support to our church – almost everybody has made a financial pledge for this year – and
it’s not too late for the rest of you to get onboard.
We’ve
grown stronger by taking care of many physical plant issues, both things we’ve
known about for a long time like the crumbling front stairs, and also the
occasional unpleasant surprise, like an infestation of raccoons in the tower!
The
days are growing brighter.
And
that light that we see is the Light of Christ shining in and through us.
Correct
me if I’m wrong, but I think I may have mentioned to you once or twice that one
of my absolute favorite things to do as a priest is to baptize people.
And
if you’ve been here for a baptism (and, I’m overjoyed to say, we had 17 of them
last year!) you know that each time when I present the newly baptized with a
candle, I say Jesus’ words from today’s Gospel lesson:
“You
are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others, so that they
may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
Many
of us, and a lot of people all around us, for lots of different reasons, are
sad and frightened, suffering from “Spiritual Affective Disorder.”
We
still have a long way to go, but the days really are growing brighter – the
days are growing brighter as winter gives way to spring - and the days are
growing brighter as we allow the Light of Christ to shine in and through us.
My
prayer for the year ahead is that we’ll remember that we are the light
of the world – and that we are meant to uncover the beautiful Light of Christ
and shine it out there, out into the world.
Amen.
Posts
