St. Anne’s Episcopal Church,
Easter 6 C (RCL), May 9, 2010
Leslie Ferguson, Seminarian
Acts 16:9-15; Psalm 67; Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5; John 5:1-9
Let us pray: O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: therefore, let the words of our mouths and the mediations of our hearts be always acceptable in your sight, our strength and our redeemer. Amen
There is a place for congregational participation; hopefully you see it when it comes around.
Let your ways be known upon earth, *
your saving health among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, *
for you judge the people with equity and guide all the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let the peoples praise you.
Psalm 67:2-5 BCP
God is good, all the time… all the time, God is good.
Life is full of blessings, new beginnings, and endings. That’s just part of life and today is no different. We are chock-a-block with symbols of new beginnings: we will/have baptized three new members of the Body of Christ, Eleanor, Emily, and Anna; three new children of God welcomed into our midst. Our teens will be/are outside washing cars in preparation for the upcoming mission trips; bringing hope and new life to a world that can be less than hospitable for many. The mothers in our midst and in our memories are being called back to the forefront on our annual celebration of Mother’s Day; honoring the new beginning each of us shared at our birth.
Yet, in the midst we of these new beginnings we are forced to acknowledge the endings that also permeate today. As we remember Mother’s Day we allow space to remember those whose mothers and grandmothers may no longer be with them. Likewise, we recognize an ending signaled in the baptism of three young girls, an ending of one part of their childhood being “outside” the anointed family of God. We also recognize the end of another step in the growth of our teens as they begin to carry their baptismal covenant promises to the world as they look to “seek and serve Christ in all others.”
Yet, there’s another new beginning lurking in people’s minds today; one that I’ll expand on in a little bit – but there’s more ground to cover before those observations can be made. New beginnings are not simply generative events; our new beginnings are marked periods of letting go of old ways in a healthy way, gaining a new perspective on an emerging reality of life, often a time of mourning at the end of something that has been good and blessed, yet at the same time we are encouraged to count the blessings of our lives in celebration of the friendships and relationships developed over the time together.
However, most poignantly, today we recognize the ending of a relationship, a loving relationship of just under 2 years. Today, we recognize the relationship that we’ve shared as Seminarian and church family; Seminarian family and family of God; we acknowledge how much we’ve grown together and learned from each other. Today we celebrate the mutual ministry we’ve had in and around
God is good, all the time… all the time, God is good.
Instead of looking at today with sadness I’d like to focus on the blessings of the day. At St. Anne’s I have come to understand every day is a blessing; a time to find God at work in the most mundane yet amazing places. It is in this place that I’ve seen the body of Christ living together in faith and hope – hope in a loving and caring future where all people are welcomed as children of God regardless of their faith, orientation, social status, or political party. It is from this place that I’ve seen people honored as a blessing – Citizenship classes, ESL tutors, Common Ground Day School, Smiles for
Yet, blessings that are focused “out there” can leave a little to be desired “in here.” The blessings that can be most important to us are the ones that are right here and right now. The blessings most tangible to us are Mother’s Day; the blessing of the teen car wash; most certainly the blessing of three baptisms; and oddly, the blessing of my departure. My departure may not seem like blessing; there’s a part of me that doesn’t really feel blessed to leave this place. But the blessing is the new beginning that is signaled by my departure. The new beginning is at least three fold; my new beginning in a new congregation as an ordained minister in the Church; the new beginning where Patrick and Audrey serve as your Seminarians; and the new beginning of the family dynamic of life within the body in a new and engaging way.
What are the marks of endings and new beginnings? As we travel through our life we are faced with countless endings and beginnings; along with these transitions we are marked with symbols of our passage: the birth announcement our mothers gave on our birthday; the sign of the cross in our baptism; the “anointing” of youth in service; and soon, the conferring of a degree, laying on of hands by a bishop, and a vesting with the mantle of priesthood. Yet with all these passages we are met with challenges: the challenge to grow up healthy and loved, even when we hurt or disappoint our families; the challenge of a faithful life in the body of Christ; the challenge of a faithful life as one who cares for the world outside our walls; the challenge to live our life faithfully into God’s calling. In our new beginning we are blessed and should celebrate. The question is, how?
Today is a celebration of our blessings by God, both individually and communally. Our challenge is how to respond to those blessings. Do we choose to stay and bask in the blessing, not growing in the commission we’ve received from God? Or do we look for new ways to better live into God’s plan? Our psalm provides an outline for our response to God’s blessings, even when they “hurt” or challenge us to grow. The Psalmist tells us that God will make God’s self known upon earth – the plan for believers to follow as they develop their relationship with God. God guides us along the way if we but listen for his guidance. In response we are called to branch out from our places of security and comfort move into the places of the world where God needs us to serve. And our response to these blessings is to: first sing for joy; then to be rejoined in community under God; next to faithfully acknowledge and follow God’s guidance as a blessing; and last to faithfully proclaim God’s message to the corners of the world.
Practically we begin in the Baptisms today. As a community we participate and affirm that we will proclaim God’s truth in word and example; we bear witness to Eleanor, Emily, and Anna and God’s blessings as children of God in community. We are blessed to be bound together in mutual responsibility – us taking care of these three girls as they provide an image of God for us. Through our relationship with them we shape their lives and they shape our life as a community in relationship with God. We also share in the foundation of a community of faith in action that leads to proclamation of/witness to Christ as evidenced in the actions of our youth. They serve our community with a helpful service while preparing to serve the wider community and the world. Their actions are self-empowering and enhance the world by helping others see God present in the here and now. The car wash also enhances the youth’s experience of community by working together for the common goal of God’s work and being in community.
But there’s still the elephant in the room – my departure. How do we engage my departure through Scripture? In the beginning of my service at St. Anne’s I had a vision of my life in God’s service in the Church. I freely admit that this community was instrumental in realizing and developing clarity in this vision. Along the way you have celebrated God at work in me. I have been deeply moved by your perception of God in your community and those who you minister with and to; you have let yourselves be shaped by the presence of the Holy Spirit in your midst. In the long run you have given me a new vision, a new beginning of carrying God forward. But that vision is leading us to work apart, your work apart from me, and in my work apart from you. Along the way, we have come to better understand what we are in God’s kingdom as ambassadors of Christ. Today, I see us as having come full circle. In the beginning I had a vision of my place with God. As we’ve lived through the transitions of the past 2 years we have found God present in each other, in this place, and in our community away from St. Anne’s. Yet we have faithfully returned to our starting place changed and enriched, ready to carry the little piece of each other and celebrate the blessing of life with and in Christ together. Now, the cycle restarts; it begins with my new ministry in a different but like place; it begins with a new Seminarian who will need the same care and feeding, the same life without walls that is St. Anne’s
In Benediction, St. Anne’s needs to keep moving forward without losing sight of where it has come from. I was recently told by someone who has watched me evolve over these past three years in Seminary and remind me that I need to remember to bring my “hat-man” - the person who keeps people smiling and looking for a bright spot in times of darkness - along with me to my new church. I am reminded that I need to be real, to be human like you have shown me that I can be accepted for who I am - a Child of God. I believe you need to remember where you’ve come from - the place where all are welcome and where we are a church without walls or barriers. By each of us faithfully living into our calls we can praise God, to show your presence in the world, and to make a difference for God in the world. In closing I share the words of the Psalmist when they say:
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let the peoples praise you.
The earth has brought forth her increase; *
may God, our own God, give us his blessing.
May God give us his blessing, *
and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him.
Psalm 67:5-7 BCP
Which leads me to remind you that… God is good, all the time… all the time, God is good!
Thanks be to God! Amen!
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