Apocalypse

Blessed Lord,

who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, 

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope

given us in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

You may have noticed that my sermons are always Scripture based,

         and that I usually focus on the Gospel reading.

I do that on purpose,

         in part, because I have been greatly influenced by the Collect for today.

 

Growing up in the Episcopal Church I wasn’t always taught much 

                  about what was IN the Bible, 

but this ancient collect from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer 

         was held up as our ideal for how to regard the Bible.

 

Hear, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest.

In other words, 

         go at it with thorough intent until it becomes a part of you.

 

Personally I first seriously took that on in my life 

         when I had an experience as a child 

                  attending a friend’s church of a different denomination 

         for their summer vacation Bible school, 

         where everyone but me knew the story about the Good Samaritan.

We were going to act out the parable, and no one wanted to be the priest.  But I thought the priest must be a good guy, so I volunteered, 

         only to discover that the priest was one of those 

                  who walked away from the person so desperately in need.  

That embarrassment was the beginning point for a deep dive

         into the whole of the Bible.

Whatever it takes to prod us, we all need to 

         hear, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the words of Scripture.

 

So THIS Gospel reading for today.

         We get just the first 8 verses of the Chapter, 

but the rest of chapter goes on and on and on  with a total deconstruction 

         of history and culture and social order and religion, 

                  as well as the created order.

It is apocalyptic to the nth degree.                    Everything comes apart. 

 

And so, would you believe, this is a perfect reading for us today.

 

First of all, its placement in the outline of the Church liturgical calendar is apt.

Next Sunday is the last in this liturgical year, 

         and then we have the beginning of the new year 

                  with the first Sunday in Advent.

So thematically this is part of a bringing to the close of the year, 

                           the end of the story, 

         with next Sunday a supposed glorious climax 

                                                      with the theme of Christ the King.

However, NOT the glory of any worldly reigning monarch.

 

The Kingdom, the Reign of God, looks quite different.

         In the Kingdom of Heaven the first shall be last and the last first.

         The King is crucified and reigns from the cross.

         The Lion lays down with the Lamb and becomes a vegetarian.

         And the Good News is for the poor,

                  and for release of captives and recovery of sight to the blind,

                  and liberty for those who are oppressed.

 

This Gospel passage for today ends with the words:

         “These are the beginning of birth-pangs.”

 

All the deconstruction, the decomposition, the falling apart and coming undone 

         are part of the process necessary for something new to be born, 

                  to come into being, 

                  to emerge from the chaotic ruble.

These are not the birth-pangs for a devastation 

                                    of political or military upheaval or destruction,

         but for something new and entirely different.

And what is to be born is not at all like what has come before.

         If we just try to repair and reconstruct what has been there before,                            we will have missed the point 

                  and the great opportunity that apocalypse offers us.

 

Let’s take this out of the upper atmosphere 

         and bring it down to earth into today, here in the present.

Did you notice that we just came through an election 

                  that had a lot of anxiety hovering over it?

Did you notice that 

                  although some may have breathed a sigh of relief 

                  and others felt the depths of grief, 

         that, for the most part, life went on as it had and as it will.

Lessons are learned and plans for going forward are taking place.

Where will each of us engage in the world around us,

         and how will our faith inform our words and actions?

That is the same question we faced prior to the election.

 

But notice this in the Gospel reading:

         The disciples were gawking at the magnificent temple in Jerusalem.

It was the biggest and most impressive structure in the whole country.

It was the center of their faith and religious observances.

It was the place of all their religious functions.

It was their very identity as a people.

And it was all going to come down – not one stone left on stone.

 

The Christian Church today as an institution is fragmented,

         and has been for centuries.

The word Christian has been compromised.

It has been compromised by using it 

         as an adjective to describe a political form of exclusion.

         I’ll say it out loud: Christian Nationalism.

The word Christian for too many people is associated with 

         doctrines that judge and condemn 

                  others who do not believe the same doctrines, 

                  others who do not live life styles that fit a constrained moral law, 

The word Christian is sometimes associated with places of worship 

         where abuses of various forms were actually harbored .

Think boarding schools for indigenous children taken from their parents,          sexual misconduct by those who had been trusted faith leaders,          suppression of women or those of other races, 

         judgment and exclusion of anyone deviating from binary sexual identity.  

Do I need to go on?

There are some members who have come to this church –

         this denomination and this particular congregation – 

         from places where they no longer felt that they fit or were welcome.

 

And indeed, ever since the pandemic gave all the churches 

                  a good kick in the attendance records, 

         we have had to REALLY look at who we are 

                  and what is our purpose 

                  and what is our mission 

                  and what makes us real and relevant in the world today 

         so that we can come here and be welcomed, nourished, 

and equipped to face the world as it is outside this space of religious comfort.

The apocalypse is a deconstruction, 

                  an intentional disordering of the way things have been,

         so that there can be a re-ordering of the way we do church,

                           of the way we are church,

         so that we become more solidly grounded in our faith,

                  in our prayers, in our actions, 

                  and in the ways we love one another.

 

I love that what you have done here is to pitch in together

         and how you did a massive house cleaning of those rooms downstairs.

You actually put into action through that very concrete and tangible work

         what needed to be done in order to shift how you define yourselves

                           as a faith community.

It wasn’t just de-cluttering, but also creating an open space 

         for the Holy Spirit to move among you.

What you did is a metaphor for what needs to happen spiritually 

         for the community and for each of you individually.

Well done!

 

And don’t stop.

See and accept the grace and mercy and love given eternally to you.

And then live that grace and love and mercy,

         and in serving others pass on the love, mercy and grace                  

                in a world that really needs it now. 

The Eye of the Needle

The main reason any of us are here on a Sunday morning 

is because of Jesus.

 

Isn’t that so?

Those of us who have been hanging around church for sometime, 

do we not recognize that when we look at Jesus 

–      as he is reflected in scripture and, hopefully, in each other – 

that we are being shown something profound about the nature of God?

 

The more direct our experience of Jesus, 

the more a huge scope of horizon opens up for us 

about the awesomeness and wonder of God,                                            and about the vast comprehensiveness of our very salvation.

 

Jesus is the one who opens the windows of our hearts and minds 

to this hugeness of encounter with God.

This happens in our experiences of grace and mercy 

surprising us in our lives at our times of greatest need

            and when we least expect to see the Divine Presence.

This happens as we encounter the stories of Jesus in the Gospels 

where we see many different ways in which 

Jesus didn’t just open a window or door.  

He blew them off their hinges, so to speak.

So often in the Gospel stories it says the people were amazed.

Mild translation.

Literally in Greek it says their minds were blown away.

They were struck out of their senses.

 

Jesus was always saying things and doing things 

to turn everything around,

to jolt us out of the usual perspective,

because our usual perspective is commonly heavily influenced 

by the culture around us and by our unconscious assumptions. 

So it often takes a shock to bring us out of illusion and around to reality.

 

The Gospel story for today is a beautiful example of this, 

and as such is a tremendous open window 

into the nature of grace and mercy and God’s love and salvation.

 

And you might have thought that this reading was about stewardship!

 

We could be crass about the gospel for today

            and say that whereas Jesus asked for everything from the rich man

the Church only asks for a tithe, 10%,

            so you’re being offered a good deal when you fill out your pledge card.

 

Then we can all sit back and go, “Whew, we’re off the hook.

            We don’t have to take seriously what Jesus said to this person;

                        it doesn’t have parallel implications for us.

            I’m not getting hit with a challenge 

about giving away my whole paycheck and all my possessions."

 

However, I say to you,

            if this Gospel provokes within you 

some reflection about your relationship with material possessions, 

fine, that’s a very good thing to look at for our spiritual well being.

 

But the passage has more to do 

with the disciples who witness this exchange 

between the rich man and Jesus, 

and about salvation, 

than it does about tithing or pledging or charitable giving.

 

The challenge Jesus gives to this man who desired to follow him

            goes to the heart of this person's issues of life and faith,

and it gives Jesus the opportunity 

to use this with his disciples as an important teaching 

which is in direct contradiction to their accustomed beliefs.

 

The accustomed way of thinking about the relationship 

between material prosperity and enjoying God's favor 

is blown away,

and the disciples are brought into a different space of awareness 

that is vast, 

overwhelmingly comprehensive, 

and revelatory of God.

 

Now, there's a bit of background that would be helpful to know 

regarding that time and culture

that has stretched on through the centuries.

From OT times having many possessions, being materially prosperous

            was considered to be a sign of God's favor.

 

Certainly we say that we, for example, 

            are blest to live in this country with a higher standard of living

                                    than most of the rest of the world, 

and when we have jobs providing a steady income, 

we consider that a blessing,

and when we are able to afford taking a vacation, 

or buying a car, or remodeling the kitchen, 

we consider that a blessing as well,

            knowing that it is not always the case that we can get along so well.

 

This kind of thought is ancient and universal.

 

Sometimes it gets expanded into a whole theological doctrine,

            such as the "Protestant work ethic"

            in which hard work that pays off in material prosperity

                        is seen as an indication that you are under God's grace.

 

God has prospered the work of your hands,

            and, therefore, this is a clear sign of God’s favor –

                        a sign that you are saved, a sign of salvation.

The dark side of this comes to be seen 

in blaming the poor for their own condition.

 

Just look at the book of Job for a prime example of this sort of thinking

            that leads Job’s 3 friends to question what Job did wrong 

                        to bring on himself such disaster and suffering.

If you are blest by God, your life circumstances will reflect that, they say.

 

But Jesus blows that away.

 

The rich man runs up to Jesus 

just as he and the disciples are on the way out of town.

And he asks,

            "What is it I may do in order to inherit eternal life?"

 

He has been a good, religious person,

and this is evident because he has prospered and gained many possessions.

 

But he wants more.

Maybe the physical evidence of wealth 

isn't necessarily giving him assurance about salvation.

            Maybe he thinks that if he could do something more 

than observance of all the commandments 

his blessings would be even greater.

            Maybe he intuits that material prosperity does not satisfy

his spiritual hunger.

 

And Jesus, looking at him through and through, has deep love for him,

and so he speaks words to him to cut through 

all motives and assumptions of blessing 

to what it is that will open him to the realization of salvation.

 

Go, get rid of all that evidence of God's supposed favor and blessing.

Give it all to the poor, to those whose lives seem to indicate 

that they have fallen short of the divinely blessed religious path.

 

And then come be in discipleship with Jesus,

 

Come be reduced to the same status as the disciples

                        who likewise had turned their backs on their whole way of life 

                        and families and possessions,

in order to be near Jesus, follow him around, 

and take in his compassion and teaching,

because his very presence was so compelling

            and he touched the hunger in their hearts.

 

But – how hard it is for someone with many possessions 

to enter the Kingdom of God.

 

The disciples were amazed, blown away by this

because Jesus just wrote off 

the whole popular, commonly-held belief system.

 

And he confounds them further:

"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle,

            than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God."

 

You can't buy your way into the Kingdom of God.

You can't live your life 

in such complete compliance with all the commandments even

to assure entrance.

And you can’t look at “success” in your life/“having it made”

            as equated with being saved.

 

If the rich, those who supposedly had God's favor, 

can't get into the Kingdom of God,

            then what chance does anyone have?

And so in all astonishment they ask, "Who then can be saved?"

 

And Jesus tells them the Great Reversal:

"It's humanly impossible,

but not with God.

            For all things are possible with God."

 

So those first in evidence of apparent divine blessing,

those first in effort at keeping all the commandments,

even those who look successful in the world

                                                                                    will ironically be last.

And those last, those who have no illusions about saving themselves,

            those who know their utter dependence on God,

                        such as those whose lives are broken and impoverished,

they will be the first ones in through the door – 

through the eye of the needle -  

into the Kingdom of God, into the state of salvation.

            

Salvation is utterly available to us 

the minute we give up our own efforts, 

our own self improvement programs,

because, and think about it,

            we can’t improve upon what has already been provided.

 

Salvation is vast, expansive,

            a freedom of the Spirit no matter what the physical condition.

Salvation is overwhelmingly comprehensive, 

            the way we are meant to be,   what we were created for.

 

So perhaps we may see that this gospel lesson for today,

            while it may provide some prodding of consciousness about stewardship,

is actually about the basic life issue of salvation

            and a call to discipleship

                        so that we might realize this salvation.

 

Go, get rid of all that evidence of God’s supposed favor and blessing,

and then come, be in discipleship with Jesus,

            the one who blows open the windows of our hearts and minds

                        to the hugeness of God and mercy and grace and salvation,

come be in discipleship with Jesus,

            and the whole Kingdom of Heaven is yours.

 

Words of Comfort

In the Name of God:

         Creator, Bread of Life and Holy Comforter.  Amen.

 

One of the ways we can describe or name the Holy Spirit 

         is as Holy Comforter.

And this could be the name we may especially want to invoke today,

         God, the Holy Spirit, as comforter,

         God’s Presence that reminds us that we are loved,

                  that God’s compassion flows towards us and embraces us.

Comfort is a word that is good to hear right now,

         but it means more than what a mother might say to a child

                  who has fallen and skinned a knee or stubbed a toe.

The word comfort comes directly from Latin

         and means with strength.

The Holy Spirit provides us with strength to see us through 

                  difficult times, like right now for St. Andrew’s.

Oh, Tracey, your absence this morning is profoundly felt!

And it’s not just here where people feel the loss.

Bishop Gretchen wrote about Tracey’s death with genuine grief over this loss,

         and how this impacts more than just us here

                  but more broadly around the diocese.

And Mary Beth Rivetti, another beloved priest in the diocese, wrote:

         “What a vibrant, creative, and persistent leader [Tracey was]. 

         May her soul be at peace, and all who mourn her find comfort.”

And I was told that the people at the Cathedral this morning 

         are specifically praying for you, the faithful at St. Andrew’s.

Take a moment right now to let the prayers from around the diocese

         sink into your awareness and be a comfort to you.         

Now you probably have noticed that this summer 

         the Sunday scripture lessons have featured readings from

                  John, chapter 6, the Bread of Life chapter,

                  and the Epistle to the Ephesians.

 

In the midst of what has happened this last week for St. Andrew’s,

         I think the reading from Ephesians today can be particularly helpful.

It is sort of a summing up of the previous chapters of Ephesians

         in some imagery that I believe can help address 

                  how you hold and respond to what you are facing today

                                    as individuals,

                                    as a community of faith,

                                    and even for all of us on a global scale.

 

What is offered is a word-picture of being clothed,

                           clothed in armor.

It was written for those feeling spiritual oppression and attacks

                  in order for them to have strength in the Lord.         

 

This is a militaristic example that the Apostle Paul is using, 

         but look what he has done with it.

He is saying here’s what is at stake – YOU.

         You are under threat.

This calls for power in the face of threat,

         and strength is needed,

but that strength has to come from God.  It is God who keeps you strong.

So put on this armor, which is given you by God.

         It’s not your own armor, but armor which is a spiritual gifting.

 

First there’s the belt around the waist – well, that’s a bad translation.

         It actually says gird your loins with truth,

Truth around the most private and personal parts of our bodies.

This truth is our grounding reality, most personal and often most private; 

         truth is what brings integration 

         and coherence to our sense of identity.

Then the breastplate of Righteousness is placed over the heart.

         It protects the center of our being 

                  where our motivation and commitment comes from.

It is the breastplate of righteousness, which is right relationship with God.

         The importance of this is that to be strong 

                  the strength must come from the power of God working in us,

                                    the Holy Spirit working righteousness in us.

The breastplate of Righteousness based on right relationship with God

         is that which gives access to such strength.

 

Then you need a shield for defense.  Faith is the shield.

         Faith is trusting in God, 

         faith that is a gift of the Spirit 

                                    as well as a fruit of the Spirit growing within us.

The imagery describes this shield as having the ability to quench,

                  to douse water on flaming arrows.

         What superhero would love to have that! 

Undoubtedly Paul was recalling the Psalms, specifically Psalm 91.

         “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High,

         …shall find refuge under [God’s] wings;

         his faithfulness shall be a shield and buckler.

         You shall not be afraid of any terror by night,

         nor of the arrow that flies by day.”

The faith of this shield is a relationship with the reality

         of the unbreakable dependability of the faith of Jesus in us to sustain us.

                                                      His faith within us is utterly dependable.

Next is the helmet of salvation.

         Put your head into that, into the context of salvation, 

         know with your mind that salvation is God's work, 

         not what your own mind can contrive or figure out.

Salvation is liberation, being set free from oppression 

                  that attacks our reality that we are beloved children of God.

 

Now, I left out one item that we need to come back to.

Verse 15:  As shoes for your feet put on 

         whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.

 

Peace – Wait a minute!  Isn’t the armor for doing battle?

Get all this armor on and then DON’T march off to battle!

         Look at those marching shoes – 

         whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.

                  peace, they’re not for warfare.

What is peace here?

         Peace is the utterly untroubled fullness of the Presence of God.

                           Peace -    untroubled fullness of the Presence of God.

To walk in peace is to walk in the freedom from both 

         hatred of the other who is seen as an enemy

         and hatred of self, from being at war with one’s self.  That is peace.

The world around you may be a helpless wreck

         but that peace will help you walk right through it all.

 

Verse 13 at the beginning of this armor imagery says,

"… take up the whole armor of God, so that … having done everything, 

         [you may] stand firm."  

Once you get all that armor on, 

         there is no need for further action on our part.  

Just stand there equipped with what God has given you.  

That will be sufficient.

 

The whole armor is composed entirely of gifts given to us,

                  so it is not our strength being described here.

It is to accept having these gifts without you needing to achieve them!

                           Gospel Good News.

 

And we get this armor on, but we don’t fight; we stand.

         The armor is defensive.

         Any fighting to be done, leave that to God.

 

The only offensive part of this armor is the sword,

                  the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.

And that’s not our words, but the word of God

that we can access through the Spirit

                  and speak when we face a situation of need.

 

Our words are to pray.  As it says in verse 15;

         “Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication.”

         Praying at all times in the Spirit – 

and, yes, this is possible, clothed in this symbolic armor

         that reminds us of how much we have been given,

         that reminds us of our baptismal identity in Christ.

 

The Apostle Paul learned all of this while under great duress and stress.

         His was not an easy missionary calling, you know.

He was beaten, shipwrecked, stoned, imprisoned – 

         For him this armor of God was a lived reality.

He knew what it was to abide in Christ, to live in him,

                  to live by the faith of Jesus.

 

And Jesus said in today’s Gospel selection,

    “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.

         …whoever eats me will live because of me.”

 

We have been sitting with these shocking words 

         these last few Sundays 

                  daring to look at them and not avert our eyes, hopefully.

 

For some of the disciples this was just too much.

They said,

         “This teaching is difficult (literally, is hard); 

This bread is as hard as a rock.  Who can eat that?  Who can accept it?”

They were murmuring and complaining 

                  about this whole long Bread of Life teaching.

But Jesus doesn’t soften the message for them.

 

Here’s the heart of it, Jesus tells them.

“It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless.

The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

 

The words of Jesus are the words of creation within us.

         The words that Jesus speaks are words of intervention 

                  into all this whole chaos.

They don’t necessarily make things easier.

They may not straighten out the mess of life to our satisfaction.

But they are words of spirit and life 

and assurance for faith in the utter reliability of God’s love and mercy 

and the trustworthiness of our Lord Jesus

                  based on his love and self sacrifice for us.

that releases within us this tremendous spiritual process of eternal life.

 

There are two modalities of life:

         the life of this world, which is fragmented and full of strife

                  with moments of excruciating beauty and goodness,

                                    as well as grief,

         and then there is eternal life, 

                  life when those moments are recognized as 

tastes of the fullness of life that is realized in the nearer Presence of God.

 

When some expressed how tough it was to take in these words

         Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?”

Simon Peter answered him, 

         “Lord, to whom can we go?  You have the words of eternal life.”

 

The essential words, Bread of Life is there for us 

to sink our teeth into spiritually, 

living bread that conveys life to the eater.

Now, would you want to walk away from that?

         For me, it is clear – where else can I go?

                                    Jesus has the words of Eternal Life.

 

Bishop Gretchen wrote:

         [I’m] “Sitting on the deck at Camp Cross 

thinking about the news of the death of an active leader in the church

         and giving thanks for her life and witness. 

Life is short my friends, 

         do not waste your time with division and disdain for others, 

         avoid hatred, seek the good of others, live in love, find joy, 

         and walk with God in peace.”

 

Thank you, Bishop.