Good morning. It is a joy to be here at St. Peter’s Church with you, and I would like to thank Mother Teri for allowing me to preach. I bring greetings from St. Margaret’s Church in Little Rock. They pray for you; I ask that you pray for them as well.
As I prepared this sermon in the past couple of weeks, I learned very quickly that it is hard to preach on Gospel stories about demons. Reason being, experiences with demons in the Biblical era and experiences with demons in the Modern era are very, very different. But, there’s something similar–a common denominator–to the experiences of the past, and the experiences of the present. So, come with me for a moment, and let’s explore this mystery, that is the working of demons in our every day life.
Let’s first look at the passage we just heard from Paul’s Letter to the Galatians in its proper context: By around 50 A.D., the Christian movement was still largely connected to Judaism, but more and more Gentiles, the non-Jews, were becoming members of the Church. People like Paul loved this. Others, the Jewish-Christians, were not so enthusiastic, mainly because of the controversy with it: Should Gentiles convert to Judaism as they are becoming members of the Church, having them follow the Jewish law–consisting of dietary constraints, marriage regulations, and how to conduct business with one another. So, when Paul traveled to Galatia and established the Church there, he declared his apostolic authority, welcoming the Gentile-Christians and not requiring that they follow the Jewish Law. Eventually, Paul moved on from Galatia to spread Christianity to other regions, and the Jewish-Christians gladly took the reigns. Under their influence, Gentiles were forced to abide by Jewish Law in order to be Christian, and the Apostolic authority of Paul was “forgotten”. So, Paul, like he often did, wrote them a letter, and by the power of his pen, he preached what the Kingdom of God looks like:
There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
It sounds like Paul is saying God is unity. God is interconnection. God is the lack of division. Just like the Trinity: God is always living in unity, as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the three in one and one in three. God is interconnection.
In the Gospel reading, we see this concept illustrated by the man possessed by many demons. While he is deeply troubled, he is an important man. His identity is “Legion”, not his name, but an identification based on his corruption. He is an outsider. And to make matters worse, scholars have suggested that, based on the context of the story, this man is a Gentile. He is so much an outsider that he doesn’t even live with the living in the city. He lives with the dead in the tombs. He is restrained there by shackles and fear. He is forgotten. He is left behind. He is outside of the circle.
The writer of the Gospel of Luke is very good about giving us the outsider’s perspective, for you see, he himself is a Gentile. He knows exclusion. That’s why we get these vivid stories like The Good Samaritan and The Prodigal Son only in the Gospel according to Luke. We are given a glimpse into Christ’s inclusive nature as he approaches this troubled man. Jesus releases him of his demons, and when the man asks to become a Disciple and follow, Jesus tells him to go back into the community, praising the good works of the Lord, and living fully in Christ.
There is a motif, a reoccurring theme, throughout today’s lessons. Its a constant conflict between good versus evil: God versus Satan. Light versus darkness. Love versus fear. There is a clear contrast between the two, but what is the difference? Who are they? Who is this God? Who is this Satan? What do they have to say to one another?
Who is God? Paul described God pretty well. God is unity, the three in one and one in three. God is interconnection, regardless of difference. God is the sure foundation of love on which we all stand. God is when there is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. God is inclusiveness.
So who is Satan? That is answered with the passage from Luke’s Gospel and the work of demons. Satan is disunity. Satan is disconnection because of difference. Satan is every man for himself, and if you get left behind, too bad. Satan is when there will always be Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female. Satan is exclusion.
If we are to live in Christ, we are to live in one another. St. Patrick puts in these words:
Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
Life in Christ is life in one another, and if we do not live in connection with one another, then we are not living in God at all. If we separate our selves from the group, or separate others from the group, great, but that’s not what Christianity is all about. Its about knowing one another.
C.S. Lewis knew this inclusive quality of Christianity well. He said:
It is easy to acknowledge, but almost impossible to realize for long, that we are mirrors whose brightness, if we are bright, is wholly derived from the sun that shines upon us.
Now, we Episcopalians are pretty good about this. Not perfect, but we definitely are a little more inclusive than some of our other brothers and sisters in Christ. Some consider us to be even too inclusive. But sometimes, we forget people. We forgot African-Americans for generations, and at the turn of the 19th century, our own Bishop, Bishop William Montgomery Brown, worked to segregate the Episcopal Church in Arkansas . He failed, thanks be to God, and the Bishops succeeding him fought to maintain the words we hear in the Baptismal rite:
There is one Body and one Spirit; There is one hope in God’s call to us; One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism; One God and Father of all.
We forgot women, specifically when it comes to ordination, until the Diocese of Arkansas was one of the first Dioceses to ordain a woman–Peggy Bosmyer was ordained to the Priesthood by Bishop Christoph Keller, Jr. on the chancel steps of Trinity Cathedral. Now we have incredible female clergy such as Mother Teri and my own Rector, Mary Vano.
Our Diocese is really good about change for inclusion. Although, there is one specific group often left out of the circle that I would like to speak with you about today. A group that is proving to be more and more capable. A group that is the future Church, yes, but also a group that is the present Church. The young people.
There is a movement going on, I would say. A movement where the Church’s youth are being acknowledged for their talents and capabilities. In the past couple of decades, the Episcopal Church passed resolutions allowing the Youth to give a voice in both the local Diocesan Conventions and at the General Convention. I’m proud that the Diocese of Arkansas is one of the select group of Dioceses that have a regular election process to bring the voice of young people into our annual Diocesan Convention.
In 2010, I became a Verger at St. Margaret’s in Little Rock, and for several months, I was the youngest Verger in the Episcopal Church. A Verger is a person who plans and directs worship under the direction of the Rector, and is typically stereotyped to be the older, gruff, male Cradle-Episcopalian. In the past few months, a couple of teenagers are becoming vergers at Trinity Cathedral in Little Rock. There’s a movement going on, I would say.
I was recently selected to be on the Episcopal Youth Event Mission Planning Team, a group of 15 or so teenagers from across the Country, and one member outside of the Country, who will plan the second largest gathering of the Episcopal Church: Episcopal Youth Event 2014. I went to one of the planning meetings this past April in Atlanta, and I was in complete shock. It’s hard to understand diversity in the Episcopal Church until you go to a national event of some sort. This community of teenagers was as diverse as it gets–coming from San Diego to Boston, and from the Dominican Republic to Wisconsin. We had one team member who spoke entirely in Spanish, and had a translator with her throughout the meeting, whose job was to translate everything discussed into a microphone clipped to her shirt, that relayed it all to the Spanish-speaking girl in a headset. Some of the members were from congregations with less than thirty members, and others were from some of the largest congregations in the country. Some of the members were from parishes that participate in very low-church movements, while others were from parishes that set the standards in “liturgical correctness.” And don’t even let me start on our first discussion of scripture–it’s like we couldn’t have been more opposite in our interpretations. We were discussing a verse from John, and half of the group thought it meant God was connected to us, and we were all connected to each other through thick and thin, while the other half of the group thought it meant God was highly selective, and if you don’t do your part, he will burn you to with unquenchable fire.
Despite all of this difference, this is the same group that huddled up in the middle of the bustling foot-traffic of the Atlanta Airport to pray before we went on our separate ways. This is the same group that collectively cheered for each person as their name was called announcing which planning committee they were appointed to. During the Eucharist we had one night, some team members genuflected, some knelt, some crossed themselves, and some bowed their heads. We sang a doxology in Hawaiian. About half of the service was in Spanish. And together, this group of young people will plan the second largest gathering of the Episcopal Church. There’s a movement going on, I would say.
This is an exciting time in the Church’s history. We are lucky to be in a time where a movement such as this is taking place and gaining momentum. And St. Peter’s can participate in this movement, much like you already have. Too many congregations view the Youth as a separate entity outside of Parish life. They see young people as “that group over there who sings silly songs and does arts and crafts.” I stand before you today to say not so fast, because the Church dares to recognize the capability of young people because we are a community of inclusion. The Church gives young people a seat on the General Convention House of Deputies so that they may voice opinions that are significant to the future generation, all in all, because we believe in interconnection.
Well, St. Peter’s Church, get connected. Get connected with people because they are people, not because they are Jew or Gentile, not because they are slave or free, not because they are male or female, not because they are young or old. Get connected with people so that we may all be one in Christ. So that we don’t leave someone living in the tombs. So that we don’t let the demons get the best of us, pulling someone away from the table. So that we may see Christ in all who love us–Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. Get connected, so that we may let the unmistakable light of Christ shine against each of our mirrors, and so, together, his unmistakable light of compassion, inclusion, and truth may break through the dark veil of hate, exclusion, and deceit. Perhaps, demons don’t work so differently now than they used to, after all.
No comments:
Post a Comment