St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD
September 12, 2021
Year B, Proper 19: The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Proverbs 1:20-33
Psalm 19
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38
Fresh Starts
Some of you know that before I was a priest I was a high school history teacher.
I spent the second half of my teaching career at my alma mater, St. Peter’s Prep, in downtown Jersey City, just across the Hudson River from Lower Manhattan.
So, that’s where I was twenty years ago yesterday, gathered with a classroom full of bewildered teenagers, watching through the windows as the most horrible day of our lives unfolded.
I left teaching a few years later to go to seminary, but the truth is, even after all this time, there is a lot about teaching that I still miss.
Prep was a particularly wonderful place for me because I got to work with colleagues who were also some of my dearest friends.
So, I miss that closeness.
And, especially at this time of year, I miss the opportunity for a fresh start. On the one hand, I was always sorry to see summer vacation come to an end, but I was also excited by the possibilities of a new school year – an unwritten story, best symbolized for me by the blank first page of a brand-new notebook.
So much possibility and potential!
And, another great thing about Prep that I miss is that interesting guests were regularly invited to speak to the faculty and students.
During my time, maybe the most memorable speaker was Sister Helen Prejean, the Roman Catholic nun who has devoted much of her ministry to caring for inmates on death row, and advocating for the end of the death penalty.
She’s best known for her book Dead Man Walking. Maybe you read it, or saw the movie version in which Sister Helen was played by Susan Sarandon.
Anyway, along with some of my fellow teachers, I was fortunate enough to be invited to a dinner with Sister Helen before her talk.
Sitting at the table with her, I discovered that, like many nuns of my acquaintance, she has a very sharp sense of humor, and also a kind of joy and lightness, which maybe is surprising considering the grimness and heaviness of her work, or maybe it’s the only way to endure when you’ve regularly in close proximity to so much suffering and death.
Over dinner, and later in her talk with us that night and many times before and since, Sister Helen made a point about people on death row. It’s a truth that I try to remember when I consider my own life, and the lives of others:
“People are more than the worst thing they have ever done in their lives.”
“People are more than the worst thing they have ever done in their lives.”
Now, we don’t have to necessarily agree about the death penalty, though I think Sister Helen is awfully convincing.
But, there can be no argument that God sees us as far, far more than the worst thing – the worst things - we have ever done in our lives.
Now, I’m going out on a limb and assume that we don’t have any vicious criminals here this morning. But, the uncomfortable truth is that we all sin in small ways and, occasionally, in bigger ways – we all fall short of God’s hope and intention for us.
But God never defines us by our worst mistakes.
No, instead, each time we confess – each time we repent - God offers us forgiveness.
This is one of the best parts of the Good News – but it’s a piece of Good News that can be hard for us to accept when it comes to other people – and, actually, it’s a piece of Good News that can be sometimes hard to accept for ourselves.
Yet, time and again, God offers us a fresh start – as clean as the blank first page of a brand-new notebook.
In his usual way, Mark packs a lot into the gospel passage we heard today.
Jesus asks his disciples who people say that he is, and then he asks his disciples who do they say that he is.
Then, for the first time in this gospel, Jesus predicts his suffering and death. Jesus also predicts his resurrection, but at least for now, the idea of all that suffering drowns out any idea of new life.
And then, Jesus teaches about discipleship – that we are called to give away our lives in loving service to Jesus and our sisters and brothers.
There sure is a lot to chew on here, but as I’ve reflected on this passage, I keep circling back to Peter.
Out of the twelve, he’s the one we know the best. He was a hard working fisherman, a job that, then as now, requires skill, courage, and strength.
I find Peter a deeply lovable character because just like us, sometimes he gets it right, but more often he gets it very wrong.
And, we certainly hear that in today’s lesson.
When Jesus asks, “But who do you say that I am?” it’s Peter who speaks up with the correct answer: “You are the Messiah.”
In my imagination, I see him looking around at the other disciples with a mix of surprise, pride, and humility – kind of like when the kid in class you wouldn’t expect gets the answer exactly right.
But then, just moments later, Peter gets it very wrong.
When Jesus makes his prediction of suffering, death, and new life, Peter doesn’t hear the promise of new life. No, understandably, all Peter hears is that his Lord is going to suffer and die.
Peter is obviously very upset, so upset that he pulls Jesus aside and “rebukes” him – that’s a strong word, “rebuke.”
Imagine that. Rebuking Jesus.
And then, in response, and in front of everyone, Jesus “rebukes” Peter – calls him “Satan” – not a cartoon Satan with a tail and pitchfork but a very real Satan – Satan the tempter, tempting Jesus by offering him a way out of his mission and fate.
Now, after all this rebuking we might think Jesus is done with Peter. But, this is not the end of Peter’s story. And, later, Peter does far worse, denying his Lord during his greatest moment of need.
And, even after Peter denies Jesus three times – it’s still not the end of Peter’s story.
Peter becomes the rock of the church, and nearly 1,900 years later, he lends his good name to a high school in Jersey City
Time and again, despite some big mistakes, God offered Peter – and offers us - a fresh start – as clean as the blank first page of a brand-new notebook.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the classroom, but my life is still shaped in part by the school year.
The church has its own calendar – for those of you keeping track, today is the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost. (Woo-hoo!)
God doesn’t go on summer vacation, of course, but because school resumes at this time of year, the church’s “program year” gets up and running right around now, too.
So, today is our “Kickoff Sunday” – scaled way back because of the pandemic, it’s true. But, even with masks and distance, there is still a little bit of that first day of school excitement – lots of hope about the days and weeks ahead, anticipating a story that has yet to be written.
So much possibility and potential!
And so, as we begin a new year together, let’s remember Sister Helen’s teaching, and the lesson of our brother Peter:
We are more than the worst thing – the worst things – that we have ever done in our lives.
Today, right here and now, if we’re willing to confess – willing to repent - God offers us forgiveness and the chance for a fresh start.
So, on this “Kickoff Sunday,” let’s open up our brand-new notebook.
Let’s give thanks for that blank first page and all the pages that follow.
Let us begin, again.
Amen.
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