Less Woeful, More Blessed

Less Woeful, More Blessed

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD

February 23, 2025

Year C: The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany

Genesis 45:3-11, 15

Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Luke 6:27-38

Let us pray. 

Loving God, help us to follow the way of Jesus.

Help us to follow the way of love, generosity, and mercy.

Help us to make this world less woeful and more blessed.

Amen.

So, as you know, each week we hear various excerpts from Holy Scripture. 

And, by the way, we follow a schedule of Bible readings. So, I don’t choose the scripture that we hear – and, sometimes, maybe like today, for example, I might have made a different choice!

One problem with this system is that it’s easy to get so focused on these individual passages that we miss the big picture, the context, we don’t pay any attention to what was happening in the background of the biblical world, we don’t know or forget what life was like for Jesus and for all of the other people we read about in the Bible.

It’s important for us to remember that life in biblical times was almost unimaginably difficult.

Of course, there were none of our modern conveniences – none of the gadgets that make our lives so comfortable – no electricity which Sue and I sorely missed last week when the high winds brought down trees and knocked out our power – the house got cold really fast.

I know lots of you were in the same boat.

Back in biblical times, people were completely dependent on the harvest and the catch – a drought or an empty net meant hunger or even worse.

And while there were folk remedies and maybe some of them even worked, there was, of course, no modern medicine – no vaccines or antibiotics or scans or surgery – none of the marvels that have restored so many of us to health, none of the discoveries and innovations that have kept so many of us alive.

Yes, life in biblical times was almost unimaginably difficult.

And, in the first century, during the days of Jesus’ earthly life, on top of the usual challenges, the people of Israel lived under Roman occupation.

Now, the Romans were great builders. In fact, some of their roads, and aqueducts, and buildings are still in use today – which, let’s give them credit, is amazing.

But those impressive achievements were built on the backs of poor people throughout the empire – the people who were forced to send so much of their wealth to Rome.

And, of course, if any of those subjugated people ever dared to resist Rome, the punishment was swift and brutal.

Crucifixion, which was really death by suffocation, was common. And, unlike in the case of Jesus, usually the bodies of the crucified were left on the cross to decay, a horrifying sight, a stark reminder of the price of challenging the powers that be. 

So, it’s in a land of suffering, that Jesus offers what we heard last week, what’s often called the Sermon on the Plain.

It’s in a land of suffering that Jesus presents his downside-up vision, “Blessed are the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the hated.”

And it’s in a land of suffering that Jesus warns the people who were living large, the people who were doing well while so many were suffering: “Woe to you who are rich and full and laughing and respected.”

If this all sounds bizarrely downside-up to us, which it does, imagine just how crazy Jesus’ words must have seemed to people living under Roman occupation!

And now, in today’s excerpt from the Gospel of Luke, we hear the continuation of the Sermon on the Plain, the continuation of Jesus’ downside-up vision of how we are to live together.

Jesus’ downside-up vision of how things were always meant to be.

We are meant to love our enemies, to turn the other cheek, to give away what we have, to do to others as we would have them do to us.

We are to be merciful, just as Joseph was merciful to his brothers who had sold him into slavery, just as God is merciful to all of us.

You won’t be surprised that Jesus’ most challenging vision got me thinking about baptism – got me thinking about the big promises we make in the Baptismal Covenant – to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as our self – to strive for justice and peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being.

With God’s help. Always and only with God’s help.

Finally, at the very end of today’s passage, Jesus says, “the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

That sounds like a quid pro quo with God – that if we’re good then God will be good to us.

But we know that’s not how God does things.

Instead, I think Jesus is simply stating a fact: when we are loving and generous and merciful, then, with God’s help, we create a church, a community, a world, that is more loving, generous, and merciful.

The measure we give will be the measure we get back, and, knowing God, we will always receive way more than we give.

So, I’m not sure if I would have chosen this most challenging gospel lesson for the day of our Annual Parish Meeting, but the more I’ve thought about it, I think it is exactly right for us today.

Out there, the ways of the world continue to be… the ways of the world.

A first century Jew brought to our time would be dazzled, shocked, and confused by many things, but the cruelty and oppression and suffering of so many people in so many places would be all too familiar.

But, here at St. Thomas’, while we are certainly not perfect, there is a sincere and honest attempt to follow the downside-up way of Jesus, the way of love, generosity, and mercy.

I hope that you will take the time to read our Annual Report – a lot of people worked really hard on it, most especially Jane Farnan, our dedicated Parish Administrator.

There’s a lot of data in the Annual Report but at its heart is a story of one Christian community here in the Baltimore suburbs doing its best to make Jesus’ downside-up vision a reality.

It’s a story of this church, with God’s help, trying to make the world a little less woeful and a little more blessed.

While the world teaches us to be selfish, while the world insists there’s just not enough so we better hold on to what we’ve got, here we give so much away.

Think of the thousands of sandwiches made for the guests at Paul’s Place and the hundreds of bags of supplies and all those Thanksgiving bags shared with the people at the Community Crisis Center.

And I was so touched that so many of you bought tickets for the Sutton Scholars event at Top Golf on Thursday night – some of you buying tickets even though you couldn’t be there, even though you missed the chance to see me make a fool of myself trying to swing a golf club.

While the world teaches us to fear and even despise strangers, we continue to welcome and support and love our Afghan friends, giving countless hours to make sure they have every chance to thrive here in their new home.

On Thursday evening, at that Sutton Scholars event, Betty Symington of ERICA pulled me aside to thank me for your generosity, your persistence, your steadfastness. I’ve had very little  to do with that but I was proud to accept her thanks on your behalf.

While the world pushes us apart, dividing us up, here at St. Thomas’ everyone is welcome – all kinds of people from lots of different places with all sorts of different ideas – everyone is welcome here.

And as I have preached many times and will continue to preach in the days ahead, this is one of the last places where lots of different people can come together, pray and serve together, love one another.

It’s a special vocation, and one that we must protect, cherish and nourish.

While the world insists that the church is in decline and the future looks bleak, God sent us two remarkably faithful women who have said “yes” to God’s call, and we have been so blessed by Amelia’s and Sue’s gifts – and I know that I can’t wait to see the next chapters of their ministries.

And God continues to send us so many wonderful new people who have gotten involved in our ministries and have even taken on leadership positions.

For example, our Stewardship chair Amy Sussman, Preschool Board chair Kathy Resnik, new Treasurer Brian Lyght, Vestry member Shyla Cadogan, and Green Team co-chair Leslie Steele – they are all newer to St. Thomas’ than me. Isn’t that amazing?

While the world often seems so ugly, and getting uglier by the minute, here at St. Thomas’ there is a commitment to beauty – caring for our buildings and grounds, polishing the silver and ironing the linens, arranging gorgeous flowers every week – and our choir sings with astonishing skill and faithfulness – what a place of beauty this is!

And speaking of beauty, yesterday’s Spirituals recital created by David Marshall (also newer than me!) was incredibly beautiful and moving, a real comfort during challenging days.

I could go on, but I won’t because I know you’ll read the Annual Report.

Seriously, please read the report because in words and numbers, it tells the story of St. Thomas’ Church as we follow the downside-up way of Jesus, the challenging way of love, generosity, and mercy.

As Deacon Amelia said in her wise and thoughtful sermon last week, we do this work together.

Here at St. Thomas’, with God’s help, together, we make the world a little less woeful and a little more blessed.

Thanks be to God.

And thanks be to you.

Amen.

Soul Work

Soul Work

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD

February 2, 2025

The Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord 

Malachi 3:1-4

Psalm 84

Hebrews 2:14-18

Luke 2:22-40

Let us pray:

Loving God, we pray for purification and strength.

Wash away our fear and hatred.

Strengthen our souls so we may withstand the piercings of suffering and sorrow.

Amen.

This past Thursday, our sextons made their way through the churchyard and cemetery gathering up the Christmas wreaths that, thanks to your generosity, have rested on many graves for quite a few weeks now.

The wreath removal happened a little later than usual this year because of the snow and the bitter cold that kept the snow on the ground for several weeks.

And, you know, I didn’t mind that at all, because the wreaths looked so beautiful out there, rings of green and red sprinkled among the graves, flashes of color among the snowy white, much needed reminders of Christmas joy.

But, although the wreath-removal may have been a little later than usual, it was actually right on time, or maybe even a couple of days early.

Most of us have long since moved on from Christmas, our trees disposed of or put away, decorations back in the closet or up in the attic – but there is a Christian tradition that the Christmas Season lasts for forty days, lasts all the way to February 2, lasts all the way to the great feast day that we celebrate today: The Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord.

In the story of the Presentation, Luke tells us that forty days after Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph brought him to the Jerusalem Temple.

And in this story, Luke combines two Jewish traditions:

Forty days after giving birth to a male child, mothers underwent a ritual of purification, which included offering a lamb to be sacrificed in the Temple. Or poor people could offer a pair of doves or pigeons.

That’s the option chosen by Joseph and Mary, a sign that the Holy Family was a poor family.

The other ritual was what’s called the “Redemption of the Firstborn,” the idea that a firstborn male child belonged to God and could be redeemed by an offering made by the father.

So that’s why Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus are in the Temple but, actually, we don’t hear much about those two rituals.

Instead, the story of the Presentation is really about the encounters with two holy people: Simeon and Anna.

I’m going to take them in reverse order.

Anna is described as a prophet – a prophet who seems to have been living in the Temple for a while, totally devoted to fasting and prayer – and once she recognizes who Jesus is, like other women in the gospels – like the Samaritan woman at the well, like Mary Magdalene - once she recognizes who Jesus is, Anna begins to spread the Good News.

Simeon is described as righteous and devout, and like Israel itself, he has been waiting for the Messiah – but maybe he’s been waiting with more confidence than most because the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die before seeing the Savior.

Well, as we heard, thanks to the Holy Spirit, Simeon recognizes who Jesus is and he sings his song, giving thanks to God that he can now die in peace because he has seen the light, the light of God shining on all the world’s people in and through Jesus.

So, you can get why some people say the Christmas Season extends to the Feast of the Presentation – this story does have a Christmas feel to it, doesn’t it?

There’s plenty of Christmas joy.

 But there’s also the Christmas foreshadowing of hard times, of sacrifice and suffering ahead.

We don’t talk much about this during Christmas – we don’t want to bring people down during a time that’s supposed to be “holly, jolly” – but once you start looking for this Christmas foreshadowing you find it everywhere:

No room at the inn: from day one, the world will not welcome God’s Son.

The Magi give the gift of myrrh: customarily used to anoint the dead.

Herod’s slaughter of the innocent children in Bethlehem: the powers of the world try to kill Jesus right at the start.

And the flight into Egypt: for a time, the Holy Family will be a refugee family.

Christmas foreshadowing of hard times, sacrifice, and suffering ahead.

And we certainly hear that Christmas foreshadowing in Simeon’s words to Mary:

“This child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed.”

And then Simeon says to Mary, “And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Powerful and stark words to a young mother who must have already known that saying “yes” to God would require great sacrifice, both for her and for her son.

As many of you will remember, last Sunday we had a beautiful baptism.

Henry Brooks is just six months old but already a familiar and much-loved presence here at St. Thomas’.

Henry was patient as I poured those three scoops of water over his head, announcing that he was baptized in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Henry was patient but he wasn’t still, he was kind of paddling, which made total sense when I learned that his parents have been bringing him to swimming class!

As we do at every baptism, we renewed our Baptismal Covenant, making those big promises to keep on praying and breaking bread together, to confess our sins and try to do better, and to proclaim the Good News by word and example.

And then there are those two last promises, the hardest, most challenging, promises of all:

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?

And, will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

And to each of those questions, we answered “I will, with God’s help.”

All people, every human being.

If you were here last Sunday or watched online, you’ll probably remember that in my sermon I listed different kinds of people we are called to love, specifically including kinds of people that we might not like one bit, people we might not trust or approve of, some people we might even hate.

As I made my way down the list, I could see some of you start to become uncomfortable, start to squirm a little bit in your seats.

Now, I can’t read your minds – not usually, anyway - but I think you squirmed because this is REALLY HARD.

And I’m right there with you. I can’t tell you how many times I deleted that list from my sermon draft, thinking, no, it would be better – safer – easier – to just keep things vague.

“Love all people.”

But, no, vague is too easy.

Specific is hard.

Loving the people I disagree with, the people I don’t like, the people I don’t approve of or trust, that’s hard – and it’s not getting any easier.

Only remotely possible with God’s help.

But, especially in this tense moment, this is what we’re called to, this how we are meant to live.

The way of the world is the way of hate and death.

God’s way is the way of love and life.

So, the only question – and it’s a big one – is how? How do we live this way of love and life? How do we, with God’s help, keep our baptismal promises?

I was pondering this question the other day when I came across these words from Sam Shoemaker:

“In the end, the outer world is a pretty faithful reproduction of the inner world. We cannot hope to make a world of righteousness and peace while the souls of our people are full of sin and conflict.”

Following God’s way of love and life, striving to keep our baptismal promises, begins with working on our souls.

This will look a little different for each of us but will certainly include time for prayer – what Shoemaker called “Quiet Time.”

And maybe that prayer is simply lifting up to God the people we can’t stand, - name them - the people we fear, don’t trust, even hate. Lift them up to God and say, “I know you love them God, help me to love them, too.”

This soul work definitely includes being here as much as possible with the rest of your fellow Christians – here in a community made up of people from all over, people who disagree about all sorts of things and yet, and yet, we pray together and serve together, we receive the Bread of Life and Cup of Salvation together – we love one another.

Following God’s way of love and life, striving to keep our baptismal promises, begins with working on our souls.

We know that Simeon’s prophecy came true: as Mary watched her son die on the cross, a sword did pierce her soul.

And we know only too well that our souls have been and will be pierced by suffering and loss.

But we also know that the cross is not the end of the story.

God’s bond of love with us is indissoluble, unbreakable.

Suffering and loss and death do not get the last word.

So, with God’s help, let’s do the soul work necessary to keep going, to follow God’s way of love and life, together, and let’s help build a world of righteousness and peace for all people.

Amen.