May God’s living spirit be present
with you and with me also as we seek to open our hearts to the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Amen.
The
Gospel of Jesus Christ doesn’t always sound like good news at first, but it
always is because along with the very high expectations that it sets before us
it always combines with that an extravagant mercy, a prodigal forgiveness, and
a love that will not let us go.
I don’t know about you, but this morning when
we come to the end of this gospel reading and we hear Jesus saying, “Be
perfect, just like God is,” I don’t automatically think, “Oh, great!” Kind of
disconcerting. At which times it’s sometimes helpful to know enough New
Testament Greek so I can look up some of the nuances and meanings for these
words. It turns out that the word “perfect” in the Gospel comes from the Greek
word “téleios”. It has a little different connotation than
what the “perfect” does in English. “Téleios” is not a state of being;
it’s more of a process. It’s not something static and frozen, it’s dynamic.
When the word “téleios” is used in translating Hebrew words from the Old Testament, it
translates a Hebrew word meaning “totality” or “fullness” or “completeness”.
And it has that dynamic connotation so that no matter how much progress is made
there’s still yet more to be disclosed.
So a
“perfect” disciple of Jesus Christ is not one who has achieved some standard of
perfection, but one who takes the next step in their discipleship. One who
takes the opportunity to practice because that’s what discipleship is. It’s an
apprenticeship. It’s practice. So what the gospel calls us to is a restless
perfection. It’s an unfinished story and a work in progress. The Bible is like
that, both the Old Testament and New; It’s an unfinished project. The book of Leviticus
comes down to us from about – it was written or assembled maybe 24-2500 years
ago. If you’re familiar with it, you’ll know that it contains some laws and
rules that not only seem irrelevant to us, but are actually abhorrent. But it
also has some powerful admonishments that are not limited to any one historical
or cultural context, but rather have a kind of ongoing validity. They still
speak with the same kind of authority that they always did. They’re the basis
for any kind of ethical system that seeks to counteract, just a kind of
ruthless biological determinism that says, “Only the strong survive.” Like
these lines: “Do not reap to the edges of the field or gather the grain that
falls on the ground when you’re harvesting, but leave them for the poor and the
aliens. Leave them for the landless people that have no way to raise food.
Leave them for the strangers that are passing through. They probably didn’t
have a McDonald’s in those days. Leave them there. Leave them there. You know
what that reminds me of? Old Testament food stamps. [0:05:00] You don’t leave
folks to starve. You don’t do it. Fundamental. The only trouble with that – {some applause from the congregation} I
love the support. I love preaching to congregations that give you a lot of support.
The only trouble with that is you really have to open it up to the opposite
which would be the “Boo! Boo!” I really appreciate the support because it’s
inspiring.
Do not reap
to the edges of the field. Do not put a stumbling block in the way of the blind. Never
mock the deaf. That’s basic. That’s where all of our ethics come from. If we
don’t start from that place, there’s nowhere else left to go except some kind
of ruthless Darwinian concept. [Such as] “You don’t want to pass on those
undesirable traits of being dependent and needy. Let those genes die out, we’ll
pass on the strong, competitive genes that say we all take care of ourselves
and don’t have to rely on picking somebody’s bare grain from out in the field
there”. Well, the Bible says in the Old Testament and New, we are to provide
and advocate for the weak and the vulnerable. The leadership in the Old
Testament, the kings and rulers and so on were judged not on the battles they
won or the expansions of boundaries of their little kingdom. They were judged
on how well they cared for the widows and orphans. How well they advocated for
the vulnerable and the helpless. This was the way that they were judged in the
Old Testament times. You know what? It still is. I say that but I don’t know
about you but it’s a struggle for me to maintain a commitment to those kind of
values.
When
I look around me in the world, I see profound discouragement. I see all kinds
of reasons to get depressed and discouraged. There’s so much conflict, so much
violence, so much injustice, so much hard-heartedness, meanness and suffering
and the efforts that are made to try to make things better either seem awkward
and fumbling and inept or they seem to make things worse. So we suffer from, I
don’t know, sometimes it’s called compassion fatigue, cynicism. To me, it’s
just a kind of spiritual weariness. I don’t even like to listen to what’s on
the news or [addressing TV news Reporter
Guy Garden who was serving as a Eucharistic Minister]… except when you’re
doing it then I like it… I say, “Oh, look.” I didn’t know you were going to -
you know, I saw you this morning, I thought, “Hmm.” [laughing] But I’m not just
being nice. I mean, I’m serious… And that’s part of what ministers to it. You
know, that’s one of the reasons we come to church, to combat that tendency in
ourselves, that weariness, that emptiness, and that sense of hopelessness and
despair. We come to church to be inspired and to rally ourselves, to remember,
you know, these profound, deep values that come to us from the past and are
still true.
And
I must, I will say that in the time that I’ve been here at Christ Church
Cranbrook that one of my great sources of inspiration in that regard has been
the ministry exercised by the Reverend Beth Taylor. Beth, you not only have a
passionate commitment to this thing but you have this really sharp expertise
that enables us to put it into practice in concrete ways - and that is such a
gift - so that it works against that tendency to feel despair. It encourages us
to take the next step in our discipleship. Now, I think most of you will know,
but at the other congregations, there were a few people that somehow hadn’t
gotten the news that [0:10:00] Pastor Beth has been called to be rector of St.
John’s Episcopal Church in Royal Oak. Now if you know anything about that particular
church, you know that it has a long-standing commitment to hands-on practical
ministry to the people who need it the most. They’ve been doing that for a long
time and they’re really good at it. And I can’t imagine anyone who’s better
suited to provide the kind of leadership they need, both because of your
background, Beth, and your expertise, but mostly because of your articulate
passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ. That will be your greatest gift to them
and what I [will] miss about you the most. Now, of course it is a loss for us.
We seem to have those around here. Things go on much longer I’ll be the old guy
[on the CCC staff] [Addressing Pastor
Joyce Matthews]. Joyce, don’t go anywhere.
You
know, it’s understandable to feel sad. You may feel actually kind of abandoned.
You may feel that. And if you do, if you have a trace of that, think about how
it was for Jesus’ disciples, that original group. Think about how it was for
them. They’re with Jesus and He says all these, you know, nice night light
coffee hour conversations, “Turn the other cheek, give away out your cloak and
your coat, give to anybody that begs from you. Oh, and if you have any enemies,
love them. That’s all you have to do. And by the way, I’m going to Jerusalem,
I’m probably going to get crucified. I’ll be gone and you’ll be on your own to
do all this, but don’t worry, you’re going to be just fine.” And you know what?
The amazing thing, they were. They were just fine. They were not just fine,
they were perfect. And I know that’s
true because here we are. It’s been 2000 years. We’re still here. That’s how
their discipleship worked out for them. Now, did they always turn the other
cheek? Did they always forgive anybody that offended them? Did they always give
to every beggar that asked for something from them? Did they always give away
their extra stuff whenever they had the opportunity? Did they always do that? I
doubt it. Because I think they were just like us. And what they did was take
the next step.
Now
one thing in the gospels you need to watch out for - whenever Jesus says, “But
I say to you,” watch out because He’s about to lay something on us. Something
that sounds way too hard, way too extreme, way too radical that turns out to be
good news. That’s because our discipleship is a restless perfection. It’s an unfinished story and a work in
progress. We’re not ready for Jesus, either. We’re not ready to have Pastor
Beth leave. “But I say to you,” says Jesus, “you’re going to get ready.” And in the meantime,
practice your discipleship. Take the next step. This morning, that is quite
literally true because you being asked to take the next few steps over there
into the Guild Hall and learn what those next steps might possibly take for you
at the Ministry and Muffins event where you can learn about all these different
opportunities for ministry we have at Christ Church, a bewildering plethora of
opportunities. And while I’m on the subject of things that are taking place, if
you have not signed up for the Healthy Congregations workshop, I very much hope
that you will.
I
had the opportunity to work with the group [0:15:00] that’s putting this on for
us. They have very high professional caliber and also and a very strong gospel
commitment. I can’t think of anything that would contribute more to the health
and well-being of this church than that event and also, especially since we are
getting close to the point where we’d be calling a new rector, especially
because of that. It would be a great benefit to our discipleship. If you
haven’t signed up I hope you will. I know there’s a cost for it but if that
were a burden to anybody I’m sure there’s a way could be found for you to
attend.
Now,
maybe you’re sitting there thinking, “I am already as perfect as I need to be.”
And if you’re in that category, great, you know. I’m not worried about you.
You’re fine. You’re already perfect. But I say to you, or rather, but Jesus
says to you and to me, this is a restless
perfection. It’s an unfinished story and a work in progress. We need to
practice our discipleship to take the next step and to rehearse for that day
when we find ourselves with no cheek left to turn, no enemy left to try to
love, no second mile to walk and no cloak left to give away. And that kind of,
you know, drastic scenario, like I say it may not sound like good news at first
but it is. And that’s because even though the gospel sets out these very high
drastic kind of expectations of us, it is accompanied by an extravagant mercy,
a prodigal forgiveness, and a love that simply will not let us go. Amen.
[0:17:30]
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