RCL Proper 10A [i]
7 June 2026
Saint Helen’s Anglican Church
Vancouver BC
Introduction
Over the past several weeks Jeffrey and I have been following a common path in our preaching – that God entrusts to us, to all of humanity, a role in God’s mission to re-create, to redeem and to renew our world. At times this mystery seems foolish to those who do not share our faith and overwhelming to those who do. But we cannot escape this truth: what we do, as disciples of Christ, matters to God and can achieve ‘more than we can ask or imagine’.
Today’s readings lead us even deeper into this mystery. They beckon us to consider our vocation, our call. Frederick Buechner, the American writer and theologian, once wrote that “Vocation is the place where our deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.” I am bold enough to take this quotation and to re-work it slightly: Often God’s call to us responds to our deepest need as individuals and as communities. [ii]
Leaving Haran behind
Why would Abram pack up all his belongings and leave everyone and everything he knew behind to begin a life-time journey in stages? Because God’s call spoke to Abram’s deepest need – a longing for a legacy. Paul picks up on this need in today’s reading from the Letter to the Romans: “Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become ‘the father of many nations,’ according to what was said, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” [iii]
Some years ago as Archdeacon of Westminster, I had to participate in the difficult task of bringing the ministry of the Parish of Saint Catherine’s in Port Coquitlam to an end. As you can imagine, there were strong emotions and, to be honest, strong disagreements. But the Parish had the good fortune to be working with their Regional Dean, Eric Mason, the then Rector of Saint Laurence’s in Coquitlam. Eric asked a simple question, ‘What legacy do you wish to leave?’ Because Saint Catherine’s had a long-standing and strong commitment to pastoral care, they rallied behind this question and left a large endowment to support hospital and care-home chaplaincy in the Diocese and especially in the Fraser Health Authority. And their legacy endures.
Leaving profit behind
Why did Matthew heed Jesus’ call to leave a profitable if unpopular occupation behind him and to venture a life of wandering from town to town? Because Jesus spoke to Matthew’s deepest need – acceptance.
Perhaps you remember the comedy series, Cheers, that centres around the patrons of a bar in Boston. Some of the patrons are of dubious character, others endearing, still others eliciting deep sympathy. But the theme song of the series expressed what all of them were seeking:
Making your way in the world today
Takes everything you've got
Taking a break from all your worries
Sure would help a lot
Wouldn't you like to get away?
Sometimes you wanna go
Where everybody knows your name
And they're always glad you came
You wanna be where you can see (Ah)
Our troubles are all the same (Ah)
You wanna be where everybody knows your name. [iv]
Jesus accepts Matthew just as he is. Jesus dines out with those folk whom the ‘right’ people avoid like the plague. But Jesus knows their names. It is his acceptance of who they are that is the catalyst for them becoming who they are called to be. All of us need to have a place where we are known and accepted and given a vision of what can be.
Leaving propriety behind
Why did the leader come to Jesus and to risk his reputation to seek the aid of an itinerant Jewish rabbi often at odds with the establishment? As we know from earlier verses in today’s gospel, reaching out to Jesus is not exactly career-boosting or socially acceptable. But Jesus spoke to the leader’s deepest need – hope and healing.
Why did the woman suffering such a life-changing ailment reach out to Jesus and risk rejection for crossing all boundaries of proper behaviour between Jewish women and men? Just as the leader was taking a risk, so was this woman. Nothing generates hostility faster than breaking a cultural taboo. But in Jesus she saw the answer to her deepest need – hope and healing.
Our deepest need
As I look at the Church in this third decade of the twenty-first century, I see a community that longs for hope, for healing, for legacy.
Hope is grounded in a vision of what can be even given all the obstacles we believe we are facing.
Healing cannot be achieved without hope. Even as we acknowledge our woundedness, hope empowers us to discern the path towards wholeness (sōtēria).
Hope-filled and healing communities have the potential to to entrust to succeeding generations a legacy of help, hope and home.
When the new food pantry was installed in the parking lot, the organizers asked if I would share a few thoughts about why, in an affluent neighbourhood such as West Point Grey, a food pantry was appropriate. ‘Because,’ I said, ‘behind many of these doors are hungry people – seniors, students, families stretched beyond their means – they need a sign that we see them and we are a place of help, of hope and of home.’
Faith is not passive.
There is a tradition in Judaism known as midrash, a method of interpreting biblical texts that bridge the gap between the literal text of the scriptural texts and the questions of later generations. One midrash tells the story of Nachshon, a young leader of the tribe of Judah. When the people of Israel arrived at the Red Sea as they sought to escape the army of Pharaoh, Nachshon walked into the sea until the waters reached his nose. Only then did the waters part and allow the Israelites to cross safely to the other side.
This story reminds us of a simple truth: Faith in God’s promises is not passive. We are always called upon to act in anticipation that God will fulfill the promise made to us – perhaps to our ancestors in the faith, perhaps to those who will come after us.
Abram did not wait for the fulfillment of the promise. He packed up and made his way towards Canaan and a future he would not see fully realized.
Matthew packed up, left his business behind and followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem and beyond.
The leader and the woman took the risk of social disapproval in the hope of healing and restoration.
Hope, help and home are among the deepest needs of every human being. They are the legacy we have received. They are the gifts we offer. They are the legacy we strive to leave.
[i] Genesis 12.1-9; Psalm 33.1-12; Romans 4.13-25; Matthew 9.9-13, 18-26 (semi-continuous Hebrew Scripture readings).
[ii] Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking (1973) at https://www.frederickbuechner.com/quote-of-the-day/2022/11/14/vocation.
[iii] Romans 4.18 (New Revised Standard Version updated edition).
[iv] https://genius.com/Gary-portnoy-where-everybody-knows-your-name-cheers-theme-lyrics accessed on 6 June 2026.
No comments:
Post a Comment