St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD
November 14, 2021
Year B, Proper 28: The Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
1 Samuel 1:4-20
1 Samuel 2:1-10
Hebrews 10:11-25
Mark 13:1-8
God’s Place
Usually you see me wearing a mask, so maybe you can’t tell that I’ve been having a wonderful time here with all of you.
It feels like I hit a kind of spiritual jackpot that I get to serve beside so many devoted and wise lay leaders, most especially our wardens.
It feels like I hit a kind of spiritual jackpot that each day I get to work with an incredibly talented and hardworking church staff. As many of you know, they really are quite a team.
And, although the pandemic has limited our opportunities for fellowship, it feels like I hit a kind of spiritual jackpot that I have the chance to get to know you, to learn your stories from the past and your dreams for the future of our church.
And next week, Bishop Sutton will be here to make the whole thing official!
One of the best parts of these first months together has been traveling around with our friend Caroline Stewart. She has been introducing me to lots of ministry leaders in our community – and I’ve benefited from her knowledge and wisdom as we make our way around town.
But, it’s not just Caroline. About a week and a half ago, Kathy Capp and Betsy Wilmerding brought me down to Pigtown, where we toured Paul’s Place – a profoundly life-giving ministry, that, as many of you know, St. Thomas’ has supported for many years, including by providing countless casseroles and innumerable sandwiches.
We saw the dining room where hungry people were being fed a hearty midday meal. We saw the kitchen and met the cooks who take such obvious pride in their work. We saw the laundry facilities, where guests can have their laundry washed and folded. We saw the computer room that allows people to keep in touch with the outside world and where they can get help with resumes. We saw the “boutique,” a room arranged like a real clothing store, giving people the dignity of choosing their own clothes. And we saw the culinary school, offering a viable career path without amassing student debt.
And, finally, we had lunch at Groundwork Kitchen, the beautiful new restaurant operated by Paul’s Place, where the culinary students get to put their skills to work.
It was a delicious meal.
For me, the most memorable moment of the visit came when right at the start when we were looking at the Paul’s Place dining room. One of the guests, maybe because of drugs or simply the exhaustion of poverty, fell asleep in his chair, his face sliding onto his plate of food.
One of the workers noticed and came over to him. He gently, almost tenderly, placed a hand on the poor man’s shoulder to wake him, and handed him a napkin so he could wipe his face.
That simple and beautiful act told me all I really needed to know about Paul’s Place.
Another reason I feel like I hit a kind of spiritual jackpot is the incredible beauty of this place, especially now with the riot of gold, orange, and yellow that’s all around us.
All of that color and the morning chill tell us that the season is changing out there, and there are signs that the season is changing here in church, too.
It’s a little hard to believe but in just two weeks, it will be Advent, a brief, four Sunday-long season, a season with two distinct themes.
One is the preparation for Jesus’ birth.
And the other is looking ahead to the last day.
And, in today’s gospel lesson, we most certainly heard some hard and frightening words about the last day, or, actually, the days before the last day.
Jesus and his disciples have just left the Jerusalem Temple. And one of the disciples, sounding very much like he was on his first trip to the big city, looks in awe at the Temple. But, who can blame him, since the Temple was the religious and cultural heart of the Jewish people, a spectacular structure that one of the wonders of the ancient world.
The disciple says, “Look, teacher, what large stones and large buildings!”
But instead on agreeing with the disciple’s honest and kind of endearing observation, Jesus replies with a shocking prophecy: “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”
And, about 40 years later, Jesus’ frightening prophecy was fulfilled.
In the year 70, the Romans burned the Temple and looted its treasures. Eventually, by the time they were done all that remained was just a massive retaining wall – the Western Wall – which stands to this day.
It’s hard to describe the magnitude of this disaster for the Jewish people. But, try to imagine it: the holiest place on earth – the place where, in a sense, God was believed to dwell – God’s Place – was no more.
In the face of such a catastrophe, it was easy to assume that this really was the end - that the last day had arrived.
At first, it must have been nearly impossible to imagine a future.
But, over time, the Jewish people went on without the Temple and its sacrifices, recognizing and remembering that God’s Place has always been and will always be with God’s People.
And, over time, the little band of Jews who claimed Jesus as Messiah – they went on without the Temple, too. They recognized that God’s Place is wherever the Body of Christ gathers – God’s Place is wherever and whenever we continue to share the Good News in word and deed.
So, God’s Place is certainly here in our beautiful temple, where generations of faithful people have gathered, bathing these old walls with prayers of hope and thanksgiving.
And, long ago, God’s Place was with Hannah who, despite her sadness and humiliation, prayed faithfully to God. And when God answered her prayer with the gift of a son, she sang her great song, dedicating Samuel to God - the God who “raises up the poor from the dust” and “lifts the needy from the ash heap.”
And, as we will soon remember and celebrate during Advent, God’s Place will most of all be with Mary, the young woman from Nazareth who at great cost to herself, will say “yes” to God and carry God’s Son into the world.
And, just like Hannah, Mary will sing her own song to the God who casts down the mighty from their thrones and lifts up the lowly.
And, yes, God’s Place is at Paul’s Place, where the poor are raised from the dust, where the needy are lifted from the ash heap.
God’s Place was in that brief, simple, but profoundly moving moment, when a worn-out man asleep at the table was touched gently and respectfully, treated as a beloved child of God.
My new friends, here in this beautiful place, you and I have all hit the spiritual jackpot.
But, we know that doesn’t mean that everything will be easy.
Sometimes, it may even be hard or nearly impossible to imagine a future.
But, no matter what happens, God’s Place is here, whenever we are together.
And, God’s Place is also out there, beyond the temple walls.
God’s Place is wherever people like Hannah and Mary put their trust in God.
And, God’s Place is wherever the poor are welcomed as honored guests, cared for and fed as if they were Jesus himself.
Amen.
Posts
