Homily
By The Rev. Marcia McRae
St.
John’s Episcopal Church, Bainbridge, GA, 14 June
2015
Proper
6 Year B: 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13; Psalm 20; 2 Corinthians 5:6-17; Mark
4:26-34
What
seed do you scatter for God's kingdom?
What seed has Saul scattered
so that God rejects him in our 1st
lesson today? Responding to the seed of disobedience that Saul has
scattered, God says earlier in today's chapter: “I regret that I
made Saul king...he has turned back from following me & has not
carried out my commands.”1
You
may recall last
week God's people insisted on having a king. They get Saul who does
well in battles, denies disobeying God when Samuel confronts him2,
shifts the blame, finally admits guilt & pleads with Samuel to
make him look good to the people to avoid, as
the Jewish Study Bible says3
public humiliation. He IS self-focused. We
see 21st
Century Sauls who hire handlers & image consultants to make them
look good to the public.
What
a contrast we see in the non-self-promoting David tending sheep. What
a contrast we hear in Paul's discussing God's new creation: people –
us – who no longer live for ourselves. What a contrast Jesus
describes as he tells us about the person scattering seed, planting
God's kingdom. God's kingdom, the universal church, offers a place
for all to thrive.4
In
God's kingdom, God's universal church, we can live no longer for
ourselves but for Jesus who died for us, as
we hear Paul say to the Corinthians – to us.
In God's kingdom, we live guided by the Holy Spirit so that we can
learn to see as God sees, as
we read in our lesson from Samuel:
not as mortals see [looking
at outward appearances],
but
as God looks on the heart.
Seeing
the heart is the skill of the master craftsman viewing his work &
making adjustments – sometimes drastic adjustments like with Saul
where there is total king replacement.
This reminds me of the hard work Charlie did creating the handsome deacon's bench that beautifies the Parish Hall. His keen eye saw that the stain he had applied was somehow wrong; like Saul, it was not right for the job. Charlie didn't just paint over the stain. He sanded it off completely & applied a new stain – a new “king” for Charlie's new creation.
This reminds me of the hard work Charlie did creating the handsome deacon's bench that beautifies the Parish Hall. His keen eye saw that the stain he had applied was somehow wrong; like Saul, it was not right for the job. Charlie didn't just paint over the stain. He sanded it off completely & applied a new stain – a new “king” for Charlie's new creation.
“New
creation” is the term rabbis used for a convert to Judaism5.
As part of God's new creation, you & I walk by faith, not by
sight. We see Samuel walk by faith, not by sight, as he as he goes &
anoints David. We see Jesus' kingdom spreading by faith, not by
sight, as the disciples respond when Jesus calls them & as they
carry on his work that has led to us being here today.
We
gather to gain strength together at this Holy Table for the work we
have of continuing to scatter seeds to grow God's kingdom. How do you
scatter seeds? How do you force seeds to sprout & to flourish? We
cannot. We can respond in faith, as
Harper's Bible Commentary notes,6
living not for ourselves but for Jesus. Accepting life as a gift, we
are freed from self-preoccupation, freed from frantic efforts to
force a particular outcome, to force seeds to grow. We are freed for
service to others.
What
does this service look like? Do you always see its results? How does
Charlie know what deep impact the beauty of that deacon's bench has
had on someone? How does Charlie know about the refreshment a tired
visitor has had sitting on that bench?
Much
of our seed planting in God's field is like that.
The underwear
you gave on “Undie Sunday”
is one example. We received tangible affirmation of your positive
action in this note that
arrived yesterday from Missy..., who wrote on behalf of Still Waters
Shelter.
She says:
“The
Still Waters House & all who enter in experience the impact of
the ministry of the flock at St. John's Episcopal Church. From the
supplies, to the food, to the financial offerings, to the “undie
Sunday” provisions, we are very grateful. Your continual
faithfulness has blessed so many precious people.
“May
God continue to use you all mightily for His kingdom purposes.
“To
God be the glory, great things He is doing in Bainbridge, Georgia.
Please keep us all lifted in your prayers.
“With
love, Missy”
I
am convinced that so much that you do sprouts seeds that flourish
in the fertile ground of God's kingdom without your knowing it. I
wonder how many of our guests & how many of you have been
inspired seeing something beautiful here or in our beautifully
refreshed Parish Hall – things that some of you have created.
Often
we do our work thinking we are just doing what we normally do. I
suspect sanding that bench was just normal for Charlie.
When I asked him
about it for this homily, he had forgotten having done it.
We
– you – create beauty sometimes intentionally like Charlie, like
Chris & Wayne whose creative gifts have given St. John's many
beautiful items to inspire us [for
example this small altar Wayne crafted along with its cross &
aumbry, & Parish hall stained glass items Chris created].
Some
of us find beauty that inspires us in icons, such as this one of Jesus written
by Cathy [which graces our Altar].
When I saw The House in Nazareth*, that shows Jesus, Joseph & Mary
When I saw The House in Nazareth*, that shows Jesus, Joseph & Mary
at daily work*, I thought of Charlie's, Chris' & Wayne's work & the daily tasks you do that have such positive effect that you may never know about except through notes such as Missy's.
Perhaps
this icon can serve as a reminder to us of the simple things we do
that make a positive difference, scattering & nourishing seeds
for God's kingdom. [Charlie,
Chris, Wayne, please come & help me dedicate this gift to St.
John's.]
Dedication
of the Icon7
Charlie:
Many there are who rely upon their hands and are skillful in their
own work.
Chris:
Prosper, O Lord, the work of our hands.
Wayne:
Prosper
our handiwork.
Priest:
Let us pray. (Silence)
O God, your blessed Son worked with his hands in the carpenter shop
in Nazareth: Be present, we pray, with those who work in this place,
that, laboring as workers together with you, we may share the joy of
your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Wayne:
Solomon beautified the sanctuary, and multiplied the vessels of the
temple.
Charlie:
Oh, the majesty
and magnificence of God's presence:
Chris:
Oh, the power and the splendor of his sanctuary!
Priest
Let
us pray. (Silence)
O God, whose blessed Son has sanctified and transfigured the use of
material things: receive this work of art which we offer, and grant
that it may proclaim your love, benefit your Church, and minister
grace and joy to those who see it; through Jesus Christ out Lord.
Amen.
Chris:
Christ
is the icon of the invisible God.
Wayne:
All things were created through him and for him.
Charlie:
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Priest:
Let us pray. (Silence)
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior manifested your glory in his flesh
and sanctified the outward and visible to be a means to perceive
realities unseen: Accept, we pray, this representation of Jesus,
Mary, & Joseph working in the House of Nazareth, and grant that
as we look upon it, our hearts may be drawn to things which can be
seen only with the eye of faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
* www.monesteryicons.com
* www.monesteryicons.com
Bibliography
Bennett, Jamey. “Should Orthodox Christians Get Their Icons Blessed?” Accessed: 13 June 2015.
http://blogs.ancientfaith.com/orthodoxyandheterodoxy/2013/09/26/should-orthodox-christians-get-their-icons-blessed
The
Book of Occasional Services
2003. New York: Church Publishing. 2004.
Handy
Dictionary of the Bible.
Ed.: Merrill C. Tenney. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House.
1965.
Harper’s
Bible Commentary.
General Ed.: James. L. Mays. San Francisco: Harper & Row
Publishers. 1988.
Harper’s
Bible Dictionary.
General Ed.: Paul J. Achtemeier. San Francisco: Harper & Row
Publishers, 1971.
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.
Matthews,
Victor H. Social
World of the Hebrew Prophets.
Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers. Inc. 2001.
The
New American Bible for Catholics.
South Bend: Greenlawn Press. 1986.
The
New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha.
Expanded Ed. Revised Stantard Version. Eds: Herbert G. May. Bruce M.
Metzger. New York: Oxford University Press. 1977.
7
Adapted from The
Book of Occasional Services.
Pp. 152, 211, 207. Note: Writing an icon is considered to result in
its being blessed. “There
is no written evidence of icon blessings in the Orthodox Church
until the 17th century. During the 2nd
Nicean Council
icon blessing was discussed as unnecessary: “[M]any of the sacred
things which we have at our disposal do not need a prayer of
sanctification, since their name itself says that they are
all-sacred and full of grace….” Bennett,
Jamey. “Should Orthodox Christians Get Their Icons Blessed?”
Accessed: 13 June 2015.
http://blogs.ancientfaith.com/orthodoxyandheterodoxy/2013/09/26/should-orthodox-christians-get-their-icons-blessed
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