Contemplatives in Action

St. Paul’s Church in Bergen, Jersey City NJ

July 21, 2013

Year C, Proper 11: The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Amos 8:1-12

Psalm 52

Colossians 1:15-28

Luke 10:38-42

Contemplatives in Action

            For the past couple of Sundays our gospel lessons have very much been about “doing.”

            You may remember that two weeks ago we heard the story of Jesus sending out the seventy disciples to all the towns that he intended to visit. The seventy were sent to tell people about Jesus, to offer peace and healing, and to declare, “the kingdom of God has come near.”

            And remember how amazed the disciples were at all that they were able to do. After they return they say to Jesus with a mixture of surprise and amazement, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us.”

            The seventy were sent out to do things – to offer peace and healing in Jesus’ name, to declare, “the kingdom of God has come near.”

            And then last week we heard the story of the lawyer who asked Jesus a question, trying to test him.

            The lawyer asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

            And, the lawyer answers his own question by quoting Scripture, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

            The lawyer knew what he must do. But there was something missing. There was something important he seemed not to know.

            The lawyer asks Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

            The lawyer knew all about doing but he was missing deeper understanding. The lawyer knew all about doing but he lacked the deeper understanding that comes only if we spend time in prayer, in reflection, in contemplation.

            “What must I do?”

            I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of question I ask myself pretty much every day, often many times each day.

            What do I have to do today?

            What should I be doing today?

            Lots of days I make a To-Do List, trying to remember and put on paper all the things I need to do, both for church and in my personal life.            

            And, it is a really satisfying feeling to cross items off the to-do list…phone call made…sermon written…emails answered…conversations had…litter boxes cleaned…dishes put away…on and on, day after day. I even enjoy writing our worship services into the parish register: another service held, another one in the book, something else done.

            I like to be busy so it makes me happy to write up a long to-do list and then cross off the items one by one.

            I bet a lot of you are the same way.

            “What must I do?”

            Well, in today’s gospel lesson we meet someone who I bet liked to keep busy, who kept at least a mental to-do list. Today we meet Martha. “Martha, Martha” who was “distracted by her many tasks.”

            The story of the sisters Mary and Martha appears only in Luke’s gospel. You may remember, though, that they also appear in John’s Gospel when Jesus raises their brother Lazarus from the dead.

            Anyway, in Luke’s story, Jesus comes to visit the two sisters. This kind of thing probably happened a lot. Jesus was a wandering teacher and healer who relied on the hospitality of his friends and followers. And it seems that many of his friends and followers were women who provided him, and his disciples, food and shelter, who offered hospitality.

            On this particular visit, the sisters respond to Jesus’ presence in very different ways.

            Mary sits at the Lord’s feet and listens to him. That posture was a way that Mary acknowledged Jesus’ authority. Mary was a disciple sitting at the feet of her teacher.

            Meanwhile, Martha of course is frustrated that Mary seems to be just… sitting there. Martha’s angry that her sister isn’t offering any help.

            I bet most, if not all of us, sympathize with Martha. We’ve all been there. We’ve all been in the situation where somehow we’re the ones doing all the work while the people who could be helping – the people who should be helping - are just sitting around having a great time for themselves.

            But, though we can sympathize with Martha, the truth is that she made a couple of big mistakes that day Jesus came to visit.

            First, despite her best efforts, she broke the rules of hospitality.

            Martha is “distracted by her many tasks.” She’s so distracted that she’s not paying attention to her guest – bad enough but even worse when we remember that her guest is Jesus!

            Then she is even more inhospitable when she tries to drag her honored guest into a fight with her sister. Martha asks, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work myself? Tell her then to help me.”

            But, Martha’s mistake is much greater than just being inhospitable. Because of her long to-do list, because of her busyness, Martha misses what’s most important. With Jesus right there in her home, Martha misses out on the only thing that’s needed.

            Jesus takes this rather awkward situation and uses it as a teachable moment.

He tells the complaining sister, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

            So, what about us?

            What must we do?

            Jesus told Martha and tells us here today that the only thing that’s really needed – the thing that makes everything else possible – is to be quiet, to be still, and listen for the voice of Jesus.

            First and foremost we’re called to be like Mary. We’re called to be contemplatives – to be people of prayer – to be people who sit at the feet of Jesus and listen.

            But, of course, that doesn’t mean we’re supposed to just sit around all day.

            We are also called to be like Martha. We’re called to be people of action. We’re called to be like the seventy sent out by Jesus to proclaim peace, to offer healing, to love God and to love our neighbor, to announce that the kingdom of God has come near.

            As Christians we are called to be like both Mary and Martha. We’re called to be contemplatives in action.

            By now, most of you have realized that my love of keeping busy extends to church. I really believe that St. Paul’s should be a busy place. My dream is to have at least one service every day of the year. My hope is to have more than just two services on Sundays. My plan is for St. Paul’s to be deeply connected to our surrounding community, so that everyone knows us an oasis in the neighborhood and a church that really helps people. My expectation is that our little food collection container in the back of church will be overflowing every week.

            It’s a long to-do list. I think Martha would approve.

            But, if we’re not like Mary we’re likely to fail. If, first and foremost, we’re not contemplatives, if we’re not people of prayer, if we forget the “one thing,” if we ignore “the better part” then we’ll burn out, eventually turn against each other, and ultimately fail in the work that God has given us to do.

            Long ago the lawyer asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

            What must we do?

            The answer is first to be like Mary – to be contemplatives – to be people of prayer – to be people who sit at the feet of Jesus and listen.

            And, with that foundation, we’re also called to be like Martha – to be people of action, like the seventy sent out by Jesus to proclaim peace, to offer healing, to love God and love our neighbors, to announce that the kingdom of God has come near.

            We are called to be contemplatives in action.

            So, let’s put that at the top of our to-do lists and begin.

            May it be so.

            Amen.

Risking Something Big for Something Good

St. Paul’s Church in Bergen, Jersey City NJ

July 14, 2013

Year C, Proper 10: The 8th Sunday after Pentecost

Amos 7:7-17

Psalm 82

Colossians 1:1-14

Luke 10:25-37

Risking Something Big for Something Good

            If you were in church last week you may remember that we heard the story of Jesus sending out the seventy to heal the sick, to cast out demons and, most of all, to proclaim that the kingdom of God had come near.

            In my sermon I called the seventy Jesus’ “advance team.”

            I’ve still been thinking about that story. I imagine it must have been both frightening and exciting for those seventy followers of Jesus to be sent into the unknown.

            It must have been like riding a bike for the first time after the training wheels have come off: exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. It must have been exhilarating to go out and offer peace and healing. It must have been terrifying to enter unfamiliar towns and share the Good News about Jesus and the kingdom of God.

            The seventy took big risks. They took a big risk by going out to unfamiliar places, offering peace and healing. The seventy took a big risk by proclaiming the kingdom of God had come near. The seventy took a big risk on Jesus.

            To borrow a phrase from William Sloan Coffin, the seventy “risked something big for something good.”

            And then, remember how the story ended?

            The seventy returned to Jesus amazed at what they had been able to accomplish in Jesus’ name. With maybe more than a little surprise, they said to Jesus, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!”

            Today we pick up in the Gospel of Luke right where we left off last week.

            But, today we meet someone who’s very different from the seventy.

            He’s described as a lawyer – a lawyer who stands up to test Jesus.           

            He tests Jesus by asking, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

            Jesus recognizes that this isn’t a sincere question. Jesus is well aware that the lawyer, who’s presumably an expert in the Law of Moses, already knows the right answer.

            So, Jesus tosses the question right back to him.

            And, sure enough, the lawyer quotes from Leviticus and Deuteronomy:

            “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

            Jesus congratulates him for getting the right answer. But then the lawyer asks Jesus what seems like a surprising question, “And who is my neighbor?”

            Luke editorializes a little bit, writing that the lawyer asked this because he wanted to “justify himself.” But, I’m not so sure about that. It sounds like a sincere question to me. It’s possible that even after years of study and reflection on God’s Law, the lawyer really wants to know the answer: “who, exactly, is my neighbor?”

            Sincere or not, the lawyer’s question gives Jesus the opportunity to tell one of his most important parables, one of his most-loved and least-followed examples: the Good Samaritan.

            Jesus begins, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.”

            Jesus’ listeners would have recognized the scene and been not at all surprised by the crime. In First Century Palestine, like in much of the world today, robbers and bandits roamed the roads. Travel was a dangerous business. And, apparently, the road between Jerusalem and Jericho was especially dangerous.

            Jesus goes on to say that two men with special religious authority and responsibilities, a priest and then a Levite, came down the road and when they see the injured man, one after the other they each cross to the other side of the road.

            Now, let’s stop there for a second. You may think and you might have even heard that the priest and the Levite avoid the injured man, cross to the other side, because they were concerned about becoming ritually unclean – that somehow Jewish Law prevented them from helping someone in need.

            That’s absolutely not true. Jewish Law and teaching is very clear that people are obligated to help those in need. And even if they did become ritually unclean they could always do whatever it took to become purified.

            No, it wasn’t religious law that prevented them from helping. More likely, it was fear. Whoever had attacked this man might still be lurking around. Or maybe they feared it was a trick – maybe the man was only pretending to be injured. Or maybe the priest and the Levite simply had places to go, people to see, and things to do. And those places, people and things were more important than helping someone in need.

            So, for whatever reason or reasons, the priest and the Levite decided not to risk something big for something good.

            And, then the Samaritan comes along.

            Actually, Samaritans were related to the Jewish people. It’s a long story, but in the First Century Jews and Samaritans were enemies. Jews and Samaritans avoided each other as much as possible. Jewish people of Jesus’ day would have had a hard time wrapping their heads around the idea of a “good Samaritan.”

            But, that’s who Jesus describes in the story. In fact, “good” doesn’t really do him justice. The Samaritan takes a big risk, offering healing, pouring oil and wine on the man’s wounds and bandaging them. The Samaritan takes a big risk, putting the man on his animal, bringing him to an inn, and paying for his stay in advance.

            Like the seventy, the Samaritan, risks something big for something good, shows mercy, offers healing and peace.

            The Samaritan, the despised enemy, is the true neighbor.

            Today, even people who know nothing about Christianity know what a “Good Samaritan” is.

            Lots of hospitals are named “Good Samaritan.”

            There are what are called “Good Samaritan” laws that protect people who offer assistance to those in need.

            And, every once in a while, we hear about people acting as “Good Samaritans.”

            Last week there was a story in the NY Daily News about a New York cop named Joe Pecora. As it happens, I taught Officer Pecora when he was a student at St. Peter’s Prep.

            Anyway, on a recent rainy day Joe was at a tense and busy crime scene on Ninth Avenue when he spotted a blind man named Rod Clemons trying to cross the street. Joe could have looked the other way, but instead he sprang into action, offered his arm, assisted the man across the street, and even helped him find an ATM and a drug store.

            The scene just happened to be captured by a Daily News photographer.

            Officer Joe Pecora, who was a great kid, is now also a Good Samaritan.

            And then, last week, the Port Authority honored two men who sprang into action after a woman passed out onto the tracks at the Grove Street PATH station. While everyone else stood frozen in shock and fear, and as a train entered the station, the two risked something big for something good, jumping onto the tracks and saving the woman.

            Two more Good Samaritans.

            I’m sure that when most of us hear stories like these we wonder if we would be “Good Samaritans.” Would we help the blind man cross the street or would we look the other way? Would we be courageous enough to jump on the tracks as the PATH train barreled into the station? Do we have what it takes to be a “Good Samaritan? Are we willing to risk something big for something good? Or are we more likely to be the priest and Levite, and look away, cross to the other side, avoid trouble, and decide not to take a risk?

            I don’t know.

            But, especially after hearing about last night’s “not guilty” verdict in Florida, I keep going back to the lawyer’s haunting question to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

            Jesus could have answered that our neighbors are the people who live beside us. Jesus could have answered that our neighbors are our family and our kin and our ethnic group; that our neighbors are the people who think and look like us.

            But instead Jesus answered with a story about a man risking something big for something good, crossing all sorts of religious and cultural boundaries, helping someone he had been taught to think of as the “other,” as an enemy, as someone likely to be ungrateful and maybe even dangerous.

            So my prayer for all of us here at St. Paul’s is that we’ll be generous, bold and brave.

            My prayer is that we’ll take risks for Jesus.

            My prayer is that, like the seventy, we’ll take a big risk by going out to unfamiliar places – unfamiliar places maybe just down the block or around the corner, offering peace and healing in Jesus’ name, proclaiming through word and deed that the kingdom of God has come near.

            And my prayer is that when we encounter a neighbor in need, we’ll be like the Good Samaritan and take a risk.

            May we as Christians, as followers of the One who risked and gave his life for us, have the grace to risk something big for something good.

            Amen.

The Sacred Journey

St. Paul’s Church in Bergen, Jersey City NJ

July 7, 2013

Memorial Service for Juney L. James, Jr.

Lamentations 3:22-26, 31-33

Psalm 121

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

John 11:21-27

The Sacred Journey

            One of the more difficult challenges for a priest is to offer a homily at the funeral for someone we never had the chance to meet. And, unless our paths crossed here at St. Paul’s years ago, that’s the case today. I had never had the privilege of meeting and knowing Juney. But, reading about him and hearing about him makes me wish that I had.

            Although I didn’t know Juney, I do know some of his family pretty well. So, I know he comes from people who are strong in the face of adversity – people who love generously and smile easily – people who have known great sadness but who are the last to give up hope.

            Everything I’ve read and heard about Juney tells me that’s the kind of person he was. So, I know even now, a few months after his death, your grief must be very deep. But, I also imagine that you’ve spent a lot of time remembering happy days together. And, knowing the deep faith of Juney’s family, I’m sure that over the past few months you’ve taken comfort in the Lord’s promise to never abandon us – the Lord’s promise to be with us always, even to the end – the Lord’s promise that death is not the end for those who trust in him.             

            I pray that those happy memories and our Lord’s promises will comfort you and help your grief and healing.

            Like most, if not all, of you I live my life focused on the day to day: what do I need to get done today, this hour, this minute; paying bills that need to be paid; trying to keep up with family and friends; making grocery lists; chilling out in front of the TV…you get the idea.

            But, when I stop, take a breath, give myself some quiet and really pay attention, I’m reminded that life is a journey.

            We are all on a journey together – a journey from God to God.

            Since we’re usually focused on the day to day, most of the time we can’t really see the shape of our journey. But, at the big milestones of life, especially births and deaths, we do get a sense of our sacred journey that’s full of unexpected twists and turns, our sacred journey that’s marked by moments of profound grief and overflowing joy.

            And our brother Jesus’ earthly life was also a sacred journey – a journey from the manger in Bethlehem – to growing up in Nazareth – to beginning his ministry in the waters of the River Jordan – to facing betrayal, rejection and death in Jerusalem.

            Today we heard about one of the biggest moments of Jesus’ sacred journey in the passage I just read from the Gospel of John.

            To back up just a bit, Jesus has arrived in Bethany after the death of his friend Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary. We’re told that Lazarus has already been in the tomb four days. Four days. All hope would seem to be lost.

            In the passage I read today, Martha goes out to greet Jesus. She expresses great confidence in him, saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask him.”

            Jesus tells Martha, “Your brother will rise again.”

            She understandably misunderstands, thinking that Jesus is looking ahead to the last day. But, despite her confusion, Martha expresses deep faith in Jesus.

            We didn’t hear the rest of the story.

            Jesus next encounters Martha’s sister Mary who also expresses faith in Jesus. But, she weeps. And the people around her weep. And, Jesus himself began to weep.

            Jesus, the Son of God, experiences – knows – the profound sadness and grief we feel when someone we love dies.

            And then Jesus performs his greatest sign of all – raising the dead man who had been in the tomb four days.

            Hope conquers grief. Love is stronger than death.

            The raising of Lazarus is one of the most important moments in Jesus’ sacred journey. Maybe, in a sense, it’s a moment when Jesus recognizes more clearly who he really is – understands better the nature of his life and his mission.

            Maybe it’s a moment when Jesus recognizes that his own life would end in a way leading many to believe that all hope was lost. But, three days later, through the empty tomb the whole world would someday come to know that hope is stronger than grief and love conquers death.

            Now, Juney’s sacred journey – his sacred journey from Antigua to Jersey City and back to Antigua – has come to an end.

            Along the way of Juney’s sacred journey, I’m sure like all of us he made some mistakes, turned left when he should’ve turned right, disappointed others and even let himself down.

            But, along the way of Juney’s sacred journey it’s obvious that he brought much joy and fun to so many people both here and back on Antigua.

            And, along the way of Juney’s sacred journey, he gave life to six children and five children.

            Now, Juney’s sacred journey has come to an end, back home on Antigua, but really back in the full presence and glory of the God who imagined him, created him and loved him through the bad times and the good times.

            But, for us, the sacred journey continues.

            So, as we grieve, as we remember and celebrate Juney, may we also stop and pay attention to our own lives.

            May we remember that we are all on a sacred journey filled with lots of twists and turns – a sacred journey from God back to God.

            Amen.

           

           

            

Jesus' Advance Team

St. Paul’s Church in Bergen, Jersey City NJ

July 7, 2013

Year C, Proper 9: The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

2 Kings 5:1-14

Psalm 30

Galatians 6:1-16

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Jesus’ Advance Team

            Well, it’s been a pretty big week for Jersey City! I know some of you attended the inauguration on Monday of Mayor Fulop and the City Council. By all reports, despite some rain, it was a great event.

            Last Sunday afternoon, some of us attended a really wonderful service at Mt. Pisgah AME Church to pray for, and to bless, our city’s new leaders.

            I’ll admit that my expectations for this service were pretty low. It’s always dangerous when you get a large number of pastors and politicians together in a place where there is a captive audience and a microphone. I was dreading long sermons thinly disguised as prayers and tedious  self-serving speeches from the politicians.

            But, in fact, this was one of the best services I have ever attended.

            First of all, the music was spectacular. Gail Blache-Gill, the Minister of Music over at the Church of the Incarnation, rehearsed and conducted what was called the “Jersey City Interfaith Choir.” If you know her work you won’t be surprised that she did a magnificent job.

            And I was so proud that five of our parishioners sang in the choir – representing St. Paul’s among singers from only five other congregations.

            At the service all of the major faith traditions were represented and given the chance to offer prayers from their own sacred texts. It was very moving to see a Hindu holy man sitting beside a Muslim imam sitting alongside a Coptic priest sitting with a Protestant woman preacher sitting by a Catholic priest.

            Seeing all those religious leaders praying together reminded me of one of Jesus’ favorite phrases, “The kingdom of God is like…”

            I bet that Jesus would say something like, “The kingdom of God is like religious leaders who disagree about many things coming together to pray for the city, its people and its leaders.”

            And then there was just one speech from a politician. Mayor Fulop offered some very poignant remarks about his relatives who died in Nazi concentration camps and then called all of us to be one Jersey City.

            As I sat there listening to the mayor and seeing the council people so full of excitement and energy, I thought about how much their lives were about to change. People have very high expectations. Their jobs can easily become 24/7 and, if they’re not careful, consume them. And then there is the loss of privacy. It’ll be difficult to walk down the street or sit in a diner without being recognized, interrupted, greeted and engaged in conversation.

            So, for politicians like the mayor and for officials higher up, there is a whole entourage surrounding them, supporting them and protecting them.

            And part of that entourage is what’s called the advance team.

            You know, they’re the people who visit a place ahead of the leader, making preparations so the visit goes as well as possible for the leader and for everyone else involved.

            It’s an important job.

            Well, it turns out that Jesus also had an advance team.

            And we heard about Jesus’ advance team in today’s reading from the Gospel of Luke.

            Luke tells us, “…the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.”

            As you might guess, that number “seventy” is not random. It probably echoes the 70 elders that Moses picked to help him with his work. There was also a Jewish tradition that there were 70 countries in the whole world. So the choice of seventy members of Jesus’ advance team links Jesus back to Moses and may also look ahead to the spread of Christianity beyond the Jews and among non-Jewish people, called the Gentiles.

            Jesus tells his advance team that the “harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” Jesus knows that there are a lot of people out there who are hungry and thirsty for the Good News.

            But, being on Jesus’ advance team is not easy work. Jesus acknowledges the danger, saying, “See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.”

            Jesus’ advance team has to travel light. “Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals.”

            Jesus’ advance team’s mission is urgent so there’s no time for chitchat along the way. Jesus says, “Greet no one on the road.”

            So, what’s the advance team supposed to do?

            Jesus’ advance team is supposed to offer peace to the people they meet. The advance team is supposed to offer healing, declaring to the sick and the suffering, “the kingdom of God has come near.”

            And, we’re told that the seventy members of Jesus’ advance team, maybe to their own surprise, seem to have had a lot of success. Luke tells us that they “returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’”

            Jesus sent out the first seventy members of his advance team long ago. And Christianity has been around for a long time now.

            But, the truth is that Jesus is still sending out an advance team. Jesus is still sending out an advance team into an often hostile and dangerous world. Jesus is still sending out an advance team to offer peace and healing to a world broken by senseless violence; to offer peace and healing to a world scarred by simmering hatred; to offer peace and healing to a world disfigured by selfish materialism.

            By now you know where I’m going with this. Today, Jesus is calling us to be part of his advance team. Jesus is sending us out to share peace and to offer healing. Jesus is sending us out to prepare the world for him.

            And we probably don’t usually think of it this way, but we really become members of Jesus’ advance team at our Baptism.

            And we do our work as members of Jesus’ advance team when we try to keep the promises made at our baptism.

            We do our work as members of Jesus’ advance team when, with God’s help, we gather together to break bread and pray; when we resist evil and, when we fail, when we repent and return to the Lord.

            We do our work as members of Jesus’ advance team when we, with God’s help, proclaim the Good News by word and example; when we seek and serve Christ in absolutely everybody, loving our neighbor as ourselves.

            We do our work as members of Jesus’ advance team when we, with God’s help, strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of all people.

            Just like two thousand years ago, being a member of Jesus’ advance team is a tough job. And may be even tougher for us than it was for those first seventy team members long ago. Today, unfortunately, a lot of people out there have been hurt or turned off by the Church. Today, unfortunately, a lot of people out there dismiss us as hypocrites or fools with our heads in the clouds or in the sand. Today, unfortunately, lots of people out there look for help, strength and hope anywhere but here – look for help, strength and hope from anyone but Jesus.

            So, yes, we have a tough job.

            But, remember Jesus sent out the first members of his advance team in pairs. We don’t do this work alone. We support each other. That’s a big reason why we come together here week after week.

            And we don’t do this work alone because it’s God who gives us the grace, skill, patience and persistence to be a member of Jesus’ advance team.

            So, when we leave this place today may we, the members of Jesus’ advance team, with God’s help, offer peace and healing to our hurting world. May we be signs in an often hostile and dangerous world that the kingdom of God has come near.  Amen.            

Perfect Freedom

St. Paul’s Church in Bergen, Jersey City NJ

June 30, 2013

Year C, Proper 8: The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

2 Kings 2:1-2,6-14

Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20

Galatians 5:1, 13-25

Luke 9:51-62

Perfect Freedom

            By now, many of you have figured out that I’m a big fan of weekday worship. I don’t know, maybe some of you are getting sick of hearing me talk about it.

            There are lots of reasons for why I think weekday worship is so important. First, as I’ve mentioned before, a whole lot of money and effort go into maintaining this building. So, just to be practical and to be good stewards of what God has given us, we should use this holy, beautiful and, yes, expensive place more than just a couple of hours during on Sunday.

            But, way more important than that, weekday worship has a powerful spiritual effect on all of us, whether we’re regulars during the week or if we’re never able to come to a weekday service. As the rector of my previous parish likes to say, all of our services in some mysterious way bathe this place in prayer. And all of that praying – all of that bathing in prayer – has powerful spiritual effects on us all.

            Weekday worship also allows us to preserve, and benefit from, a rich part of our Anglican tradition – the beautiful collects, canticles and prayers found in Morning and Evening Prayer, right there near the front of the prayer book.

            Finally, weekday worship is also an important reminder – weekday worship is a powerful symbol. Weekday worship is a reminder and symbol that the Christian way of life is not something we do just for an hour or so here on Sunday. No, as we heard in today’s hard gospel lesson, much more is demanded of us if we want to follow Jesus.

            One of those beautiful collects from Morning Prayer that I mentioned came to mind when I was thinking about today’s hard gospel lesson. It’s called “A Collect for Peace,” and it starts with these words:

            “O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom.”

            “To serve you is perfect freedom.”

            To serve God is perfect freedom.

            Stop and think about that for a moment. We could – and probably should – ponder that for the rest of our lives.

            “To serve God is perfect freedom” is the truth at the heart of today’s gospel lesson.

             Luke writes, “When the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.”

            There’s a lot packed into just that one sentence. We know that, in Jerusalem, Jesus will be “taken up” when he is nailed to the cross. Jesus will be “taken up” when is raised on third day. And, Jesus will be “taken up” forty days later when he ascends into heaven, vanishing from the disciples’ sight.

            Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem.” Jesus made his choice. Jesus chose what Jesus chose all along. Throughout his earthly life, Jesus chose the costly way of love and sacrifice. Jesus chose to serve.

            Jesus made his choice. And, as we heard in today’s gospel lesson, Jesus insists that following him means making the same choice. Following Jesus means choosing the costly way of love and sacrifice.

            Now, let’s be honest, for most of us most of the time, we’re not so good at choosing the costly way of love and sacrifice.

            As a priest, I’m sort of a “professional Christian,” and I’ll admit that most of the time it’s hard for me to follow Jesus and I fall short all the time.

            Most of us most of the time choose to live like the rest of the world. We choose to be concerned mostly with ourselves, and the people closest to us. We choose to be concerned mostly with money or things. We choose to be concerned with what people think of us. We choose to mock or exclude or condemn people who are different from us. We choose to treat people like things for our use, convenience or pleasure. We choose to not treat people as who they really are: beloved children of God.

            It’s hard to choose to follow Jesus instead of the values of the world.

            But, Jesus asks – Jesus demands - more of us even than that.

            Jesus demands that we put following him first in our lives, over our most important responsibilities. Jesus demands that we choose following him over earning a living. Jesus demands that we choose following him over those dearest to us. Jesus demands that we choose following him even over burying our beloved dead.
            And what does choosing to follow Jesus look like?

            Choosing to follow Jesus means modeling our lives after his.

            And Jesus’ earthly life was all about serving God. Which brings us back full circle to that collect I mentioned: Jesus’ life was all about serving God. And serving God is perfect freedom.

            St. Paul lays it out very clearly for us to today’s reading from his Letter to the Galatians.

            Paul wrote this letter to a non-Jewish Christian community that he had started. But, now he’s found out that other teachers have been teaching the Galatians a different gospel – a gospel that involved following the Jewish law. Paul isn’t happy at all about this turn of events.

            So, Paul writes to the Galatians reminding them of the basics. And, for Paul, the basic thing is that Christ has set us free.

            Paul writes, “For freedom Christ has set us free.”           

            And, Paul says, we are to use that freedom not for our own pleasure or gain but through love to become slaves to one another. We are to use that freedom to fulfill what the Jewish law is all about: to love our neighbors as ourselves.

            To serve God is perfect freedom.

            Serving God is perfect freedom because that’s what we’re made for. We are made to serve God. We are made to serve God by loving God and loving one another.

            This is who we are really meant to be.

            This is who we really are.

            So, whenever we choose the world’s values we choose to be slaves – slaves to money, to our stuff, to our desires, to our prejudices.

            But, whenever we choose Jesus’ way – whenever we choose the costly way of love and service - whenever we choose to live the Christian life not just on Sunday morning but all week - whenever we choose to care not only about ourselves and the people closest to us but also the suffering people around the corner and around the world - whenever we remember what’s more important than money or things  - whenever we stop worrying what people think of us – whenever we welcome absolutely everybody - whenever we choose to treat people like the beloved children of God they and we are – whenever we choose Jesus’ way – whenever we choose the costly way of love and sacrifice – then we are truly free.

            The costly way of love and sacrifice isn’t easy. A life of service isn’t easy. It wasn’t easy for Jesus and for Paul and for faithful Christians throughout the ages. But, it’s the only way for us to be truly free.

            Today, we once again heard the story of Jesus making his choice, setting his face to go to Jerusalem and all the horror and glory that awaited him there.

            Jesus made his choice. Throughout his earthly life, Jesus chose the costly way of love and sacrifice.

            And now it’s our turn to choose.

            Do we choose the way of the world?

            Or do we choose the perfect freedom of loving and serving God and loving and serving our neighbors?

Proclaiming Throughout the City

St. Paul’s Church in Bergen, Jersey City NJ

June 23, 2013

Year C: Proper 7 – The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

1 Kings 19:1-15a

Psalm 42 and 43

Galatians 3:23-29

Luke 8:26-39

Proclaiming Throughout the City

            It’s been very interesting to move back to Jersey City after having been away for five or six years. I love walking the streets among so many people – and so many different kinds of people. And as I’ve walked around, I’ve noticed lots of changes, but lots of things are still pretty much the same.

            I have to say, though, that I’ve been very sorry to see Journal Square in such bad shape. As most of you know, there’s a big empty lot right in the middle of the Square where stores and restaurants used to be. Lately there’s been talk that new high rises will finally go up there, but we’ve all heard about those kinds of plans before.

            And as you walk through the Square you can’t help but notice the large number of seemingly homeless people hanging around the dried up fountain. I’m sure a lot of you know who and what I’m talking about. It’s a sad and desolate scene. I’ve actually recognized some of the faces. So, at least some of them have been wasting away their days at the Square for years.

            Obviously a good number of these “men and women of the city” suffer from some combination of mental illness and substance abuse. It must be a terrible and often terrifying life.

            I thought about those lost souls of the city when I first began reflecting on today’s gospel lesson.

            In the lesson I just read from the Gospel of Luke, we heard a story of God’s power manifested in and through Jesus.

            Luke tells us that Jesus is on foreign soil, “in the country of the Gerasenes,” which was across the River Jordan from Jesus’ home base of Galilee.

            And it’s there that Jesus encounters a truly pathetic and horrifying figure, “a man of the city” who we’re told was possessed by demons, a man of the city who for a long time had worn no clothes, who didn’t live in a house but lived in the tombs. We’re told this man of the city was kept under guard, but the demons inside him were so powerful that he would break out of the chains and shackles.

            Now, Jesus’ disciples usually have a hard time figuring out who Jesus is, right? But, somehow the demons know exactly who he is: “Jesus, Son of the Most High God.”

            The possessed man tells Jesus that his name is “Legion.” A legion was a company of about 5000 Roman soldiers. So, this poor man was possessed by many, many demons.

            It must have been a huge relief for this poor man when Jesus frees him from the demons.

            And, naturally enough, the man who has been freed from this horrible possession – the man who has been brought from death to new life - wants to be with Jesus. But, instead, Jesus says to him, “return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.”

            Finally, we’re told that the liberated man went away, “proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.”

            No question, it’s a powerful story. But, what does it have to do with us here today?

            Well, first, I think at one time or another we’ve all been like that poor man of the city possessed by a legion of demons. I’m not saying that we’ve been demonically possessed exactly, but for all of us there have been times when we’ve been lost. For all of us there have been times without hope. For all of us there have been times of death.

            And, yet, here we are. Through the grace of God and with the help of those who love us we come through those times – lost but now found – despairing but now hopeful – dead but now alive.

            A few weeks ago, the vestries of the three Episcopal churches in Jersey City met here at St. Paul’s. It was part of our effort to get to know each other better, to build relationships, and to work together to build the kingdom of God right here and right now.

            As part of our Bible study, the Rev. Laurie Wurm from Grace Van Vorst invited all of us to reflect on times when we moved from death into new life.

            People shared their stories. For some moving from death to new life meant battling substance abuse; for others it meant facing a life-threatening illness; for others it was a near-death experience; for others it was a job or a dream that seemed to have ended in a dead end.

            And as I was listening to these amazing stories, I thought, we should tell our stories more often.

            We should, like Jesus says to the man who had been possessed by demons, declare how much God has done for us.

            Like the man who had been possessed by demons we should proclaim throughout the city how much Jesus has done for us.

            And I know that’s hard for most of us.

            Most of us tend to be private people. We think of our religion, our faith, as a private matter between God and us.

            But, we are the Body of Christ on earth. And we can’t really be the Body of Christ on earth if we keep our story – if we keep our stories – to ourselves.

            We can’t really be the Body of Christ if we keep our story of moving from death to life to ourselves.

            So, on one level we’re like the man who was possessed by demons.

            But, on another level, we’re called to be like Jesus. We’re called to go out beyond the walls of our church. We’re called to head into foreign lands – into places like McGinley Square, Bergen Avenue, and, yes, Journal Square. We’re called to go to places like Journal Square and, in our own way, offer hope, healing and freedom.

            Maybe we do that by sharing our own stories of moving from death into new life – by declaring how much God has done for us.

            Maybe we do that by every week filling our food bin in the back of church to overflowing.

            Maybe we do that by getting involved, volunteering with organizations helping the poorest and weakest among us.

            Maybe we do that by praying, by asking God to open all our hearts, to expel what possesses us and what possesses those poor people wasting away their days sitting around the dried up and desolate fountain at the Square.

            So, this story of God’s power working in and through Jesus has a lot to say to us here today.

            The story reminds us that we’re called to be the Body of Christ in the world – to be the Body of Christ right here in Jersey City. Like Jesus, we’re called to offer healing and freedom to the men and women possessed by the demons of today.

            And the story reminds us that at one time or another we’ve all been like that poor man of the city possessed by the legion of demons.

            Yet through the grace of God and with the help of those who love us we come through those times – lost but now found – despairing but now hopeful – dead but now alive.

            Like he told that healed and liberated man long ago, Jesus tells us to tell our stories, to declare how much God has done for us.

            And, like that healed and liberated man long ago, we’re called to proclaim throughout the city, to proclaim in word and action, how much Jesus has done for us.

            Amen.