Good Intentions: Sermon for 5th Sunday after Epiphany A (And Scouting Sunday)

One of my all-time favorite movies is Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, a spoof on the horror movie genre of the 30s and 40s, the era of Lon Cheney and Bela Lugosi. Brooks takes the granddaddy of all horror stories to poke fun at, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, strips it of everything but the idea of the struggle between monster and creator, and gets down to work, aided by a brilliant cast that includes Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Madeleine Kahn, and Peter Boyle.

One of the scenes depicts young Viktor Frankenstein, who has become convinced that his grandfather's work reanimating dead bodies is actually possible, being led by his assistant Igor into the local cemetery to get a suitable body for his experiment. They've decided on someone very, very large, to make regenerating the nerves easier. Just their luck, a local criminal has been hanged who's nearly seven feet tall. So they sneak into the cemetery, and begin to dig up the body. With ominous music, the coffin is shown rising up from the depths. Deep in a hole they have dug around the coffin, both Viktor and his assistant Igor appear, and spit out mouthfuls of dirt, fully aware of how disgusting their situation is.

“What a filthy job!” Viktor says to Igor, as they are 5 feet deep in the hole.

“Could be worse,” says Igor, sunnily.

“HOW?” pouts Viktor.

“Could be raining,” Igor replies,-- and just then lightning flashes across the sky. Viktor and Igor look at each other, and five seconds later an absolute deluge arrives. Viktor looks sourly at Igor, who put on a brave face and blinks rapidly as they immediately get soaked to the skin. (1)

I imagine a few of our Scouting families have experienced the same thing on some of their outdoor adventures. Even when everything has gone wrong at a campsite, just remember—it could be worse—it could be raining.

You know, attitude, perspective, and a sense of proportion really are everything in life. To quote another great childhood movie hero of mine, Mary Poppins, drudge work really IS better when you are singing a song as you go along, a spoon full of sugar does make the medicine go down in the most delightful way.

Our readings today are all centered on instruction for life, on having the correct attitudes in doing what we do. Each of the communities being addressed in each reading is in turmoil or transition of some kind, which can create the worst kind of stress. Jesus is in the middle of his first big series of lessons in Matthew’s gospel, the Sermon on the Mount. He is taking a group of people who have been following him around looking for miracles and trying to change their perception of themselves. When he talks about his listeners being salt, light, and a city on a hill, he is telling them that rather than waiting for miracles to be performed in front of them by Jesus, that they themselves ARE the miracles that can change the world, if they allow God’s vision of human flourishing to root in their hearts and change their own understanding of responsibility. In his teaching, Jesus is forming them from a ragtag set of individuals into a COMMUNITY that works for the benefits of the world—just like Scouting.

The members of the church in Corinth that Paul is talking to are split into factions based on wealth, power, and claims of holiness, and this division prevents them from growing in faith. How many of us have experienced that kind of division? Maybe a better question would be: when have we NOT experienced that kind of division? But it doesn’t have to be that way.

The people being addressed by the prophet Isaiah have returned from exile under the protection of the Persian Empire, and have rebuilt their temple. And yet, their return to worship has not led them to a deeper spirituality. Instead, everything has become performative—about making a show and making worship all about themselves, rather than about God and allowing God to reshape their lives. They think they’re in charge, and that they can manipulate God by doing the right rituals the right way, but without their heart in it. Worship has become a hypocritical way of showing off, a piece of performance, rather than an act that shapes their outer lives.

In each case, the people are being urged to reorient their attitudes from merely going through the motions selfishly, but instead being true believers who put their principles into action, to be people of abundance, to become a community of the faithful who work to bring about empathy, justice and shalom into a world that desperately needs it—to shift from an inward, consumerist focus to an outward looking, unified force for good, even if that requires naming the part they play in the systems of injustice that surround them, if only by their silence.

The reading from Isaiah 59 questions empty observance of ritual without allowing true repentance to take root in our hearts. This passage addresses the problem of empty worship—worship that makes the worshiper feel good, or that makes the worshiper look good in the eyes of his or her neighbors, but ultimately is an empty gesture because it does not lead to a conversion of the heart and the soul.

How important is it to put your heart into what you do? Or is it more important to simply follow the rules and checklists of our “to-do” lists? It depends upon what we are doing— if you’re paying your property taxes, no one really expects you to be filled with joy as you do your duty—unless, and I am not kidding here, you can envision your money going to making sure children go through the school day fed as well as educated, you can envision to smooth roads you travel upon as being paid for by those tax dollars, or you can imagine your taxes supporting the EMTs who just saved your neighbor’s life and got them to the hospital. Because guess what? That is EXACTLY what your taxes do—and more. 

Likewise, in worshipping God, attitude is everything and the value of worship is made visible not in whether you feel you were entertained, but in how you are then empowered to act for good in the world beyond these doors. Worship is not a series of actions. Worship IS an attitude, just as love is. Worship is made holy by holy intention.

Specifically, Isaiah points out that fasting is actually an easier sacrifice than addressing issues of systematic injustice and oppression—and we all know Isaiah is correct. That’s why systematic oppression and injustice continues even in communities where a vast majority of people claim to be people of faith. In the Talmud, which is a collection of commentary on Jewish scripture that has been collected over the centuries, the rabbis make it clear that how one acts in their regular lives is more important than how one worships.

Rabbi Elazar said: One who performs acts of charity is greater than one who sacrifices all types of offerings, as it is stated: “To perform charity and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than an offering” (Proverbs 21:3), including all types of offerings. And Rabbi Elazar said: Acts of kindness, assisting someone in need, are greater than charity, as it is stated: “Sow to yourselves according to charity, and reap according to kindness” (Hosea 10:12)…. And Rabbi Elazar said: Anyone who performs charity and justice is considered as though he filled the whole world in its entirety with kindness, as it is stated: “He loves charity and justice; the earth is full of the kindness of the Lord” (Psalms 33:5). (2)

And actually, as I was reading their commentary, I was reminded of the Scout Oath and the Scout Law, which seek to orient Scouts as to how to live their lives even outside of Scout meetings, and even when they have become adults.

Jesus spends a huge amount of his time reminding us of God’s abundance, of God’s generous love and gift of grace, probably because we live most of our lives being told to see everyone around us as competition for scarce resources, and see strangers as potential “takers of our stuff.” But if we see ourselves as salt, without which life is not possible, or light, without which vision isn’t possible, suddenly we understand that we are called to take what has already been given to us, which is a miracle in and of itself, and DO something with it for the sake of the worl, not just for our own benefit.

In Scouting, life principles are taught through learning new things, and changing Scouts’ perceptions of themselves, their roles in their communities, and even their roles in nature, right? For instance, when camping, there’s the principle of “Leave No Trace.” That is broken down in a variety of ways: pack it in, pack it out. Leave what you find. Stay on established paths for the sake of vegetation, especially if your group is large. Only make a fire as large as you need. Observe wildlife without disturbing it. And these rules you practice at, say, Philmont, will also do you good in the wilds of New York City—especially the bit about not disturbing the local wildlife. The point is being taught consideration and respect for your surroundings and the people in them, whether you are in a tent or not. They're also meant to shape your lifelong intentions to those of being caring, careful, and attentive to consequences.

Through Isaiah’s words, God continues offering practical advice for those who want to LIVE as children of God in word, name, and example. Ultimately God further clarifies the point of sacrifices: they are meant to give us the blessing of being holy, of being part of something larger than ourselves. Sacrifices are meant to give us the blessing of living without fear.

And what is the result of following these kinds of sacrifices—the kind that make the person doing these kinds of sacrifices holy, blameless, and even blessed in the sight of God and for the good of the world around us? Isaiah tells us that by being generous and openhearted in our own lives, God will pour out abundance within our hearts, making us joyful and even fearless in all we do in the name of God. Isaiah also promises that by offering our true fast to God, “Our lights will shine out for all to see.” Just as Jesus assures his followers in our gospel today.

In our daily lives, our religious lives, and in our Scouting lives, there certainly are times when our actions seem outwardly correct, but lack a conviction of the heart. This is also a common theme in scripture. Thus Isaiah reorients the term “fast” here in an unusual way—turning the concept of sacrifice on its head. Basically God is saying this: Don’t fast to me out of fear—offer your best to me and those around you out of love. Be fearless in giving to others. Be fearless in fighting wrong, even if it costs you. Don’t make a show of doing without if, after you end your fast, you continue to engage in activities that ignore the plight of the suffering, or even adds to that suffering.

Do you want to make a sacrifice that pleases me? God asks. Fight injustice and oppression. Feed the hungry and bring the poor into your home just as eagerly as you would an honored guest—which was a very serious obligation in the Mediterranean culture of that time. Clothe those who are naked. Help your family members rather than try to hide from those who need help. And do it all not out of fear, but out of love. Be fearless in living out of love, and your light will shine out for all to see.

Amen.

Preached at the 10:30 am Holy Eucharist on February 5, 2023 at St. Martin's Episcopal Church, Ellisville, MO.

Readings:

• Isaiah 58:1-9a, [9b-12]
• 1 Corinthians 2:1-12, [13-16]
• Matthew 5:13-20
• Psalm 112:1-9, (10)

Citations:

1) Mel Brooks, Young Frankenstein,-- video of the scene found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC4VflOayBw 

2) Sukkah 49b, the William Davidson Talmud, found at https://www.sefaria.org/Sukkah.49b.13?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en

3) "The Principles of 'Leave No Trace'" at Boy Scouts of America, https://www.scouting.org/programs/scouts-bsa/troop-resources/leave-no-trace/teaching-leave-no-trace/064-principles/

Body and Soul: Sermon for Proper 10B

I don’t know about you, but there’s a lot going on in our family’s lives right now. I spent my day off in Tulsa, taking my Mom to the doctor and running a bunch of errands for her. I visited with and prayed with my sister, who was supposed to have surgery but had suddenly had it denied by her insurance company, which meant it had to be paid for out of pocket, which was incredibly stressful and even traumatic on top of the trauma of further surgery when she has been suffering for over four months.

I returned and did parish work while also rushing around doing things for my family in the evenings. I played phone tag with several people fruitlessly and frustratingly. We closed on a new house, and learned we needed new phones to be able to stay in contact with the outside world, and had to make the arrangement for all of the resulting changes. Bill was so excited we had to spend the night there even without our furniture and no internet. And more church work, and more family tasks. At the speed of sound.

And the truth is, it wore me out. And I thought about how we are prone in America to worship overwork, and overfunctioning, and how we take being tired and overscheduled to somehow be a sign to us of how important we are. And I give thanks that right when I needed it most, we get a gospel that reminds us of how Jesus calls us to remember the unity between body and soul, and the importance of honoring and caring for ourselves and others in our bodily needs.

To set the scene for the gospel: A couple of weeks ago in the lectionary, Jesus had sent the apostles out to evangelize throughout the Judean countryside. At the start of our gospel reading today, they return, exhilarated—but also exhausted. They have been more successful than they had ever dreamed they could be. After all, it was one thing for Jesus to heal the sick and explain the kingdom of God. Jesus is, after all, the Son of God. Miracles and healing are his specialty, we’ve been led to believe. But for merely human apostles to do the same thing? Inconceivable at first—but exactly what each person who follows Jesus is called to do.

Throughout this gospel today, we see Jesus lovingly, tenderly, perceptively taking human physical needs and limitations seriously. As always, he offers healing to all who ask—and even to the disciples, who forget to ask. Are you tired? Jesus asks. Rest. Especially, rest in prayer, in the presence of God. Honor your human body and its needs as well as your obligations as my followers. Being human is not less-than. Being human is holy, when all we do is lived in the pursuit and presence of God.

Far too much of Christianity today emphasizes the miraculous, divine side of Jesus and his status as the Christ. We then lose sight of the human being Jesus son of Mary also was— the son, the brother, the friend, the apprentice carpenter, the nascent rabbi. And that is not a good thing for a variety of reasons, but one of the most insidious of which is it leads to a splitting of our lives between the sacred and the worldly, the soul and the body, which can be very harmful to our overall well-being.

Worse, there are those who convince themselves that spiritual stuff is for Sundays, while also walling off the ethical obligations of being Christian the other days of the week. It has become common in our religious discourse to preference the spiritual over the material, and in particular the body —with often disastrous consequences.

Favoring the spiritual over the bodily has led to very real harm in Christian history. It has led to many pious people coldly discounting the pains, sufferings, and sorrows of this world and its inhabitants with a shrug of helplessness at best or unconcerned fatalism at worst. At its widest perspective, this disdain for bodily existence leads to talk about this world--and its inhabitants-- as fallen, evil, unredeemable, accursed, worthy only of being exploited and consumed rather than something holy that God from the moment of creation pronounced “good” and even “very good.” There are even groups of Christians who gleefully welcome natural disasters and diseases as signs of the Apocalypse, which they believe will lead to them being raptured off of this fallen world while millions suffer torment. It’s appallingly hateful and selfish—and also completely opposed to how Jesus lives his own life with others.

This denigration of the material world is also directed at our wondrous human bodies, which can be treated with contempt due to their mortality and fragility—and also, to be clear, due to some Biblical stories and verses that have been misinterpreted over the millennia. For women—and young girls, even—our bodies are slandered and denigrated as allegedly being sources of temptation and evil, even today, unless they are rigidly regulated, controlled, shamed while being simultaneously sexualized. Women’s bodies are even viewed as property, decoration, or trophies, or reduced to limited roles inside the home such as cleaning, cooking, or providing offspring—with alienation for those women who do not fit into this mold for one reason or another. And always, always, ruthlessly criticized and kept in their place at best or unprotected and undefended from violence at worst.

Men’s bodies, too, must be physically strong, vigorous, coordinated, masterful, dominant—or their very worth as men can be questioned. Weakness, emotion, or vulnerability must be denied at all costs. And it causes very real physical and spiritual harm for all of us.

Even more subtly, in our everyday lives, this false divide between body and soul can make it easy for us to excuse ethical decisions we make in our workaday lives that we know in our hearts violate Jesus’s gospel of good news for everyone.

We can find ourselves nodding our heads on Sunday to commandments not to lie or cheat or exploit others, but then relegate such promises to the spiritual world when confronted with the chance to grab power or make a buck during the rest of the week.

The contempt we can have for our own bodies and their needs is NOTHING compared to the contempt we can have for other people’s bodies and their needs if we believe it might cost us something in terms of advantage or privilege or freedom. Divorcing body from soul also costs us our integrity, compassion, and sense of duty to our fellow human beings by “othering” them and declaring “the weak”—a terrible word itself filled with blame and shame-- as deserving of their poverty and suffering for our own benefit.

We cannot draw a bright line between our bodily lives—political, economic, secular—and our spiritual lives. We have one life given to us by the gift and grace of God. That one life is a seamless whole, and we have to honor both our bodily needs and our spiritual growth as a unified whole. And as much as we honor our own bodily needs, as disciples of Jesus we are called to care for the bodily needs of others, particularly the vulnerable, and never insist on our own way if it could cause another person to stumble, or if it could obscure or refute the goodness of God in the world. We have to remember that each individual body does not exist by itself, but exists within a number of communities, including the Body of Christ.

Our gospel reading this week makes it clear that not only was Jesus human, he understood the cared for the very human needs of his disciples as they went about the shared work of bringing the kingdom of God to light on earth. The very human Jesus and the very human disciples spent large parts of their lives ministering to others because that is what the life of a follower of Jesus MUST be all about. Our daily lives flow out of our spiritual lives. What does our daily life say about our spiritual values? This is important, necessary and ongoing self-reflection.

Our gospel reminds us that body and the soul are the insuperable two sides of the same coin that makes up human existence, for Jesus as well as all of us. Jesus as the Incarnate One hallows and exemplifies human bodily existence, showing us all what wonder and beauty and nobility of which we are all capable as God’s children.

In unifying the body and the soul, the human and the divine, and awakening all of us to our possession of both natures from our very creation and first breath, Jesus has awakened us and those disciples that to the reality that we don’t get a free pass to leave the miracles to Jesus as the divine Son of God while we excuse our vices as being merely human.

Jesus spent so much time healing bodily ailments to remind us of how important bodies are. Jesus didn’t come just to show us how to go to heaven when we die and shed these bodies. Jesus comes to show us how to live, and how our lives testify to who we believe God is. Our bodies and their needs are reminders of God’s love for us, and desire for us to be happy. How we use our bodies and live our lives IS both worship and testimony. As children of God, our entire lives—not just our Sunday lives, or our worship lives-- tell the world who God is.

How would it change our lives if we actively acknowledged the truth that everything we do, no matter how mundane or trivial or practical—how we work, how we play, how we treat ourselves, how we treat others, how we spend our time and our money-- is done in the presence of God? To realize that body and soul together are what makes each of us who we are both as individuals but also has very real implications with how we use our time and our skills and our bodies in the world as a visible testimony to who we say God is and who we are as God created each of us?

When we view our lives as completely lived before the presence of God, both our work and our play will reflect God’s kingdom values of justice, compassion, healing, wellness, interconnectedness. There will be no more “them” and us.” There will be no more division between “work” and “worship.” There will be no more striving without rest.

We are called to stand before God with all that we are and all that we have—body and soul. What we pray and what we do is our true testimony in the eyes of the world.

There must be no more illusion that all that we are and all that we do, that all that we give and all that we receive are all not of one seamless whole before our Lord, our Savior, our Creator, who loves us beyond imagining and calls us to embrace the life of generosity and community that both sustains us and calls us forward as beloveds of God. Body and soul, at work or at rest, always in the presence of God, our Companion, Shepherd, and Creator.

Preached at the 10:30 online service at St. Martin's Episcopal Church, Ellisville, on July 18, 2021.

Readings:

2 Samuel 7:1-14a
Psalm 89:20-37
Ephesians 2:11-22
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Known, Called, and Transformed: Sermon for the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany

Even when I was a kid, I read anything I could get my hands on. Given that my parents were older when they had me, and therefore my grandparents were older when I came along, and also that we didn’t have much money so most of our books were second-hand, that meant I did a lot of reading that usually was more common among older generations of kids. My step-grandmother handed me a battered Hardy Boys book she’d found at a garage sale, probably to get me to stop bugging her during one visit. And it was during reading that book that I learned that one could make one’s own radio from what was called a crystal radio set. This intrigued me. And so, since I was also a big fan of Radio Shack, because they gave you a free 9 volt battery each month, I discovered that they still sold those kits, even in the 1970s.

So I saved up my lawnmowing money and my babysitting money one summer, and for once, rather than buying books with my cash, I bought a crystal radio kit. This was a bare basics model, but when I was done, I had a functional AM radio with a solitary earpiece as well as a speaker, and I had learned a little about circuits and coils and all kinds of stuff. I could listen to the radio at night without my parents being any the wiser. I especially loved listening to Cardinals games, when the reach of KMOX made it all the way to Tulsa at night.

In making that radio, I learned a little bit about how radios worked at their most basic level. Making helped lead to understanding.

Perhaps that’s why our psalm today particularly resonates with me. Our psalm expands upon the idea we’ve heard throughout Epiphany of being known intimately by God who is our Mother, Father, and Creator. Psalm 139 reminds us that God’s knowledge of us is complete, even as we cannot possibly presume to know God in the same way.

Sadly, some of the most beautiful and humbling verses of this psalm are among those omitted today, and I think they make a vital point, so I want to include them here:

6 Where can I go then from your Spirit?
   Where can I flee from your presence?
7 If I climb up to heaven, you were there;
   If I make the grave my bed, you were there also.
8 If I take the wings of the morning
   And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
9 Even there your hand will lead me
   And your right hand hold me fast.
10 If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,
   And the lights around the turn to night,”
11 Darkness is not dark to you;
   The night is as bright as the day;
   Darkness and light to you are both alike.

These omitted verses make a valuable point about human nature. It is true that we often FEAR being known that much. Someone who knows us that intimately would know our faults, our pettiness, our dishonesty, our cowardice as well as our moments of courage, compassion, and wisdom. We want to manage our own PR. We want to selectively put on display only our best versions of ourselves—and sometimes don’t want to admit our failings even inwardly. We want to believe that we can bury our flaws and our faults, our sins and trespasses, so deep they can never be found. When we find out how deeply we are known by the One who loves us, our response may be to flee. It’s often that way. We feel the blessing of God’s presence with us, and know that God is “our portion and our cup.” We radiate with that blessing. And yet, the minute we think we have God all figured out, that’s when we get off track. Deep down, we think God is like us. We humans tend to judge others harshly, and we project that attitude on God as well, despite all evidence to the contrary, despite the doctrine of grace that makes our approach to God possible at all. Deep down, we think that God can only love the best versions of ourselves, because that is too often how we work in relation to others and their flaws.

Yet the second we think we can hide from God, we are lying to ourselves. God is with us always—not just in good times, and certainly not just in bad times. And God is not only with us, but God KNOWS us. Three times it is stated that God knows us intimately—and the knowledge of that simply boggles the mind of the psalmist. In the last part of the psalm that we read today, we are reminded that God not only knows us, but has made us, each and every one, which implies an even more intimate level of knowing.

We live in a time of great turmoil. And I am grateful for these words of this psalm at this time. I see this psalm being sent to us at this time as a true sign of God’s grace. God KNOWS us—and yet loves and treasures us anyway. Even when part of what makes us who we are includes our anger, our spite, our recklessness, and the very real damage we inflict upon others. Even then, when the thought of that love is overwhelming, and we just “know” in our hearts that we don’t deserve such love, that love nonetheless remains. God is with us throughout our fallible, messy lives. God’s love penetrates whatever veils we try to draw around our present or around our past. We sometimes pray, “God have mercy upon me, a sinner.” Yet, the promise is there within those words: God DOES have mercy on us, sinners as we all are, because we are known and loved with a fierce, unending love that is beyond our imagination.

We are all naked before God, like Adam and Eve in the garden. Yet God is with us, loving us, knowing us in all our victories as well as in our darkest, meanest actions. God is with us, loving us, from our first breath to our last. God’s hand is upon us, pressing upon us and at the same time bearing us up with a love that cannot be denied, not even by sin or by death.

Deep in our hearts, unless one is without a conscience, and there ARE people like that, we know the shortcomings of our own lives, the places where our nerve has failed when we could have chosen to do right but instead went along with the crowd.

That’s why most of us resist the idea that God knows us that deeply and completely, and yet STILL calls us to share as disciples in ministry to the world. Yet each of us who call ourselves Christians also must accept that we have been called to transformation of our lives and to discipleship—to carrying God’s good news out into the world. A world that as we have been seeing for the last many months, is groaning our in pain and distress.

We see Samuel called by God in our first reading, and we see Philip and Nathanael called by God in our gospel. When Philip tells Nathanael that Jesus is the one predicted by Moses and the prophets, but then he includes a contradictory detail—Philip adds that Jesus comes from Nazareth. This information actually works against Jesus, for none of the messianic prophecies claimed that the Messiah would come from Nazareth. No, the Messiah was supposed to come from Bethlehem, as part of the House of David. But Nathanael is willing to go take a look.

Nathanael at first fails to understand who Jesus is, just as the boy Samuel misunderstood who was calling him and speaking to him. Yet Jesus tells Nathanael that he had “seen” Nathanael under a fig tree, and this causes Nathanael to believe that Jesus DOES have the special powers that the Messiah would have. Just as in our psalm, we have Jesus as the Son of God claiming to know a person intimately, even though he and Nathanael had never met.

Once again, we see God through Jesus reaching out to us and seeking us, knowing us even better than we know ourselves. God calls to us, but we can choose to respond or not. And Jesus could have said a lot of things about Nathanael—he could have shamed Nathanael for being a cynic, or for passively sitting under a fig tree. Instead, Jesus calls out the characteristic about Nathanael that Jesus most wants to bless, the quality of honesty and lack of deceit that we ALL need more of, especially after living through a century that has been marked by demagogues repeating dangerous, bloody lies until they become powerful weapons against reason, integrity and truth. Jesus calls Nathanael one who is without deceit, and Nathanael is transformed by this assessment to begin to live into it.

When God calls to us, we are changed. The call we hear is to a new identity with new possibilities, a new understanding of ourselves. That new understanding is predicated upon God’s knowledge of and love for us, asking us to open up our eyes to have an epiphany in our understanding of ourselves as well as of our understanding of God. When Jesus calls to us, we are really being called to see ourselves in a new light, in a new way.

We may feel unworthy of our calling to be disciples of Jesus—and we may use that excuse to confirm our natural inclination to keep our faith quiet rather than to share it. The problem is, that natural inclination then leads us to fail in our duty to be witnesses and workers rather than mere claimers of the privileged status of Christian, especially when that claim is used to claim superiority over others as we see too often today.

This reading always comes around the observance of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday on January 15. When we find our courage to urge others to “Come and see” failing, it is good that we are surrounded by, as the saying goes, “so great a cloud of witnesses” as the saints who have gone before us. Dr. King’s legacy was to not just invite but to challenge the white majority in this country to “come and see” a God who called all people of faith to demand justice and equality among all of God’s children by truly “seeing” that the historical system of laws and attitudes were meant to oppress, silence, and disenfranchise people of color. Dr. King invited all of us to come and see and follow a Jesus who made his home among the outcast, the oppressed, and the marginalized. Dr. King’s words from more than half a century ago confront the challenges we are facing in 2021 boldly and presciently:

“One of the great tragedies of life is that men seldom bridge the gulf between practice and profession, between doing and saying. A persistent schizophrenia leaves so many of us tragically divided against ourselves. On the one hand, we proudly profess certain sublime and noble principles, but on the other hand, we sadly practice the very antithesis of these principles. How often are our lives characterized by a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds! We talk eloquently about our commitment to the principles of Christianity, and yet our lives are saturated with the practices of paganism. We proclaim our devotion to democracy, but we sadly practice the very opposite of the democratic creed. We talk passionately about peace, and at the same time we assiduously prepare for war. We make our fervent pleas for the high road of justice, and then we tread unflinchingly the low road of injustice. This strange dichotomy, this agonizing gulf between the ought and the is, represents the tragic theme of man’s earthly pilgrimage.”(1)

Coming and seeing is a start, but of itself is not enough. Proclaiming that you believe is not enough. Jesus calls his disciples not just to listen, but then to follow. To take a different path than they had planned. To upend their lives in the name of the outrageous truth about the power of love in a world in which oppression lies and tells us we are always alone and vulnerable.

God has searched us out and knows us—and loves us completely. Knowing us as we truly are, God calls us to a life of action and virtue as God’s children. I have seen you, God says. Now come, and see—and be transformed.

Come and be open to seeing—let us be brave enough to admit we need transformation in our personal and national lives. Come and see, and confess where we have closed our eyes to the damage of dishonesty about ourselves—and take hold of God’s call to see honestly our own faults and blindnesses about the struggles of others—and be transformed. Come and give thanks for God’s grace—for a God not of vengeance and violence, but a God that knows us and loves us as petty as we can be—and step out onto a new path in which we truly live by the creeds we claim, as kindred who live lives worthy of our calling as children of God in truth, in integrity, and in mutual love.

Amen.

Preached at the 10:30 online service at St. Martin's Episcopal Church, Ellisville, MO in time of COVID19.

Readings:

1 Samuel 3:1-10(11-20)

Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

John 1:43-51

Sources:

1) The Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "Love in Action," delivered April 3, 1960, published in Strength to Love, p. 31.

Prayer 2663: Inspired by Matthew 6:19-24

O God Our Shepherd,
we praise you with open hearts,
our arms spread wide to receive your light.

May we treasure the lives of others
as much as our own,
cherishing our mutual heritage as your children,
forswearing exploitation and greed
that would cause the suffering of another.

Against the forces of death
and abuse of the powerless
may we ever stand united as your disciples,
seeking justice and integrity
in the name of the love You so freely give, O Most High.

Blessed Jesus,
may we walk in the paths of righteousness and mercy
you laid out before us:
the way of everlasting life, honor, and charity
that alone offers healing in a hurting world.

Merciful God, in your tender compassion
gather us within your generous heart
and strengthen us by your Spirit of Wisdom and Hope
as we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 2648

Abide with us, Lord God,
and accept our prayers and praises
offered with grateful hearts.
Inscribe your love in our hearts, O Merciful One,
and bear us within your grace, we pray.

Make us single-minded
in the pursuit of mercy
and open-hearted virtue,
O Loving Savior,
that we may walk through the gate of wisdom
and set our feet on the path of charity and compassion.

May we turn aside from ignorance and hatred,
and embrace each other in generosity and hope,
walking humbly in the Way of Jesus.

May we pursue kindness and integrity
in all our steps, O God,
and be a blessing to others this day.
Pour out your mercy upon us, O Giver of Life,
and grant your peace to those for whom we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 2626: Tuesday of Holy Week

Lord Jesus Christ,
we worship you and praise you,
grateful for your tender compassion in our lives.

May we make our hearts gentle,
reshaped by the power of your grace and mercy,
that we may testify to your truth, O Lord and Savior.

May we resolutely resist the lies of this age,
O God of Truth,
nor take advantage of others in the name of profit.
May we cast off the works of darkness and deceit,
and live instead with integrity and holiness,
that we may be a fit habitation for Christ.

Bend near, O Holy Spirit,
and bring us to new life in God,
and grant your blessing upon those for whom we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 2618

Almighty God,
who holds creation within your protective hand,
we lay our hearts at your feet,
and give thanks for your abundant blessing.

Lord Jesus,
teach us to be humble in spirit
and open-hearted in our dealings with each other,
welcoming each other as children of God.
Make us ardent
in our pursuit of virtue and integrity,
O Shepherd of Our Souls,
and gentle and loving as we walk our paths today.
Make us steadfast in faith, Beloved One,
and committed to the flourishing of all,
defending the vulnerable and empowering the oppressed.

May we welcome the power
of the Holy Spirit into our lives,
that we may seek out the path of justice and peace.
God of Mercy, lead us into the Way of Love,
and grant your peace to those for whom we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 2552: nevertheless, justice

Most Merciful God,
we offer you our gratitude and praise
for your blessings without number,
and ask your guidance
as we seek to live by your dream for us,
led by wisdom and integrity.

Help us renounce our acquiescence
to the path of casual corruption,
commonplace cruelties,
and collateral damage.

Give us the courage to tear down the edifices of power
built on the false gospel
that success for the few
must be leveraged upon the suffering of the many.

Bring us instead, O Holy One,
to a renewed commitment to live by your word
and walk in your ways,
to lend our aid to the oppressed and the hurting,
and to make common cause
with those who stand for justice and peace
built on dignity and compassion.

Hear the whispered prayers of your people,
O Savior and Redeemer,
and grant your peace and comfort to those for whom we pray,

Amen.

Prayer 2551: dedication of this new day

O Loving Creator,
we give you thanks and praise
for your loving call to truth and wisdom
as we place our feet upon the path of this day.

May we make your words, Lord Jesus, a lamp unto our feet
and a warming fire in the hearth of our hearts,
that we may burn brightly before the world
as witnesses to your faithfulness and compassion.

May we stand upright and holy before You,
O Source of Justice,
and put our shoulders to the wheel of your mercy,
working to bring your kingdom near for all to see.

May we make your light blaze forth,
O God Our Stronghold,
to drive away the scuttling forces of hatred and malice,
to work in allegiance to your call to shalom.

Strengthen us in integrity and truth,
O Foundation of Our Hearts,
and grant your blessing and assurance
to those for whom we pray.

Amen.

Prayer, day 2549: For Integrity

Most Merciful God,
set your seal upon our hearts,
that they may be filled with your truth
and animated by your gospel of hope.

Teach us to walk with integrity and honesty,
and strengthen us to defend the defenseless among us,
living into your commandments, O God,
in spirit, word, and deed.

Blessed Savior, place your healing hands upon our lives,
and give us the courage to live into your grace,
carrying your Name into the world
as witnesses to your compassion and justice.

Spirit of the Living God,
draw us into your light,
and gather us into your embrace,
placing your blessing over those for whom we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 2479: For Integrity

O Lord Our Helper, 
we lift our eyes to You, 
that You may guide and direct us this day. 

Grant us a thirst for wisdom, O Great Counselor, 
that we may walk in your paths with integrity 
and demonstrate your truth without fail.
May we pull down the corruption within our hearts, O God, 
and turn to follow your ethic of loving one another 
and seeking healing and abundance for all. 

Turn us, O Shepherd, from pursuing our selfish desires;
let us love You and your law with undivided hearts. 
Teach us how to live together 
in pursuit of the common good, Lord Jesus,
bearing with each other in lovingkindness, 
caring for the stranger, the lost, and the oppressed 
as You taught us. 

Anoint us by your Spirit 
to be renewed by your right hand
that we may walk in holiness and purity of heart, 
O Most High;
and look with favor upon those for whom we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 2457

Beloved Creator, your hand 
has hovered like a bird over us 
through the swells and the troughs 
of the waves of night, 
and our gratitude rises to you 
like mist at the shoreline of the day. 

Strengthen our determination to live 
in integrity and truth, 
compassion and empathy, 
honoring the spark You have placed in each heart, 
down to the smallest wren, 
guided by your love, Lord Christ. 

May we be known by our love 
that reflects your commandments, O Holy One, 
and live in the imitation of Jesus, 
who showed us how to live 
according to the dream You have for us, O God. 

May we lie down at ease 
at the end of the day, 
secure in our fidelity to your truth, 
and the tenderness with which 
we have tended to each other. 

Lord, gather us into your embrace once more, 
and grant your blessing to those for whom we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 2396

Holy One, we praise You
and bless your Holy Name:
receive our prayers.

We live within a cloud of blessing,
and are sustained by your tender care and mercy:
guide us into sharing that love today
with the oppressed and the outcast among us,
standing alongside them in faith
against the forces of cruelty and contempt.

Inspire us to be like Jesus
that we may be agents on reconciliation,
helping hands of healing and comfort,
and bearers of God's love into the darkness.

By the power of the Holy Spirit
bless and sanctify us to your service, O God,
and pour out your comfort on those for whom we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 2340: In Remembrance of Jesus

Lord Jesus Christ,
we praise and bless
You, knowing your encompassing embrace around us.
Draw us into the joy of the Holy Trinity,
that we may make community and empathy
the heart of our expression of our devotion to You.

You offered yourself to us as a model and a teacher,
and you feed us body and soul
that we may be strengthened and heartened
to do your healing work whereever there is need.

In remembrance of You, O Savior,
let us welcome the refugee and the outcast
as You broke bread with all people.
In remembrance of You, O Savior,
let us denounce hatred and cruelty,
defying tyranny as You did,
and boldly embody the law of mercy and compassion You taught.
In remembrance of You, O Savior,
may we be builders of community,
proclaiming our kinship with the least of all
in the eyes of the world,
knowing that all are beloved in your sight.

Abundant One, Source of All Goodness,
create within us clean hearts and steadfast devotion
to be your people in the world.
Spread the mantle of your mercy
over all who call upon You, O God,
and pour out your blessing on those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 2071: A Prayer for Integrity

Most Merciful God,
set your seal upon our hearts,
that they may be filled with your truth
and animated by your gospel of hope.

Teach us to walk with integrity and honesty,
and strengthen us to defend the defenseless among us,
living into your commandments, O God,
in spirit, word, and deed.

Blessed Savior, place your healing hands upon our lives,
and give us the courage to live into your grace,
carrying your Name into the world
as witnesses to your compassion and justice.

Spirit of the Living God,
draw us into your light,
and gather us into your embrace,
placing your blessing over those for whom we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 2069

Holy One, send forth your light upon us,
and settle a spirit of honor and integrity upon the land,
that we may be led into wisdom and truth today.
Help us turn aside from malice, contempt, and vanity,
that we may devote ourselves to discipleship and reconciliation,
celebrating the dignity and worth of all.
Give us hearts to rejoice
in the beauty of your holiness, O Lord,
our Redeemer and our Guide.
Anoint us with your compassionate spirit, Lord Christ,
that we may put our hearts and hands
to the wheel of peace and justice.
Place your comforting, steadying hand
upon the brow of all who seek you,
especially those we remember before you now.

Amen.