Monday, September 8, 2008

17 Pentecost, Year A, RCL

Proper 18

Ezekiel 33:7-11
Psalm 119:33-40
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20

Good Morning. It is wonderful to see SOOO many of you here today. It’s the beginning of a new year (a new school year, a new program year.) Many of us have been far and near over the summer months, but today is a high holy day in the life of the church year – it’s the first day of Sunday school! And many among us who have been away have found their way back to this gathering place. I’m glad you’re all here. Welcome.

September marks the cultural end of summertime, and the return to “normal life,” back to the school year, back to business as usual, and that means coming back to church – getting back into the routine of seeing friends and family on Sunday morning and re-forming this community that we call the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour. Welcome home.

It is a cultural truth that summer vacation often includes taking a break from church. I am not naming this with the intention to make you feel bad for missing a Sunday here and there. I know as well as you all that many of you have had family to visit, weddings to attend, and rest-time and vacation/Sabbath that you have needed to take for yourselves and your families. I’ve had Sundays when I’ve been away too, and for many of those I am grateful – both for the opportunity to rest and learn from other places. Being away also means enjoying that wonderful feeling of returning home, returning to the familiar. It feels good to come into a place and be greeted by familiar faces, and a setting where you know your place, you know your way around, you know where you are going. Welcome back.

But of course, as this community re-gathers, re-forms, we are still in a bit of a wilderness – we are still worshipping here in the hall, and so those long memories of the way we do things around here, the way we’ve always done it, have been shaken up, and set aside for awhile as we continue looking forward to the completion of our church’s building restoration, renewal and return. [We welcome your call please hold.]

And of course, as some of you have been gone and have now returned – there have been other changes in the community – new faces can be seen at coffee hour as people new to Rock Hill, or the Episcopal Church, or to the Christian faith have joined us along the way, both those who have found us over the summer, and over the years: new babies, new students, new families, new companions who have gathered here with us today – and those who will find us in the coming months and years. The church is after all an institution made for those who are not yet members. Welcome to this community – it is newly re-formed today – because you are here, and we’re glad you’re here with us.

As a community it is important to remember that gathering is what we do – it is who we are. Though we go out in many different directions, experiencing the world in as many ways as we are in number, we remain connected in this place, through this tradition, through the relationships that are woven together in the fabric of our life together. We gather with purpose : to worship God, to giving thanks for our lives and all of creation, to share stories from scripture and our lives, to invite and welcome others into our fold, to grow together through the years as we laugh, give birth to new things, and weep and say goodbye. We gather to share meals – some that nourishes our bodies, others that nourish our souls. We are a diverse community, but there is one light that gathers us in – that draws us close to one another and to God and that which is at the center of our life together is Christ.

In our Gospel for today we are reminded of the fact that even in Christian community, there is, inevitably, conflict. As in your own family lives, as in your office, as your school hallways, as in traffic jams, there are tiny annoyances and great hurts that separate us from one another, from our community and from God. How do we live in peaceful community together when one has been wronged by the other? How do I pretend that what separates me from you can be ignored? The truth is – it cannot. The truth is we do and we will hurt one another, whether it’s intentional, accidental, thoughtless, or premeditated. We are absolutely capable and in all likelihood going to hurt others and be hurt by others in this community.

When a hurt has been perpetrated we will react. Just as when a hurt or injustice has taken place on a large scale and entire communities are motivated to respond, so will we on the most intimate level in one way or another respond to a hurt that has been done to us. And when it happens close to home, in our church home, that is the worst kind. But if we believe in community, and we believe that Christ is at the center of our community – then truly we have consolation in that. The Gospel describes a method of conflict resolution – one that is not easy – one that takes time and honesty. One that takes both sides listening to one another – and remembering that despite all that separates us from one another it is Christ’s love for all of that unites us still.

As we re-gather and re-form as a community, we have the opportunity to meet one another, to listen to one another, to hear where we have been, and to see how we have grown and changed. Who will we be as a community? How will we move forward together in this new year as we embrace the challenges that will face our community? And how will we forgive ourselves and one another for the conflicts of the past? You are here – and that is the first step – you are here, and we are glad, because we cannot be this community without you. And showing up – facing the questions, facing the challenges: that is the first step in resolving conflict and moving forward.

Allowing others to hear your heart, your need, your hurt, your hope, that is the second step – sharing who you are with those around you and asking for their help to stand and face the unknown – standing together to face that which separates you from your neighbor. How else will conflict be resolved if it is never brought into the light?

Finally, as a community gathered, the church at large is called to embrace both the one who has been hurt and the one who has brought that hurt to the other. Being a community – being this people gathered means being present to both parties, and living as witnesses to Christ’s love all sinners. When the community answers this call it acts as the body of Christ.

This does mean that we are called to judge one another as to who is right or wrong – but rather to allow both sides the space to be loved so that they might willingly face what they are accountable for. Alone it is hard not to feel justified – self-righteous. But in a community that seeks to be whole, neither side should be left alone. For it is in our time gathered that Christ’s presence dwells in our community, and its actions. It is in our actions of faithful worship, of returning and welcoming one another, of embracing and listening to one another in times of conflict and in times of celebration that we live into our call to faithful, Christ centered community.

You are here: welcome.

We are here: together.

Christ is with us.

In times of peace, in times of conflict, in times of wilderness and waiting, in times of return to the old and growing into the new: See each other, hear each other, embrace each other, for when we are gathered in community, Christ is with us. Amen.

Delivered by The Rev. Mary Catherine Enockson

Sunday, September 7, 2008, The Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, Rock Hill, SC.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

“God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’”

16 Pentecost

Proper 17, RCL, Year A

Exodus 3:1-15
Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c
Romans 12:9-21
Matthew 16:21-28

How many times do we come to church and hear stories of call? Hear stories of great men and women of the Bible who were called by God to act as leaders, as prophets, as care-givers, as companions. When we stand in the cloud of witnesses that is offered to us in scripture we learn the stories of those who are called to act and whose actions have led to their story being shared with the forthcoming generations. We hear these stories to teach us about call and to learn about what it means to follow.

Moses was called. Moses was given a pathway to ministry that would be long and hard, but would ultimately serve the purpose of release for the captives and delivery of the Israelites from their oppressors into the Promised Land. There were times in Moses’ story when the people grumbled and disagreed and even fell away from their faith and tested Moses and tested God, but ultimately Moses answered the call to be their leader – and followed God through the wilderness and ultimately delivered on God’s promise to those who followed him.

Moses was lucky, though. He was given a lot of very clear, very specific directions. Spend a little time perusing “The Book Exodus, and you’ll see what I mean. Moses was given the floor plans, the building specs, the costume and set designs, and a lot of cubits to keep track of. He was also given sign after sign to show the people that he truly was called by God to be their leader. He answered that call from God with “here I am.” And the rest is history.

Many of the call stories that we have from the Hebrew Bible are like this – we hear tell of a conversation with God, or an angel’s pronouncement that “you – yes you – are being called – being sent to do God’s work.” And we oft times learn of those persons’ initial reaction: fear (Fear not!), incredulity (this can’t really be happening, can it?), reluctance (not me Lord, you must have meant someone else), and ultimately acceptance (Here I am).

For me the story of Jonah often comes to mind – he was one of those who required a little more convincing than most that it was really him that God was looking towards to do some work! And I’d say that DESPITE the fact that he ended up in the belly of a very large fish in order to get him started on his path to ministry, Jonah did what he was called to do, and did it well. “Here I am Lord, covered in whale spit; I hope they listen to me - now that I’m here…” And of course, they did.

(At this point I shared a bit of my own story, speaking to the fact that as I arrived at seminary I felt a lot like Jonah in the belly of the whale. I was surrounded by barriers that I wasn’t ready to let go of, keeping me from truly arriving in the new community. It took time and patience with myself and with God before I was willing to step out of that whale that had gotten me to seminary, and to walk on my own two feet on solid ground, allowing myself to truly arrive, and really do what I was there to do.)


In our readings from Matthew these past several weeks we’ve had the chance to get to know Simon Peter, one who answered Jesus’ call to follow, to be a companion, to be a disciple.


In Peter, unlike Moses or Jonah, we see a more intimate picture of the combination of great faith, and of human frailty. It was Peter who stepped out on the water and attempted to greet the Lord – but fear overcame him, and he began to sink. And Peter, along with the other disciples who knew their resources were limited, was amazed to carry baskets of leftovers when Jesus fed the masses. It was Peter, whose proclamation of Jesus as Messiah, leading Jesus to proclaim that Peter would be the rock on which his church was to be built. And today we hear the story of Peter rebuking Jesus, and Peter, that “rock,” is called a stumbling block, for his response to hearing the hard words of Jesus’ impending trials. And for those of you who know the story well, you will remember that it is Peter who, on the night of Jesus trial denies knowing him, denies the one in whom he had so much faith.

Peter’s story is an important one, because it is a story of call, but also the struggle to follow that call. It is a story of great faith, and speaks the truth that great faith can sometimes falter. Peter was a good disciple – he was present, he was willing, he was constantly learning, and he didn’t always get it right, or live up to the kind of disciple he wanted to be. But he knew he was called, and he did all that was in his power to follow that call. After each challenge, each disappointment, each doubt, Peter persevered in his call to follow Jesus. He took up his cross and followed him.

We too are called. We too are a generation of Christ followers who gather here to hear the stories of our ancestors passed down to us, so that we might be led and hear our own call to follow.

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Follow me. (Here I am.)

Moses had directions. Jonah had a whale. (I had a discernment committee.) Peter had Jesus. And we have the cloud of witnesses, a community of faith that has passed on these stories of call through centuries. We have many examples to learn from, and we have our own call to listen for. There is much work to be done here – and in this time of extremely fast communication and opportunity, there is great possibility of God’s good work being accomplished.

When have you, like Moses, said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up."

When have you, like Jonah heard a call and tried to refuse it’s powerful effects on your life, only to learn that you really weren’t as in control of your destiny as you thought.

And when have you, like Peter, realized that you’ve made mistakes along the way – that you’ve tried to be faithful, but your own fear, your own frailty, your own need has separated you from the will of God?

To be a follower of Christ is not always easy – because it means sacrifice. It means being willing to give something up, in order to allow something new to take place. Take up your cross does mean being willing to die to something – but the promise of being a Christ follower is that where there is death, there is also resurrection. Where there is sacrifice a new thing will be given in return.

Listen for the call. Listen for the invitation to let go of things that keep you from following in the footsteps of the cloud of witnesses that have gone before you. And have faith that all that you need, and all that you are being called to be and to do will reward you in ways you never imagined. Here we are. Amen.


Delivered by The Rev. Mary Catherine Enockson

Sunday, August 31, 2008, The Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, Rock Hill, SC.