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January 25th, 2009 – Third Sunday after Epiphany - Vestry Sunday
Readings: Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 62:6-12; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20
A middle aged woman has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she has a near-death experience. During that experience she sees God and asks if this is it. God says no and explains that she has another 30-40 years to live.
Upon her recovery she decides to just stay in the hospital and have a face lift, liposuction, breast augmentation, and a tummy tuck. She even has someone come in and change her hair colour. She figures that since she's got another 30 or 40 years she might as well make the most of it.
She walks out the hospital after the last operation and is killed by an ambulance speeding up to the hospital.
She arrives in front of God again and asks, "I thought you said I had another 30-40 years?"
God replies, "Sorry, I didn't recognize you."
Having one’s identity mistaken may be innocent, or unfortunate, depending on the circumstances. But one thing’s for sure: it is essential that we not forget who we are.
In trying times it is easy for us to get confused about the world, and about ourselves. When pushed to the limits we are tempted to seek escapes from reality – we seek out fantasy, simple pleasures, or addictive behaviour. Too often we look for a scapegoat to blame for our problems rather than take responsibility for our role in our suffering.
I was inspired by much of what Barrack Obama spoke of in his inaugural address this week. I thought he balanced honestly appraising the challenges America (& the world for that matter) were facing with the hope that these challenges may be met. And he rooted this hope in the identity America has forged for itself through its history. He says,
“Because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace…
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake…”
These words hit me hard as I heard President Obama deliver them, because they speak not only to Americans concerned about their future, they speak to each and every one of us. They speak to those of us fretting about employment, those worrying about the future of loved ones, those grieving bitter losses. They speak to us Anglicans who face the reality of broken communion, church-splits, and declining numbers. They speak to us at Holy Trinity which faces the dual challenge of an aging volunteer work-force and increasing demands society thrusts upon young families.
How do we face the challenges that face us in the days ahead? Might we take a cue from Obama: we need to take to heart our history. What is our history? Well we could list our family genealogies, recount Canadian or Sault Ste Marie history – but our more important lineage & our essential legacy we inherit as the people of God.
We may not have a document like the American Constitution to return to, but what we do have is a document that has endured for millennia. We have a book borne of years of struggle and triumph, borne of blood, sweat, and tears, composed by dozens of authors yet united in theme and intent. We have God’s Word – the story of God with his people.
Contained within its hallowed pages we hear the story of God’s love for his people: His refusal to give up on a cowardly and bigoted man like Jonah who refused to preach a message of repentance to a people group he would have preferred to see destroyed. God sent trouble Jonah’s way to soften his hard heart and resolve his will to obey God’s call on his life. So Jonah wandered through Ninevah, preached repentance, and the Ninevites heard and responded to his message and were spared. As the people of God we are both Jonah and the Ninevites.
We are the Corinthians – a group of believers wrestling with how to balance living in a pagan culture with their conversion to Christ. We struggle in discerning what things we need to let go of in our life, those things that will not last forever, that get in the way of our spiritual lives, and what to cling to. We are reminded by Paul to hold onto the promise that Christ is returning to this world to restore, redeem and recreate it. And he would have us to play our parts.
And we are also the disciples, Simon Peter & Andrew, James & John, called by Christ to abandon everything to follow him. To embark on the adventure of discipleship – to heed Christ’s teaching on the kingdom of heaven and to actively participate in realizing it on earth; To proclaim the message of the forgiveness of sins, to demonstrate the power of this message through the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.
These are not the stories of strangers – they are the stories of our brothers and sisters – they are our stories. Can you see yourself in this rich history? Like Jonah we are called by God to be both proclaimer of the message and the message proclaimed. Sinners redeemed by God and set apart for a special purpose on this earth. We are also the Ninevites, caught up in our busy lives, shackled by our sinful attitudes and behaviours, yet God sends someone into our lives to proclaim God’s message of forgiveness to us and show us the way we were meant to live. We are like the disciples, ordinary people with no special training or lineage that would make us feel qualified to serve God in a leadership capacity, but yet we hear Christ’s call. We have faith that if Christ is calling us then it is the call that qualifies us, that makes us worthy, and it is not from our own efforts or natural talents that we earn God’s mission.
Today we have our yearly Vestry meeting where we will discuss and decide on matters that pertain to the future of Holy Trinity. May we recognize our rich history as the people of God, certain of the calling and purpose God has laid on our lives, so that we may meet the challenges ahead of us; So that we would see that a God who was faithful to us in the past will remain faithful to us in the future. I close with Obama’s concluding words: may we see ourselves in this story, not as Americans or Canadians, but as the people of God.
“At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it."
America (& Holy Trinity), in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words; with hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come; let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you.”
And God bless Holy Trinity. Amen.
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