Holden Homily June 24

Holden Evening Prayer Homily

June 24, 2020

Luke1:57-79

Please pray with me,

God of the prophets, you sent John into the world to proclaim the coming of your son. Give us ears to hear the proclamations of your promises and eyes to see your presence in this world. Amen.

Our lesson for tonight is the story of the birth of John the Baptist and the song of Zechariah, his father.  Today is the feast day of John the Baptist, the day we celebrate his birth. 

And yes, the day celebrates (?) honors (?) helps us remember the birth of John.  But there is more said by Zechariah following the birth that is a message that speaks to us this day. 

We have to go back about 9 months when an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah telling him that he and Elizabeth would conceive a child and they would name him John…not a name from either Zechariah’s or Elizabeth’s families.  Zechariah didn’t believe it…and he was rendered speechless for 9 months. 

Silent for 9 months…

Now proclaiming the good news of the God of Israel. 

What would it be like to be silent or silenced for that amount of time? 

Because of the situation Zechariah had ample time to reflect on God’s call in his life the life of his family. 

As personal as his message was, coming straight from the heart…he proclaimed a message about God for the people of God. 

Almost as if he was preparing the way for his son John who would prepare the way for Jesus…hmmm…I think that’s worth pondering. 

The proclamation and preparation that these voices (Zechariah’s and John’s) are doing for the presence of Jesus that will be coming into the world. 

They will be echoed as we sing the Canticle of Mary just following this homily.  Both Zachariah and Mary as parents called by God proclaim a message of hope, of redemption, of freedom and of a world that will be turned upside down….all because of a God who loves this world so much! 

Right?!?! 

God loves each and everyone of us and this whole world so much…God brings Godself into the world through the gift of Jesus God’s only son. 

And that world…the world that God created for us…is the one that Zechariah is singing about in tonight’s reading. 

That God has raised up a mighty savior for us
   in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
   that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
   and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
   to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
   before him all our days.

That we might serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness. 

With the presence of a pandemic, different areas of our lives have been silenced…concerts, sporting events, large group gatherings…has this offered us all a time of reflection? 

To ponder God’s call in our lives?

To ponder how God calls us to follow Jesus and Jesus message of love and justice and healing in a broken world? 

Maybe. 

Has this situation given you time to ponder who God is calling you to be…today? Tomorrow? 

Has this situation given you time to ponder how and when to use your voice?

Has this situation given you time to ponder God’s call in your life to love and serve your neighbor? 

I’m not asking these questions in a judgy way…please know that. 

I have struggled with these questions, too.   

How is the current climate…impacted by politics, racism and a pandemic…giving me time to pause and ponder? 

How is the current situation opening my eyes and ears to God’s call in my life? 

How is God calling me to follow Jesus and Jesus’ message of love and justice and healing in our broken world? 

These are questions I ask myself, think about and pray about every day. 

And everyday…I listen and look for a response…

            In my community both in person and on social media.

            In home, because that’s where I spend lots of time 😊

            In my faith life & journey…because who God calls me to be is a huge part of that journey. 

Every day as I ask those questions… I look and listen for a response to how and where God is calling me to serve that day. 

Sometimes I take it…day by day…because that’s all I can do. 

Thanks be to God who continues to break into our hearts and our lives.

Thanks be to God who continues to calls us to be part of this inbreaking of love and justice.

Thanks be to God who walks with us every step of the way…

And now may the peace, which surpasses all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, and let all God’s people say, amen.   

Sunday's sermon

Hi friends...here's Sunday's sermon.

June 21, 2020

3^rd Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 20:7-13

Psalm 69:7-10 [11-15] 16-18

Romans 6:1b-11

Matthew 10:24-39

Please pray with me,

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our rock, our strength and our redeemer.  Amen. 

Do not be afraid…

Fear not…

Why do you think these phrases pop up more than once in our gospel lesson today? 

Because they bear repeating, especially from Jesus. 

Maybe because the reality of our world is that fear begets fear…

Yes, there is danger out there in the world, yes, danger is real, but fear…fear is a choice.    

When asked what my fears are I often reply frogs and porta-potties. 

I know…just hear me out. 

This frog fear was from when I was much younger and went frogging with a friend and her brother.  Her brother trapped a frog under the dock and with no place left to go it jumped and landed on his face.  Leaving little webby prints here, here, here and here. 

So, when I corner a frog (which doesn’t happen often, in fact it’s not a common practice for me at all) but when faced with a frog, I’m afraid it will jump and land on my face. 

My other fear is that I will drop my phone in a porta-pottie.  Now, truth is, there is a much greater chance of that happening over a frog jumping on my face, but still, there are actions I can take to make sure an accident like that doesn’t happen. 

If I’m ever cornered by a frog in a porta-pottie my head will probably explode. Gosh, I can’t believe I just put those two images together….nightmares for days!  Ugh! 

I digress…there are other fears out there, though, right? 

Fear of getting sick, fear of losing your job, fear for our loved ones health and wellness, fear for your safety and the safety of the ones you love, fear for the future….lots of fears out there. 

And we can and often do get stuck in our fears…be they rational or irrational…but they can seem to take on personalities and lives of their own.  Fear begets fear. 

When we live out of fear, we respond only out of concern for our personal well being, safety and care. 

When we experience fear and are able to see the difference between fear and danger, then we can make a choice as to how we respond. 

You see danger, that’s real.  But fear, that’s a choice. 

Let me say that again, danger is real.  But fear is a choice. 

When faced with any situation we can see whether there is danger and then we can decide how we respond.  We can decide to act out of fear or not. 

In our gospel lesson today, Jesus says, more than once, do not be afraid.  Because, as I said at the beginning, it bears repeating. 

It’s said more than once because the work of the gospel, the call of Christ, is not an easy one.  And, just because we are called, does not mean that the path will be easy and free from danger and fear. 

Jesus preached a message of incredible love and forgiveness.

Jesus lived a life of modeling loving others and reaching out to those in deepest need. 

Those who were outcast, hurting, voiceless, downtrodden. 

Those who were ignored, those deemed untouchable by society or abused by society. 

Those whose lives were shaped by the systems set in place and by structures that were meant to give a certain group of people power. 

During Jesus’ time, those who were deemed unclean were required to shout out ‘untouchable!’ so that those who were healthy and clean could avoid being contaminated. 

In the fictional book Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal, Biff talks about how when he and his buddy Jesus would be out for a walk and Jesus would hear the people shout ‘Untouchable!’ it was like a reflex that Jesus just HAD to touch them.  Like being untouchable just drew Jesus towards them.  Just like Jesus was drawn to those society deemed least likely to receive a visit from the Son of God. 

So, we have Jesus, this savior, who not only went to the places and people who were outcast, downtrodden, ignored, abused…but, he called his disciples and he calls us to do the same. 

That this call is not easy. 

It is not a simple call to love our neighbors as ourselves…and move on. 

Although that’s part of it. 

It’s also the call to listen to the voices in our society that have been ignored, that have been silenced, that are crying out for justice. 

It’s the call to hear those voices, amplify those voices, and join in their cry for justice. 

It’s the call to reflect on our wrongdoings as individuals and as a nation and repent of our past mistakes so that we may learn from them and move forward in a way that offers healing for those who have been hurt in the past. 

It’s the call to realize that there are systems in place that maybe (just maybe) we have benefited from, that have pushed or held others down.

And maybe these systems have made us feel safe and protected, but for others they are downright dangerous and life threatening. 

Friends, this is a hard call, but it is the call of Jesus. 

Jesus continually reaches out to each and every one of us with words of love and grace and forgiveness. 

Because of that love and grace and forgiveness we are given this space to listen, to learn, to make mistakes, to love, and to grow. 

Because of that love, we are freed from our fears…

Freed from our fears of being silent when we have voices to lift up on behalf of others. 

Freed from our fears of being outside of our comfort zones of complacency.

Freed from our fears of losing privilege we have held on to for generations.

Freed from our fears of what the future may look like when ALL of God’s children, those white and black and brown…have the same voice and place in our world. 

Jesus embraced diversity. 

We are called to do the same to see the differences in the colors, genders, sexual identities, political beliefs and economic backgrounds…and to embrace them all.  Some, because of past and current treatment, are crying out for more embracing, understanding and hearing right now…. those are the voices to listen to right now. 

Friends, we can do this. 

We can do hard things.

We can hear the call of Jesus, and respond, knowing it is not always easy, but we do so knowing that it has and will continue to change the world. 

We can hear the call of Jesus, who will help to quell our fears, give us strength and humility to live our lives as Christians each and every day. 

And we can respond.

In our words and actions.

In our care and compassion.

In our learning and our mistakes. 

In our desire to know better and to do better.

In our desire to treat other human beings with love, just as Christ first loved us. 

And now may the peace, which surpasses all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and let all God’s people say, amen.