Homily
by The Rev. Marcia McRae
St.
Francis Episcopal Church, Goldsboro, NC, 1 Oct 2017, Proper 21
Year A RCL: Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16; Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32
Notice:
Community leaders ask Jesus who has given him authority to do what he
does,
& Jesus answers their question with a question.
Our
lesson in Exodus & in our Gospel ask 5 questions each. Here’s a
question about St. Francis, whose feast day we celebrate today: Since
he is considered the most popular & admired saint, as we read in
Lesser
Feasts & Fasts1,
why do so few follow his example to live simply & identify with
the poor & suffering, which is what Jesus does?
Again
this week we hear suffering & complaining in Exodus. People are
thirsty. The solution to the problem is in plain sight. They just
don't see it.
What
do you expect to get when you strike a stone?
Water or a spark? Would
you expect to get wrapping paper?
Notice
the differences in these rolls of wrapping paper. [Color, feel/rough & smooth]
What
do we usually use to make paper? [Wood; recycled paper.]
The brown
paper is recycled paper. [Pink is papyrus.] The white paper is
made from stone.
We
use God's natural gifts to make paper. We can use God's natural gift
to get water from a rock.
God
has Moses access nature's gift in the Wilderness of Sin [pronounced
SEEN2],
which is Egyptian for the fortress which was
there & is mentioned in ancient Egyptian texts.3 Its
limestone rocks drip water. Hitting the rock's soft surface exposes
the porous inside holding the water.4
It
is easier to get water from a rock than to get people to stay
faithful & trust God. This is hard in the Wilderness of Sin
& in the wilderness of sin, which isn't a place but
a way we live.
The
wilderness of sin is a stronghold separating us from God & each
other. In this stronghold we are likely to complain & forget the
unmerited grace God continually offers.
We
see St. Francis embrace & live fully into this unmerited grace.
We
hear grace in our Psalm, which declares God is faithful despite our
sin. God's love overcomes our rebelliousness.
Paul
reminds us & the Philippians: God is at work in us.
God
constantly reaches out to bring us into right relationship with God &
into unity with each other. God's love reaches out to all people.
This confuses the leaders in Jesus' day.
You
& I are blessed to know God gives Jesus the authority. We declare
this each time we say the Nicene Creed & the Apostles Creed.
We
can thank God for sending us Jesus to do what he does to make life
whole & beautiful & to help us live in holy unity as God
wants us to live.
Our
life in holy community reflects the beautiful unity of God the Holy
Trinity. Our unity is important, as we read in Philippians. Our unity
is important since we claim to love Jesus, who dies for us so we may
live. Our unity is important for the lives we touch.
We
strengthen our unity at this holy table. God nourishes us with Jesus'
Body & Blood, which come from natural substances in bread &
wine. God gives us these gifts to help us be strong like a rock &
open to God.
Here we gain strength, confidence & wisdom to serve
Jesus where we are, to reach beyond ourselves to our brothers &
sisters in the human family.
Think
of our brothers & sisters in our afternoon congregation with whom
we can interact more if we put forth even a small effort.
Think
how St. Francis interacted simply even with birds & other beings
in nature as we see depicted on the kneeler here at the front. [Thank
you, Altar Guild, for placing it where we can notice it.]
God’s
grace does come unexpectedly like water from a rock. God fills us
with grace. We just have to make an effort to notice.
Our
scriptures tell us God wants us
to be faithful in our relationship with God.5 Our
Psalm tells us of the history of God’s redemption of us...
6
and
assures us: God has acted in the past. We can trust God in the
present & with the future.7
Share
this is Good News!
Jesus died for the love of us.
How do you
respond in God's love? How do you/we respond in situations like Moses
& Jesus face when people challenge them?
What
will help you remember to
trust God
&
ask
God for help?
Bibliography
Book of Common Prayer.
New York: The Church Hymnal Corp., and The Seabury Press. 1979.
Broadt, Lawrence. Reading
the Old Testament: An Introduction. New York:
Paulist Press. 1984.
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, 1971S.
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.
Lesser Feasts &
Fasts. New York: Church Publishing, Inc.
2003.
Levenson, Jon D. Sinai
& Zion: An Entry into the Jewish Bible.
Minneapolis: Winston Press. 1985.
The
New American Bible for Catholics.
South Bend: Greenlawn Press. 1986.
New
Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha.
Herbert G. May, Bruce M. Metzger, eds. New York: Oxford University
Press, Incorporated, 1977.
Scott-Craig,
T.S.K. A Guide to
Pronouncing Biblical Names.
Harrisburg: Morehouse Publishing. 1982.
“Yes
or No? A Parable of Two Sons” and “Jesus Asks a Riddle”.
Sermons4Kids. Accessed:
29 Sept. 2017. http://www.sermons4kids.com/.
1
Lesser Feasts & Fasts.
P. 392. We’ll celebrate his official feast day Wednesday at Noon
Eucharist.
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