Practice

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
August 23, 2015

15 Proper B

When I was a young child in early elementary school, my family lived in a bedroom community outside New York City.  This was the mid-1960's, so in the middle of the Cold War.  In addition to the monthly fire drills, which I assume are still  a feature of elementary school, we also had air raid drills in case the cold war heated up and there was an attack on New York City.  Unlike fire drills where we got to go outside, during an air raid drill everyone went to the cafeteria where there were no windows, and sat facing the wall with our heads down and covered by our arms.  What real protection that might offer in case of an enemy attack, I had no clue.  But we practiced the drill over and over again, which at least made us feel safer whether that was the reality or not.  With both fire drills and air raid drills, the point of the practice was so that we would be prepared in the event of disaster and would not have to think about how to respond.  We would know.  When I was in 6th grade we moved to Arkansas, and our days of air raid drills were over.  I don't think anyone was too worried about an enemy attack on Little Rock in 1970.

There are countless examples of all the things we practice in order to be prepared.  Here at Christ Church, acolytes practice, as they will today.  The choir practices.  Anyone who works with the Food Pantry will tell you that each time we open, we are practicing for the next time, which is true of many of our ministries here.  We practice over and over again in many aspects of our lives so that we are well prepared to do whatever we undertake.

The glorious worship described in the reading from 1 Kings this morning as the Temple in Jerusalem is dedicated looks like anything but practice.  The year was likely around 960 BC.  Solomon has built this temple as a house for God.  The temple is large and ornate-a fitting home for the God who led the people out of slavery in Egypt, through the wilderness, and into the Promised Land.  We watch as the priests of the temple place the Ark of the Covenant in the inner sanctuary, the most holy place in the Temple.  The Ark of the Covenant contains the tablets on which the 10 commandments are written, and they are thought to contain the very presence of God.  Once the priests come out of the inner sanctuary, the whole temple fills with a cloud as the glory of God fills the temple. A pillar of cloud led the Israelites through the wilderness and protected them as they entered the promised land.  That cloud signified the presence of God with them.  Now that same cloud fills the Temple.  Finally, Solomon prays that God will hear the prayers of all people who pray in the Temple, so that all people might know God and fear God.

But even in the midst of the dedication of this great temple, Solomon asks "But will God indeed dwell on the earth?  Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house I have built."  Even as Solomon dedicates the elaborate, ornate Temple, he knows that God will not actually live there.  The God who has wandered with God's people is not likely to be confined in a temple.

But will God indeed dwell on the earth?  John's gospel, from which we hear this morning, tells us that, in Jesus, the very God who wandered through the wilderness with God's people and led them into the Promised Land  has chosen to dwell among us, wander with us, if you will,  on earth.  The gospel begins with the words "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God."  A few verses later we are told that "the Word became flesh and dwelled among us, full of grace and truth."  This morning, we hear Jesus say "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them."  The Word has not only become flesh, the Word invites us to abide or dwell in him and he in us.  And many of his disciples understandably say "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?"

What does this have to do with practice?  We come to this holy place to be in Christian community as we experience God, worship, learn, and serve, not because we believe that this is the only place we can find God, but precisely because we know that God is also to be found in the world around us, wandering among all people and in all places.  We come here to practice recognizing and experiencing God so we can recognize God and experience God in the world.  We come here to practice living as people of faith with each other so we can live as people of faith with all people.  We come here to experience Jesus in the bread and wine , so that we recognize and experience Jesus where ever we break bread.  When the disciples say "This teaching is difficult, who can accept it?" Jesus doesn't say "No, it's not."  He says "Does this offend you?"  Jesus' teaching is hard, and being followers of the One who came to dwell among us and invites us to dwell in him is hard, which is why we have to practice.

Jesus answers Solomon's question "But will God indeed dwell on earth?" with the words "Abide in me and I in you."  We respond to Jesus' difficult teaching with the words of our baptismal covenant as we promise to "Seek and serve Christ in all people."  And when we say "This is hard!" Jesus does not disagree.  He gives us infinite opportunities to practice.

Amen.