The Church of St. Paul and Incarnation, Jersey City NJ
March 21, 2021
Year B: The Fifth Sunday in Lent
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-13
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33
Seeing Jesus, In and Through Us
Last Sunday afternoon I sent out an email to the parish announcing that I had accepted a new call to serve as Rector of St. Thomas’ Church in Owings Mills, Maryland.
I know that this news landed as a big shock to many, and so I’m especially grateful for the kind responses that you have sent, expressing surprise and sadness, yes, but also offering congratulations, and wishing the best for Sue and me as we begin this next chapter of our lives.
I think my favorite response was from the parishioner told me he’s going to move to Baltimore - but he absolutely draws the line at rooting for the Orioles! Fair enough.
As I wrote to you, this was one of my most difficult decisions, and even now I feel an uneasy mix of sadness and joy, loss and hope.
I guess that’s what leaving home often feels like, right?
The decision to leave Jersey City and head to Owings Mills was the product of a long discernment – a time of reflection, prayer, and conversation that began last summer when Sue and I began to kind of casually think about what might be next for us.
We wondered if, after nearly eight years back here with all of you, might God be calling us to something new?
Meanwhile, down in Maryland, the people at St. Thomas’ were also discerning.
What might their next chapter look like?
And eventually we began to discern together.
And now, as the initial shock and sadness begin to wear off, it’s time for our church – time for St. Paul and Incarnation - to begin the work of discernment, too.
What might your next chapter look like?
What is God calling you to be now?
This is an important opportunity for this church and I hope – and fully expect – that you will take full advantage of it.
Over the past few years, the wardens and vestry and I have had some conversations about our mission – trying to clarify who we are and what we are about – working to distill a clear mission statement for our church. We’ve asked, what is distinctive about St. Paul and Incarnation? What might God be calling us to during this time of challenge and opportunity?
But, the truth is that we’ve had a lot going on these last few years: bringing together two churches, selling the former home of the Church of the Incarnation, all of the usual ministry and business of the church, and, of course, a global pandemic that has kept us out of our buildings for more than a year now.
So, the mission conversation has been knocked from the top of the agenda. That is, until now.
Since God is good at finding ways of getting our attention, now the leaders of this church and all of you have the opportunity and responsibility to think about who you are, and what God is calling you to be.
What is God’s dream for St. Paul and Incarnation now, and in the days ahead?
Well, today’s gospel lesson is a good place to start.
We’re told that some Greeks are in Jerusalem for the Passover and they say to the Apostle Philip,
“Sir we wish to see Jesus.”
Throughout the gospels, Jesus is usually seems to be pretty accessible. People are always coming up to him, asking questions, begging for healing, even touching his clothes.
But, in this case, maybe because Jesus’ notoriety has grown, or maybe because his time is growing short, these Greeks have to ask for help in seeing Jesus.
Then Philip, maybe following some kind of protocol, first goes to Andrew and then these two apostles present this request to Jesus.
“We wish to see Jesus.”
On one level it seems like Jesus ignores the request – we’re never told whether he did give these Greeks any of his time.
But on another level, Jesus grants the request.
Jesus says to see him means seeing a grain of wheat fall to the ground, dying in order to produce much fruit.
To see Jesus means seeing his followers who are willing to give away their lives in loving service to Jesus and his people.
To see Jesus means seeing a rejected and crucified Lord who wants to draw the whole world – absolutely everybody – to himself.
That is Jesus’ answer to the Greeks who want to see him.
And now today, our world is filled with so much suffering and despair.
In our angry, frightened, armed to the teeth, and often profoundly ignorant land, we are so ready to hate and often quick to kill.
Just in the past week, in Atlanta and San Francisco and elsewhere, we have been horribly reminded of the abuse and violence faced by our Asian-American brothers and sisters, who have somehow been blamed for a virus that they had nothing to do with (of course), a virus that threatens all of us. They’ve been seen as easy targets, as convenient ways for some to vent hatred and even to blame for sexual hang-ups.
So much suffering and despair.
Just in the past week, some leaders of the Roman Catholic Church reasserted church teaching that it is “impossible” for the church to bless same-sex relationships. That was nothing new, but the authors of this document went out of their way to exclude our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters in particularly harsh terms, condemning as “sin” relationships that so many of us know to be loving and committed and life-giving.
So much suffering and despair.
Speaking of sin, just in the past week, here in Jersey City people were forced to face the fact that we have drastically underfunded our public schools for years, shortchanging our own children, cheating our own future, while developers have gotten sweet tax breaks, growing ever richer off of our valuable waterfront. We were forced to face this sin – forced to face this institutional child abuse - but lots of people sure don’t want to make the hard choices necessary to make it right.
And so, today, amid all of this suffering and despair, the people say – probably without even knowing it – usually without saying it out loud – amid all of this suffering and despair - the people say:
“We wish to see Jesus.”
We wish to see hope and love and sacrifice and new life.
Just like those Greeks long ago, people today say:
“We wish to see Jesus.”
And, I suggest to you that the mission of St. Paul and Incarnation – the mission of St. Thomas’ Owings Mills – the mission of any church that dares to follow our Lord is to be Jesus in the world – to help people see Jesus, in and through us.
And, as I look back over these past eight years, at our best, we have done just that – people have seen Jesus in and through us.
When we welcome absolutely everybody – especially the people who may be turned away elsewhere – the people we really might not be so sure about – the people we maybe don’t like so much or even trust – when we welcome absolutely everybody, people see Jesus in and through us.
When we share good food – food at least as carefully prepared and delicious as what we usually enjoy here at coffee hour – when we share good food with people who have no place to live, who usually get maybe just a cheese sandwich or not even that, people who might be sick or drunk or high, people who might be so tired of always having to say thank you that they take what we offer without a word – when we share good food with the people at the homeless drop-in center - people who can never repay us – when we do that - people see Jesus in and through us.
When we opened our community center down in Triangle Park, investing money long entrusted to us, using that wealth not for our own wellbeing but to help a neighborhood so long neglected, to offer food and diapers and information and art to people who will never become members of our church – when we do that – people see Jesus in and through us.
When Deacon Jill and the leaders of Incarnation agreed to open the Lighthouse over on Storms Avenue – to offer hospitality to refugees and asylees – offering a place at the table people so often feared and demonized and shut out – and when Jill has persisted over these past few years against obstacle after obstacle to reopen the Lighthouse in its new location – when we do that – people see Jesus in and through us.
And when two churches, separated by about five blocks and a century’s worth of bad history, take the risk of losing what’s familiar, risking at least part of our hard-won identity, choosing to come together not in some cold, technical, legalistic way, but as beloved brothers and sisters – when there is no argument about what to call this new church – when we become so united that new people can’t distinguish who is an Incarnation person and who’s from St. Paul’s – when parishioners from both churches came out on Friday afternoon to support Sonia and her family in their time of grief – when we do that – people see Jesus in and through us.
So, I know that last week I delivered some surprising and even shocking news.
But, as we all work through our mix of emotions, I hope we will all see this as a moment for discernment, an opportunity to really reflect on what kind of church we are and what kind of church we want to be.
And, although it can be difficult, it is a blessing to be forced to consider these important questions, to get clearer on our mission.
And it’s urgent – not because I’m leaving and you’ll have to call a new priest – it’s urgent because there are so many people out there hungry for the good food we receive here – the good food that we are eager to share.
There are so many people in our sad and troubled world saying:
“We wish to see Jesus.”
Let them see him.
Let them see Jesus, in and through us.
Amen.
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