[Propertalk] 5 Easter b 2018 - part 1

[Robert P Morrison]

Here's the first part of Sunday's draft.
Happy wrestling!
Bob

	THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY    5 EASTER b 

	 ACTS 8:26-40   29th APRIL, 2018 

	1 JOHN 4:7-21          PSALM 22:24-30 

	JOHN 15:1-8 

	 From the Gospel reading, as severe as it may sound, there is not
only clarity, there’s hope and security. 

	 If you and I live in Christ, in other words, if we do everything
which coincides with how He behaved and interacted with individuals in
particular and society in general; if we relate to creation itself as
He did, then we WILL be blessed. Of course, Jesus’ blessing isn’t
necessarily how our neighbours might anticipate blessing; but we ARE
assured that we WILL be blessed, we WILL find peace for this life, as
Jesus modelled it, as well as for eternity in God’s reign. 

	 This much is clear. 

	 But then there’s the story from the Book of the Acts of the
Apostles, a story that’s fairly familiar. One point taken from it is
that if we haven’t yet been able to clarify things in our minds with
regard to where we fit in, and how we relate to everything in
creation, God will find a way to make an offer of explanation, no
matter who we are, no matter when we are, no matter where we are. 

	 This is the hope of our faith. We don’t have to have everything
clarified crystally at our fingertips. God hopes simply for hearts and
minds willing to ask questions, willing to wrestle with the concepts
we hear. 

	 Again, this may sound pretty familiar. We know how Philip interacted
with the Ethiopian government official. We know that this
foreigner’s heart and mind had been intrigued by God already. After
all, he was struggling to read and make sense of one of the major
prophetic works. He probably repeated the words over and over, trying
to make sense of what had been written. You and I may have done this
ourselves, said a sentence so many times over, each time emphasising a
different word, trying to get the thought to drop into place. And he
must have been following the time-honoured custom of reading out loud.
It must have been that which attracted Philip’s attention. 

	 But here’s the really interesting thing. What was Philip doing
there? Why was he on the wilderness road? Was he seeking some
spiritual counsel which he hoped to find in the solitude there? Of
course, it would be deadly insanity to take that road today – even
in a tour bus, never mind alone. You or I would likely be shelled or
picked off by a sniper before we were far down the way. Even in
Philip’s day, this wouldn’t have been a pleasant walk-in-the-park,
even if it was the best way to get to Egypt and Ethiopia for traders
and government officials. But this would have made it a journey all
the more ripe for marauders and muggers too. 

	 So, there was this Ethiopian, struggling to find meaning, both for
his mind and for his whole life. And there was Philip, probably a very
reluctant teacher whom God invited to intervene, to engage the seeker.


	 Why did God – why does God continue to seem to be unaware of
danger, or to ignore it, certainly to forget all about convenience?  

	 It sounds a little bit like the situation I described a couple of
weeks ago when I suggested that where we make contact with potential
seekers of solace, and peace, and hope, and understanding; we make
contact out on Hill and 18th Streets. We may – surprise! – we may
even find such seekers among the construction crews ripping up the
street and the sidewalks and cutting into what we took as absolutely
permanent paths. These people at whom we may well mutter under our
breaths because they inconvenience us so much by having to wait, to
take a zig-zag route to wherever we may wish to go; these people at
whom we may feel such annoyance because they’re getting in OUR way:
we can, unfortunately, , never tell who is seeking and who is hoping
simply to make it through another day. 

	 At any rate, the call of God to us is to go out, to speak comfort,
and civility, and compassion to whose legs, and arms, and backs are
aching, as well as those having difficulty walking down the street, or
across a parking lot, or finding a way to get around a problem. 

	 Heaven knows, I’VE been there. I assume you have too. 

	 Two weeks ago I didn’t mean to imply that we shouldn’t come
inside this building and come into this room to worship. That’s the
LAST thing I meant. Nor did I mean to say that some sort of formalised
worship wouldn’t give help to those whom we meet. But we have to
talk to people – ALL people – where they are. And, if we’re
honest, we have to admit that the majority of people in Albany is more
likely to be outside on the streets and in the stores and businesses
rather than in here. 

	 That said, I find incredible acceptance and energization when I hear
Jesus’ words and see the Bread and Wine, offered for me. I can[‘t
live without them. They’re what keep me going when I observe and am
caught up in all the stressing things that go on outside, because I
wonder, as I suspect Philip did, what on earth God had in mind in
sending me into this city, and these stores, and everywhere else. I
mean, despite what I receive as a blessing here, who am I what skill
do I have, to be able to answer what may be really significant
problems – not simply struggling to read intelligibly, but trying to
make enough to pay bills and all the other things which can reduce our
sense of integrity, and dignity, and value. 

	
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