New Beginnings

January 5, 2012 By

Sermon, January 1, 2012, Feast of the Holy Name

Rev. Catherine Lemons

 

Happy feast day, the Feast of the Holy Name!

The ancient Romans had a god of doorways named Janus. He had two faces, one looking forward and the other looking back. Janus was the god of beginnings and endings. Of course, that is where we get our word ‘January’ and also our word ‘janitor’, the keeper of the doors.

And so, here we are at Christ Church standing at the threshold of a secular new year. But unlike Janus, we don’t have two faces. We only have one face and as Christians, we choose to look forward. We are holy janitors, gathered here this morning to sanctify this transition into another year, a new year of beginning and change.

People everywhere are greeting the new year this morning. There are those, perhaps even those near and dear to our hearts, who are cleaning up after last night’s festive parties. And there are those, also near and dear to us, who are probably watching parades and eagerly awaiting the endless bowl games on TV that happen this time of year.

And then here we are: we, the holy janitors. We gather together to greet the new year in a way that is meaningful to us. We holy janitors gather together, despite parties, football games and parades, to greet this new beginning with prayer and song and fellowship.

I think there is, within our human nature, a deep yearning for new beginnings, a natural hope that this year will be better than the last. I sense that here at Christ Church. We’ll just have to come and see, won’t we?!

But getting back to our feast day. On this Feast of the Holy Name, today our readings are about names and new beginnings. In the Numbers reading God pronounces a blessing on the new priests as they begin their new way of life. God has brought the people out of Egypt, and now God begins trying to build them into a vision of a priestly kingdom. Then centuries later, after prophets have risen and kingdoms have fallen, the Gospel tells us God begins again. God has a new name – officially given on this holy day – Jesus.

This whole thing about names is important. Naming is important to us and it certainly had importance for Jesus. In large part, name informs identity and the world recognizes identity by family name, particularly paternal family name.

But for Jesus, there was no paternal name. It was widely known in Jesus’ time, that Joseph wasn’t really Jesus’ father. Mary made no bones about the fact that Jesus was not conceived by Joseph. People laughed and whispered about Jesus. Since no one knew who his father was, Jesus wasn’t called, ‘son of Joseph’ like others whose paternity was know. Jesus was called the carpenter, “…son of Mary” (Mark 6:3).

So we can imagine that as Jesus walked through his hometown, he heard murmuring. Many murmurs like, “That man’s no good. No family, no honor. He’s just an illegitimate kid, and worthless.”

You see, within the Old Testament concept that the sins of the parents are visited upon the child, frankly, Jesus’ name was mud.

And yet this Sunday, in spite of all those murmurs, whispers, sneers and smears, we of the Christian world honor the feast day of the naming of Jesus, “the name that is above every name.” The name Jesus that God exalted about all else.

Christ’s birth, his advent, is a new beginning for humanity, and for our relationship with God. God looked at the one whose name was mud and God called that name holy. God’s own beloved child, made in God’s image. The one whose name was mud but whose name was made holy. That’s the one who came to give us a new beginning.

We are no longer slaves to sin but children of God. And so on this wonderful morning, on the threshold of another year, the news is good: God so loved the world, that in Christ, God has given us a new beginning.

The tension built into the theology of Advent is its focus on both the first coming and the second coming of Christ. We prepare to celebrate the first, even while we wait for the second. In other words, we live in an in-between time. We’re living between the first and second comings.

And so, as we step across the threshold into a new year, perhaps our greatest hope is that in this in-between time, God isn’t finished with us. That God’s still at work in our lives and in creation as well as here at Christ Church.

On the Feast of the Holy Name, we’re reminded, it won’t be long – just a few months from now – until we gather before the cross, to witness the baby whose coming now fills us with such hope, then grown and dying. The power of God, you see, is to draw Easter out of Good Friday.

The power of God is that beginnings follow what seem to be endings.

The meaning of the birth is connected to the meaning of death and resurrection because the kingdom breaks in where and when it is least expected.

I think this means something important for our work as Christians at Christ Church. I’ve heard from some of you about the dark times you personally and the church have experienced. Times have been difficult. There’ve been murmurings. Perhaps there’ve been jeers and smears.

But despite any sense of powerlessness or hopelessness or pain experienced, our purpose now is to make the kingdom real even here, where to some, it may seem least likely to appear. You know why? Because that’s what it means to be the Body of Christ.

This in-between time we experience is our new beginning. We are to be agents of the in-breaking. The kingdom comes – it can come and it will come – when we, by our work and witness, manifest the power of God that we know.

We bring the new beginning to bear. How? We come and see what is new and happening at Christ Church. We invite our friends to come and see. Come and see the new beginning. Come and work toward the new beginning.

And so, fellow holy janitors, keepers of this new day, let’s pray that God fills our hearts with joy and hope in believing; that God saves us from our fears and doubts; that God gives us courage and strength to come and see. To be a part of our new beginning at Christ Church.

Thanks be to God!

 

Filed Under: Rector

Words of the Warden, December

January 1, 2012 By

Words of the Warden

 

It’s Advent! A new year at Christ Church! Well… a new liturgical year in any case. Another new year begins after our annual meeting. We haven’t set a date yet but the Annual Meeting should take place sometime in January.

 

What a year we’ve had. Our interim priest, the reverend Diana Rogers leaves in June, our good friend, the Reverend Candice Corrigan agrees to be our long-term supply and do pastoral work for us through November, and we call a new priest-in-charge, the Reverend Catherine Lemons!

 

Catherine and I talked on the phone after she accepted our call, sometime around the second week of November, and we talked about a possible start date. Early in that conversation we both felt that a realistic date would be the first of the year but the Holy Spirit had other ideas and just four weeks later Catherine, her husband, Richard, and their two dachshunds moved into he rectory. A short week later Catherine celebrated her first Eucharist here at Christ Church. What a nice Advent/Christmas gift for Christ Church!

 

So…

 

Now Christ Church has embarked on a new adventure. Only God knows where we’ll end up. We have taken steps through the “interim” time to at least begin to get a bearing and have called a priest-in-charge to join with us in God’s mission for Christ Church in Austin.  What an exciting time. I have a feeling that this will go down as a real turning point for Christ Church. I think we’ll all look back on this moment with pride and satisfaction; that we trusted God and each other and it worked!

 

I’ve really enjoyed serving Christ Church as Senior Warden for the last two years. We’ll be electing two new Vestry members and a new Senior Warden during our Annual Meeting. Serving on the Vestry is a great opportunity to serve, one of many service opportunities! Every one of us has a part to play in the mission of Christ Church.

 

John

Filed Under: Warden

Words of the Warden – Stewardship

November 9, 2011 By

Another fall is upon us. Advent is just around the corner. Traditionally this would be the time when we all begin talking Stewardship. We haven’t put together a real strong Stewardship Program in a few years and, sorry to say, this year will be no different. We’ll be reminded from time to time about opportunities to serve the ministry of Christ Church. Service is really what Stewardship is all about. Service comes in many forms.

Stewardship is defined by Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary in this way:

The conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care (stewardship of natural resources).

The implication of this definition for us is that we are stewards of the mundane and practical resources of Christ Church. Our church building, the rectory, and the grounds make up these resources; not to mention the furnishings, appliances, and mechanical equipment housed in and on the property. These are all very important. If they went away the nature of the Episcopal Church in Austin would be changed dramatically. However there is more to the ministry of Christ Church. The ministry of Christ Church is us! Stewardship is about time and talent every bit as much as it is about resources.

We are called to be good stewards of what God has placed within us as much as we are called to be good stewards of the resources we have been blessed with.

There are perhaps 100 tasks or jobs that can be done to support the ministry at Christ Church. There are perhaps 100 opportunities to serve. Helping with the community meal, youth group mentoring, liturgical service, lay Eucharist visits, serving on a committee, cleaning or painting are just some of the ways we can serve. Maybe one of you would make a really great Stewardship Director?

John.

Filed Under: Warden

Deacon Post

October 16, 2010 By

The collect for today says God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets .  Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.

          Of course we who are the church of the twenty-first century know about the Jesus, the apostles and the prophets primarily through scripture.  Our scriptures were written and compiled over a long time span in the ancient near east, which can them difficult to understand.

          The story of Abraham and Isaac, from Genesis; Paul’s epistle to the Romans; and the Gospel passage from Matthew were all written by people trying to communicate their experience of God and their understanding of the relationship between God and humankind.  They are different types of writing, but each conveys a bit of the foundation that helps us live as thwe build on as the church today.

          The first story, an old, old story, that of Abraham and Isaac can be disturbing to our modern sensibilities with its ancient themes of testing, sacrifice and complete obedience to God.  Yet as modern day Children of Abraham, this story is part of our rich heritage.    

          In letter to the Romans Paul writes to early Christians of how to live as people who know they have by grace been set free from sin.  Paul states the question “should we sin because we are not under the law but under grace.”  This seems like a question that might be posed by someone who viewed Grace as a sort of permanent get out of jail free card that could be used over and over again.  We know that is not the way we should live, but how are the children of God to use the freedom that they are given by the Grace of God?  This is a question to ponder again and again as throughout a lifetime.

          The Gospel passage from Matthew is short, and its very brevity makes it more cryptic.  The editors of the lectionary have given us just a snippet of the narrative. These are the last verses of Chapter ten; a chapter which began with Jesus calling the disciples together, and continues with several verses  of instructions and warnings as he sends them out to carry forth their mission.  They are to proclaim that the “kingdom of God is at hand”, and they are to preach and teach and heal as they have seen Jesus do. 

          The verses that follow instruct them to take no possessions with them, but to take up their cross, and be prepared for the varied reactions they will encounter. The phrase “Prophet’s reward” may seem cryptic to us, but would not have been mysterious to those familiar with the Hebrew scriptures who were aware that the entire prophetic tradition of the Hebrew testament serves as a warning that the prophetic vocation inevitably evokes the reactivity of the powers that be. 

These disciples will share the prophetic message of transformative change, the Kingdom of God is near” which some hearers will welcome and some will view as a threat to their comfortable existence.  The disciples are not being sent to do something safe or comfortable, They leave all their possessions behind and their very lives are at risk.

It is to, these little ones; the disciples sent to carry on the ministry given them by Jesus, that a cup of cool water is to be offered.

          So in our passages today we do see some “foundational” themes for the life of the faith:  Obedience to God, despite the possibility that this may involve sacrifice.   God’s gifts of Grace and freedom from sin and death , and how we choose to respond, to those gifts. And the ministry of hospitality .the cup of cool water.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, these are themes that seem particularly pertinent today, as we are to bid farewell to Diana, and as we prepare to receive new clergy.  \

          First the theme of obedience to God:  In the Episcopal church  becoming a priest is not a matter of just waking up one day and deciding that is what you want to do.  There is a process of discernment, testing and listening for the spirit to be as certain as possible that this decision is being made in obedience to God’s call.  That taking this path is their personal response to God’s love and grace…A commitment to share with others through ordained ministry.

          Once the discernment has been completed,  there is an element of sacrifice….not ritual human or animal sacrifice as in the story of Abraham.  But a sacrifice of time and resources, a sacrifice of comfort and savety.  I have known a number of priests who left good jobs and then sold their homes to fund their years in seminary.  And they do this without any guarantee that they will be successful in their studies, or that they will be approved for ordination when those studies are completed, or that there will be a parish waiting to welcome them. 

          There are a lot of unknowns for those who are called to do this work.  Sometimes they just have to say, in faith, as Abraham did, God will provide.

          But our passage from Matthew points out that those who are ministered to have been given the ministry of hospitality. The ministry of welcome and a cup of cool water offered in the name of disciple.

Today our act of hospitality is to express our gratitude to Diana for her faithful ministry among us, and I encourage you all to pray for her day by day as she continues her ministry elsewhere.

And in the weeks to come, let us prepare to welcome most graciously  the little one God sends to Christ Church to preach and teach and heal in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Amen.

Filed Under: All Posts, Deacon