Tag Archives: Year A

Relying on God’s Mercy (Sermon) September 21, 2014

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Sermon – September 21, 2014

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 20) Track 1

“If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Exodus 16:3

Please be seated.

When you love someone, you sometimes do things completely out of character.  At least that’s what my parents thought the first time I went camping with Fred, who was to become my husband.  Fred loved tent camping, and cooking on stones in a wood fire.  He especially needed occasional weeks of solo backpacking to maintain his sanity.  While I had camped in Girl Scouts, I wasn’t exactly the outdoors type.  A cabin was about as roughing it as I got.

But I was in love, so camping in a tent and cooking on a wood fire were appealing to me at the time.  My parents thought the image of me camping in a tent was very funny.

Camping was also an inexpensive way to take a vacation, so once Fred and I were married, our family camped frequently.  I had grown to like it a lot by then, especially once we added some amenities like a camp stove, lantern, sleeping bag and pad to sleep on.

One summer, through some interesting circumstances involving a drunk driver totaling one of our cars, we had enough money to take a family vacation in the Rockies of Colorado.  Returning to this area had been something Fred was longing for.  The kids and I had never been that far west, but were lured in by the stories Fred would tell of his time living in Aspen.

Vacation time off was at a premium, so we decided to fly to Denver, taking all of our camping gear on the plane.  We rented a van and traveled all over for two weeks.  My experience camping at that point was mostly in well maintained and busy campgrounds.  Fred prepared me for the reality of more primitive camping, where the only water you’d have to drink would be what you brought with you.  And the same for food.  Where you’d bathe in the nearby stream or at least take some water from it to heat up to take a pan bath.  Where there would be no formal bathrooms.  I have to tell you I was a little nervous about this type of wilderness experience.

And the Israelites were not pleased about their wilderness experience.  As we know, this was only the beginning and they’d be there 40 years!  Some of you were part of the Lenten program this year about making changes.  One of the things we talked about was the “J” curve.  Any time you make a change, you enter a “J” curve where the anxiety you experience from the change is greater than the comfort you feel from making the change.  You just want to go back to the way things were.  However, if you work through the “J” curve, things improve and you end up in an entirely new, usually better place, than before you made the change.

That’s what we hear about today in Exodus:  you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.  A descent into the “J” curve.

And God hears their cry and provides manna and meat, so they will not be hungry.  By the way, manna is still collected today in that region and often used in candy.  And the symbol of manna, bread from heaven, is used throughout our liturgy, especially as we receive the bread at communion, “The body of Christ, the bread of heaven.”  Manna…food provided by God in the form of the son, Jesus Christ.

One of the most important outcomes of our wilderness experience, is how it strengthens our reliance upon God.  All we are used to having is stripped away.  The Israelites did not have food and later we see they needed water.  Their entire way of living, even as oppressive and harsh as it was, even though their baby boys were being killed, seemed so much better than being out in the wilderness.  They wanted to go back; that’s how bare the wilderness felt to them.  That’s how out of control the wilderness felt to them.  That’s how scary the wilderness felt to them.

Yet, in the wilderness, they really had no choice, but to trust in God.    All of the things they could provide that comforted them in the past, were of no use now.  They had to totally rely upon God and God’s mercy.

Oh, that is a tough thing, isn’t it?  Letting go of our total control over our lives.  Needing to depend upon God solely.

 

When my father died in January of 2011, I was going through some of his papers.  I found a letter he had written to good friends.  The friends were going through a very difficult time and my father, who loved to write, sat down to share his own experience.

 

He talked about a very difficult period in his and my mother’s lives.  There was a recession and his law practice business was nearly nonexistent.  My mother lost her parttime job.  My father lost his re-election campaign for a local government post.  There was infighting in their church and one of the pastors left and the suggestion for a new pastor was rejected.

 

My mother and father, pillars of faith in my view, nearly lost their faith.  They nearly gave up on each other.

 

But things did get better.  Business picked up and my mother found a new job.  My parents were aware of how fragile life can be.  They were in a new and different place.  What had the wilderness taught them?  My father concluded the letter with these words:

 

What great lessons have I learned?  That despite all of my efforts, ability and good work, I don’t have final control over my economic security.  That despite all of my good intentions, I can’t control the actions of others.  That despite all of the love that Mary and I have for each other, there is no guarantee that we will be able to solve our problems.  That despite all of my faith in God, I will lose heart, fall into despair and become angry every time life deals me a heavy blow.

Some would say that I should have learned all of these things years ago, and perhaps I should have.  But, for whatever reason, I didn’t.  Am I happy about the lessons?  Not particularly – at least not yet.  Maybe I will be someday, but for now I would just as soon not have taken the course. 

 But I wasn’t given the choice and, I suppose, that is the most important lesson. Where hardship and suffering are concerned, life doesn’t give us a choice.  The size of our bank account, our IQ, how regularly we attend Church, how clean a slate we have – none of it matters a damn.  We are all subject to adversity.  When, finally, we are stripped of all of our ego and all of our possessions, we can for the first time begin to understand that the only thing we can rely on is God’s mercy.  What a helluva hard lesson that is for a proud person to learn!

 

When, finally, we are stripped of all of our ego and all of our possessions, we can for the first time begin to understand that the only thing we can rely on is God’s mercy.  What a helluva hard lesson that is for a proud person to learn!

Well, the camping trip to Colorado was amazing.  We camped in places that most people never see.  The stars each night were so beautiful.  We never ran out of water or food or ice for the cooler and I learned how to bathe in a cold mountain stream – by heating up a little water in a pot.  And even though it’s been nearly 30 years ago, I have fond and lasting memories.

 

You see, God doesn’t lead us into the wilderness for a life of despair, hunger and thirst.  God leads us into the wilderness so we know “that the only thing we can rely on is God’s mercy.”  Relying upon God’s mercy refreshes our souls, gives us life, gives us bread from heaven and leads us to the promised land.

 

Amen

Forgive, seriously (Sermon) September 14, 2014

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Sermon – September 14, 2014

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 19) Track 1

Peter came and said to Jesus, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.”  Matthew 18:21-22

 Please be seated.

Well, when we hear this, don’t we just want to respond incredulously, “Seriously, Jesus?”  Aren’t some things just unforgiveable?

Earlier this week, we remembered the events of September 11, 2001, now 13 years ago!  Can it be so long ago?  The images are seared in our memory, aren’t they?  You mean we must forgive such evil?  The writer for our Forward Day by Day wrote, “The terrorists who flew the planes on 9/11 forced us to confront the power of evil and challenged us to find a way to respond with forgiveness.” (Forward Day by Day, Vol. 80, No. 3, pg 44)

Seriously?

Last evening, I made a new Facebook friend.  The profile photo shows a younger version of this man who turned 57 yesterday.  In his profile photo, he looks about 5 or six and seems to be perched on his father’s lap.  The father is looking straight out at us…with piercing eyes, a 60sslicked hairdo, gorgeous suit with pretty, thin blue tie and an almost smile on his face.  The epitome of the good-looking early 60s man.  Six years later, the father was murdered on the streets of Detroit.  The boy was only 11 years old, left fatherless.

But that 11-year old boy wrote a letter to the judge in his father’s murder trial, pleading that the judge not sentence his father’s killer to death.  Having lost his own father, this 11-year old boy did not want any other child to go through the same experience of losing their father.

Seriously?

Some things seem unforgiveable and our faith and followship of Jesus Christ demand forgiveness.  Every Sunday, we say the prayer Jesus taught us to say, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  Often we remember that Jesus hung on a cross, dying a most horrible death of torture, betrayed by his own community, yet asking God to forgive his killers.

But still, we want to live in the “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” where everyone ends up blind and toothless world.

Why does Jesus demand extreme forgiveness and how in the world can we forgive?

Seriously, forgiveness is good for us, spiritually, emotionally and physically, according to the Mayo Clinic’s “Healthy Adult” website. (http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/adult-health/in-depth/forgiveness/art-20047692?pg=1) When we can’t forgive, the wrong done to us overtakes us.  We spend lots of brain space to remember what happened, living it over and over.  We spend plenty of emotional energy hanging on to our anger and bitterness.  Not forgiving means we miss what’s happening in our lives today.  We also cut off new and helpful relationships.

Forgiveness, according to the Mayo Clinic site can bring us the following benefits:

  • Healthier relationships
  • Greater spiritual and psychological well-being
  • Less anxiety, stress and hostility
  • Lower blood pressure
  • Fewer symptoms of depression
  • Lower risk of alcohol and substance abuse

Seriously, forgiveness acknowledges our humanity.  None of us are perfect.  We have all done things to hurt ourselves and to hurt others. We are all in need of forgiveness.  Not forgiving means we live as if we could be perfect and as if we are not human, which is ultimately cruel.  Forgiveness means we live with compassion and humility.  That’s what the 11-year-old boy knew – compassion.

Seriously, forgiveness acknowledges our deep understanding of the heart of God.  Time after time, Jesus told stories about how God searches for us when we are lost; how God rejoices when we are found; how God opens wide God’s arms to embrace us when we return.  In other words, God’s forgiveness of us never ends.  There is nothing we can do to separate us from the love of God, Paul writes.  God’s heart of love is rooted in forgiveness, because forgiveness sets us free, both when we forgive and when we know we are forgiven for what we do.

But how can we forgive?

First of all, forgiveness is not forgetting.  People must still face the consequences of their actions.  And if the one who wronged us has not acknowledged that wrong, nor repented of it, they may not be the best people for us to be around.  Remember, we are clear-eyed and wise.  We can forgive and remember.

Sister Joan Chittister, a Roman Catholic Benedictine nun, has written a book of reflections on forgiveness, God’s Tender Mercy: Reflections on Forgiveness (Twenty-Third Publications).  I found an excerpt online, which I think explains a lot about forgiveness.

“A young woman, the [ancient monastic] story goes, who is heavy with child and terrified of being executed for dishonoring the family name, accuses a revered old monk, who prayed daily at the city gates, of assaulting her and fathering the child. The people confronted the old man with the accusation. But the old man’s only response to the frenzy of the crowd was a laconic, “Is that so?” As he gazed into space and went on fingering his beads, the townspeople became even more infuriated and drove the culprit out of town.

Years later, the woman, exhausted by her guilt and wanting to relieve her burden and make restitution, finally admitted that it was her young lover, not the old monk, who fathered the child. In fear for his life as well as her own, she had lied about the attack. Stricken with compunction, the townspeople rushed to the hermitage in the hills where the old man was still saying his prayers and leading his simple life. “The girl has admitted that you did not assault her,” the people shouted. “What are you going to do about that?” But all the old monk answered was, “Is that so?” and went right on fingering his beads.”  http://oblatesosbbelmont.org/2010/11/19/the-secret-of-forgiveness/

You see, Sister Chittister explains, “The fact is [,] that there is nothing to forgive in life if and when we manage to create an interior life that has more to do with what we are than with what other people do to us. What we are inside ourselves determines how we react to others — no matter what they do.”  When we are grounded in our faith, knowing deeply our humanity, knowing we are loved and forgiven by God, we are not pulled into the whirlwind of reacting to others around us.

Sister Chittister concludes, “Forgiveness is a gift that says two things. First, I am just as weak as everyone else in the human race and I know it. And, second, my inner life is too rich to be destroyed by anything outside of it.”

So forgive 77 times.  Forgive from the heart so that you may have abundant life…so that you may have joy… so that you may have peace…so that you may live in the love of God.

Seriously….

Amen

The Obligation of Love (Sermon) September 7, 2014

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Sermon – September 7, 2014

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 18) Track 1

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.  Romans 13:8

Please be seated.

I don’t know about you, but I have thought a lot about love over the years.  When I was 13, a church youth newspaper printed my thoughts about love.  It was a contest of sorts and I remember receiving a check in the mail for a few dollars.  My favorite popular song at that time was, “Love Can Make You Happy.”

Our popular culture gives us plenty of messages about love, but it’s mostly about romantic love and even distorted love.

In our lessons today, we hear a lot about love…about the love of God.  Paul, in his letter to the Romans, emphasizes our sole obligation to each other – to love one another.  The Greek word used is Agape.  According to one commentary, Agape is actively doing what God prefers.  This is not about how we feel, it is about how we behave…. This is NOT about how we feel, it is about how we BEHAVE.

We are reflections of God’s love for us.  God showed us Agape, in that God came to live among us.  God, through his son, Jesus Christ, died the most horrible death at our hands.  Yet, instead of revenge, God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.  God continued to show love and interest in us, despite our unworthiness and despite our rejection.  Agape is acting in ways that promote another’s good…that promote another’s welfare.

Open your Book of Common Prayer to page 305.  Let’s read the second paragraph on that page:

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

That’s what Agape is.  That’s what Paul says is our Christian obligation.

But make no mistake, this is not romantic love.  This is not conditional love – you do this for me and I’ll do that for you.  This is clear-eyed love.  This is love freely given, even when we reject it.

For example, look at our Exodus passage.  Now, most of us don’t live on farms anymore, so it might be hard to hear the details regarding the slaughter and eating of the lamb.  But even before the Israelites are freed from their oppressors, God is telling them to remember God’s love in action in freeing them from their oppressors.

Throughout this beginning part of Exodus, we continually hear God telling Moses and Aaron to go to Pharaoh and demand that the Israelites be freed.  “Let my people go,” is the cry.  Now God, I believe, loves Pharaoh AND God is realistic about Pharaoh.  God gives Pharaoh so many chances to take the love actions.  Yet, God says in Exodus 7:14, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.”  God gives Pharaoh chance after chance to be loving to the Israelites…to not oppress them.  Yet with each time Pharaoh rejects God’s demand, Pharaoh and the Egyptians face tougher and tougher consequences.

God’s love of Pharaoh isn’t like the sweet love we so often see reflected in our culture.  This is clear-eyed love.  And just like Pharaoh, we get the chance to be guided by God…to be guided by the way God wants us to live  — love in action.  And just like God, we are smart and shrewd, wise and discerning about the reality of ourselves and of our fellow human beings.

We can work for the good of the people involved with ISIS and we are wise to the facts about the violence and evil they perpetuate.  I’m not sure I can exactly articulate how to work for their good, but it is the way we Christians are called to live.  Working for the good – active loving of the other AND knowing they are hard hearted and must face the consequences of that hard heartedness.

This agape love is challenging and hard, because our emotions pull us.  Also, our either/or thinking.  I must either love ISIS or hate ISIS.  But as Christians, we live in a both/and world.

Look at the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32.  “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me,” says the father’s youngest son.  Now, you know the father knew what was going to happen, but the father does as the youngest son asks.  The father doesn’t try to stop the son.  The father doesn’t lecture to the son.  And the father does not rescue the son, either.  The father lets the son leave, lets the son squander his inheritance – all that the father had to give to him.  The son must face the consequences of his actions and his choices.  The son ends up feeding pigs.  We read, “He would have gladly filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.”  (Luke 15:16)

Finally, the youngest son decides that living as a hired hand working for his father would be preferable to the life he is living.  We read, “He came to himself….”  He decides to go to his father, to own up to what he has done.  “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” (Luke 15:18-19)

And we are totally unprepared for his father’s response.  “But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.”  (Luke 15:20)  God gives us guidance and direction and ultimately lets us choose the way we will go.  And God knows that we humans make unwise choices and reject God.  God knows this about us.  God lets us “make our own beds and lie in them” as the saying goes.  Yet, when we want to return…when we come to ourselves…God runs to meet us and embraces us.

That’s the love Paul is speaking about…the love that God wants us to show each other.  The clear-eyed, firmly set in reality kind of love, that works for our own good, despite our own bad behavior.  That works for the good of others, despite their own bad behavior.

And so today in our Gospel, we are given specific instructions about acting in love when another church member sins against us.  We are to go to that person and talk to them directly.  If the person cannot hear us, then we take two to three others with us and talk directly.  If the person still cannot hear us, then we take the issue to the church community.  If the person still does not listen, there are consequences.  The person cannot be part of the community any longer.  Many chances and opportunities are given to the person.  And the person has choices to make, with consequences.  Tough, clear-eyed love.

So, each week, we gather as God’s community.  To the best of our ability, we confess our sins to God.  We pass the peace and greet each other.  We come to the table and eat the meal of love given to us by Jesus our Savior.

“Owe no one anything, except to love one another….” (Romans 13:8)

Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I AM who I AM (sermon) August 31, 2014

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Sermon – August 31, 2014
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY
Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 17) Track 1

God said to Moses, “I AM Who I AM.” Exodus 3:14

Please be seated.

I know you’ve heard me talk about my mother’s parents, who lived in upstate New York.  Fulton was the name of the town.  We’d go there every summer, often one way by bus.  It was a very long ride before Interstate 81 was built.  But I’d be so excited about seeing my grandparents, that I would hardly sleep the night before.

Now in those days, we weren’t allowed to watch TV during the day, unless you were sick.  Oh, maybe Captain Kangaroo in the morning, but that was it.  TV watching began at about 5pm and there were always cartoons on.  At my grandparents’ house, Popeye cartoons came on in the afternoon.  I’m Popeye the Sailor Man, the cartoons would start with a very distinctive song, ending with a Toot!  The song was from the 1930s and includes the lines:

I’m Popeye the Sailor Man.

I’m Popeye the Sailor Man.

I yam what’s I yam,

And that’s all what’s I am.

I’m Popeye the Sailor Man.

Today, we here God tell Moses, I AM who I AM.  I’m not meaning to imply that God is Popeye.  But to look at the simplicity and truth in this statement made to Moses.  Who are you in the burning bush, God?  Who are you, talking to me and asking me to challenge all-powerful Pharoah?  Who are you asking me to lead the Israelites out of bondage?  Who are you speaking the vision of the promised land?  What is your name?  What god are you?

Remember, the beliefs were that there were many gods, so Moses is asking, which one are you?  The people will want to know.  And God simply says, I AM who I AM.  God is who God is, nothing more, nothing less…God is.

This past week, I spent two days in staff training with the rest of the Diocesan staff.  As you know, some of the staff have been in the Diocese and working for the Diocese for 20 years or more.  And some, like me, are very new.  We needed to come together, get to know each other better and work out how we will work together and how we can best serve the Diocese.

Bishop Hahn led much of the first day.  He used the book, Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath.  Mr. Rath and Donald Clifton were tired of hearing about what was wrong with people.  They’d also discovered that “people have several times more potential for growth when they invest energy in developing their strengths instead of correcting their deficiencies.”  (p. i).

Using the Gallup organization’s 40-year study of human strengths, Mr. Rath and Mr. Clifton came up with 34 of the most common strengths people possess.  Strengths Finder includes these.  You get a code in the book, which allows you to go online and take a test, which then gives you your top five strengths.  The book explains each strength, gives some examples, lists ideas for actions you can take to best use this strength, and lists some ideas for how to work with others who have this strength.

Each of us on staff did this online assessment and sent the results to Bishop Hahn.  At the training, we did various things with the information.  One of the things we did in a small group was to figure out who should be part of a team to solve an issue.  We were asked to consider what strengths would be helpful in that scenario and who we’d choose amongst the staff to address that problem.

In many ways, throughout the first day, we were affirming the “I am who I am.”  For just as God is who God is, so we, made in God’s image, are who we are.  We are who we are….

Now, we could use this as an excuse for all sorts of bad behavior, saying, “Well, that’s just the way I am.”  But I don’t think that’s what God wants for us.  I think God wants us to be just who we are…to know who we are.  To bring our best, to bring our God-given strengths into the world.  None of us is God.  None of us has all 34 strengths identified by Mr. Rath and Mr. Clifton as our top five.  We do need each other.

We need each other and our different strengths, our differing strengths, in order to accomplish God’s work.

One of the projects that emerged from the 2-day training is to look at our jobs and see if we are in the right place.  Do our strengths match the tasks we are assigned to do?

And that’s what God is asking us to do.  To look clearly at ourselves.  To know the strengths and talents God has given us.  To align our lives with those strengths and talents, so we can do God’s work.  And so we can also know our limitations and our need for each other.

And so we can be ready to see the burning bush…to stand on holy ground…to hear God speaking to us…to be sent to Pharoah…and to free ourselves and each other.

Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following Jesus (sermon) August 24, 2014

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Sermon – August 24, 2014
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY
Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 16) Track 1

 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Matthew 16:15

Please be seated.

The region of Caesarea Philippi where our Gospel occurs is beautiful.  It’s about 30 miles north of Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee where Jesus and his disciples spent quite a bit of time according to Matthew.  It is about as far north as you can get in modern day Israel.

What is special about this spot are the springs.  The day I was there, the springs rushed out of the ground and were full and clear and cold.  The rushing water was the dominant sound.  These springs form the Jordan River, which feeds the Sea of Galilee, flowing out through the desert to the Dead Sea, which has no exit. The mighty Jordan River where John the Baptist conducted baptisms, including Jesus’ baptism.    The mighty Jordan River, symbol of the crossing from life to death.  It all starts at Caesarea Philippi.

The ruler Philip, son of Herod the Great, built a palace on a cliff above the site. In a secluded spot away from the rushing springs, he built a worship space to the Roman gods, especially Pan.  The cliff face is full of niches where altars would have been to the various gods.

It is here, in the midst of the altars and niches to the Roman gods, that Jesus issues his altar call.  “Who do you say that I am?” he asks.   He’s asking who the disciples will follow.  They are free to return to the gods of the area or the Roman gods.  They have a choice.  Will they follow the Roman gods or will they follow Jesus?

This invitation by Jesus, this altar call, is issued again and again in our scriptures.  Who do you say that I am?  Who will you follow?

As the Israelites are getting ready to cross this Jordan River into the land God promised them, Joshua, guided by God, issues this same choice in Joshua 24:15

‘Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’ Joshua 24:15

 This is the choice we are continually asked to make.  Who do you say that I am?  Whom will you serve?  And we sing with gusto the Asian Indian hymn,

I have decided to follow Jesus
No turning back, no turning back.

But here’s the thing… every day and many times each day, we are asked to make the choice!  Because following Jesus affects every area of our lives.  How do we spend our time each day?  Does it reflect our following of Jesus?  How do we take care of ourselves?  Does it reflect our following of Jesus?  How do we relate to our neighbors?  Does it reflect our following Jesus?  What kind of work do we do?  How do we spend our money?  What do we return to God?  Many times each day, the question comes….Who do you say that I am?  Whom will you follow?

And what does following Jesus entail?

I remember Matthew 25:31-46.  Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, naked, sick or in prison?  And Jesus responds that whenever you see someone in need, you have seen Christ and must respond accordingly.

I remember Jesus’ response to the Pharisees who tried to trip him up in Matthew 22:34-40,

‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’

I remember the simple verse from Micah 6:8:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
   and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
   and to walk humbly with your God?

And we struggle with what it means to follow Jesus.  As you know, people contact me when they are in need and I have a discretionary fund available to give people assistance.  But what is the right amount?  I’ve bought $15 Kroger cards and handed them out to people, but sometimes people need more.

I look at the world…at Ferguson, MO, just the latest place to confirm that racism is alive and well and destroys all of us.  I remember the history of Corbin, the gathering of the African-Americans on the trains to Chicago and the burning of their homes…of the “get out of town by sundown” signs that were up until 1989, and I wonder have we repented of that?  Is there more we need to do to atone for that?

I think of the upcoming pow wow and the land we stand on …land that was taken from the native peoples, who were marched to death to what is now Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears. And given that, what does following Jesus, and obeying God look like in response to that evil act?

I think of the Episcopalians who came in 1906, the railroad company families, who founded St. John’s, who most likely helped the resources of coal and lumber to be taken from the land with little regard for the people who lived on the land.  I think of the resulting, pervasive and stubborn poverty, and I wonder are we doing enough to atone for our legacy?

I have decided to follow Jesus and we come to the foot of the altar.  Yet, how are we doing in loving our neighbor, in responding to those in need, in doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God?

We do our best…we try to do better… and we gather each week as St. John’s Corbin, as the body of Christ.  We ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness.  And Jesus calls us to this table and feeds us.  Feeds us with bread and wine…feeds us with his presence, right here, right now, so that we like Peter can answer Jesus, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Amen

This Sunday (August 24) at St. John’s

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Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God– what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

Do you know what God’s Will is for you in your life?  Isn’t hard to figure that out sometimes.  At times, the way seems so clear.  God’s voice is loud and we know exactly what to do next.  At other times, we feel so confused.  Paul’s letter to the Romans provides a key to our confusion.  We are not to be conformed to this world.  This world’s standards and what our society thinks is important or “the good life” are different from God’s guidance and way of life.

Throughout the Bible, we read of the importance of economic justice, of God’s priority for the poor.  Yet, those are the values our world often presents us.  Trying to buck the trends and priorities created by our broken humanity is hard.  It requires being nonconforming.  It requires a transformation and change in our minds.  That’s what’s required for us to discern what is the will of God, the good, the acceptable and the perfect….

Blessings as you finish your week!

Love, Rebecca+

Sunday’s Bulletin

Rebecca’s Schedule: Next week, Rebecca will be in Corbin on Friday, August 29, and her Sabbath day will be Tuesday, August 26.  You can get a message to Rebecca by calling the church office at 606-528-1659 or priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org.

Adult Forum: This summer and early fall, we will discuss a portion of the Gospel of Matthew.   We will follow our Gospel lectionary, discussing the following week’s Gospel – Matthew 8:15-20.

Godly Play classes for children will begin next week, August 31.  We also need adults to conduct these classes, beginning in November.  If you are interested in being trained and conducting the classes for a few weeks to a month, please let Rebecca know.

We will once again be distributing water at the Pow Wow on Ken and Shelia’s property on Saturday, August 30.  If you’d be willing to donate for the water and ice and/or take a shift handing out water, let Rebecca know.

Pot Luck Sunday:  Next Sunday, August 31, is our monthly pot luck.  Bring a dish or drink to share.  And all are welcome!  Plan to fellowship with each other.

Interested in being a member of St. John’s?  If you have been baptized in another faith tradition, and want to be a member of The Episcopal Church and St. John’s Church, plan to attend confirmation classes this fall.  There will be 5 classes offered, most likely beginning in September.  If you are interested, please let Rebecca know.  If you have already been confirmed in another faith tradition and would like to be a member of St. John’s, let Rebecca know, so you can be received into the church.  If you are interested in baptism, also let her know.  Baptisms, receptions, and confirmations will be done when the Bishop visits.

Computer and Furnace Needed: The furnace located in the sacristy, which heats part of the social hall and hallways must be replaced prior to this winter.  Cost is $2,250 for a furnace that will also be more energy efficient.  We’ll also need to replace two more furnaces over the next two years:  one that heats the parish hall and one that heats the rectory.  Our computer also needs replaced and $600 will get us a new one plus the needed software.  Donations for these two items can be put in the boxes back on the shelves in the parish hall.

Columbarium Niche: The Vestry has voted to donate a niche in the Columbarium to the family of Deacon Dane.  A bronze plaque needs to be purchased to mark the niche.  The cost is $208.   If you would like to donate to the cost of this plaque, please let Gay Nell know.

Grow Appalachia!  The Vestry has voted to move ahead to become a Grow Appalachia site for 2015.  Please talk to the Vestry about your ideas, questions, and concerns.  The Grow Appalachia website is http://www.berea.edu/grow-appalachia/

Flowers for the altar: Donations for flowers for the altar are accepted for any Sunday of the year. Please place your donation in the envelope, marking whether they are in honor of or in memory of someone.

Hymn Selection Group If you’d like to choose hymns for services, join this group.  You will choose hymns for an upcoming service and then meet with the entire group to confirm the final selections.  See Billy Hibbitts if you are interested.

Would you like to write Prayers of the People?  If you are interested in writing these prayers (there are resources that can help with this task), please let Rebecca know by phone or email priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org.

United Thank Offering.  Remember to get your box for your thank offerings for this ministry of The Episcopal Church.  The next collection will be in the fall. 

Are you interested in assisting with the Sunday service?  Readers, Eucharistic Ministers, Crucifers, Altar Guild Members and choir members are all important for each Sunday service.  If you’re interested in serving, please let Rebecca know by phone 859-429-1659 or priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org.

Serving Our Neighbors – See baskets in the parlor.

  • Everlasting Arms, Corbin’s shelter for people who are homeless, is in need of men’s and women’s razors, gloves, deodorant and socks.
  • The Food Pantry at Corbin Presbyterian Church is always in need of nonperishable food items.  Vegetables are especially appreciated.
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Living alongside evil (Sermon) July 20, 2014

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Sermon – July 20, 2014

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

Sixth Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 11) Track 1

The slaves said to him, `Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, `No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest….’  Matthew 13:28-29

Please be seated

Recently I have been reminded about Jim Thorpe.  I knew about him as I was growing up.  He was Native American, Pottawatamie, Sauk and Fox, born in Oklahoma.  But growing up near Carlisle, PA, I learned about him, because he attended school in Carlisle.  In 1950, Thorpe was named the greatest American football player and the greatest American male athlete.  He had speed and stamina.  He won both the decathlon and the pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics.  He played baseball and football.  Unfortunately, until 1982, he had been stripped of his Olympic medals and taken out of the record books, because he played semi-professional baseball for two seasons, so it was deemed he was not an amateur athlete.  Of course, today that’s no problem at all.

But about that school….  Carlisle Industrial Training School.  The United States Government had a policy of destroying the native peoples of this country.   There was disdain for the way the native people lived and the colonizers believed the people to be subhuman and themselves to be far superior.  Often times, the government policy consisted of starving the people, providing them with blankets carrying the smallpox disease, which would kill the native people; or starving them by killing their food – the buffalo.

Richard Henry Pratt, an Officer in the Army, did not like these policies, and gradually developed what was considered a more humane way to deal with the native peoples – train them to be like European-American people.  This caught the attention of some wealthy people who became funders and eventually the Indian industrial schools were created.

Native families were forced to send their children hundreds of miles away to these boarding schools.  At the schools, children were punished if they used their native language.  Native ways of life about clothing and hair were not followed.  Hair was cut and clothing was European.  It was thought to be humane and charitable to make the Indians be like the European-Americans.

Total annihilation was certainly evil – the tares or weeds sown in the field.  The work of the “enemy” in our Gospel today.  The dominant people of the late 19th and early 20th centuries believed these Indian schools to be the good wheat the sower planted.

Yet, the outcomes of what was done were devastating.  You can find videos online of people who survived those schools.  Listening to their stories is heartbreaking.  The pain of being forced to lose your language, to lose your family, to lose the things that grounded you and helped you understand who you are.  And you never fully fit into the European-American world, and it was harder to connect to the native world because any time you’d try to speak the language or follow the customs, you were abused.  The loss of the spiritual connection was extremely painful.

We think we know evil.  As Christians, we aspire to live the Christian life…follow Christ and Christ’s commands.  It is wrong to be evil.  We judge ourselves.  We judge each other.  But throughout history, we see a trail of things once considered humane to now be considered evil.  For instance, the guillotine was considered a more humane way to execute people, but now we consider it barbaric.

One of the messages in this parable today is about living right alongside evil.  Some people say God can’t exist, because there is so much evil in the world.  But in this story, Jesus says there is evil and it grows up right alongside us.  Living the Christian life means living with evil right next to us.

We can certainly relate to this, especially this week with the tragedy of the Malaysian Airliner shot out of the sky, the hostilities between the Israelis and Palestinians playing out in the Gaza strip, and the influx of children crossing into the United States to flee violence in their native countries.  Who’s right and who’s wrong?  There are many sides.  Who’s responsible for the evil?  It’s hard to know who’s responsible and what the right thing to do is.  What is not evil.

In this parable, Jesus tells us the evil is so close, that pulling it out will uproot us!  Evil is so close, to get rid of it can end up destroying us!  I have pondered that all week.  You’d think we should do all in our power to uproot evil.  How can uprooting evil also destroy us?  You mean we are supposed to live with the evil?  So many questions.

One thought I’ve had is along the lines of Officer Pratt.  He thought he was doing a good thing.  He thought the Indian schools were the good wheat.  He did not think he was an evil man, especially when compared to what others did.  Yet, a century and a quarter later, we understand the evil of those schools and we know the horror of them.

Maybe evil resides in us and we just can’t see it or don’t know it.

Furthermore, we cannot be the judge.  I know, some things are pretty easy to judge and we shouldn’t throw our judgment out the window, but we do need to be careful about our judgmental attitudes.  And we must never think we speak for God, that is for certain.

Jesus lets us know in no uncertain terms that judgment comes and judgment is of God.  And on the Day of Judgment, evil that sprung up right next to us, evil that would uproot us should we cast it out, will be plucked and incinerated in the fire.   Whether it is the evil we have done or the evil done on our behalf, it will be finally shattered.

And so, today we must think about how we live with evil that is right next to us and even inside of us.  We can strive to be the good wheat shooting up, following God, living like Jesus to the best of our ability.  We can be humble, knowing that we are doing our best, but in the end, it is God who is the judge and we know we fall short.

And we can live in the assurance that evil will be destroyed and we will then shine like the sun in the kingdom of God.

Amen

Are We Rich Soil? (Sermon) July 13, 2014

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Sermon – July 13, 2014

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

Fifth Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 10) Track 1

Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Matthew 13:5-6

Please be seated.

Letting go is easy sometimes.  When I was in the second year of a 2-year discernment process, I found letting go of my things to be very easy.  I had no idea whether the Bishop would approve to send me to seminary and even if he did, I figured it’d be another year until I could start.  Yet, I was ready to get rid of things.  Things like part of my doll collection I’d had since a child.  Things like my Geisha Girl China I’d had for years and the gilded corner cabinet it went in.  Things like the 43 year old kitchen table my parents bought when we’d moved into our new house when I was 11 years old, a table my brother had used in New York City for many years.

I was ready to let go…to downsize…to say good-bye to these things I’d carted from my childhood home and five addresses in Pennsylvania to Connecticut, New York, Kansas, North Carolina, and DC, through two marriages and raising two children.  They held many memories and connections.  Something new was happening and I knew I needed to let go of these things.  They began to weigh me down…hold me down.  These things and my holding on to them felt like the hard soil Jesus speaks of today.  The new thing coming in my life would wither and die trying to plant itself within the things of my past.

Now this openness to change, to parting with my things, was something that only developed over time.  You see, at one time, I kept every single card someone had ever sent to me.  I never threw anything away, it seems.  I paid plenty of money to haul these things back and forth across the country and to rent storage space when I couldn’t accommodate these things in my living space!  I loved the hard soil these things made.  Sure they were often stuck away in boxes, hidden from view and rarely viewed.  At times, I didn’t even notice the clutter they created…getting so used to working around it or having a smaller space in which to live.

Do you create hard soil in your life, so that new seeds sent from God spring up quickly, but easily wither and are scorched by the sun?  Trying to keep things the way they were traps us in a past that is long gone.  It does feel safe, when all around us is changing, but the safety is an illusion and a temporary comfort.

Yesterday, I was trying to plant a rose bush out in the garden.  Now, I didn’t have the right kind of shovel, but even so, the ground was so hard.  I’m not sure that bush has enough depth of soil to survive.  There is some hard ground around here…

Yes, where have we here at St. John’s created hard soil within ourselves so the seeds God sows wither and die?  What do we cling to…things that at one time might have been new seeds, planted in good soil, after all, but now have created hard soil and reject the new seeds?  We didn’t always have the parish hall.  We didn’t always have the kitchen and parlor area.  We didn’t always have the meeting rooms.  The parlor was once offices.  The park was once a school yard.  Each new person who came to St. John’s needed to find the good soil to plant themselves and each new plant created a community with different needs and different skills and different passions.  The one thing that didn’t change was the worship of God and the connection to The Episcopal Church.  But other than that, many things have changed in the church’s 108 years.

God isn’t afraid of the change, I don’t think, because God keeps calling us to do God’s work here in this place.  Yet, are we so hardened, that God’s mission for us withers and dies?  Are we so attached to what is comfortable for us that the seeds do not find depth of soil?  Are we so afraid of change, that we doom ourselves and the community of St. John’s to death?

The church has been here many years.  God has faith in us, I’d say.  God keeps calling us and guiding us to be the good, rich soil that produces thirty, sixty, and even one hundred fold.

Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Yoke of Jesus (Sermon) July 6, 2014

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Sermon – July 6, 2014

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

Fourth Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 9) Track 1

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  Matthew 11:29-30

For the past couple of weeks, I have begun volunteering at the Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour in Lexington.  This radio, TV, and internet show is usually taped in Lexington at the Lyric Theater, 44 weeks out of the year, usually on Monday evening before a live audience.  The diversity of entertainers who are on the show is interesting.  They usually find it easy to stop in Lexington on their way to somewhere else like Nashville or Chicago or New York.  The show is unique in that the guests perform their work and also talk about their craft.  In addition, the show relies heavily upon volunteers to set up, staff and tear down the stage.

I’m still learning, but right now, I arrive at 4pm on a Monday afternoon and put lightbulbs in the floor lights or set up for dinner or do various errands.  Usually once the show begins, I can sit down and enjoy it.  It is the tear down at the end of the show that requires many people.

There is the sign to take down and store, the floor lights to dismantle, unplug, and stack.  The various instrument stands and amps to put away.  And the cords to wrap….  You see, there is a special way to coil the various cords so they don’t get tangled and so that they easily uncoil to be used for the next show.  If you do it right, you can fling the cable out and it will not be tangled at all.

And of course, the more people who are there, the shorter time it takes to do the work.  The work is spread among many people.

At the end of our Gospel today, Jesus encourages his followers to put on his yoke.  Now a yoke is something used with various animals – water buffalo, oxen – animals who help with work.  A yoke is important for a variety of reasons, so Jesus’ plea to his listeners has much to impart to us.

 

  1.  A yoke provides guidance and direction, letting the animals know which way to go and where to go next.  We all need God’s guidance in our lives.  Jesus’ teaching and example and the Holy Spirit are the yokes in our lives, telling us where to go next.
  2. A yoke provides training.  Yokes can be used to train the animals how best to work.  Throughout our lives, we need teaching and training about the work God is calling us to do and the best way to live the Christian life.
  3. A yoke allows animals to work together.  Most of us are familiar with seeing a pair of oxen yoked together.  The yokes prevent the oxen from fighting with each other, and allow the oxen to pull and to work together.  Jesus tells us our burdens will be lighter if we take on His yoke.  One of the reasons is that we can share our burden with each other in Christian fellowship.
  4. A yoke allows the animals to do more work and move heavier loads.  By its very design, the yoke makes it easier for the animals to work.  And isn’t that true with the yoke of Jesus?  Jesus’ teaching and example…Jesus’ love…Jesus’ meal, all make our loads lighter.

When I think about tearing down the Woodsong’s stage all by myself, I feel overwhelmed.  First of all, I don’t know how I’d get that sign put away! My burden would be heavy. It would take many hours.  With so many of us, though, the burden is spread. I’m excited to help…happy to help…feel satisfied when everything is put away.

And that’s how it is with Jesus’ yoke.  When we carry our burdens alone, we feel overwhelmed, even paralyzed, weighed down and heavy.  We may think, (and how many of us have done this) that we must bear our burdens alone.  Or we want to be in total control, so we rely only upon ourselves.  We don’t want anyone telling us what to do!  We don’t want anyone else to know what’s going on with us!  We believe to be grown up and mature, we need to do it ourselves.  We are afraid God will demand too much from us.  So we refuse the yoke.  We refuse the guidance.  We refuse the teaching.  We refuse to spread the burden around to make it easier to bear.

Jesus reaches out, encouraging us to put on his yoke.  “Don’t be afraid,” he says.  “I am gentle and humble,” he says.  And here is the most blessed promise, “…and you will find rest for your souls.”

Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcoming Jesus (Sermon) June 29, 2014

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Sermon – June 29, 2014
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY
Celebration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Month
Third Sunday After Pentecost (Track 1)

Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” Matthew 10:40

Please be seated.

“How was your weekend?,” is a common question on a Monday morning in many workplaces. Usually we give a nondescript answer of , “It was fine,” but with some friends, we may go further.  “It was great, because I saw my family.”  “It was wonderful, because I just relaxed.”  “I got a lot done in the garden and it’s looking really nice.”  “Well, cleaning wasn’t all that fun, but at least the house looks better.”  The question seems innocuous and friendly; a good way to get into the week.

But for some, that question is scary.  For people who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender, they have to think about this and many other seemingly simple questions.  They must carefully pick their words.  In some places of work, they could be fired because of their sexual orientation.  Even when protected in their place of work, co-workers can shun them or put them down because they are LGBT.

Many of us hug when we say good-bye, especially when we are catching a train or a plane.  We give each other hearty hugs upon returning home.  You see it at transportation terminals all of the time, yet LGBT people must be very careful about this.  Is it okay to walk down the street holding hands?

And what about church?  So many religious groups reject people who are LGBT, even telling them they can change or easily deny themselves.  That being LGBT is not inherent to who they are, but an aberration of humanity.  And so some start on a life of hiding, trying to be something they are not.  Loving God, loving Jesus deeply and profoundly, sometimes called to religious service, they suffer.

Even when embracing who they are, coming to see themselves fully as loved and created by God, they can’t be sure that the faith community of their choice will welcome them.  In a church I belonged to, it appeared that LGBT people and couples were accepted, but when one couple wanted their photo for the church directory to portray them together as a couple, there was protest.  One of the men said, he never knew how much he could say about his life to others in the church, especially the young people, because he wasn’t sure the young person’s parent approved of him.

All of that hiding takes its toll.  The suicide rate for youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning is much higher than the norm.  People who are Lesbian and Gay form heterosexual marriages, hoping they might change…marriages that, while the two people truly love each other, often end in disaster.  People who are transgender find it difficult to get the medical care they need and the support needed to effectively transition.

While things are much better than they were even ten years ago, we continue to live in a society and a country that is unwelcoming and inhospitable to people who are LGBT.  For instance, I did not put in the newspaper that we were having this service.  I asked some of our members who are LGBT about whether to do this, because I don’t live as a person who is LGBT, so I can’t say totally what the dangers are here in this community or this region.  Ultimately, it seemed best to keep it quiet, but maybe I was wrong.

I informed Everlasting Arms of our service today, because I knew their faith understanding is different from ours.  You see, they are not here.  I thought of so many stories to tell you, but realized telling them would embarrass or make things difficult for some people.  I censored myself and what I am saying today. All of these little things are so painful.  As someone who is heterosexual, and fully understanding how heterosexism has been oppressive to people who are LGBT, I am sorry.  I hope I and I hope we at St. John’s can do better and lessen and stop the suffering.

Desmond Tutu says the most evil thing you can do is make a person think they are not a child of God.  Forcing people who are LGBT to hide tells them there is something wrong with the way they were created.

Jesus says, whoever welcomes the stranger, welcomes me.  There are no “buts.”  There are no qualifiers.  The passage doesn’t say, “Welcome the stranger, but only if….”

No, Jesus welcomed all and we are challenged to do the same.

In doing so, we truly are challenged.  As we talked about when we read the book, Radical Welcome, when we truly welcome as Christ did, our lives will be changed and may be reordered.  How was it to come into the sanctuary today with the rainbow paraments on the altar and the candles?  Being welcoming does not mean staying in control; it means being in partnership with those welcomed, creating something new in the process.  It means listening and hearing what the person, who before this time has been considered “other,” finds welcoming and hospitable.  It means trying to find a way for all of us to feel welcome.  It requires a new way to live together.

When we can truly welcome one another…when we can truly be hospitable, we bring the Kingdom of God right here and right now.

Amen