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Reflecting the Welcoming Love of Christ (Sermon) March 15, 2015

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Sermon – March 15, 2015

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

Fourth Sunday in Lent Year B

 

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. John 3:16

 

Please be seated.

 

Last week the Vestry adopted a Mission statement:  Proclaiming the Gospel, promoting justice, and preparing a diverse community of seekers to reflect the welcoming love of Christ.  At the meeting we also discussed what 3-5 goals we want to work on this year to make this statement not just words, but reality.  Between now and the April 12 Vestry meeting, we’re asking you to think about this.

As I reflected upon the Gospel for today, I was reminded of part of our Mission statement…. “reflect the welcoming love of Christ.”   Whenever I think about my experience of being welcomed, I think of my grandson.  Yes, it’s a danger to have a grandmother in the pulpit!

Logan is my first grandchild.  For nearly the first year of his life, I lived about 20 minutes away from him.  Needless to say, I visited frequently.  At one point, I developed a pattern of going every Sunday afternoon, taking my laundry with me.  I’d play with Logan and do my laundry, while my son and daughter-in-law went grocery shopping or had a little break.  Often Logan’s parents would arrive home to find me holding Logan on my shoulder and both of us sound asleep taking a wonderful afternoon nap.

But eventually I moved to Washington, DC, and visited about once every 5 weeks.  Now, I got to  stay at Logan’s house.  Again, we developed our routines.  I’d usually arrive on Friday evening in time to read Logan a story and put him to bed and then on Saturday morning, I’d get up when he was awake and we’d play and I’d fix breakfast for him.

When Logan was about two, he had his own mini chair – an Elmo chair.  I’d call my son as I was leaving my home to let him know I was on my way.  Logan would watch a movie, probably Cars, in his little chair.  They’d hear my car pull up to the house, usually at 7:30 or 8:00.  Logan would be tired, but he’d fight to stay awake when he knew I was coming.

 

I’d get out of my car and open my trunk to get out my suitcase.  Then my son’s front door would open and little, bald-headed Logan would break into a huge smile and squeal, “GRANDMAAA!”  He would be so excited to see me.

 

That’s what I think about when I ponder what “welcoming love” looks like.  Have you ever or do you now know what that welcoming love feels like?  That’s what we’re saying we’d like to be as St. John’s community.

 

And while my story makes welcoming love sound so easy, we all know it’s challenging.  It’s easy to love people we get along with and generally enjoy being with.  But John the Gospel writer, doesn’t say, “God so loved the people you love…..”  John says that God loved the world.

 

The word in Greek is from the word cosmos!  The entire creation!

 

And that’s why the church is essential and wonderful.  We have the chance to know and to learn to love people who may be very different from us…people we may not have ever met.

 

We are called to reveal… we are called to model to others the love that God has shown us.  Maybe we’ll have to work to be as excited as little Logan was to see me.  God welcomes each of us with deep love and joy.  Let us do the same….

 

Amen

Zeal for Change (Sermon) March 8, 2015

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Sermon – March 8, 2015

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

Third Sunday in Lent Year B
International Women’s Day

03-08-2015 Bulletin

“Zeal for your house will consume me.” Psalm 69:9 as quoted in John 2:17

Have you ever met a person who’s been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?  I’ve had the great fortune to attend a lecture by the Dalai Lama (1989) and to meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984) and hear him speak a number of times.

In the summer of 2012, I was fortunate to meet another Nobel Peace Prize Winner – Leymah Gbowee.  Ms. Gbowee, a social worker, spoke at the National Association of Social Workers conference I attended.  Ms. Gbowee was born in 1972 in Liberia and grew up during the civil wars in the country.  She left Liberia for a time, living in Ghana, but eventually returned to her country.  She was poor, sometimes homeless.

She was able to obtain some social work training, especially to help victims of the trauma from the first Liberian Civil War.  She eventually helped young boys who had been child soldiers in the war.

Midst the second Liberian Civil War, which began in 1999, she continued studying peacebuilding, especially connected to professors and students through a program at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA.  Various peacebuilding movements were occurring between countries of Africa and Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET) was established, with a branch in Liberia, headed by Gbowee in 2002.

In a dream, she heard God telling her to gather the women and pray for peace.  Gbowee was Christian and connected with a Mandingo-Muslim woman, named Asatu.  They started by gathering women to go to Muslim prayers every Friday, to the Saturday morning markets, and to two churches on Sunday.

Their flyers read: “We are tired! We are tired of our children being killed! We are tired of being raped! Women, wake up – you have a voice in the peace process!” They also handed out simple drawings explaining their purpose to the many women who couldn’t read.

They prayed Muslim and Christian prayers.  They wore white t-shirts to distinguish themselves.  Eventually, they met every single day in the capital.  They even met in a soccer field that the President passed every day.

Eventually, a peace process was convened in Ghana.  Gbowee led a contingent of women to the posh hotel where the men were meeting.  At first, they gathered outside of the hotel, but when the peace process dragged on, they went inside the hotel and sat down in protest just outside the doors of the meeting room.  They vowed not to move until peace was negotiated.  When the men tried to leave, the women threatened to take off their own clothes.  Ms. Gbowee explains, “In Africa, it’s a terrible curse to see a married or elderly woman deliberately bare herself.” (Mighty Be Our Powers, p. 162).  The peace accord finally came a few weeks later in August 2003.

The aftermath of war meant much work to restore the country and to heal the people.  Ms. Gbowee continued her studies, eventually earning a Master’s Degree in Peacebuilding from Eastern Mennonite University.

In our Gospel today, Jesus is angry.  But why?  I mean, the people had set up a system to worship God that had been in place for quite awhile.  There was a currency of the Temple since many people came from many different places.  They could convert their home currency into one used in the Temple.  Everything was there for sale that was necessary to make the proper sacrifices – thanksgiving or intercession or atonement.  The rules for sacrifice are contained in the early chapters of Leviticus.  They represent the main way humans interact with God.

But, you see, the wisdom of the world that set up this tidy little system, was not in accord with God’s.  It was not a worshipful space, but rather had become a place of commerce.  Imagine, God’s mercy…God’s worship distilled down to a simple formula – two turtledoves or a male sheep or goat.  Jesus has come to emphasize a new way to connect with God…not through sacrifice…not through pilgrimage to the Temple during the great feasts…but more directly through Jesus.

Once again, Jesus upsets the established ways of the world.  The established ways of the world upset him.

During Women’s History Month and today during International Women’s Day, we can take time to upset the ways of the world especially in regards to girls and women.  The statistics showing the reality of women’s lives are awful.  Yes, things have changed dramatically during my lifetime and yet women’s earnings continue to be less than they should be.  Poverty is greater.  Women in many countries are denied the most basic education and too many women still die in childbirth.  And the rates and acceptance of violence against women are scary.  We must upset the ways of the world today when it comes to women.

We can look to the example of Leymah Gbowee who came to know the power of women to require peace…to save their children.  A woman who worked across tribal and religious boundaries for the good of humanity.  She was and is not perfect.  The realities of war took their toll on her and she went into recovery from alcohol addiction.  Ms. Gbowee’s Christian beliefs grounded her.  In an address to students at Eastern Mennonite University in 2009, she said,

“I didn’t get there by myself… or anything I did as an individual, but it was by the grace and mercy of God…. He has held my hands. In the most difficult of times, he has been there. They have this song, “Order my steps in your ways, dear Lord,” and every day as I wake up, that is my prayer, because there’s no way that anyone can take this journey as a peacebuilder, as an agent of change in your community, without having a sense of faith…. As I continue this journey in this life, I remind myself: All that I am, all that I hope to be, is because of God.”

Amen

Powerful and Awe-Inspiring Moments (Sermon) February 15, 2015

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Sermon – February 15, 2015

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

The Last Sunday After Epiphany, Year B

The Transfiguration

And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Mark 9:2-4

 Please be seated.

The church I grew up in had changed radically by the early 60s.  It was in a city, whose neighborhoods were changing, really disappearing from around the church.  The church was right downtown, close to the state capitol and office buildings for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  The many neighborhoods, especially the predominantly African-American neighborhoods that had once been there, were being swallowed up by the needs of state government and urban renewal plans.  There was not much neighborhood around the church by the early 1960s.

But the church called a new pastor in 1963 and he challenged those there to revitalize the church.  My father heard this Pastor on the radio one Sunday and soon after, started attending.  By 1966, my mother converted from Roman Catholicism and we all started attending.

As I neared Junior High School a couple of years later – 7th Grade – I became very excited, because I’d be able to participate in the church youth group activities.  The church had called an Assistant Pastor and he focused on youth and young married couples.  There were a number of other adults who also assisted with the youth group and they seemed fun to be around.

So I was glad when it came time for me to join this group of 7th – 12th graders.  Now for the first 3 years, I attended confirmation classes prior to the youth group meetings.  Our Youth Group addressed many of the issues of the day such as the Vietnam War, the War on Poverty and Civil Rights.  We formed a singing group which performed songs with many of the themes of our time interspersed with written words and poems… songs like Blowin’ in the Wind or If I Had a Hammer.

We explored our faith and how it led us to take action.  We explored our belief in God.  Those were the days when Time Magazine had a cover story, Is God Dead?  There was a lot of questioning about belief in God and the place of the church.  I had gone to church as long as I could remember.  I wanted to believe in God.  I loved the story of Jesus Christ.  But I didn’t feel my belief deep in my soul and heart.

My best friend at the time and I would often go into the sanctuary in the evenings when it was dark, except for the Sanctuary light, which burned to let us know God was in this place.  We’d talk and share the deepest concerns of our 12-year old lives, including how we understood God.  We’d talk to God there.

Our youth group also went on retreats about twice a year.  Weekends away where we’d have fun and deepen our faith.  In the fall of my 8th grade year, we went to a retreat house just outside a small Pennsylvania town.  On Sunday morning, we had our church service, which was very free-form.  I remember the day was cold and late fall and very sunny.  We started saying The Lord’s Prayer and I started crying…tears streaming down my face.  Because I knew…I finally knew that God was real…that God was with me and in me.  I knew it deep in my soul.  I had experienced transfiguration.

In today’s Gospel Reading, we hear about Jesus’ transfiguration or being changed into something beautiful.  Jesus and the Disciples had left the region around the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus took Peter, James and John with him up Mt. Tabor.

Mt. Tabor rises almost 1900 feet out of the Jezreel Valley.  It’s a steep climb up to the top. It’s understandable that not everyone made the climb.  But what happened on that mountain was crucial for the Disciples.  It was an experience both powerful and scary.  So powerful that Peter wanted to make monuments there.  And many paintings depict the disciples falling down part of the mountain in fear.  I mean, what would you do if you saw Moses and Elijah speaking to Jesus and then heard a voice from heaven confirming that Jesus was beloved and should be listened to?

But, you see, God knew what was coming when those disciples walked down that mountain.  They were setting off to Jerusalem and to another mount – Calvary.  God knew that the disciples would be very confused by the way salvation was going to come to them.  They were expecting a restoration of the Davidic Kingdom and being freed from the Romans.  But that wasn’t going to be how things worked out.  God knew it would be a hard road for all of them.  So, God gave them this powerful and awe-inspiring and unforgettable moment…a moment to hang on to when life got confusing and challenging.

What are those moments for you?  What are those times when you’ve felt peace or joy, especially in the community of God?  Or those times when amazing “coincidences” happened? Those times when you are filled with awe?  Those times when you experience a power beyond yourself?  I hope you’ve had them.  God gives them to us to hang on to when life is difficult and hard.

I’ve forgotten plenty of things in my life, but I’ve never forgotten that moment when I was 13, on that retreat, saying The Lord’s Prayer.  I can picture it just as clearly as if it happened yesterday.  Yes, since then, I’ve had tough and challenging times in my life…times when I didn’t feel so close to God, but that experience at 13 has kept me close to God at the same time…sometimes just by a thread, but nonetheless unshakeable in my belief in God.

Hold on…hold on to those moments of transfiguration – powerful and awe-inspiring.  They comfort you on the journeys through the valleys of difficult and challenging times.

Amen

Find the Current of God (sermon) February 8, 2015

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Sermon – February 8, 2015
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY
The Fifth Sunday After Epiphany, Year B
Observance of African-American History Month

but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

 Please be seated

I love the prairie.  I saw the tall grass prairie for the first time in 1994, in late April, after my husband had accepted a job in Topeka, KS.  I had visited Chicago as a teenager and I decided then that I did not really like flat ground, so I wasn’t all that excited about the prospect of living in a place so flat.

But even on that first trip, I loved the expanse of the sky.  The view was overwhelming.  You could see so far into the distance.  It’s not that trees cannot grow in Kansas, it’s that you have tall grasses, which easily catch on fire, especially during a thunder and lightening storm, creating new tender grass shoots, which attract large hoofed animals that massage the earth.  It’s just not conducive to trees.

So the grasses grow up to 8 feet tall during the summer.  And the wind NEVER stops blowing.  NEVER!  There is always wind.  So the earth warms up and the heat rises and the wind blows, creating the most wonderful air currents.

Raptors like hawks and eagles LOVE the Kansas prairie.  And because the vista is so expansive, you can watch the hawks and eagles catch the breeze and ride the currents.  They save themselves plenty of energy by doing that.

And in today’s Old Testament reading, the prophet Isaiah reminds us that when we are doing God’s work, we’ll find those air currents and be lifted high like the eagle… the eagle representing St. John.  We won’t get weary nor be faint when we catch that current that God provides.

Later this week, on Friday, we’ll remember Absalom Jones, the first African-American ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church.  Absalom Jones knew what it meant to find those currents from God that raise the eagles in flight.  Listen to the biography of Jones available on the website of African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Philadelphia, the church Jones founded:

 The life and legacy of The Reverend Absalom Jones is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, his faith, and his commitment to the causes of freedom, justice and self-determination.

 Absalom Jones was born into slavery in Sussex County, Delaware on November 6, 1746. During the 72 years of his life, he grew to become one of the foremost leaders among persons of African descent during the post-revolutionary period. In his younger years in Delaware, Absalom sought help to learn to read. When he was 16, his owner Benjamin Wynkoop brought him to Philadelphia where he served as a clerk and handyman in a retail store. He was able to work for himself in the evenings and keep his earnings. He also briefly attended a school run by the Quakers where he learned mathematics and handwriting. In 1770, he married Mary Thomas and purchased her freedom. It was until 1784 that he obtained his own freedom through manumission. He also owned several properties.

 During this period, he met Richard Allen, who became a life-long friend. In 1787 they organized the Free African Society as a social, political and humanitarian organization helping widows and orphans and assisting in sick relief and burial expenses. Jones and Allen were also lay preachers at St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, PA where their evangelistic efforts met with great success and their congregation multiplied ten-fold. As a result, racial tensions flared and ultimately they led an historic walk out from St. George’s.

 In 1792, under the dual leadership of Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, “The African Church” was organized as a direct outgrowth of the Free African Society. Both Jones and Allen wished to affiliate with the Methodists, but the majority of the congregation favored the Episcopal Church. Richard Allen withdrew with a part of the congregation to found Bethel Church (later, Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church). The African Church became The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas with Absalom Jones as its Lay Reader and Deacon. In 1802, Jones was ordained by Bishop William White as the first African American Episcopal Priest.

 During the severe yellow fever epidemic of 1793, Absalom Jones and Richard Allen mobilized the Black community to care for the afflicted. In 1797 and 1799 Absalom Jones, with other free Africans, presented tenable petitions to Congress and to the President of the United States opposing slavery. Two schools and supportive services for the Black community developed under his leadership.

 Absalom Jones died on February 13, 1818 at his residence, 32 Powell Street, Philadelphia, PA. Tributes and accounts of his funeral appeared in several periodicals. The Episcopal Bishop, William White, spoke of Jones’ devotion and care of his congregation and of his many contributions to the life of the city. The February 13th Absalom Jones Feast Day was added to the Episcopal Church Calendar in 1973. His ashes are enshrined in the altar of the Reverend Absalom Jones Chapel of the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, and a memorial stained glass window commemorates his life and work.

http://www.aecst.org/ajones.htm

 What this biography fails to mention is the trials Absalom Jones went through to get his church recognized by The Episcopal Church.  He was denied admission to General Theological Seminary, for instance.  There was also some opposition to the church being fully recognized by the Diocese.

Can you imagine…here were many people drawn to The Episcopal Church and its understanding of faith in Jesus Christ, rejected only because of the color of their skin.

But Absalom and the members of St. Thomas under his cure, persevered.  He and they read St. Paul’s letters, including the portion we read today from the first letter to the Corinthians, “If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!” 1 Cor. 9:16

They only wanted to proclaim the Gospel, just like Jesus did and we heard in our Gospel lesson today:  “And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.” Mark 1:39

Even though The Episcopal Church of their day segregated them, they caught the winds and flew like eagles even into the current day.  Many Dioceses in the country celebrate Absalom Jones Day with special services and special offerings for the Historically Black College of The Episcopal Church, St. Augustine’s in Raleigh, NC.

When we become weary and tired as we usually do, let us remember the perseverance of Absalom Jones…let us remember how the eagles find the current and rise, saving their energy.  Let us rest, find the current of God, and rise like the eagles.

Amen

Going Where God Calls (Sermon) January 25, 2015

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Sermon – January 25, 2015

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

The Third Sunday After Epiphany, Year B

The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying, “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Jonah 3:1-3a

Please be seated.

When I was a child, I perfected the art of whining and complaining.  I truly tried the patience of my parents.  So, I know I’m good at it.  So, I apologize for the whining you’ll hear me do in this sermon today.

I find it hard to be Executive Director of St. Agnes’ House.  I really don’t like, almost hate, raising money.  And while we ended in the year in much better shape than I ever imagined, it’s a new year and we have to start all over again raising the $107,000 budget.  Yes, we have a good start with grants of $21,500, but the one grant for $7,500 ends this year, so we’ll have to replace that amount.  The fundraising consultant says we can raise the same amount of money and even more with only two mailings a year, but I’m nervous about that.  We mailed to people four times a year last year, but that angered some of my colleagues.

I also don’t like being responsible for buildings.  There’s always something in need of repair or painting at St. Agnes’ House.  There are a couple of windows that are pulling out of the window frames.  Are the frames rotten or has the caulking just dried out?  Of course these windows are about the hardest to reach.  And it’s a small job, so who can we get to do it?

Seems like it’s just very hard to keep the place open and running well.

In our Old Testament Lesson today we hear a portion of the story of Jonah.  We have a great wall hanging of this story in the Godly Play Room.  The Book of Jonah is not a true story in its facts.  Rather, it is a story designed to communicate to us important understandings about God.

Earlier in the story, God had called Jonah to go to Nineveh and deliver a message to the people there.  Nineveh was the last place Jonah wanted to go.  Nineveh was the capitol of Assyria and the Assyrians did not believe in the God of the Israelites.  The Assyrians were also mean and cruel.  They were a huge empire and known at that time for conquering everyone they could and demanding taxes or tribute from them.  Nineveh was one of the largest cities at that time with possibly 150,000 people.

We certainly understand Jonah, don’t we?  Most of us would not relish the task God has asked Jonah to do.  From Jonah’s self-centered point of view, he did not think he really wanted to do what God asked.  We know Jonah ended up in the belly of a whale for three days, so guess God convinced Jonah that delivering God’s message to the people of Nineveh was a lot better than the belly of the whale.  But I don’t think Jonah was all that thrilled with God’s call to him.

Aren’t we all like Jonah?  We get caught up in our own personal view of things.  What God asks us to do starts to feel burdensome and personally, we don’t want to do it.  Think about those mornings when coming to church on a Sunday just feels so hard to do and we’re not sure we’ll get anything out of it personally.

Now, certainly, there is a balance to all of this.  We do need to take care of ourselves and think about ourselves to a certain extent.  But when God calls, we also need to think about others.  God needed a message to get to the Ninevites, even though the people of Nineveh did not believe in God!  God, like Jonah, didn’t really like the Ninevites all that much.  God wanted to destroy them.  But God chose Jonah to carry that message to the people and to give them a chance to change their ways.

And God chooses us.  God hears our complaints and whining, I dare say.  Luckily, I don’t know anyone who’s ended up in the belly of a whale, but from our story, we also know that God keeps calling us.  God tells us we are of value.  God tells us that our community needs us and needs our presence.  Maybe we don’t feel like going, but the community needs us to go.  In Jonah’s case, the Ninevites paid heed to what Jonah said and changed their ways.

The same is true of St. Agnes’ House.  After all of my self-centered whining, then, I meet the guests.  Recently and older woman who was pretty scared to be in Lexington by herself, but wanted to be by the side of her middle-aged son who needed a heart transplant reserved a room.  She “slept” in the hospital for over two months.  Finally, she was willing to venture out and check out St. Agnes’ House.  She wasn’t sure she was going to sleep there at night, but she needed a place to go each day away from the hospital.  She needed a place that was quiet where she could take a nap, or read a book or knit.  Her room at St. Agnes’ House was perfect, she told me.

As she registered and toured the house, we talked about her situation and she confided that she thought her son was dying.  She was grateful for a lap quilt that had been made and donated to the house.  It was the perfect thing for sitting in a chair in the afternoon.  She thought she might return the quilt when she left, but I told her it was hers to take if she wanted.  She kept thanking me and told me she felt so much better that day.  I didn’t see her much after that, until one day, we passed each other in our vehicles.  We stopped and she told me her son had died and she was coming to check out.  She told me how much she appreciated her room at the House and she said she was going to keep the quilt.

That’s why we go when God calls.  God really doesn’t want to hear our self-centered whining.  God has chosen us and our community needs us or at least needs to hear the message God has asked us to bring to the community.

May we, like Jonah, set out to go where God calls us.  In doing so, we may bring life and salvation.

Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow Me (sermon) January 18, 2015

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Sermon – January 18, 2015

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

The Second Sunday After Epiphany, Year B

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ John 1:43

Please be seated

Every week, you sit in this space and worship in the midst of this beautiful stained glass window of John, the Gospel writer.  This year we’ll hear quite a bit from John’s Gospel.  On Friday, we had a clergy day in Lexington.  The presenter was Gail O’Day, Dean of Wake Forest Divinity School.  She was in town for the ordination of one of her students, Andrew Hege, the new Associate Rector at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church.

Dr. O’Day is also a New Testament scholar and has written much commentary on the Gospel of John.  Also a Professor of Preaching, she was helping us look at the Gospel in new ways.  She said that the Gospelwriter wanted to emphasize the extravagant love of God for us.  She also said that during Jesus’ time, the religious authorities wanted to silence Jesus, because his teachings and upheaval they were creating amongst the Jewish people, were causing the Roman occupiers to take more notice.  The authorities didn’t want any scrutiny from Rome.  They wanted to be left alone.  John is writing to say that there is a cost to remaining silent…that there is a cost to rejecting the teaching of Jesus, God incarnate.

 

And this weekend we remember The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who certainly embodied the point John was making.  Just like Samuel, God called Dr. King’s name and set a mission for him.  Just like Philip and Nathanael, Jesus called Dr. King to follow him.

In 1956, after the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Dr. King left Montgomery.  He said, “History has thrust something on me which I cannot turn away.”  Dr. King was well educated, graduated from high school early.  He was to be a great preacher like his father, most likely at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where his father was pastor.  That was the life laid out for him and the life he expected.

While I’m sure he thought he’d be part of a movement for justice, he never expected to be a major leader in that movement to the point where he was away from his family and congregation for long periods of time and in so many cities in the United States.  A role that meant his home was bombed and death threats surrounded him.  It seems like the prudent thing to do would have been to remain silent, but Dr. King could not turn away from his calling.

That’s not the life he planned, but it was the life God called him to and just like Samuel, Dr. King said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”  And just like Philip and Nathanael, he responded to Jesus’ call by following Jesus.

And he knew that following that call could mean he would die relatively young.  He knew that following that call could mean being murdered.

I still remember when Dr. King was assassinated, even though I was only 10 years old, how he had seemingly foretold his death.  Over and over again, the news played excerpts from his speech the night before.  He said,

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life.  Longevity has its place.  But I’m not concerned about that now.  I just want to do God’s will.  

I just want to do God’s Will.  I just want to follow Jesus.  I just want to serve God.  That’s what we all need to be saying and figuring out.

Because not doing God’s Will…not following Jesus…not serving God, has consequences.  We heard that in our reading from Samuel.  Eli had not stopped his sons from disrespecting and speaking against God, so God told Samuel, Eli’s family would be destroyed.

So, there are consequences for ignoring God’s Will. We may try to ignore God’s calling to us out of fear of what will be required of us.  It’s probably not in our life plan.  And look what happened to Dr. King and who wants a short life and a death like his?  What could be worse than the consequence of death?

But here’s the paradox:  when you are doing God’s Will and when you are following Jesus and when you are serving God, death doesn’t frighten you anymore.  Death has no power over you.  The night before he died, Dr. King ended his speech by saying,

[God’s] allowed me to go up to the mountain.  And I’ve looked over.  And I’ve seen the promised land.  I may not get there with you.  But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land.  And I’m happy, tonight.  I’m not worried about anything.  I’m not fearing any man.  Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.  

I’m happy…I’m not worried…I’m not fearing anyone!

Follow me, Jesus says and St. John writes.  The following may not be easy.  We may even lose our life, but we will know the abundant love of God.  We’ll be happy.  We won’t worry and we won’t be afraid.

Amen

 

Born Saying God’s Name (Sermon) January 11, 2015

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Sermon – January 11, 2015

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

The First Sunday After Epiphany:  The Baptism of the Lord

Year B

And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.11And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ Mark 1:10-11

Please Be Seated

Yesterday, my son, Scot, turned 40!  Where did the time go?  Naturally, at this time, I recall the day he was born and many other memories over the years.  His son, Logan, is so much like him that I often call him Scot instead of Logan!  It’s like I’m seeing my son grow up all over again, sort of.

But even in remembering, there’s so much we forget.  I don’t think too many, if any, of us remember the day we were born.  As adults, we talk about how traumatic it must be for a child to be born after nine months in a comfortable place with all of their needs met.  We make jokes about how a baby cries when it’s born.  Of course it’s important for a baby to cry at birth as a sign their lungs are cleared out and working well, but it seems to resonate with the trauma of being born into the world.  But none of us remembers that trauma, at least not overtly.

Sinead O’Connor in her recording from 1995, had a song that suggested babies are also born in spiritual trauma.  The words are:

 

All babies are born saying God’s name
Over and over,
All born singing God’s name
All babies are flown from the Universe
From there they’re lifted by the hands of angels
God gives them the stars to use as ladders
She hears their calls
She is mother and father
All babies are born out of great pain
Over and over
All born into great pain
All babies are crying
For no-one remembers God’s name

 

All Babies, Sinead O’Connor

 

“All babies are crying for no one remembers God’s name.”  It’s like when we’re born, a process of forgetting God ensues.  We’re born into a world that values what we can see with our eyes and touch with our hands or physical selves over what we can see with our hearts and touch with our spirits.  A world that discounts intuition and a sixth sense.  A world that in many places and in many ways is uncomfortable with, even afraid of, mystery and of unknowing.

 

We are born into this world with strong connections to God and our own spirits.  We don’t have a way to communicate with words for awhile, so we are very connected to our bodies and to what we experience in them.  But, it seems like as we grow older, we’re taught to ignore our bodies and hearts in favor of passing the standardized math and reading tests.  We forget how to read ourselves and each other.

 

Many times, we begin to accept this “vain” world’s assessment of us.  We’re not pretty.  We’re not smart.  We think funny.  We dress funny.  We don’t make enough money.  We aren’t good enough.  We forget that God created our diversity and that the norm is diversity rather than conformity.

 

That’s why renewing our baptismal vows is important.  Those of us baptized as children may only have a photograph of the event, but in a very real sense, that baptism was telling our spirits to remember where we came from…to remember God’s name.  As we got older and once again surrendered to the world’s assessment of us, renewing our baptismal vows reminds us that in the waters of baptism, we died to the world’s view of us and were returned or reborn to God’s view of us.

 

And God’s view of us is that we were perfectly created.  No, we are not God.  We are not perfect in that we know everything or can do everything or see everything.  We are perfect in the part of the body of Christ that we are.  We are perfect in our humanity.  We don’t have every talent, but we have talent…talent necessary for the world.  We don’t possess all knowledge, but we possess knowledge that is necessary for the world.  We don’t have all intelligence, but we have intelligence that is necessary for the world.  We don’t have all understanding of God, but we have understanding of God that is necessary for the world.

 

When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, the heavens were torn apart, so the Holy Spirit could break in and the voice of God could confirm that Jesus was a child of God, beloved of God and that God was pleased.

 

And we need those same reminders.  When we renew our baptismal vows…when we feel the water sprinkled on us, God is breaking through to us…recalling to us what we knew when we were born…reminding us of God’s name.  God is reminding us that the Holy Spirit is right with us.  God is reminding us that we are beloved children and that God is well pleased with us.  Then we are prepared to go into the world in peace to love and to serve God.

 

Amen

Bearing Witness (Sermon) December 14, 2014

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Sermon – December 14, 2014

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

Advent III Year B

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. John 1:6-8

Please be seated.

For 56 years, I sat in the pews just like you.  It was only on January 27, 2013, that I started wearing this collar.  However, in some of my seminary classes, especially the Pastoral Theology classes taught by Professor Amy Bentley Lamborn, and in Clinical Pastoral Education, we talked about how people might relate to us once we had our collar on.

Wearing this collar and shirt means different things to different people.  Some people are comforted or feel trust towards me.  Some people feel frightened or angry.  It all depends upon your own experiences.

Wearing this collar is a way to testify that I am an ordained person in the Christian Church.  My ordination certificate even says the people are well assured of my:  “sober, honest and godly Life and Conversation, competent Learning, Knowledge of the holy Scriptures, and Soundness in the faith.”

At my Ordination to the priesthood (found on page 532 of the Book of Common Prayer), I promised to do my best “to pattern [my] life (and that of my family or household or community) in accordance with the teachings of Christ, so that [I] may be a wholesome example to my people.”

So I put on this collar often as a testimony and witness of my belief in Jesus Christ and my calling to be a priest in the church.  And yet, there are times when I’m not really such a great witness, I fear….

For instance, one day I was traveling back to Corbin from Lexington.  My car sports a St. John’s license plate on the front.  If you don’t have one, ask me about getting one.  I had to stop at Wal-Mart for hot dog rolls.  It was a Wednesday and we were having activities in the park and I was buying more hot dog rolls to go with the hot dogs.  I was in a big hurry, too.

Well, that was when they were doing construction and S. Stewart Road/Sawyers Rd. was only one lane each way.  The first entrance to Wal-Mart, there by the gas station and Dairy Queen, was blocked by tractor trailers.  The woman in front of me was trying to get to Wal-Mart, but couldn’t get in, because of the blockage.  And I couldn’t get around her either.  There’s another entrance to Wal-Mart further down the road and when the woman didn’t seem to know that, I started honking my horn and pointing to her to go up further to the next entrance.

Well, I kept honking and pointing and yelling – go on ahead, but she only got angry and got out of her car.  I tried yelling out my window that she could go to the next entrance, but she wouldn’t listen.  The trucker blocking the entrance to Wal-Mart even got into the game, giving me dirty looks and then he pointed at the front of my car with the St. John’s license plate on it and gave me a really dirty look and yelled at me.  I’m not sure if he saw my collar or not.

Clearly, I was not a good representative of The Episcopal Church in Corbin that day.  I was trying to be helpful, but I was more interested in getting my own tasks done than in being a witness for God.

Today, we once again hear about John the Baptist.  In the Gospel of John, we learn that John the Baptist made it clear he was not the Messiah.  Many people thought he might be.  The Gospel writer makes it clear that John the Baptist was a “witness to testify to the light.”  We, too, are called to “testify to the light, so that all might believe….”

What does that mean?  Well, to testify, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, means “to make a statement based on personal knowledge or belief :  bear witness.”  We are called to bear witness to the truth of Jesus Christ…to testify what it means to be a follower of Christ.  We do that with words, sharing our story of faith.  But more importantly, we testify with our actions…with how we live our daily lives.

It’s surely not easy.  There is plenty of professed following of Christ in our community, but you’d never know it by the way we treat each other and the conditions we create – the poverty, cruelty, homelessness, seeking revenge.  No,  giving witness to Christ…following Christ….testifying to the truth of Jesus Christ…to love as the key…to loving our neighbor as ourselves…to putting God first, is extremely hard.

Now, I have my collar and shirt that help remind me and some of us have the license plate on the front of our cars.  We have this Sunday morning service and Wednesday evening service where we can get centered again…hear scripture, sing together, pray prayers together, ask for forgiveness and be forgiven, break bread together, to remind us of our testimony and of our calling to testify and bear witness to Jesus Christ.

This week, think about how you testify and bear witness to Jesus Christ.  Be aware.

You see, we are all “sent from God.” We have come as witnesses “to testify to the light, so that all might believe …..” We are “not the light,” but we come “to testify to the light.”

Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparing for the Kingdom of God (Sermon) November 9, 2014

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Sermon – November 9, 2014

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

22nd Sunday after Pentecost Year A Proper 27 Track 1

Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. Matthew 25:13

Please be seated.

Recently, I was looking through some old photographs.  Yes, actual photographs.  Unfortunately, I was not a good cataloguer of my photos.  I didn’t always write the date on them and I didn’t put them in albums in chronological order and many times, I got duplicate photos then stuck them in different albums!  I’m so grateful that we now have online archives of digital photos and computers that somehow know when the photos were taken!

So, I was looking through album after album, remembering the process of taking the photos, using up the roll of film, taking it to be developed, maybe even to a 1-hour processor, and then getting them back, and finally seeing if they were any good or not.

Then I saw it.  I had forgotten I took the photos of the event, but it is seared in my mind as a place and time when I got a glimpse of the Kingdom of God here on earth.  It is a photo of a diverse group of people…diverse in culture, gender orientation and age.  We are sitting around some tables having dinner and conversation and plenty of fun.

I looked closely at the photo from the early 1990s.  I did know most of the people and am still in touch with many of them.  But some have died.  I couldn’t remember the name of the restaurant, although I remember a lot about the owner, whose name I’ve also forgotten.  I didn’t even remember what time of year it was or why we were there.  But I clearly remembered it as a glimpse of the Kingdom of God.

Why is that?  Because there were so many things in that group that could have divided us…could have kept us separate.  Things like race, culture, class, age, sexual orientation.  Yet, we were together and having fun and so grateful for our friendship.  I just knew and know the Kingdom God is like that.

In today’s readings, we are asked first of all in Joshua, to choose the God we will serve.  Last week I asked you what makes you cling to Jesus, despite the challenges of being a Christian.  Now this week, you are asked to be clear about whether you will serve God or whether you will serve other things in your life that you think are God?  Will you serve your own pride and ego?  Will you serve money?  Will you serve property?  Or will you serve the God of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca…the God whose Son, Jesus Christ came to live and die as one of us?

If you will serve the God of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, the Father of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, then in the Gospel of Matthew you are told to “Be Prepared” for the coming of the Kingdom of God!  Those of you who were members of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts will remember those words!

Always be prepared.  Always be prepared for the Kingdom of God!  So how do we prepare for the Kingdom of God that we’ve never seen?  Jesus did give us some hints.  The Kingdom of God will be filled with all kinds of people, especially those we least expect.  Remember Jesus found that the outcasts of his day…the marginalized of his day…the tax collectors, the women, the prostitutes, the Gentiles…were the very ones who believed in him…believed in his message…and changed how they lived their lives.  Having oil in our lamps…Being prepared and awake…means that we look around us and see how our relationship is with those people today who are marginalized or on the fringes.  Does our church look like the Kingdom of God because all people are active members of our body?

Jesus said we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  So at the heart of the Kingdom of God is love.  Do we love ourselves?  Do we forgive ourselves?  Do we learn from our mistakes, ask forgiveness and move on?  Or are we constantly abusing ourselves?  Having oil in our lamps means that we love ourselves, faults and all.

And what about our neighbor?  Are we judgmental, rather than using good judgment?  Do we work so that all of our neighbors have what they need to live a good life or are we just concerned with ourselves and our family?  Having oil in our lamps means that we love our neighbors.

So, choose this day whom you will serve, and then Be Prepared…keep awake…have enough oil in your lamps, because the Kingdom of God is amazing and you won’t want to miss it!

Amen

Seeing with our eyes, but not crossing over (Sermon) October 26, 2014

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Sermon – October 26, 2014

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 25) Track 1

The LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, `I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” Deuteronomy 34:4

 Please be seated.

Recently, my children, Scot and Carrie and I had the opportunity to tell someone how much they meant to us and how they affected our lives.  It was my second husband, Fred’s, birthday and his wife Daphne asked for people to send photos and memories to Fred to celebrate his birthday.  Fred is in treatment for some pretty serious cancer and Daphne thought the memories and photos would be fun for Fred.

So often in life we do the best we can, don’t we?  Sometimes we know when we are doing something that someone appreciates and other times, we never know.  I know there are many ways that my life is different because Fred was so supportive of the things I wanted to do in life.  Even though we divorced, I am grateful for the part he played in my life.  I am also grateful for the ways he was a father to my two children.

How wonderful to see the words my children wrote on Fred’s Facebook page.  Scot wrote:

“Thank you for everything that you have done for me. Thank you for all of the trips to the crazy places that I never wanted to go to, but I was always glad I went. Thanks for the trips down to the 7 Eleven where I could NEVER make up my mind. Thank you for letting me play poker before it was the cool thing to do. Thank you for bringing me on the camping trip to find the next place to have the next 4th fest. And especially thanks for stepping up and being my father when you didn’t have to!”

Carrie wrote:  “You chose to be a father to Scot Brown and I; you helped raise us and loved us and hold us in your heart. I’m sure there were times we didn’t make it easy for you, but you didn’t let go. I remember you telling me that I was so good at science and math that I better find a career in it. And look at me now  I teach science! You helped shuttle me around to dance recitals, choir recitals, band practices, parades, and events. … I’ve tagged you in photos that I could find to help you remember all you’ve done and how much more you have left to do! Hope it’s a wonderful year full of love, health, and peace!”

To see what my children remembered and what meant so much to them…what helped them grow into the people they are today… was heartwarming for me, reminding me that we can never tell how our interactions shape the future.  Many times we never hear words as clear as those of my children to their stepfather.  Sometimes we never know.

Today in Deuteronomy, we hear how God showed Moses the Promised Land.  God called Moses to stand up to the oppressive enslavers of the Israelites, leading the people from slavery into freedom.  Then God called Moses to lead the people in the wilderness for 40 years, until new generations could be born, who could see the vision of freedom and live into the vision of freedom, not as a reaction to having been enslaved, but as an embodiment of trust in God who was with them the whole way.

But Moses was not going to lead the people into the Promised Land.  Remember how the people were wandering in the wilderness and started to complain because they had no water?  Remember how they wanted to go back to their oppressors, rather than be without water?  Well, in Numbers Chapter 20, God tells Moses God will provide water for the people.   In verse 8, God says, “Take the staff and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and command the rock before their eyes to yield its water.”

So Moses and Aaron gather everyone together before the rock and in verse 10, Moses says, “Listen, you rebels, shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”  Then Moses strikes the rock twice.  Plenty of water comes out.  But do you see what Moses did?  Moses did not say that God would provide the water.  Moses acted like he and Aaron were going to provide the water when he said, “shall we….”  Moses confirmed his own actions by striking the rock, rather than obeying God’s instructions to command the rock to release its water.  Moses did not trust God or God’s words and did this his own way.

As a result, in verse 12, God tells Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me, to show my holiness before the eyes of the Israelites, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”  Now, it’s nearly 40 years later and God lets Moses look upon the Promised Land, but reminds him he shall not go into the Promised Land.

And that is so true of how we are called to live our lives.  We live them in today, yet we must be ever mindful that our actions today carry on and into places we will never see.  We may be tempted to live only in the now…only in the short term…only find valuable those things whose results we can see right here and right now.

But that’s not what God requires of us.

Today is pledge Sunday when we turn in our pledges in the offering plate…when we, with God’s help and direction, say how much of what God has given to us, we will return to God for God’s work through the community of St. John’s Episcopal church.

Look at the church….  Even physically in what we can see and touch.  Who sat in that pew you were sitting in?  Someone sat there many years ago…many years before you were born, even.  Their gifts of time, talent and dollars made sure that pew is here for you today.  They could not imagine, sitting there when they did, how the church would look today or what the church would be doing today.  They could not see you…had no vision of you.  Yet, they gave, so St. John’s would be here for you.

Like Moses, we are asked to do our part…to use our talents, dollars and skills in God’s service…to lead people through the wilderness, if God asks.  This is our call…to do as much as God asks of us, knowing God may let us see it with our eyes, but not cross over there.

Amen