Loading...Sermon July 24, 2016
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, LSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen, Newport, PA
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost Track 2 Proper 12
He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come. Luke 11:2
Please be seated.
While I considered many ways to talk about our readings and Gospel today, I came back to The Lord’s Prayer. This prayer has been a centerpiece of my life since I was a young child. Besides the required memorization of this prayer by the time I was 7, so I could receive my First Communion, it was also the first piece my mother taught me to cross stitch. It was also during the recitation of The Lord’s Prayer at a retreat when I was about 13 years old, where I felt the presence of God so strongly, that I never again doubted that God was real.
It is the very prayer that has been prayed by Christians – thousands and millions?? – since the early days of the Christian Church. Every Sunday, we join this long line of believers praying this prayer. It’s translated and said in many languages not only throughout history, but even in our time. I even found a website with the many translations. https://www.wordproject.org/bibles/resources/our_father/in_many_languages.htm The Lord’s prayer is often one of the first things to be translated into the language of any people.
Today, I’d like to focus on the petition, Your Kingdom Come. The very act of praying this reminds us that while we live in this world, we are not of this world. Our understanding of the world is shaped by the teachings of God and of Jesus Christ, God’s Son. We pray that a world where all love God with all their heart, and with all their soul and with all their strength and with all their mind, is in place now and is also coming. We pray that a world where all love their neighbor is in place now and is also coming.
And implied by the use of the word “kingdom” is the presence of a community. Kingdom is not about an individual, it is about a group…it is about a community. Therefore, in order for God’s Kingdom to be evident here and now and also coming, a community is necessary.
You’ll notice I say, the Kingdom of God is now and is coming. That seems odd to our ears. Either it’s here or it’s not. However, when we look at the teachings and words of Jesus, we get this both/and idea. The Kingdom of God is here, right here, right now amongst us. We live in it. Yes, even midst so much violence, killing, oppression, conflict, and fear, the Kingdom of God is here. And we know it’s not perfect and not always here, so it’s also coming. Our challenge is to live in the Kingdom of God midst the turmoil of our world and also work for and know the Kingdom will be coming for those after us.
Where did you see the Kingdom of God this past week? Where do you know you live in the Kingdom of God?
There were so many experiences I had this week of living in God’s Kingdom.
Earlier this week, I happened to read an email I often ignore and in it was information about the many efforts of the Federal Government to make solar power more accessible to more people, especially those of low and moderate incomes.
At our Parlor People on the environment last spring, some of us visioned a Newport that used solar power solely for its electricity. Here it was in the email… a possible way to make that vision a reality.
Kay Cramer and I have met and will send comments in about a project called the Community Solar Challenge. We’ve also reached out to many members in the community who would constitute a team to plan a project for more solar power in Newport.
Your Kingdom come as we have renewable, clean energy for our town. Your Kingdom come as we would be required to spend less of our financial resources on electric bills. Your Kingdom come as we work to create new jobs for people who can install and maintain the equipment for solar power.
Then, on Friday, the Harrisburg Convocation had a pop-up Eucharist on the banks of the Susquehanna River across the street from our Cathedral. The service was planned by the residents of Sycamore House, young adult graduates of college who spend a year working in nonprofits in Harrisburg as part of the Episcopal Youth Service Corps. The theme was peace and justice. The riverfront park in Harrisburg is a popular place for people walking, running, or riding bike, so a number of people went by our service. A few stopped to join us. After the service, we had a pot luck dinner at the Cathedral and one of the people who had joined us, came over for dinner.
Dan is a tall man with a tan. He has short, dark hair and was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He was in his mid-thirties. I sat with him at dinner and he told me he was from Juniata County and when I said I was the priest at St. Stephen’s, he told me that he and his sister were baptized there! Now what do you think about that “coincidence?”
Dan was released from the state prison in the past month and is in a halfway house in Harrisburg. He’s gotten a job already and while it doesn’t pay what he was used to making, he’s very grateful to have it. In fact, he had to walk from Cameron Street in Harrisburg to Lemoyne. A distance of 3 miles to sign up to get this job. Luckily there’s a van that will come pick him up and take him to and from the job.
I noticed Dan had a piece of apple pie from the pot luck. He told me he hadn’t had apple pie in 27 months and 16 days, so he just had to have a piece. When pizza was offered to us, he made the same exclamation. I don’t think I’ll ever look at pizza, apple pie or many other foods in quite the same way again. I take it for granted I can have a piece of pizza or a piece of apple pie any time I’m hungry for it. Your Kingdom Come as the prisoners are released and welcomed into the community.
On Saturday morning, about 20 of us gathered outside of Shippensburg at a farm to glean sweet corn as part of The Gleaning Project, which works with farmers in Franklin and Adams County to pick food on farms that would otherwise go to 
waste or be fed to the farm animals. The food is donated to various food programs and food banks. We “pulled” 51 dozen ears of corn in an hour and a half. These boxes of corn went to Shippensburg Produce and Outreach (SPO), “a faith-based nonprofit that provides fresh vegetables, fruits, eggs, milk and other healthy items to those in the Shippensburg community who qualify.” //www.shipout.org/
Perhaps the most inspiring part of the project was hearing from Jay and Renee, the current employees of the Gleaning Project. Their enthusiasm and commitment to this work of harvesting fresh produce and getting it to people who otherwise wouldn’t have access to it was encouraging. Unfortunately, their funding will be over in the next two years. All Jay wants is $50,000 to employ two people year-round to keep the project going and even growing larger, a modest amount for the work they do.
Your Kingdom Come as farmers participate in the longstanding tradition of leaving some in the fields for people who are poor to gather. Your Kingdom Come as volunteers pick this produce and distribute this very healthy food to people who so desperately need it. Your Kingdom Come through people like Jay and Renee who gladly work to make sure all are fed and all receive healthy food.
There were so many instances of the visibility of God’s Kingdom this week, especially as I traveled with the Bishop. From Milton Hershey’s fortune supporting a school for children who really need it, to a tour of the YWCA and its many services to our region, to hearing from Cheryl Miller, owner of Espresso Yourself Cafe about her philosophy of food for the Cafe and the garden she has employing young adults who need job training, to a tour of the US Army War College and its work in nurturing peace around the world…yes I did say that… God’s Kingdom was visible right here and right now, just as it is coming and needs to come to our world.
What a blessing to see God’s Kingdom this week and every week. What a blessing to keep working for the Kingdom to be a reality. What a gift we have in this prayer that Jesus taught us.
Amen
