St. Agnes and St. Vincent - Martyrdom

Sermon for Sunday April 21

St. Agnes and St. Vincent

by Barbara Cox

Choosing a new name for our parish is both interesting and exciting. Interesting because we are asked to learn more about the different Saints in the Anglican Communion; and exciting because we are the ones involved in choosing the name for our parish which we hope will be with us for a long time. Most importantly it gives us a chance to reflect on who we are and what name best suits our mission in God’s Family.

The two Saints we are going to study today are St. Agnes and St. Vincent the Martyr. Both saints died for their belief in Jesus. They fearlessly stood firm in their belief, even at the risk of death.

St. Agnes was martyred at Rome around the year 304 and is said to be only 12 years old when she suffered for her confession of her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The traditional accounts of her martyrdom agree she was brought before a pagan judge, and when he tried to coax her into renouncing the Christian faith, she answered him with an assurance that was far above her years.  Her boldness infuriated the judge and he sentenced her to death some accounts say by being burned at the stake, others say by beheading.   What truly matters to the church is not the manner of her death, but the maturity of faith displayed in a child so young.   Some eighty years after her death Ambrose of Milan wrote: “Everyone marvelled that Agnes was so spend thrift with her life which she had hardly tasted.

All were astounded that she should come forward as a witness to God when she was so very young.  So she succeeded in convincing others of her testimony about God.  The onlookers perceived that she had received from God what could not come from humans; for what is beyond the power of humans must come from its creator.”

The other saint we are going to study today is St. Vincent the Martyr.  Vincent was a Spanish deacon who suffered for the faith he displayed in God around the year 304.  He was arrested with the bishop of Saragossa, a man named Valerius.  Because Valerius stammered he often relied on Vincent to give the homily on his behalf.  When the two were brought before the Roman governor, Vincent turned to Valerius and said, “Father, if you order me I will speak.”  The bishop responded, “Son, as I committed you to dispense the word of God, so I now charge you to answer in the vindication of the faith which we defend.”  Vincent spoke and held back nothing either his defence of the faith, or his condemnation of paganism.  The governor was enraged at the effrontery.  He sentenced Valerius to exile but ordered Vincent to the horrors of the torture chamber.  For several hours Vincent endured the worst torments that the ancient world could devise.  In the end his body surrendered its life because his spirit refused to surrender his belief in Christ.  Vincent’s endurance caused the Church to stand in awe of him--- and to recognize how he came by the strength that he needed.

In the early 5^th century Augustine of Hippo told his flock: “If you were to consider Vincent’s martyrdom nothing more than human endurance, his act is unbelievable.  But Vincent ceases to be a source of astonishment, once you recognize the power to be from God.”

In the case of St. Agnes, the people at that time were amazed that a person so young had the maturity of such faith. In my working with children for over 30 years, it never ceased to amaze me how deeply children can think.

Both St. John’s and St. Cuthbert’s in our parish have Sunday Schools. Some of the information I read stated that St. Agnes was known as the patron saint of youth. We may want to consider St. Agnes for the naming of our parish.

In our first reading today Paul says we do not need to be of high social standing or be powerful to be chosen as the followers of Jesus.  What we have to be is to believe and to live out the teachings of Jesus in our lives regardless of the consequences.  This is challenging in a world where there are many distractions.

Both St. Agnes and St. Vincent did not waver in their faith in Jesus when they stood up against powerful people who commanded that they die if they did not renounce their faith.

We too are faced with challenges in life.  Living a Christian life is not always easy; and sometimes there are consequences for choosing the Christian way.  It may mean telling the truth at a time when it would be to our advantage to not tell the truth.   It sometimes means loving the unlovable.  It means showing compassion to those less fortunate.  It means being patient and not always getting our way.   It means listening and respecting the opinions of others.  It means forgiving when we really don’t want to forgive.  It means recognizing and appreciating the worth of one another.

Our psalm is a prayer of trust in God. We are given the courage and strength to handle our challenges.  The psalm says God is our refuge and strength. If we listen, he will guide us and lead us.  He will keep us safe from the dangers in life.  In our decision making it is important we ask ourselves what God would have us do.  Both St. Agnes and St. Vincent trusted God and were led by their faith.

In the second reading Paul speaks to the Colossians of proclaiming Christ’s message to everyone.  He tells us that Christ is in us and that we share in living Christ’s message to the world.  We are supplied with that strength.  Those that witnessed Agnes’s death believed that she had received her strength from the power of God within her.  St. Vincent was tortured for several hours before his body surrendered to death, but his spirit refused to give up Christ.  Vincent’s endurance awed the church at that time and yet they recognized how he had the strength he needed.

Both saints had the power of God within them.  We, also, have the spirit and power of God within each of us, and with that spirit and power together we can do infinitely more than we can do on our own.

In our gospel today we are told to fear not our enemies of the world.  Listen to what God is asking us to do.  Have faith that we will be given the strength to carry out whatever the task maybe.  Both St. Agnes and St. Vincent are examples of our readings today.

Of course in the 21^st century we do not physically kill people for their beliefs. However we can be frowned and scorned upon and even ignored for what we believe; and how we live out our beliefs in our daily lives in the community. We live in a world where there are many pressures and distractions. It takes a lot of courage and strength while carrying out what we are being asked to do. But we can be examples of Christ’s teaching in our communities. We can take time out from our fear of not having enough money to keep our church alive, and pray together. We receive our strength from prayer. We can stand up for what we believe regardless of the consequences. We can feel the Holy Spirit working in us in spite of pressures and distractions.

St. Agnes and St. Vincent did all this. Their example of faith and dedication are worthy of thought in the naming of our parish.

Let us pray together the prayer after communion from our Book of Alternate Services page on 214.

Glory to God whose power working in us

can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.

Glory to God from generation to generation

in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever.  Amen

 

Ramblings on a Name

Ramblings from the Rector

To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers. (Romans 1:7-9 NRSV)

What’s in a name?  As you all hopefully know by now, the Parishes of Touchwood Trail and Holy Faith have chosen to move into a new relationship with each other.  Where once we were two parishes existing very near each other geographically, but separate spiritually, we are now in the process of becoming one parish, supporting each other through common stewardship of our resources whether they be spiritual, financial, gifts of time, or any other resources we may have.

One of the steps in coming together as a single parish with four churches and many communities is choosing a name which calls to us where we are and sends us into the future with a focus for our ministry in the communities which we serve.  Throughout the Easter season, we will be celebrating and talking about a number of saints and holy days which might call to us.  I have made some choices for the month of April.  I am open to suggestions for the rest of the Easter season.  Once we have finished our journey through these saints and festivals, I am praying that the Spirit will make our new name clear to us.

As a starting point, here are the dedications that already exist in this parish.  (For a more complete description go to http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4905842/Liturgy/ForAlltheSaints.pdf) When you see FAS p.---, you can get the complete entry at the site above or ask me and I will print it for you.

Christ Church – Abernethy:            A general call to Christian discipleship and living.

St. Paul the Apostle – Balcarres:     Paul was the apostle to the gentiles.  This means that he spread the Gospel (evangelised), especially to those who were not Hebrews.  Today this might mean spreading Christ’s words to those who are not Christian.

(FAS p.66, p.208)

St. Mary (the Virgin) – Cupar:        Mary accepted her place in God’s plan even though she didn’t really understand it.  She is an example of faith and devotion.  She is also seen by some as the mother of the church. (FAS p.246)

St. Cuthbert – Dysart:                      Cuthbert divided his life between times of prayer and journeys to places where people seldom saw a priest.  He made special efforts to visit those places which were hard to reach because of geography or unappealing to visit because of poverty and ignorance. (FAS p.116)

St. John (Apostle and Evangelist) – Ft. Qu’Appelle:         “A fisher for people.”  John was an early leader in the church and a spreader of the Gospel.  His tradition has him as both impulsive and carefully thoughtful. (FAS p.162)

St. George – Ituna:                            George was a Roman warrior in the 4^th century.  He was one of many soldiers who practiced their faith in secret both because Christianity was illegal and because the Christian faith of the time did not allow you to be a soldier.  (FAS p.148)

All Saints - Katepwa                         Reverence for those Christians who have come before us and done something to exemplify the message of Christ in the world.  We ask them to carry our prayers to God or to join with us in our prayers.  We look to the saints for support and inspiration.  (FAS p. 328)

Holy Trinity – Kelleher:                   Reverence of the mystery of the Trinity.  One God who is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

St. Michael and All Angels – Lipton:          The warriors and messengers of God.  In Christian art they are often depicted as gentle, protective beings.  In the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and the understanding at Jesus’ time, they were the army of God who were also used as messengers.  People were often terrified when they saw an angel. (FAS p.294)

We will be looking at:

April 7:            Epiphany (FAS p.42) and Transfiguration (FAS p.230)

April 14:          St. Simon and St. Jude (FAS p.318)

April 21:          St. Agnes (FAS p.60) and St. Vincent (FAS p.62)

April 28:          St. Francis de Sales (FAS p.64)

I would also like to look at Anglican teachers of the faith, but somehow “The Parish of Cranmer and/or Hooker” does not call to me. (FAS p.118 and p.332)

St. Simon and St. Jude

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Today we are continuing our journey through saints and feasts.  As we get further into this journey I will print out summaries of each of the names so that you can look back and reflect on each of them.

Today we are exploring St. Simon and St. Jude.  St. Simon and St. Jude share a single entry in For All the Saints.

Saint Simon and Saint Jude 28 October

Apostles — Holy Day

October

Today we commemorate Saint Simon and Saint Jude, whose names appear in the New Testament on every list of the twelve apostles.

Simon was called “the Zealot,” which suggests that he once belonged to a Jewish resistance movement. Animated by religious fervour, the Zealots used any means, even terror, to overthrow Roman rule and revive Jewish independence. Simon originally may have followed Jesus in hopes that he would “restore the kingdom to Israel.”

Jude “the son of James” was also called Thaddeus. One of the Letters included in the New Testament is ascribed to him; and we hear his voice in Saint John’s account of the Last Supper, where he is distinguished as “the other Judas, not Iscariot.” Judas Iscariot was the disciple who betrayed Jesus, and the fact that Jude shared the traitor’s name made Christians reluctant to ask for his prayers. For this reason Jude is considered the patron saint of what is shunned by the world, especially lost causes and those who suffer from incurable diseases.

The western Church remembers Simon and Jude together because, in the seventh or eighth century, the church of Rome acquired some relics of both apostles and placed them in a single shrine. October twenty-eighth is probably the anniversary of the dedication of this shrine.

With so little information to go on, our commemoration of Simon and Jude may be compared to their patronage of lost causes and hopeless cases. It is a little victory against the odds of history. For Christ is often made known by deeds which are recorded nowhere else but in the eternal remembrance of God; and by honouring Simon and Jude today we share in God’s own mindfulness of their apostolic zeal.

There isn’t a lot to go on for Simon and Jude.  What would it mean for us to dedicate our new parish to the patron saints of lost causes?  What would we even call the parish?

The second question is easier.  We would have several possible names to choose from: The Parish of St. Simon and St. Jude, The Parish of St. Simon, The Parish of St. Jude, The Parish of St. Thadeus, even The Parish of St. Judas or The Parish of the Lost?  Probably the best would be to just stick with St. Simon and St. Jude and keep them together like they are in our calendar.

But what would it mean for us to dedicate ourselves to lost causes?  We could see it as part of the reality of rural churches throughout Canada.  As our churches get smaller and older and many of them close because not enough people are coming, it would be easy to see the church as a lost cause.  I don’t believe this is true.  We are in a difficult time but we are still being called.  Just by searching for a new name, we are showing that we have life and we believe in our future.  So we can’t choose this name because we think we are a lost cause.

I think that if we were to dedicate ourselves to the patron saints of lost causes, we would have two major callings.  We would need to be looking for that shred of hope lost in the darkness of despair.  When others see a hopeless situation, we would be called to look for a new way forward, a different direction that lets in a new shaft of light.  And when there truly is no hope, we would have to see ourselves as a light in that darkness.  I think that we would need to be going into those places where pain and suffering are at their worst, where hope of recovery is either unlikely or impossible.  We would be called to go there and bring, not hope for a miracle cure, but comfort and companionship at the end of a journey.

Once again, we have a theme which describes an important part of Christian discipleship.  The Gospel of Matthew is quite clear about this.

“'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?  And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'” (Matthew 25:34-40 NRSV)

Just like the names we looked at last week, St. Simon and St. Jude would be a powerful name which could set us on the road to a future of purpose and mission in our new parish.  These saints would call us to a life of discipleship which should be part of our basic Christian lives.  I continue to hope that this decision will not be an easy one.  It should require prayer and discussion and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  So I pray:

Holy and Gracious God, be with us as we do our best to discern where you are calling us as a new parish.  Give us your support and your guidance that we may know our part in your purpose here in our communities and how you wish us to show our love for you in our lives.  This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Epiphany, Transfiguration and Resurrection - A Reflection for Parish Naming

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

As you should all know by now, we are in the process of bringing two parishes together in one new parish.  Right now we have the Parish of Touchwood Trail and the Parish of Holy Faith.  These two parishes have existed side by side in this area of the Diocese of Qu’Appelle.  Now we are working to come together under as one group of the followers of Christ; several communities with one shared mission and vision of our purpose here in this area.  As part of this process we need to choose a name for the new parish which reflects our sense of purpose and the spiritual direction and needs which we see in our future.

As a starting point, I gave a very short summary of the meaning of the names of each of the churches which are or have been part of our parishes.  I apologise for leaving out All Saints – Katepwa.  I accidentally left it out of the list.  I will include their summary in next month’s parish in print.  Throughout the Easter season, we will be looking at various saints and festivals.  My hope is that by the time we reach Pentecost we will be ready to ask the Spirit’s guidance so that our new parish name may reflect who we are and what we do both here and throughout all of our communities.

This week we are looking at the feasts of Epiphany and Transfiguration and at the Resurrection.  For Epiphany and the Transfiguration I will read their entry from For All the Saints.  There is no entry for the Resurrection which we commonly call Easter, but we just talked about that last week.

The Epiphany of the Lord 6 January

Principal Feast

January

Today we commemorate an episode which is recorded in the Gospel according to Matthew — the epiphany or “manifestation” of Christ to “wise men from the East.” Such “wise men” were the high priests of an occult religion whose chief centres lay in Mesopotamia. They were supposed to have special insight into the ways of nature, interpreting dreams and reading the stars in order to determine the will of their gods. But then the appearance of a strange star in the heavens manifested to them the birth of “the one who is born king of the Jews.” So much their learning in the ways of nature told them; but they needed to go to Jerusalem, to those who were learned in the Jewish Scriptures, in order to locate this king. In Matthew’s view, true knowledge of salvation was from the Jews, but it was a knowledge now available to the Gentiles as well. The star of Bethlehem was an evangelical symbol. Because it manifested Christ to the wise men and brought them to worship him, it represents the proclamation of the Gospel to the pagan nations outside Israel. If the star of Bethlehem symbolizes the Gospel, the wise men symbolize something equally important — the obedience of the Gentiles, in contrast to the anxiety of the rulers and official teachers of Israel. The wise men started with nothing more than their learning in the ways of nature; and yet this same learning enabled them to respond to the light of divine revelation. The Christian tradition has seen in this story a sign of hope for everything that humans know and endeavour by the light of nature. For it means that no truth or wisdom in the created order is contrary to the revelation of God in Christ. On the contrary, so far as humans are obedient to the light they possess by nature, God will complete it and manifest its fulfillment with “the truth as it is in Jesus.”

If we were to call ourselves the Parish of the Epiphany, we would be defining ourselves as people who believe that God walks among us as a human being.  We would be devoting ourselves to the search for Christ in everyone we meet and within ourselves.  It would be a commitment to treating everyone equally regardless of their origin or background.  It would also mean a reverence for nature as a source of God’s message to us.

The Transfiguration of the Lord 6 August

Holy Day

August

An account of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mount is included in each of the first three Gospels, and in each one it serves as an epiphany, a manifestion of the truth that Jesus is not only the messenger of salvation but also the saving message itself. Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a mountain, where they beheld his figure clothed in dazzling glory and his conference with Moses and Elijah. Moses was the servant of God who received the divine covenant and delivered it to Israel; while the prophet Elijah was expected to come again and inaugurate the end of the ages, when Israel would be restored and vindicated in the sight of all the nations. The vision of Jesus conversing with these two figures revealed that he was the third founder of Israel and, as God’s very Son, the fulfillment of all the promises made in the Law and the Prophets. The Transfiguration also foreshadowed the still greater event of resurrection, and it gave a foresight of what salvation and the life of glory would be like. The evangelists all began their accounts of the Transfiguration by focusing on Jesus’ clothing. It was not stripped off him, as it would be at the crucifixion; instead it was almost unbearably enhanced. Saint Paul would pick up on this image in his Second Letter to the Corinthians, where he spoke of the Christian hope in these terms: “While we are in this earthly tent we sigh with anxiety; not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” Elsewhere he would speak of “putting on Christ” and of “being clothed with Christ.” Salvation, then, will not be a stripping away of what makes us human, but a donning of the vesture of glory; and the vesture of the blessed will be nothing other than the life of the risen Christ himself.

If we were to call ourselves the Parish of the Transfiguration, we would be defining ourselves as people who believe that God is revealed to us in everything around us.  It would be a commitment to bringing out the divine in ourselves and in others.  It would mean that we intend to work to show that the Kingdom of God is already here in our midst and to strengthen that Kingdom every time we encounter it.

If we were to call ourselves the Parish of the Resurrection, we would be defining ourselves as people who believe that there is always hope.  We would be committed to the message that death has no power.  Just as we are baptised into Christ’s death so that we can rise with him into new life, our two parishes will die to make way for the new life of Christ’s eternal message of hope and love here in our communities.

All three of these feasts are, in their own way, about new life or rebirth.  All three would be powerful names which could set us on the road to a future of purpose and mission in our new parish.  All three describe a life of discipleship which should be part of our basic Christian lives.  I hope that this decision will not be an easy one.  It should require prayer and discussion and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  So I pray:

Holy and Gracious God, be with us as we do our best to discern where you are calling us as a new parish.  Give us your support and your guidance that we may know our part in your purpose here in our communities and how you wish us to show our love for you in our lives.  This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Happy Easter

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Happy Easter.

Has the Easter Bunny been good to everybody?

Great!

You might have thought I would talk about the resurrection today; about who Jesus Christ is to us and why today is so important.

Nope.  Today I’m going to talk about that great Christian symbol, the Easter Bunny.

I think the Easter Bunny is a little bit like that stone that the builders rejected.  There is something distinctly wrong with it but God uses it anyway.  Not only does he use it, but he identifies the most important Holy Day in the Christian calendar with it.  He made it our chief advertiser.  Right up there with Santa Claus.  There are lots of people who know very little, if anything, about what Christ teaches us.  I doubt there are many who don’t know what the Easter Bunny does.

Well, that’s a good start.  The Easter Bunny advertises the name of the core of our faith. … So what. … How does that tell anyone about what Christianity is actually about?

What does the Easter Bunny do? … First of all, it is a bunny.  Like most other bunnies, it emerges in the spring.  Every year at the end of lent it springs up again.  Like other bunnies, once it gets out it spreads everywhere.  You see the first chocolate bunny in the stores and suddenly there are hundreds … thousands … they are everywhere.

The message (or chocolate) of the Easter Bunny is easy to spread and impossible to stop.  It is almost like it is spread by the wind, or in Hebrew, ruach.  It is almost like it is reborn every year about this time; appearing here and there to its disciples, the children, and then vanishing again, leaving behind miraculous gifts of eggs comprised mostly or entirely of chocolate.  Each one a message saying “you are loved.”

The Easter Bunny also describes Christianity in how it is different from other bunnies.

How does the Easter Bunny know when Easter is anyway?  I don’t know any other bunny that can figure out which day is the first Sunday after the first full moon after spring equinox.  He must be inspired by something.

There is something distinctly different about this bunny.  He is not like the other bunnies.  He lays eggs!  He turns the world of biology upside down.  This should not be possible.  This is a very important message.  He shows us that the world is not always what we expect it to be.  He shows us that those who are different from everyone else are worthy of our love.  He shows us that those who are different from everyone else can love us too.

The Easter Bunny is also a bit different from Santa Claus.  The Easter Bunny does not keep a list of who is naughty and who is nice.  The Easter Bunny doesn’t care.  He loves us all equally.

It doesn’t matter if you are poor or rich … the Easter Bunny loves you.

It doesn’t matter if you are bad or good … the Easter Bunny loves you.

It doesn’t matter what race you are … the Easter Bunny loves you.

It doesn’t matter if you are male or female … the Easter Bunny loves you.

Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter … the Easter Bunny loves you.

Thanks be to God.

A Journey Through the Passion

Wait for the Lord whose day is near.  Wait for the lord.  Be strong.  Take heart.  May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

All through lent we’ve been waiting for the Lord.  What are we waiting for and how long do we have to wait?

Today we are going to take our own journey through the Passion.  We come with questions.  We will leave with questions.  I pray that we will learn something along the way.

Today we celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  Jesus, the King of the Jews, the Messiah, the Chosen one or the Anointed enters into Jerusalem at the time of the Passover.  At the same time, directly across the city, Pilate and his entourage would have been entering the city.  The Romans kept a strong military presence in Jerusalem when the Jews celebrated their release from bondage, when they remembered throwing off the chains of their oppressors and fled to freedom.  The Romans did not like this holiday.  Jesus walks into this and stirs it all up.

(Wait for the Lord, whose day is here.  Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart.)

Whom shall we release … Jesus Bar Adam or Jesus Bar Abas: Jesus Son of Man or Jesus son of the father?  Even in moments of truth, the answers are never perfectly clear.  How can we know which to chose?  How do we recognize the Messiah?  Where do we look for the Messiah?

Today we celebrate the Passion of Christ.  We celebrate his walk to Golgotha: the place of the skull.  On the way, he meets Simon of Cyrene.  Simon would probably have been a Jew who made his pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover.  Cyrene was in North Africa and was home to many displaced Jews.  Simon was compelled to carry the cross for Jesus and was healed by it.  The same words which are translated as “they laid the cross on him” are used at other times to speak of laying healing hands on someone.  Simon came to Golgotha and found salvation in a man on his way to die.

(Wait for the Lord, whose day is here.  Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart.)

Even as he died on the cross, Jesus faced the tempter.  Jesus faces the same fears, the same pains, the same trials as us.  When tempted to save himself from death, Jesus instead turns and pardons the sins of one who repents.  When choosing between earthly life and eternal life, he chooses eternal life.  At the moment of death this may be an easy choice for us, or at least easier, but sitting here in this place, firmly earthbound, this choice is close to impossible.  How do we find the strength to choose eternal life when earthly life is so tempting?

When Jesus dies on the cross, two very important things happen.  “The sun’s light failed.”  The light of the world left the world.  “The curtain of the temple was torn in two.”  The curtain which divided the main area of the temple from the sanctuary was destroyed.  The laity were no longer barred from direct contact with God.  They no longer had to pass their prayers and sacrifices to God through the priests.  These two are the same event.  The light had not left the world but it had changed.

(Wait for the Lord, whose day is here.  Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart.)

What are we waiting for?  The Kingdom of God.  How long do we have to wait?  We can get glimpses every day.  When we forgive or are forgiven we see, just for a moment, the Kingdom of God.  When we see Christ in ourselves or in others, we see the Kingdom of God.  In a little while we will celebrate the Eucharist, our own remembrance of the Passover, when Jesus died to heal us all, to free us all from eternal death, we glimpse the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God is here already but there is much work to be done for it to be here fully.  In the Kingdom of God, the choice is clear.  In the Kingdom of God, we are tempted by salvation.  In the Kingdom of God, the only choice is eternal life.

(Wait for the Lord, whose day is here.  Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart.)

Today is the day of the Lord.  His day is near.  Be strong.  Take heart.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Are you Martha, Mary or Lazarus?

Each one of them is loved by Jesus.  Each one is the friend of Jesus.  They are all very different.

Martha – hardworking, detail oriented, knows what needs to be done and does it.  Many people believe that Martha represents the organizers of the early church.  She is the one who provided the space, gathered the people, and made it possible for worship to happen.  Martha exemplifies the leader of a house-church or small worshiping community that met in someone’s home.  She is the combination of the ACW, Altar Guild, Lay Reader, communion administrator, warden, and landlord all rolled into one efficient package.  She either has a rich husband or comes from a rich family.  She would need this backing because her house-church is a full time job plus some.

This very tiring picture is the up-side of Martha.  The downside is that she is so busy that she has forgotten why she’s doing it all.  She never takes time to just sit back and think about the big picture.

Mary is a visionary.  Mary is consumed with the big picture.  She looks around her and just knows what is important.  She knows ahead of time that Jesus is going to die, either because she understood what he was saying (which pretty much no-one did) or maybe because she was a prophet.  We don’t really know why Mary knew, but she did.  Mary, to me, represents the response of the church.  She sees a need and takes action, regardless of the cost.  She knows that our response needs to be one of generosity.  She is the why of the church.  She shows us were we should be going.

Mary also has her down-side.  Mary is response oriented.  If the church were run by her, very little would get done.  It would be all outreach with no fundraising to back it up.  Nothing would ever be set up in time for worship.  People would never know when to be there.  There would be no organization.

Lazarus seems to have the easy job.  He doesn’t have to do much.  He just has to be there.  I see him as the average church goer (which doesn’t actually exist).  He is consistent.  He provides support for both Martha and Mary.  He listens to what they have to say and adds his own input.  Without him, neither Martha nor Mary have anything to do.  Martha has no congregation to prepare for, no meetings to organize, no books to keep, no meals to prepare.  Without him Mary has no resources to respond to needs, no one to listen to her when she describes her understanding of God and God’s call.

Oh – and Lazarus has to give up his life for Christ.  Lazarus has to be so devoted to his calling that he is willing to die so that Jesus can show the world that death no longer has any power.

Together, these three people make up a healthy church.  If any one of them is missing the church is in trouble.

But there is more to it than that.  Each of these people is a reflection of the trinity of the Christian brand.

Martha is stewardship.  She manages and takes care of God’s gifts.  She uses what she needs and is very conscious of her responsibility for it all.  She lives simply.

Lazarus is humanity.  He is called to be alive, to live as Christ teaches him.  He simply lives.

Mary helps others to live as Christ teaches us.  She observes her world and responds to any need that she sees.

I believe that every one of us is a mix of all three.  Each of us has our strengths and our weaknesses, but they are all there.

I know that I have a large portion of Mary in me.  My weak side is Martha.  I have to work very hard at the organization, at making sure that all of the work gets done.  I am easily distracted when I see a need, any need.  I get caught up in responding when I need to be planning or preparing.

I think that it is important for us to know ourselves.  To know where our strengths lie, where our weaknesses are.  To make the best use of our strengths and to work on our weaknesses.  To become more complete as human beings.

When we know our own strengths, we can recognize them in others.  We can seek out people with complementary strengths and work together.  We can help each other with our weaknesses.

This is the good news today.  This is the grace of God.  Individually, we are incomplete, imperfect, not capable, or unworthy as our translations say.  Together, we are complete.  Together we are, as our Bible says, perfect.

Thanks be to God.