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Sermon November 17, 2019
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers,
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen’s
Pentecost XXIII, Track 1 Year C
http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearC_RCL/Pentecost/CProp28_RCL.html
For I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
No more shall there be in it
an infant that lives but a few days,
or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
Isaiah 65:17, 20-21
Over 25 years ago, I was part of a book study on the passage from Isaiah that was read this morning. The book was titled The Isaiah Vision: an Ecumenical Strategy for Congregational Evangelism by Raymond Fung. Mr. Fung had been the Secretary for Evangelism for the World Council of Churches.
In the book, Mr. Fung encourages congregations to embrace this vision from Isaiah:
Infants will live more than a few days
Old people will live out their lifetimes
People will build houses and live in them
People will work and have the fruit of their labor
We did hear a wonderful vision read to us this morning. It is ancient – at least 2,500 years old. We imagine it is the vision God has for us and for our lives together. Two thousand, five hundred years and we still feel comforted by the picture it creates for us.
Two thousand, five hundred years old and we have not fully realized the vision. That is definitely disappointing. Why haven’t all of the problems of infant death or premature deal been resolved? Why are people still homeless? Why do people still not make enough to support themselves with the basic necessities of life?
Mr. Fung’s book talks about how we can continue to take on this vision. We can continue the work and in doing the work in our community to care for others, we engage in evangelism, that is, in telling the story about our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It is in the way we work to bring this agenda to fruition that tells the story.
To do this work of bringing this vision, we will not only work in partnership with others to pursue this vision, we will also need times for regrouping in the form of worship, communal gathering and prayer. It is in our worship together, whether on a Sunday like today, or in our Tuesday Taize’ that we experience Christian community, which focuses us and prepares us for the work we need to do.
In addition, doing this work strengthens our discipleship or our following of Jesus Christ. We come to know more fully that we are, as Mr. Fung writes: “Ordinary people called to extraordinary things with God.” (p. 3) This active discipleship attracts others who want to follow Christ.
One of the things Mr. Fung stresses is examining how we as Christians share. He contrasts sharing out of generosity with sharing out of solidarity. Sometimes we share out of a sense of being generous, which is certainly important. Yet, Mr. Fung cautions that this type of sharing can also be turned “into an excuse to perpetuate injustice, domination and paternalism.” It is “sharing from a distance, because it is based on perceived difference.” (p. 38)
Rather than generosity, we need to share from a place of solidarity. He explains it this way:
“The other way is the way poor people share amongst themselves – out of a sense of solidarity. We share because we understand and feel the pain of others. We reach out not because we are different but because we are no different. We see ourselves in the suffering of others. We remember the pains of our own past. We drop our pretences and dare face our real selves. So we share.” (p. 39)
We know we could be in the same position and maybe we have been in the same position as those to whom we give. We “understand and feel the pain of others.”
Today is our annual meeting and our report tells of the many ways we live together in this community of Nativity and St. Stephen. We provide an active worship life, meeting every Sunday and nearly every Tuesday of every week. We provide spiritual formation and education.
And we partner with our community. Just last week, some of us gathered at Episcopal Commons and shared some hymn singing and a turkey dinner. The people who attended were so thankful and I believe all of us had such a good time together.
We are in the midst of providing gifts, needed and requested, for at least 45 children in Perry County. I think we are getting close to 50, having answered the call from Join Hands to provide for some babies and toddlers. In fact, we often answer the call from Join Hands, whether it’s school supplies or items needed for a new baby coming into the world.
We give to so many organizations each year as we tithe our receipts from our trusts.
Recently, many of us gave letters to Kay Cramer to take to Washington, DC to let our elected representatives in the United States House and Senate know that we as Episcopalians want changes in laws and rules to protect our environment, including a fee and dividend on carbon.
Our Vestry has been doing some work to better understand racism and how it affects all of us.
I do believe we do this work out of solidarity. We give from our corporate, church resources because we do “understand and feel the pain of others.” We give from our pooled resources to alleviate suffering. We work to understand and change unjust structures.
We do this work straight from our baptismal covenant of respecting the dignity of every human being. We do this work because Jesus emphasized God’s greatest commandment of loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves.
The work we do is how we show the world that we love God and are followers of Jesus Christ.
For I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
The writer of Isaiah says. And we do our part to make this vision of God become reality.
Amen
