Pentecost 4
July 7, 2019
St. Michael's Church, Bristol
St. Michael's Church, Bristol
Gospel: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July celebration. It truly lived up to all the many layers of expectation that had been built up around it since I arrived. The spectacle and pageantry of the Fourth of July Parade here in Bristol, RI is almost indescribable. For me, it really affirmed a deep love for Bristol and the community here. What fascinated me, however, were the thousands of moving parts and the sheer number of folks who came together to make it all work. I’m sure there were some glitches, but from the perspective of a newbie, it was practically seamless, down to the day after the parade. I swear, I woke up and thought the rapture had occurred and I had missed it – the streets were empty, and the town was immaculate. Not a piece of rubbish to be seen. It’s as if it all were a dream. I asked the chair of the Fourth of July Committee what she was going to do after everything was done. She said with a smile, “I’m going home to sleep for 3 days, then the committee will meet next week and start the whole planning process again. I’m just hoping that enough volunteers will step up again next year! Without them…” she shrugged her shoulders and trailed off. That, my friends, is true dedication and service. I share those sentiments with her in hoping that folks here at St. Michael’s will continue to show up and volunteer for the mission that we set ourselves to do in the name of Christ. Without you, there is no St. Michael’s.
Today we hear Jesus say, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Two thousand years have passed but the words of Jesus are just as urgent today. Where will we find these workers? Jesus sends out his followers in twos, because he knows it takes a community to build and grow a community. He lets us know that life in service of God’s mission is our one job. And life in service of others is the method by which we do that one job.
If any of you are familiar with the workings of Twelve Step recovery communities (like AA), you will know that one of the key acts for someone in recovery is taking up service opportunities at meetings (making coffee, leading meetings, setting up chairs, etc.). What this is referring to is the idea that service in recovery helps the giver as much as the receiver. This service isn’t done in the hope of a reward or praise. Instead the individual does it because they know that it is helping to keep them connected to others and sober, rather than being focused on the self and at-risk. Groups like Alcoholics Anonymous could not function without the voluntary services provided by members. All for one and one for all.
In many ways our Gospel lesson and the idea of serving others is hard for us. Most of us have embraced the American concept of rugged individualism, which in its most perverted form implies that we should never be dependent or beholden to anyone. However, again and again Jesus reminds us that we will only find joy and fulfillment when we live lives of loving service to others.
I am convinced that witnessing to the wonder and power of Jesus’ message of love, redemption and life eternal … carrying that message into a lost, confused world … is the calling of every baptized Christian. It is our common cause. All for God and God for all.
I was sharing with someone recently that my vocational calling is not to fill the pews of St. Michael’s. That’s not the calling of any priest or deacon. It’s not the calling of any baptized Christian. Our calling looks beyond. Our calling extends outward. God calls us from these buildings to places that are in deep need of the gospel message. Everything that we do within our walls must support the greater mission that we are called to outside our walls. That’s true for St. Michael’s and it’s true for any congregation. We can come up with a variety of mission statements, but this is our one true mission.
And show me a church that considers this mission important but thinks it should be pursued only by the priest and I will show you a church that is in trouble; show me a congregation that shows no interest in or has subcontracted this mission to the Vestry or a Welcome Committee and I will show you a church that is in steep decline. Where do you and St. Michael’s fit in all this, I wonder?
One of my favorite parts of all the various Eucharistic prayers is a portion of Eucharistic Prayer C that I’ve taken on as a personal prayer before I start any service. It says “Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for renewal. Let the Grace of this Holy Communion make us one body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the World in his name.”
That says it all for me. Perhaps it will resonate with all of us as we reflect more deeply about why we’re here in this building. The body of Christ isn’t about filling pews; it isn’t about having a large Youth Group for the sake of having one; it isn’t about increasing our giving so that we can continually make repairs to buildings that have become monuments to what we think we should be, rather than what God calls us to be. And if we want to speak truth to reality, St. Michael’s isn’t only about those who came before us – names etched in stained glass or carved in marble. To be clear, St. Michael’s is not a museum, and we are not museum docents.
On the other hand, and more exciting in my view, St. Michael’s is very much about us, alive with the Holy Spirit (remember Pentecost?) and our commitment to making Christ known in this world. In addition to being rich in history, we can embody the Gospel promises today and share that with those who feel lost or abandoned. We can break down walls that separate us from one another. And we can be bold in shattering dusty, darkened windows so that the true light of God can enter the dark spaces that scare us.
Today we hear Jesus tell us that the Kingdom of God has come near. People are still ready to hear the message St. Michael’s has to proclaim. We need only take the Gospel story to them. Figure out how you’re going to live into God’s mission for this world, because it is the one thing you are called to do. “Let the Grace of this Holy Communion make us one body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the World in his name.”
Michael+
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