St. Thomas’ Church, Owings Mills MD
September 10, 2023
Year A, Proper 18: The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Exodus 12:1-14
Psalm 149
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20
No Outcasts
I don’t want to sound super-obvious but, whether we like it or not, change is inevitable.
For example, Sue and I have lived in Owings Mills for just a little over two years now, and we’ve already witnessed a good bit of change around here. Sometimes we joke about it – how, we remember the days when we didn’t have that fancy stand-alone Starbucks with the drive-thru on Reisterstown Road. No, “back in the day,” all we had was that little hole-in-the-wall Starbucks, nearly hidden away in the shopping plaza.
People don’t know how good they have it today!
Or, in a reverse example, we’ll sometimes say that we go so far back that we remember the big stand-alone Barnes and Noble in Pikesville – shaking our heads in mock sadness at how people new to the community only know the nice, but smaller, scaled-down bookstore.
And, don’t get us started on the new townhouses going up near the bottom of St. Thomas Lane!
What in the world is happening to our neighborhood!?!
Yes, change is inevitable – in our communities – and also in the church.
You “Cradle Episcopalians” of a certain vintage have certainly witnessed a great deal of change in the church.
There was the ordination of women, the introduction of the “new” Prayer Book in 1979 and the “new” Hymnal in 1982.
There has been the open inclusion of LGBTQ people and the blessing of their love.
And, especially the last few years, the Episcopal Church has begun the hard but necessary work of facing the racism that stains our history and still lurks in the church today.
A lot of change. Not always easy.
I once heard a bishop say that he believed that there had been two most transformative changes in the Episcopal Church in his lifetime.
One was the reintroduction of the ancient practice of Exchanging the Peace, which he believed went a long way to “warming up” the church, reminding us that we gather here each Sunday not so much as individuals but as a community – a community, no matter our differences, whose members, with God’s help, should be at peace with one another.
I’m not a “Cradle Episcopalian” but I can tell you that more than twenty years ago, when Sue and I first walked into St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, we were so impressed by – nearly overwhelmed by, really - the Exchange of Peace.
That first Sunday we kind of hung back shyly, staying in our pew, giving some hesitant waves, shaking a few hands, watching in wonder as most parishioners were out in the aisle greeting each other with hugs and smiles and laughter, like they hadn’t seen each other in forever, seemingly genuinely delighted to see each other.
That Exchange of Peace made a huge impression on us.
And soon enough, just a Sunday or two later, we joined the crowd out in the aisle.
Years later, when I was Rector of that church, a longtime parishioner complained that I was not giving enough time for the Peace.
When I asked why she that felt that way, she said, because she wasn’t able to get around and greet every single person in church!
How about that?
The bishop said that the second most transformative change that he had witnessed was the introduction of the Baptismal Covenant in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.
Back in the 1970s, the people crafting the new prayer book wanted to restore Baptism back to the center of church life (hooray!) and they also recognized that we could no longer assume that people knew the basics of Christianity.
And so the Baptismal Covenant, which begins with an ancient statement of belief, the Apostles’ Creed, and then concludes with five promises – promises that we renew each time there is a Baptism – promises that we will renew next week during Renewal Sunday.
With God’s help, we promise to gather here in our community – we promise to turn away from sin and ask forgiveness when we mess up – we promise to proclaim the Good News by word and example – to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as our self – we promise to strive for justice and peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being.
Truly awesome promises – promises we can only hope to keep with God’s help – promises that did and do transform us – promises that continue to transform the church, getting us to think and act bigger and bolder, and with much more love.
As Paul wrote to church in Rome, “Owe no one anything, except to love one another.”
The idea – the hope - is that these changes to our worship – exchanging peace and making big Baptismal promises – they should change the way the church lives, not just when we’re in here, but when we’re out there, too.
For example, when Edmond Browning was elected Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in 1985, just a few years after the new Prayer Book, he boldly declared, “I want to be very clear – this church of ours is open to all – there will be no outcasts – the convictions and hopes of all will be honored.”
“This church of ours is open to all – there will be no outcasts.”
In today’s gospel lesson, at first glance it might seem that Jesus does not agree with Bishop Browning.
In this excerpt from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus lays out some procedures for the church – what to do when a member of the church sins against us.
First, we are to point out the fault privately.
If that doesn’t work, then we bring one or two others along with us to serve as witnesses.
And if that doesn’t get us anywhere, then we tell the whole church.
Jesus wants us to give the offending party every possible opportunity to repent and change their ways.
But, if they won’t listen to church, Jesus says, “then let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”
Which sure sounds like: “That’s it, we’ve tried everything we can think of, nothing worked, so we’re done with you!”
It sounds like they’re being cast out.
Or, it would sound like that, except we know that Jesus cast out demons, not people.
We know that Jesus offered healing to Gentiles, to non-Jews like the Canaanite woman’s tormented daughter, who we heard about just a few weeks ago.
And we know that Jesus hung around with tax collectors, people who were despised by their own people as traitors and cheats – not only did Jesus spend time with tax collectors, he invited one of them, Matthew, to be one of the Twelve, one of his closest followers.
So, when Jesus says, “…then let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector,” I don’t hear, “cast them out!”
No, I hear Jesus saying, “Don’t ever give up on them! Always keep the door open to healing and renewal.”
No outcasts.
We live in a time of great change, changes much bigger, deeper, and more challenging than a fancy new Starbucks or a scaled-back Barnes and Noble, or a couple of townhouses getting built down the road.
But no matter the changes ahead in our community and here in the church - my prayer is that we will continue to open wide our doors, to welcome and serve everyone.
During this time of change and renewal, my prayer is that we here at St. Thomas’ will continue to embrace one another – everyone - in peace and love.
Who knows, maybe we’ll even give a little more time for the Peace!
My prayer is that we will try our best, with God’s help, to live out our Baptismal promises – that we will continue to build a church that is open to all, where there are no outcasts.
Amen.
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