Are you the one who is to come...

Advent 3, Year A RCL

Isaiah 35:1-10
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11
Psalm 146:4-9

Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?

On this, the third Sunday of Advent 2007, still early in our church’s newest year, we hear the voice of John the Baptist – the prophet, the one who proclaimed the coming of one who would baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit. John poses a question as to the authenticity of the (then) new ministry of Jesus. His question reveals an attribute of doubt that is not often associated with this person’s story in the life of Jesus. It is an unexpected and yet understandable perspective from his point of view.

John’s role is, perhaps, a minor one in most of our conception’s of the Christian Story – though he certainly wasn’t a minor figure then. John was, as I said, a prophet, an ascetic who lived on simple foods, wore simple clothing, and preached of the coming of the Lord – that one day, one would come forth who would overturn the oppressors of God’s people, who would bring healing to those who are sick, make the blind see, make the lame walk.

He had a message for the world – to make straight their paths so that they might be ready to receive this mighty king who would bring good news to the poor. Talk about preaching for Advent! John’s message was one of anticipation – of waiting and of preparation. His was a message was both of great hope, and of great warning – that those who were not ready for this king would be in for it when he arrived on the scene.

John had a ministry of his own, he had a following of his own and disciples of his own. He was baptizing those who would listen and those who needed the hope in his message, that good news was being preached to them, that they had a place in God’s kingdom and it was a place higher than that of their own oppressors, those in power who ignored the obvious needs of community members (and outcasts) within plain sight.

So, knowing that John was expecting a powerful and mighty Messiah, one might understand a little more when John asked the question of Jesus – are you the one? Are you here to do all the things that I have been proclaiming – the pronouncements that I was born to make as a prophet of God, as one following in the footsteps of Elijah… Are you him? Are you here? Is my work complete? Have I fulfilled my mission?

John questioned Jesus’ authenticity as the one to fulfill all that he had proclaimed – because Jesus’ way of being in the world did not match up with what John expected – Jesus did not look, or act, or sound like the Messiah that John had been proclaiming all those years – so he had cause to question.

John’s expectation’s of what to look for came from a place of biblical proportions. The same God that was poetically described in our Hebrew text – one who would make fruitful the deserts, make tender the wild beasts, make a Holy path for the righteous to walk on – that same expectant savior was described in the passages prior to that as one who would bring vengeance and judgment down on those who ignored the needs of the poor, and oppressed those who were victims of poverty and economic and societal injustice. This Jesus, this new bearer of John’s prophetic witness, this one being proclaimed as the one greater than John that would follow – he did not seem to wield the kind of power that John was waiting for.

Though his words may have stated, “I have come to bring, not peace, but a sword,” his way of doing this was through preaching a message of love – a commandment of love – but not reaping the kind of “eye for an eye” justice that perhaps John was certain he would see, or at least might begin to hear of through the walls of his imprisonment.

Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor have good news brought to them.”

John’s expectations of how the Messiah might live out his ministry were unmet – Jesus’ words, his message back to John, was that all that he had proclaimed would come was being fulfilled. And the teaching that he turned this interaction to was for the crowds and for us as well. God does not always enter our lives in the way that we expect, in the way that we assume, in the way that we desire. God’s movement, incarnation, presence and practice among us is God’s work, not ours. Our work, like John’s, is to discern where God is present, where God is calling us to be present, and to do as Jesus told John, to see and hear God’s work in the world.

Our own presiding bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori speaks to this truth in her address to the church in this Advent season. “Advent is both a time to ready our eyes to see God in unlikely guises, and to put our hope in God's ultimate graciousness.”

– PB Katharine Jefferts Shori

Unlike John, we stand on the other side of the story of Jesus’ life. We have the opportunity to respond differently than John did. Remember – he was a prophet, and Jesus’ ministry was newly on the scene when John’s ministry was phased out – and by phased out I mean, when John met his untimely demise. We hear these scriptural stories from a place of hind-sight – both from the writer’s point of view and from our own experience of having heard the Jesus’ story in church, in Sunday School, at the movies, on Broadway, on the street corner, etc. etc. etc.

John did not have access to all that we have in the teachings and practices of the church that tell us that Jesus’ way of being did not live up to expectation, that it was a surprising, vulnerable entry into the world. Hearing John’s doubt we have some insight into what it might have been like to be a first century Jew, hearing the stories of Jesus’ words and actions for the first time as they spread by word of mouth throughout the synagogue and the streets. John believed in the impact that the Messiah was meant to have on the world he lived in every day – but unlike us, he had to have faith without knowing – what was to come.

So where does that leave us? 3^rd millennium Christians, who have the history, who have the insight, who have the rest of the story – that Jesus’ way of overturning the oppressors, of changing the world that we live in was fulfilled in light of his death on a cross – a cross that proclaimed him King of the Jews – death to the human shell that housed God’s incarnate presence as one of us, so that we might be set free from those things that separate us from the love of God – our own sin and sadness that separates us from one another and keeps us from fulfilling the Greatest Commandment, that we love one another.

In this season of Advent, of expectation, perhaps you find yourselves questioning with John, “Are you the one who was to come, or are we to wait for another?” The answer my friends, is that Jesus was the one to come and the “another” whom John wondered that the world is waiting for is you. If John were here today, I believe he might offer prophetic words and witness in response to Jesus message in an email marked “reply all.” He might sound a little something like this – let anyone who has ears listen.

You are the bearers of this story, and of this season. You are the ones, who know and are called to practice the love of God, and love for one another. You are called to see those who are blind to truth, and offer them a new vision for what the world could be. You are called to respond to those who are deafened by the sound of their own voices and the chaos of consumption and to offer them a new sound – one of quiet and peacefulness. You are called to offer safe passage to those who cannot bring themselves to the foot of the altar because they are kept distant from their own fear, their own doubt, their own entrapments of the need for control. Heed to word of God – and look forward with hope and awareness that the Messiah is coming, and you have work to do to prepare. This message is marked reply all. SEND. Amen.

Delivered by The Rev. Mary Catherine Enockson

The Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, Rock Hill, SC, December 16, 2007

Endings and Beginnings...

Last Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 23:1-6
Colossians 1:11-20
Luke 23:35-43
Psalm 46

Today we heard the readings for the last Sunday after Pentecost – the end of the long lectionary season that stretches through the summer and the fall and brings us to the doorstep of Advent, a new year in the church calendar.

Today we heard a Gospel that brings us to the foot of the cross – the last moments before the death of Jesus in his earthly life. Soon the readings, through the voices of the prophets, will begin once again to point us toward the impending birth of the anointed one, Emmanuel, the one who would enter into the world to redeem and release Israel. Endings and beginnings.

This week I have been faced with a wide variety ending moments and beginning moments – all facets of the depths of experiences life in this world has to offer.

On Friday night I received word of a tragic and unexpected death of a young man, a Rock-Hillian who entered into paradise, many would say, long before his time was due.

And in the same week I heard the joyful news of a new life, growing inside of a young mother, whose family will welcome its newest member next year.

These are the most basic, the most obvious examples of the end and the beginning – the loss and birth of life itself…

I asked myself, “Where have I seen Christ this week?” I have seen Christ in the hands of loved ones reaching out to comfort the grieving—in the sharing of stories, and the strength that a family must find to lose a loved one and to have to say goodbye. This week, for me, Christ was found in the image of death, and in the strength that we are given to make it to the next day.

I also asked myself, “Where have I come face to face with the cross this week?” I have faced the cross in the wonder that I always experience at the news that a friend will have a baby soon and that new life will grow in the world that we live in. For to me, the cross is ultimately a reminder to us that our human body is finite in this world, but again, that there is hope in the words expressed by another man who hung on a cross, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” For we too have received the promise of paradise, by virtue of our death and rebirth acted out in the waters of baptism.

This week I met a woman, one of many, who have come to our church office seeking assistance with her utility bills this month. And on the same day I learned of a new program of the United Way, and the state of South Carolina that will provide more consistent assistance for those kinds of needs here in our community.

At the juxtaposition of these two events – I cannot help but realize that we are faced with the needs of those around us every day – we may choose to see those needs and respond, or we may choose to look the other way – to allow ourselves to be busied with our own lives, and our own needs and concerns and to leave others to fend for themselves.

This woman was not the first, and certainly will not be the last to seek and need the help of her community to provide for the needs of her family. Her struggle, to me, reflects the polarization of wanting to help the individual in need, but knowing it is only a symptom of a larger system that needs help, that needs true change.

Our reading from Jeremiah points to those in authority who will be judged based on the way they have dealt with those in their care with the greatest need. To do justice is to do the will of God – justice, in this case, might mean working as a community to understand why so many people are overextended on their utility bills, either due to lack of effective skills in budgeting, or cost-effective practices, or lack of efficiently insulated housing options for people of all socio-economic statuses…

Organizations like the United Way are seeking to provide appropriate and accessible resources so that emergency assistance might be available, reducing the number of individuals who go out seeking donations and handouts. But again, that is only an attempt to treat the symptom what seems like a much bigger problem.

The beginning of action marks the ending of complicity – as we are faced with the growing needs of the community – will we as a congregation choose to see Christ in our neighbors in need, and face the cross – one that will demand a change in us change and our way of being, so that new life may begin with our actions, our striving to do justice in this world?

Where did you see Christ this week? And where did you face the cross?

Today, as a community, we will have the opportunity to witness together the achievement of an Eagle Scout Award – an honor that marks the end of a boyhood practice of setting and achieving goals and the beginning of a manhood of living up to those characteristics associated with the rank of Eagle Scout. Today we will also witness the presentation of a young boy scouts’ God and Family badge – marking an earlier stage in that process of setting goals and striving to achieve them.

Endings and the beginnings...

These moments surround us. They are our moments of transcendence. Some will talk of the day their childhood ended and their adulthood began. But those turning points can only be seen and be understood in retrospect

When we are in the midst of these moments, it is not always that clear just what is happening – though awarded an Eagle Scout today, an accomplishment to be sure, this moment does not in and of itself mark the “true onset” of adulthood, nor does turning 18, nor does participation in the rite of Confirmation – make one immediately an adult. Rather, these beginnings and endings are transcendent; they are markers along the way within a process of development, a process of growing into adulthood.

Our call as a community is to journey together throughout these moments – to give strength, support and kindness to our loved ones who are dying and who have died, and to our newest community members whose arrival and presence we anxiously await.

Our call as a Christian community is to see and hear and respond to the needs of those around us. To remember that Jesus’ life and ministry was spent bringing hope and healing to the lowest of the low – even in his death he was in the company of criminals. And his words to the man who called out to him, seeking sanctuary, seeking a place in God’s eternal kingdom were to grant such glory as the promise of paradise.

And finally, our call as a community, bound together by that mystery that we share in, the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, it is to witness the transcendence of our own experiences and those beginnings and endings that happen each day, so that we might capture a glimpse of the eternal power of the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End that is the love of Christ stretched out beyond time, enfolding us, inviting us and enveloping us in life together as a community.

I invite you to spend this week – in the final days of the season after Pentecost, to look through the ending, and as we enter a new season of Advent, to look through the beginning, to discover where you see Christ, to discover where you see the cross, and to know that offering the prayer, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom, so that when your time of ending comes you will know it to be yet another beginning as you receive the promise that today you will see paradise. Amen.

Delivered by The Rev. Mary Catherine Enockson

The Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, Rock Hill, SC

Sunday, November 25, 2007

16 Pentecost (Proper 19) Year C

Exodus 32:1,7-14
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 15:1-10
Psalm 51:1-18

We all do it – at one time or another – we all do it. We all ask, why me? Why me Lord? Why must it be me – who has to do all the work? Why do I have to deal with all the hurt? Why do I have to be the grown up? Why do I have to be the one who makes all the sacrifices? Why Lord? Why me?

At one time or another we all catch ourselves in the act of self-righteousness. Now, to be righteous, is not a bad thing – to be righteous is to walk in a way that is honorable, virtuous, moral, exemplary – in religious terms one might liken it to walking in the path that God has set before us, thus, something that does not come easily, but with hard work, dedication and commitment, it is something to strive for.

But when the internal self expectations, or the external “God’s expectations” are taken to the extreme, and one’s own sense of righteousness leads to taking the actions and experiences of others for granted, then we begin to have a problem. “For there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

In our reading from the Hebrew text, Exodus, we encounter the Israelites as they wait at the foot of the Mt. Sinai. They wait for Moses to come down from the mountaintop, where he had conferred with God for forty days and forty nights. And as they wait, they become impatient. They have followed Moses this far. They have seen the miraculous work of God’s hand along the pathway – but now – they have grown impatient awaiting the unknown. And despite their identity as a people, a people of the one God, they have decided to take it upon themselves to focus their time and energy and attention elsewhere, toward something more captivating, more apparent. They decide to form an idol to a false God. It is out of their own need for self-assurance and self-reliance that the Israelite people create this token idol to meet their need, and inevitably find themselves looking for trouble.

God’s wrath and indignation is an unknown threat to the many – but it is soothed, and stopped by the one. Moses invites God to have patience with his fickle people – and by doing so, gives the followers the opportunity to repent, to change their ways, and to be patient as they await the fulfillment of their needs – and wants. In this first text, God learns something about the people – and though this part of the story is not written, I believe God learns something about forgiveness – our Psalm reflects on this truth. God knows something of having his own heart broken again and again by the sins and hurts that we cause to ourselves and others when we approach our lives and our work, not with humility and openness to transformation, but with a haughty sense of self-importance and ownership – self-righteousness.

The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; *
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

God learns that the experience of a repentant people turning to him, and the ability to forgive those sins is one that satisfies, and it is a gift that we, as a broken and inescapably sinful people, cannot help but offer again and again our repentance as a sacrifice to God.

Our Gospel text reflects a different version of the story – a flip of it, really. Jesus is being watched, seen by the Pharisees as he shares a table fellowship with tax collectors and sinners. They grumble at the sight of this and he responds with a few parables, a few stories that might shed some light on the situation at hand, and on a new way of thinking through the needs of the individual and the needs of the community.

Asking the Pharisees to put themselves in the place of a lowly shepherd, he entreats them to see life from a new perspective – that of one who is not so certain that all their good works will be sufficient to get them into heaven. In his story there are many well-behaved and “righteous” sheep, which have done their duty, stayed with the flock, managed to keep from getting lost, either by their good decision-making, or like most sheep, their good following along with the community allowing the shepherds & dogs to do their work herding.

But one sheep has lost its way, thus calling upon one shepherd to leave and go in search of it. (In a herd of this size there were likely several shepherds caring for the flock of 99 left behind.) The one sheep is likened to the one who sins, the one who does not, cannot bring themselves to the altar of forgiveness, and thus the one who loves the sheep and cares for the needs of the community at large seeks out to find it, and rejoices at the finding of that individual. Upon its return, its restoration to the community, and thus the completion of the whole, there is to be much rejoicing. The economic sanctity of the community at large is returned to a position of health and wealth, and the assurance that each community member is needed and wanted is assured. Yes, the repentant sinner is needed and wanted and desired to be returned to its place at the table with the righteous.

If you have been following the Gospel texts for the past few weeks, and have looked ahead you might see a pattern that is forming. A few weeks ago, Jesus told the parable of a banquet where he warns that one ought not take a place of honor, but a place of humility in the seating arrangement, because it is the host who will bestow that place of honor, and in God’s eyes it is the poor and those in the greatest need in this life who will receive that place in the kingdom. In the coming weeks we will hear the story of poor Lazarus, who is given that seat in God’s heavenly kingdom, while the one who unrepentantly walked past him every day, did nothing more than offer the crumbs from his abundant table, and the consequences of that lack of repentance.

Jesus’ challenge to the Pharisees, and as I see it to us, is one that truly does cause grumbling. “Why not me, Lord? Why not put me at the head of the table, in the place of honor for all the good that I have done?” It is one that challenges us to remember that we are called upon to be both the righteous, living in the way that God has set forth for us, caring for those who need it most, and the repentant sinner – to recognize our own role as the sheep who has lost it’s way, and the loving voice of the shepherd is calling to us to bring us back into the fold.

One way that we enact this righteousness, and this repentance is in our time gathered here. As a righteous people we bring ourselves to the house of God to learn in community, in practice, in fellowship and in opportunities to teach and learn here where God is in action in our lives, and where God is calling us into action on his behalf. And as we gather for communion, we reflect on the places where we have lost our way, where we have hurt ourselves and others, and where we are in need of God’s wholeness, healing and forgiveness to bring us back into the fold of the community at large.

So which of these stories do you and I fit into?

Are we the righteous – annoyed that God doesn’t give us great kudos for all the good that we are doing?

Are we the bored, impatient, stiff-necked people, tired of waiting and looking for something else to capture our attention?

Are we one of those lost and being sought by God?

Are we like Moses/Jesus, point to those in the greatest need of God’s loving-kindness and saying, “Go there, to them, they need God.”?

Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners because they needed him. He criticized those who assumed God’s favor shone upon them because they were so Good and fulfilling of their duties. On this commissioning Sunday, as you leaders and participants in the life of the community approach your call to follow God, you who are commissioned in your ministries, you who are leaders in the community: do you do so with an expectation of praise?

It is not self-righteousness, displayed for the benefit of others that we are called into. But as one amongst the many, we are called to celebrate with those who have found their way back to the fold, and to rejoice with the one whom having lost the irreplaceable, has found it again.

Why me Lord? Why must it always be me?

Because the only gifts that I have to offer you are my sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, my righteous attempt to follow your path, and my heart seeking forgiveness when I fall short of it. Amen.

Delivered by The Rev. Mary Catherine Enockson

The Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, Rock Hill, SC, September, 16, 2007.

11 Pentecost (Proper 14) Year C

Genesis 15:1-6
Psalm 33
Hebrews 11:1-3(4-7)8-16
Luke 12:32-40

In the beginning there was faith, for faith is a gift that humanity has been given that there is a place where we come from and there is a place toward which we are moving.

Scripture offers us countless examples of the faithful, those who wrestled with a call to faithfulness in the most laughable places – such as the birth of a child from the body of a woman long barren, and far too old to now bear a child – and yet, by faith, that child came, and that legacy, that inheritance of Abraham and his descendants outnumbering the stars was borne.

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8)

Abraham stepped out on faith, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1)

These quotes from the Hebrews passage are both frightening and reassuring. They are frightening because it is not always easy to be a believer. It is not always easy to trust the faith that has been entrusted to us through the church, from our ancestors, from our friends and companions along the way who have reminded us that God calls to be in relationship with Him and with one another.

At times our faith is tested, our ability to accept the hurts of the world and the hurts in our personal lives such as devastating poverty, and the devastation of the loss of a loved one – young or old – it is always too soon, and it is always too much to bear. And our faith in a loving God is challenged as we ask the question, “Why?” “Where are you?” “Where are we going?”

“The assurance of things hoped for” is the response that we are given to these difficult questions, these painful experiences that lead us to challenge the faith we have been given.

We hope that we are moving in the right direction. We hope that we are doing the work that has been set forth for us to do. We hope that our action, our choices, our way of being conforms to the way that God would want to see us engage with one another. We hope that Christ’s teachings would shape and lead us in the ways we interact with one another, and with those in need around us.

We are not always successful at these. We are not always perfect and complete in our response to the things that hurt us, and the experiences that cause us to want to hurt others. We are fallible.

And yet, the gift of faith, the gift of hope instills in us a desire to do better next time, to grow and change and learn from the times where we have not lived up to our call to follow Jesus’ example. And when our own faith fails, it is the faith of the community that surrounds us and upholds us that invites us, encourages us, and calls us to carry on, to continue walking together, not always knowing where we are going.

In the beginning there was faith, and in the meantime there was living in the real world.

Faith and hope are wonderful things – but if we rely on them alone, then we are not responding to the call that is given alongside of them. “It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

But there is work to be done in the meantime. Like the watchful slaves, we too must do our work to be prepared for the impending return of the Master. We don’t know when it will be and we don’t know what it will look like. But all we have to do is open our eyes to the hurts of the world, the hurts of our neighbors in need to see that there is much to be done before we rest. There is much to be done in preparation for our own arrival at the unexpected hour.

Every week we gather here as a community and you are given opportunity upon opportunity to give to various causes, groups, offerings to people doing the work of enacting God’s love for his people. There is a simplicity to the kind of giving that you are invited into with our weekly offering baskets – giving a dollar, five dollars, twenty dollars to the work that our diocese supports through medical and educational mission work in Cange, Haiti, to the relief work that is still the focus of Episcopal Relief and Development from the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, and the support that goes to York Place, a ministry and social outreach to children survivors of emotional and physical abuse.

In one way we are reminded that that which we have been given, is not ours completely. And as stewards of the wealth that we have control over, we have the opportunity to learn the difference between having enough, and having enough to share with others.

But beyond mere giving of our economic resources, we are called, challenged to extend our giving beyond the almighty dollar.

“Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke12: 33)

Giving one dollar or one thousand dollars at a time is a wonderful thing – it enables others to combine the resources of many so that higher goals of helping others might be achieved. The Millennium Development Goals have been put to us as a means of wrapping our minds and hands around tangible goals that can and will lead to the betterment of the world. Children receive life-saving vaccinations, infrastructure in developing and underdeveloped countries is improved, much needed school supplies and tuition grants are given to allow girls an equal opportunity to be educated in places where the family can only afford to send the male child to school. These are the kinds of incredible programs and supports that we are invited to be aware of and to invest in.

I do not begrudge the simplicity of generosity that invites you to place what you can in our offering baskets. But my question for you, and the challenge of the gospel is not only about material giving and possessions – but where do you invest your heart? Where do you invest the faith that has been entrusted to you?

Perhaps there will come a time when the simplicity of giving a dollar does not satisfy the complexity of the problems of the world. Perhaps there will come a time when our faith in things yet unseen, will allow us to see the possibility of a world where all people, have access to resources to meet their most basic needs. And perhaps our call to action as a people of faith will lead us to invest ourselves in the work of bringing about those changes – of challenging the status quo and of committing ourselves to the possibility of change, so that we might be agents of change in a world that so desperately needs it.

Followers of Jesus are exhorted to place their greatest faith, the strength of their heart into those places where the greatest needs have not yet been met. Is there a need within the goals that have been put to us that your heart yearns to invest in – to see it through to see real change in the world?

One metaphor that the gospel offers today is the idea of seek a purse that does not wear out to hold one’s treasure. How does one make a purse that does not wear out? One sews it with compassion for others. One fashions it from materials of integrity and awareness. One marks it with reminders that the abundance at our fingertips is not ours alone. And one fills it with investments of the heart… where neither rust nor moth may destroy.

Today I ask you, people of faith, will you follow a call on a path that leads to your inheritance, but at what end you do not and cannot know? Will you step out on faith, and allow yourselves and as a result your world to be changed? Will you store up your treasures, the investments of your heart in things hoped for, but not yet seen? My hope, and my prayer for you, for us, is that we will answer, “We will with God’s help.” Amen.

Delivered by The Rev. Mary Catherine Enockson

The Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, Rock Hill, SC. August 12, 2007

Apostle to the Apostles

Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, July 22

Judith 9:1,11-14
2 Corinthians 5:14-18
John 20:11-18
Psalm 42:1-7

“Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.” John 20:18

In the name of one God: Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier. Amen.

Today we celebrate the church’s feast day for Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles. The story of Mary Magdalene and her witness to the disciples of Jesus’ resurrection, his appearance to her at the place of empty tomb is the root of her title as Apostle to the Apostles.

But this is probably not the part of Mary’s story that you know best, nor is it the aspect of her relationship to Jesus that you and I hear about the most in our contemporary context.

Thanks to a history of distortion by church fathers who have confused and conflated this Mary of Magdala with other Mary’s and unnamed female “sinners” in the Gospels, the first word you probably think of when you hear her name is prostitute… maybe repentant. Or, even more recently than that, the phenomenon of Dan Brown’s popular novel and film The Da Vinci Code, has put into the mainstream an image of this Mary as, perhaps, Jesus’ secret lover, wife, the mother of his child. Could it be that Mary Magdalene represents the elusive Holy Grail, a divine bloodline that might mean that descendants of Jesus walk among us?

Of course Dan Brown is not the only one to have purported these images of Mary. Medieval folklore exists that describes Mary as a woman banished to the South of France, who spent her life in prayer, fed by angels, and raising a child believed to be the progeny of Jesus. The 1960 novel and 1988 film, The Last Temptation of Christ questions whether Jesus made a choice between a life with

Mary Magdalene as a husband and parent, or death on the cross. And even Broadway has had its crack at the story with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar, capturing an image of Mary Magdalene singing to herself: “I don’t know how to love him.” Caught between his presence as a human man, and the divinity that exuded from him, this Mary struggles with how to relate to Jesus – an ongoing question in Christian theology – how to understand and hold onto one who is wholly human and wholly divine?

These versions of the Magdalene story that are best known can be a lesson in the reality that oftentimes women are spoken of only in their relationship to the male counterpart in scripture. “Joanna, wife of Herod’s steward Chuza” (Luke 8:3), Jeptha’s daughter (1 Kings), etc.

So many of the images used when discussing Mary Magdalene describe her in relationship to Jesus in light of her bodily self– be it as the repentant prostitute whose body was a source of revenue or as the potential partner in marriage and motherhood – whose body was the vessel of growth and new life - reproduction.

Though vastly different images, they are both very body-centered images of femininity. Again, her work, and her companionship amongst the followers of Jesus are overshadowed, and we do not think of her first as Mary Magdalene: Apostle to the Apostles.

Given this new awareness, this new understanding that there is more to her story than we may have thought about before, how might we open ourselves to all that Mary Magdalene has to teach us? What other words might we begin to associate with Mary Magdalene and her ministry? Today I would suggest to you: Commitment, and Leadership.

Mary is first described in the Gospel of Luke as one of several women traveling with Jesus and his twelve apostles. The women are noted as providing for this group out of their own resources. Mary and these women were present with Jesus at the foot of the cross and committed to the care of his body after it had been placed in the tomb. Their loyalty and presence amidst his disciples from the beginning to the bitter end of their journey sets a powerful example for us.

It causes me to wonder, where are the moments in your lives, in your experiences, in your hearts, where you met Jesus and knew that you would follow Him throughout the journey of your life? Some of you have made commitments similar to this in relationships such as marriage, parenthood, partnership, and in the various personal commitments that you have made to one cause or another. Something burned in your heart and you knew that you would work every day, in some way to work toward the betterment of that relationship, or that need of the world.

Mary Magdalene’s moment of transition, of knowing that she would follow Jesus is told in the context of a healing experience, having 7 demons removed from her. It resulted in her commitment to follow, to learn, to be in community with Jesus, the Apostles and the others whose lives were changed by Jesus’ words and actions. Following Mary’s example, of loyalty and commitment, how are you being called to respond to Jesus in this community, this country, this world in need?

As a congregation we do this through our financial commitments to support diocesan and national church ministry funds, as well as the variety of offerings that we take each month – ERD, York Place, the Day School, RAIN, Christians Feed the Hungry, Cange, Haiti, etc. This week members of this congregation will host a group of diocesan youth and young adults traveling to Ecuador to bring the Happening program to that diocese. What commitments of time, talent and treasure are you adhering to in your call to follow Jesus?

Leadership. Mary Magdalene is an example to us of the presence and importance of female leadership from the earliest Christian community. There is an important piece of history that goes along with the misconceptions about who Mary Magdalene was, and how women’s leadership in Christian history has had to be recovered.

The fact that a woman was the one who first shared the message of Jesus’ triumph over death is another example of God’s work taking place in an unexpected vessel. She was given the commission to go and tell, she was given a voice to speak the truth: that Jesus’ love for God’s people had allowed him to take the fear out of death – that what he had said all along really was the truth. She was the first, sent to proclaim this Good News to Jesus’ followers.

This question was posed to me recently, “Where does it say in the Bible that women should not be leaders in church?” It was a woman calling from another denomination, not with malice in her heart, but with a true and real desire to reconcile the teachings that had been rooted in her religious education as a child, that women ought not take places of leadership in the church, pitted against the fact that a woman pastor had been called to serve at the congregation she now attends. In the same week I responded to a phone call requesting a pastoral visit with a female clergy-person.

The witness of female leadership that this church provides, both in this community of Rock Hill, and as the Episcopal Church at large is an incredibly meaningful and important one to men and women alike. Following in the example of Mary Magdalene, both men and women in the world have something to hear and learn from the unique place of the female voice.

Each of us sees, hears, experiences and tells the stories of our experience of Jesus in the voice and understanding that is unique to our context, our understanding of the world. Following in the example of Mary of Magdala, what witness will you make to the life changing experience of knowing the risen Christ, of being fed by the worship and sacred meal that we share together as followers of Christ, of the work and commitments that we make as a community and as individuals as living examples of God’s love in the world?

Mary Magdalene: Apostle to the Apostles, a loyal, committed and faithful leader. How will her story nourish yours? And to whom will you go and tell, “I have seen the Lord!” Amen.

Delivered by The Rev. Mary Catherine Enockson

The Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, Rock Hill, SC. July 22, 2007

I will follow...

5 Pentecost (Proper 8) Year C

1 Kings 19:15-16,19-21
Galatians 5:1,13-25
Psalm 16:5-11
Luke 9:51-62

“And as they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’” Luke 9:57

“Go after, pursue, chase, tag along, go behind.” To agree to follow is to allow another to lead. To commit one’s self to following another is to let the life and example of that one be your guide. It is to step back from yourself, and your desire to be in charge, to be in the know, to be the one with the answers, and to trust in another to provide for your needs, to be your teacher, and to bring you into a way of being that is not of your own desire and your own creation, but of their desire and their hope and dream for your life.

To follow Christ is to allow the presence, leadership and teachings of Jesus to shape and direct your life, your choices and your way of being in this world. It is to pursue the hopes that Christ has for the safety and health of all of God’s children in this world. It is to challenge the status quo that allows extreme economic disparity to continue day in and day out. To follow Christ is to remember that he spent time with the undesirables that lived on the margins of society – the poor, the sick, the unclean, the outcast.

I will follow you wherever you go, one person proclaimed as Jesus and his entourage passed by, but did he really know what he was committing to? Was he really prepared to follow Jesus, whose face was set toward Jerusalem; whose path was leading to his death on the cross? To agree to follow one must consider the consequences – the cost they will have to bear with the choice they make. In the readings for today we are given some examples of the consequences that come when making the decision to follow.

I will follow you Lord, but can you assure me that I will be able to live my life the way that I want to?

No, that cannot be assured. From the passage we learn that to follow Jesus was to face rejection from people’s homes, like the disciples’ experience in Samaria. They were not given a place to rest; they were not assured the security and safety of a home, a place to lay their heads.

My guess is that not many people in this room have ever faced the question – where will I lay my head tonight? Where am I going to make my home? But maybe some of you have opened your doors to strangers, allowed people into your lives from whom you didn’t always know what to expect, and you learned something new from those experiences. To follow Christ is to open ourselves to the possibility of change, to allow ourselves to learn from unexpected places and unexpected people.

We open the doors of this church 4 times a year to the families of the Interfaith Hospitality Network, hosting parents and children who are struggling to remain together as a family through the hardship of homelessness. We open our doors and our hearts to them in hope and faith that they might know something of the security a home. In doing this we offer what we can in a way of support, and we hope that new life might arise where there was no hope before. We do so, not knowing how it will end, or if each family will succeed. But we offer what we can.

And in doing this we make ourselves vulnerable. We learn to be honest with ourselves about our own needs, and wants, and to open ourselves to the possibility that others may have needs that are greater than our wants. When IHN is present with us we commit to giving a part of ourselves to them. We do not know what we will receive, but more often than not, we are changed by the experience of having them here. We make ourselves vulnerable to change when we open our eyes to the fact that there are people in Rock Hill who struggle to survive every day. We make ourselves vulnerable when we agree to be in relationship with people who live on the margins of our community, and whose presence is rejected by society at large.

I will follow you Lord, and I do so knowing that it will change me, and it will change the way that I live my life.

I will follow you Lord, but I can’t leave my home until my duties are done here. I must finish my work in the field. Then Lord, I can follow you.

There is always work to be done. There is always fun to be had. There is always family to be cared for. There are always things that are a natural part of our lives that can interrupt or distract us from our call to follow Christ. As Americans our lives are filled with endless possibilities of how to use our time, talent and treasure: weddings, birthdays, baptisms, funerals, sporting events, dinner parties, ski trips, beach trips, family reunions… To follow Christ is to recognize that at all times and in all places we are called to be disciples.

To follow Christ is to balance those times and places where we do the work we need to do, and to give ourselves the rest that we need to have while recognizing the needs of our community and how our gifts, talents, time and treasure might make a difference for someone in need.

Our Junior High Youth Missioners followed a call to leave their comfortable homes and surroundings, to join with youth from 7 Episcopal congregations from Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. They agreed to give 5 days of their time and energy, to rest their head on the floor of the library and the cafeteria of the Episcopal Day School in Augusts Georgia. They did so by lending their hands and their hearts to a variety of work projects that will contribute to improved education of children from a lower socio-economic class. They did so by volunteering at a food bank, sorting and packing hundreds of pounds of food: food that will go to families that can’t always afford a trip to the grocery store at the end of the month. Food that will be available to local groups that provide monthly, weekly or daily meal programs for people who have no place to rest their head, no security of a home of their own.

As the work week progressed we asked the youth to consider why they had agreed say, “Here I am, Lord, send me,” to give of their time and join in the work. We asked them to share with one another where they saw Christ on the weekend, and how they might continue to do the work of ministry through the Holy Spirit. Again and again we heard young people say, I saw Christ in the people we helped, I saw Christ in the friendships that I made, I saw Christ in the work we did with our hands, I saw Christ in this community.

To follow Christ is to take ourselves out of our own lives and busy schedules, to step back and to see the needs of others, and how we might be able to have an impact.

I will follow you Lord, and the responsibilities of my daily life will not keep me from doing your work in the world as well.

I will follow you, but I must take care of my parents, for they are old, and when they die I must be here to bury them. And I must say goodbye to my friends one last time. Then Lord, then I will follow you.

One year ago, I left my family and friends, I left my home state, I left the school that I had attended for three years and the community that I was a part of there. I set my face toward South Carolina, and I followed a call to come here to Rock Hill.

“South Carolina, God? Really? Me? Okay, if you say so.”

I discerned, I prayed, I contemplated, and I made the decision to come here, and you all invited me to come here as well. But the real reason that I made it here in the first place, and the reason that I am so glad to be with you here today, and gladly face the year and years to come, the real reason for this is the fact that I was called to be here. And even though it seemed like a shot into left field, I knew that it was a call that I needed to respond to. I was being called to follow Christ, to come into your midst and to become a part of this family. It does not mean that I am no longer connected to my family of origin, it does not mean that they matter less to me. But when my call came, I listened and I followed.

“Go after, pursue, chase, tag along, go behind.”

When we listen for and follow the call of Christ we are challenged, we are vulnerable, we have much to learn, and we learn that we have much to offer.

When we follow the call of Christ we may find ourselves in new and unexpected places, but we often find ourselves right in the place we were meant to be. Where is Christ calling you today? And are you ready and willing to say, “I will follow you, wherever you go”? Amen.

Delivered by The Rev. Mary Catherine Enockson
The Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, Rock Hill, SC July 1, 2007

3 Pentecost (Proper 6) Year C

2 Samuel 11:26-12:10,13-15
Psalm 32 or 32:1-8
Galatians 2:11-21
Luke 7:36-50

“Your sins are forgiven... Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7: 49-50

In our reading from 2^nd Samuel, we hear of a confrontation between Nathan, a prophet, and King David, THE King David, the greatly venerated ruler over Israel, beloved by the people.

Now, before we get to that confrontation, one from which David himself can draw no other conclusion but the fact that he truly man who had sinned greatly and that he has acted against God, we ought to know what David is guilty of. And we find this answer in the passages immediately preceding the lectionary reading for this morning.

As the story goes, David saw, from his rooftop, a beautiful woman whose name was Bathsheba, Her husband, Uriah, was a soldier in David’s deployed army. Despite the fact that she was married, King David sent for this woman and lay with her. He, in fact, impregnated her on that occasion. He then attempted to cover for his adultery, for he was the one who coveted his neighbors wife, and took her for his own pleasure. He called Uriah back from the battlefront and attempted to create an atmosphere that would entice Uriah to lay with his own wife.

Uriah was a strict and pious man, and despite the king’s attempt to sway his thinking with food, drink, and the comforts of home, Uriah refused to step out of solidarity with his fellow soldiers and returned the battlefield. David, knowing that Bathsheba would soon begin to show her pregnancy not made by the marriage-bed then made arrangements so that on the battlefield, Uriah would be put in a position of certain death. This would allow the king to hide his transgressions, take Uriah’s wife as his own, and legitimize the birth of his own child with her. Hearing this, it sounds like something you might see on Jerry Springer, or maybe even Dr. Phil, if the couple at some point decided to seek counseling.

This is why I love the Bible. These stories that we see splashed in tabloids and on television talk-shows, and gossiped about in our own local grocery stores are as real and true today as they were then. People sin. At one time or another we have all fallen into the trap of putting our agenda, our desires, our expectations before God and the needs of others, separating ourselves from one another and harming ourselves, our community and our God.

People make bad choices. People make mistakes – sometimes we make HUGE mistakes. Sometimes we try to run away from those mistakes, or try to sweep them under the rug, attempting with all our might to pretend that nothing happened, or that we don’t have to deal with our own blunders, and lapses in judgment... But the reality is – we all make them – our most beloved (and detested) leaders make them, sometimes our community makes them, and we as individual certainly make them.

In the case of David, Bathsheba and Uriah, we have the story of a man who has blatantly sinned, and sinned grossly! He didn’t just make a little mistake – he made choices – very bad choices that hurt many people. David sinned, not only against the soldier Uriah, the wife Bathsheba, the institution of their marriage, but against the Lord God himself. And in the Bible, one does not often sin against God without hearing about it – thus resulting in his visitation from Nathan!

Nathan’s story of the stingy land-owner, who would not give out of his own abundance, but took from the meager means of his servant catches the attention of King David. In the story David recognizes the obvious sin of the man, but Nathan must point out to him that it is his own wrongdoings of the same nature that has brought them together, and brought the condemnation of God!

Realizing that he was guilty of ignoring his own abundance, so that he might take for himself what was the center of Uriah’s household David repents. His punishment is not as severe, as it might have been, but he experiences the loss of a child in the wake of his own inappropriate behavior. I do not read the scripture in such a way that affirms that God took that child from him in response to his sin, but what a torment and painful experience to have following the realization that David’s own actions led to the disruption of his own life, and the destruction of the life that Uriah and Bathsheba had begun together.

Again, we can see this in our own reality, as we are shown that even a most beloved and upheld citizens are guilty of sin, guilty of trespassing against God and their neighbor. We have seen this time and again as televangelists, are caught stealing money from their own contributing supporters, as sports heroes are caught using illegal drugs to assist in their performance, as teachers are accused of sexual misconduct with young people, as honor students are caught plagiarizing… The reality that people make mistakes and thus the individual and the community are both harmed – this has not disappeared from the human experience.

But who needs to be reminded of the fact that we are sinners, the fact that we are all broken in one way or another. We know that we are not perfect beings that are bound to make mistakes, and that forgiveness is real and available to us in our time of need…

I wonder, how many of us are willing and able to be that honest with ourselves…

I wonder, how many of us do the work of taking account of our own transgressions, our own sins against one another, and against God… Sure we do this corporately when we say a confession as a community in preparation for our shared meal together in Holy Communion. And perhaps in preparation for church, or immediately after a service that includes a thought provoking sermon we are moved to consider what and how we might need change, healing, and forgiveness in our lives…

Or perhaps we have more things in common with David, for whom a visitation from one of God’s prophets is necessary to bring about self-awareness of the need for confession and forgiveness of his sins. Or Simon, the Pharisee who invited Jesus to his home for dinner one night.

A dinner that was unexpectedly interrupted by the actions of a woman whose reputation preceded her – a woman who was known to be a sinner, thus letting us know that her sin was public enough that it was likely one of promiscuity or prostitution. Her presence was an interruption because of the overwhelming display of tenderness, and acknowledgement of the unique presence of Jesus in that place that it drew tears to her eyes. Tears that washed the feet of this man. Tears that were wiped away by the woman’s own unbound hair.

What a display! What a distraction! What an obscene public display of affection – by a woman – one whose sins against the community clearly marked her as unclean, and thus her touch and her expression of intimacy with this man made him unclean as well.

Simon, like any of us who has seen, even a brief clip of a television talk show can and does easily point out the fact that this behavior is unacceptable –that this touching and crying and allowing of a woman of this kind to even have access to Jesus in this way is grossly out of order…

But Jesus is quick to correct Simon’s way of thinking – just as Nathan told a parable to David, Jesus tells the parable of one who forgives equally the debts of two debtors – without question, and without comparison. And yet, which of the two receives the greater experience of forgiveness? Obviously the one for whom the greater debt has been forgiven?

The woman who weeps at the feet of Jesus, who cleans them with her tears, dries them with her hair, and anoints them with the contents of an alabaster jar, she knows the sins from which she needs forgiveness. She knows the great chasm that exists between her broken self, and her desire to be in the presence and holiness of the Lord Jesus, and of the God whose forgiveness she seeks.

It is Simon, so caught up in the act of pointing out her sins that he does not see his own need for forgiveness. It is Simon who is not able to reflect on the places and times in his life, in his heart, in his relationship with God and his community where that chasm exists as well. And it is Simon who is made aware that his sins too are to be forgiven, equally and without comparison.

But the depth of the experience of forgiveness and the acknowledgement of it in the tears of this woman, that is something that is not Jesus’ to give. For that experience of the depth of forgiveness, comes from the one seeking the healing forgiveness of God. With Jesus’ words, “You are forgiven,” the chasm of her self-knowledge of having sinned was filled to overflowing with healing.

On this day when we participate in the confession of sin together, let us remember that we are called to bring our whole selves to the Lord God, our whole selves to worship.

We are broken. We have all sinned. And we are all invited to let the God who puts away our sin call us to the Holy Table. So that, like the woman with the alabaster jar, we too might know and accept the depth of God’s great forgiveness, and live free from the bondage of sin, allowing each of us to go in peace. Amen.

Delivered by the Rev. Mary Catherine Enockson

The Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, Rock Hill, SC. June 17, 2007

Set Our Hearts on Fire

June 1-5, 2007 I was traveling with 5 youth and another adult on a Mission trip. To read more about the trip itself, check out OurSaviourYouth.blogspot.com - the link is on the left-hand sidebar.

It was so invigorating and life-giving to be present at a youth event of this size and energy again. When we arrived on Friday night I felt my heart lift with the realization that I've missed being a part of events like this. Youth events and camp were my life-blood in Jr. High and High School. I would see camp friends for one week over the summer and a couple of times during the year at events like these. I always met new people and was re-acquainted with old friends. It felt great to be planting the seeds of similar experiences in the hearts and lives of the youth from Our Saviour.

It was challenging too. The work we did was at times frustrating, seemingly insignificant, redundant, and labor intensive. Our youth worked hard though, and were always willing to do what was asked of them. I hoped that they would meet new people, but as introverts that is sometimes challenging. I was particularly glad to hear all of their voices talking, laughing and teasing one another on the ride home - this was a marked difference from when we drove down to Augusta and I was at work trying to get their voices in action.

During the event I wrote the following prayer/reflection.

Gracious God,
Standing in prayer in the midst of so many of your children from diverse and distant places, yet speaking the same language, sharing common experiences and learning about you in the midst of community, I am once again and eternally in awe.

In the same way it is described in theater, that “the show must go on,” the love, prayer, preparation, study, hope and care that you inspire in your servants, your ministers, your baptized covenantal members, leads to the amazing creation and re-creation of community in your name. My heart is ablaze with the joy of what it is to stand in your midst in this place and to feel your presence amongst this generation of youth.

Jr. High is a scary and uncertain time. You can see the physical differences of these young people when so many are gathered and their budding and developing social networking skills and uncertainties.

“Who sees me? Will they like me? Am I good enough?”

The desires of their hearts are not far from the surface. Frustration, annoyance, boredom, anxiety, tears, laughter, defiance, they are all here and ready to be expressed at a moment’s notice. And they are valid feelings. I hope that each young person here discovers a place where who they are, and what they have to offer is upheld, loved, and shown as part of Your beautiful and beloved creation.

All these things, these moments, that I see and am thankful for, I offer up in the name of your son Jesus, whose love is for them to receive and to reflect to one another and the world. Amen.

Being a participant in the lives of young people as a caring and responsible adult is one of the greatest gifts that I have to give back in response to the gift of youth ministry that was given to me as a young person. I am honored and privileged to be present and working side by side with these young people and the family and community members who love them.

National Young Adult Ministry - and great friendship

This weekend I traveled to the nation's capital city to attend a dear friend's wedding. This dear friend is someone I know only because of Young Adult Ministry and the Episcopal Church at large.

I met Uchenna at an ESMHE (Episcopal Society for Ministry in Higher Education) conference in the summer of 2000 in Denver, CO. We were both recent college graduates - her from Princeton, me from Morningside College. I attended on behalf of the University of Minnesota, as it was my touchstone campus ministry throughout 4 years of college out of state in the Midwest. (On a side note, that particular conference featured the Rev. Bill Countryman as the main speaker, and took place just before the General Convention that elected the first young adult to the national Executive Council - Sara Hart.)

The following December Uchenna and I were roommates at yet another National Gathering of college students (NAT GAT) and became reacquainted, in fact, truly began a great friendship that has meant a lot to both of us the last 7 years. We discovered that despite obvious differences in our geographic and cultural upbringing - she a Nigerian/American woman raised in Miami & Philadelphia, and me a Midwestern to the bone, of Swedish/English/American heritage - we had many similar family, life and church experiences that took place at a very similar pace and timeframe. As we learned more about one another, we recognized ourselves and in each other - an almost, soul-mate recognition led us to tease friends - calling ourselves twins.

We decided to stay in touch, and specifically to be prayer partners for one another. For the next year or so we had semi-regular Tuesday night phone calls/check-in. (Uchenna was living in Chicago, IL and I was in Rochester, MN at the time.) We'd talk about our favorite TV shows, and we talk about our families, jobs, vocational questions, and those places in our lives where we needed support of a spiritual depth. Sometimes we would end a phone call praying for one another. Sometimes we would commit to saying the daily office at the same time later that evening. Every time we spoke our friendship grew deeper and our support of one another's faith and ministry was heard and upheld.

We managed to see each other periodically the first few years - me visiting Chicago, Uchenna visiting the twin cities and Rochester. In 2002-2003 Uchenna and I had the opportunity to work on a team together to plan the Young Adult Festival at General Convention 2003 - an event that would take place in Minneapolis, MN. Throughout the year we met with the rest of the team and shared many great meals, laughs and liturgies together. Our friendship was grounded in our connection to one another as children of God and as faithful members of the Episcopal Church.

Uchenna entered graduate school a year before I began seminary. We we both students, and as long distance friendships can go, there were long periods of time when we didn't talk with one another -- too many other commitments had long taken the place of our regular chats - though those were a great support to both of us at a time in our lives that we needed it. As our various relationships with other people ebbed and flowed, this friendship, even though relying on phone calls that were fewer and farther between continued to be strong. Uchenna is someone I will always be friends with, and always be glad to know.

I was proud to have her stand with priests, friends and family as a presenter at my ordination to the priesthood in January - and I was proud to be a participant in her wedding this last weekend. As the hours drew closer toward the ceremony that would celebrate her commitment to love honor and be loved and honored by the man she is creating a new family with, my joy at finally meeting her mother, and seeing her transition into this new station in life was overwhelming. Uchenna's friends and family, danced and sang, shouted and rejoiced in traditional American and Nigerian ways throughout the wedding weekend.

As I spoke with various friend groups of the bride and groom- those who had known them in high school, or college or grad school - I realized that I did not fall into any of these categories. Uchenna and I never lived in the same place - never shared a day to day common experience of being in class together, or working together. Our friendship was born out of the workings of the national offices of the Episcopal Church in New York City: the idea that Episcopalians from around the country should get to know each other, that we should learn each others stories, and live into our commonalities and differences. Because ultimately, what we share is a faith and a practice of that faith that connects us to one another.

Anglicans are connected through centuries of worship, conversation, and hope that we can do good in the world that we have been given to live in. Geography, culture, ethnicity, gender, economics, sexuality, time, interest... the barriers are easy to spot, to claim, to allow to divide us. But in seeing each other, and in being committed to friendship and a common cause, we can grow infinitely in our relationships with one another and with God.

I am so thankful to know Uchenna, and I am so thankful to be known by her. Thank you Episcopal Church - and the office for Young Adult Ministries for bringing Uchenna and I together in friendship in family and in the ministry of growing together in Christ and community. Amen.

5 Easter, Year C

Leviticus 19:1-2,9-18
Psalm 145 or 145:1-9
Revelation 19:1,4-9
John 13:31-35

On a day with a Gospel text like this – it should be easy to preach – the topic and the statement are so clear so simple so direct – love one another, as I have loved you.

What more can you say? Love each other. The end.

But of course, it’s never that simple, is it?

What kind of love is Jesus challenging the disciples to have for one another? How is that alike or different from other commandments that have been given to God’s people before this night? Such as, the 10 commandments given to Moses and the Israelites… and the Shema, or the greatest commandment, also given to the Jewish people and reiterated by Jesus that “you shall love the lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.”

What is it that makes this commandment “new,” as it is described in today’s passage?

The commandment and our call to respond to it are just not that simple.

First one must address the use of the word love – a word that we use today over and over again – I love you, I love ice cream, he loves Clemson or she loves Carolina... (In case you were wondering, I love the Boston Red Sox) Our word for love in the English language gets a workout – and is used to describe a care or affection for all kinds of things. Perhaps it is used so much, and for such a variety of things that the complexity of the statement, love one another, in its English translation, is lost on us.

In the Greek language, the original language in which the Gospel according to John was written, there are four words that are used to describe different kinds of love. There is philios – which describes the kind of love between close friends or companions – you’ve heard of Philadelphia, “the city of brotherly love.” There is a word that describes the love of a parent for their child – storge. And another familiar sounding Greek word for love is eros – a love that is rooted in desire – sometimes referred to as romantic love – and perhaps also related to the way we say we love objects in our lives – such as a love of cars – love that comes out of desire.

Each of these kinds of love has a place in our lives – each of them is relational – embedded in a connection between individuals in community with one another. Love for a friend, love for a child, love for a partner and companion in life. Each is valid and we gain much from each of these types of love. But none of these Greek words is the word used by Jesus with his disciples in this passage.

The love that he showed his followers, and the love that he commanded they show to one another is defined in a completely new and different way. This is why this love commandment was new. This was agape love – a godly love, one that is unconditional without judgment or personal gain; a sacrificial love, enacted by Jesus in the ultimate sacrifice of his own life. This was Jesus’ final commandment given to his disciples – that they love one another as he had loved them – unconditionally.

This commandment to love one another as we are loved by God is passed down to us through the words of this Gospel, and hopefully through our experiences together in Christian community.

How do we love one another so that others might see Christ’s love for us, within us, within our community? How do we allow ourselves to love and be loved in such a way that we are truly changed, that we are truly transformed, that we are truly able to experience the resurrection of Christ in our lives and in the life of this community?

I believe that where we see resurrection, there we see Christ. Where we are participants in the need for transformation in the world, there we are reflecting the love that Christ taught us, commanded us to give to one another. Where we can be a people of resurrection and hope for others, there we can be the presence of Christ with and for one another – so that wherever two or three are gathered in Christ’s name, Christ is present.

The question, then, that I have in this Christian community, is do we have that agape love for one another here. If the answer is yes, then again you’ve made my job very easy, “love one another as Jesus commanded – and you do. Good Job. Amen.”

But of course, is just not that simple. What is unconditional love? What impact does that have on the way that we relate to one another, the way that we talk with one another, the way that we respond to the needs of those in this and in our surrounding community? I have seen glimpses of it here – I have seen reflections of that love lived out in this parish community and it is a powerful gift to all who give it and all who receive it.

The power of this love is what enables us to give freely of ourselves to one another, and to give with generosity to our neighbors in need. The power of this love is what calls us to be a place of hospitality striving to meet the needs of those who have little or nothing to their name in this world. To give the loving support that our friends need when they are mourning the loss of a spouse to death or divorce, the loss of a child to addiction or to tragedy, or facing struggles with mental illness, depression, and fear.

And it is this love that draws us close and to desire to celebrate with one another the joyful moments in life – as children are born and baptized, as those children transition into adolescence and adulthood, as relationships between two life partners mature and leads them to a mature commitment in marriage, and as the life cycle continues through another generation of children and grandchildren being born into this world, borne into our lives and community.

It is a love that is here, but it is not always an easy love to give, or to receive. The reason for this difficulty is the level of vulnerability that one must submit to in order to enact this love. Unlike the love of a parent or of a friend or of a spouse, this agape love is not dependant upon a reciprocal relationship – it is a love that is ultimately about sacrifice – because there is no guarantee that when you give love of this kind, of this magnitude, that it will be returned.

Though I believe God’s love is forever present, in the constancy of creation, in the relationships that we share with one another, there is no guarantee that we will love God back – we are free to respond to that love at our own will. By giving the gift of agape, unconditional love to his disciples, and to us, Jesus opened himself up to rejection, and betrayal, and still he loved his companions, his friends, to the end. We practice making ourselves vulnerable in the other expressions of love, but we do so in hopes of reciprocity, we hope to receive something in return – we hope to be loved back by our spouse, we hope that our children will care for us in our old age, we hope – and some of us demand – a winning season from the teams we are devoted to.

God’s self-giving love, through his Son, and Christ’s love for his companions as he walked with them, instructed them, and ate with them, that love was given, freely, without expectation of return – it was simply a gift given to God’s people, shown through the life and actions of the one who came to show us how to love one another.

And the Good News, the Great News, is that love is given in abundance, it is yours to receive and to carry with you. It is is the love that welcomes you home each time you turn to God and ask for forgiveness. It is yours whether you want it or not – because God is love – and when you have that love, know that love, can allow yourself to be loved fully and completely by God, then you too can give the gift of that love – the same love given to the disciples by Jesus – the same love given to us by Christ, and asked of us to give to one another. It is not easy, it is not simple, but it is ours to receive: our greatest gift and commandment from God.

And so, as we gather together at that table and share in the symbol of that love in the bread and the wine, let us be reminded of our call to love one another – not simply – but as Christ loved us, unconditionally, and without expectation of a return; for he gave of himself an offering and sacrifice to God. Amen.

Delivered by: The Rev. Mary Catherine Enockson

The Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, Rock Hill, SC, May 6, 2007