Homily
by The Rev. Marcia McRae
St.
Francis Episcopal Church, Goldsboro, NC; 6th
Sunday after Epiphany, 12 Feb. 2017
RCL
Year A: Deuteronomy
30:15-20;
1
Corinthians 3:1-9; Matthew 5:21-37; Psalm 119:1-8
Do
you want to stand for this sermon?
Say “Yes, Yes” or “No, No.”
Do
you want to sit for the sermon?
Say “Yes, Yes” or “No, No.”
[Congregation
says “No, No” to stand. “Yes, Yes” to sit. Priest says
“Yes, Yes” to stand to preach!]
We
have just taken literally some of Jesus' words in our Gospel. At
our Diocesan Convention Eucharist,
Bishop Rob Skirving asked what Sunday worship might be like if we
were to take Jesus literally when Jesus says: if we offer our gift at
the altar & remember our brother or sister has something against
us, leave our gift & go be reconciled, then come & offer our
gift. Our
Bishop asks how empty might our churches be?
How
complicated might this make our Sunday worship here?
We
humans have a tendency to complicate life. [Just
ask my husband how complicated I make life!]
Jesus simplifies life for us in our Gospel, reflecting the focus of
our other scriptures today. All point us to life in community.1
Life
in community reflects God's Love we know in the Holy Community, the Holy Trinity.
We
hear about covenant relationship with God in our 1st
lesson, which tells us this is “something not merely granted,
but...won anew, rekindled and reconsecrated in the heart of each
Israelite in every generation,”
His
statement reminds me of our baptizing infants, who can later make a
public profession of faith at confirmation when they are old enough
to speak for themselves. We
recommit each time we renew our Baptismal Covenant.
Levenson
notes:
“Covenant is not only imposed, but also accepted.
It calls with both the stern voice of duty & the tender accents
of the lover, with both stick...and carrot...[It] biases the choice
in
favor of life...”3 [Italic & bold emphasis mine.]
Paul's
words to the Corinthians speak to life, to positive living in
community. He shines the light of God's truth on community: We are a
community, a unity. We have different roles within this unity.
God
gives the life & growth. God blesses us, each of us, with
gifts to bless us as a whole Body of Christ. Sometimes we see clearly
our gifts & differences. Sometimes we perceive differently.
Think
of the differences between coffee & tea. What do you notice as
differences between these 2 coffees? [Caffeinated
& ready to drink. Decaf & needs water & to be brewed.]
Notice
the differences the same manufacturer has for these 2 teas: DeTox &
Joint Comfort are both for health. Notice
what's alike: each box has a capacity to hold 16 tea bags. The colors
are similar.
I
see clearly the artwork & writing on the boxes differ. I was
fascinated to discover a more subtle difference as I broke down the
boxes to recycle. They look alike, yet their sizes differ.
Like
us, each has different characteristics. Like us, each has one
purpose: making a positive difference in someone's life. The teas
promote healthy living.
As
disciples of Jesus, we promote healthy living in God's Love.
Jesus
offers us life in God's Love. We know life offers challenges. As
the Rev. Chris Rankin-Williams preached in his sermon the Sunday
after the World Trade Center bombing:4
“The
challenge of this life is not to stay alive.
The
challenge of this life is to stay in love.”
Love
casts out fear. We hear God's Love as Jesus hangs dying on the cross
for us & says:
“Father
forgive them.
They
don't know what they are doing.”
God's
forgiveness tells us much about God, about God's perception of us, &
the work we have to do in life as followers of Jesus:5
“The
task of life is not to get God to love you . . .
The
task of life is to wake up to the fact . . .
God already loves you . . .
[so]
go into the world & make as much noise with [this] love that you
wake up those who are still sleeping.”
As another source says:
“[S]top
trying to earn God's love &
.
. . start spending it.”6
We
grow into God's love, more & more as we gain insight into what
God is calling us to be.
We
are bearers of God's Love.
We
are a work in progress.
Bibliography
Brueggemann, Walter. The Book That Breathes New Life: Spiritual Authority and Biblical
Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. 2005.
Holy
Bible with the Apocrypha. New Revised
Standard Version. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Howard,
Cameron. B.R. “Commentary on Deuteronomy 30:15-20” Accessed: 7
Feb. 2017.
http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3164
Howell,
The Very Rev. Miguelina.
“The
Gift of Reconciliation, Epiphany 6A – February 12, 2017”.
Acccessed:
7 Feb. 2017.
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2017/01/11/the-gift-of-reconciliation-epiphany-6a-february-12-2017/
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.
Lewis,
Karoline. “Discipleship
in Community: Commentary
on Matthew 5:21-37”. Accessed: 7 Feb. 2017.
http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3157
The
New American Bible for Catholics.
South Bend: Greenlawn Press. 1970.
Peterson,
Brian. “Commentary on 1 Corinthians 3:1-9”. Accessed: 7 Feb.
2017.
http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3142
Skirving,
The Rt. Rev. Robert. Bishop of East Carolina. Diocesan Convention.
Feb. 2017.
Voyle,
Robert J. Restoring
Hope: Appreciative Strategies to Resolve Grief and Resentment.
Hillsboro, OR: The Appreciative Way. 2010. “Teaching Forgiveness”.
www.appreciativeway.com.
1
Note: I recognized this theme in our scriptures after reading
Lewis,
Karoline. “Discipleship
in Community: Commentary
on Matthew 5:21-37”. Accessed: 7 Feb. 2017.
http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3157
3
Ibid.
4
Voyle,
Robert J. Restoring
Hope: Appreciative Strategies to Resolve Grief and Resentment.
“Forgiveness Forum”. P. 5.
5
Ibid. Voyle. P. 23.
6
Ibid. Quotating Steve Bhaerman. P. 25.
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