A Sermon Preached Lent 2 A, March 20, 2011

By the Rev. Frances A. Hills, Rector

Text: John 3:1-17, Romans 4:1-5, 13-17, Genesis 12:1-4a

Once upon a time there was a woman who taught special needs teenagers. She and they loved to do creative things. One spring, they decided to stage a production of “My Fair Lady.” The 16-yr-old girl she cast as the lead, Eliza Doolittle, was a person we might categorize as “confined to a wheel chair.” The girl loved the part. It was perfect for her! It didn’t occur to the teacher or the students that the audience was so conditioned to life’s “categories” and “boundaries,” what’s possible and impossible, that the audience would weep when the girl rolled herself across the stage, spinning and turning and joyfully belting out “I could have danced all night.”

No doubt there were many reasons for the tears. Maybe some had known her for years, since she’d entered the school just after the crippling accident. Or maybe others had known her even before the accident. Maybe they were joyful because of her strong spirit and progress. But, I’d venture to say, some had wet eyes because they’d been confined to their categories of what’s possible and impossible…people with impoverished imaginations. People, perhaps, not unlike Nicodemus, the Pharisee in today’s story from the Gospel of John.

Nicodemus was a leader of the Jews, but he, like many other leaders, was stuck in the externals of life. In the First Century, there was a Pharisaic Mindset that valued things like sitting at the head table, wearing long robes, being spoken to with respect in the marketplace, having the right answers at hand. These are things we hear a lot about from Jesus, especially in some of the other Gospels. It’s a tangible, concrete mindset, and it led Nicodemus to hear and interpret Jesus in a concrete way. No wonder what Jesus said to Nicodemus about being “Born from Above”

was understood by him to mean literally, physically, “Born Again”. He asks,

“Can (an old man) enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”

I can imagine Jesus was pretty frustrated with this concrete thinking. He wanted Nicodemus to “get it”. Not to “come by night” and “stay in the dark”.  Jesus wants Nicodemus, and us, to realize there’s an inner way of understanding. It’s a way that’s about God’s Kingdom. It’s a Way that breaks us out of the confines of our minds and physical categories. It’s a way that helps us let go of the need to think of things as physically impossible, and instead to be open to the incredible possibilities God offers us. . .

We see this in today’s other readings as well. Just imagine the God Paul describes

in the Letter to the Romans, “Who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist!” We’ve just got to let go of our categories of possibilities

to begin to open our minds to this amazing kind of God.

Like Abram did when God asked him to go forth from his father’s house, leave all he’d known, go to a place God would show him, and to be patient until God revealed the place. Then God would bless him, give him many children, and through him, all the families of the earth would be blessed…What a promise!

Now I’d say those of us from Sts. George and James know something about God’s call to “go forth”, leave all we’ve known, and enter a future God will reveal to us. It’s a future we cannot yet see. God calls us to trust in God’s promise to bless us, so we are a blessing to all God’s people.

Now, for whatever reason, when Abram received God’s call, he didn’t question

what was possible and impossible, he just embraced it. He was faithful to the incredible possibilities God was opening up for him. Abram’s faith enabled him to be open. I know there are times when we too are faithful and open to the possibilities God offers. In fact, our being here at Crissey Farm is a sign of that faithful openness!

But sometimes we’re more like Nicodemus, and we’re resistant to being open.

We may have a lot invested in living our lives with an external mindset…Valuing the concrete, outward things... things we live in the illusion that we control. Thinking of opening to a different, unknown dimension may give us a sense of

being out of control, like being in a free fall. Jesus basically affirms this…We are out of control!

He says being “Born from Above,” is being “Born by water and Spirit.” Then he talks about the Spirit as Wind. He explains, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” When we let go of the things that confine our minds and open to categories of what might be possible with God, we are out of control. The Wind indeed “Blows where it will”. That’s really what’s behind that great 12-step slogan, “Let go and Let God.” This must have really threatened Nicodemus. If we’re attached to our neat and tidy concrete categories, it threatens us as well.

Perhaps some in the “My Fair Lady” audience had tears in their eyes because that young lady playing Eliza had danced right up to their boundaries and challenged them to dream, think beyond what’s physically possible, and to let go of their neat and tidy worlds. This is where we are today at St. James and St. George. God has called us to GO FORTH, and like Abram, to be patient as God reveals to us where God wants us to go. It is at once inviting and frightening! But letting go and going forth is what it takes to get out of the dark and to come into the light of morning.

To glimpse the Kingdom of God we’ve got to be open to the way the Spirit moves, and we’ve got to accept we don’t control it. We’ve got to be humble enough to admit we can’t fully comprehend God’s Spirit. “You do not know where it comes from or where it goes.” But if we can do this, we might, just might, come into the light and actually glimpse God’s Kingdom right here on earth. After all, isn’t that what we’re praying for each time we say, “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done.

On earth as it is in heaven.”?

When we put aside our categories, our boundaries, our knowledge of what’s possible, and our need to control the future, we too can step out in faith and DANCE ALL NIGHT…until the morning comes.    Amen. 

Mardi Gras Ball

A Sermon Preached March 13, 2011 Lent I A

by the Rev. Frances A. Hills, Rector

Text: Matthew 4:1-11

When I was a fairly new priest in Ohio, a woman called the church office. She was considering attending one of the services, but she knew next to nothing about the Episcopal Church. She didn’t know what to expect, so I told her about the service. Then she wanted to know what to wear. It was a working-class congregation, and I told her people would be there in anything from work clothes to coats and ties. I said, “Don’t worry about it, just come as you are.”

I was talking about clothes, but I think “Come as you are” is a good way for us to think about Lent. In a sense, Lent, (This church season in which we prepare for Easter) is like a 40-day “Come-as-you-are-party”! Has anyone ever been to a “Come-as-you-are-party?” It’s something teenagers used to do. They were usually picked up at their house early in the morning, so they had to “come-as-they-were”. I remember going to one once as an adult. It was on a Saturday evening, and the invitation said, just come wearing whatever you have on at 6 o’clock. I went with dirty fingernails and my rubber shoes because I’d been working in the garden all afternoon. So in Lent we have a 40-day (+Sundays) opportunity to “Come-as-we-are” to God.

It’s a chance to put away our Mardi Gras masks and costumes and bear our souls to the One who made us and already knows us, just as we are. Now there’s a sense in which “coming as we are” goes against what the world teaches about always looking good and appearing successful, because if we really “come-as-we-are,” confessing our sins, our grief, our doubts and failures; if we’re honest about the things that tempt us; if we tell God about where we’re broken, unsure and afraid…If we do that, it’s counter-cultural! (And frankly, it can be really invigorating!) If we “Come-as-we-really-are” to God, we’ll be able to shed our super-person, multi-tasking, perhaps even robotic selves, and celebrate our true HUMANITY! After all, it is God who made us human in the first place…So, I’d say God intends for us to be human!

What better time than Lent to get back to the real, fleshy, fallible person God knows and loves? We might even discover we know and love that person as well! We might find we like living without the mask and armor of “Super Person.” So how do we “get real” so we can “Come-as-we-are”? Of course the classic routes of the Church are prayer, fasting, alms-giving, study, self-examination and penance. These may be ancient ways, but I highly recommend them to 21^st Century people.

What would it be like to set aside 15-minutes, half-an-hour, or even an hour each day to sit in silent prayer with your God? Or to take that time to read a passage of scripture and meditate on it. It just might help us get in touch with our own wonderful humanity and God’s awesome divinity. Or what would it be like to actually fast on Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent? I don’t mean not to eat at all but to reduce our intake somehow, and as our stomachs growl or we feel hungry, ask God, “What is it in my life I’m really hungry for?” We might be surprised at the answer.

Or what would it be like to give something extra—to help build a house for someone in need, to put food on a hungry person’s table, to contribute to the Heifer Project. In addition to giving something extra, what would it be like then to pray for the recipient of our gift, whether we know them or not? ‘Might be amazed at the gratitude we feel for the blessings of our lives and at the compassion we find we have for those in need.

What if we got out a spiritual book we’ve been meaning to read? If you’re like me you have a fairly large collection of these on your shelves! But what if we got out one of those books and set aside some time each day not only to read but also to reflect… perhaps even do some journaling? Our minds and hearts could be opened to new ways of understanding ourselves and our God. We might discover new ways of living our lives….as we really are.

And what if we did some real self-examination…Perhaps using as a guide the Great Commandment of Jesus…Love God. Love your neighbor. We could think about how we do that/or not in all the different areas of our lives. Or we could prayerfully go through the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20 or the “Decalogue” in the Book of Common Prayer).We could go through these and think about  how we do or don’t measure up. Last week I took a 24-hour time of real Sabbath from Sunday afternoon until Monday afternoon. I realized how I often tend to treat that “keeping the Sabbath” Commandment as optional! God knows we’re human beings and knows we must have those regular times of rest and refreshment. God knows I’m not Super Woman and you are not Super Man or Super Woman! Remembering the Sabbath is a Commandment, NOT an Option! Another way to do self examination is to think of the temptations of Jesus in today’s Gospel. What are ways we may be tempted to think and act like bread and other material things are all we need? What are ways we may test God or nature? (Do we take unnecessary risks?) What, besides God, might we “fall down and worship” by giving it a very high priority in our lives? What are the priorities in our lives? One way to answer this is to look at our checkbooks and our appointment calendars. Where we spend our money and time can show us our real priorities. If you do some self-examination, please know I am available to talk with you and to offer the sacrament of Reconciliation, if that would be helpful.

In Lent we have a 40-day opportunity to “Come-as-we-are” to God. We can be naked before God and not ashamed. Yes we can! We can do it! We can be this honest and truthful because of God’s Grace. So, in these 40 days, let’s just do it. Let’s be that honest about our lives. We don’t have to do it alone. We can gather here each week for strength and nourishment. Then after the 40 days of Lent, we can come to church on Easter morning more alive, more real, and more ready to greet our Savior as He is…Alive. Risen. Risen indeed! Amen. 

A Sermon Preached March 6, 2011 Epiphany Last A – The Transfiguration

by the Rev. Frances A. Hills, Rector

Matthew 17:1-9

I’m a little amused at what happens to Peter at one point in today’s story from Matthew. Peter, James and John are Jesus’ inner circle, and Jesus takes them up on a mountain top where they witness his astounding Transfiguration. His face shines. His clothes dazzle. Lawgiver Moses and the great Prophet Elias (also called  “Elijah”) are there as well, talking with Jesus. In his usual, impetuous way, Peter observes, “It’s good to be here!”

But, instead of being content with “BEING there” and just trying to take it in, Peter wants to kick into action mode: “Let’s build three tabernacles for you guys,” as if he could forever capture this holy moment in a physical structure! Now what’s amusing to me is how while Peter is so enthusiastically talking about his building project, God sort of interrupts him, as if to say, “Peter, that’s so not what it’s all about”.

Then a bright cloud overshadows them all and a voice from the cloud, like the voice at Jesus’ baptism, says, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This voice is different from the Voice at the Baptism however because this voice also says, “Listen to him” (in the King James Version,  “Hear ye him.”). With that, the disciples are not just awestricken, they’re AFRAID…Shakin’ in their boots…Fallin’ on their faces. Then Jesus so tenderly, so pastorally, touches them and says, “Arise and be not afraid” When they finally dare to look up, no one else is there—except Jesus. Just imagine what that must have been like for these good Jewish boys— Peter, James and John! Shining faces. Dazzling clothes. The appearance of two of the greatest men in their Hebrew history. A great enveloping cloud. The very voice of God…And then…just Jesus. The cloud was gone.

Could it be they were starting to see WHO JESUS REALLY IS, and that in recognizing Jesus’ divinity, they would have to re-order everything they’d come to believe? Could it be that this Jesus, their friend, teacher and companion, was God’s beloved Son. A Son who really did fulfill and supersede their sacred Law and Prophets? It would change everything. ‘Turn their world upside down. It would take some real getting used to.

Some of you know the language of “technical fix” and “adaptive challenge”. This is something I’ve worked with for years in the Clergy Leadership Project. “Technical Fix” is something you can change outside yourself. It’s like Peter’s building tabernacles to try to capture holiness. On the other hand “Adaptive Challenge” is something that changes inside yourself. It’s the kind of challenge Peter, James and John had as the reality of WHO JESUS WAS soaked in. They had to let go of the maps of the world as they’d known it because the maps no longer represented the reality of what they were experiencing on the ground.

This is an adaptive challenge. It requires a change from the inside out.I think it’s what happens to us as our faith grows and deepens, and we start to learn again

WHO JESUS IS. It causes us to realize the maps we’ve been using (perhaps from our very good childhood Sunday school classes) just don’t match what’s on the ground anymore. We, like the three disciples on the mountain, must learn again to really “listen to him”. And what he’s so desperate to have them (and us) hear, is that he, an innocent man, God’s very Son, must go to Jerusalem and die and on the third day be raised…Conquering darkness, violence and death, and giving us the opportunity for Light and Life and Love in unimaginable abundance!

To embrace this message deeply, to let it have its way with us, is an adaptive challenge, because it requires us to change from the inside out. By the grace of God and through the wisdom of the Church, we have the Season of Lent with Holy Week and Easter to help us along the Way. During this time, which starts this Wednesday, we have the opportunity to be changed from the inside out. We have the opportunity to learn and commit  or recommit to a prayer practice—For the sake of just being in God’s presence. We have the opportunity to examine our lives, confess our sins, and make our amends. We have the opportunity to give alms or in some way reach out beyond ourselves. We have the opportunity to read and study holy scripture and other challenging books.

These practices enable us to become people full of Light. It’s not Light for our own sakes that we might try to store up or bottle or build a tabernacle for, but it’s Light that shines through us and spills out into our world that so desperately needs the Light, a word of Hope, a heart of Love, a spirit of Reconciliation, and a soul of Peace. This Light cannot be contained: It’s the Light of Christ! And if we give ourselves to be the vessels of this Light, we too will be transfigured, so that all can see WHO JESUS IS.          Amen.