Sermon preached by the Reverend John E

Sermon preached by the Reverend John E. Kitagawa at the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist on Sunday, 28 September 2008 (Pentecost XX and Pledge Kick-Off), St. Philip’s In The Hills Parish, Tucson, Arizona

WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS

Exodus 17: 1-7; Philippians 2: 1-13; Matthew 21: 23-32

To say we live in tumultuous and nerve-wracking economic times would be an understatement. Every sector of society, every “demographic” feels the angst and effects of these uncertain times. Every one has a stake in how issues are resolved and what decisions are made in Washington, D.C. In the midst of this turmoil, we have heard and read comments about all of us being in the same boat, and that whatever decisions are taken, they had better be for the common good. Rich or poor, middle class or migrant, our lives are inextricably linked. At the core of our beings, we share a sense of apprehension, if not fear, about the future. Not surprisingly, primal instincts kick in, and we seek safety, security, and protection.

In the Exodus reading from Exodus, the journey through the wilderness has been arduous and long. The Israelites are viewing captivity in Egypt through rose-colored glasses. They are fearful and grumbling about their circumstances, and they are none too sure and less than confident about the future. Moses names the place where the people said, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17: 7). We may, likewise, be having difficulty discerning God’s presence in our current circumstance. We may wonder whether our faith can help us cope with current economic turmoil, its attendant apprehension and fear, and the desire for safety, security and protection.

Like the Israelites, we “yearn for … assurance keen and strong, for some clear and present token of the God for whom we long.”[1] Within today’s portion of the Exodus story, God’s presence is made known through the provision of water for thirsty Israelites in the desert. What resources from God can we highlight today? For me, there is always the Word of God in Scripture. In difficult, stressful, or troubled times, I often return to Paul’s words to the Church in Rome:

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8: 35, 37-39).

“… we are more than conquerors through him who loved us”—water in the desert for thirsty people. Paul speaks of the power of God’s love to carry us through difficult times, and to make it possible to flourish in the end. Not only can we survive thanks to the love of God, Paul assures us we can thrive. Paul’s witness is not the fruit of an intellectual theological exercise; it is forged by the vicissitudes of his life, and his encounters with stiff opposition and harsh critics.

As a result of the interplay between my life experiences and faith development, I resonate with Paul’s witness more and more. When things are in turmoil, results shrouded in mystery, and outcomes uncertain, I am developing an underlying sense of serenity and hope. I am growing more able to say with conviction one of the Morning Prayer Responses:

For only in you can we live in safety[2].

In the same vein, I am gaining a deeper appreciation for the old Dutch proverb hanging next to my office door.

Fear knocked, faith answered. No one was there.

If you do not resonate with these witnesses, can you see how this sense of safety and security in God’s loving embrace could change your way of life and decision-making? I implore you to listen for God’s constant and consistent invitation to explore God’s very nature and being, and to develop a deepening relationship with God and God’s beloved community, the Church.

St. Philip’s is a beloved community of Christ. Today, we engage in the annual ritual of kicking off the pledge campaign. At one level, this exercise is about asking you to make a financial commitment to support the parish. Many, if not most, of you have read or heard that we need greater financial resources to support our ongoing and growing ministries. So, I ask you to make a pledge. I appeal especially to members who have not pledged in recent years, and to those becoming members. I cannot overemphasize the significance and importance of each and every pledge. In the context of the financial turmoil I have acknowledged, it may seem audacious to ask you to make a financial commitment, and even more so to ask you to augment what you have given in past years. I do so grounded in the belief that stewardship and pledging are acts of faith. In my mind and heart, stewardship and pledging are about discerning the power of God’s life-giving, turmoil conquering, trouble healing love in our lives, and responding accordingly. For me, stewardship and pledging call us to focus on where our relationship with God is among the priorities and commitments of our lives.

The theme of our pledge campaign is Covenant. A covenant is an agreement that binds us to God, and to one another. At the heart of our covenant with God is the pattern of receiving and giving. We receive the gift of life, of God’s redeeming love, mercy and grace, and in thanksgiving, tradition urges us to give our first fruits to God and God’s work in the world. My appeal for your pledges is not about funding the budget, or even to fund our very worthy programs. Through the stewardship of your time, talent and treasure, I ask you to commit to strengthening and growing this beloved community in whatever way you can. Through our worship and formation ministries, we work to connect ourselves to the heart of God. By sharing our stories of faith, and observing one another serve God’s people, we learn what one writer calls, “the grammar of faith.”[3] Over time, through participation, we develop patterns of life in “sync” with the creative rhythms of God[4]. By our communal actions, we hope to “create openings where the grace, mercy and presence of God may be made known to us.”[5] As a beloved community of Christ, we try to make it known that

… in Christ God came among us, joined our life, our joy, our pain, gracious sign of how God loves us past our power to explain[6].

And, we work at the pattern of gathering and sending in the power of God’s love that

… day by day through words and wonders show[s] how lives can be blessed and used like loaves and fishes, feeding, healing, setting free[7].

I have grounded this sermon in the unfathomable and unshakable truth of God’s love for humankind—for you and for me. Should you have any doubts about the radical fullness and depth of God’s inclusive and all-embracing love, meditate for a moment on today’s Gospel. In Jesus’ time, tax collectors and prostitutes were not normally among those thought to be destined for citizenship in the kingdom of God. Turning the world on its ear, Jesus here suggests God considers them ahead—not instead—of “their thoroughly respectable and thoroughly pretentious leaders.”[8] A child’s letter to God helps me to put the fullness and depth of God’s love, and therefore our calling as a beloved community of Christ, into perspective:

Dear God,

I bet it is very hard for you to love all of everybody in the world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it.

Nan

Our vocation is to implant and nurture a transforming faith based in God’s will that we “complete God’s work in the world, and bring to fulfillment the sanctification of all.[9]” I ask you to help by first picking up a pledge packet as you leave through the main doors. Secondly, consider the gifts you have received from God, and give thanks. Thirdly, prayerfully meditate on your stewardship of God’s gifts. Fourthly, understand that Paul was not contradicting his preaching about God’s grace when he exhorted the Philippians to work out their own salvation (Philippians 2:12). Rather, he was imploring them, to take responsibility for understanding what salvation means for their lives. And so must we. In that process, get in touch with the power of God “who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for [God’s] good pleasure” (Philippians 2: 13). Then, finally, make your commitment to Covenant 2009, and return your signed pledge card. Thank you.

AMEN.