| To contact us: Calvary Episcopal Church 667 Mount Road Aston, PA 19014 610-459-2013 OFFICE mail@calvaryepiscopalrockdale.org |
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| SERMON 16 Pentecost - Proper 17 August 31, 2008 The Rev. Kristine Hill |
| 667 Mount Road, Aston, PA 19014 610-459-2013 |
| Small Parish - Big Heart The little church you've been looking for! All are welcome! |
| Our Mission: To worship the Lord To serve the community To grow the church |
We want to see Jesus. That’s been true of Christians down through the
ages. We want to see Jesus. If we could only meet Jesus in the flesh, spend
time with our living Lord-bodily so that we could ask him questions, hear his
voice, watch how he deals with people, and come to understand how he
would live in the world today… it would be such a gift. It would strengthen
our faith, fill our hearts with joy; and the love-we-would-have from being in his
presence would enable us to love others more consistently. If only we could
see Jesus, be in his bodily presence, hear him speak, see in his eyes the love
he has for us -- for you, for me, for Calvary Church -- what a difference that
would make in our lives.
Maybe you’re thinking “any minute now she’s going to say: ‘Jesus is right
here with us whenever we gather for worship, and especially when we partake
of the sacraments.’” You’re right; I am going to say that. Jesus is here with
us in our gathering, in the reading of scripture and the singing of hymns, in
the meal of life. We know that, we believe that firmly, we’re refreshed by it
week after week. Even so, if you’re like me, sometimes you still think: “if I
could just talk to the embodied-person-Jesus this once…” it would be so
helpful! We are human and we need things we can touch, see, hear, interact-
with through our senses. God, of course, knows that or God would not have
bothered to send Jesus as a human being in the first place. It is our human
need for the visible, the tactile, that causes us to wish we could see the
bodily person of Jesus, could feel the touch of our Savior’s hand.
This morning we receive a most life-like, and life-sized, portrait of Jesus in our
epistle reading, from the twelfth chapter of Romans. If a picture can be
painted with words, the apostle Paul has accomplished it here. As you read
this chapter over - once, twice, three times - you can see God’s Son coming
to life. Various scenes from Jesus’ days on earth arise in our minds as we
hear : “rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer, extend
hospitality to strangers… rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who
weep… do not be haughty but associate with the lowly…” Those words are a
mirror of the Jesus who lived a human life.
To the poor in spirit, the mournful, the meek Jesus brought hope, telling them
they were beloved of God, blessed, noticed and watched-over by God. Time
and again in the gospels we encounter Jesus praying – when he was weary,
when others needed his intercession, when he was breaking bread. Jesus
was scorned for calling a tax collector as one of his disciples, he was vilified
for eating with sinful people, he gave his time and energy to the poor, the
sick, the suffering – bringing them healing and encouragement, telling them
about a God who loved them. The more we read this passage, the more we
see how it draws a life-sized portrait of our Lord. “Live in harmony with one
another, do not repay anyone evil for evil, so far as it depends on you live
peaceably with all… do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with
good.” In every aspect, in every description, this is Jesus.
Some people carry a picture of Jesus in their pocket to remind them whom
they serve. I park next to a car with a miniature figure of Jesus – robed in
white, arms spread wide – attached to a spring and mounted on the
dashboard. In recent years young people have worn bracelets with WWJD
imprinted on them to prompt them to consider “what would Jesus do” in
various situations throughout the day. Years ago it was common to enter a
home and see hanging-on-a-wall the famous picture of Jesus kneeling at
prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. The purpose of these is to remind
ourselves that Jesus is Lord, Jesus is the one whom we follow and serve.
We would do just as well to print the twelfth chapter of Romans and carry it
in our wallet or purse, frame it and hang it on the wall. This reading is, itself,
a life-like, genuine picture of Jesus.
Paul has written these words to us, the Christian community, to encourage us
to live - with one another and in the world - as a reflection of Jesus. We who
are grafted onto the body of Christ - the Church, who have received Jesus’
forgiveness, who have an endless supply of God’s love and mercy, who have
been caught by our Lord’s strong hand again and again when we were
sinking… are now asked to live like him. It takes great effort, and patience –
with ourselves and with each other – but we are asked to keep working to
represent Jesus Christ to each other and to the world by being like him. “Hold
fast to what is good; outdo one another in showing honor… do not be
haughty but associate with the lowly… Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering,
persevere in prayer… extend hospitality to strangers.” This is how we embody
Jesus Christ for the world. And when we embody Jesus for the world, we
become living instruments of God’s hope and grace.
One portion of this reading is a bit be troubling, rather difficult to understand.
After advising us not to avenge ourselves Paul quotes Proverbs, saying “if
your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something
to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their head.” That
has always bothered me; it sounds tricky and underhanded, like we are to be
nice outwardly but mean and spiteful inwardly, which would not be at all Christ-
like. But though the passage may sound that way to us, its meaning is far
different. In scripture the reference to “burning coals” indicates ashes, and
ashes are a symbol of repentance. Paul is not urging us to be kind to our
enemies so that God will punish them even more severely in the end. No, we
are to be good to those who oppose us in the hope that whatever obstacle is
between us will be burned away; our aim is for the ashes of repentance to
bring righteousness and reconciliation.
A couple of guys went to a city for a convention. Both rode motorcycles and
they had noticed a biker bar just up the street. At the end of the first day of
meetings they rode over to the biker bar to unwind. Before long, one of the
regulars at the bar took offense. While both of these out-of-town visitors had
come on motorcycles, one of their bikes was from the police department.
Apparently, that’s what the regular customer had taken offense over. He stood
in the middle of the floor and made a very loud comment about not wanting
any cops in their bar. The visitors were not looking for any trouble, and they
would clearly have been outnumbered in that place. So the one who owned
the police-issue motorcycle decided what to do. He finished his beer, bought a
drink for the customer who was getting upset, and as he and his friend left
the bar, he told the other fellow to have a good evening. / That’s how you
“heap burning coals” on someone’s head, by behaving well even when they
are not. By not being ‘overcome by evil,’ but instead, answering evil with
kindness. Then just maybe the other person will see that he is not
threatened, that his hostility is unnecessary and unpleasant, and he will
abandon it.
This is how the world encounters Jesus -- when men and women, and
children too, behave in like manner to Jesus. We meet Jesus in our daily lives
when someone responds to us with kindness, with patience, as Jesus would.
Most often we probably do not notice it, but every now and then we do. Back
in May when I was beginning to look for an interim position, I asked Bishop
Borsch, who teaches at the seminary, if I could stop by and talk to him. He is
a retired Episcopal bishop. I was thinking of approaching the Episcopal
Diocese to inquire about the possibility of interim ministry and I was hoping
Bishop Borsch would give me some pointers -- who to talk to, what sort of
documents to bring with me.
When I arrived at his office he invited me in, offered me tea or coffee, and
asked me to tell him about my parish ministry experience. I talked a while and
he listened intently. Then after about 20 minutes he picked up the phone and
called the Church House. I heard him say “This is Bishop Borsch and I have
Kris Hill here in my office. She’s a highly qualified Lutheran pastor of many
years looking for work as an interim. I’m going to send her down to talk with
you and I’d appreciate it if you would do whatever you can for her.” I was
surprised. We had never talked extensively before that day and such a warm,
personal introduction from him was much more than I had expected.
Last week I encountered Bishop Borsch in the hall shortly before chapel. I
thanked him again for his gracious introduction to the Diocese and told him I
would soon start as the interim rector at Calvary. His face just beamed and he
said “that’s good.” Then in chapel I saw that he was both presiding and
preaching at the service. He preached on this text from Romans 12. His
balding head shining, warmth and earnestness glowing in his eyes, he said
the definition of holiness is doing good for others and rejoicing in the benefits
they receive. I caught my breath, thinking “why, that’s precisely what’s he’s
done for me.” And suddenly I knew I was seeing Jesus -- bodily -- in the
person of Bishop Borsch - his warm welcome, his kindness, his quickness to
help me when I was nearly a stranger.
We do see Jesus, in his body, right here among us -- in these pews at
Calvary church. We might not think of it that way, but it is true. Jesus comes
to us in the bodily form of our neighbor, our friend, the whole congregation,
the lovely hymn we are singing, the silence that fills the air before we break
into prayer together. Most of the time we do not recognize Jesus, but
sometimes we do. Christ comes like a prayer shawl wrapped around our
shoulders, holding us tight, when we feel weary or forsaken. Christ comes in
the presence of that one person who brightens a room with a smile or a joke
or just her radiant spirit. Jesus comes in one who takes time to listen, in the
happy sound of children’s voices calling out, “Go in peace to love and serve
the Lord.” Like all the faithful of every time and every place, we want to see
Jesus. What could be better than to be in his presence? Jesus is here --
with love that is genuine, holding fast to what is good (in us and among us),
rejoicing when we rejoice, weeping when we weep, overcoming evil with good,
gladly bringing us hope. What wonder, what joy, if others could come too,
and meet Jesus here in us.
ages. We want to see Jesus. If we could only meet Jesus in the flesh, spend
time with our living Lord-bodily so that we could ask him questions, hear his
voice, watch how he deals with people, and come to understand how he
would live in the world today… it would be such a gift. It would strengthen
our faith, fill our hearts with joy; and the love-we-would-have from being in his
presence would enable us to love others more consistently. If only we could
see Jesus, be in his bodily presence, hear him speak, see in his eyes the love
he has for us -- for you, for me, for Calvary Church -- what a difference that
would make in our lives.
Maybe you’re thinking “any minute now she’s going to say: ‘Jesus is right
here with us whenever we gather for worship, and especially when we partake
of the sacraments.’” You’re right; I am going to say that. Jesus is here with
us in our gathering, in the reading of scripture and the singing of hymns, in
the meal of life. We know that, we believe that firmly, we’re refreshed by it
week after week. Even so, if you’re like me, sometimes you still think: “if I
could just talk to the embodied-person-Jesus this once…” it would be so
helpful! We are human and we need things we can touch, see, hear, interact-
with through our senses. God, of course, knows that or God would not have
bothered to send Jesus as a human being in the first place. It is our human
need for the visible, the tactile, that causes us to wish we could see the
bodily person of Jesus, could feel the touch of our Savior’s hand.
This morning we receive a most life-like, and life-sized, portrait of Jesus in our
epistle reading, from the twelfth chapter of Romans. If a picture can be
painted with words, the apostle Paul has accomplished it here. As you read
this chapter over - once, twice, three times - you can see God’s Son coming
to life. Various scenes from Jesus’ days on earth arise in our minds as we
hear : “rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer, extend
hospitality to strangers… rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who
weep… do not be haughty but associate with the lowly…” Those words are a
mirror of the Jesus who lived a human life.
To the poor in spirit, the mournful, the meek Jesus brought hope, telling them
they were beloved of God, blessed, noticed and watched-over by God. Time
and again in the gospels we encounter Jesus praying – when he was weary,
when others needed his intercession, when he was breaking bread. Jesus
was scorned for calling a tax collector as one of his disciples, he was vilified
for eating with sinful people, he gave his time and energy to the poor, the
sick, the suffering – bringing them healing and encouragement, telling them
about a God who loved them. The more we read this passage, the more we
see how it draws a life-sized portrait of our Lord. “Live in harmony with one
another, do not repay anyone evil for evil, so far as it depends on you live
peaceably with all… do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with
good.” In every aspect, in every description, this is Jesus.
Some people carry a picture of Jesus in their pocket to remind them whom
they serve. I park next to a car with a miniature figure of Jesus – robed in
white, arms spread wide – attached to a spring and mounted on the
dashboard. In recent years young people have worn bracelets with WWJD
imprinted on them to prompt them to consider “what would Jesus do” in
various situations throughout the day. Years ago it was common to enter a
home and see hanging-on-a-wall the famous picture of Jesus kneeling at
prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. The purpose of these is to remind
ourselves that Jesus is Lord, Jesus is the one whom we follow and serve.
We would do just as well to print the twelfth chapter of Romans and carry it
in our wallet or purse, frame it and hang it on the wall. This reading is, itself,
a life-like, genuine picture of Jesus.
Paul has written these words to us, the Christian community, to encourage us
to live - with one another and in the world - as a reflection of Jesus. We who
are grafted onto the body of Christ - the Church, who have received Jesus’
forgiveness, who have an endless supply of God’s love and mercy, who have
been caught by our Lord’s strong hand again and again when we were
sinking… are now asked to live like him. It takes great effort, and patience –
with ourselves and with each other – but we are asked to keep working to
represent Jesus Christ to each other and to the world by being like him. “Hold
fast to what is good; outdo one another in showing honor… do not be
haughty but associate with the lowly… Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering,
persevere in prayer… extend hospitality to strangers.” This is how we embody
Jesus Christ for the world. And when we embody Jesus for the world, we
become living instruments of God’s hope and grace.
One portion of this reading is a bit be troubling, rather difficult to understand.
After advising us not to avenge ourselves Paul quotes Proverbs, saying “if
your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something
to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their head.” That
has always bothered me; it sounds tricky and underhanded, like we are to be
nice outwardly but mean and spiteful inwardly, which would not be at all Christ-
like. But though the passage may sound that way to us, its meaning is far
different. In scripture the reference to “burning coals” indicates ashes, and
ashes are a symbol of repentance. Paul is not urging us to be kind to our
enemies so that God will punish them even more severely in the end. No, we
are to be good to those who oppose us in the hope that whatever obstacle is
between us will be burned away; our aim is for the ashes of repentance to
bring righteousness and reconciliation.
A couple of guys went to a city for a convention. Both rode motorcycles and
they had noticed a biker bar just up the street. At the end of the first day of
meetings they rode over to the biker bar to unwind. Before long, one of the
regulars at the bar took offense. While both of these out-of-town visitors had
come on motorcycles, one of their bikes was from the police department.
Apparently, that’s what the regular customer had taken offense over. He stood
in the middle of the floor and made a very loud comment about not wanting
any cops in their bar. The visitors were not looking for any trouble, and they
would clearly have been outnumbered in that place. So the one who owned
the police-issue motorcycle decided what to do. He finished his beer, bought a
drink for the customer who was getting upset, and as he and his friend left
the bar, he told the other fellow to have a good evening. / That’s how you
“heap burning coals” on someone’s head, by behaving well even when they
are not. By not being ‘overcome by evil,’ but instead, answering evil with
kindness. Then just maybe the other person will see that he is not
threatened, that his hostility is unnecessary and unpleasant, and he will
abandon it.
This is how the world encounters Jesus -- when men and women, and
children too, behave in like manner to Jesus. We meet Jesus in our daily lives
when someone responds to us with kindness, with patience, as Jesus would.
Most often we probably do not notice it, but every now and then we do. Back
in May when I was beginning to look for an interim position, I asked Bishop
Borsch, who teaches at the seminary, if I could stop by and talk to him. He is
a retired Episcopal bishop. I was thinking of approaching the Episcopal
Diocese to inquire about the possibility of interim ministry and I was hoping
Bishop Borsch would give me some pointers -- who to talk to, what sort of
documents to bring with me.
When I arrived at his office he invited me in, offered me tea or coffee, and
asked me to tell him about my parish ministry experience. I talked a while and
he listened intently. Then after about 20 minutes he picked up the phone and
called the Church House. I heard him say “This is Bishop Borsch and I have
Kris Hill here in my office. She’s a highly qualified Lutheran pastor of many
years looking for work as an interim. I’m going to send her down to talk with
you and I’d appreciate it if you would do whatever you can for her.” I was
surprised. We had never talked extensively before that day and such a warm,
personal introduction from him was much more than I had expected.
Last week I encountered Bishop Borsch in the hall shortly before chapel. I
thanked him again for his gracious introduction to the Diocese and told him I
would soon start as the interim rector at Calvary. His face just beamed and he
said “that’s good.” Then in chapel I saw that he was both presiding and
preaching at the service. He preached on this text from Romans 12. His
balding head shining, warmth and earnestness glowing in his eyes, he said
the definition of holiness is doing good for others and rejoicing in the benefits
they receive. I caught my breath, thinking “why, that’s precisely what’s he’s
done for me.” And suddenly I knew I was seeing Jesus -- bodily -- in the
person of Bishop Borsch - his warm welcome, his kindness, his quickness to
help me when I was nearly a stranger.
We do see Jesus, in his body, right here among us -- in these pews at
Calvary church. We might not think of it that way, but it is true. Jesus comes
to us in the bodily form of our neighbor, our friend, the whole congregation,
the lovely hymn we are singing, the silence that fills the air before we break
into prayer together. Most of the time we do not recognize Jesus, but
sometimes we do. Christ comes like a prayer shawl wrapped around our
shoulders, holding us tight, when we feel weary or forsaken. Christ comes in
the presence of that one person who brightens a room with a smile or a joke
or just her radiant spirit. Jesus comes in one who takes time to listen, in the
happy sound of children’s voices calling out, “Go in peace to love and serve
the Lord.” Like all the faithful of every time and every place, we want to see
Jesus. What could be better than to be in his presence? Jesus is here --
with love that is genuine, holding fast to what is good (in us and among us),
rejoicing when we rejoice, weeping when we weep, overcoming evil with good,
gladly bringing us hope. What wonder, what joy, if others could come too,
and meet Jesus here in us.
| Exodus 3: 1-15 Romans 12: 9-21 Matthew 16: 21-28 |
| The Rev. Kristine Hill, Interim Rector |
