St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
Church of the
Incarnation, Jersey City NJ
May 14, 2017
Year A: The Fifth
Sunday of Easter
Acts 7:55-60
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
1 Peter 2:2-10
John 14:1-14
The Shape of Our Lives
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Lately
I’ve been thinking more than usual about death.
Part
of that, I’m sure, is because yesterday I celebrated a milestone birthday,
which, among other things, reminded me that life goes by quickly and every day
is precious.
And,
I’ve been thinking about death because for the past week, the mother of my
oldest friend was in hospice, in that mysterious in-between time and space
between life and death. She died yesterday afternoon.
And,
on top of that, as we all know, today is Mother’s Day: a joyful day for many
but, for at least as many people and for all kinds of reasons, it’s a hard day
– a hard day for people like my friend now facing life without his mom.
Well,
now that that I’ve officially bummed you out, let me remind you that today is the
Fifth Sunday of Easter – it’s still Easter – but in today’s Gospel
lesson we look back, look back before the Resurrection – we look back before
the arrest and death of Jesus – we look back to the Last Supper.
Jesus
has gathered with his closest friends one last time. And, the way the
Evangelist John tells the story, at this final meal, Jesus, like a teacher
preparing the class for the final exam, tries to get his disciples and friends
to focus on and finally get what’s most important.
And,
as every teacher knows – and, I guess, every student knows, too – this is no
easy task.
But,
one thing’s for sure: at this final meal, the disciples are beginning to
understand that their friend and teacher – the one who they had come to believe
was the long-awaited messiah – was going to suffer and die.
You
can hear the confusion and dismay and fear in the disciples’ voices.
Thomas
asks Jesus, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the
way?”
And
Jesus replies with the now-famous words, “I am the way, the truth, and the
life.”
And,
for the past two thousand years, we Christians have been reflecting on,
puzzling over, the meaning of all that.
What
does it mean for us that Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life?
As
some of you know, this is the gospel passage that we often read at funerals –
yet another reason I’ve been reflecting on death.
We
hear these words as we mourn the death of a brother or a sister, as we reflect
on their life, and, most of all, as we celebrate the great Christian hope of new
life.
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
You
know, in the days after a death, during the viewings and visitations, during
the funeral, as we talk with one another and hear people reminisce about the
deceased, we often get a sense of what this person was all about.
At
a really good funeral, we begin to see what shaped this life.
Which
might – should - get us thinking, what is shaping of my life?
Last
Sunday, after the 10:00 service, a parishioner hung around until I was free and
then he said, “Can I ask you a question?”
I
was expecting some serious issue in his life, or something about the sermon, or
about whatever’s been going on at church.
But,
no, instead, he asked, “Why don’t Episcopal churches have crucifixes?”
After
a startled hesitation – I definitely wasn’t expecting that – I said that
it’s true that crucifixes aren’t so common in Episcopal churches – that usually
we have unadorned crosses signaling that Jesus isn’t on the cross anymore.
But,
then, I said that, in fact, some Episcopal churches do have crucifixes, and, in
fact, St. Paul’s has a crucifix.
He
looked surprised. I pointed above us to the small crucifix that hangs on a beam
right in front of the pulpit.
I
assume it was placed there so that each time a preacher stands in the pulpit he
or she would be reminded that our job, my task, is to preach Christ, and to
remember his great sacrifice that opened the way to new life.
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
I’m
embarrassed to say, though, the truth is that I almost never pay much attention
to that crucifix, or to any other cross, for that matter.
And,
I think that for a lot of us, unfortunately, the crucifix, the cross, has
become just part of the backdrop, part of the clutter, part of the decoration, of
our lives.
But,
for us Christians, the cross, and especially the crucifix, is meant to shape
our lives.
If
we accept Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life, then we’re expected to
live lives of loving sacrifice, following the example of the crucified Jesus by
giving away our lives in loving service to others.
Very
difficult. Only possible with God’s help.
And,
of course, the way of Jesus is not – and never has been – the way of the world.
Just
the opposite, really.
Which
is really too bad.
Now,
I’m not going to name names, but you can pick up any newspaper or turn on any
news channel and see what happens when a celebrity or politician never
sacrifices anything at all, but instead worships his own wealth, power, and
fame, worships only himself.
Sooner
or later, that selfishness, all those impossible-to-satisfy appetites, lead to
nothing but unhappiness, a total lack of joy, a kind of insanity, and, finally,
self-destruction – sometimes destroying others along the way.
And,
it’s not only politicians or celebrities.
For
too many people, our lives are misshaped by what we want or what we think we’re
entitled to, the never-ending pursuit of maybe even just a little more money or
security or approval or stuff or whatever it is we think will finally, truly
satisfy us.
If
our lives are misshaped by those desires, then we’re doomed to unhappiness and,
self-destruction, too – sometimes destroying others along the way.
And,
yes, all too often, the Church itself has forgotten that the crucifix, the
cross, should shape its life.
Instead,
all too often, the Church has focused on its own power and influence, has focused
lately on just surviving, keeping the doors open. Too often, the Church focused
on our own petty little internal issues and debates that seem absolutely
ridiculous and irrelevant to the hungry but skeptical people out there
Too
often, we’ve focused mostly on feeding ourselves and our own people - focused
on having our own needs met - and, maybe, giving to others if, by some chance, there’s
anything left over when we’re done.
All
too often, we’ve given the side-eye to outsiders – to those who seem different,
not really our kind of people. We’ve looked at them with suspicion, as a threat
to the way things have always been.
Definitely
not the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus.
And,
sure enough, just like with politicians and celebrities or anybody, that kind
of misshapen selfishness ultimately leads the Church - St. Paul’s or
Incarnation or any church – to joylessness, sickness, and, finally,
self-destruction – sometimes destroying others along the way.
My
friends, if we’re going to witness to the love and power of Jesus, then the
cross must shape our lives.
We’re
called to live like Stephen, who, as we heard in today’s first lesson, proclaimed
the Good News and was rejected and killed for it – and, yet, just like Jesus
himself, even as he died, Stephen prayed that God would forgive those who had
wronged him.
So,
you and I, we’re not there yet, we still have a ways to go, but I hope that
when our time comes, when people gather for your funeral and for mine, when
they tell stories and share memories, when they begin to see the shape of our
life, they’ll see the loving sacrifice and loving service that opens the way to
new life.
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Amen.
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