PAST SERMON 2009 #3
by Canon Bill Kibblewhite, delivered on Sunday February 1, 2009,
at the Church of the Holy Spirit.
Be a Channel for the Spirit of God
O God, help us to listen to your word with understanding, to receive it with faith and to follow it with courage. We pray in Christ. Amen.
One day, an eleven year old child dashed out of the house to call a younger sibling to come for dinner. “You’ve got to stop playing and come in,” said the older one. “Who says so?” replied the younger child. Looking back, we may well remember such a scenario happening in our own lives. Family dynamics are always interesting.
On another occasion, during a children’s focus in church, the priest was trying to impress the children about the authority and power of Jesus. But things do not always go as planned, even for clergy. He asked the question, “Who is the King?” and without hesitation one child piped up “Elvis”.
Questions about authority are familiar to parents and indeed to all of us. They are especially crucial to people of faith in every age, as we seek to understand by what authority those who speak in God’s name act, and how that authority is used.
In today’s readings, we are present at a new moment when a new way of teaching was necessary. I’m grateful to Dean Herbert O’Driscoll whose reflections on these readings were an inspiration to me. On the journey of Israel, Moses’ leadership had come to an end. It was time for a new leader who would have different gifts and a fresh vision for the future.
Many years after Moses had stood in the presence of God and lived to return with the Ten Commandments, the people were told that there would be others, known as prophets, who would be raised up and would likewise stand between them and God.
Prophecy in our Judeo-Christian tradition is not so much about foretelling, as about forthtelling, not so much about foresight as about insight.
In any parish, at a time of change and insecurity, those gifts of insight and guidance are most needed. At such a time, people are needed who will be seen as servants, as faithful members of the parish family, not seeking power and control, but concerned only about the welfare of the congregation. Leadership is not about imposing one’s vision or ambition on others. Rather, it is accepting of others and of other points of view. It is of trying to be a channel for the Spirit of God. This is what it means to speak and act with integrity and authority.
In today’s gospel, we read that Jesus entered the synagogue and taught those present “as one having authority.” It is important to note that Jesus was part of the life of the synagogue. He was very critical of the institutional religion of his day, but he was also very involved in its worship and teaching. Jesus was faithful to the Jewish tradition but made demands on it and held it accountable.
It’s a natural desire to want to possess authority, and yet is one of the most difficult human qualities to cultivate. Real authority is devoid of arrogance, but is instead clothed in gentleness and sensitivity.
It soon became evident that there was a disturbed man in the synagogue. Jesus realized that the situation needed to be dealt with quickly and decisively. He spoke to the man, not out of anger but with firmness and authority. Jesus’ command had an immediate effect on the man and on all those who had fathered to worship in the synagogue.
Looking back on the Exodus, we recall that as the Israelites moved further into the wilderness, away from the familiar, into new and unchartered territory, they directed their anger at Moses. Generations later, the man in the synagogue similarly directed his anger at Jesus, accusing him of trying to destroy the people.
Uncertain times and unusual challenges can bring about fear, that what we have and love is slipping away. It’s human nature to become angry and critical when we feel our parish or anything else dear to us is at risk.
Notice that, when Jesus responded to the man with authority, the anger came out of him and he was made well and whole again. Jesus’ new teaching — his teaching about God’s love and healing power, not only made a difference in the man’s life, but deeply affected the people in the synagogue. It brought about a new reality in their lives and no doubt resulted in a new atmosphere in the synagogue.
Two thousand years later, as we focus on Jesus’ teaching, we too can experience a new reality in our lives and in our parish. The healing of relationships can enable us to find a way forward, as we serve together to build up the body of Christ.
The famous Presbyterian minister, Peter Marshall, who served for a time as chaplain of the United States Senate, once offered this prayer: “Lord, when we are wrong make us willing to change and when we are right make us easy to live with.” This prayer helps me to understand today’s readings, because it reminds me that as a priest, I am first a disciple of Christ and it is to God that I am ultimately responsible.
As disciples, it is all too easy to think that we’ve got it figured out, too simple to think that just because we’ve been “at it for a while” we know everything there is to know about this God stuff. It often shows up in the attitude that says unequivocally, “I’m right, you’re wrong.” This kind of thinking can be the cause of no end of grief and harm within the body of believers and in the world we have been called to serve in Christ’s name.
We have authority to proclaim the Good News. But it is important to remember just whose Good News we are proclaiming.
We are called to proclaim a faith that we ourselves hold and live out in our lives. We can not speak or act with authority if we are not willing to “walk the walk and talk the talk” — because that’s what makes our faith authentic. Ask any student how easy it is to pick out the teachers who are not “real.”
One Sunday, a Church School teacher began a class on Jesus by saying to the young children: “I want to tell you about someone whom you all must meet. He’s a person who loves you and cares for you, even more than your family and friends. He’s a person who’s kinder than the kindest person you know. He’s a person who forgives you, no matter how often you do wrong. No matter what you do wrong, he is always ready to accept you, to love you and to understand.”
The teacher noticed a little boy getting more and more excited as she talked. Suddenly, the little boy could hold back no longer. He blurted out, “I know the man you’re talking about. He lives on our street!”
To be a Christian is to be someone who shows others, in practice, something of what Jesus is like. As disciples we are accountable to ourselves, to the community of faith and to God. More specifically, we are accountable for the responsibility we have to be faithful and diligent workers together in the Lord’s vineyard.
It has been a privilege to serve you these past three months. Thank you for welcoming Linda and me into your parish and for giving us the joy of sharing in your lives. I’m grateful to God for this new experience of serving in interim ministry and for realizing that even in retirement, God still calls. May God bless you.
AMEN.