Loading...Sermon November 27, 2016
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, LSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen, Newport, PA
…the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light…. Romans 13:12
Please be seated.
You’ve heard me talk about belonging to a group in Harrisburg called People Against Racism or PAR. We were a diverse group of people living in the Harrisburg area, who met on and off for about 16 years.
At one of our meetings, the People of Color challenged those of us who were White about how we viewed community. They said they viewed community very differently from us and they needed to understand what our view was. They said we as White people just made decisions on our own without considering the full impact on others. They said they didn’t understand that at all.
Those of us who were White were speechless. We tried to explain ourselves, but honestly didn’t have a good answer. We knew we needed to think and talk about it. We knew we were being challenged to think about our relationships and about community in a new way. We agreed to discuss it and study it amongst ourselves and get back to the rest of the group.
Eventually, we understood what the People of Color were talking about. We understood how we lived in a world where we mostly made decisions based upon our individual or nuclear family wellbeing. We never really considered the full impact of our decisions in the larger sense.
What happened when one of us decided to leave the group or to move away? Yes, we talked about it with each other in the sense of what it meant to our individual lives. But we didn’t talk about how the work of the group would or could continue. Who would fill the space that we filled if we were no longer there? Could the work continue? Would leaving the area or even moving out of the City mean that the work could no longer continue?
It caused me to think about how my individual life impacted the larger community life. Over time and with ongoing learning and experiences, I began to see more deeply how much each of us matters and how much each of us contributes to the community. How important it is that each of us is here today, worshiping together, catching up with each other. The congregation here today would be different if each of you had made the decision not to come. It’s a different congregation today than other Sundays because some couldn’t be here with us today.
In our Epistle today, Paul, speaking to the church in Rome, encourages us to live our lives in ways that show that Christ is within us. Christ has come and Christ is also coming. Our lives are different as a result. We are different than before we knew Christ and sought to follow his teachings and his ways. The world we had been living in, governed by the rules of people, is turned upside down. All are equal, regardless of gender, or economic status. All are created in the image of God and are to be cared for as such. All are to be loved.
We are to be about love and reconciliation of relationships with each other and with God. We are to be good stewards of all that God has given to us. We are to know that God is always with us in our suffering and that the arc of justice bends towards truth…that God’s kingdom is here and is coming. And we are to relieve suffering and work for justice for all.
To do this work, we become the church, in relationship with each other. We do this work in a community. We become Christ’s heart, hands, feet, mouth, and arms in this world.
In other words, we “put on the armor of light.” We are a community of people walking through this world with different rules and a different purpose than much of our culture.
Armor is used for protection of your vital organs. The armor of light…the armor of Christ, protects our hearts and heads…gives us new ones if you think about it. And armor also allows your hands to be free to do the work you need to do. You don’t have to worry about protecting the most vulnerable parts of your earthly body, so your hands are freed to offer love, reconciliation, comfort and strength.
All of us together can do more of God’s work…bring more of God’s kingdom to this place…than we can do alone. Each of us brings something special to the work we are called to do, so our community is strengthened and creative and caring. Our individual “created in the image of God” is an important part of our working together in this place and this time to be the body of Christ.
We must be serious and intentional about being in community with each other. We must realize what happens to our community when we are not here…when new people come in…when people are born and when people die. Each of us by our very presence, in all of our God-given being, is important to our community and the work we can do.
So each day let us put on the armor of light. Let us keep coming together as a community, worshiping together, and working together for the Kingdom of God that is, that was, and that is to come.
Amen
