St. Margaret's Sermon Archive
LAST EPIPHANY - Susan N. Blue 02/26/06
LAST EPIPHANY
Rev. Susan N. Blue
"…and from the cloud there came a voice, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" Mark 9:7
About this time of year in 1995 the late Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago was in the headlines as he forgave a man who had falsely accused of him of sexually molesting him when he was a youth. The most critical phases of that forgiveness process were the Cardinal's insistence on openness and a full investigation, his sharing publicly his pain and humiliation, and his subsequent initiation of a meeting. At that meeting the man was sincerely repentant and Bernardin forgave him with wholehearted sincerity. This Sunday, the last Sunday before Lent begins, is known in the Orthodox Church as "forgiveness" Sunday. The Cardinal certainly exemplified the epitome of such Christian forgiveness.
In order to understand the Transfiguration we must look at its context. It was preceded by Peter confessing that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. Jesus' response was to predict his death and resurrection and then continued to teach them about the cost of discipleship, that it would involve taking on the cross. After this mountaintop experience, the air cleared, Moses and Elijah disappeared, and the three descended the mountain with Jesus. In the valley, Jesus drove a demon out of a young boy, demonstrating his power over evil. Then, again he predicted his own death.
In the Gospel we heard from Mark the Transfiguration was addressed to the three disciples who would eventually lead the Church. In it God affirmed Peter's assertion that Jesus was the Messiah, "…this is my son…" Further, God spoke directly to the three, not to Jesus; and then challenged them to 'listen' to Jesus, to pattern their lives and ministries after him. (Oemig, Synthesis, 2/26/06)
This Sunday in addition to being a day of forgiveness and the precursor to Lent, is also designated by the Episcopal Church as "World Mission Sunday." Just as the three were to discern and live out their mission, so are we. We are challenged to walk in their footsteps and enter the pattern of the Christian life which forms the heart of mission.
We are called to follow Jesus, not the ways of the world. This will be difficult because the cross will be at the heart of our journey. We will be sustained and strengthened by God's direct presence and love in our own mountaintop moments of deep connection. Then, finally, we must return to the valley having listened to what Jesus said and how he lived to become conduits of God's love - agents of healing, forgiveness and reconciliation in the world.
Like the disciples most of us would much prefer to stay on the mountain in that most intimate time with our Creator. Peter certainly wanted to remain on the mountain when he suggested building booths, symbols of permanency, for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. That was not a choice for Peter and it is not a choice for us. The disciples of Jesus Christ are called to descend the mountain, to leave the ecstasy and embrace the pain and agony of doing ministry to God's beloved, to all of humankind.
Our first step will be one of self-examination, one that is appropriate, yes, demanded by the coming Lenten season. We cannot communicate the love of God if we have not experienced it in our own lives. So we are to examine, confess, reconcile, repent and amend our lives. Then and only then do we dare to be about mission in the year 2006.
I opened the newspaper this week to find 5 Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers as tension builds with the upcoming leadership of Hamas. Land, power and religious fanaticism form the heart of the dilemma in that land. Iraq is on the brink of civil war - the Sunnis and the Shiites killing as a result of cartoons printed some time ago in Denmark. Land, power and religious certainty form the heart of the problem. In this process an incredibly beautiful mosque, built to the glory of God, has been destroyed. In Nigeria a bloodbath between the Muslims and the Christians has begun, sparked by the cartoons, but exposing the profound hatred birthed by religion between these two groups of countrymen. In the United States we are polarized as never before and this polarization is fueled by religious self-righteousness on both sides. In France and in England Anti-Semitism has once again raised its ugly head. In the name of religion the beat of war and violence continues relentlessly.
Each group has built booths of certainty of belief and self-righteousness. Each side in these conflicts is sure that they know the mind of God. We, too, can become mired in the quicksand of being so certain of our own views that we cannot even hear the other. Our Creator God, the one God called by many names by different peoples, is a God of pure and unadulterated love, not a God of vengeance. Jesus Christ, God incarnate, came to earth in humility, generosity and vulnerability not armed with the arrogance of a warrior! Doris Donnelly has said that: "Reconciliation is God's dream for the world. It involves restoring broken relationships, healing our deepest wounds and transforming hearts in the peace of God." ("Weavings." 1990. p. 18 copied)
Our challenge this World Mission Sunday is to listen intentionally to the words and actions of Jesus; to be agents of reconciliation in our personal lives, in this neighborhood, in this city, in this nation and in this world. Jesus called us to love our enemies, to pray for those who hurt us, to turn the other cheek and to care for the poor and the outcast. We are forbidden to kill or to wound the other physically or emotionally. We are called to a radical inclusivity, for our God loves each and every one of us - no exceptions, no acid tests!
It has been said that it is easier to cry vengeance than to pray for our enemy; that sweet revenge tastes better than returning evil with good; and that it is easier to rely on human law than God's law, the law of love! (copied) We are to bear the cross - a challenge that has never been and will never be the easy path! This Lenten season let us walk the path of the Transfiguration. Let us go to the mountaintop for sustenance and hope then descend to the valley of confession, forgiveness and reconciliation in our personal, communal and national lives. May God give us the will and the strength to do so. Amen.
Rev. Susan N. Blue
"…and from the cloud there came a voice, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" Mark 9:7
About this time of year in 1995 the late Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago was in the headlines as he forgave a man who had falsely accused of him of sexually molesting him when he was a youth. The most critical phases of that forgiveness process were the Cardinal's insistence on openness and a full investigation, his sharing publicly his pain and humiliation, and his subsequent initiation of a meeting. At that meeting the man was sincerely repentant and Bernardin forgave him with wholehearted sincerity. This Sunday, the last Sunday before Lent begins, is known in the Orthodox Church as "forgiveness" Sunday. The Cardinal certainly exemplified the epitome of such Christian forgiveness.
In order to understand the Transfiguration we must look at its context. It was preceded by Peter confessing that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. Jesus' response was to predict his death and resurrection and then continued to teach them about the cost of discipleship, that it would involve taking on the cross. After this mountaintop experience, the air cleared, Moses and Elijah disappeared, and the three descended the mountain with Jesus. In the valley, Jesus drove a demon out of a young boy, demonstrating his power over evil. Then, again he predicted his own death.
In the Gospel we heard from Mark the Transfiguration was addressed to the three disciples who would eventually lead the Church. In it God affirmed Peter's assertion that Jesus was the Messiah, "…this is my son…" Further, God spoke directly to the three, not to Jesus; and then challenged them to 'listen' to Jesus, to pattern their lives and ministries after him. (Oemig, Synthesis, 2/26/06)
This Sunday in addition to being a day of forgiveness and the precursor to Lent, is also designated by the Episcopal Church as "World Mission Sunday." Just as the three were to discern and live out their mission, so are we. We are challenged to walk in their footsteps and enter the pattern of the Christian life which forms the heart of mission.
We are called to follow Jesus, not the ways of the world. This will be difficult because the cross will be at the heart of our journey. We will be sustained and strengthened by God's direct presence and love in our own mountaintop moments of deep connection. Then, finally, we must return to the valley having listened to what Jesus said and how he lived to become conduits of God's love - agents of healing, forgiveness and reconciliation in the world.
Like the disciples most of us would much prefer to stay on the mountain in that most intimate time with our Creator. Peter certainly wanted to remain on the mountain when he suggested building booths, symbols of permanency, for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. That was not a choice for Peter and it is not a choice for us. The disciples of Jesus Christ are called to descend the mountain, to leave the ecstasy and embrace the pain and agony of doing ministry to God's beloved, to all of humankind.
Our first step will be one of self-examination, one that is appropriate, yes, demanded by the coming Lenten season. We cannot communicate the love of God if we have not experienced it in our own lives. So we are to examine, confess, reconcile, repent and amend our lives. Then and only then do we dare to be about mission in the year 2006.
I opened the newspaper this week to find 5 Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers as tension builds with the upcoming leadership of Hamas. Land, power and religious fanaticism form the heart of the dilemma in that land. Iraq is on the brink of civil war - the Sunnis and the Shiites killing as a result of cartoons printed some time ago in Denmark. Land, power and religious certainty form the heart of the problem. In this process an incredibly beautiful mosque, built to the glory of God, has been destroyed. In Nigeria a bloodbath between the Muslims and the Christians has begun, sparked by the cartoons, but exposing the profound hatred birthed by religion between these two groups of countrymen. In the United States we are polarized as never before and this polarization is fueled by religious self-righteousness on both sides. In France and in England Anti-Semitism has once again raised its ugly head. In the name of religion the beat of war and violence continues relentlessly.
Each group has built booths of certainty of belief and self-righteousness. Each side in these conflicts is sure that they know the mind of God. We, too, can become mired in the quicksand of being so certain of our own views that we cannot even hear the other. Our Creator God, the one God called by many names by different peoples, is a God of pure and unadulterated love, not a God of vengeance. Jesus Christ, God incarnate, came to earth in humility, generosity and vulnerability not armed with the arrogance of a warrior! Doris Donnelly has said that: "Reconciliation is God's dream for the world. It involves restoring broken relationships, healing our deepest wounds and transforming hearts in the peace of God." ("Weavings." 1990. p. 18 copied)
Our challenge this World Mission Sunday is to listen intentionally to the words and actions of Jesus; to be agents of reconciliation in our personal lives, in this neighborhood, in this city, in this nation and in this world. Jesus called us to love our enemies, to pray for those who hurt us, to turn the other cheek and to care for the poor and the outcast. We are forbidden to kill or to wound the other physically or emotionally. We are called to a radical inclusivity, for our God loves each and every one of us - no exceptions, no acid tests!
It has been said that it is easier to cry vengeance than to pray for our enemy; that sweet revenge tastes better than returning evil with good; and that it is easier to rely on human law than God's law, the law of love! (copied) We are to bear the cross - a challenge that has never been and will never be the easy path! This Lenten season let us walk the path of the Transfiguration. Let us go to the mountaintop for sustenance and hope then descend to the valley of confession, forgiveness and reconciliation in our personal, communal and national lives. May God give us the will and the strength to do so. Amen.