St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen & Church of the Incarnation, Jersey City NJ
September 2, 2018
Year B, Proper 17:
The 15th Sunday after Pentecost
Song of Solomon
2:8-13
Psalm 45:1-2, 7-10
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15,
21-23
Remembering the Love Story of God and Us
I
don’t know if this is because of my advancing age or because the smartphone has
destroyed my attention span, but lately I’ve noticed that sometimes I forget
the story.
Maybe
you know what I mean.
With
TV shows, especially if there’s been a long gap between episodes or seasons, I
really need that recap that they usually do at the start of the show:
“Previously on…”
And
the same is true with books.
I’m
always trying to carve out more time for reading but sometimes I’ll put down a
book and not get back to it for a few days or even a week or more and then when
I pick it up again I almost always need to flip back a few pages to remind me
of where I left off - to remind me of the story.
Forgetting the
story.
Unfortunately, we
Christians forget our story all the time.
And,
I think that’s one of the big reasons why this is not such a great time for the
Church.
Not
so much for our church, which, all things considered, I think is actually doing
pretty well. But, it’s not such a great time for the big “Capital C” Church.
You
know, even after all these years of being ordained I’m still a little
self-conscious walking the streets in my white priest’s collar.
Sometimes I get
very nice greetings, “Hello, Father!” or “What’s up, Rev?” or people will stop
me to ask for a prayer or a blessing.
But, my collar
also tends to attract people who are a little unbalanced. And, sometimes I get
strange looks from people who don’t know what it is, maybe wondering why that
man is wearing a turtleneck on such a hot day! And, every once in a while, I
get a snicker or an eye roll or even a look of disgust.
But, recent headlines have made me even more
uncomfortable than usual.
Mostly joking, recently
I told someone that I’ve been thinking of writing “EPISCOPAL” on my collar so I
wouldn’t be mistaken for a Roman Catholic priest.
Now, before go any
further, I want to make clear that I’ve known many, many Catholic priests, and
nearly all of them have been faithful, decent, and hardworking.
But…as I’m sure
you all know, our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters have been rocked once
again by another disgusting wave of stories of sexual abuse and cover-ups.
Not a great time
for the Church.
Meanwhile, many
white Evangelical leaders (along with a few black Evangelical leaders) have
aligned themselves closely, nearly completely, with one political party, one
political leader, overlooking or justifying a whole lot in order to advance
their agenda, overlooking or justifying a whole lot for a seat at the table
with the most powerful man in the world.
Not
a great time for the Church.
And, then there
are the Episcopalians with our own stories of abuse which don’t make as much of
a splash because we’re kind of a small operation. There are the Episcopalians,
who have too often aligned ourselves too closely with the other political
party, overlooking a whole lot of stuff. There are the Episcopalians, for so
long consumed with our own internal conflicts, so absorbed in the various issues
of the day, so in love with our own way of doing things, that we hardly seem to
notice how many people have voted with their feet and walked away, emptying our churches.
No, this is not
such a great time for the Church. The reasons are many, but at the root of our
troubles is the fact that we have forgotten our story.
So,
what is this story that we’ve forgotten?
Well,
I’m glad you asked, because today’s lessons give us the answer.
Today
happens to be the only Sunday in our three-year cycle of Bible readings that we
hear a passage from the Song of Solomon, also called the Song of Songs.
The
only other time we hear it in church is at some weddings, which is very
appropriate because the Song of Songs is love poetry – actually, pretty mushy
love poetry – about two people in love.
The
Song of Songs is love poetry that never mentions God, but, amazingly enough, a
couple of thousand years ago it was reinterpreted as being all about God’s love
for us – and that’s how this rather mushy love poetry ended up in the Bible.
“The
Story” is a love story.
“The
Story” is the love story.
“The
Story” is the story of a God who is Love, a God who created and creates
everything out of love, creates all of us out of love, who lives, and
dies, and rises again for us, and who calls us – commands us - to spread the love
far and wide.
That’s
“The Story.”
That’s
the Love Story of God and Us.
And,
that’s the story that, unfortunately, we forget far too often.
As
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry always says, “If it’s not about love, it’s not
about God.”
You
know, I think some people living in Palestine two thousand years ago were first
attracted to Jesus of Nazareth because somehow they were able to see in him the
love story made flesh.
In
Jesus, they saw a life with no shadow, a life of pure love.
In
Jesus, they saw a man who understood and taught that what’s most important –
far more important than any ritual – is what’s going on in our hearts.
In
Jesus, they saw the one who embodied the love story of God and us.
Unfortunately,
there will always be sick and broken people who take advantage of, and do
terrible things to, the innocent and vulnerable.
But,
if we remember the love story then we’ll never place the reputation or the
finances of an institution over the wellbeing of people, especially children.
If
we remember the love story then we’ll remember that Jesus has a special love
for children – calls the children to him - in fact, calls us to have the faith
of children – and warns of the dire consequences for those who harm the “little
ones.”
If
we remember the love story, then we won’t curry favor from the rich and
powerful, and we won’t trade our values for political gain, not even for a seat
at the table with the most powerful person in the world.
No, if we remember
the love story, we’ll remember that Jesus sat with the outcasts, not with the
chief priests and most certainly not with Pilate.
If we remember the
love story, we will want to sit with the people Jesus saw as the most
important.
If we remember the
love story, we’ll sit with the hungry people at the homeless drop-in shelter,
or sit with the sick and lonely in hospitals and nursing homes, or sit with our
neighbors who don’t know how they’re going to make this month’s rent, pay the
electric bill, and buy all those school supplies, or sit with those imprisoned
for wrongdoing or just not having the right paperwork.
If we remember the
love story, we’ll remember that God has a special love for the poor, and for the
mournful, for the prisoners, and, yes, for the foreigner in our midst.
And, if we remember
the love story, we can continue to appreciate all that we do and receive here
in this beautiful place, but also recognize that while our rituals are
important, it’s what’s in our hearts that’s most important.
If
we remember the love story, then as the author of the Epistle of James writes,
we will be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.
If
we remember the love story, we’ll welcome everyone who walks through our doors
even if they’re not really “our kind of people” or if they have other ideas
about how things should be done around here.
If
we remember the love story, we’ll put our beautiful words into action even during
coffee hour, on our way home today, and during the seemingly ordinary times of
our lives.
Because
here’s the best part of the love story of God and us: it’s not just a story we
read in a book, not just some old mushy love poetry, not just a story from long
ago.
The
love story continues.
And,
we’re invited to play our part in this great love story, right here, right now.
If
only we remember.
Amen.
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