June 9, 2019

Grace Church

The Feast of Pentecost

Kindle in our hearts, O God, the flame of love which never ceases, that it may burn in us, giving light to others. May we shine for ever in your temple, set on fire with your eternal light, even your Son Jesus Christ, our Saviour and our Redeemer. Amen. — St. Columba (521-597)

Months ago, on Ash Wednesday, the season of Lent was upon us as we were marked with ashes and the litany, “remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” On that first day of Lent we were reminded that there is no getting out of this life, alive. We are marked with a reminder, ashes, the remains of fire and so for forty days we walked the way of Jesus to Jerusalem.

Coming off the heady events of the transfiguration, Jesus set his face as a flint, ready for what most certainly would come, confrontation with the powers of domination and. Each telling of the story brings us to the same place, the stark details of that final week — entry into Jerusalem, a new kind of king, one who is a servant to all, and then the confrontation in the temple, the wonder of that last night at supper, the king who washes feet, who offers his body and blood in bread and wine, then the betrayal, the arrest, the sentence, the cross, the tomb and finally, with words that cannot convey the wonder, the encounters with the resurrected Jesus.

For fifty days we have met Jesus in this new way and he, the risen Christ has prepared us for this moment — a new gathering of the beloved children of God. In this time of getting ready, life and death has continued as always, there are some of the beloved who have joined the great cloud of witnesses, some I am sorry to have missed. And in my life, there are also moments of loss, beloved friends I may not see again in this life. Yet, this coming and going in the fullness of God is a mere blink of the eye, for we have a different perspective on reality — a holy hope that we live in the realm of glory, where time is ripe and every moment is blessed.

Today, we are reminded that we have been marked as Christ’s own forever — we have been anointed with oil rather than ashes. We have been reminded that we are Christ’s own forever, we are set apart, not because we are separate from, but on behalf of all the children of the earth. We have been empowered to deliver God’s love.

We stand in for all the peoples of the earth, living reminders that all are beloved — we lift them up in prayer, penitence and thanksgiving, and later in this service, we will be sent out once more to set the world on fire with love.

I wonder what would happen if we could remember the fire of God’s passion for all humanity and indeed, all creation — perhaps it might be a glimpse of paradise on earth. It is for this reason, trying to remember that we are beloved, that we gather here each week — it is too hard to keep that vision alive when we are not connected, when we go it alone.

In this rhythm of coming and going, we are encouraged, strengthened and equipped to be lovers in the world. We gather weekly to acknowledge our shortcomings, failures and regrets and to remember who we are and whose we are, and to give thanks. The failures are laid down, forgiven and then, we begin anew — each moment of remembrance a recreation of Paradise.

Ad for us, here today, we have been preparing for our own moment together, we have been getting ready to bring our own stories together — and each of us in the coming days and weeks, will try to convey what this new relationship might bring — for the Spirit has brought us together.

And my hope is to come to know your stories so that together, we might set a vision of Grace for Lopez. I am yet just a stranger to many of you but I know this, I have already had a glimpse of paradise in this place. I have witnessed such tender care and kindness and have felt such a warm embrace that I can only say this morning, “Thank you for allowing me to come and join you.” Dave, Patie, Trevor, Joanne, Kelli, Terri, Mort, Mariette, Phyllis, Inez, Don, Marlene, Laura, Gale, Ginni, Becky and so many others, ….you have all gone far and beyond for my sake and safe arrival — thank you.

And Murray, you and I share the common fate of being pilgrims for the sake of Christ, often called out to be servants at the outposts of God’s love. What good fortune for you to have shared in this work for so long in this beloved place, I am deeply grateful and honored to join you and to share in this ministry of love, compassion and transformation.

On this day we remember our true call is to set the world on fire with love. What an odd thought is that — fire as the vehicle of love. As we watched the fire at Notre Dame and the fires of last year in the west, we recoil — the fearsome power of fire to consume is terrifying but then again, what better symbol to express the release of energy that is part of the universe, the whole created order explodes in a dazzling blaze and out of nothing, comes everything. From the beginning matter mattered to God and fire fuels it all.

The very transformation of matter into energy is a property that ignites — that alone is sufficient to convey the power of God’s abiding love for all creation — the creator who calls forth all that is, reminds us that this power is still in play and for us — living, breathing, conscious and self aware creatures — our job is to be stewards of this power.

This powerful image of fire, wind and dazzling change in the reading from Acts is the call to love or better expressed in the Greek language, to be agents of agape — sacrificial love. We are to love one another, we are empowered to be lovers in this world, to lavish the world with love — to be generous, abundant, compassionate, life-giving servants of love.

Jesus, the Christ, the anointed one showed us the nature of God as love and promised that we, too, would be agents of this same love. On this fiftieth day of the Season of Easter, we are empowered to be stewards of this fire and so it is time to change this light, the Paschal Candle is now passed onto us.

In Godly Play, we are careful when we speak of fire and light.  We watch as the light is changed, not extinguished, we watch the smoke rise and fill the room, and even when we cannot see it anymore, we know it’s there.

We are called to carry this light within. We are living reminders of God’s abiding love for all of God’s creation. We witnessed God’s love in action through the life of Jesus who became the anointed one through his birth, life, death and resurrection.

His life was offered for the whole world, once and for all — it is not just for us — we, who are gathered here are simply living reminders of what is true, we are all the beloved children of God, and some of us are drawn together to remember the promise and call. We remember, but this is more than recalling, we are lifted up to heaven each time we gather, anamenesis is the more accurate word, and as we give thanks, we are sent out, to enact and reenact this good news for the sake of the whole world.

We are called to dwell in the shelter of each other as this living organism, a new creation, the Body of Christ, this body called Grace, to be a shining village on the hill, a witness to the love of God, who poured out that love on all creation.

And last, one short story, a true story. My friend Tim has two beloved sons, Evan and Trevor. When they were four and five years old, they lived next door to a family with a little girl, Grace was her name. One day, Grace came and knocked on Tim’s door and when he answered, Grace looked up at him and said, “Can Heaven and Treasure come out to play?” That is what I come asking today, will you come out to play with me in the paradise of God’s realm? The wonder of a child is my hope for our time together — this is what it means to abide in the shelter of each other. It is the experience of grace, heaven and treasure — this is a glimpse of Paradise.

I come to you as a servant. This is your shelter of gathered love and I am so blessed and honored to join you as a pilgrim and fellow traveler. Why we are together is to be discovered as we go from being strangers to being companions in the way of Jesus. It is with absolute and utter joy that I say, “thank you for inviting me into your beautiful community.”

And, as I said in my introduction to this feast of Pentecost, we are the church and our call is to set the world on fire as witnesses of God’s love. Let us begin!             Amen.