Sermon for 11/22/2009 - The Rev Stan Coppel

Christ the King, John.18: 33-37   

       We come today to the end of the church year, the Last Sunday after Pentecost. Through this past year, we have traveled the course of the Gospel, marked for us by the Creed. We have stood at the stable, at the cross, in the garden of resurrection, and in the upper room as the Holy Spirit swept down like wildfire.

       At this year's end, we turn our sights toward the ultimate End, also marked for us by the Creed. We open our arms to welcome the Last Day when "He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end." We look for "the life of the world to come."

       Our people have awaited the Last Day for a very long time. Daniel caught a glimpse of it years ago in a night vision. He saw an Ancient One, seated on a throne, surrounded by thousands of thousands. Then came someone resembling a person, with the clouds of heaven. To this person - like person, the Ancient One gave dominion and kingship. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed, words which have also found their way into our Creed.

The psalmist has a song celebrating the kingship of God, who made the earth secure. But even more secure is God's rule, mightier than the pounding breakers of the sea.

     On this Last Sunday, we also hear about the Last Day from the Last Book, the book of Revelation. John of Patmos, like Daniel, has seen that day in a vision. John declares, oddly and despite appearances, that Jesus Christ is the ruler of the kings of the earth. The rulers are themselves ruled. John seems to stretch out his finger and point, saying, "Look, all of you. He is coming with the clouds. Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him."

      After all these mighty pronouncements about the kingdom which God has established and will bring in, we come at last to the Gospel. We come to two lonely men, facing one another, talking across one another. Jesus before Pilate and Pilate before Jesus. Pilate is not a king. He's a civil servant, who serves at Caesar's beck and call. Jesus seems even less like a king. He is a man on trial and is only one step away from being executed. This is not the big splashy kingdom we were gearing up for a minute ago.

       Or is it? Raymond Brown, an eminent scholar of John's Gospel, is convinced that the dominant theological theme of Jesus' trial before Pilate is Kingship………We just heard a bit of the kingship debate:  ……

Pilate: "Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus: "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here."

……Jesus notes that the refusal to resort to violence is a mark of his kingdom.

Pilate asks again: "So you are a king?"
Jesus is noncommittal: "You say that I am king..."

       When Pilate addresses the crowd, he consistently calls Jesus "your king." Jesus undergoes a mock enthronement at the hand of Pilate's soldiers. He wears a thorny crown and a purple robe. The soldiers salute him "the king of the Jews," as they slap him in the face repeatedly. Pilate presents Jesus in his silly king costume to the crowd regally, saying, "Behold, the man." The people shout as one in answer -- not "Long live the King," but "Crucify him." Finally, Pilate has fixed to the cross, above the twisted corpse, a placard which says, "...the King of the Jews." So there. Let this be a lesson to you. This is the fate for any pretender to power who would challenge the rule of Caesar, the almighty one.

      His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.

      Because we have been to the Cross and the garden of the resurrection, we can see through the charade in the narrative. The pretenders to power are Pilate and his higher-ups…….

…….The true king is the harassed and seemingly helpless Jesus.

      John's narrative shows us a ruler with all the accoutrements of power, with the authority to take away life, who stands powerless in the face of true power, authority and life.

      When Pilate asks Jesus the second time if he is a king, Jesus adds "For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

       As the Truth, Jesus unmasks all oppressive worldly pretensions to power. Does Pilate belong to the Truth? Will Pilate listen? From this point on, the subject of the trial is not whether Jesus is innocent. Even Pilate knows the answer to that. The man on trail now is Pilate himself and the question is whether he will respond to the truth. Pilate's question to Jesus, "And what is truth?" is telling……

…….Pilate doesn't even know what truth is. He doesn't know Truth when he sees it.

      The trial in John's Gospel starkly places before us a choice: the kingdom of this world or the kingdom of Jesus, the truth. The chief priests made their choice: "We have no king but Caesar." Now it's our turn. Will we listen to the voice of truth? Will we be able to take our stand and say, "We have no king but Jesus?"

      

          The very first creed of the Church was simply "Jesus is Lord." A simple message, but a deeply subversive one, because it calls into question all other allegiances and loyalties, whatever they may be. For us, worldly power is no longer concentrated in the person of a king. In our culture, we really have no king but Elvis. What we must face instead is a complex, interlocking ring of earthly powers. This includes the State certainly, but a State wedded to the vast military, industrial, commercial complex, founded upon the Truth of capitalism, efficiency, applied science or what have you, and fed by the advertising media. These are the powers of our world.

       The kingdom of Jesus subverts those powers. The kingdom of Jesus is centered not upon clout, coercion, and capital, but upon the cross, the sign of a self- giving love that conquers death, the sign of the victory of God. No more will we be seduced by the slick advertisement, the employee-of-the-month incentive or the stealth bomber. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

      Easy and high-sounding words for a preacher to say, perhaps. More difficult it is to prescribe what to do. Should we then secede from the Union? Hole up in a fortified compound? Form a Christian Political Action Committee? Lead a tax revolt?

     No. Christ's kingdom is not from this world. I will tell you two things that we can do, however……

……First, we can refuse to comply whenever the power-that-be would coerce us to acts which are not Christ-like……

…….Second, we can be the Church, the messianic community, who lives no longer for itself, but for him who died for us and rose again.

He will come again in glory and his kingdom will have no end. AMEN.

Sermon for 11/15/2009, The Rev. Stan Coppel

Mark 12: 14-23 

We are winding down the church year... Next Sunday, the feast of “Christ the King”, is the last Sunday in our liturgical year “B”.   After that, we begin again with “Advent”... As is usual for this time of year, the readings for this Sunday are about the end-times. All three of the readings for today use ‘apocalyptic’ language, often called ‘The Little Apocalypse’ of Mark’s Gospel…… the language of the end-times: Daniel's vision, Jesus' and Paul's warnings. Apocalyptic language is marked by symbolic images, the expectation of the end of the world and, as the Merriam Webster Dictionary says, an "immanent cosmic cataclysm in which God destroys the ruling powers of evil."

It can be difficult and confusing for us to read these passages, and to try to figure out what they mean and how they apply to our own times. It's important to remember that, from his words, Jesus appears to have believed that the end of the world was at hand.  Paul, and others in the early church after Jesus' death, also really believed that the end was immanent. They expected that the Kingdom of God would come at any time, hence Paul's writings about not marrying and not being concerned about the things of this world.

They truly believed there was no time to be worried about or distracted by the normal things that people are involved in, because it was all about to be wiped away.

Throughout the ages, there have always been times when people were afraid and wondered if life on the planet, as they knew it, would survive.  In Jesus' time, the people of Israel (and many other countries) were under the domination of the Roman Empire and things were difficult for those non-Romans under Roman rule. When the Empire fell, people also wondered if that was a signal that the world would end, as hordes of "barbarian" armies swept through Europe… Wars, plagues, and famines have affected people everywhere throughout the centuries, and those people also wondered if and how they would survive, and if these things were God's judgment.

In our own time there are memories of the great world wars, the Holocaust, Atom bomb, and the Korean and Vietnam wars. There is the AIDS epidemic, the economic struggle, and the continuing violence of our society.  We fear for the safety of our children, and wonder what the future holds for them. We are once again engaged in a war, in Iraq and Afghanistan, of which many of us are none too certain about.  We worry about terrorism, about "smart bombs" and "dirty bombs."   We wonder where God is in all of this.

It got more difficult, of course, for the followers of Jesus and the early church as time went on and the end didn’t come. What, then, were they to think of these writings? How were they to understand them?

For many people, the events of our own times suggest to them that the end of the world will soon be at hand. They believe that the apocalyptic writings of the Bible -- especially the book of ‘Revelation’ -- are a road map for the end of the world.  They spend a lot of time trying to match current events with the images and prophecies contained in those writings.

The problem with that approach is that people have been trying it for centuries, and it hasn't proven out yet.  

Prophecy in those times did not mean foretelling the future, but providing a commentary on the present.  We can certainly sympathize with those who look for hard and fast answers, because it can feel like things are so out of control, so awful, that no other resolution is possible but the end of the world as we know it.  These feelings come out of our fear and grief over some of the realities of our lives… many  feel they can no longer go on when a loved one dies. We often feel stuck and hopeless, and we see no way out; no way to fix the problem.

However, the one thing about the apocalyptic writings, and the writings of the Old Testament prophets, is that there is always hope. The end of the world may come, the old way may be destroyed, but those who obey God's commandments will be rewarded. The faithful remnant will be saved.

Hope and faithfulness can seem like fleeting things, like foolishness, when our lives and our world are in turmoil…… How can we be hopeful in the face of tragedy and loss? How can we remain faithful when things often seem hopeless, and we are wondering where God is in the midst of our despair?

Vaclav Havel, a contemporary Polish writer says, "Hope is a state of mind, not of the world.  Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously heading for success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good."

Both Jesus and the writer of the letter to the Hebrews encourage us to endure, for the sake of the kingdom.  We are called to work for something that is good, to work for the Kingdom of God.  

When we are in our darkest moments, when it all seems overwhelming, sometimes the best we can do is know that somehow God will use our suffering and turn it to good.

We may not experience it, we may not recognize it, but for someone our experiences may become icons of God's kingdom.

As Jesus told the disciples, we do not know when the Kingdom of God will arrive, neither the day nor the hour. We don't experience the same urgency that Jesus and his followers, or the members of the early church, did. But as the church year winds down, as we move into the darkest time of the year, we also turn once again to the anticipation of the season of ‘Advent’ and all it foretells.  We turn once again to hope in the ‘Light of the World’, the hope of our redemption, and the promise of God's kingdom.

Those of you who are fans of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy  may remember Aragorn's words in The Two Towers, when he is speaking to a boy who has suddenly found himself outfitted as a soldier for the coming battle of Helms Deep. The boy tells Aragorn that the other soldiers are saying there is no hope of success in this battle. Aragorn turns to the boy and replies, "There is always hope."

There is always hope.    Amen.

SERMON for 11/8/2009, Carolyn Woodall, Mark 12:38-44

SERMON for 11/8/2009

Carolyn Woodall

Mark 12:38-44

Capo 3d fret: Intro Am

Am                                  G

They say that Richard Cory owns one half of this whole town

     Am                       E7

With political connections to spread his wealth around

D5

Born into society a banker's only child

       Am   G       C               E7

He had everything a man could want; power, grace and style

REFRAIN

C                    Am

But I -- work in his factory

      D5

And I curse the life I'm living,

And I curse my poverty

                            C                      Am

And I wish that I could be, oh I wish that I could be

     D5                D7                Am

Oh I wish that I could be   -    Richard Cory

     Am                             G

The papers print his picture almost everywhere he goes

         Am                        E7

Richard Cory at the opera, Richard Cory at a show

         D5

And the rumors of his parties and the orgies on his yacht

        Am     G       C          E7

Oh, he surely must be happy with everything he's got

REFRAIN

    Am                          G

He freely gave to charities, he had the common touch

               Am                                  E7

And they were grateful for his patronage, and they thanked him very much

      D5

So my mind was filled with wonder when the evening headlines read

Am      G         C                         Am

Richard Cory went home last night and put a bullet through his head.

REFRAIN

OK, so the Gospel reading for today reminded me of a song. Anyone surprised? That song is called “Richard Cory,” and it’s by Simon and Garfunkel – favorites of mine from years and years ago. The Gospel reminded me of this particular song because the song talks about the haves and the have nots, about form verses substance..

Richard Cory, you see, is a scribe – well, a modern variation on one. He is one of the favored in society. Dad was a banker so Richard was born into the higher reaches of society – not the top, necessarily, but well up there.

So were the scribes. A scribe, in this context, was not a secretary or clerk. Back then, scribes, even civil scribes, were high officials. The civil scribes had clerks and secretaries to write and keep documents for them. Archeologists have discovered that many of the civil scribes could not even read or write – except what they had to do to make documents official. They know this because they found a series of documents attested to by one particular scribe and a mistake crept into it along the way – and was faithfully repeated in every document that man did.

Nevertheless, that illiterate scribe was a big shot in civil society. The scribes in the temple were even bigger in their own realm. They could read and write. They were the teachers of the law. They wore long, fringed, white linen robes that reached almost all the way to the ground. Richard Cory probably wore thousand dollar suits.

The scribes had the most important seats in the synagogues – the ones closest to the “ark” that held the sacred scrolls – the seats where EVERYONE could see them. Kind of like Richard Cory getting the best seats at the theater, the head of the table at the board meetings, and the best seats at restaurants.

Richard wore his wealth and power conspicuously and everyone knew who he was. He cared about how he was seen by the public and he was publicly glamorous and publicly generous. But behind this wonderful image was a businessman who cared about the bottom line – not about the people who helped make the bottom line. That would be the singer of the song - the guy who works in Richard’s factory and hates his life.

Richard sounds just like the scribes in the Gospel. The scribes “like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers.” It’s a different setting, but, really, no difference in substance. The scribes made sure everyone knew they were big shots. They cared about their public image, yet they “devoured” widows houses. What that means is this - they weren’t paid a salary, you see, but relied upon the generosity of their patrons. Widows were a fairly easy and popular target for abuse. But people didn’t see that. They saw the public image the scribes wanted them to see.

Richard Cory was respected for his wealth, power, and generosity. The scribes were respected for their knowledge and piety. Both lorded it over others by their public actions. Hey everyone, I’m Richard Cory - you may admire me now. Hey everyone, I’m a scribe – you may admire me now.

What about the guy in the factory? His is an attitude we all know too well. He was jealous of Richard Cory. He was a poor, working stiff and life wasn’t easy for him. But he knew it would all be better if he only had money and power. He wanted to be Richard Cory. If he were in Richard Cory’s shoes then everything would be all right.

But no, it wouldn’t be all right. I think that’s the point Jesus was making in this Gospel reading. Jesus watched people put large amounts of money in the treasury but considered it not to be particularly significant. Why? Because it didn’t mean anything to them. It was what you did to be admired and loved and to fulfill your “duty” to God, but they really didn’t sacrifice anything. I’m sure the officials at the temple were delighted to get all that money, but that really wasn’t the point.

If Bill Gates were to offer to build us a nice, new church building I’m sure we would all be delighted, too. And maybe Bill would have some warm and fuzzy feelings for a few minutes, but it is not the kind of giving that would truly feed his soul because he wouldn’t even miss the money. And he gets to write it off for tax purposes. So Bill, come on down.

What about the widow? Let’s talk about her. The point Jesus made about her was pretty clear. Her giving was a pittance compared to that church building Bill Gates is going to give us – enough perhaps to buy a few communion wafers. But you know what? We need communion wafers, too. And that widow gave a tremendous amount – for her. All she had to live on.

There’s another widow it today’s readings as well. In the Old Testament lesson we learn that a widow was gathering wood for a fire to cook the last of her food for herself and her son. They were going to eat what they had and then she expected they would starve to death. When Elijah told her to take that food and cook it for him her initial response was to say, in substance, “I don’t think so.” But Elijah prophesied to her, which means he spoke on behalf of the Lord, and reassured her that she would have all she needed. She trusted in God, and it was as Elijah said.

Now you know, I suspect God did not fill the first widow’s purse with gold, but we can be sure that God gave her what she needed – in abundance. It isn’t about money or food, church buildings or communion wafers. Jesus was not telling the disciples to give everything they had to live on. It was a deeper lesson Jesus taught. That widow found favor with God because she gave to God what was important to her – everything. Both widows did. One gave money to the temple; one gave the last of her food to God’s prophet. But it’s not a question of what or how much we give to God in absolute terms. The lesson is that we give all that we have and all that we are to God.

We give to the church, yes. We give money, we give time, and we give the talents God has given us. But we also need to give ourselves to God – our hearts, minds, and souls. That is truly giving all we have.

Now what about Richard Cory? In a twist to the song that was very typical of Simon and Garfunkel, Richard Cory knew that his life was only fabulous on the outside. It had no substance, no meaning, and he didn’t know how to bring those things into his life – he didn’t read today’s lessons. He couldn’t stand to live a life with no substance or true meaning, and he committed suicide. And the guy in the factory STILL wanted to be Richard Cory. He didn’t understand why Richard Cory killed himself, but HE would be fine if he had that money and wealth, if only he could be Richard Cory.

But we know that’s not true - not even for Richard Cory. The widow who put all she had in the treasury, and the widow who trusted the word of the Lord and went to make bread for Elijah, with the only food she had left in the house - for them it was fine. They didn’t have much, but they gave all they had - money, food, themselves- to the service of God. Their faith sustained them and gave their lives meaning and substance such that they could trust God to take care of their physical needs. When we give all that we are to God, then whether we are the haves, the have nots, or are somewhere in between, we are wealthy. Our lives then truly have substance and our lives are worth living because we know God.

But beware of Richard Cory for he likes to ride around in limousines, party on his yacht, and get his picture in the paper. He oppresses others to get what he needs, but it’s OK because he gives generously to charity. Beware of Richard Cory, because Richard Cory had all the riches of the world that he wanted, yet because he did not know God, Richard Cory went home last night and put a bullet through his head.. Let’s be like the widows, instead. Let’s give all that we have, all of ourselves, to God and enjoy true wealth.

Sermon for 10/9/2009 - The Rev. Stan Coppel

Mark 10 35-45  \

James Hewett writes, “God did not save us to be a   sensation. God saved us to be servants.” 

       Today’s gospel reading provides a remarkable contrast between sensation and servant. In this reading we hear the story of two of Jesus’ disciples, James and John, who make the request to Jesus to receive a position of prominence in the Kingdom: “Let one of us sit at your right, and one at your left in Glory” they ask of Jesus. The disciples’ impudence and lack of understanding is beyond belief. How could two people who are so close to Jesus miss the boat so completely? Did they forget the encounter with the rich man that occurred just before their request? Or the encounter with the little children? And have they not heard Jesus’ own prediction of what was soon to happen to him? In light of all of this, their request is truly astounding.

        And it angers their fellow disciples. But what seems to anger the other disciples is not so much that James and John have misunderstood Jesus’ teachings – which could perhaps be justified – but that James and John went to Jesus requesting a place of power ahead of the rest of them.

        The other disciples do not seem to be acting out of righteous indignation; rather, it appears that they are jealous. And Jesus’ loving response to them all is to take the opportunity to contrast earthly greatness with divine greatness. Earthly greatness is defined as having power over, whereas divine greatness is defined as being servant to. 

       Today, there are examples all around us of the secular quest for greatness and its often accompanying spectacular fall. Bernie Madoff is an obvious example of the quest for monetary power, but our country’s growing credit-card debt hints at how widespread the problem is. 

     In contrast to worldly greatness, to be great in God’s eyes is to be a servant modeled after Jesus’ own life of service. For many listeners, the story of James and John is disconcerting because if James and John, who knew Jesus personally, couldn’t incorporate his teachings into their lives, how on earth are we to do so? 

       These stories are a reminder for many of us that, try as we might, all too often our actions are more reflective of motivations of the secular world than the divine. 

So how do we become better servants?

      One way is by making sure that the motivation for our service is love. Eighteenth-century Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Secker said, “God has three sorts of servants in the world: some are slaves, and serve Him from fear; others are hirelings, and serve for wages; and the last are sons [and daughters], who serve because they love.” 

       In the week ahead, as you seek to serve God, check your motivation. Divine servanthood is always motivated by love. 

       Another way to become better servants is by being mindful of who it is that calls us to serve. We should remember that in all things we serve God, and God alone. By becoming more aware of God’s presence in everyday life, we can strive to understand that all we do is somehow of God. With this approach, even the most mundane tasks that might not usually be associated with our spiritual lives can be viewed as service. 

      One young mother recalls her difficult transition from paid employment to being a stay-at-home mother after the birth of her first child……

……A spiritual director assisted her in the process, instructing her to walk with the baby each day, being acutely aware of her surroundings and being alert to where God might be. She recalls seeing nature and the created order, as well as the frenetic pace of those around her, in a new way during these walks. She also began to see her tasks, such as the endless piles of laundry that had to be washed, as a service of love. 

      A third way to become better servants is by ensuring that our church is a “servant church.” Theologian Karl Barth discusses such churches in his book Dogmatics in Outline. Barth describes the living church as one that: 
……………“proclaims the Gospel to every creature. The Church runs like a herald to deliver the message. It is not a snail that carries its little house on its back and is so well off in it that only now and then it sticks out its feelers and then thinks that the claim of publicity has been satisfied. No, the Church lives by its commission as herald. Where the Church is living, it must ask itself whether it is serving this commission or whether it is a purpose in itself.”

 

       Is our congregation a living servant church?   Does it have a clear understanding that it exists in service to Jesus? Do all actions stem from Jesus’ commission to proclaim the gospel? Do our worship services, community outreach, and activities all have the possibility to transform those they touch? If not, then perhaps it might be time to begin a conversation about refocusing on Christ’s divine purpose for our congregation, because, after all, the mission of the church is the mission of Jesus Christ. 

        The story of James and John is disconcerting because even the most pious listeners can see a bit of themselves in the story. How many of us are able to truly base our lives and actions on the divine definition of greatness – servanthood? 

       Fortunately, this story closes with a message of hope. Jesus proclaims that the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus promises us that although we will all fall short, through his death we are redeemed. 

And that is the Good News.

Sermon for October 4, 2009

Mark 10: 2-9  ‘Divorce/Relationships’

"This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh," says Adam in today's reading from Genesis. He immediately recognizes his deep connection to the new human being standing before him, a connection that God has woven deeply into the fabric of their lives. For us in the West today, it's very easy for us to focus only on the individuality of Adam and Eve….the union of a single man and a single woman that the ancient story seems to represent.

And it's easy for us to carry that individualistic notion of marriage into Jesus' teachings about divorce, too. When Jesus talks about the dissolution of marriage in today's Gospel, our cultural and legal perspective tempts us to hear him talking only about a man and woman: two individuals who entered into covenant with each other-and we are tempted to hear that the pain of divorce involves only them, at least for the most part.

But in Jesus' time, marriage and divorce were not just about the man and the woman. They were about two families representing many generations, property, honor, and status. Divorce was not just an individual life event; it was a risky break of confidence that could lead to family feuds, shame, and hardship for numerous people.

The hardness of heart Jesus speaks of seems not only to point to the potential suffering of the woman, who must return in shame to her family of origin; but it also points to the suffering of two entire families and the greatercommunity.

For those of us today who have lived through the pain of divorce or separation, whether our own or others', this ancient understanding of marriage and divorce seems to ring more true than we might think at first. Even today, marriage, divorce, and separation, affect many more that just those who sign the forms and enter or dissolve legal contracts. They often affect our parents, friends, and siblings, who can wrestle with the part they played or failed to play in a marriage or relationship that didn't work; and they certainly impact our children, if children are involved, as their schedules and lives must be forever altered.

Jesus' hard teaching about marriage and divorce, then, isn't just for a man and woman.   Likewise, the recognition of Adam when he sees Eve is ultimately not just about Adam and Eve.    Being "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" is a profound statement about how interconnected the wholehuman family really is…

…….and how divorce and separation, as painfully necessary as it can sometimes be, ultimately tears at the fabric of this human family, and affects all of us, and the world around us.

And here is where today's teaching about divorce and separation touches ourworld and our Church.  Divorce is not just about a man and woman.  It's about all of those places where we have become hard of heart and have failed to recognize each other as "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;" places where we tear and unbind, sometimes mercilessly, the ties between us that God made at the foundation of creation.

It's that hardness that we struggle with as we watch the painful realities ofconflict between Palestinians, Iran and Israelis and so many other peoples in the Middle East; as we reckon with hunger and disease in so many parts of the world, as wealthy and poor become further divided; as we suffer fear from the cold heartedness that brings war and now terrorism to our country’s soil….. and to our sisters and brothers abroad; and as we struggle, too, withabuse that we often heap on the natural world, divorcing ourselves from our deep ties with the natural order and the heritage of a healthy planet we ought to be leaving for those who follow.

………And it is also this hardness that we must be wary of in a time when some in our greater community of the Episcopal Church, and now the Lutheran’s…… engage in actual and intended schism and breaking away…..In a word…’Divorcing’ the Church……

Of course, the reality is that there will continue to be divorce, separation, and schism……in our society and in the World……As there always has been, and probably will be.  All divorce, separation, and schism can be, and usually are,  painful and hurtful experiences……In the case of schism, it is a form of ‘separation’ that has touched us all here present, in different degrees, and in different ways……

…..No contract, lawsuit, prenuptial agreement, certificate of dismissal, or any other carefully crafted parting of the ways can get us off that hook……it never gets ‘easier’.

But Jesus holds up to that pain, to the Pharisees, and to us today. the longing for the deep connection that God intends for all of us…. It is that hope that we celebrate together when we gather to pray and when we break breadtogether as a sacred community….. It's a hope that Jesus witnesses to in hislife, and that Christ brings to us through the resurrection. And that hope is the good news that runs like a thread through today's readings.

We are a family, a people, and a world that suffers from divorce of all kinds. But it is precisely that world that God in Christ enters……and not just with a hope to ultimately end divorce, but with a mission to heal all of us who suffer from it; to heal our hardness of heart, and to help us recognize once again that we truly belong to each other, we belong to the world we call home…… and we belong ultimately to a God who has, for all eternity, refused to divorce us.