Take Me As I Am

Homily by The Rev. Marcia McRae

St. Francis Episcopal Church, Goldsboro, NC; 24^th Sunday after Pentecost, 30 Oct. 20116

Proper 26 RCL Year C: Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4; Psalm 119:137-144; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12; Luke 19:1-10

Jesus says the Son of Man comes to seek & save the lost.

As followers of Jesus, this is part of our calling.

The idea of seeking the lost among our brothers & sisters in the human family can seem scary. Remember: Jesus calls us to work with him. Notice how Jesus calls Zacchaeus by name.

What difference do you feel when someone calls you by name & when a clerk calls out “#352” or “Next”?

God knows your name.

Knowing someone's name can be transformational in a relationship. We see this today in our Gospel.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are to work for the transformation of the world as God intends it to be.

We are in this together & have the Holy Spirit to guide each of us & us together. We hear echoes of this transforming work in our 1^st lesson.

Habakkuk addresses times of destruction & violence when people are out of sync with God's love, & it is easy to give up. The Jewish Study Bible notes, the question is not why justice does not emerge but how do we live in times of injustice.¹

We see injustice in our Gospel. Zacchaeus has practiced injustice as a tax collector for the Romans.

He's a thief & a cheat, as Sermons4Kids bluntly says.²

Despite the low opinion of Zacchaeus in his community, The New American Bible for Catholics says: he “exemplifies the proper attitude toward wealth...”  Like last week's repentant tax collector, Zacchaeus seeks fuller life & God's love. Despite his physical challenges & the blatant negative opinions the people have of him, Zacchaeus doesn't give up. He resorts to climbing a tree since no one is going to give him a boost or get out of his way for him to see Jesus.³

When have we failed to give someone a boost or

blocked someone from seeing Jesus?

God calls us not to give up in our work to share the Good News of God's love, which has created this beautiful world & this beautiful human family of which we are an integral part. God calls us to live by faith & to make the truth of God's love known. We are to share it so the news is plain & simple. God says in our 1^st lesson:

Make it plain on tablets so a runner can read it.

When I'm working out at the fitness center, I don't run on the treadmill, like the younger people on either side of me do. I walk because I'm reading homework for the course I'm taking. Even walking, it is hard to see the words. Look at this passage in our 1^st lesson & see a runner taking a message from one community to another & a

HUGE billboard

with clear writing telling God's vision & God's love:

God loves you.

No exceptions.

All are welcome.

How can you, how can we, be this billboard of God's love? Notice how the Thessalonians function as a “billboard” when Paul shares with others about them.

Paul says: “We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers & sisters,...because your faith is growing abundantly, & the love of you for one another is increasing.”

This positive influence on other churches & individuals you DO have. Your steadfastness, faith, love & God's grace active among you are why you consistently function so well.

God's love which you have & share gives you strength & grace to continue positive interactions as we work toward our annual Christmas In The Forest AND beyond.

As we continue handling life's storms – both literal weather & personal storms – it is easy to overlook our strengths, gifts, love.

When we get short on personal time [who among us doesn't?] & time with God in prayer, we can be challenged like Zacchaeus trying to see Jesus, to see what God wants us to do. These are times we can find refreshment & peace in this simple song from the Iona community & its complementary gestures I learned last week from The Rev. Dr. Jay Koyle of The Anglican Church in Canada, our presenter at Clergy Conference.

Let's experience “Take, O take me as I am” with the simple gestures that open us to God.

Blog Readers: these links give you lyrics & insights, but not the gestures we practiced at our Trinity Center retreat, which I hope to post here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNBrRyIolsY

http://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/take-o-take-me-as-i-am

Bibliography

Butterworth, Susan. “The Righteous Live by Their Faith”. Accessed: 29 Oct. 2016. 

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2016/09/23/the-righteous-live-by-their-faith/.

Harper’s Bible Commentary. Gen. Ed: James L. Mays. San Francisco: Harper & Row Publishers. 1988.

Jewish Study Bible: Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation. New York: Oxford University Press. 2004.

“A Little Man with a Big Problem”. Accessed: 29 Oct. 2016.

http://www.sermons4kids.com/little_man_big_problem.htm

The New American Bible for Catholics. South Bend: Greenlawn Press. 1970.

“Zacchaeus Goes Out on a Limb”. http://www.sermons4kids.com/ Accessed: 29 Oct. 2016.

1 Jewish Study Bible: Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation. P. 1226.

2 “A Little Man with a Big Problem”. http://www.sermons4kids.com/little_man_big_problem.htm and “Zacchaeus Goes Out on a Limb”. http://www.sermons4kids.com/. Accessed: 29 Oct. 2016

3 Idea from Butterworth, Susan. “The Righteous Live by Their Faith”.

Compost the Garbage of Life

Homily by The Rev. Marcia McRae

St. Francis Episcopal Church, Goldsboro, NC; 23^rd Sunday after Pentecost, 23 Oct. 20116

Proper 25 Year C RCL: Joel 2:23-32; Psalm 65; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14

“Please be seated.” “Thank you for being seated.”¹

We say please to God about many hopes, dreams, issues. How often do we remember to say “Thank you”?

Notice how the Pharisee says “Thank you” without asking God for anything. He's standing by himself, saying, “God, I thank you” that I'm better than other people. In The New American Bible for Catholics, this verse says:

The Pharisee took up his position &

spoke this prayer to himself...”²

I wonder how the tax collector responds to God after he prays. Does he stay stuck in his dark perspective of himself as worthless or does he embrace God's forgiveness & say “Thank you”?

I wonder what stirs deep inside the Pharisee as he watches that grovelling tax man. Does the Pharisee stay stuck in a different kind of darkness in which he cannot see himself or others in the light of God's love?

Like the people Joel addresses in our 1^st lesson, the overly self-reliant, prideful people Jesus tells today's parable to are stuck in narrow perspectives, stuck in fearful situations.³

People fear change, fear exile, fear getting things wrong, fear having to trust someone who is different, fear letting go & trusting God.

Fear keeps people stuck.

Fear keeps 21^st century people stuck.

Fears breeds resentment.

When we resent, we hurt ourselves. It is as if we have sent ourselves back into the bad situation⁴. Spell resent: RE  SENT.

We have re - sent ourselves back instead of moving ourselves forward & deeper into God's love & peace.

God promises us peace which surpasses our understanding.

We have seen this kind of peace in our beloved Brother in Christ..., whose life we celebrated yesterday. God's peace gives us creativity to envision new life now & future joy living in grace.

God's peace frees us to live in God's love.

In today's parable, Jesus shows us two perspectives on how humans interact with God when we are stuck like the self-absorbed Pharisee & the fearful tax collector. It can be hard to see life from a new angle, to see ourselves anew, to see ourselves as Jesus sees us.

Jesus sees us – sees you – as worth dying for

on the cross.

Jesus dies for us trusting God's love that is greater than we can understand. The Holy Spirit guides us so that we can live confidently in the present & trust God's grace for the future as we let go of the past.

Freed from the past, we can see positive results from the garbage of life.

Those of us who compost garbage know garbage can transform into a positive force. It takes time to see positive results from garbage. One writer says this about composting for her garden:

“Garbage, properly treated,

becomes food.”⁵

Garbage in a compost pile eventually gains new life to nourish plants. Properly treating the garbage of our lives, turning the garbage over to God & letting the light of God's love transform us, we can embrace God's forgiveness & love & share it!

God's love gives us peace,

which surpasses our understanding.

Living with inward peace, nourished by God's love at the holy meal we share, we can leave worship strengthened to serve God's people whether they are the Pharisee or the tax collector.

How will we do this?

What is God calling you to do to share the good news?

Remember this good news:

God loves you. No exceptions. All are welcome.

Bibliography

The Four Translation New Testament. Minneapolis: World Wide Publications. New York: The Iversen Assocs. 1966.

Harper’s Bible Commentary. Gen. Ed: James L. Mays. San Francisco: Harper & Row Publishers. 1988.

Hitchcock, Janet. “On Reflection: Ten Things I've Learned in the Garden”.Women's Uncommon Prayers: Our Lives Revealed, Nurtured, Celebrated. EDS: Elizabeth Rankin Geitz; Marjorie A. Burke; Ann Smith. Harrisburg: Morehouse Publishing 2000.

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.

Levenson, Jon D. Sinai & Zion: An Entry into the Jewish Bible. Minneapolis: A Seabury Book. Winston Press. 1985.

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. 1970.

“The Thankful Leper” http://www.sermons4kids.com/ and “Please and Thank You”. http://www.sermons4kids.com/please_and_thank_you.htm. Accessed: 4 Oct. 2016.

Voyle, Robert J. “An Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry”. Diocese of Georgia Clergy Conference. Oct. 2013.

1 Inspiration from a previous sermon I wrote & from “The Thankful Leper” http://www.sermons4kids.com/ Accessed: 4 Oct. 2016.

2 New American Bible for Catholics. P. 1123.

3 Note: Idea influenced by Harper’s Bible Commentary. Pp. 633, 634, 1241, 1242.

4 Note: From Voyle presentation.

5 Hitchcock, Janet. “On Reflection: Ten Things I've Learned in the Garden”. P. 31.

Expect the Unexpected – Again!

Homily by The Rev. Marcia McRae

St. Francis Episcopal Church, Goldsboro, NC; 22^nd Sunday after Pentecost, 16 Oct. 2016

Proper 24 Year C RCL: Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8

Why have I titled this sermon

“Expect the Unexpected”?

[Congregation responses included: last week's hurricane & the power outage we had before our 10:30 worship today, which caused us to move worship from the sanctuary to the Parish Hall after our 8:30 a.m. worship!] Yes, we have had the unexpected recently!

Last week's sermon [which Hurricane Matthew prevented you from hearing] is titled “Expect the Unexpected” to emphasize last week's Gospel's message & the unexpected miracle in our life together we were to celebrate.

Today we celebrate so many blessings & this parish's miracle we couldn't celebrate last week, a miracle 30-plus years in the making!

It is hard to know what to expect

when you expect the unexpected!

The judge in our Gospel knows what to expect every day from the determined widow. Like him, we may work to resolve a constant demand for attention. Unlike the judge, we fear God, have a sense of awe of God. Unlike the judge, we may fear the unexpected in life.

Brain studies show we have one neuron to indicate a feeling of peace & 4 neurons to indicate fear.¹

This 4:1 ratio makes fear seem more real to us than peace,

as I learned from The Rev. Dr. Robert J. Voyle at a conference.²

Fear numbs our brains' creativity & keeps us stuck in situations.

Yet situations change. Hurricane Matthew has gone. We work creatively, diligently to rebuild & renew. Each week we gather here to rebuild & renew our spiritual lives, to feed on God's holy word & holy gifts at this table.

• Today we celebrate our survival & blessings of many kinds flowing into our lives & flowing through us as we combat the storm's aftermath.
• We celebrate the great news we didn't know last Sunday of health for our wonderful Parish Administrator's husband.
• We celebrate the miracle which frees one stuck in fear for wrong another person did to this Body of Christ years ago. This person now has God's peace, which surpasses our understanding.

We thank & praise God for the great miracle of restoring most unexpectedly the silver Communion items stolen from this Body of Christ in 1983. Today we will use these items made especially for us in England.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God's hands & feet & voice have acted through many individuals in this miracle of restoration that only God could pull off!

We say “THANK YOU, GOD!” in a BIG way for renewed life, for trusting God, God's timing, God’s amazing ways of answering prayers, & our responding to God’s call.

Our responses about the stolen items have included intense prayers for all concerned, especially in the last 3 months, & have helped free those stuck in fear.

[Thank you all who have worked as God's hands, feet, voice & heart to bring about this blessing.]

Why do we fear proclaiming the Good News of God's love for us? Paul tells us in our lesson from 2^nd Timothy to proclaim the message. In our Psalm, the message is God's law gives us wisdom to live as we should.

Most of our living is in ordinary times,

not scary times.

Know this: Psalm 119 was composed not for life's big events but for the 90 percent of life that “is uneventful, even monotonous...,”³ as one author says. It gives us a “prolonged contemplation of God's presence.⁴

Prolonged is right!

With its 176 verses, this is the longest Psalm & the longest chapter in the entire Bible!⁵ In our Prayer Book, it starts on page 763 & ends on 778.

What we read today is one of 22 stanzas, each with 8 verses. The Hebrew version is written in an acrostic style: each verse in a stanza starts with the same Hebrew letter as the succeeding letters are used. Almost all verses contain the word “law” or its synonym:⁶ decrees, word, commandment, judgments. 

What creative skill this shows! What discipline!

Within this framework, the writer remains creative & flexible: You can read this psalm in random order & it still makes sense.

You an even read it backward!⁷  Let's do this!

I'll read the last verse 104, then you read the top verse 97, then I'll read 103, you read, 98 & so on until we meet in the middle!

Priest: 104

Through your commandments I gain understanding;

therefore I hate every lying way.

Congregation: 97

Oh, how I love your law! all the day long it is in my mind.

Priest: 103

How sweet are your words to my taste!

they are sweeter than honey to my mouth.

Congregation: 98

Your commandment has made me wiser than my enemies,

and it is always with me.

Priest: 102

I do not shrink from your judgments,

because you yourself have taught me.

Congregation: 99

I have more understanding than all my teachers,

for your decrees are my study.

Priest: 101

I restrain my feet from every evil way,

that I may keep your word.

Congregation: 100

I am wiser than the elders,

because I observe your commandments.

Whichever way we read this Psalm, it reminds us God is with us when we move forward, when we move backward, when we are tossed by life's storms. This is a message of hope, like Jeremiah's message of future restoration & reconciliation.

Our hope rests solidly on God's promise to create a new covenant God writes on our hearts so that we can obey.⁸  We carry God's law in our hearts as a living part of us.

This is the divine spark⁹ we Christians know to be the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit in us guides us from fear to faith so that we can remain faithful & persistent in prayer, no matter what challenges us.

Jesus asks in our Gospel today: Will the Son of Man find faith on earth?

I assure you: Jesus does find faith on earth. We gather here today because we are faithful & persistent in prayer.

Be faithful & persistent in sharing the Good News we know in Jesus:

God loves you! No exceptions!

God loves you! No exceptions!

Bibliography

Barclay, William. The Daily Study Bible Series: The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. Revised Ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. 1975.

The Book of Common Prayer. New York: Church Publishing, Inc. 1986.

Davidson, Robert. The Daily Study Bible Series: Jeremiah Vol. 2 and Lamentations. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. 1985.

Dios Habla Hoy: La Biblia. 2^da Ed. Nueva York: Sociedad Bíblica Americana. 1983.

The Four Translation New Testament. Minneapolis: World Wide Publications. New York: The Iversen Assocs. 1966.

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.

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. 1970.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha Expanded Edition. New York: Oxford University Press. 1973.

La Sacra Bibbia Versione Riveduta. Dott. Giovanni Luzzi. Roma: Società Biblica Britannica & Forestiera. Libreria Sacre Scritture Roma. 1990.

1 Information from notes taken at conference presentation by The Rev. Dr. Robert J. Voyle.

2 Ibid.

3 Harper’s Bible Commentary. P. 487.

4 Ibid.

5 Jewish Study Bible: Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation. P. 1415.

6 Ibid.

7 Ibid. Harper’s.

8 Ibid. Harper’s. P. 636.

9 Ibid. Jewish Study Bible. P. 991.

Perfect Prayer to Start Any Day / Oración perfecta para qualiquier día

I keep sharing with others this prayer from our Book of Common Prayer that our priest shared with me years ago when I was in the hospital. It meant so much to me then, & I have found it useful even when enjoying good health. I pray it on rising most days! I love the part about doing nothing GALLANTLY!

Book of Common Prayer: Prayers for use by a Sick Person page 461: In the Morning:

This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly.

Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen.

Doy esta oración de nuestro Libro de Oración Común con gente enferma o no enferma. Hace muchos años hasta que nuestro sacerdote la me dio cuando estuve en la hospital. La oración me dio paz y mucho mas. Y todavía continuo a orar incluyedo ahora en que tengo buena salud. La oro casi cada día. ¡Me gusta mucho la frase sin hacer nada, que lo acepte con gallardía! 

El Libro de Oración Común. Oraciones para el uso de un enfermo página 383. En la Mañana:

Este es otro día, Oh Señor. Aún no seen lo que traerá, pero haz que esté dispuesto para aceptar lo que sea. Si debo estar de pie, ayúdame a hacerlo con valor. Si debo estar sentado, ayúdame a estarlo en calma. Si debo estar acostado, ayúdame a hacerlo con paciencia. Y si debo estar sin hacer nada, que lo acepte con gallardía. Haz que estas palabras sean más que palabras, y dame el Espíritu de Jesús. Amén

My Yoke is Easy, My Burden is Light

Homily by The Rev. Marcia McRae

St. Francis Episcopal Church, Goldsboro, NC; 20^th Sunday after Pentecost, 2 Oct. 2016

Exodus 3:1-7; Psalm 148:7-14; Galatians 6:14-18; Matthew 11:25-30

What refreshing, nourishing words of God’s love & care for us we hear in our scriptures!

We see God's love & care for us in many ways in our lives, just as we see it in many ways in the lives of Moses & Paul & our Patron St. Francis, whose Oct. 4^th feast day we celebrate today¹. These men accepted the yoke & carried the burden God gave them.

Jesus says: “My yoke is easy. My burden is light.”

This reminds me of my childhood delight seeing & sometimes getting to stroke the adorable donkey bearing the burden of strawberries as its owner makes his rounds to our street in Mexico City.

I remember asking Santa for a donkey. In Santa’s wisdom, I got this one, "Burrito", which has long outlasted the live 

donkey I envisioned in my childish, literal thinking.

We find literal thinking in St. Francis.

Since he is patron saint of animals, you see a variety of animal replicas among us in the pews! You are welcome to cuddle one as needed. We used some of them for comfort & fun at our Parish Retreat last weekend.

Fun stimulates creativity.

A rich young man with little responsibility, Francis knows about fun & pursues it. He also pursues military glory. Time as a prisoner of war changes his perspective, not his literal thinking.

Francis comes home & sees with new eyes, hears with new ears the suffering of his fellow humans, ignored by most well-off people in his day. He listens & responds literally to God’s call to repair God’s church: He rebuilds a dilapidated church².

Later he sees with new eyes the “church”, & builds relationships with & hope for God’s beloved children: the poor, sick, disadvantaged, “invisible” people.

Poor, sick, disadvantaged, invisible people live among us.

With new vision, Francis responds to God's call & lives differently, giving away his possessions. He takes off his shoes & gives them away....

I wonder if he knows he is standing on holy ground like Moses stands on where he sees the burning bush & removes his shoes.

Moses learns this: God sees & cares about suffering, burdened, mistreated, oppressed people – our brothers & sisters in the human family, who still need our help today.

God calls Moses to work with God to make a positive difference for God's suffering children.

In Galatians, Paul reminds us how he answers God’s call to follow Jesus & share the Good News of God’s Love that we know through Jesus’ dying for us on the cross & rising to new life so that we can have new life & the Holy Spirit to live in us & guide us in what we do.

Paul says he carries the marks of Jesus. These are from beatings & stonings he endures to share the Good News of God’s Love. These marks are like branding we do to cattle & like people in his day branded their slaves.³

Although Paul’s marks are different from the stigmata St. Francis has [like Jesus’ wounds on his hands, feet & side], Paul & Francis respond positively to the same challenge we have:

share the Good News of God’s Love.

Paul & Francis sacrifice to share the Good News & make a positive difference for many in their days. Notice, God reaches us where we are:

Francis gains his new perspective slowly.

Paul has his blinding encounter with Jesus as his travels to imprison people who believe in Jesus.

God catches Moses’ attention with a unique view in creation to entice his curiosity as he goes about daily work with the herd.

God reaches us where we are.

Our job is to respond & work with God & each other.

In our Gospel, Jesus invites us to carry a lighter load, sharing his Love. Jesus says:

Come to me, all you who are weary & carrying heavy burdens & I will give you rest.

God’s steadfast love & mercy, which we see in Jesus’ life, death, resurrection & ascension, lighten our work load, a truth St. Francis came to know after his youthful struggle with his rich lifestyle. Before he had grace to change how he was living, Francis didn’t have a clue about what God was calling him to do.

Do we have a C.L.U.E. about what God is calling us to do?

After our Parish Retreat last week, we do have insights into the C.L.U.E. God is revealing. We are growing into our Calling, Living, Understanding & Evolving in Jesus name in our generation like Francis, Paul & Moses did in their generations.

Remembering the wisdom of Santa, who gave me what I needed & what would last instead of what I wanted, which wouldn't last, I see more clearly the wisdom of waiting & trusting God as we do the work of praying, forgiving, loving, & working together, using our gifts, even our mistakes, learning, trusting God, living into the future God envisions for us.

Beloved Brothers & Sisters,

fellow children of God,

what work is God giving us to do together?

Bibliography

Batten, J. Minton. Selections from the Writings of St. francis of Assisi.Nashville: The Upper Room. 1952. Pp. 5-9.

Brown, Judith Gwyn Brown. Bless All Creatures Here Below: A Celebration for the Blessing of the Animals. Harrisburg: Morehouse Publishing. 1996.

Cole, Joanna. A Gift from Saint Francis: The First Creche. Illustrator: Michele Lemieux. New York: Morrow Junior Books. 1999.

Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints. New York: Church Publishing. 2010. Pp. 622-623.

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.

The New American Bible for Catholics. South Bend: Greenlawn Press. 1970.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha Expanded Edition. New York: Oxford University Press. 1973.

Saints: Who they are and how they help you. Gen. Ed: Elizabeth Hallam. New York: Simon & Schuster. 1994. Pp. 81-83

1 Information on Francis in this sermon comes from the several sources in the Bibliography & our tour guide in Assisi.

2 As our tour guide in Assisi noted.

3 The New American Bible for Catholics. P.1276.