June 10, 2007 Sermon

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June 10, 2007

Second Sunday after Pentecost - Year C

1 Kings 17:14, 17-24, Galatians 1:11-24, Luke 7:11-17

Gary Sanford             San Angelo

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.  Amen

We have all heard the saying, "it's a small world."  In fact I'll bet that most of us have used it at one time or another, but just how small is it?

According to Wikipedia, John Guare, (pronounced gwar, born 5 February 1938) an American playwright, is the author of the 1990 Six Degrees of Separation. This play, which was adapted for the screen in 1993, launched the term into everyday lexicon.  Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that, if a person is one "step" away from each person he or she knows and two "steps" away from each person who is known by one of the people he or she knows, then everyone is no more than six "steps" away from each person on Earth. Several studies, such as Stanley Milgram's small world experiment have been conducted to empirically measure this connectedness. While the exact number of links between people differs depending on the population measured, it is generally found to be relatively small. Hence, six degrees of separation is somewhat synonymous with the idea of the "small world" phenomenon.  The piece ruminates upon the idea that any two individuals are connected by at most six others. And this leads the characters to feelings of awe, and in some ways, grief. As one of the characters, Ouisa Kitteridge, states:  (Read from the Knave)

"I read somewhere that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people. Six degrees of separation between us and everyone else on this planet. The President of the United States, a gondolier in Venice, just fill in the names. I find it extremely comforting that we're so close. I also find it like Chinese water torture, that we're so close because you have to find the right six people to make the right connection...I am bound, you are bound, to everyone on this planet by a trail of six people."

Although this idea had been circulating in various forms for decades, it is this piece that is said to be responsible for popularizing, if not coining the phrase "six degrees of separation."  So, you see, there is some degree of validity to that statement…it’s a small world.  We are all connected, not only by the fact that we are all children of the one living God created in His image, but by the people we know.  Everything we say, everything we do, the way we act, the way we treat others, the way we react to the actions of others ultimately affects every living person on this earth.

Today’s lessons all have one thing in common…miracles.  The Old Testament lesson from 1^st Kings--"O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again"--and the Gospel reading from Luke--"Young man, I say to you, rise!"--closely parallel each other.

In the first Elijah is sent by God to the widow of Zarephath for whom he has already accomplished one miracle--he has ensured that she would be fed until the drought ends with a never ending supply of grain and oil.  When her son dies she is afraid of Elijah believing he has been sent to punish her for past sins.  He does not ask her to proclaim her faith or repent of her sins; he simply takes the boy to an upper room and prays over him.  The boy is brought back to life and is returned to the widow.

In the Gospel reading Jesus, to whom Luke gives the title "Lord," also raises a widow’s son from the dead.  In both cases the true miracle is not in giving life to the dead, but in giving life to the living.  The texts make it perfectly clear that both women were widows who evidently had no family other than their sons.  There were no social security or welfare programs available and the death of the sons could very well have meant the death of the women.  They would have to survive on what little they could beg, and we all have seen how well that works sometimes.  The raising from the dead of their sons has indeed given life to the mothers:  A gift from a loving and compassionate God.

But, I said that all three lessons contained miracles.  In Paul's letter to the Galatians we see, in Paul's own words, the miraculous way in which he received the Word of God through Jesus Christ.  Again, a loving and compassionate God has given life, in this case a new life, to the living.  Through his efforts the Gospel was offered to the Gentiles touching many, many lives; bringing a new life in Jesus Christ.

And that is what this message is all about:  A new life in Jesus Christ--A new life in God.  As we can see from our lessons, when the widows' sons were raised it was not just life given to the sons, but life given to the widows themselves.  It is not stated in the texts, but we can believe that this gift of life was shared with others in a renewal of faith by these women--a renewal that most certainly have affected others.  We can see, and are witness to the fact that when Paul was given the word of God and a new life through our Lord Jesus Christ it was not given to him alone.  Paul's letters influence us yet today giving us hope and faith and a stronger understanding of God.

And as baptized Christians we have accepted the death of our sins and a rebirth in the love and grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  It was a loving and compassionate God who touched Paul and the two widows.  It is a loving and compassionate God who touches us.  It is within our power to share that love and compassion with the whole world.  The whole world...its really not so big after all, is it?  It's really such a small world and we are all a part of it.  Will you share that love and compassion with the six people you know?

(Special thanks to Eldra Sanford for reading the words of Ouisa Kitteridge at the 8am service and to Sally Ray for reading at the 10:30am service.) 

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Quotes taken from Selected Sermons, 4/24/1983

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