“Eyes Raised, Hands Joined, Feet Bare”

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD

October 20, 2024

Year B, Proper 24: The Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost

Job 38:1-7

Psalm 104:1-9, 25, 37b

Hebrews 5:1-10

Mark 10:35-45

“Eyes Raised, Hands Joined, Feet Bare”

Some of you know that a week ago I made a silent retreat.

You may remember that this is something I’ve done before. But for those of you who didn’t know, yes, I can be quiet for a few days!

For this year’s retreat, I spent the week at a beautiful monastery tucked away in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia – amazingly, just a 90-minute drive from here.

Along with the Trappist monks who live, pray, and work there, about ten of us were on retreat – maintaining silence in the retreat house, taking our meals sitting side by side, not saying a word, which, I have to say, did make me self-conscious of my chewing and the little groans as my body began to digest the food.

A silent retreat gives the time, space, and, most of all, quiet to pray and to think.

And one of the things I reflected on is how I use, or misuse, my time. How much time I waste on unimportant things. How much time I waste scrolling through social media.

Often that scrolling is what they call doomscrolling, reading and looking at posts about all the terrible things going on in our country and world – the natural and human-made disasters, the wars and threats of war, and the approaching election that so many of us dread.

But, that said, sometimes you find something good or inspiring on social media.

For example, the other day, someone posted a letter that Pope Francis wrote to the men he had recently appointed as the newest cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church.

The main function of the cardinals is to elect the next pope.

But, throughout much of their history, many cardinals have wielded a lot of power, both within the church and in the secular world, too.

And often this power has been reflected and enhanced by living in great luxury, and by receiving deference from others.

And that deference may be best summed up by how cardinals have been traditionally addressed: “Your Eminence.”

So anyway, Pope Francis wrote to the newly appointed cardinals.

He called on them to have their “eyes raised, hands joined, and feet bare.”

“Eyes raised, hands joined, and feet bare.”

Eyes raised to see farther and love more deeply.

Hands joined in prayer.

And feet bare to touch the harsh realities of life, calling for them to be compassionate and merciful.

Eyes raised, hands joined, and feet bare.

I love that.

And then, here’s how the pope concluded his letter:

“I thank you for your generosity and I assure you of my prayers that the title of ‘servant’ will increasingly eclipse that of ‘eminence.’”

“That the title of ‘servant’ will increasingly eclipse that of ‘eminence.’”

Well, that sure sounds a lot like Jesus, doesn’t it?

Just now, while I was reading today’s gospel lesson, some of you regular churchgoers may have had a sense of déjà vu. 

It was just about a month ago that we heard a passage from a little earlier in the Gospel of Mark, that’s a lot like what we heard today.

In that first instance, Jesus and the disciples were walking along the road. Jesus is teaching – warning – preparing his friends that he is going to be betrayed, suffer, die, and rise again.

Meanwhile, what were the disciples talking about, arguing about?

Who among them was the greatest.

With infinite patience, Jesus taught the disciples, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”

That seems pretty clear. One would think that the disciples would’ve gotten the message.

But one would be wrong.

One would be wrong because Jesus’ message and example of servant leadership was radically countercultural in the first century, just as it’s radically countercultural today when most leaders would much rather be eminences rather than lowly servants.

And so here we are today, with the brothers James and John giving us a masterclass in not just getting it.

First, they say to Jesus: “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”

Demanding something of Jesus, that’s pretty gutsy.

And then it turns out that James and John have set their sights very high. They’re not interested in who’s the greatest here and now. No, they want the best seats, right beside Jesus, in the Kingdom.

It turns out, Jesus can’t grant that but, he warns the two bold brothers that what they’re asking is going to cost them – that following the way of Jesus – the way of loving service – is going to cost them, it will cost them everything.

The brothers say that they are able to make that sacrifice.

Not totally convincing, I have to say.

And, of course, true to form, the other ten disciples got mad at the brothers and so, yet again, with infinite patience, Jesus reminds them that for him – and for us – the way to true greatness is sacrifice, the way to true greatness is offering loving service.

It was around three years ago - after having spent a few months beginning to get to know this place, after getting to know at least some of you – it was around three years ago that I first suggested that God is calling us to be a “servant church.”

This wasn’t something that I just made up.

As I said back then, generously helping others is woven into the fabric of St. Thomas’ – long before I arrived here there was your deep commitment to Habitat for Humanity, Loaves and Fishes, and Paul’s Place – there was the Christmas Extravaganza - just to give a few examples.

But, over the last three years, what we’ve tried to do is move this beautiful truth about St. Thomas’ to the center of our lives together.

So that when we think about our church – and maybe even when people out there think of our church – one of the first things that we and they think of is that this is a church that doesn’t just serve itself, but this is a church that serves others.

And so, with “eyes raised, hands joined, and feet bare,” this servant church under the servant leadership of our Outreach co-chairs Margaret Green and Betsy Wilmerding, we’ve used our time and our gifts wisely.

We’ve welcomed and cared for new friends who’ve traveled a long and hard road from Afghanistan.

We’ve deepened our commitment and expanded our generosity to the Community Crisis Center.

And, of course, there’s “Owls First,” the new afterschool enrichment program now underway at Owings Mills Elementary School.

Plus, we’re just beginning to build a relationship with Owings Mills High School and just beginning to make friends with leaders in other neighboring faith communities – and who knows where that might lead?

We are a servant church with a lot of wonderful servant friends.

And today, on Outreach Sunday, some of those friends from the Community Crisis Center and Owings Mills Elementary and High Schools, and Hizbullah, our first and much-loved Afghan friend, will be speaking at the 10:00 service.

When you have a chance, I hope you’ll take a look at the video on our website or YouTube channel, or at least, read the descriptions of our outreach work and look at the photos right there in the center of today’s “magazine.”

Today is Outreach Sunday.

Today we celebrate the good work that God is doing in and through our servant church – the good work that God is doing among our servant friends.

“Eyes raised, hands joined, feet bare.”

Amen.

Rejecting Idolatry, Choosing Loving Service

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD

October 15, 2023

Year A, Proper 23: The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost – Outreach Sunday

Exodus 32:1-14

Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23

Philippians 4:1-9

Matthew 22:1-14

Rejecting Idolatry, Choosing Loving Service

This past week, I have been so disoriented by the dramatic contrast between our life together here at St. Thomas’ and what’s going on out there in the world.

Here, we have so much good stuff going on. 

Last Sunday, we had a joyful Blessing of the Animals service, with a couple of dozen happy barking dogs and one probably less than thrilled cat.

And just yesterday, we had the second session of a lively and thoughtful book study – and a bunch of parishioners and preschool families went to First Fruits Farm and helped to bag 33,000 pounds of potatoes (!) that will feed the poor – and, later in the day, the rectory was filled with parishioners who came to our Newcomers Reception.

But out there, it has been a heartbreaking, terrifying, and infuriating week.

Sometimes I think we really have seen it all – that we have grown numb to violence and suffering.

But the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel was truly shocking – shocking in its horrific brutality – and also shocking because so many of us, including many Israelis, had placed so much confidence in their surveillance and defense abilities.

And now, Israel is in the midst of a furious response, which may or may not be effective but is already causing even more suffering and death for innocent people just trying to get by in Gaza, in what was already an awful situation.

The outbreak of war in the Middle East has overshadowed suffering elsewhere – for example, thousands were killed in an earthquake in Afghanistan – and also the steady drumbeat of violence continues closer to home, including shootings at both Bowie State and Morgan State – bringing fear and bloodshed once again to places of learning.

Well, what might today’s readings say to us in these days of trouble?

Today’s parable from Jesus is a tough one – one that doesn’t make much sense if we assume that the king is a stand-in for God.

No, this king sounds just like the kind of king that people in the ancient world would have known well – the kind of dictator that we find all too often in the world today – vengeful and placing a very low value on life.

Not properly dressed for the wedding? You are cast into the outer darkness!

Yes, unfortunately, we know the type.

And then there’s today’s first lesson, the familiar story of the Golden Calf.

The people of Israel are out in the wilderness and Moses has been up on that mountain an awfully long time and it sure seems like God isn’t really coming through for God’s people.

What has God done for us lately, anyway?

So, you know, why don’t we make ourselves a statue and worship it?

The people think to themselves, times are tough, so let’s live like everybody else and bow down before an idol and see if that works.

Bad idea.

You may have seen on the news that, in an effort to prevent future violence, the leadership of Morgan State is looking to fence in much of their campus.

It’s not my place to second-guess their decision – it’s a heavy responsibility to keep a campus safe. But the truth is that desperate and determined people usually find a way.

Walls and gates often fail, as Israel has learned so painfully.

And, I will say this – it is not an option for the church to build a kind of wall or gate to protect ourselves from the suffering of the world.

No, just the opposite.

We are called to reject idolatry – the idolatry of violence – the idolatry of hate - even the idolatry of our own safety.

Instead, we are meant to stand beside the suffering, offering loving service to and with people in need.

No matter what is going on out there, we are called to be a servant church, to bring some of the good stuff from in here to people out there.

And that’s why we celebrate Outreach Sunday today – this is why we have invited some of our ministry partners to speak with us today.

The prophets envisioned that someday we – all of us - would lay down our weapons and live together in peace.

When I look out into the world, that vision sure seems like a fantasy.

But when I look closer to home, when I look around here, I think, we are on our way.

So, with God’s help, may we continue to reject idolatry and instead choose loving service.

Amen.

Answered Prayers

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD

October 16, 2022

Year C, Proper 24: The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost 

Jeremiah 31:27-34

Psalm 119:97-104

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

Luke 18:1-8

Answered Prayers 

Today is Outreach Sunday when we are blessed to hear from leaders of some of our truly amazing ministry partners – people who are out there serving others, week after week, year after year.

I’d like to say just a few words about the parable that I just read – what’s often called the Parable of the Persistent Widow.

Although we don’t know much about the two characters in this parable, they’re both vivid and memorable – and they may even remind us of people we know!

We’re told the judge “neither feared God nor had respect for people.”

And, while in Scripture and elsewhere, widows are often depicted as weak and defenseless, this particular widow is a tough customer. We might say that she even harasses the judge, relentlessly demanding justice – a word that in this case can also be translated as “vengeance” – which kind of changes things, doesn’t it?

Well, the judge finally gives in, out of exhaustion or even fear. He says that he’s concerned that she will wear him out. But the original Greek can also be translated that he’s afraid she’s going to punch him in the eye!

Jesus uses this strange and unsettling parable as an opportunity to encourage us to pray persistently.

I’m all for praying persistently.

And, in fact, I believe that prayer is and has to be the foundation of the renewal that we see happening here at St. Thomas’ – it’s why this fall we’re reading a book called Learning to Pray and why we’ve added a weekly service of Morning Prayer, with even more opportunities for prayer coming in the months and years ahead.

So, I’m all for praying persistently.

But during the last few days leading up to Outreach Sunday, I’ve been thinking about the people all around us who have already been praying persistently. People like the clients at Paul’s Place and the Community Crisis Center, praying persistently that they will have enough food to feed their families, enough diapers to keep their children clean and comfortable.

People like the parents, teachers, and administrators of Owings Mills Elementary School, praying persistently that their school will have enough resources – praying that their children will be safe, that they will learn and grow, and build lives of meaning and prosperity.

People like the refugees who have fled war, oppression, and poverty, praying persistently for a warm welcome - praying for peace, freedom and opportunity.

And here’s the thing: I believe that God invites us to help answer the persistent prayers of these people and others.

Not out of exhaustion and certainly not fear, but out of love and gratitude.

In fact, I wonder if we shouldn’t change the name of “Outreach” to “Answered Prayers!” 

As it happens, yesterday was the Feast of Teresa of Avila, the 16th Century Spanish nun, mystic, and reformer.

And I’ll conclude with her words, which, now that I think about it, could be the mission statement for “Answered Prayers” -

“Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”

Amen.