A Sermon preached Palm Sunday, March 28, 2010 by the Rev. Frances A. Hills, Rector

“But all his acquaintances stood at a distance, watching these things.”


As we enter the drama of Holy Week, my question for all of us is simple, Where will we stand as the events unfold? My question is certainly intended to be concrete. Where will we be physically this week? But it is also a spiritual question. Obviously there are some who physically will be prevented from being at all the services, and so for them, it’s more about where they’ll be spiritually, in their hearts. This week will we risk coming up close? Or will we also “stand at a distance”. Physically? Spiritually?

When Thursday comes, will we stand at a distance? Perhaps stay home, or go to a service, but stay in the pew? Or will we be at the heart of the commemoration. Will we feel the warm water and someone else’s hands washing our feet? Will we taste the bread and wine— grainy and potent. These are reminders of what they did that night in obedience to what he said that night. Will we know in our deepest hearts that the power of that night is somehow brought forward even to us whenever we eat the bread and drink the cup. And then, wherever we are, as the altar is stripped, will we leave or stay and watch…even from a distance? Can we endure to watch as a holy space is rid it of its decoration, the cross draped in black, every sacramental trace of the body and blood of Christ is removed, and the light that reminds us of his Presence is extinguished?

Then Friday. Where will we stand? Will we be gathered and praying with a worship community at the hour he hung on the cross… Can we endure the corporate silence and hear the passionate meditations? Will we embrace Friday with our own deep passions, or will we watch detached, from a distance?

And come Saturday morning, will we rise and go to the tomb to anoint him with quiet prayer? Or will we just try to block out the terrible thing that happened on Friday?

Then that night. Will we come for the Vigil, the greatest drama, the central service of the entire Church year? Can we enter the hush and mystery of the darkened church as a new fire is kindled, the Paschal Candle lit, and the ancient hymns are chanted. Can we take in THE STORY that unfolds in word and song. It’s a lot to take in because it starts from the beginning and then as it goes on and on—

We’ll actually write a new chapter ourselves that night as we renew our Baptismal Vows and are sprinkled with the water that reminds us, “We are buried with Christ in his death and raised with him in his glorious resurrection.” Can we be there…up close and personal…as the reality becomes evident: Our own personal stories/lives are actually part of THE STORY: The One that begins in the Bible continues with us! Can we bear the waters of baptism? Can we watch through the night until the Easter morning dawn?

Then, of course, there’s Easter Day, the most amazing story of all because the tomb is empty! He is not here…he is risen! And in knowing that, believing that, we are set free to live our lives joyfully, abundantly. No matter what we’ve ever done, we’re forgiven—Love is stronger than death! God longs to remove our burdens and empower us to live our lives in the light of resurrection. Christ shows us a new way to live!

What a shame to stand at a distance just “watching” these things because THEY’RE ABOUT US!

So, where will we stand this week? Up close with feet wet from washing, bodies satisfied with bread & wine, hearts horrified by his suffering and heavy with grief, with senses sated by music and silence, somber starkness and lavish beauty, profound darkness and radiant light, and the smell of oil and flowers and perhaps incense.
Where will we stand this week?

It’s just a question, but it’s really a matter of life or death! Amen.

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Auschwitz

Lee and I arrived in Krakow on Monday. Tuesday Morning we took a trip to Auchwitz/Birkenau. We investigated guided tours but decided to go by ourselves in order to have time for contemplation.
We walked to the bus station and boarded the mini bus. There were only a few people on board and we anticipated a quiet ride. But at the last moment a group of about 20 German students arrived and squeezed noisily onto the bus filling all seats and the aisles. Hearing German spoken by these carefree young people on their spring break added a strange twist to our visit.

We arrived and saw the introductory film, an old Black and White documentary made soon after the liberation of the camp. Accompanied ironically with the powerful music of Beethoven and Brahms, it told and showed in harrowing detail the horrors of this terrible place. The images of suffering were unbearable. Starving and haunted half dead people staggered out unable to comprehend that their nightmare was over.
We went to the camp and entered through the famous gate.




I can not express what I felt then or during most of my visit. I Think it is not possible for the brain to comprehend everything that took place here. But at that moment I felt a terrible heaviness.
The camp was built with great care. The buildings were well constructed and even attractive to the eye. Barbed wire is everywhere. Some of the old signs are still there in German. Beware High Voltage Risk of death.

We walked around, and then entered what must be the most unspeakable place on earth, the gas chamber and crematorium.


Later we toured a number of the buildings which had exhibits about what it was like in the camp. There were large rooms filled with suitcases, each neatly labeled with the name and address of the owner. Others were filled with shoes. There was one with only children's shoes. That and another one of prayer shawls really got to me.
Other rooms described the daily life of the prisoners filled with unimaginable cruelty. They worked 11 hours a day and were fed a diet of about 1500 calories. Unless they could find more food, they would starve to death in a few months. Many did and others were tortured or killed when caught stealing food.
Everywhere there was the evidence of how methodical it all was. Glass cases were filled with documents and orders. Technically perfect photographs of hundreds of prisoners were on the walls of one building. You saw the frightened faces of children and adults almost all of whom did not survive.
The medical experiments were well documented and horrifying. Many died or were maimed as a result. Twins were used for Dr Mengele's experiments. Women and men were sterilized. Often these people were killed so that the doctors could do autopsies.
We saw a wall where thousands of prisoners were lined up and shot.
After this, we took a shuttle bus to the other much larger camp Birkenau. Most buildings were partially destroyed, but the scale is enormous.
I am glad that I made this visit, but I could not do it again

A Sermon Preached on John 12:1-8 March 21, 2010, Lent 5C, during The Season of Common Worship at Crissey Farm by the Rev. Frances A. Hills, Rector of St. James

In ancient history, and certainly back in the First Century of the Common Era when Jesus was alive, sometimes peoples’ heads were anointed with oil. This was done as a sign of royalty or as a gesture of healing. But anointing their feet! It was unheard of! Nobody did that except, perhaps, to prepare a corpse for burial.
But Mary does it. The prayerful sister of Lazarus and Martha anoints Jesus’ feet with fine, fragrant oil. Then she does something else a respectable women like herself just wouldn’t do…She takes down her hair and wipes his feet. So the oil on his feet becomes also the oil in her hair, and they’re bound up with one another in a new, fragrant way. It’s a lavish, extravagant act of hospitality, love and gratitude. Perhaps Mary did it because Jesus had recently brought Lazarus back to life from death. Or maybe she and his other close friends knew that the end for Jesus was probably near. Whatever her motives, the anointing of his feet was a way Mary honored Jesus’ presence among them and a way of expressing deep love and appreciation. It’s something Mary did with wild abandon…Not thinking of how it looked or knowing exactly what it meant…She just did it! And Jesus responded with appreciation and prophetic understanding, “She has prepared my body for burial.” And so this anointing of Jesus’ feet links hospitality, love and gratitude with suffering, death and new life.
This anointing story in the Gospel of John falls just after Jesus raises Lazarus and just before Jesus enters Jerusalem for that final, terrible week of his passion. The word of Jesus’ raising Lazarus had gotten out quickly to the authorities.and it may have been what finally did him in…The last straw. The Gospel of John makes it pretty clear: There was some cause and effect between Lazarus coming out of the tomb, and Jesus having to go into a tomb. In that, Life is given, not only to Lazarus, but to the whole world. . .To you and me. Consciously or unconsciously, Mary had anointed Jesus’ body for burial. In doing that, she helps prepare us for the dramatic journey of Holy Week, which we’ll begin next Sunday.

Today, however, I want us to focus on this tender anointing. To think of the times in our lives when Jesus is among us—In prayer. In worship. In silence. In the form of some beloved person…perhaps a little child, or a very old, frail person, or a dear friend, or a lover. These are precious beings who, life teaches us over and over again, may not always be with us. I know many of us have learned this personally over this last year with the loss of a relative or friend.

So what do we do when we have LOVE incarnate NOW in our very midst? Do we honor it with lavish, extravagant hospitality…Seemingly wasting costly, sweet oil just to soothe and pamper? But, what would “costly oil” be for us today in the 21st Century? (Probably not nard!)

(BTW I have some nard. It’s a pungent, odd, sweet smelling stuff. And I’ll put it on my hands today as I pass the Peace… so you can see how its fragrance fills the room.)

If for us today, it’s not costly nard, I wonder what would be an equivalent that we might “waste” in response to the presence of LOVE in our midst? Perhaps the thing in our busy, wealthy culture we value most and the thing that seems most scarce to us—is TIME. Can we lavish TIME on God and on those people who are most important to us? Or do we squander it on the many other things that will always be there demanding our attention?

[In his popular book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey writes of the difference between things that are urgent (like the phone ringing) and things that are important (like time with God or loved ones). He stresses the value of determining what’s not important, and ruthlessly letting go of those things; then determining what is important, and spending the bulk of our time doing those.]

So, what might we do today that’s like the odd thing Mary did for Jesus by anointing his feet with sweet oil and then wiping them with her hair? Remember what she did was unexpected, uncalled for, out of order and socially inappropriate; yet it clearly conveyed hospitality, deep affection and gratitude. It embodied Mary’s priorities.

Are there times or ways we might abandon our conventional selves because we are so filled with love and thanksgiving? Are there times we can just let the phone ring because we’re in the middle of an important conversation with a little child? Mary models this for us. It’s something God probably longs for us to do. ‘Something our souls long to do. What is the wild abandon you could express in response to the presence of LOVE in your life? How could you show true gratitude?

The late Rabbi Abraham Heschel wrote, “(Humankind) will not die for lack of information, but it may perish for lack of appreciation.” (1965 Who is Man?)

It’s the appreciation for the miracle of Life and Love Heschel is talking about. How can we anoint the feet of Life and Love in our day? If we do find ways, they will no doubt be different for each of us in their particulars. But in order to prepare for the events of Holy Week, in order to prepare for Jesus (an innocent man) to suffer and die the most terrible death for our sakes, in order to prepare to receive the wonderful Good News of the empty tomb and risen Christ (Which is, after all, the POINT of Jesus’ passion), and in order to live our lives in the Hope of sharing in Jesus’ resurrection, we must prepare “the body for burial” in our own ways.

In a sense I think this is what we’ve been doing as we five churches have shared Lent together in this 6-wk Season of Common Worship. We’ve celebrated the LOVE and LIFE that’s right before us—Anointed it lavishly with the best we have, bringing the rich gifts and graces from all our churches to participate in making something new—together. It’s unconventional. Unexpected. And we’ve done it joyfully, because we have the advantage of knowing the rest of the story: The tomb is empty: LOVE IS STRONGER THAN DEATH OR HATRED OR VIOLENCE!

We can celebrate LOVE and LIFE now! It’s not too late, and it will make the rest of the story of Holy Week and Easter much, much sweeter as it unfolds.

Amen.