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Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B
January 26, 2003
In "Lectio Divina" everyone closes their eyes and a short passage of scripture is read and the participants are asked to notice what word seems to speak to them. Then there is a short time of silence and the passage is read two more times. The second time the listeners are asked to notice a phrase or thought, the third time a prayer, and the last time after a few minutes of silence the leader responded to the reading. I am going to ask you to share this practice with me this morning. With your eyes closed I will read the passage from the gospel of Mark that Merrill just read. I will only read it one time this morning. So if you will all close your eyes and listen carefully for a word or a phrase in the passage that God seems to be saying especially to you and then I will respond to the reading.
"Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea-for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James sons of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him."
With these few short verses Mark tells us how Jesus began his ministry in Galilee. Jesus, who was at that time what we would call a "street-corner evangelist", simply announced that the time has come! The kingdom of God is here! Repent, Turn from your sins and believe in the good news! Then he called his first disciples as he was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
I don't know what word or words spoke to you in this passage as I read it, but for me the words, "Follow me", were the ones I heard speaking to me."Follow me", was all Jesus said to these four fishermen and immediately they followed him. It is hard for us in the twenty-first century to imagine the reaction of these four fishermen. We live cautious lives. When we interview for a job, our first questions are probably about health insurance, pension plans and how soon will we get promoted. These men made their living by fishing. They provided food, clothing and shelter for their families by their fishing. Jesus offered them new jobs but didn't tell them anything about their new job. All he said was "Follow me".
The response of these four fishermen seems impulsive, almost irresponsible. But they followed Jesus without a backward glance.How would we response, if we were hard at work and some street-corner evangelist came along, told us to repent and follow him. Just drop whatever you were doing and come with him. Would you go? What was it about Jesus that made Simon and Andrew and James and John willing to follow him?
What where their qualifications? They were simple fishermen. They had no training to become disciples. This assures us that a lack of qualifications can never be an excuse for refusing to follow Jesus. We can't say "I'd like to be your disciple, but I have no college degree." Not an excuse. "I've always stayed in the background, you see, so if you don't mind." Even so, follow Jesus.
The people Jesus choose to be his disciples were ordinary people, just like you and me. He invites each of us to companionship with him, to be part of his community, and to share in the work of God's Kingdom. We are all called to discipleship. It is a shared adventure, not just a private matter. While answering God's call is never a thoughtless act, it is more like falling in love than it is like figuring out a math problem.
When we say yes to the call of Jesus to follow him, we never know where that journey will lead us. I said yes to Jesus many years ago and never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be standing in front of any congregation preaching. God is full of surprises. And I never imaged I would go to Wyoming to spend a week in silence and prayer. Another experience from my retreat was practicing "Centering Prayer". In this prayer we set in total silence several times a day seeking God's presence and deepening our relationship with him.
For those of us who are so used to using words in prayer this may sound strange. But we must remember that the language of God is silence. In the deep silence we became more aware of God's presence in ourselves, in other people and in all creation.
In his book "Telling Secrets" Frederick Buechner describes seeking God in silence in words that mirror my own experience. He says, "God knows I am no good at it, but I keep trying, and once or twice I have been lucky, graced. I have been conscious but not conscious of anything, not even of myself. I have been surrounded by the whiteness of snow. I have heard a stillness that encloses all sounds stilled the way whiteness encloses all colors stilled, the way wordlessness encloses all words stilled. I have sensed the presence of a presence. I have felt a promise promised.
I like to believe that once or twice, at times like those, I have bumbled my way into at least the outer-most suburbs of the Truth that can never be told but only come upon, that can never be proved but only lived for and loved. It is the experience that I think the author of the 131st Psalm is trying to describe. O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high;I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother's breast like a child that is quieted is my soul".
There are a group of women at St. Matthew's who have also answered God's call to follow him and are committed to prayer. These women are the members of the Order of the Daughters of the King. This morning (at the 10:30 service) the Daughters will present new members for admission into their group. I am privileged to be one of these new members.The Order of the Daughters of the King is organized as a religious order. Each Daughter takes a lifetime vow to live by the Rule of Life of the Order. This Rule of Life is made up of two parts, the Rule of Prayer and the Rule of Service. It requires a spiritual discipline of daily prayer, service and evangelism. The daughters are dedicated to the spread of Christ's kingdom and the strengthening of the spiritual life of her parish. You will recognize a daughter by the pin that she wears at all times. This cross pin is an outward and visible sign that these women cannot live a day without Christ in their lives. They see their Order as a community of nurturing women, accepting all people, bridging differences and cherishing traditions.
You may not know that at St. Matthew's the members of the Daughters pray daily for all who request their prayers. They maintain a prayer list and have an e-mail network that serves when immediate prayer is needed. The Daughters have been given a special call by God to this work of prayer. They are women who have made a commitment to serve God as their King and to follow Jesus reaching out through, prayer, service and evangelism to spread His kingdom.
There is a story you may have heard before I would like to share with you. The story tells how when Jesus went back to heaven after his time on earth he was talking with the angels. Gabriel, always inquisitive, said to Jesus: "Master, you must have suffered terribly for those people down there." "I did," Jesus said. "And", said Gabriel, "Do they all know about how you loved them and what you did for them?" "Oh no," said Jesus, "not yet. Just a few in Palestine know."
"Well, what have you done," said Gabriel, "to let everyone know about it?" Jesus responded, "I have asked Peter, James, and John, and a few others to make it their business to tell others about me, and the others to tell others and others and others and others, until all the people on the earth know what I have done."
Gabriel was less than convinced that this would work. He said to Jesus: "What if Peter, James, and John and the others get tired and forget and fail? What would happen if way down the years - say 2003 - and people just don't tell others about you? Are there no other plans? Do you have a back-up strategy?" Jesus replied: "I HAVEN'T MADE OTHER PLANS. I'M COUNTING ON THEM!"
Jesus is counting on each of us. Each one of us is called by Jesus to "follow him" and share the good news of the Kingdom of God.
Sermon for November 10, 2002
St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas
Amos 5:18-24, Psalm 70, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13
Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A
By Donna A. Lockett
Come, Holy Spirit, Come.
Come as the fire and enkindle in our hearts, a love of the Lord Jesus.
Come as the dove and bring to our lives, the peace of God.
Come as the wind and blow away those clouds of doubt and uncertainty, which would keep us from following Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Amen.
Good Morning!
First of all, I want to thank all of you for the wonderful welcome you have given me to St. Matthew's. As I wrote in the November issue of The Word, the first Sunday I visited here I thought how wonderful it would be to attend St. Matthew's every Sunday.
I knew that I was going to be assigned a field church and never dreamed that it would be St. Matthew's. What a fantastic surprise! I nearly fell out of my chair when our field education director, The Rev. Charlie Cook, said "How would you like to go to St. Matthew's?" God surprised me one more time! It seems I never get used to having God surprise me.
I imagine those foolish bridesmaids that we just heard about in the gospel this morning were surprised, too. Here they were! All dressed up and ready to go to the wedding banquet that they had been so excited about attending and because they were not prepared they didn't get to go. What a sad surprise that was for them! What a great disappointment!
Let's look at the context of that story for a minute. The culture in that Middle Eastern village was vastly different from ours today. In our culture a wedding is the bride's big day. The bride and her family plan and pay for everything for the wedding. The bridegroom just has to show up. But in the culture of Jesus' time it was the groom's day.
The groom had to pay for everything and he had to pay her family for the bride. He had to negotiate for the price of the bride with her family, while the bride and bridesmaids waited. When the price was agreed upon, the groom came and took the bride to his home for a great wedding feast and celebration that he had prepared.
Now in our story the groom is delayed, perhaps the negotiations with her family took longer than expected whatever the reason the bridegroom doesn't show up until late at night.
The only responsibility of the bridesmaids is to light the way for the wedding party. The bridesmaids are there and waiting, dressed for the celebration carrying their lamps. From outward appearances the bridesmaids all look alike, there is no difference, but five of them were prepared and five were not.
Five of them had brought along extra oil for their lamps. They were prepared. Five of them were not prepared, they had no extra oil for their lamps, so they could not fulfill their responsibility. And it is too late to go out looking for more oil for their lamps. All the shops are closed and so the wedding party goes on without them. What a disappointment! The five who had failed to have extra oil for their lamps were not prepared and missed out on the big celebration,
That is the story of our parable for today. That is all Jesus told his disciples. What is Jesus really telling his disciples and what is he telling us? Well, our parable seems really quite simple to understand. It is basically about the end-times, when Jesus will return again. Jesus is the bridegroom and the bridesmaids represent the church. Some will be prepared and some will not.
Jesus told this parable to his disciples to prepare them for his coming death, to give them hope for the future. Remember, the parable is about a wedding not a funeral.
Our readings today from the prophet Amos and from Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, also speak to us of end-times. Amos is talking about "the day of the Lord' which signifies an end-time event for Israel. A time of darkness and not light. Amos calls for justice "Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream".
Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians, who are concerned about the return of Jesus, and what will happen to those who have already died, reassures them of the certainty of Christ's coming, and Christ's enduring presence with them now.
But what does talking about the Second Coming of Jesus and the end-times have to do with us today? What is Jesus saying to us? We don't talk much about the fact that Jesus is coming again, and that it could be at anytime. Since we are 2000 years removed from the event, it somehow never seems likely that he might come today or tomorrow or anytime soon. And judgment - when do we think about that? Maybe we should. We should be prepared. We might be surprised!
In order to understand what this parable says to us, we need to look a little deeper. Let's look at what the oil represents. The scholars who write commentaries, all seem to agree that the bridegroom represents Christ and the bridesmaids are the church - you and me.
The oil some say may be faith or it may be acts of discipline and good works or it may be our relationship with God or most likely it is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the source and power behind all our works and good deeds.
Much as it would be easier to keep our heads in the sand, and ignore the fact that yes, Jesus is coming again. We do need to be prepared, so we are not surprised.
In working on this sermon for the past week, that old camp song "Give me Oil for my Lamp, keep it burning, Give me oil for my lamp I pray. Give me oil for my lamp, keep it burning, Keep it burning till the light of day" kept going through my head. It doesn't sound very theological, but it is a simple prayer that I think we have all prayed in one way or another. In looking at the images from this parable we ask the Lord for oil so that our lamps will stay lit. We pray for the Holy Spirit to fill our lives, so we have the power and strength to serve God and do whatever he calls us to do.
We want to be prepared - to be ready - and we do ask God, how we can best serve him. What is his call for our lives? What are our gifts for ministry? What disciplines do we need to follow in order to grow in our relationship with God? Do we need to study more, do we need to pray more, or do we need to put our faith in action, by doing works of justice and mercy?
One aspect about this parable that I haven't mentioned is that the primary characters in the parable are women. Historically, women have been the light-bearers for the church. Often times they are the ones leading the way, when the church enters new areas of ministry. One of the long-time and
enduring ministries of the women of the church has been the United Thank Offering, which was first started in 1889. In the past 113 years, millions of dollars have been collected that have been given to ministries all over the world, to support various needs. I have been closely associated with the women of my Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, and I have first hand experience with the work of the UTO. I commend it to you and hope you will give it your generous support today when that offering is taken.
So where is there any hope or love in this "gospel" that we have been talking about this morning? What is the "good news"? The "good news" is that Jesus loves us so much, that he invites us each time we come to this altar and receive the His Body and His Blood to share in a foretaste of the heavenly banquet he has prepared for us. We are being filled, in this Eucharistic meal that we share each week.
We should be overflowing with love and joy as we wait with expectation, in a state of constant readiness, for the coming of His Kingdom. We will not be surprised! We will be prepared! Our lamps will be burning bright! We live with the confidence that Christ's promises are sure and a joyous future awaits us!
We live with the hope that is in the collect we prayed today: "O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Thanks be to God.
