Those Who Wear Soft Robes

A Sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent (A RCL 12/12/2010),

offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts: Isaiah 35:1-10; Canticle 15; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11

 

My brothers and sisters: What does it mean to be a prophet?

What is the peculiar gift, the particular calling of a prophet? During this Advent season, we are called to remember the prophets, to recall the special gift of the prophet’s voice. They are the ones we recall now as preparing the way of the Lord, making the way clear for Jesus to come into the world as the long-promised Messiah.

But what exactly is a prophet? How do we define this calling? If you consult with secular authorities, they may say that a prophet is one who predicts future events. But, within the biblical sense, a prophet rather is one who speaks who special authority from God, one who is chosen to be a dedicated mouthpiece through which God can speak to humanity. Predicting events of the future, of course, is only secondary, peripheral to the task of communicating truth, to the mission of bringing light into places of darkness.

If you ever attend a Pentecostal or charismatic worship event, then you might discover that there are people even today in these congregations who claim to speak with a prophet’s authority. I heard a story of one such woman who stood up during worship, claiming that God had given her a word of prophecy for the congregation. Everyone listened with attention as she stood in a trance-like state and then spoke with a deep, commanding voice of authority and said: “Thus says the Lord – even as Moses led the animals into the ark, even so shall I lead my people to safety, if they will trust in me!”

Then she sat down, but people in that gathered community immediately started whispering amongst themselves. “Did she say Moses? I think she said Moses!” And suddenly, after a few minutes, the supposed prophetess stood up again and, once again in her trance-like state she declared: “Thus says the Lord – it wasn’t Moses, it was Noah!”

And everyone tried as hard as possible to muffle their laughter!

But it’s not just the way they speak that defines a prophet. James points to the prophets as showing us the way of faithfulness not only with their words but also in their lives: “As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord” (James 5:10).

John the Baptist surely qualifies in that regard. Thrown into prison, he patiently waited for Jesus to reveal himself as the Messiah. But he was only human after all, and it seems that eventually even his patience began to run out!

There’s a new commercial running right now for the new Windows phone. I bet that many of you have seen it. They call it “a phone to save us from our phones”.

Windows 7 Phone commercial

The commercial shows a number of people doing ridiculous things while distracted on their phones. The things they are doing are ridiculous, but also common in the sense that we have seen others doing similar ridiculous things. And all the while in the commercial, puzzled bystanders are watching and asking the question: “Really?”

Well, this is John the Baptist’s “really?” moment. He’s in jail now. He cannot be active in his ministry any longer. And so as a puzzled bystander, he is watching and he is asking the question: “Really? Really, Jesus? Is this it? Is this what you are up to after all?”

It must have been hard for John the Baptist. After all, he is your classic Type-A personality, doing everything with precision, by the book. Don’t you get that sense when you imagine John the Baptist? Eating only locusts and wild honey, wearing very odd, rough clothing. Only sleeping out-of-doors. Never swaying from his task of bringing God’s message to the people with seriousness and sternness. If God is going to call him to be a prophet, then he’s going all out to be the best prophet possible!

But he is sent to prepare the way for Jesus, after all. And the Lord Jesus comes, and what does he do? He eats dinners with prostitutes and tax collectors! He drinks wine with Pharisees! This is not quite what John the Baptist had in mind! Can you blame him for being a bit perplexed and confused?

But there is another prophet who is brought before us today for our consideration. Another prophet who shows perhaps even more clearly an example of suffering and patience. For who can possibly exemplify patience and suffering better than a mother?

Even blessed Mary, the mother of the Lord, is a prophet, one who speaks with her life as well as her words. Today, in our responsive reading labeled in our Prayer Book as Canticle 15, Mary speaks to everyone with prophetic power and vision in her classic song of praise, the Magnificat.

I asked us to pray Mary’s song all together today, because I hope that you can feel the hope and the longing in her song which runs so deep in this text. Her song is our song. Her song is the church’s song. Her prophetic words reveal the two-edged sword of God’s word: it brings hope to those who suffer, but announces danger to those who are safe and secure. “God has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”

These two sides are always present in God’s communication with us. It is commonly said that the task of a preacher is always twofold. It is said that the task of a preacher is to comfort the afflicted, and also to afflict the comfortable.

Each person is unique, and each situation in life demands a different response. But it is possible to look at society as a whole, and to discern certain movements and attitudes which hold sway within a given human society at one time or another. And so I ask you this: from your perspective, which one of these two aspects of preaching, do you think, is most needed today, in our own time and place? To comfort the afflicted, or to afflict the comfortable? To bring a word of hope, or a word of challenge?

I’m afraid that we need a bit of affliction right now. Even in the midst of this recession, this economic downturn which has affected so many of us, even now, we as a people are very comfortable. Jesus said that “those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces” (Matthew 11:8) and in his day, this was a simple observation. But in our nation today, we all like to wear soft robes, don’t we? We don’t have royal palaces here – thank God! – but instead we all wish to live like royalty, with all the luxuries that we can get our hands on.

But what have we lost, what have we given away with our rush to acquire luxuries and soft robes and to accumulate all of the finest things in life? As a whole, we have become weak, afraid to sacrifice, unwilling to be challenged for the greater good.

Do you know that back in the early centuries of the church, in Ireland and the Celtic lands, that anyone who wished to be ordained first had to demonstrate that they had memorized the entire book of Psalms? All 150 Psalms recited from memory? By listening to the requirements today, you would think that things have gotten more difficult rather than less!

Did you also hear how the United States Army recently revised its Basic Training program for the first time in 30 years?

General Interviewed about changes

They had to change it in order to address two general problems with new recruits: lack of fitness and excessive weight. In short, this means that the average Army recruit today is not physically able to handle the Basic Training program of past generations.

Look even at our Advent observance! How quick we are to bypass the rigor of Advent’s spiritual preparation in order to jump right into the cookies and parties and celebrations of Christmas! Let’s face it: we, as a people, we have become soft and weak. And so, I believe that God calls out to us today with a challenge and a rebuke. The One who casts down the mighty from their thrones is calling us to seek the things that are above, to renew our focus upon those things that have eternal meaning and value.

May you and I be among those who are able to hear this divine challenge and respond to it with energy, enthusiasm and trust. Amen.

Put on Jesus!

Sermon for the First Sunday of Advent (A RCL 11/28/2010), offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts: Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44

Happy New Year, my friends! Happy New Year! And so, once again, we find ourselves at the start of another cycle of the Christian year, back at the beginning. And what is it that we hear now as that first initial call that the Church sends out to us at the start of this new year? What message do our appointed lessons give us here at the beginning of Advent? They are all a call to return to consciousness, to deep and continual awareness. What did our Lord command in this reading from Matthew’s Gospel? “Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42).

Jesus uses the story of Noah as the framework for his discussion here. Let us think for a moment about this reference to the days of Noah. While Noah worked diligently at the building of the ark, those people around Noah continued on with their usual daily activities, oblivious to and unaware of what God was doing. “They knew nothing”, Jesus says, “until the flood came and swept them all away.” But they knew nothing because they chose to know nothing. It was a question of awareness, a matter of paying attention.

This is where it becomes personal for us. Do we not all struggle with paying attention? Do you not find it challenging and difficult to maintain awareness, to sustain focused consciousness upon God and upon what God is doing around you?

Our strategy for accomplishing this is given loud and clear in our reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:14).

Put on Jesus. Put on the Lord like you put on your clothing each and every morning!

Have you heard of the famous Saint Augustine of Hippo? Do you know the great story of his conversion? Though he was born into a poor family in present-day Algeria in the year 354 AD, Augustine had a brilliant mind. He was a gifted young man, but also troubled in many ways. As a master of speaking and of classical literature, Augustine became a teacher of rhetoric. After moving to Rome and to Milan, and he was very much sought-after as an excellent teacher for the children of the wealthy.

Augustine’s mother had become a Christian and she prayed for him. Augustine himself was very much impressed by the writings of the apostle Paul, but his was a divided soul. He was attracted by the wisdom and beauty of the Lord. He could see that truth was in Jesus, but he was afraid to give up his past life, afraid of the changes that God would require of him once he committed his life to Christ. Augustine did not want to give up the pleasures of his easy and successful life, but deep down he knew that he was being a coward. He knew that he was forsaking eternal truth for the sake of silly falsehoods of this world, and he despised himself for it.

Until one day, in July of the year 386, when this tension within him became too much. Pacing in a garden in Milan, Augustine heard the voice of a child calling out in Latin “Tolle, lege! Tolle, lege!” “Take and read. Or pick up and read.” He could not see a child and he could not tell from where the voice was coming. So Augustine accepted this as the voice of God calling him to return to his book of the letters of St. Paul which he had left nearby. He picked it up and turned to this very passage from the Letter to the Romans: “Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:14).

These very words struck him to the heart. These words chased away his cowardice, his lack of awareness. And right there, Augustine decided to take up the light of Christ and to leave behind the darkness of his sin once and for all. And immediately, he was overcome with joy and peace. He had been so afraid of letting go of his petty pleasures and secret desires, but once he had crossed this line – once he had reached out to Christ in faith and in trust – he could see right away how foolish his fear had been. When Augustine put on Christ, his eyes were opened and he could see himself for who he really was (Read Book VIII of Augustine's Confessions for the entire story).

Keep awake, the Lord calls to us. Wake from sleep, the apostle calls to us. But how? How are we to find the strength to do this? We cannot just buck ourselves up and make it happen. That might work for a while, but it can’t last. So where do we find the power, the energy, the strength to make this happen?


We put on the Lord Jesus Christ. And how do we do this? Through prayer. Through continual prayer in the name of Jesus, the Lord, the Messiah, the coming Prince of Peace.

Is it possible actually to live our human lives with this continual awareness of God? Is it possible to stay awake and alert at all times? Some may wonder: how can I maintain this consciousness of God at all times, even when I am stuck in the midst of the crazy business of life, or when other tasks demand my full concentration?

Yes. It is possible, and you can do it. During this season of Advent, as we prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of the Lord once again, let us welcome this season as a time when we can maintain the name of Jesus on our lips, and in our hearts, at all times, in all places. In this way, we can put on the Lord Jesus Christ and so stay awake and aware. Amen.

St. Nicholas of Myra!

Making Mitres at our St. Nicholas Feast - much fun was had by all !

Notes from the Children's Sermon for the 2nd Sunday of Advent (also the Feast of St. Nicholas).

Good morning and a blessed Advent to all of you! Blessed Advent.

What does it mean to prepare the way? What is preparation?

Did you see the snow yesterday? Think of snowplows and snow shovels. Before we go out in the snow, we need to get ready. We need to prepare the way: to shovel the sidewalk or plow the street or clear off the car. If I don’t use this snow broom to clean off my windshield this morning, then I can’t drive here, because I can’t see where I am going! Only after this work is done, then we can go on our way to do what we need to do. The plows and brooms clear away the junk so that we can go about doing our work.

Do any of you like to eat pancakes? Well, first you have to heat up the pan and make the batter. This is preparing the way for pancakes, preparing the way for breakfast!

Who is John the Baptist? Here is an old picture, an icon, of St. John the Baptist. How did he prepare the way for the Lord Jesus? By telling the people that they needed to change, and by baptizing all the people, and by telling them that Jesus was coming.

I have another question for you: Who is Saint Nicholas? I also have an icon of him as well.
How does Saint Nicholas prepare the way for us to celebrate Christmas? St. Nicholas teaches us that we show Jesus that we love him when we give to help other people. We give gifts to Jesus when we give gifts to those who need them.

Let me tell you the most famous story about St. Nicholas. It actually starts out very sad. When he was a young man, both of Nicholas’ parents died from a bad disease that was going around. Like the swine flu, but much worse. They left him the money that they had. But Nicholas wanted to be a priest, and he decided to give his money away. He heard about a family in his town who was very poor, and the three young daughters were going to be sold as slaves. Their father did not know what else to do! Nicholas decided to act. Late at night, when everyone was asleep, he decided to secretly drop a bag of gold through one of the windows in the family’s house. (Some people say that it landed in a shoe or in a stocking that was hanging by the fire to dry out.) The family was so happy that one of the daughters did not have to be a slave now, but the other 2 girls were still in danger. So Nicholas went back again, two different nights, to secretly drop bags of gold through an open window. But the third time, the father of the girls was overcome with curiosity to know who their secret gift-giver was, so he stayed up late at night and ran out when he saw the bag of gold dropped in. Around a corner in the street, he caught up to Nicholas and thanked him, dropping to his knees. Nicholas told the father to thank God, not him, and to keep the gifts of gold a secret.

But everyone eventually heard about St. Nicholas, and how he cares for young children who are in need or danger.

So I want you to remember: John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus when he lived here on earth. And St. Nicholas prepares the way for Christmas every year. And I want you to try to be like St. Nicholas: to share what you have, to give gifts to those who are poor or hungry or needy. That will make this to be for you the best Christmas ever!