The Rev. Deacon Lisa Kirby

24 February 2019

“Bless the Lord, my soul.

And Bless God’s Holy Name

Bless the Lord my Soul

Who leads me into life.

How do We bless the Lord?

The Way of Love speaks of ‘Bless’ this way: “Share faith and unselfishly give and serve. Freely have you received freely give. Jesus called his disciples to give, forgive, teach and heal in his name.”

Our Gospel reading today says “ Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you, be merciful, forgive and you will be forgiven.”

We are talking less about what the priest does from the altar at the end of the Eucharist than about what happens after the dismissal, so it’s connected to that GO we talked about two weeks ago. It’s about action.

We use the word bless in a lot of situations, not always positively. In this neck of the woods “well, bless her heart” may not be as generous as it sounds.

I’ve read that blessing requires specificity, such as when we voluntarily and intentionally enter another person’s pain.

Let’s look at how Jesus went about blessing. A great deal of his healing and comforting came when he was doing something else and got interrupted. He stopped what he was doing and changed his focus.

If we are open to the call to bless, we must prepare to be willing to be “interrupted”, as Jesus was, not pass it off til a more convenient time.

Remember the line in one form of the Confession where we seek forgiveness for things done and things left undone? When have I failed to be a blessing when the opportunity was right in front of me…when have I turned and walked away because I was too busy, too afraid or felt inadequate?

Our class on dealing with aging and dementia points out that dealing with those who suffer is hard, and for me it might be just too easy to avoid. It’s painful. But Jesus did not avoid pain in order to be the ultimate blessing. It is his excruciating death that exemplifies the lengths he was willing to go to be a blessing. Sometimes I don’t seem to even be able to stop and listen attentively for 3 minutes, but it’s a practice we can develop ‘with God’s help’.

What about our role in that forgiveness aspect? That’s part of blessing. The Lord’s Prayer:

forgive us our trespasses, sins, debts, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

What if God only forgave us to the extent that we forgive others. I know God forgives me

time and time again, but what about my part of the equation? And interestingly, my

unwillingness to forgive, in the long run, tends to hurt me more than anyone else. I nurture

resentments and grudges if I don’t forgive. We say in recovery that resentment is like

drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. Our Gospel says we are called to

forgive, because, thank God, we are forgiven.

Let’s take that a step further. We talk about our blessings, how blessed we are.

What if we were only blessed by God to the extent to which we are a blessing to others?

Our Gospel says, “What credit is it to you if love those who love you?” Or what is the point of

only loving the loveable?

God loved me at my most unlovable when in the throes of my alcoholism I was running

roughshod through the lives of the people I loved.

Can I love the unlovable? How am I at loving, and hence being a blessing, to the unwashed,

the “other”, those with whom I disagree to the depths of my being. Here’s the thing, you will

never look into the eyes of someone who is not loved by God.

To be a blessing, we must look into the eyes of even those who would hate us and look for

the spark of God there. Dorothy Day once said: “I really only love God as much as the person

I love the least.”

That fact is that we are blessed that we might be a blessing to other, in as great a measure as

we can.

At the end of the day can we ask the questions Henri Nouwen asks

“Did I offer peace today?

Did I bring a smile to someone’s face?

Did I say words of healing?

Did I let go of my anger and resentment?

Did I forgive?

Did I love?”

That is the question. What is our answer to be?

The Way of Love: Rest

A sermon by the Rev. H. Paul Canady III

Rector of Christ Church, New Bern, NC, on February 17, 2019

http://lectionarypage.net/YearC_RCL/Epiphany/CEpi6_RCL.html

https://www.episcopalchurch.org/way-of-love  

I think maybe my computer is listening to me. And not in an un-creepy way. Twice this week, I was listening to music from a streaming music service, two different ones, to be precise, and advertisements for sleep aids and mattresses kept popping up. It’s as if Spotify and Google Play heard my conversations about how the hotel was nice and all at Diocesan Convention last weekend, but I still didn’t sleep all that great. Or that someone else hanging out near my office happened to mention that they think they need a new mattress. So in the midst of streaming some “best of the 80s” on Spotify and Latin Jazz on Google Play come these ads… As if they know…

There is plenty of debate about whether or not our phones and tablets and computers are listening to us and targeting the advertising, but advertisers know that Americans are really bad at sleep. There was a big article about this in the Washington Post not too long ago.  And we are really bad at sleep because we are bad at rest.

This is week six of our seven-week series on the Way of Love, practices for a Jesus Centered Life. We have talked about

Turning and choosing each day to follow Jesus

Learning by reflecting daily on Scripture

Praying and dwelling intentionally with God

Worshipping by gathering at least weekly with others who seek to follow Jesus

Last week, Lisa talked about “Go,” that a privilege and honor and responsibility of following Jesus is to carry his message of love into the world. Next Sunday, Lisa will focus on “Bless.” Today’s word is “Rest → Receiving the gift of God’s grace, peace, and restoration.

Our culture thrives on being busy. It’s not something new to humanity or even to American culture, but the problem seems to be getting more pronounced. Ten or fifteen years ago, there were only a million or so things to capture our attention. Now it seems like there’s a billion things! There are far fewer places where you can go without some sort of information blaring in your face. I was really grateful recently when I went to have the some work done on my car and the dealership had on the National Geographic channel. Nerdy, yes. But there were no talking heads rambling on about sports, politics, or celebrity stuff. We live in a world with a 24-hour news cycle, with all the information we could ever want or not want right at our fingertips. And while knowledge is good, wisdom is better.

Our Gospel reading today is known as the Sermon on the Plain. It has much of he same elements of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel, but Luke states pretty clearly that Jesus stood on a level place instead of going up a mountain. The wisdom Jesus offers, like much of what Jesus offers, is counter-cultural to his time and to ours. “Blessed are you who are poor.” Blessed are you who are hungry. Blessed are you who weep. Blessed are you who don’t fit the mold of what our culture says is successful and healthy and good. And woe to the rich. Woe to those who are full now. Who to those who laugh now. Woe to those who think they’ve got it good because news flash… You soon won’t.

The message of Jesus so often turns us on our heads, calls us to look at life from a different perspective. Our cultural message may be to stay busy, stay engaged, stay informed, keep doing all. The. things.    But it is really hard to receive the gifts of God’s peace and restoration if we don’t take the time to rest and recharge.

One of my favorite quotes from any book comes from The Gift of the Jews by Thomas Cahill. “Besides the innovation of speaking the unspoken moral law aloud,” Cahill writes, “one should note the lesser - but hardly unimportant - innovation of the weekend, which got its start in the Jewish Sabbath (or ‘Ceasing’). No ancient society before the Jews had a day of rest. The God who made the universe and rested bids us to do the same, calling us to a weekly restoration of prayer, study, and recreation (or re-creation” (144).

God’s commanded to take one day of the week and rest is important enough to God for God to explain it more than the others when giving the Law from Mt. Sinai. It is the second-longest of the Commandments, only about 3 words less than the one to not have any false idols. (How’s that for a message to a people who love being “busy”?) The command, too, that servants and beasts of burden be given rest is not only a reminder to the newly freed slaves from Egypt of their worth, but of the worth of all creation and the importance of taking a break.

Nearly all of humanity, especially in the Developed World, suffers from the plague of “busy.” It’s not a badge of honor or a father in our cap. Nor is it the result of one thing in our world. We cannot put the blame at the feet of youth sports or consumerism or Baby Boomers or the Millennial Generation. It is an illness seeking a remedy. And if we spend our time worrying about what caused it, we will be too distracted from finding that remedy.

And what exactly is the remedy to this culture of busy? This culture of always being plugged in, always “in the loop”? It can be as simple as a one-word sentence: No. Committing to not taking on another commitment unless you give something up or it has reached its end. It could be as introspective as taking time to be in deep prayer, both the talking kind and the listening kind about all the things in your life, your commitments, where you get your information, who you spend time with… I’m not worried about whether they bring you joy, but do they help you receive God’s gift of grace and peace and restoration? It could also be as bold as marking off one whole day or even a half a day or maybe you start with an hour and build from there, but commit to ceasing what you are doing and just BE in the presence of the Almighty.

It’s not easy, and I know first hand. As I prayed and pondered and even wrestled with God about preaching on the word “Rest,” I kept thinking and saying, “I am sooooo unqualified to preach on this.” And God reminded me of the Nadia Bolz-Weber quote that Lisa used last week: “Never once did Jesus scan the room for the best examples of holy living and send that person out to tell others about him. He always sent the stumblers and the sinners.”

So, as one among the self-proclaimed worst at resting and being in God’s presence, I am standing before you to tell you that I am going to do better. As Master Yoda says in Empire Strikes Back,  “Do or do not. There is no try.” Let’s all take a look at those things in our lives that distract us, that keep us unfocused, that draws us away from God and from the REST God calls us to take. This is our chance to carry on that counter-cultural message of Jesus, our chance to unplug, unwind, disengage from those things that take away our connection to the divine.  Let’s ask God to help us let go of those things and to embrace a sense of be-ing instead of the sense of do-ing. And with God’s help, may we all find rest to receive the gift of God’s peace and restoration.

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We are currently in the midst of a preaching series on the “Way of Love”. The “Way of Love” was introduced at General Convention in 2018 and is a way for us to prepare ourselves for the evangelism work we are called to as the Episcopal Branch of the Jesus Movement. We have heard from Paul about how we Turn and choose to follow Jesus every day and we have heard from Cortney about how we daily learn about Jesus’ life and teachings and reflect on Scripture. Today, I have the pleasure of talking to you about worship and what that looks like.

I want you to think about the word “worship”. What images come to mind when you think of worship? Is it this space on Sunday mornings? Is it the parish you grew up in? Maybe, it’s not even an image of a church building...

In September of 2016, The Episcopal Church released a video. Some of you may have seen it on Facebook. It was all over the place and currently has over 177 thousand views. I know that I personally shared it. It shows our wonderful Presiding Bishop walking the streets of New York City. He is speaking about the Jesus Movement, but he gives us this wonderful visual of the church in worship. Before the Gospel is read, we stand and sing. As the Gospel is processed down the center of the aisle and as it passes our pew, we turn and orient ourselves to hear the word. We hear the Gospel read from the center of our parish. It is such a beautiful visual of our worship and something we all see every Sunday. We experience it.

In our Gospel reading from Luke, we hear of Jesus returning to Nazareth where he had been brought up and going to the synagogue on the Sabbath...AS WAS HIS CUSTOM. For us, that is our custom on Sunday mornings, or maybe on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. To gather in intentional community.

When we look at the Episcopal Church’s description of Worship in the context of “The Way of Love”, it says that we are to gather in community weekly to thank, praise and dwell with God. That “community” part is so essential to being able to live out “The Way of Love” fully.

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians that we hear today, it talks about the body of Christ. “Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ...Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” We are the body of Christ. We are each members of the body of Christ and each one of us has different gifts. We have Greeters, Eucharistic Ministers, Ushers, Acolytes, Lectors, Eucharistic Visitors, Altar Guild, Choirs...and that is only a few of the people that are involved in a Sunday Morning service. Each of these ministries requires different gifts and they combine with the varied gifts of all of us sitting in the pews and listening, to make our worship what it is. Yes. You did hear me correctly. Whether you are directly involved in the worship or not, it takes all of us to make the body of Christ. Have You ever been in church and wondered where someone was or why they weren’t there? When we are missing someone from our community, it is felt.

I had the pleasure of attending the annual Forma Conference this past week. It is something that I look forward to every year. I was surrounded by fellow Christian Educators learning more about what we could do to further the Kingdom of God. They are long days at that conference going to workshops and listening to speakers and visiting with friends I haven’t seen since last year. Every time I leave that conference, I come back with a renewed energy and a reminder that I am not doing this work alone. That is the exact same feeling we have when we come together at Christ Church on a Sunday morning, when we hear the readings and sermon, receive Communion, and leave this place. We feel supported by one another, loved, and ready to be that Episcopal Branch of the the Jesus Movement. That is why worship is an important part of The Way of Love. We shouldn’t do this work alone and we are should not be expected to.

Last Sunday, I got to hide in the balcony during the Eucharist at the 11 am service. One thing that stood out to me, and I will not lie, made me a little emotional, was watching everyone receive Communion from that point of view. There is something beautiful about that view and seeing everyone as equal beloved children of God and hearing Paul and Cortney repeat to each person, “The Body of Christ...The Bread of Heaven.” Our weekly reminder that we are the Body of Christ and despite our differences and what our different gifts are, we are all called together to do the work of furthering the kingdom of God. We don’t have to do this work alone. Whatever our different gifts are, we have to encourage those in one another and support one another in our mutual work. As we leave this space today to go out into the world, to be the Body of Christ, I encourage you all to lift up and support the gifts of those you encounter.

We are currently in the midst of a preaching series on the “Way of Love”. The “Way of Love” was introduced at General Convention in 2018 and is a way for us to prepare ourselves for the evangelism work we are called to as the Episcopal Branch of the Jesus Movement. We have heard from Paul about how we Turn and choose to follow Jesus every day and we have heard from Cortney about how we daily learn about Jesus’ life and teachings and reflect on Scripture. Today, I have the pleasure of talking to you about worship and what that looks like.

I want you to think about the word “worship”. What images come to mind when you think of worship? Is it this space on Sunday mornings? Is it the parish you grew up in? Maybe, it’s not even an image of a church building...

In September of 2016, The Episcopal Church released a video. Some of you may have seen it on Facebook. It was all over the place and currently has over 177 thousand views. I know that I personally shared it. It shows our wonderful Presiding Bishop walking the streets of New York City. He is speaking about the Jesus Movement, but he gives us this wonderful visual of the church in worship. Before the Gospel is read, we stand and sing. As the Gospel is processed down the center of the aisle and as it passes our pew, we turn and orient ourselves to hear the word. We hear the Gospel read from the center of our parish. It is such a beautiful visual of our worship and something we all see every Sunday. We experience it.

In our Gospel reading from Luke, we hear of Jesus returning to Nazareth where he had been brought up and going to the synagogue on the Sabbath...AS WAS HIS CUSTOM. For us, that is our custom on Sunday mornings, or maybe on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. To gather in intentional community.

When we look at the Episcopal Church’s description of Worship in the context of “The Way of Love”, it says that we are to gather in community weekly to thank, praise and dwell with God. That “community” part is so essential to being able to live out “The Way of Love” fully.

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians that we hear today, it talks about the body of Christ. “Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ...Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” We are the body of Christ. We are each members of the body of Christ and each one of us has different gifts. We have Greeters, Eucharistic Ministers, Ushers, Acolytes, Lectors, Eucharistic Visitors, Altar Guild, Choirs...and that is only a few of the people that are involved in a Sunday Morning service. Each of these ministries requires different gifts and they combine with the varied gifts of all of us sitting in the pews and listening, to make our worship what it is. Yes. You did hear me correctly. Whether you are directly involved in the worship or not, it takes all of us to make the body of Christ. Have You ever been in church and wondered where someone was or why they weren’t there? When we are missing someone from our community, it is felt.

I had the pleasure of attending the annual Forma Conference this past week. It is something that I look forward to every year. I was surrounded by fellow Christian Educators learning more about what we could do to further the Kingdom of God. They are long days at that conference going to workshops and listening to speakers and visiting with friends I haven’t seen since last year. Every time I leave that conference, I come back with a renewed energy and a reminder that I am not doing this work alone. That is the exact same feeling we have when we come together at Christ Church on a Sunday morning, when we hear the readings and sermon, receive Communion, and leave this place. We feel supported by one another, loved, and ready to be that Episcopal Branch of the the Jesus Movement. That is why worship is an important part of The Way of Love. We shouldn’t do this work alone and we are should not be expected to.

Last Sunday, I got to hide in the balcony during the Eucharist at the 11 am service. One thing that stood out to me, and I will not lie, made me a little emotional, was watching everyone receive Communion from that point of view. There is something beautiful about that view and seeing everyone as equal beloved children of God and hearing Paul and Cortney repeat to each person, “The Body of Christ...The Bread of Heaven.” Our weekly reminder that we are the Body of Christ and despite our differences and what our different gifts are, we are all called together to do the work of furthering the kingdom of God. We don’t have to do this work alone. Whatever our different gifts are, we have to encourage those in one another and support one another in our mutual work. As we leave this space today to go out into the world, to be the Body of Christ, I encourage you all to lift up and support the gifts of those you encounter.