[Propertalk] Proper 17 b Part 2 of 4

[Robert P Morrison]

Part 2 of tomorrow's sermon:

	 I can hear despair in Jesus’ voice in the words of today’s
Gospel passage. I can hear Jesus being so frustrated at the inability
of folk to see what it takes to live with God. He wasn’t looking for
perfection, just an effort . He found that the people had lost
whatever sense of connection with God and with one another that they
may once have had, this despite that wonderful imagery contained in
the Song of Solomon. 

	 Throughout both Old and New Covenant books, but especially in this
wisdom song, descriptions of marriage and the intensity of the
relationship between spouses is seen not only as an affirmation of
love between humans but also as an allegory for the intensity of the
love that God has for us. What drove Jesus to distraction was that if
God’s love for us is so focused, so passionate, why people failed to
respond.  

	 Time and time again, God wants to be able to respond to our needs,
to celebrate in our victories and achievements, to cry in our pain and
disappointments, to walk with us, “to live together in the covenant
(…), to love, comfort, honor and keep (one another …), in sickness
and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to each other
(for all eternity).” 2 

	 What God desires completely is that we celebrate our new life, with
all its possibilities, because it’s in the entry into this new life,
this new relationship of commitment, that we find the rest, the grace,
the freedom fully to be Jesus’ sisters and brothers. 

	 One of my friends recently described the restoration of a
relationship with his cousin. “Recently,” he wrote, “a cousin
indicated that she would like to reconnect after over 30 years. She's
an ardent Baptist, and I have been an embarrassment to her.
Accordingly, I have respected her by staying away and connecting only
with notes for birthdays and Christmases.” 3 

	 The fact that she is, or was, an ardent Baptist and that he’s gay
set up the scenario.  

	 He went on, “I have always loved her in a special way: I was 9
years old when her parents took me with them to receive her from
Alabama's adoption agency. I have never seen any face light up like
theirs and then hers, at 6-months old. I like to think of that as the
way God's face lights up when we become God's children by adoption.”


	 In a few minutes, we’ll celebrate such a moment. Three people will
come to the water of Baptism. They and their sponsors will affirm
belief in God’s passion for them and for us all. They and their
sponsors will talk about their trust in God to bring us to a new life.
They’ll have water poured on them as a sign of the cleansing and the
renewal to which God brings us. Then they’ll hear the words that
they are marked as Christ’s own for ever. 

	 When they make this commitment, symbolised by words and water, I can
see God’s face light up. Whether they – especially Phillip –
will smile in return, I can’t say. But the good news is that God
doesn’t wait to see how Caitlynn, Connor and Phillip react before
breaking out in joy. This happens even as God sees them moving towards
the moment of Baptism. 

	 In the midst of everything that can make us despair, that can make
us depressed, Caitlynn, Connor and Phillip are setting out on a
journey. They’re moving towards something that they believe will
give them hope. They may not be able to see what lies ahead – none
of us can much. But we’ve heard stories. Other people have given us
messages about their own experiences, enough to make us curious at
first, then willing to take the journey ourselves, no matter what the
risks. The promise of a new life becomes stronger than the
difficulties, even the fear and danger of living in isolation under
threat, with no support. 

	 I was gripped with thoughts of grief and sorrow when I heard of the
truck which was found abandoned inside the Austrian border this week.
People have been fleeing countries on the eastern and southern shores
of the Mediterranean for quite some time. Life at home has become
intolerable. People are aware of the ships that have sunk in storms at
sea. People are aware that there are incredibly unscrupulous
individuals who prey on the fear and the pain of those living in
countries where civil wars continue to bring devastation. Yet people
continue to take a chance on making these journeys. 

	 More than seventy bodies were discovered in that locked, abandoned
truck, the bodies of people from one month to many decades old, each
hoping and praying for a new life. 4
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