3 Epiphany C

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
January 27, 2013

3 Epiphany C

The big news this week was obviously the Presidential Inauguration. Whether we were happy with the results of the election last November or not, we mostly likely had some interest in what the President had to say last Monday as he set out a vision for the next 4 years. One of the most interesting things to me about an inaugural speech, or any speech or even sermon for that matter, is to then listen to the many different and often contradictory things we all thought we heard. For the rest of the week since the Inauguration, the media has been full of stories and analysis of that speech, and the variety of interpretations can be interesting, frustrating, disappointing, or amusing, depending on your point of view.

This morning we hear what is essentially Jesus’ inaugural address. The words we hear are the first words of Jesus’ public ministry. Luke tells us that after Jesus’ baptism, he was led into the wilderness by the Spirit where he was tempted for 40 days. We will hear that story in a few weeks, but in a linear reading of Scripture, that story comes right before the story of Jesus in the synagogue this morning. While there was no Twitter, or Facebook, or other in-the-moment options to give an instant play by play description of what Jesus said, we are told that a "report about him spread through all the surrounding country." And between this Sunday and the gospel reading next Sunday, we hear two very different reactions to Jesus’ words. While our reading this morning does not directly address the congregation’s reaction to Jesus, we are told that all eyes were fixed on him and I, at least, am left with the feeling that the response was generally favorable. Next week, the tide will turn and the people will try to throw Jesus off a cliff. But that is a story for next week.

What are Jesus’ inaugural words? The words are not words of his own creation. He is handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and he finds the passage from Isaiah 61 that says "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." As he goes back to his seat, every eye in the synagogue follows him. Then Jesus says "Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Jesus has just made one outrageous inaugural promise. He has claimed the Spirit of the Lord. He has set his agenda: good news will be proclaimed to the poor, captives will be released, the blind will have their sight restored. Then he tells the people that today, this very day, these words have been fulfilled in your hearing.

This passage makes me wonder if Jesus has lost all contact with reality. Has he checked CNN lately? In the first century as in the 21^st century, poverty is still very much with us, along with all the attendant problems poverty brings. People are still captive in a variety of ways. Physical and spiritual blindness, along with other physical and spiritual ills, still plague the human race. What are we to make of Jesus’ words when there is so little evidence that what he is saying is actually true?

I wonder if we make a mistake when we try to understand this story beginning with the last line rather than the first line. The first words in this passage are "Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee." This is the third time in Luke’s gospel that we have been told that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit. The first was at Jesus’ baptism when the Spirit descended on him like a dove. The second is when the Spirit sends Jesus into the wilderness to be tested by Satan. Then, the passage Jesus reads from this morning begins with the words "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me." Certainly Jesus spends his life doing the work described in that reading from Isaiah: proclaiming good news to the poor, setting the captive free, and giving sight to the blind. Jesus does use this passage to define his ministry. But perhaps our focus is not to be so much the work done and yet to do, or the needs met and yet to meet. Instead, perhaps our focus is to be on the presence of the Spirit.

In the reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, the apostle reminds us of two great truths. The first is that there is one Spirit and into that one Spirit we were all baptized, and of that one Spirit we all drink. The second is that the body of Christ is made up of many members but is only one body, and all are given gifts to build up that body. We heard the same message from Paul last week when we heard "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit." The Spirit gives gifts to the members of the body to do the work of ministry in the world.

Perhaps, then, instead of focusing on the many unmet needs in the world and wondering how Jesus could possibly say that "Today" these needs have been met, we should look at the places where the oppressed are being freed, where healing is occurring, and where people’s lives are being restored. Another way to understand Jesus’ words is to understand that where these actions are occurring, the Spirit is at work. The same understanding is expressed in the beatitudes later in Luke’s gospel, when Jesus says "blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled." They are blessed, not because poverty and hunger are good things, but because that is where we find the Spirit at work. Sometimes the Spirit is directly at work, but sometimes the Body of Christ is called upon to use the gifts the Spirit has given us and do that work, which is to continue the very work Jesus started. We cannot separate the Spirit’s work from our own work-just as Jesus received the Spirit at his baptism, so did we receive the Spirit at our own baptisms. When Jesus says "Today" he is calling us to look not at what the Spirit has done in the past as if the Spirit’s work is over, nor to dream about what the Spirit will do in the future and sit back as if that future requires nothing of us. "Today" is the call to see the Spirt at work today, to understand that we are part of that work, and to create a world where those around us will hear the words of Isaiah and say "Today, this scripture is fulfilled in our hearing."

Amen.

2 Epiphany C

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
January 20, 2013

2 Epiphany C

Wedding talk is common at our house these days as our son Slocomb is getting married in late May. Slocomb and Leslie have been dating for over 7 years, so she has already been a wonderful part of our family for a long time in many ways. As a priest, I have obviously been involved in planning many weddings, but I have only been involved in planning the wedding itself, not the rehearsal dinner or the reception, or arrangements for guests. I have now been to my first wedding cake tasting-where I learned new things like if you are going to have a ribbon on your wedding cake, the ribbon must be one shade darker-or was it one shade lighter- than you want it to be on the cake as the butter in the icing will alter the shade of the ribbon. The rehearsal dinner and reception tasting is next month, another new learning experience for yours truly, which means that we had to have a menu for the rehearsal dinner months ahead of time. Save the date cards need to be sent out, which means the wedding web site needs to be online, which means the choice of entrees for the meals needs to be set, and the discussion over what constitutes semi-formal attire wears my brain out. The wedding weekend will be joyous and a great deal of fun, but I have new appreciation for all of you who have already had this adventure. As a priest, I am quite sure I have the easier end of the wedding planning!

While Slocomb and Leslie are planning a wedding weekend, this morning we hear about a wedding feast that lasted many days, as people walked for miles to get there and needed to be entertained for quite some time to make the trip worth the time and effort. This wedding feast lasted so long that the hosts ran out of wine, which was, at the least an embarrassment, and at most, the cause of an early end to the wedding celebration. Jesus saves the day, however, by turning 6 stone jars of water into the best wine of the feast, and causing the wedding steward to marvel.

The danger in this gospel lesson is that we turn Jesus into the original fraternity brother, with primary responsibility for making sure that the party supplies stayed well stocked. The reality is that this story is not about wine, any more than the story of any wedding is really about what kind of wine was served or how much was consumed. At their best, wedding stories are about the love we have for each other, our commitment to each other, our lifetime trust, respect, and honor for each other and God. The passage from Isaiah this morning uses the analogy of a marriage to describe God’s great love for the Hebrew people. "For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you."

The story of the wedding in Cana of Galilee is also about God’s great love for us and our trust in and love for God. Rather than being the story of the original fraternity brother, the story of the wedding in Cana is a story about offering God what little we have, in this case, 6 stone jars of water, and based on the love God has shown us throughout history and our own lives, trusting that God will transform the little into an abundance. This story is actually very much like the story of the feeding of the 5000 where Jesus took the small amount of fish and bread offered to him by a little boy, and turned it into enough food to feed 5000 men, plus women and children, with 12 baskets full left over. In both stories, there is risk involved in offering to God the water or the fish and the bread. Neither clean water nor food was easy to come by in those days, so in both cases something irreplaceable was being offered. Both stories are powerful stories about offering to God that which is obviously inadequate, and trusting that God will create an abundance.

In the reading from I Corinthians, Paul writes about a different kind of abundance-the abundance of spiritual gifts. Paul writes "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone." Paul is quite clear in this reading both that there are a variety of gifts, and that they are given to every one as the Spirit chooses. No one is without gifts. God’s abundance of gifts is spread generously among all people, to be used for the common good. The gifts, services, and activities given by the Spirit are a different kind of abundance, an intangible abundance, but they are the abundance of God nonetheless.

This weekend, we honor the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, one person with one person’s set of gifts, who trusted in the abundance of God to take what he had to offer and make a difference in the world. My favorite Dr. King quote is from "The Strength to Love" written in 1963. "Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that." The task Dr. King and other civil rights leaders faced in the 1960's was enormous. Any of them could easily have said "What good can one person do against the darkness and hate of racism?" and walked away. But when each person offered his or her gifts, whatever they were, and trusted in the abundance of God, slowly a change began, an awareness grew, that continues to this day. We honor the work of Dr. King, not because his work is complete, which it is not, but because he was willing to offer all that he had, trusting that God would use his life to create a world where light and love triumph.

We can easily think that our lone voice, or small amount of money, or little bit of time, or fledgling skills will not make a difference against the darkness in our community and in our world. If we let ourselves become paralyzed by these thoughts, we deny the God who has given everyone, each and every person, the gifts of the Spirit to use for the common good. When we allow ourselves to think that whatever we can give is too little to make a difference, we deny the power of God to take what we can offer and turn it into more than we can imagine. When we think that what we, as individuals have to offer is too little to matter, we deny the power of God to bring people and their gifts together to work for the common good.

At the end of the story of the wedding at Cana, after Jesus has taken the 6 jars of plain water and turned them into the best wine of the party, we are told that this was the first of his signs and revealed his glory, and the disciples believed in him. Jesus glory was revealed, not so much in the dramatic act of changing water into wine, but in the trust that was displayed in the simple yet difficult act of offering Jesus something scarce and seemingly inadequate, and believing that Jesus could turn it into the abundance that was needed. When we trust Jesus to take the gifts we offer, both tangible and intangible, and which seem utterly inadequate for the situation at hand, and transform that offering into an abundance, Jesus’ glory is revealed, and light and love triumph.

Amen.

The Baptism of Jesus





Charlotte Collins Reed

Christ Episcopal Church

January 13, 2013

 

The Baptism of Jesus

When I was in seminary, I served at a large Episcopal Church on the North Shore of Chicago. In some ways, the church was unlike any Episcopal Church I had ever encountered. The church actually had two complete campuses. On Sundays, the 8 o’clock and 9 o’clock services were held on one campus, in what they called the chapel, but was actually a full size church complete with an organ, choir stalls, silver, vestments, and the whole works. The 9 o’clock service was followed by Christian Education. Then the clergy, organist, and I jumped in our cars, fully vested and drove, or more accurately, sped, to the second campus for the 11 o’clock service, where, if we were lucky, there was available parking waiting for us. On the second campus, which sat right across the road from Lake Michigan, there was a larger church with all the trimmings and then some.

While in some way that church was unlike any church I had ever experienced, in other ways, it was exactly the same. The roof leaked. People sat in the same pews Sunday after Sunday. Everyone almost always attended the same service each week. There were occasions of great sadness, and there were occasions of great joy. One of the occasions of great joy in any parish is a baptism and this church was no different. But no matter what service a family normally went to, or where they sat Sunday after Sunday, when the time came to baptize their children most of them opted for the 9 o’clock service in the summer. Because the church was literally on the north shore of Chicago, every summer the 9 o’clock service was held outside on the shores of Lake Michigan. Every Sunday, June-August, we all brought our lawn chairs and set up church right in the middle of the park. At that service, when there was a baptism, we all took off our shoes and went down to the water. Not only did we all renew our baptismal covenant, we could all get wet as the person was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, then sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever.

I am reminded of those services this morning as we see the crowds of people who have flocked to the wilderness to hear John the Baptist call them a brood of wipers and warn them of the wrath to come, then repent and be baptized in the Jordan River. This morning we hear that, despite John’s harsh words, the people were filled with expectation and wondered whether John himself was the Messiah. As scary as John looks and as unpleasant as his message seems to be, the Messiah John describes sounds even worse. John says "His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear the threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." Those words do not make me long for the coming of the Messiah.

If we just listen to John the Baptist, we could easily think that baptism is a simple matter of eternal fire insurance. We want to make sure that we are not the chaff that will burn with unquenchable fire, and so we are baptized. But Jesus’ own baptism seems to be something different. There is no winnowing fork involved as the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus like a dove. There is no mention of wheat or chaff as the voice from heaven says "You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased."

What do the words from heaven mean? "You are my Son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased?" What do the words we hear at Jesus’ baptism tell us about our own baptism?

Our reading from Isaiah this morning is addressed to a people in exile and feeling God’s absence far more deeply than God’s presence. In that passage, God tells the people what it means to be God’s beloved. "I have called you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you." Those verses do not say "I have called you by name, you are mine. You will never have to pass through deep water or walk through the fire." Jesus’ own life will be testimony to that. As Jesus moves through his ministry, he will pass through plenty of deep water and walk through raging fire. But neither the water nor the fire will have the final word.

Likewise, in baptism, we hear God’s voice, through the Church, tell us we are God’s beloved child. Because we are not Jesus, our baptism does include the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life with God. But that is not all baptism is. Baptism gives us our identity as children of God. The promise of baptism is not that we will never face challenges or that no harm will ever come to us or those we love. The promise of baptism is that we are God’s beloved children and we will never walk alone.

Armed with nothing more than the knowledge that he was God’s beloved child, Jesus began his ministry. Jesus’ baptism propelled him into the world, not into special privilege, as we will hear in a few weeks in the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Jesus did not stay in the river, hoping to hear God’s voice again. Jesus left the waters of baptism to make a difference in the lives of the people around him, even when he had to walk through the fire to do so. Likewise, the knowledge that we are God’s beloved children, that we will never walk alone, and that the challenges of life will never have the final word propels us into the world with a boldness we might not otherwise have as we seek to make a gospel difference in the world around us. We may not always win. We may not always be right. We may not always succeed. Baptism promises none of those things. The promise of Jesus’ baptism and the promise of our baptism is that we belong to God who will never desert us, and that life will always have the final word. In the words from Isaiah "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine."

Amen.

The Installation of the Rev. Michael Way

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
Red Wing, MN
January 8, 2013

The Installation of Michael Way

On Christmas Eve, our choir anthem at Christ Church in Springfield, Ohio where I serve was "What Sweeter Music" by Anglican composer John Rutter. The piece ranks fairly high on the difficulty scale, with 5 or 6 vocal parts, a string quartet accompaniment, and some a capella sections. But the piece was chosen in early November with plenty of time for rehearsal. As is often the case, however, a couple of choir members would be out of town for the holiday, and another choir member needed surgery just before Christmas. Ours is not a large choir-a dozen people when everyone is there. So, when they are down three, this is serious. I haven’t sung in a church choir on a regular basis since high school and the art of reading music utterly escapes me. When the choir director patiently says, "no, that’s an F," I have no idea what sound he would like me to produce, but apparently not the one I just made. I sing soprano because most of the time, that is the melody line, perfect for someone who does not read music and needs the accompaniment to know what to sing.

The Rutter piece had no melody line. There is a brief part that does repeat several times, but in my book that does not count as a melody. For someone who relies on the accompaniment, a capella is a bit of a challenge. Over and over again, we rehearsed the piece. And over and over again, we rehearsed the individual parts. Much to my astonishment, the parts did not sound at all good individually. Because there was no melody line, even the two soprano parts did not sound good alone. But together, all the parts came together in a way that was breathtaking. My brief choir career reminded me of three things. One: We are much better together than we are apart. Two: Together we triumph over the shortcomings of any one person. And three: A lot of work, patience, and deep respect for one another is required to come together well.

Tonight we gather to welcome the Rev. Michael Way as your rector. I understand that we also come together in the midst of significant grief over the loss of your beloved Katie Jeske, and so we gather in that peculiar tension of excitement, grief, joy, and gratitude that is the Christian life. You may think I have come all the way from Ohio to regale you with stories about Michael’s escapades as the seminarian at our Christ Church in Ohio. In response, I say the same thing to you that I say to brides who want a top 10 hit played as they walk down the aisle. That is what the reception is for! Or you may think I have come to tell you what wonderful work your search committee has done in bringing Michael to you. And that is true. You have called a first rate priest and a dear friend as your new rector and I am quite blessed by the privilege of preaching tonight. But really what I have come to Minnesota to do is ask you to listen carefully to the reading we just heard from Ephesians.

In the reading from Ephesians we are reminded that each of us, every single one of us, is given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. We are given that grace in baptism. All ministry-yours, mine, Michael’s, Bishop Pryor’s- is grounded in the grace we received through baptism. Through that grace, some of us are called and equipped to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, and if I may take some liberties with the text, some vestry members, some choir members, some outreach coordinators, some priests or bishops, or secretaries, or book keepers, or medical professionals, or plumbers or electricians, and you can fill in the rest. The point is that all of us are given gifts to build up the body of Christ. Our prayer book tells us that the ministers of the church are lay people, bishops, priests, and deacons. Our prayer book identifies the ministry of lay people as "to represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness where ever they may be, and according to the gifts given to them to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation." The ministry of the priest is also to represent Christ and his Church, but particularly as pastor to the people, to share with the bishop in overseeing the Church, to proclaim the gospel and administer the sacraments. In other words, the work of the priest is to nourish and strengthen you to use the gifts God has given you to build up the body of Christ. Michael’s role as your rector is a supporting role. The supporting role is a very important role-providing the sacraments, teaching, preaching, encouragement, a prophetic voice, administration. Without the supporting role of your priest and rector, the body will look little different than the many secular organizations that do much good work. But there is one of Michael. You are the main characters in the story of Christ Church, Red Wing and the work of this congregation to build up the body of Christ. Tonight is about welcoming Michael as your rector so that your ministry as Christ Church, Red Wing can be unleashed anew.

In the wisdom of the prayer book, the Psalms appointed for a celebration of new ministry and the gospel reading all call us to love one another. "How good and pleasant it is when brethren live together in unity," writes the psalmist. "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you....And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last...." say Jesus. For those who have been given the gift of teaching to come together with those who have the gift of music, with those who have the gift of administration, with those who have the gifts for outreach, with those whose ministries are anchored firmly outside the walls of the church and all work together as one to build up the body of Christ requires the work of patience, respect, and love. Not cheesy, sentimental love, but the radical self-giving love Jesus describes. You will not always agree with each other, or with Michael, about the form building up the body of Christ should take in this place. You may not always agree on what kind of fruit God calls you to bear here. But Jesus tells us that when we live out of radical self-giving love, his joy will be in us, and our joy will be complete. Out of that joy, much fruit will be born as the world sees how deeply people who disagree with each other can also love each other. The world is starving for this fruit. As you bring together your many and various gifts and passions for ministry and live together in the love Jesus calls us to, the part of the body of Christ known as Christ Church, Red Wing will grow and flourish, perhaps in ways you have never imagined.

In the words from Joshua, as you move forward from this night, be strong and very courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed. Love one another with the love Jesus has for us. Offer the gifts God has given each of you as your measure of Christ’s grace. And the people of Christ Church, Red Wing, together with their new rector, will build up the body of Christ and bear much fruit. And remember, the Lord your God is with you where ever you go and whatever you do. Amen.