Last
Sunday after the Epiphany; Yr. C, February 10, 2013
Annual
Meeting Sunday
Exodus
34:29-35; Psalm 99; 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2; Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a)
Sermon
preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
And all
of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord reflected in a mirror,
are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another;
for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this
ministry, we do not lose heart. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
I know our gospel reading is about Jesus’
transformation, but this reading from 2 Corinthians talks about something even
more amazing. It talks about God’s work
in each of us, the work of continually creating us in the image of God. This passage is all about OUR
transformation. Through Christ, we are
being changed, transformed, transfigured, matured in faith. We are looking in a mirror and seeing God
reflected in our face, and with each passing day our faces change … becoming
more and more glorious.
Did you hear what I said? It doesn’t say that we start out looking
dog-eared and disgusting. It doesn’t say
we start at the bottom and work toward becoming acceptable or loveable or
worthy. No! Our collect says that we are “changed into
God’s likeness from glory to glory”. We
are glorious from the beginning! In
God’s eyes the way forward is up and up and up, from glory into glory. How amazing is that!
Imagine our faces shining with the light of God
the way Moses’ face shone after he came down from the mountain. Shining with the passion of God’s love … for
us, for everyone, for the world. Shining
with enthusiasm and passion, committed to the work that draws us into
relationship with all the other glorious people on this earth.
Can we even imagine what that would be like? What if we actually believed that within each
of us was the glory of God peeking out?
Wouldn’t we be transformed?
Wouldn’t we treat everyone a little nicer, with a little more patience,
paying them a little more attention, showing a little more concern? We trip over ourselves to get a look at
famous athletes, or movie stars, or high profile politicians … as if they were
the ones whose faces shone with God’s glory.
When in fact, the faces in our pews, and at Sunday suppers, and in the
office, and at the gym, and on the bus, and around your dinner table, and in
the grocery store checkout line, and delivering packages at your door are
filled with God’s glory. Glory surrounds
us, and we have only to look for it … first in our own mirror … and then in
every face that we see.
We need to look for it because so many others do
not. The government doesn’t. The social welfare system doesn’t. The educational systems don’t. The health care industry can’t. Corporate America won’t. Systems can’t. They’re institutions, not human beings. Without the human element intentionally
looking people in the face and finding that light of God staring back at them,
people turn into numbers on a page, statistics on a spreadsheet, checks in a
box. God means for us to engage people
on a personal level. God means for us to
look each other in the face and connect in that glory.
Isn’t that how things get done? Let me give you some examples. I met Juliet Sullivan for coffee a few weeks
ago. She suggested that we meet at the 1872 Café, the new coffee shop at the
Voter’s Block apartments. I had driven
by it lots of times, but had never stopped in before. It’s a ministry of Spiritus Christi, many of
you may know that church. Income from
that shop goes to support their ministries in the community. Their outreach grants have helped support our
Sunday suppers. How about that? My vanilla steamer supports Debbie and Karen
and all the Sunday supper volunteers in living out their ministry. Now I tell everyone I see about that
place. That’s glory into glory.
On Tuesday I attended a funeral at Two
Saints. I sat next to a parishioner at
the repast following the service that I hadn’t seen in some time. She told me how she was “at home now”, and
looking for something to do. Really?
“Are you serious?” I said. “Because I
can give you some ideas.” She’s a social
worker. So I started talking to her
about SWEM, and how we need people who could take calls from people calling for
emergency food. “I can do that”, she
said. “And my friend over there can help
me. She needs something to hook her in
too.” She’s a retired nurse. I talked about how we are thinking about
starting some blood pressure screening at Sunday suppers. Terry’s coming in to see Karen on
Monday. People engaging people. That’s
glory into glory!
So Thursday afternoon, I’m meeting with a
colleague. I suggest that we meet at the
1872 Café. She’s never been there
before. We both get something to drink
and start to talk … about the Congregational Development Grant process that
both our churches will be entering soon, about the diocese. Blah, blah, blah. But then … we start talking about our
churches, and the mission that’s happening there, the people who are daring to
dream, the ministries that are being deepened or planted. That’s when the glory started to really shine
in her face. I could feel my heart begin
to pound a little faster, because we were talking about changing the world,
about our churches changing the world, about churches changing us. Changing from glory into glory.
As we were going out, I told her I had to stop to
talk to the manager. I needed to ask her
if they would be willing to be the rest stop for the CROPWalk this year. As we walked up to the counter, the four
workers, who may have been volunteers for all I know, were gathered in a
circle. Each was holding a little cup of
something liquid. They were making a
toast, saying a prayer, spreading some joy as I watched. When they finished, the manager came over to
the counter. I started my schpleel. I talked about the CROPWalk and SWEM. I talked about how we are hoping to highlight
improvements in the neighborhood, especially in the Focused Investment Strategy
area and the Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood. Voter’s Block was certainly one of those
sites. I talked about how the CROPWalk
is an opportunity to make a difference locally and globally to end hunger. She looked at me and said, “You’re saying all
the right things! If you need volunteers, you came to the right place. Spiritus Christi is full of them.” I could see the glory spilling right out of
her smile and meeting mine.
As my friend and I walked into the parking lot,
she turned to me and said, “See. Isn’t
that way better than sitting inside your office? Engaging people. Meeting people. That’s what mission is all about.” That’s when I decided I needed to encounter
God’s glory more often in the neighborhood.
Friday morning, another colleague calls me at
home. “What do you know about Ashes on
the Go?” “Not much”, I answer. “Well, do you want to come with me to
distribute ashes on Ash Wednesday at Greece Ridge Mall.” “Maybe”, I say. “There could be TV coverage”, she
responds. We had talked a little about
it a week or so ago, before YNN was involved.
I had said that I would think about it.
I feel funny about taking ashes out to people who are just passing
by. It feels like religion on the cheap. It feels like I’m dumbing down our tradition,
even making a farce out of a meaningful ritual.
It feels like I’m diminishing its significance to get a little PR. I
tell her all this. “I can go with you”,
I said, “to support you.” “No!” She’s emphatic. “You need to do it with me if you come. It’s
about meeting people where they are. Think
about it. We’re going where God already
is. Look on-line, three bishops went to
a train station and did it last year.”
“Were they Episcopal bishops?” I
ask. “Yes.” Rats, I had hoped they weren’t. It’s so hard to meet people where they are,
when you’re not sure where you stand.
How far am I willing to go? “I’m
not so keen about going to a mall.” She
suggests the Maplewood YMCA. That
sounds better to me. At least it’s a
Christian organization. Since it is by
God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. Right?
Changing from glory into glory is hard work. “Okay”, I tell her. “You make the arrangements, and I’ll
go.” Then I e-mail two other city clergy
and invite them to come with us.
We don’t have to make all the right
decisions. We don’t have to do
everything right. We don’t have to have
all the answers. At the missional
conference I attended in the fall, they said “fail fast”. Be willing to try new things. Take risks.
Be willing to let go of things that aren’t working. Don’t keep dumping energy into things that
don’t have any energy in them. It’s part
of the glory of God. No shame in
failure. Church is a no guilt
operation. BUT … pay attention to the
passion in your heart. Pay attention to
the things that make your heart start pumping a little faster. Pay attention to the people you can’t seem to
get out of your head. Those are the
things that will challenge our growing edges and reveal God. Those are the places where God’s glory is
trying to break through. We’re being
transformed from glory into glory through one another. Believe it.
It is our calling and our joy. Thanks
be to God!
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment