Holy Trinity Episcopal Church

<« Beth Foote - May 27, 2007 | Main | Fred Heard - July 15, 2007 » | Fred Heard - July 8, 2007  »

July 08, 2007

Fred Heard - July 8, 2007

Father Fred Heard - Trinity Parish

Today, my Brothers and Sisters, I speak in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AMEN On a very cold March 4, 1933 the newly inaugurated President Franklin D. Roosevelt told a depression weary nation that, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Fear can kill. Fear can paralyze. Fear can destroy all that we hold dear. As I begin my fifth year as your Associate Rector this Sunday, I note we are all in a time when as a community we are being summoned to pull courage from a place that is deep within each of us because you see, we are not launching some big drive to build a building. We are not balancing the books. What we are doing will take more than our financial treasure or our building skills. We are challenging everything we have grown accustomed to and that includes our comfort level.

Our first reading quotes Naaman, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot and cure the leprosy!” Also, in Kings we read, “his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.”

Psalm 30 says, “…you restored my life as I was going down to the grave. For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye, his favor for a lifetime. Weeping may spend the night, but joy comes in the morning. While I felt secure, I said ‘I shall never be disturbed.’”

This morning’s Gospel is particularly compelling, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest…Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road…Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me…The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!...See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you.”
We have heard today’s scriptural message so many times and yet today on this Sunday in July, 2007, it speaks to us as a community—as a Trinity Community. Today, I beg you to take the roots of these readings and let them bear fruit.

We are all aware of Trinity’s history. Two California Governors and a United States Senator have worshiped here and yet if we are to be relevant in the 21st Century, we must pay close heed to the words we read this morning from Kings, the Psalm, and the Gospel. Sometimes a message is so important we must hear it over and over and that is why I chose to talk about it in today’s sermon. We must remind each other that we are all preparing Trinity’s future for the day when even the youngest person in this room is no longer here.

We are being asked to give up what we know for sure for something we haven’t seen. We are being asked to simply jump into God’s arms and trust that He will be there. Do not be afraid! Jesus repeats this message time and again. It is a message those around him need to hear. It is a message all of us need to hear. Do not be afraid!
Late one night, Jesus walks across the lake and climbs into a boat. In Jesus’ company, the storm is nothing to fear. Do not be afraid.

Jesus comforts the sick child’s father. Do not be afraid. “Your Father knows every last hair on your head,” Jesus tells his disciples. “He delights to give you the kingdom.” Do not be afraid.

Fear is as easy for us as breathing. Jesus knows we need to hear this message over and over. Do not be afraid.
Jesus calms his disciples as they go out in his name. He calms them as he prepares them for the unknown. In today’s gospel Jesus sends out seventy to do his work. These are ordinary folks—there are no big names. They are anonymous; their names are not written in the Bible. They are not prominent. But yet, these seventy disciples represent wholeness and completion. They represent everybody. When we came into this world, we had nothing. When we leave this world, we will have nothing. In between, we accumulate. But the seventy have been told to leave their possessions behind. They are specifically told to leave their purses, bags, sandals behind. They are equals. There are no checkbooks. There is no money. There are no college degrees. There are no name brand shoes.

Come September 9, you will be asked to touch each other spiritually and prayerfully. You will be asked to spread joy. You will be asked to spread peace. You might have been at Trinity 40 years or even 40 minutes and you are being asked to spread a bold message. You are being asked to carry Trinity and the Good News of Jesus Christ on to the ages yet to come…and in those ages to come, our work will not be judged by our names—but like those seventy anonymous disciples—we will enter a new community and welcome all who come—all ages and genders—and we will assure our Brothers and Sisters that “The kingdom of God has come near.” What do you think that day will feel like on September 9 as we enter unfamiliar places, entering uninvited with a bold inclusive message to proclaim?

Jesus is calling you and he is calling me. We are sent forth. In the book Oh, The Places You’ll Go! Dr. Seuss says it so well: “You are the person who’ll decide where to go.”

Jesus is calling us to go to a lot of places. It is not easy being a Christian. In so many ways, we are like those early Christians. We will go forth and we will return to each other for nourishment. We will make sure that with each step we take, we leave our footprint in the sand of time. We must remember something I learned in AA years ago: Yesterday is past. We must be in today because that is something we can do something about. If we are in today, tomorrow will never come because tomorrow becomes today. Do not be afraid!

There are four fears from which Jesus wants us free. The first is the fear of people. We are to heal the sick. We are to call down a blessing on all we meet. We are to increase wholeness and health throughout the world.
Some will like what we do and support us. Others will not. These others will reject gifts we offer. They may even scorn us. But we're free from fear of people when we recognize how in everyone there appears deep brokenness. What others reveal to us may not be the glad truth of their existence, but the pain that boils and bubbles there.

The second is the fear of failure. Jesus does not announce that success is all that matters. He does not tell us to counter resistance to our good efforts simply by pushing harder in the same direction. He says that when people in a town welcome us, we're to stay and work among them, but when they do not welcome us, we're to get up and go elsewhere. In each case, we've brought God's kingdom near. Easter frees us from the fear of failure.
The third is the fear of things. Jesus tells the seventy not to take certain things they may think they need. The problem does not lie with the items themselves. The problem lies with what may be our attitude toward things. Lacking these things but wanting them may make us feel inadequate for what we're meant to do. Possessing such things may blunt our sense of urgency about service to the kingdom and may bring about separation between ourselves and others. Such things may seem too important. In this consumer culture we are even taught that what we have determines who we are: I own, therefore I am. Limitless desire becomes a virtue. The way to the kingdom is different. We are released from the fear of things. What's important is not what we own, or even what we abstain from owning, but whether we travel light and that is the issue, whether we get where we need to go.

The fourth fear is the fear of needs. Not once, but twice Jesus tells the seventy that in their travels they're to eat what's set before them. They might become so zealous, so impressed with themselves, that they would forget their hunger and become afraid of their needs. Not only are the seventy told to eat, but they're told to eat what's set before them. They're to acknowledge their empty stomachs by eating in the presence of their hosts, in the company of their hosts. Thus they will declare their need, their dependency, in a public fashion. We all have the same needs—among them food and shelter, affection and support, and a feeling of accomplishment and a feeling of inclusion. Do we conceal our needs? Are we afraid of them? It's part of what it means to be human to admit our needs. It's part of what it means to follow Jesus, who was not afraid to seek hospitality and support, who was not afraid to be dependent. Come September 9, we will acknowledge weekly our need for community—our need to share—our need to touch each other—our need for companionship—our need to be spiritually nourished—our need to be one community.

Any one of these fears: -- The fear of needs. -- The fear of things.
The fear of failure. -- The fear of people. can disrupt our spiritual journey. It can kill us as a church and as a community and it can set us apart from the Good News of Jesus Christ.

To our friend Naaman, Jesus Christ is not exclusive and just about me…This community is not about me. The church is not about me. The Good News will transcend all of us. The love of Jesus and the salvation Jesus offers is for me and for you.

On that bright morning to come we will remember the lines from this morning’s Psalm, “you restored my life as I was going down to the grave. For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye, his favor for a lifetime. Weeping may spend the night, but joy comes in the morning. While I felt secure, I said ‘I shall never be disturbed.’”

And finally from this morning’s Gospel, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me…The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!...See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you.” Do not be afraid!
I have spoken to you in the name of the God who is our reason not to be afraid: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AMEN