The Risky and Costly Work of Renewal

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD

September 8, 2024

Year B, Proper 18: The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Renewal Sunday

Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23

Psalm 125

James 2:1-10; 14-17

Mark 7:24-37

The Risky and Costly Work of Renewal 

A couple of times a year, I have lunch with one of my best friends, Jim.

We’ve been friends since high school. We were best man at each other’s weddings. We even taught together at our alma mater for a while and have managed to maintain and renew our friendship through all the twists and turns of more than 40 years.

He still lives in New Jersey and I’m here, of course, and so we meet for lunch in Philadelphia, roughly the halfway point for us.

This means that for the last three years, a couple of times a year, I’ve passed through Baltimore Penn Station.

And, as many of you probably know, during most of that time Penn Station has been undergoing a major rehabilitation.

For many months, scaffolding covered the station’s façade and, inside, the sound of drilling and hammering and sawing echoed through the waiting room.

If you’ve been down there over the last few months, you’ve seen that the exterior work is mostly done, and the old station looks shiny and bright, restored to its original grandeur.

But restoration is only part of the story.

        Yes, the stonework has been cleaned and the mortar repointed – the station has been restored – but it’s also been renewed.

        Penn Station was state of the art when it was built back in 1911 and now it’s going to be state of the art again with a new high speed rail platform and office space upstairs that will meet the high-tech needs of today’s workers.

        The old station is not just being restored; it’s being renewed for today and tomorrow.

        Now, this work of renewal is risky – will enough people use the old station or want to work there? 

        And this work of renewal is costly.

        So costly, in fact, that you may know the work has been halted as Amtrak negotiates with the contractor over the price tag.   

        But I’m sure they’ll figure something out. Because while renewal is risky and costly, renewal is really the only way forward.

        It’s the only way forward for Penn Station.

        And it’s also the only way for the followers of Jesus.  

        In today’s gospel lesson we’re told that Jesus has left Jewish territory and entered the Gentile land of Tyre, in what would be today southern Lebanon.

        Just entering a foreign land was risky but, in this case, there was a long history of bad blood between the people Tyre and the people of Galilee, Jesus’ homeland.

        But Jesus’ mission is all about renewal.

        And renewal is only possible if we overcome our old fears and hatreds.

        Renewal is only possible if we heal old wounds.

        Renewal is only possible if we move forward together.

        With God’s help.

        We’re told that Jesus tried to keep a low profile in Tyre but that never really seems to work for him, does it?

        Sure enough, a woman comes to Jesus – she’s not Jewish but she shows great respect, bowing at his feet.

        She’s obviously heard about Jesus and his healing power and she’s so desperate for her daughter to be healed that, at great risk, she crosses all sorts of boundaries – religious, gender, ethnic, historical – and boldly asks him to heal her little girl.

        Jesus replies to this mother’s pleas by saying “Let the children be fed first for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

        Jesus’ response sounds most un-Jesus-like. And there’s been a lot of discussion and debate about why he said what he said. 

        Maybe we’re getting a rare glimpse of Jesus learning – learning that his mission of renewal was even bigger than he had realized – learning that his mission was big enough to include this woman and her daughter, big enough to include all of us.

        Or maybe, Jesus was calling this woman to take an even greater risk.

        Maybe Jesus was calling this woman to an even deeper and more persistent faith – the deeper and even more persistent faith needed if healing and true renewal can occur.

        And sure enough, this woman, this loving and desperate and courageous and fierce mother, she takes her chance.

        With one of the all-time great come-backs, the woman says to Jesus:

        “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

        And because of her words – because of her risk – because of her faith – Jesus renews the health of the woman’s little daughter.

        Renewal is risky and costly but it’s the only way forward.

        Two years ago, on our first Renewal Sunday, we were all still a bit battered by the pandemic.

        Many people had gotten out of the practice of coming to church. Maybe they were watching online. Or maybe they had found other ways of spending their Sunday mornings.

        As always, the future was uncertain and the way forward unclear.

        I had arrived here a year earlier, with lots of questions about how all of this was going to go.

        Part of the work was reassembling the pieces, reactivating some of the ministries that had been set aside during our time apart.

        But, like the architects and workers of Penn Station, we were called to more than just restoration – and, besides, even if we tried, we couldn’t restore the church to exactly what it was ten, twenty, fifty years ago.

        No, restoration and remembering are part of the story but not the whole story. 

        We are called to Jesus’ risky and costly work of renewal.

            As you know, today we’re celebrating a whole lot as you know, very much including Barb Parks and Wanda Waller – giving thanks to God for these two extraordinary people as they begin well-deserved retirements.

        You know, in different ways, both Barb and Wanda have been the voice of St. Thomas’.

        Think of the thousands of people who have called the office over the last three decades and Barb’s caring and compassionate voice was the first they heard. Sometimes the call was just routine business but other times it was someone eager to share joyful news or calling the church in a moment of suffering and pain.

        And Barb’s caring and compassionate voice was the voice many of you expected to hear when your phone rang, and St. Thomas’ popped up on your Caller ID.

        I can’t tell you how many times I’ve called parishioners, and they’ve answered, “Hi Barb!” or “Hey, Barbara Parks!”

        “No, it’s just Tom.”

          And through her extraordinarily beautiful music, Wanda has also been the voice of this church.

        Together with our amazing choir, she has expressed our deepest prayers in a language beyond words, offered with great sensitivity and profound love for God and the church.

        I could go on, but I’ll just say that, although they’ve both been here for a bit, part of what makes them both so wonderful is their openness – their openness to new ideas and new ways of doing things, none of the usual “we’ve always done it this way” even when they might have been skeptical – but, just like the rest of our remarkable staff, Barb and Wanda have been only ever interested in what would best serve the people of St. Thomas’.

        What incredible blessings – what great friends – they have been for us.

        And like Jesus crossing into Tyre long ago, our risky and costly work of renewal has meant building relationships with others outside our church community – with our friends from Afghanistan – with the administrators and teachers and students at Owings Mills Elementary School – and now with leaders of faith communities along the Reisterstown Road corridor.

        And the risky and costly work of renewal has meant welcoming absolutely everyone who walks through our doors, knowing that they bring their own gifts and ideas and traditions, knowing that it might not always be comfortable, but we will learn from each other, and we are stronger together.

        The risky and costly work of renewal has meant so many of you taking on new ministries – your generosity and openness, it’s just incredible – and, to name just one prominent example, today we celebrate John Lang accepting a new ministry – a new ministry for him and for us.

        It’s not easy to be the first, but we all know that the ministry of verger, this beautiful ministry of hospitality and service is meant for John.

        And now, the task of renewal continues.

        Yes, it’s risky and costly – and like with Penn Station, there may be some disagreements and delays along the way.

        But it’s really the only way forward.

        And while the risks and costs of renewal are real, and the future is always uncertain, we can be bold, because we are not alone.

        Here at St. Thomas’, we are blessed with friendships, both new and renewed.

        And, most of all, we have God.

        The God who seeks to renew the whole earth, from Tyre to Owings Mills.

        The God who will never let go of us, no matter what.

        Amen.

Holy Alignment

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD

September 1, 2024

Year B, Proper 17: The Fifteenth 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

Holy Alignment

In my sermon last week, I talked about my recent – and very unpleasant – bout with vertigo.

And thank you to everybody who expressed concern, both in person and electronically. I really appreciate it.

As you’d guess, over the past month, I’ve learned a lot about vertigo, including that it’s surprisingly common and that it can have many different causes.

In my case, it turns out that the crystals in my inner ears somehow got out of alignment.

When the doctor first told me that this was the cause of my trouble, I laughed because it didn’t sound like a real thing – I had never heard of these inner ear crystals – and it all sounded so “new age-y” –

“My crystals were out of alignment.”

But it’s all too real. These inner ear crystals help our brains know where we are – and when they get out of alignment, well, as I learned, everything goes haywire.

I don’t want to go on and on about my vertigo – I’d like to forget all about it, to be honest – but when I reflected on today’s gospel lesson, I was reminded of the importance of alignment.

What’s true for our inner ears, is also true for our Christian lives.

When we fall out of alignment, everything goes haywire.

So, in today’s gospel lesson, we hear a controversy story – a conflict – between Jesus and the Pharisees.

        Back in the first century, just like today, Judaism was quite diverse – with lots of different groups who had various ideas about how to be a faithful Jew.

        And the Pharisees were one of those groups.

In the gospels, the Pharisees are almost always presented in a negative light. They’re almost always opposed to Jesus.

But we know from other sources that the Pharisees had a reputation for holiness, and they were respected by most people. 

The thing that I find most interesting about the Pharisees is that it seems that they wanted to make everyday life holy – and they did that by encouraging people to take temple practices – like, for example, how the priests ritually washed their hands before sacrificing animals – into their homes and into daily lives.

Now, I’m all for making everyday life holy and I think Jesus is, too.

The problem for Jesus is when our spiritual practices are not in alignment with how we live our lives.

        The problem for Jesus is when our spiritual practices are not in alignment with what’s in our heart.

        And so, it’s great that the Pharisees encouraged people to live holy everyday lives.

        But it’s not so great that the Pharisees gave Jesus a hard time about his disciples not ritually washing their hands before meals.

        (And just for the record, we’re talking about ritual washing. Yes, we should wash our hands before preparing or eating food!)

        And really, what we see happening here is that the Pharisees seem to be a bit out of alignment, practicing their sacred rituals, yes, but also minding other people’s business, apparently quick to judge.

The problem is when our spiritual practices are not in alignment with how we live our lives.

        The problem is when our spiritual practices are not in alignment with what’s in our heart.

        And we know that these aren’t just Pharisee problems.

        All of us Christians are susceptible to these problems, always in danger of getting out of alignment and going haywire.

        This is one reason why I love baptism so much.

        This morning I’ll have the joy and privilege of baptizing little Charlie, soon to be our newest Christian.

        And at this baptism just like all our baptisms, we will renew our Baptismal Covenant.

        (Actually, we’ll all renew our Baptismal Covenant next week at Renewal Sunday, too.)

        And, really, renewing the big promises of the Baptismal Covenant – to love our neighbors as ourselves, to seek and serve Christ in all persons, to respect the dignity of every human being – all with God’s help, of course – renewing those big promises helps to keep us in alignment, reminding us that how we live out there in the world should align with the beautiful words we say in here.

        And another way that we can maintain holy alignment is through our outreach work, by really being a servant church, by being “doers of the word,” sharing our blessings with the hungry world all around us.

        You may have noticed that the “St. Thomas’ Magazine” has returned this Sunday.

        I love it.

        And, if you take the time to read our little magazine, which I hope you will, you’ll see that we have a ton of good stuff coming up, and you’ll see that much of it outreach-related.

        So many of you have already contributed to our drive to buy gift cards for the teachers over at Owings Mills Elementary School and some have made an even bigger commitment to tutor OMES students in the “Owls First” afterschool enrichment program.

        And we continue to deepen our relationships with the Community Crisis Center and Paul’s Place and our Afghan friends, and now with other communities of faith in our area.

        Outreach reminds us that how we live out there in the world should align with the beautiful words we say in here.

        So, for the moment, my inner ear crystals are back in alignment.

        But the doctors told me that, unfortunately, it could happen again and there’s not much I can do to prevent it.

        Fortunately, we have more control over our holy alignment.

        Our holy alignment may get out of whack and things may go haywire, but we know that the way back to alignment is Jesus – welcoming Jesus into our unruly hearts and following Jesus by loving and serving others.

        May we all be given the gift, the peace, of holy alignment.

        Amen.