See Who We Are. Become What We See.

See Who You Are.  Become What You See.

The 4^th Sunday after Pentecost

28 June 2020

 

RCL Proper 13A

Genesis 22.1-14; Psalm 13; Romans 6.12-23; Matthew 10.40-42

 

Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral

New Westminster BC

 

How can we sing the Lord’s song upon an alien soil?

            The COVID-19 pandemic has stirred up a controversy among the ranks of those folk who plan, who lead and who ponder the experience of public worship.  This controversy swirls around a simple question:  ‘Should we celebrate the eucharist when so many of our people are unable to participate in person?’.

            It’s a fair question.  Even if our ritual traditions have wrapped the sharing of bread and wine in many layers, the eucharist is, after all, a meal.  If, when we are live-streaming the eucharist because we cannot celebrate it in a larger public gathering, only a small number of people are present and only the priest and a server or deacon receives, then are we keeping faith with Jesus who told all of us to eat this bread and drink this cup?

            I feel this tension most keenly when I point to the consecrated bread and wine on the holy table and then say to those who are present and those who are participating on-line, ‘The gifts of God for the people of God.’  I then consume some of the consecrated bread and all the consecrated wine and Carole consumes the bread that remains.  Somehow I feel that the words and the actions are disconnected.  But I’ll come back to this in a moment.

 

Receiving our marching orders

            Chapter 10 of the Gospel according to Matthew is devoted to Jesus’ instructions, exhortations and warnings to the twelve apostles.  Today we hear his final words before they push off in a new direction, as Jesus travels the highways and byways of Palestine, always working his way towards Jerusalem.  In these three short verses we hear not only their marching orders but ours as disciples of Jesus.

 

1)  We are to be prophets.

            Contrary to popular belief and usage, biblical prophets do not predict the future.  They are people led by God’s Spirit to speak God’s truth to a given people at a given time and place.  Prophets point to what God is doing in the events of their times and ours.  In many ways the prophet’s role is to take the blinders away from our eyes so that we can see more clearly how God is at work in our world whether on-stage or off.

            All disciples of Jesus are to be prophets.  We’re baptized into the same prophetic role as the first apostolic generation was empowered by their experience of Jesus’s life, teaching and resurrection.  We speak of God’s justice, the clear arc of God’s history working towards justice, in a world where injustice is not only widespread and systemic but serves the interests of the few at the expense of the many.

 

2)  We are to be righteous.

            Do not forget that there is a big difference between being self-righteous and being righteous.  Self-righteous folk are convinced that they are always right and that others need to be compelled to follow the same path as theirs.  Self-righteous folk rarely engage in conversations; they prefer monologues filled with moral advice and little self-examination.

            The righteous person tends to seek a conversation with others, especially those whom they may not understand or whose way of life is different from their own.  The righteous are interested in having right relationships:  with God, with others and with self.  The righteous seek to be faithful to their baptismal covenant by

·      resisting evil and, when they fall into sin, repenting and returning to the Lord; 

·      seeking and serving Christ in all persons, loving neighbours as oneself;

·      striving for justice and peace by respecting the dignity of every human person, and

·      safeguarding the integrity of God’s creation.

At the end of the day, the righteous are always just a little bit surprised to learn that others think of them as righteous.  They tend to point to others rather than to themselves.  They understand it’s a lifetime process not something achieved in a moment.

 

3)  We are to be grateful.

            Genuine gratitude is ultimately rooted in a humility that recognizes that all that we are and all that we have is a gift from God.  We are never self-sufficient.  We are always dependant upon the kindness of strangers.  A cup of cold water in the hand of a stranger when we are thirsty is a gift from the hand of God.

            

See who we are.  Become what we see.

            When the priest or bishop presiding at the eucharist says, ‘The gifts of God for the people of God,’ they are speaking words which have an ancient pedigree.  Augustine of Hippo, the fifth-century North African bishop and theologian, is said to have invited his congregation to come forward to receive communion with these words, ‘The gifts of God for the people of God.  See who you are.  Become what you see.’

            What God desires for us in that we become who we truly are, but this is a process not a one-time event.  To be made in the image of God is God’s gift to us, but to grow into the likeness of God is a life-long journey towards spiritual maturity.  Our pilgrimage towards such maturity is strewn with moments of achievement punctuated with obstacles and doubts.  This pandemic is just such a time where obstacles and doubts may cast shadows on our path.

            We all know the old saying that ‘seeing is believing’.  Whether we are physically or digitally present, when we see the gifts of God, we take a step towards becoming what we see.  We see what we love:  the gathered community, the beauty of this space where so many of our memories have been formed, the self-offering of God embodied in the bread and wine.  Seeing these gifts stirs up our belief, a word whose roots, I remind you, mean ‘to consider beloved’.

            Even as we wait to resume sharing the bread of heaven and the cup of salvation, we can see who we are --- the beloved of God being reminded that we are beloved by God.  Even as we wait to sing God’s praise with our own voices and to greet each other with the sign of peace, we can become what we see --- grateful and righteous prophets of a generous and just Creator of the universe.

            For we are the gifts of God for the whole human family.  See who we are.  Become what we see.

15 March 2014: Deacons' Retreat for the Dioceses of Olympia and New Westminster

Dear Friends,

This Sunday I shall be enjoying a Sunday off from preaching.  Instead, I am at Camp Huston (Gold Bar, WA) for the Deacons' Retreat for the Dioceses of Olympia and New Westminster.  I was privileged to give three talks.  Click on the title to hear the talks as they were given today.

Mission as Leitourgia

Church as Ekklesia

Ministry as Episkope, Koinonia and Diakonia

Click on the titles below to receive a PDF of my notes and the PowerPoint presentation used during the actual talks.

PDF of 'Mission, Church and Ministry'

PowerPoint of 'Mission, Church and Ministry'

On Monday I'll be posting our order of service for Sunday the 23rd and, I hope, a link to an audio recording of Sunday's sermon by the Rev'd Chris Dierkes.

Next Saturday look for my reflections on Psalm 95.

Blessings to you all,

Richard+

What Is Baptism For?

RCL Baptism of Christ

12 January 2014

Saint Faith’s Anglican Church

Vancouver BC

‘What Is Baptism For?’

Click here for an audio recording of the Sermon as preached at the 10.00 a.m. Eucharist on Sunday the 12th.

            When I was in the early stages of my doctoral studies, I was required to participate in a seminar on ‘Early Christian Liturgy’.  This course explored the development of Christian worship from the second century of the common era to the sixth century.  One of the prayers that has remained embedded in my heart and mind is a prayer attributed to Pope Leo the Great who born around the year 400 and died in 461 after more than twenty years as Bishop of Rome.

            Leo’s times were not easy ones for the Roman empire in western Europe.  Britain, once a province of Rome, had been abandoned to its own fate with the withdrawal of Roman legions from the island.  What we now know as Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Switzerland were coming under the control of local tribes and peoples, some of whom had drunk deeply at the well of Roman civilization.  Fiercely independent tribes were pushing against the eastern borders of the empire.  It was not, as we say, the ‘best of times’ to be a Roman.

            On top of the geo-political troubles of the empire in western Europe, the Christian church, both in the east and in the west, was in the midst of what we now call ‘the Christological controversies’.  These controversies all centred around how Christians answered the following question:  'What is the relationship between Jesus of Nazareth and the God of Israel?'  I won’t go into detail right now; after all, this is a sermon not a lecture on early Christian doctrine!  Leo, as Bishop of Rome, was thrown into this swirl of conflict.

            The prayer attributed to Leo is now used at Christmas time and, in some traditions, it is recited when the celebrant of the eucharist pours water to mix with the wine in the chalice before the prayer of thanksgiving at the table.  Here’s what Leo wrote:

Almighty God,

who most wonderfully did create

and yet more wonderfully did restore

the dignity of human nature:

Grant that we might share the divine life

of the one who humbly shared our humanity,

Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

In fifty-five words (in English) Leo summarized the whole Christian story:  creation by a loving God, redemption by a humble Saviour and the hope of glory through the work of the Holy Spirit.  We could print these words on a 3 x 5 card and put them in our wallets and purses to pull out and read whenever we forget who we are and who we are called to become.

            When we celebrate the baptism of Christ by John in the Jordan, we celebrate both God’s solidarity with humanity and our solidarity with God.  In his baptism Christ chooses to identify himself with a humanity in need of repentance, conversion and reconciliation.  In our baptism we choose to identify ourselves with the God who calls all of humanity to repent of our selfish ways, to change our perspective on the meaning of life and to become humble agents of God’s justice and compassion.

            To be baptized is to participate in Christ’s death and resurrection. [1]  When we enter the waters of baptism, we die to the old ways of self-centredness and identify ourselves with the One who came to serve not to be served.  We are raised to a new life, not just the promise of a future life, but a life lived in this world without fear and full of hope.

            To be baptized is acknowledge that we all fall short of the glory of God. [2]  In our baptismal covenant we promise that we will persevere in resisting evil and, whenever we fall into sin, that we will repent and return to the Lord. [3]  Believe it or not, these words are ‘good news’.  We live in a world where individuals and peoples hold on to old wrongs, both committed and endured, unable to believe that it is possible to lay them aside and find a new life together.

            To be baptized is to receive the gift of God’s Spirit. [4]  The first and most tangible gift of the Spirit is the knowledge that we are children of God not orphans abandoned to a cruel fate.  The second gift is a new perspective on the world:  the world is no longer a sign of God’s absence but rather ‘(the) heavens declare the glory of God and (the earth) shows (God’s) handiwork’. [5]

            To be baptized is to become a member of the Body of Christ, the living community of men, women and children who throughout the ages have born witness to God’s justice and compassion. [6]  In a world in which many people live in isolation, even in cities, the baptized form an ‘inside out’ community that reaches out to those who are lonely and fearful.  We become both the voice of those whose voices are ignored and the arms of God embracing the whole creation. [7]

            To be baptized is to become a sign of God’s promised reign of justice and peace. [8]  As I said in last week’s sermon, God’s plan depends upon our witness to what God has done in and through Jesus of Nazareth.  This is why Anglican and Roman Catholics will gather two Sundays from today for the first of a series of gatherings intended to help us discover ways of making God’s love visible despite our differences in theology and practice.

            Too often Christians have wasted their energies debating whether we baptize infants or adults, whether we pour water or immerse, whether confirmation is necessary or not.  On this day we set aside all those debates and celebrate what baptism is for:  In baptism we declare our solidarity with God’s mission begun in creation, renewed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth and continued through the work of the Spirit who leads us to raise up things that have been cast down, to make new things that have grown old and to bring to perfection all things through Christ. [9]

            One of my historical theological mentors once entered a baptismal fray in his century when the Church of England was divided over the meaning of baptism. [10]  He quoted a German phrase:  Werde was du bist ---  Become who you are.  In baptism we recover our right minds, the mind of Christ, so that we might share in the divine life in order that all of humanity will know that God is for us not against us.

            This is the vision that strengthened Leo during the troubles of the fifth century.  This is the vision that strengthened Martin Luther in the sixteenth century who, when struggling, was heard to say:  ‘I am baptized.’  This is the vision that strengthens us as we face the challenges of our times.  May we, who have passed through the waters of baptism, be found in the company of the One who passed through the waters of Jordan to be at our side.  Amen.

---

[1] Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (1983), paragraph 3.

[2] Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (1983), paragraph 4.

[3] The Book of Alternative Services (1985), 159.

[4] Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (1983), paragraph 5.

[5] Psalm 19.1 in The Book of Alternative Services, alt.

[6] Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (1983), paragraph 6.

[7] cf. Thomas Schattauer, Inside Out:  Worship in an Age of Mission (Fortress Press, 1999).

[8] Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (1983), paragraph 7.

[9] The Book of Alternative Services (1985), 328-329, 634, 644, 653.

[10] Frederick Denison Maurice (1805-1872).

An Order for the Eucharist on the Feast of the Baptism of Christ (12 January 2014)

Baptism of Christ

12 January 2013

The Gathering of the Community

Gathering Music

Opening Hymn

‘Here in This Place, New Light Is Streaming’  Common Praise #465

Greeting

Blessed are you, Son of David;

you received gifts from the magi.

Blessed are you, Son of Man;

baptized by John,

you saved us from ourselves.

Blessed are you, Servant Lord;

teaching and preaching, healing and comforting,

you proclaimed God’s reign of justice and peace.

Let heaven and earth shout their praise.

With all the voices of heaven

we celebrate the coming of our Saviour.

Let heaven and earth shout their praise.

With all the creatures on earth

we sing and dance at Christ’s coming.

Praise and honour and glory to you, O Beloved of God.

Hymn of Praise

Gloria in Excelsis by Rupert Lang

Collect of the Day

Let us pray.

God of glory,

immerse us in your grace,

mark us with your image,

and raise us to live our baptismal promises,

so that, empowered by the Holy Spirit,

we may follow the example of Christ your beloved

in whose name we pray.  Amen. [i]

The Proclamation of the Word of God

The First Reading

A Reading from the Prophet Isaiah (42.1-9).

         Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.  He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.  He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching.

         Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it:  I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.  I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols.  See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.

Thanks be to God.

The Psalm

Psalm 29 with the refrain from Songs for the Holy One

Refrain (sung twice):  Worship the Creator in the beauty of holiness.

¹ Ascribe to the Lord, you gods, *

         ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

² Ascribe to the Lord the glory due the name of God; *

         worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

Refrain:  Worship the Creator in the beauty of holiness.

³ The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;

the God of glory thunders; *

         the Lord is upon the mighty waters.

⁴ The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice; *

         the voice of the Lord is a voice of splendour.

⁵ The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees; *

         the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon,

⁶ making Lebanon skip like a calf, *

         and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.

⁷ The voice of the Lord *

splits the flames of fire;

⁸ the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; *

         the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

⁹ The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe *

         and strips the forests bare.

And in the temple of the Lord *

         all are crying, “Glory!”

Refrain:  Worship the Creator in the beauty of holiness.

¹⁰ The Lord sits enthroned above the flood; *

         the Lord sits enthroned as sovereign for evermore.

¹¹ The Lord shall give strength to this people; *

         the Lord shall give this people the blessing of peace.

Refrain:  Worship the Creator in the beauty of holiness.

The Second Reading

A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles (10.34-43).

Peter began to speak to them:  “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.  You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ — he is Lord of all.  That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced:  how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.  We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem.  They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.  He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead.  All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.

Thanks be to God.

Gradual Hymn

‘Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song’  Common Praise #635

The Gospel

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew (3.13-17).

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

         Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.  John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”  But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.”  Then [John] consented.  And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

The Gospel of Christ.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

The Sermon

The Baptismal Covenant

The Presider and the Deacon share in asking the questions of the Covenant.

Do you believe in God the Father?

I believe in God,

the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?

I believe in Jesus Christ,

God’s only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified and was buried;

he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

he ascended into heaven,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?

I believe in God the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.  Amen.

Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?

I will, with God’s help.

Will you persevere in resisting evil and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?

I will, with God’s help.

Will you proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ?

I will, with God’s help.

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbour as yourself?

I will, with God’s help.

Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

I will, with God’s help.

Will you strive to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation, and respect, sustain and renew the life of the Earth?

I will, with God’s help.

The Prayers of the Community

Intercessions, Petitions and Thanksgivings

The Exchange of the Peace

May the peace of Christ be always with you.

And also with you.

The Holy Communion

The Offertory Hymn

‘O Worship the King’  Common Praise #380 vv. 1, 4, 5, 6

The Prayer over the Gifts

The Deacon leads the Community in the Prayer over the Gifts.

Good and loving God,

we rejoice in the birth of Jesus,

who came among the poor

to bring the riches of your grace.

As you have blessed us with your gifts,

let them be a blessing for others.

With the trees of the field,

with all earth and heaven,

we shout for joy at the coming of your Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. [ii]

The Thanksgiving at the Table

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Blessed are you, gracious God,

creator of heaven and earth;

by water and the Holy Spirit

you have made us a holy people

in Jesus Christ our Lord;

you renew that mystery in bread and wine and nourish us,

to show forth your glory in all the world.

Therefore with angels and archangels,

and with all the holy people

who have served you in every age,

we raise our voices to proclaim the glory of your name. [iii]

Holy, holy, holy Lord,

God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest. [iv]

Holy One, the beginning and the end, the giver of life:

Blessed are you for the birth of creation.

Blessed are you in the darkness and in the light.

Blessed are you for your promise to your people.

Blessed are you for the prophets’ hopes and dreams.

Blessed are you for Mary and Joseph’s openness to your will.

Blessed are you for your Son, Jesus, the Word made flesh.

In the night in which he was betrayed,

our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;

broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:

Take and eat; this is my body given for you.

Do this for the remembrance of me.

Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks,

and gave it for all to drink, saying:

This cup is the new covenant in my blood,

shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.

Do this for the remembrance of me.

Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:

Christ has died.

Christ is risen.

Christ will come again.

With this bread and cup we remember

your Word dwelling among us, full of grace and truth.

We remember our new birth in his death and resurrection.

We look with hope for his coming.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Holy God, we long for your Spirit.

Come among us.  Bless this meal.

May your Word take flesh in us.

Awaken your people.  Fill us with your light.

Bring the gift of peace on earth.

Come, Holy Spirit.

All praise and glory are yours, Holy One of Israel,

Word of God incarnate, Power of the Most High,

one God, now and for ever.  Amen. [v]

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Saviour taught us, let us pray,

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial,

and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours,

now and for ever.  Amen. [vi]

The Breaking of the Bread

We break the bread of life,

and that life is the light of the world

God here among us,

light in the midst of us,

bring us to light and life.

The gifts of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

The Communion

Communion Hymn

‘One Bread, One Body’  Common Praise #73

The Sending Forth of the Community

Prayer after Communion

Radiant God,

with our eyes we have seen your salvation,

and in this meal we have feasted on your grace.

May your Word take flesh in us,

so that we may be your holy people,

revealing your glory made known to us

in Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen. [vii]

Glory to God,

whose power, working in us,

can do infinitely more

than we can ask or imagine.

Glory to God from generation to generation,

in the Church and in Christ Jesus,

for ever and ever.  Amen.

Closing Hymn

‘Sing of God Made Manifest’  Common Praise #162

Dismissal

The Deacon sends the Community forth, saying

Go forth in the strength of our baptism

to love and serve the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Concluding Music

---

[i] ‘Trial Use Propers’ (Liturgy Task Force 2013).

[ii] ‘Trial Use Propers’ (Liturgy Task Force 2013).

[iii] ‘Third Preface of the Lord’s Day’, The Book of Alternative Services (1985), 218.

[iv] Lang Carol Mass.

[v] ‘Thanksgiving at the Table III’ in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 110 alt.

[vi] Common Praise #744.

[vii] ‘Trial Use Propers’ (Liturgy Task Force 2013).