St. Margaret's Sermon Archive
Pentecost 19 - The Rev. Susan N. Blue - 10/7/07
Loving God, forgive my unforgiving heart and all the ways that I have offended others and you, by what I have done or not done, or what I have said or left unsaid. Expand my faith to cover the multitude of sins and trespasses of others as my own, living into your own serving love for the world. AMEN
(Neal D. Presa, Homily Service, 10/8/07, p. 7)
Our first lesson this morning from Lamentations is a song of desolation and sorrow. It was written at the time that the Israelites had been taken into exile in Babylon, the temple had been destroyed, and the outlook was bleak. The letter to Timothy affirms Paul's love for him, but assures Timothy that the future might involve suffering. He urges Timothy to hold onto the faith that he has received through his family and to stay faithful to Jesus.
Our gospel for this morning is from Luke. It was preceded by Jesus' instruction that the disciples were to forgive…perhaps over and over again. When hearing this, the disciples, frightened that they would be unable to do so, asked Jesus to increase their faith. Christ's reply was: "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey you." (Luke 17:5-6) Jesus' response is simply – you have all the faith that you need. Even if it seems tiny like a mustard seed, it has the power to uproot a massive tree or create an infinite capacity for forgiveness. It is not the quantity of faith that matters, but rather its genuineness. In other words, Jesus is saying: "You have been given an abundance of gifts, unqualified love, and a world that can provide all that you need and more. You could never earn it. You are called to live in it, to care for it, and to share it without thought to receive thanks or praise.
When I was a preteen a mustard seed in a glass ball that hung from a gold chain was all the rage. It looked very much like the mustard seeds that we use for seasoning. In Israel, however, I discovered that mustard seeds are infinitesimal…tiny black spots that are barely visible. The mulberry tree in Israel was probably a type of sycamore, one that had deep and tangled roots. Jesus gave this extravagant and outrageous example to support and encourage his followers…assuring them that even small faith will prevail.
There is incredible contrast between the Lamentations reading and that of Luke. It opens a window on what was happening then, what has happened throughout history, and what is happening now. At the end of Charlie Chaplin's last movie, "The Great Dictator," which was released in 1940, it was said:
"I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor. That's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone – if possible – Jew, Gentile black people, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness – not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. But, we have lost the way, greed has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves inn; machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity' more than cleverness , we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities our lives will be violent and all will be lost."
(Copied)
This might have been written during the cold war or during Viet Nam or today. It would be no less true in any age. King George of England responded, quoting poetry, during that dark time:
"…And I said to a man who stood at the gate of the year: 'Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown.' And he replied: 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be better than light and safer than the known way." (Copied)
So, we, too stand at a time of war and destruction. It is hard to find God in the news that we read or hear each day. It is particularly difficult when we are in despair individually or collectively or are in the desert in our spiritual lives. We may wonder how we can forgive, how we can trust in a world of conflict and confusion. Yet, Jesus says to us, as he said to the disciples, trust God, even if your faith is barely there, it is enough if you put your selves into the hand of God.
Oemig has said that the four keys to faith are:
"Ask God daily to renew your gift of faith. Abandon yourself to an established community of faith. Sacrifice in order to love the people you are with. (and) Give back to God not what you think you can afford to give, but what you deeply feel God is calling you to give."
(Synthesis, Proper 22, Year C, 10/7/07, p. 4.)
In other words: pray, stay in community as did the Early Church, love unconditionally, and give back to God with no thought to praise or affirmation. The giving is enough. If this seems impossibly difficult, we might remember what that great preacher , William Sloan Coffin, Jr., has said: "Faith handles the ultimate incongruities of life, humor handles the more immediate ones."
(Copied, Synthesis, ibid.)
Humor is one of the earmarks and great joys of this parish. We can laugh when things are not perfect, we can laugh at ourselves as well as with others. Faith, in the end, must be a natural and genuine feeling. It is not something that we seek but something that is sitting there for the taking. Let us remember the words from Chaplin's movie: "We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness – not by each other's misery….In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone."
(ibid.)
So, let us go from this place, certain that God loves each and every one of us and challenged to share that love with every person we meet. Let us do so with joy and humor, for laughter and love can conquer all. Let us pray in the words of that great theologian, Soren Kierkegaard:
"God in heaven, I thank thee that thou hast not required of (humankind) men that (we) he should comprehend Christianity; for if that were required, I should be of all men most miserable. The more I seek to comprehend, the more incomprehensible it appears to me, and the more I discover merely the possibility of offense. Therefore I thank thee that thou dost only require faith, and I pray thee to increase it more and more."
AMEN (Copied)
(Neal D. Presa, Homily Service, 10/8/07, p. 7)
Our first lesson this morning from Lamentations is a song of desolation and sorrow. It was written at the time that the Israelites had been taken into exile in Babylon, the temple had been destroyed, and the outlook was bleak. The letter to Timothy affirms Paul's love for him, but assures Timothy that the future might involve suffering. He urges Timothy to hold onto the faith that he has received through his family and to stay faithful to Jesus.
Our gospel for this morning is from Luke. It was preceded by Jesus' instruction that the disciples were to forgive…perhaps over and over again. When hearing this, the disciples, frightened that they would be unable to do so, asked Jesus to increase their faith. Christ's reply was: "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey you." (Luke 17:5-6) Jesus' response is simply – you have all the faith that you need. Even if it seems tiny like a mustard seed, it has the power to uproot a massive tree or create an infinite capacity for forgiveness. It is not the quantity of faith that matters, but rather its genuineness. In other words, Jesus is saying: "You have been given an abundance of gifts, unqualified love, and a world that can provide all that you need and more. You could never earn it. You are called to live in it, to care for it, and to share it without thought to receive thanks or praise.
When I was a preteen a mustard seed in a glass ball that hung from a gold chain was all the rage. It looked very much like the mustard seeds that we use for seasoning. In Israel, however, I discovered that mustard seeds are infinitesimal…tiny black spots that are barely visible. The mulberry tree in Israel was probably a type of sycamore, one that had deep and tangled roots. Jesus gave this extravagant and outrageous example to support and encourage his followers…assuring them that even small faith will prevail.
There is incredible contrast between the Lamentations reading and that of Luke. It opens a window on what was happening then, what has happened throughout history, and what is happening now. At the end of Charlie Chaplin's last movie, "The Great Dictator," which was released in 1940, it was said:
"I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor. That's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone – if possible – Jew, Gentile black people, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness – not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. But, we have lost the way, greed has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves inn; machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity' more than cleverness , we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities our lives will be violent and all will be lost."
(Copied)
This might have been written during the cold war or during Viet Nam or today. It would be no less true in any age. King George of England responded, quoting poetry, during that dark time:
"…And I said to a man who stood at the gate of the year: 'Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown.' And he replied: 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be better than light and safer than the known way." (Copied)
So, we, too stand at a time of war and destruction. It is hard to find God in the news that we read or hear each day. It is particularly difficult when we are in despair individually or collectively or are in the desert in our spiritual lives. We may wonder how we can forgive, how we can trust in a world of conflict and confusion. Yet, Jesus says to us, as he said to the disciples, trust God, even if your faith is barely there, it is enough if you put your selves into the hand of God.
Oemig has said that the four keys to faith are:
"Ask God daily to renew your gift of faith. Abandon yourself to an established community of faith. Sacrifice in order to love the people you are with. (and) Give back to God not what you think you can afford to give, but what you deeply feel God is calling you to give."
(Synthesis, Proper 22, Year C, 10/7/07, p. 4.)
In other words: pray, stay in community as did the Early Church, love unconditionally, and give back to God with no thought to praise or affirmation. The giving is enough. If this seems impossibly difficult, we might remember what that great preacher , William Sloan Coffin, Jr., has said: "Faith handles the ultimate incongruities of life, humor handles the more immediate ones."
(Copied, Synthesis, ibid.)
Humor is one of the earmarks and great joys of this parish. We can laugh when things are not perfect, we can laugh at ourselves as well as with others. Faith, in the end, must be a natural and genuine feeling. It is not something that we seek but something that is sitting there for the taking. Let us remember the words from Chaplin's movie: "We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness – not by each other's misery….In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone."
(ibid.)
So, let us go from this place, certain that God loves each and every one of us and challenged to share that love with every person we meet. Let us do so with joy and humor, for laughter and love can conquer all. Let us pray in the words of that great theologian, Soren Kierkegaard:
"God in heaven, I thank thee that thou hast not required of (humankind) men that (we) he should comprehend Christianity; for if that were required, I should be of all men most miserable. The more I seek to comprehend, the more incomprehensible it appears to me, and the more I discover merely the possibility of offense. Therefore I thank thee that thou dost only require faith, and I pray thee to increase it more and more."
AMEN (Copied)