[Propertalk] Proper 12 b 2018 - part 1

[Robert P Morrison]

Here's the draft for Sunday.
Bob

	HE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY  THE TENTH SUNDAY AFTER
PENTECOST 

	2 SAMUEL 11:1-15   PROPER 12 b 

	EPHESIANS 3:14-21    29th JULY, 2018 

	JOHN 6:1-21    PSALM 14 

	 As most of you were aware, we celebrated a baptism last Thursday.
Doranna and Robert Morris’ great-grandson was baptised. As someone
said to me, “I love baptisms.” They’re so hopeful. In the midst
of whatever it is that’s nagging at us – whether it’s the heat,
or the road outside, or the way some people seem to be so grumpy or
angry – in the midst of whatever can make us so frustrated, there
was a wonderful example of God saying, “Hold on! I’m still here.
I’m still active. Just stop and think what I’ve promised and what
has already been accomplished.” 

	 God IS Good – ALL the Time! 

	 Of course, baptism doesn’t hand us our daily lives on a platter.
Yes, God affirms our membership in the Family of Life. But then
we’re challenged to face each day, waiting to be surprised by what
we can accomplish in the strength and company God gives us, even when
things seem to go so terribly wrong or fill us with pain. In fact, as
the message of baptism reiterates, especially when things look so
difficult, or so powerless, THAT may be where we find God MOST
present, listening to us, talking to us, holding out a hand to support
us, encouraging us to take the next step, wherever that may lead us.
And what we may need to remind ourselves, frequently, is that God can
and does do this in so many surprising ways, perhaps the least
expected ways.  

	 A writer posted on the site where many of the weekly bulletin
illustrations reside. She – I think it is a woman – she wrote the
other day, 1 

	 “The corn, beans, and squash seed that appear in this basket (in
the photo at the end of the liturgical notes; the corn, beans, and
squash) are the three crops that comprise the Native American "Three
Sisters of Life". Planted together they are interdependent: the
cornstalks provide climbing support for the beans that increase
nitrogen in the soil, while the large leaves of the squash shade the
roots of the other two plants, preserving rare moisture.
Nutritionally, the corn and beans together make up a complete amino
acid balance in the diet. The squash contributes Vitamins A and C.
Just so, the three figures of the Trinity together make a complete
divinity that supports the human spirit, and partaking of more than
one spiritual practice nourishes the soul well.”  

	 Another woman wrote, “The women in this image, holding a basket of
food, corn and beans, reminds me of Jesus’ disciples offering the
five loaves of bread and two fish to the thousands of people who came
to be with him. The loaves and fishes were the common food of the
people, just as the corn and beans are for these women. 

	 “We might consider the way these two women are offering the basket
of food. It is this basket of food that is the focal point of this
image, as if the food is offering itself, inviting people to take what
they need. But the two women are just as important as this basket full
of food. They are the ones offering what they have, what they have
probably grown themselves. They are offering, just as the young boy in
the scripture offered all that he had to eat for the whole group to
share. 

	 “Because the food in this single basket is not enough to feed more
than a few people, we may imagine that there are many women with
similar baskets ready to share what they have grown. God has blessed
their bounty, and they want to share it with all who are hungry.” 

	 How often have we looked in our cupboards, or our pockets, or our
wallets, or anyplace where we might hope to find some resource to keep
us going through the day; how often have we looked in any of these
places and found very little? Perhaps there are a couple of dollars,
or a small candy bar, or a coupon for something at Burgerville or
Safeway. But how far can these take us when we think we’re in pretty
dire straits? What are the chances of feeling better after what we
have is gone. 

	 Change the metaphor and think about the size of a pocket prayer
shawl or a baby bonnet which we’ll be asking God to bless this
morning in a while. A pocket prayer shawl is only – what – five by
three inches? A baby bonnet will cover one child’s head, but what of
the countless others whose parents and relatives may not be encouraged
to remember never to shake a baby, or the babies who may not have
anything to cover their heads when the cold of the winter comes along,
which it will? 

	 Some of you, I know, touch the water at the entry into this worship
space each time, as a reminder that you and I ARE all baptised. You
and I ARE all members of God’s family, and HAVE received the
promises of God’s loving forgiveness and compassion. Just a touch of
the surface of the water, a simple drop of water on your finger tip
and the tracing on your head and chest of the sign of the cross with
that water – that seems so ridiculously small and insignificant, and
yet it is an incredibly powerful reminder of the vows taken or made on
our behalf when God anointed us with the Spirit in Baptism. 

	 There are so many ways in which we’re reminded of the closeness of
God to us, even in the midst or fear, and anguish, and uncertainty. As
the hymn reminds us, God is with us and, know it or not, we are with
God. 

	 This is incredible news, “Love so amazing, so divine” as Isaac
Watts put it, and he added, “demands my soul, my life, my all.” 2 


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