Homily
by The Rev. Marcia McRae
St.
Francis Episcopal Church, Goldsboro, NC; All Saints Sunday, 6 Nov.
2016
RCL
Year C: Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke
6:20-31
Why
do we have our Paschal candle lighted & white hangings today?
[Congregation
Answers....It's All Saints Sunday.]
These
changes show us this is a day of extra celebration.
All
Saints Sunday is
a day, as our Psalm
says,
to sing
to the LORD a new song, to rejoice in our Maker, be joyful &
praise God in many ways. We do this with music, with smiles &
through your many skills.
Notice:
Our Psalm says the LORD takes pleasure in his people. How often do we
remember this? God takes pleasure in you
– in us.
God
delights in you!
On
All Saints we remember our brothers & sisters who have done as
Jesus tells us in our Gospel: “Do
to others as you would have them do to you.” We
tend to think of capital letter Saints, such as St. Francis, &
St. Paul, whose words to the Ephesians remind us
about God's gifts to us, which we have through the Holy Spirit.
How
can we see our gifts with new eyes & enlightened hearts?
How
can we remember some Saints do big
things & some saints [little letter “s”] share God's love as
they sit in church & help others find their place in the Prayer
Book.
Look
with new eyes & remember
little letter saints you have known, whose positive influences live
on in our lives, our parish, our community.
Among
the saints we remember today, who reflect the love of Jesus, think of
dedicated
educator & worker for social justice, Oscar Hinton, who died in
July. In retirement, he continued sharing his gifts educating
prisoners who needed a 2nd
chance. His generosity, wonder in God's creation & sense of humor
enlightened many lives.
Think
of joyful Steve
Gregoryck's embrace of life & positive influence on so many,
including his students, many of whom we saw at his funeral in
October. Remember his “stirring”
work producing soup at Christmas in the Forest! [CITF*]
As
we unwind from CITF, notice how this project enlightens many lives &
thrives on your gifts from the Holy Spirit – your joy, skills,
creativity, wisdom, generosity, time.
We
thank God for this blessing for our parish & community, which
grew from the idea of the late Frank & Kitty Boseman, whose
positive influence is felt in many lives.
As
one of you says about the Bosemans:
My
heart has been forever imprinted & strengthened by the influence
of [these] two special individuals...
My friends in Christ showed me
how to love unconditionally our church, church family, & those in
our community & world [who] need us.
Their
kindness & example of love for each other & everyone around
them has changed me & made me a better individual.
They
are truly missed, but I still have them close in my heart.
What's
in your heart?
Jesus tells us: “Do
to others as you would have them do to you.” This is Jesus' love
active in us & through us.
This
love does not die.
Embrace
& share this love.
You
don't have to be an expert to do this!
We
may think we have to be experts or know exactly what to do before
doing something. Learn from St. Francis: He learned while responding
to God's call. Learn from the Bosemans, who had no
experience with arts & crafts shows when they started creating
CITF, a ministry they coordinated 25 years.
Their
son, Dave, remembers cold weather for our 2nd
CITF & his parents offering coffee & hot chocolate & our
now famous soup, which was the work of our "Souper
Women",
Pat
Biggers' mother Eleanor
Powell & Nan Utley.
Many
parishioners have been welcomed by the hospitality of "the
Marys",
Mary Hicks & Mary Robinson [Norwood], who would call on visitors,
bringing goodies.
Many
serve God in this place in quiet & unseen ways:
painting a door, visiting the home-bound, folding bulletins,
laundering altar linens, clipping ivy & hedges.
We
are here, as one of
you has noted,
because of the faith & foresight of our brothers & sisters
who left their beloved St. Stephens at Bishop Thomas
Wright's request to plant a new Episcopal church in this
faster-growing part of town.
The
people nourished this seed which grew into St. Francis Parish through
worship at the prison office [where
the
NewsArgus
is]
& at Boulevard Lanes where Sunday after Sunday they set up altar
& chairs & removed altar & chairs before Sunday bowling
leagues appeared!1
In
memory of his wife Margaret, Tom Norwood, created our beautiful
garden, shaped like a shield with 4 sections planted in colors of the
liturgical year.
Our
garden is lovingly tended by saints working without fanfare.
With
great love, these saints devote time & talents to God's glory,
enhancing life & beauty in God's creation in this sacred space,
where many come for quiet refreshment, including brothers &
sisters not members here, as some of them shared with me at CITF.
Like
our garden, the hospitality you offer blesses visitors, vendors &
shoppers & draws folks back.
What
seeds of God's grace are you planting?
How
often do you do what you love to do & think:
“I'm
not doing anything special.”
Yes,
you are. You are responding to God's nudging to use the gifts God has
given you.
How
often do you say, “I just like greeting people....working at the
Soup Kitchen....setting the altar....singing....reading...whatever”?
How
often do you recognize the lasting value of God's gift you use doing
what you love to do?
Think
of birding, appreciating the beauty of God's creation like
St. Francis did & sharing your joy with another when you see
something beautiful, which may give this person an “Ah-ha” moment
with God.
Think
of your creative art & photography which open eyes to
see wonders God has created in you & through you.
Think
of the joy of the hunt as you track down family history &
build a sense of connection with others, or as you track down bargains
shopping for gifts & items for God's children in need.
When
we share the Good News of God's love, we sometimes see results: a
hearty thanks & the bottom line of funds raised at CITF to help
others.
Lasting
positive changes from our work serving at the Soup Kitchen &
providing supplies to storm victims we may not see on this side of
life.
Notice:
through your simple ministries, you do as Jesus tells us: “Do to
others as you would have them do to you.” You walk by faith, not by
sight, which is essential for us children of God. Infants learn to
walk by practicing the motions.
Faith is something we practice.
We
practice
faith like the fisherman I remember seeing casting a line over &
over & over on the grass
on a lawn miles from a lake. His habit is practicing, practicing,
practicing what he loves doing.
Doing
something you love puts God's love into action.
* CITF* is a months-long process involving food preparation, lining up vendors & producing this annual 2-day event the 1st weekend in November, for which we have special decorations in the sanctuary, on the lawn, & completely rearrange the Parish Hall to accommodate vendors.
Bibliography
Harper’s Bible
Commentary. Gen. Ed: James L. Mays. San Francisco: Harper &
Row Publishers. 1988.
Holy Bible with the
Apocrypha. New Revised Standard Version. New York: Oxford
University Press. 1989.
Jewish Study Bible:
Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation. New York: Oxford
University Press. 2004.
Voyle, Robert J. “An
introduction to Appreciative Inquiry”. 2013 Clergy Leadership
Institute. www.cleergyleadershio.com.
robvoyle@volye.com
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