[Propertalk] Proper 28 c rcl

[robertpmorrison at charter.net]

I got an idea from some quotes and here's the draft for Sunday's sermon.

Bob

Robert P Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban
PO Box 1556
Albany OR  97321   541-921-1076 (cell)


THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY  	 	       THE TWENTY-FIFTH 
SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
ISAIAH 65:17-25	                          		    	    	                      					 
PROPER 28 C RCL
2 THESSALONIANS 3:6-13				                         				 14th NOVEMBER , 
2010
LUKE 21:5-19			  	              				             CANTICLE 9 – ISAIAH 
12:2-6

	“If we don't do it, there's no one else who will.” What a challenge 
that sentence brings to us all! What great encouragement, that someone 
will be there for whatever eventuality, but especially in time of need. 
Yet how disappointing – that there’s the possibility that no one else 
may be there!
	Sometimes life can feel lonely and stressful. Sometimes, whatever it is 
we have to do, sometimes it DOES feel that no one else is paying 
attention or caring. Yet, as we reflected last week on all God’s Saints, 
somehow there nearly always seems to be at least one person who’s 
willing to step in and do whatever it takes for a situation to be 
celebrated, or defused, or brought to completion.
	Actually, that opening sentence comes from a source which I find a 
little surprising. It was Cynthia Deitle speaking. She’s the unit chief 
for the FBI’s civil rights program, and she was talking about why 
enforcing hate crime laws is a priority. The whole quote is, “We are 
here to help people who have been the victim of an atrocious crime, 
whether it's police brutality or a church arson. If we don't do it, 
there's no one else who will.” 1
	It’s terrible to be cynical, but I have to admit surprise at the fact 
that a Government official from a law enforcement agency which some 
might consider occasionally less than immediate or compassionate – that 
THAT is the person and the agency which offers such a reassuring 
comment. After all, we’re much more inclined to laugh at the joke, 
“Hello. I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help you.”!
	Things may indeed be turning around if the official FBI position shows 
such a sign of hope. What remains scary, though, is the fact that it’s 
still true that if you and I as individuals – if the BAC – if this 
congregation – doesn’t do anything, who will?
	Maybe that’s what sickened me when I read, last Monday, about “a brawl 
outside a house party. A woman hit a man, and the man refused to strike 
back, saying he wouldn't hit a girl. Instead, he vowed to attack the 
next male who walked by, even if that person was a random stranger.
	“That's when 18-year-old Bobby Tillman happened to approach a group of 
four partygoers. Authorities said they swiftly stomped, kicked and 
punched him to death while dozens of bystanders watched.
	“‘He had nothing to do with anything,’ said Maj. Tommy Wheeler of the 
Douglas County Sheriff's Office. ‘They just decided he’s the one. And 
they killed him.’” 2
	These are supposed to be human beings! What made it worse in my mind 
was that the day before I’d seen and smiled at a photo of macaques in 
Japan. “Huddled for warmth,” read the caption, “macaques press their 
bodies into a vast ball of fur. The monkeys’ relaxed social hierarchy 
allows high- and low-ranking individuals to share the same tight space.” 
3
	What is it that allows and motivates monkeys in Shodo Shima to act in 
such a way that they don’t press any sort of seniority or privilege so 
that all can not only survive but benefit; what is it that motivates 
these monkeys that eludes eighteen-year-old human beings in Georgia?
	This becomes all the more striking when you consider that last verse 
from the first reading. YES, it looks far more likely that the wolf and 
the lamb will eat and lie down together than humans can develop and 
ensure compassion, and justice, and mercy.
	Yet we still cling to hope. That’s what we’re about as followers of 
Jesus. We believe that things DO change, however slowly. We believe 
that, somehow “It gets better”, no matter how horrendously some treat 
others.
God WILL make all things new. We’re so impatient, though. We want the 
new NOW!
	The seventeenth-century Puritan theologian, John Owen wrote that “God 
could, if I may so say, more easily have made a new world of innocent 
creatures, and have governed them by the old covenant, than have 
established this new one for the salvation of poor sinners; but then, 
where had been the glory of forgiveness? It could never have been known 
that there was forgiveness with Him. The old covenant could not have 
been preserved and sinners pardoned. Wherefore, God chose to leave the 
covenant than sinners unrelieved, than grace unexalted and pardon 
unexercised...” 4
	This talks about our seeming insatiability for instant gratification 
and everything shiny, and it can make us think our own personal needs 
and agendas should come first. But that’s not the way it should be. 
God’s agenda comes first – and that CAN annoy us.  So much so that when 
our way isn’t followed, when we have to step back to let another person 
exercise her gifts, even when we risk some form of abuse, we need to 
remember that God’s goal is for the entirety of creation to be renewed. 
Not just wolves, not just lambs, not just cattle – not just human 
beings, but everything!
	But how we chafe at the bit when we don’t find our own desires met. An 
Op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times put it succinctly with its 
headline: “‘America the timorous.’” Then it went on, “Our self-image is 
one of bold action. In reality, Americans resist change, pressing the 
government to act boldly only when a national calamity forces it upon 
us.” 5
	This isn’t an indictment of us alone, however. I think it’s human 
nature to resist change, no matter what the promised outcome. It’s human 
nature to shrink back when something new or unusual surfaces. It’s human 
nature to become defensive when we feel threatened. But the point of 
Jesus’ conversation is that, actually, this is NOT what human nature is 
supposed to be like. Even if everyone else around us seems to be losing 
his or her head and panicking or being greedy, or being violent, Jesus 
encourages us to hold on to the hope which can never be taken away from 
us, no matter how disturbed we may be.
	More than that, though. Because of the hope and the promise of the 
renewal of everything, we must be willing to stand with the FBI unit 
chief. We have to stand with others until they can trust enough to know 
that they’ll be renewed as well as us.
	What would have happened if even one more person had stood beside Bobby 
Tillman? It’s possible that the savagery would have continued, but at 
least Bobby would have known that he wasn’t alone, and would never be 
alone.
	Jesus wasn’t kidding when He spoke of wars, and suspicion, and fear. He 
Himself was subjected to so much of it that He knew what can happen to 
us. It filled Him with such sadness to see some people struggling to 
conform to society, not matter what was happening; struggling to 
maintain the status quo or better in their own personal lives while 
doing very little struggling to encourage and support others that they 
might find that special someone who shines so much hope-filled love and 
light into their lives.
	THAT’S what the message of hope is all about. THAT is what it means to 
be renewed. And we need to remind ourselves of this again and again. 
Jesus calls us to be a people of risk-taking. Jesus calls us not only to 
SAY we believe. Jesus wants us to DO what we believe. As is obvious – to 
believe is an active verb, not a passive noun.
	Often it seems that the easiest way to deal with conflicting views, or 
difficult situations, or controversial decisions is to behave in an 
attitude of anxiety or fear. That’s where Neil Gabler, the historian, 
journalist and author of the LA Times OP-Ed article seems to perceive 
many in this country right now.
	“Instead of bold adventurers confronting our demons,” he concluded, “we 
are a nation of the frightened, hoping to turn back the clock and 
railing against the only tool that can really help us: action.”
	I agree. Action is necessary. But I have to define it by saying that 
your actions and my actions are to be built on unshakable faith, and 
hope, and love.
	This where Paul’s words seem to hit home so strongly on point today. 
We’re tired of seeing those headlines about people suffering; about 
natural disasters; about selfish and stupid behaviour that obliterates 
human kindness for whatever reason. The readings speak to us in our 
tiredness and remind us that we CAN be cheerful in the face of stress. 
So the writer to the Thessalonians begs us all “in the name of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers (or anyone else) who are 
living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received 
from us. For (we all) know how (we) ought to imitate (the apostles);” 
The apostles “worked night and day …. in order to give (us) an example 
to imitate. … Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is 
right.”
	We may not have been aware of it, but we were called here this morning 
to hear God talking to us about having hope, of not being overwhelmed by 
people talking about how much destruction there is in our society. We 
have been brought here to have our life and witness affirmed. You and I 
have been brought here so that we can stand firm with others. The New 
Jerusalem is not yet here – it IS coming, of that we can be sure. But 
there’s work to be done, and Cynthia Deitle’s comment still rings in my 
ears. Let me change it a little to end with a question about mission and 
evangelism, and everything else about our lives as Christians. If we 
don't do it, (who) else who will?

NOTES
  1	Cynthia M. Deitle, unit chief for the FBI's civil rights program, on 
why enforcing hate crime laws is a priority. (Source:Washington Post)
2	“Brawlers beat random stranger to death in Georgia” By GREG BLUESTEIN 
Associated Press Monday, November 8, 2010 5:17 PM EST
 
http://www.charter.net/news/read.php?rip_id=%3CD9JC7DSO0%40news.ap.org%3E&ps=1011
3	 
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/breathtaking-visions-of-earth
4	John Owen (1616-1683), An Exposition upon Psalm CXXX [1668], in Works 
of John Owen, v. VI, New York: R.Carter amp Bros., 1851, p. 475  See the 
book at http://cqod.com/r/rs527
5	“‘America the timorous’ Our self-image is one of bold action. In 
reality, Americans resist change, pressing the government to act boldly 
only when a national calamity forces it upon us.” By Neal Gabler 7:00 AM 
PDT, October 25, 2010 
http://link.latimes.com/r/NAT6JL/GBTKX/S1PM6R/UHZZ8/2OI7JH/OS/h
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