Proper 28 Year C 16
November 13, 2016
Pentecost 26
An interesting gospel lesson for this morning… as we get closer to Advent, we begin to look at themes about end times… Luke’s gospel was written in about 85 A.D, fifteen or so years after the destruction of the temple that we are hearing about in today’s lesson… The words of Jesus in our lesson are meant to help the audience they were written for overcome their grief about the destruction of the temple and help them to move beyond buildings and structures.
I think I have told the story of the church that I was ordained from, but I will tell the short version because it seems important to do so…. Our lovely little church, also St. David’s, where we worshipped, where many were baptized and married from, was burned to the ground by as arsonist… the Sunday after the fire, we worshipped together in the parish hall where we would worship for many years later with our altar on wheels… anyway, a friend of mine sang a song that she wrote for the offertory…. A song about the pain of having a brother who suffered from schizophrenia… a brother who often chose to live on the streets because he was afraid of the systems that were in place to hopefully protect him… As we gathered that day, it was clear to us that church buildings weren’t the reason we came together. We came together as a church community to love and to worship God and to support and care for one another. When our new rector was in place, long before we were able to build a new building, she said over and over again, “We don’t go to church, we are the church”....
The church, as my rector and mentor said, is not about buildings… it’s about people, it’s about coming together as a community to worship and to support each other…
Institutions, like buildings, do not always stand the test of time or of need and desire. I am sure that today there are a variety of thoughts about this week’s election… but here’s the thing; no matter how it turned out, there would be people who would be unhappy, and perhaps even afraid for a variety of reasons. And even the candidate who won is beginning to repeal some of his promises that led to his victory.
I don’t want to talk about candidates or platforms or parties. I don’t care who you voted for and I don’t want to really talk about it. Those of us who voted did so for our own reasons… However… like I said to the group who gathered with me on Tuesday to share Christ’s body and blood together, and to pray together, no matter who we voted for, no matter what political party we claim… it’s all on support of the empire. None of us is innocent of the crimes of the empire. Drones are still going to kill innocent children in Afghanistan… homeless people will still be on the streets… Jesus warns us over and over again that Empire and Kingdom are not the same thing…Even the temple was involved with the Roman empire which is why Jesus kept getting into so much trouble with the religious leaders of his time.
You and I live in the Empire. No way around it. And for good or ill, sometimes we have to depend on the Empire. As the mother of a disabled child, I have to tell you, that is not a pleasant or reassuring thought because the Empire only has one interest… promoting it’s own well being…
You and I don’t go to church; we are the church; we are a community of believers who through the covenant of baptism are called to be bearers of the kingdom for all people. No matter what institutions are in place, much like the physical temple, or my church in San Diego, those structures will never be the answers that the people of God need, and they will never produce the answers that people desperately need. You and I are the feet and hands of Jesus in the world; you and I have taken sacred vows to respect the dignity of every human being… we are the church, not just gathered here in this building, but we are the church acting in the world, in the middle of the empire. Our allegiance is not to a flag; or a political party; or to a country… As great as the United States is, God is not a force for us to manipulate to our use; God bless America means nothing if God is not also blessing Iraq, Somalia, Syria, and Mexico. Being the church, being bearers of the Kingdom means that we are part of something much bigger than the media or any politician would have us believe. And make no mistake beloved; the Empire is not being kind right now to those who are least of these. When we participate in the values of the Empire, the least of these suffer. When we participate in the values of the Empire… we participate in systems of racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia… it is the very nature of Empire.
But we are called to something else. We are called to be disciples of Jesus whose whole ministry was based on love; love of God and love of neighbor… not just the neighbor who looks like us, but especially the neighbor who is afraid… the neighbor who is different… Buildings and institutions will come and go… but love endures, love is forever… and being disciples of the God of love, the God who IS love, means that we act. The love of Jesus isn’t just a thing we feel… it’s a thing we do. Let’s remember that Jesus washed the feet of the disciple who betrayed him… the disciple who placed Empire above Kingdom… because love is difficult. It asks us to go places we might not really want to go. It asks us to go beyond what we think is right, and reach further… and Jesus warns his disciples, including us, that it’s hard and that we might even die as a result of loving another…
We don’t go to church…. We are the church… inside this building and more importantly in the world we engage. People are afraid… they are afraid because of what they see and what they have been told… our response as the church is not to say, “get over it, there’s nothing to be afraid of.” So long as there is an Empire beloved, there will be things to fear, no matter who you are. We must all search our hearts and ask forgiveness for our own participation in the values of the Empire that cause fear and answer those values with love… love that gives everything for God’s children…
This is our time to shine, church. This is our time to show what it means to be a disciple. This is the time for “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It won’t be easy, but it is the work we have promised to do. Leave the institutions behind. They will fall, and they will fail. This day and every day, may we love God… love our neighbors… if we pray and worship and open ourselves to the Spirit within us… we will be given what we need. Rise up church… be bearers of the kingdom… be hope, be light… be the love of God… do not simply go to church… be the church.
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