Homily
by The Rev. Marcia McRae
St.
John’s Episcopal Church, Bainbridge, GA, 5 Oct. 2014, Proper 22
Year A RCL: Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20; Psalm 19; Philippians 3:4b-14; Matthew 21:33-46
“The
kingdom of God will be...given to a people that produces the fruits
of the kingdom.”
What
are those fruits of God's kingdom? Love. Joy. Peace. Justice. Mercy.
Unity. Wholeness. How do you see those fruits in the 10 commandments
God gives in
our reading from Exodus?
One
God: unity;
sabbath rest: peace;
honor parents: love;
no murder/adultery/stealing/lying: justice/mercy;
no coveting: wholeness
& joy.
When
we focus on our relationship with God & have that relationship at
the center of our lives, then our relationships with each other &
God's creatures can be relationships of love, joy, peace, justice,
mercy, unity & wholeness. Our unity, our wholeness, reflect the
Unity of God the Holy Trinity, the perfect Wholeness.
The
10 Commandments are more accurately called the 10 statements or
words, as
the term Decalogue indicates1
&
as the Jewish Study Bible notes.
Look at
the reading. What do you notice about punishment? There is NO mention
of punishment!
Following
the 10 statements produces right relationships. In his parable today,
Jesus tells us about people who fail to follow the 10 statements in
their relationship to the landowner. They make the agreement &
they break it. They turn their agreement into a lie. They covet the
landowner's share. They murder to steal his share.
Jesus
tells this parable to teach us the essence of God's kingdom that we
know in part through the 10 statements. That essence is deeper than
just following rules. It is living the statements in all aspects of
our lives. We have to keep our day-to-day living centered on God.
Jesus tells this parable to teach people who think they have it made
& are comfortable ignoring the needs of people around them that
our relationship with God is part of all aspects of our lives.
Our
relationship is to be honest, open, God-centered in all aspects of
our lives & that includes our $. God calls us to be a people who
produce the fruit of the kingdom. When I look at the list of
ministries in which you are involved, I know we are a people centered
on God, working to produce Love, Joy, Peace, Justice, Mercy, Unity,
Wholeness.
We
have spoken several times of why you do what you do. You have mined
your experiences to discover the intrinsic, unchanging value that is
the fruit of your labors. Remember the cooks among us share their
gifts to enhance fellowship & joy. The knitters create caps for
newborns, a visible expression of love & mercy that brings peace
to a child & parents, who are usually unknown to the knitters.
There
is another dimension to our life in God's kingdom here that is
essential to producing its fruits. It is a dimension that we can
learn about from The Society of Saint John the Evangelist, a monastic
community in the Episcopal Church & the Anglican Church of
Canada. As
their website says,
The Brothers give their whole selves to living the Gospel of
Jesus2...They...are
“critically engaged with contemporary culture. (They) seek to know
& share an authentic experience of God's love & mercy.”
They help people develop a deeper relationship with God.
We
do that here week by week. You do that in your many ministries in the
community. The Monday night Centering Prayer Group & the
Daughters of the King work on this.
Although
the Society of St. John the Evangelist exists for God's kingdom, it
severely neglected a central responsibility for its life & work,
as Jamie
Coates shares in the September Vestry Papers Sharing
Our Gifts.3
Here's the story:
“For
85 years the Brothers...lived in their monastery on the Charles River
in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (One
of those Brothers had been an Episcopal priest who served at our
wedding.) The
monastery is so beautiful that it has become a place of pilgrimage
for many, where even before you meet a monk, you are reminded by the
place that God sees beauty in you.”
During
those 85 years the Brothers did nothing about money for maintenance.
The physical monastery literally fell apart. Then came the financial
crisis. Brother
Curtis Almquist, the monastery's superior (its
leader) had
to ask the Society's friends for money. Meeting with them,
he said:
"As Superior I have a responsibility to ask for money. I also
have no idea how much money any of you have. I ask one thing: please
pray to God, & between you & God figure out what is right for
you. Thank you."
Brother
Curtis shows the difference between our living in the
dollar-for-work-kingdom & our life in relationship in God's
kingdom. Jesus uses that dollar-for-work imagery in today's parable.
Like
the tenants in the parable & the Brothers in the monastery, we
live in both kingdoms. In God's kingdom are Love, Joy, Peace,
Justice, Mercy, Unity, Wholeness – these are gifts God gives us. We
do not earn them like we do when we sell our time & skills in the
workplace.
How
do we – how do you – live in these 2 kingdoms? [The
dollar-for-work kingdom & God's kingdom.]
How
did you answer? Did you describe only work?
What
you do is
more than just how you earn money. Notice the list of ministries in
the Epistle. Notice all that you do! There is much you do beyond
making money. There are relationships that you value & nourish at
home & in the larger community.
Earning
a living is
important. AND there is
more to life than trading your time & skills for money. Notice
several important perspectives5:
The
fruits of God's kingdom help us know what is important. Jesus says:
“You are important. You are worth dying for on that cross.” Jesus
loves you – each one of us. The joy of knowing Jesus brings peace.
Peace frees us from fear so that we can be generous in showing Mercy
& working for Justice. Jesus shows us how to rely on each other
so that we deepen our Unity. So that we live in Wholeness.
Living
in Love, Joy Peace, Justice, Mercy, Unity & Wholeness yields a
harvest of deep relationships among ourselves & between us &
God – you & God.
Living
in wholeness means I have to be like Brother Curtis & frankly ask
you for money for this Body of Christ. I ask you for money at this
traditional time for the annual giving campaign so that we can have a
sound financial plan to live by in 2015.
This
plan meets practical expenses for lights & water, & to
support our Diocese. The work in the Diocese helps us serve Jesus
beyond our red doors & the county line. Remember this fact: the
Diocese supported us financially 105 years.
Here's
another a fact: Our older buildings need repairs. The
monks in Massachusettes started a building fund the year before they
started asking friends for capital donations, & they continue to
fund that building fund annually. (Their monastery was renovated in
2010.)6
We
at St. John's have been more responsible than deferring maintenance
for 85 years.
So
I ask you to “name the price of your church.”7
What is this church – this Body of Christ – worth to you? What
value do you put on your relationship here? Like Brother Curtis
asked, I ask you: “Please pray to God, & between you & God
figure out what is right for you. Thank you."
Bibliography
Coats,
James. “God’s Economy.”
http://www.ecfvp.org/vestrypapers/sharing-our-gifts/gods-economy/.
Accessed: 2 Oct. 2014.
Holy
Bible with the Apocrypha.
New Revised Standard Version. New York: Oxford University Press.
1989.
Howard,
Ken. “An Experiment: Year Round Stewardship”. Accessed:
2 Oct. 2014.
http://www.forwardmovement.org/Products/CategoryCenter/FMSSJE/Society_of_Saint_John_the_Evangelis.aspx.
Accessed: 4 Oct. 2014.
Jewish
Study Bible: Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation.New
York: Oxford University Press. 2004.
The
New American Bible for Catholics.
South Bend: Greenlawn Press. 1986.
3
Coats,
James. “God’s Economy.”
http://www.ecfvp.org/vestrypapers/sharing-our-gifts/gods-economy/.
Accessed: 2 Oct. 2014.
4
Ibid. Coates.
5
Note: Influenced by Coates' article.
6
Ibid. Coates.
7
Ibid.
No comments:
Post a Comment