May 20, 2007 Sermon
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Easter 7 - C
May 20, 2007 Emmanuel, San Angelo
With our service today we draw the curtain on another season of our church year. Actually two seasons come to an end today. The first is the Easter season. Remember that while most folks have long since moved on from the day of Easter, Episcopal Christians believe goes on and on. We believe that Resurrection is so important, and so foundational to our faith that we take 6 weeks to get ready for that one day, and another 6 weeks to celebrate!
Of course we also have that “other calendar” that governs our lives. For many folks, today marks the end of regular church attendance. I used to get frustrated with this, but now I see it as just the way it is: Sunday school is over; EYC ends today; summertime always means low attendance, high utility bills, driving kids to camp, summer school, summer jobs, summer vacations. Not that things really get less busy, it is just a different kind of “busy”. But as we are always reminded, God never takes vacation—and God is always ready to welcome us back which is a good thing. So, whether today is for you an ending or a beginning—it is in reality, entirely a matter of perspective.
A great example of perspective is seen in the first reading. Like the old image of a glass being ˝ full or ˝ empty, according to the Old Testament tradition, the children of Israel were awakened to a new point of view. As the story goes, once they had entered into the promised land they immediately called for a King so, as the Bible says, so they could be like all the other nations. Had they just followed God in the first place life would have been much simpler, but their desire was for a king, so according to the story, God gave them a King. But once there was a King, problems were not far behind. King Saul literally went crazy. David, as good as he was, made some very un-godly choices. Solomon was wise but an empire builder, proving positively the old adage that when you make somebody a king (or a CEO, or a president, or a bishop) they start to act that way. Power always changes a person; and absolute power always corrupts absolutely. Yet almost as if God knew the outcome beforehand, he uses the monarchy as “teachable moment” and from the lips of the prophet Samuel issues an invitation and a challenge to bring life back into perspective:
“Ok so you have an earthly ruler. Don’t be afraid. Consider this an opportunity to learn. Do not turn aside from following the Lord. I will instruct you in the good and the right way. Fear the God; and serve God, Love God with all your heart and things shall be well, in God’s time.”
Turning to the Gospel reading we have yet another example of this call to perspective. In the final hours of his life Jesus concludes his earthly ministry at the Last Supper with a prayer. According to John, Jesus prays out loud for his disciples - to God while they are listening- calling his followers to seek a oneness, a unity, a consistency in their lives between faith an action: Don’t just talk the talk, but live it, Jesus says in effect. Human strivings and human goals will never give ultimate harmony in life. True Peace, God’s peace is centered outside of ones self. Life like all of creation, is a divine work, and finds its ultimate meaning and purpose only in relation to that “Ground of our being”
So what does this say for us today? As Christians we are reminded that every day, and every end is an opportunity for a new beginning. Today we have arrived at the end of the Easter season, but in reality this and every moment is a new and fresh opportunity to see again God’s perspective in our lives. Those who were at the Wednesday night program the other night heard a wonderful image of what it can be like to come to end of our life.
The end of life depends what your vantage point is: Death is like a sunset. A sunset is at the same time a sunrise: What is death is at the same time the beginning of life anew. It all depends on your perspective.
When we find ourselves threatened by the uncertainties of life, illness, separation, loss, change of life we can see in these things a “teachable moment”. Bishop Everett Jones says in his book called Getting Life Into Perspective,
“By his death and resurrection, [Jesus] destroyed man’s bondage to time, his fear of destruction; He enabled men to plan for the future with confidence and hope. The practical meaning of the Easter message is that we are lifted from fear of the future to an attitude of joyous anticipation…Easter tells us that we can walk with God through our earthly life; we can walk with him through death and we can continue to walk with him beyond death.”
Today we draw to a close the Easter season. But in the grand circle of life this is only a point. Seek ways to grow in your faith. Pray, study, search—even in the moments away from here, when life is at its most distracting. Through your works and actions you can be as Christ in any situation. Fear the Lord, serve him faithfully with all your heart, don’t be afraid to live and to love. And all will be well.
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Quotes taken from Selected Sermons, 4/24/1983
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Revised: 05/29/07