Loading...Sermon October 23, 2016
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, LSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen, Newport, PA
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost Year C Track 2 Proper 25
But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. 2 Timothy 4:17
Please be seated.
As I studied our Reading from 2 Timothy this week, I thought of my friend Elaine. Elaine died nearly eight years ago. She was 80 years of age.
I met Elaine during a time when my life was in considerable change. My children had both graduated from high school, so I was experiencing empty nest syndrome. My husband at the time was also going through a major career change and we ended up moving from Harrisburg to Topeka, Kansas. This was the furthest away I’d ever lived from my family – 1100 miles.
Even before moving to Topeka, I discovered the church I would attend and attended the very first Sunday after I’d moved. It must have been that first or second Sunday I was there that Elaine introduced herself to me. She made it a point to greet all newcomers. She was my guide to the church and having lived in Topeka for many years, she helped me settle in.
Elaine always went to lunch after church, and eventually I started going too. I learned that Elaine had four grown children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her husband had recently died and she was in the process of selling her home and moving to a smaller place. She was trying to get used to being a widow. The fellowship and activities at church were important to her.
Elaine was an amazing community volunteer. She was on a number of boards of organizations serving people who were homeless or living in poverty. Eventually, she helped one of the organizations open a thrift shop, not only as a service to people needing help, but also to raise a little cash for the organization. She scheduled the volunteers and scheduled the pick-ups of donations. She worked at the store and counted the money, most of it in change and small bills.
In some respects, the move wasn’t so helpful for my marriage. While we both worked hard to make it work, we came to a point where we needed to separate. I was in the middle of obtaining my Master’s degree in Social Work and needed to finish, but I felt that staying in our house would be too hard for me emotionally.
Elaine had become like family to me and I told her that my husband and I were experiencing difficulties. One day I called Elaine on the phone and said I might need a place to stay for a little while. Without hesitation, she said, “You can come over now.” Elaine gave me a furnished bedroom in her home. She never asked for rent or any kind of payment. She opened her doors wide and gave me shelter.
Whenever I think about people who embody the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Elaine comes to mind.
In our reading from 2 Timothy, the writer appears to be near the end of his life. While the letter to Timothy is attributed to Paul, modern scholars believe it was actually written after Paul’s death, but in the style of Paul. Regardless, we hear important wisdom.
The writer’s gone through some difficult times. He was abandoned by friends while trying to defend his ministry. He believes he has lived well, keeping his faith. He affirms his trust that God will deliver him from “every evil attack” and save him for heaven. He asserts that God provided the strength so that the message of the Gospel would be fully proclaimed to all people.
The writer reminds us that we are the Gospel and the only way the Good News of Jesus Christ of Nazareth is spread is through us… in our words and in our actions. As the saying goes, “you may be the only Gospel people read.”
Simply put, how do we love God? How do we love our neighbors? How do we love ourselves?
Today is a wonderful day to look at these questions. We are gathered right here to worship God. Today we have an abundance of music from Miguel and from our choir. Today we dedicate our labyrinth, adding another way to worship and commune with God to our common space.
Today we remember with thanksgiving and rejoicing the wonderful ministry of The Rev. Daphne Messersmith to our community. We remember how she fed us with spiritual food, deepening our love for God. We remember how she loved us and encouraged us to love our neighbors. We rejoice in how she embodied and continues to embody the Gospel and how the Gospel was and is proclaimed through her.
Today in our worship and love for God, we give thanks for Derek Tietje and all of the adults and Boy Scouts of Troop 64 who made our dream of a labyrinth…the dream Daphne gave to us… a reality. This labyrinth allows us to love God and also provides a way for anyone in our community to deepen their love of God. It allows us to love our neighbors. The labyrinth is one of the many ways we are the Gospel and the Gospel is proclaimed through us.
And this all would not have happened without the guidance and leadership of Darlene Amsler and Wendy Day, who researched how to build a labyrinth, contacted Troop 64, purchased the pattern, spoke about the importance of the project, and supported the Boy Scouts and adults who came to build it during the heat of the summer.
Julie Johnson provided a lovely statue of the Virgin Mary, which needed a new home.
And none of this…none of this… would have been possible without all of us here today. There would be no gathering…there would be no contributions of time or talent or treasure. This labyrinth, a gift in so many ways, would not have happened, except that each of you…each and every one of you… is the Gospel of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Each of you loves God, loves your neighbors and loves yourself. Each of you is used by God to proclaim the Gospel.
And when each of you comes to the worship service on Sunday morning, despite all of the temptations of the world that could keep you away, we form a united and diverse body that joyfully and together shows our love for God. Together, we can do more than we can ask or imagine in loving God, loving our neighbor and in loving ourselves.
Let us continue to be the Gospel. Let us continue to proclaim the Gospel.
Amen
