Easter 6, Year C (2019)

Acts 16: 9 – 15; Psalm 67; Revelation 21: 10, 22 – 22: 5; John 14: 23 – 29

This is the homily given at St. John’s Huntingdon, Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene Tucker on Sunday, May 26, 2019.

“GOD’S MANY WONDERFUL GIFTS”

(Homily texts:  Acts 16: 9–15, Revelation 21: 10, 22 – 22:5 & John 14: 23-29)

Normally, this preacher doesn’t mix the appointed lectionary texts for a Sunday morning together into one homily, attempting to “cover all the bases” of the three main texts in one presentation. While it is often true that the appointed Old Testament passage has something in common with the Gospel of the day (which is why those passages are chosen, I suspect), it isn’t common that all three texts have a thread which connects them together.

However, I see a thread which connects all three of today’s texts, I think. That thread has to do with the many wonderful gifts that God gives. Allow me to share those insights with you.

In our reading from Acts, we hear this phrase: “The Lord opened her (Lydia’s) heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” In the account of the interaction between Paul, Timothy and Luke (notice that Luke – the writer of the Book of Acts – begins to use the word “we” at about this point in the Acts narrative to describe the action), it might be easy to miss this comment. Our attention might be drawn to the information concerning a place of prayer beside the river, or to the fact that Lydia was a dealer in purple cloth (which was very expensive in ancient times), or to the fact that Lydia’s entire household was baptized (most likely including the children in the household). But here, in the statement that it was the Lord who opened Lydia’s heart, we have evidence of one of God’s wonderful and many gifts: That gift is the gift of being able to hear, receive and respond to God’s voice.

If we think about it, we human beings are incapable of hearing, receiving and responding to God’s call absent God’s work in our hearts beforehand to prepare our hearts to be oriented toward God. Theologians apply a specific term to this sort of God’s grace: prevenient grace. Prevenient grace is – as the word implies - that grace which comes before hearing, receiving and believing. It is God moving in our hearts and minds in order that we can respond to God.

The next wonderful gift that God gives is to be written in the Lamb’s book of life. Our text from the Book of Revelation describes a wonderful scene of the saints of God, gathered into the new Jerusalem, gathered around the throne of God and of the Lamb.

There is much in the Book of Revelation that is strange, mysterious and puzzling. (Perhaps that’s why many people try to avoid reading and studying it.) But here, in the closing chapters of this book, we have a glorious vision of the promises of God, promised which will be fulfilled in God’s time and in God’s way, a time when God’s perfection will be known. To be a part of that glorious plan is the greatest gift any of us could receive and experience.

The third set of gifts we might consider are to be found in our Gospel text. Jesus describes four gifts of the Father: 1. Jesus’ one-ness with the Father; 2. The promise of the Holy Spirit (a subject we will consider in two weeks, on the Feast of Pentecost); 3. The peace of God; and 4. That though Jesus is going away, He will come again to those who love Him.

A fourth gift of God has to do with this Sunday, the Sixth Sunday of Easter, which is Rogation Sunday. (In this week, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are the Rogation Days. Rogation Days always immediately precede the Feast of the Ascension, which falls on Thursday of this week.)

The term Rogation comes to us from the Latin verb “to pray”. In former times, it became the practice for the Church to pray for the spring planting and the eventual harvest. In England and elsewhere, a procession around the geographical bounds of the parish of the Church took place. Often, it was a liturgical procession, complete with cross, torches and vested clergy. (A parish is – in its most basic understanding – not a congregation, but a geographical area. So, for example, the parish of St. John’s is actually Huntingdon County, since we are the only Episcopal church in the county.) Such a procession is called “Walking the Bounds”.

God’s gift is the gift of life. In this case, it is the gift of the life of the plants that will support life, both animal and human, in the seedtime and the resulting harvest. Absent God’s presence in this process, there wouldn’t be a harvest to enjoy come autumn.

If we reflect on it, we can think – perhaps – of many, many ways in which God bestows gifts on our lives. God’s gifting is tailored to our individual circumstance and need…..what a blessing that is!

Thanks be to God!

AMEN.

Easter 5, Year C (2019)

Acts 11: 1 – 18; Psalm 148; Revelation 21: 1 – 6; John 13: 31 – 35

This is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene Tucker on Sunday, May 19, 2019.

“LOVE IS THE MARKER”

(Homily text: John 13: 31-35)

We who are in the Church would do well to ask ourselves this question, now and again: What one word or short phrase would people who are not in the Church use to describe their impression of the Church?

This question allows us to step outside of our familiarity with the Church and its ways to see what others might see. It allows us to rework our witness to the world so that what outsiders know about the Church can be changed.

What answers might those outside the Church offer to describe what they think about the Church? Perhaps this short list might offer some examples: “Hate.” “Judgment.” “A place to get stuff (like help with paying a bill).” “A strange place.”

(If you think about it, perhaps you can add to this list.)

I doubt, for many people who aren’t familiar with the Church and its people, would this answer come up very frequently: “Love.”

But “love” is what our Lord tells us will be the marker, perhaps the chief marker, of those who are His disciples, those who claim the name of Jesus. Our Gospel text for this morning makes it clear: Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13: 34–35)

The early Church lived out this commandment. The inhabitants of the Greco-Roman world of the early centuries of the Church’s existence often made this comment about Christians: “See how they love one another.”

There are, most likely, good reasons for outsiders to hold onto the impression that the Church is a place where hatred and judgment are commonplace. In many places for far too long a time, the theme that many churches proclaimed had to do with God’s judgment of the unrepentant sinner. (It is still a message that is widely heard.)  Faithful proclamation of the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus Christ has to do with judgment, to be sure. But the problem often arises out of an out-of-balance proclamation of that Good News, for the Gospel’s truth is that the God whom we have come to know and love is a holy God, but also a loving God. These two aspects of God’s nature must be proclaimed alongside one another.

Any imbalance in this understanding of God’s nature leads to problems. Proclaim God’s judgment without proclaiming God’s love, and all people are forever condemned. It’s a short step to believing that the Church has little to say except to proclaim hatred and judgment. Proclaim God’s love without proclaiming God’s holiness and righteousness, and the result might well be permissiveness. So these two qualities of God’s nature must be held together in a healthy tension.

I’ve just used the word “permissiveness”. The use is deliberate, for we live in a secular society whose understanding of love has been skewed to the point that “love” is equated with “permissiveness”.

True love, however, seeks the welfare of the one who is loved.

Seeking that welfare sometimes entails doing things that – at first glance – might seem harsh. A good example might be the parent who grabs a toddler’s hand and scolds that young child because the child was about to pull a pot of boiling water down off the stove onto themselves. Grabbing that small hand and issuing a scolding might seem harsh and unloving, but the deeper level of this encounter has to do with genuine love for that child and the child’s welfare.

In life, such an approach is essential. We are called to deal with – even confront – acts which destroy people’s lives. The current opioid epidemic is a good example of “tough love”: The Church must stand against this crisis in our society which is destroying so many lives. The Church is called to stand against other things which also destroy people’s lives. Call it “tough love”. That’s what it is.

Love, however, true love which values the one who is loved, is willing to begin with that loved one’s current state in life. God begins with us at just such a place, accepting us into a relationship at whatever place God finds us. That place might be a pretty awful (may we say sinful) place?

The Church, then, is called to begin with everyone we encounter at just the same place, being willing to accept people in whatever place or whatever state we find them. But we shouldn’t be comfortable leaving them where we find them. We want for all people we encounter that God’s purpose for their lives will unfold. We want for all people we encounter that God’s love will move them into the full stature of Christ.

To do this, we must be willing to get outside of our own (church) walls. The reason is that the society in which we live has changed markedly in recent decades. It is no longer true that people who have little or no experience with the Church will find their way to us on their own. (To be sure, such a thing still happens from time to time, but it’s more the exception than the rule nowadays.)

Personal invitation to give the Church a try is the most effective way to let people know what the Church’s true character is like. That’s the way the early Church grew, by personal invitation to outsiders. And, as we think about the early Church’s growth, we ought to remind ourselves that the Church in those early centuries was ministering to a pagan population that knew virtually nothing about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and who knew virtually nothing about the coming of the Messiah, the Christ, in the person of Jesus Christ. (I submit to you that we Christians, today, are in much the same place as those early Christians were.)

Some churches, those who are known by the title “Seeker Churches”, might have an easier time introducing non-Christians to the Christian faith, for they often tend to use music that sounds familiar to secular ears, and they use images and approaches that appropriate secular ways.

But liturgical churches like ours have a different way of worshiping, one that is unfamiliar (even strange) to outsiders. For those who come to a place like St. John’s, one of the markers they will easily discern about this parish church is that it is a warm, inviting and welcoming place. May we even dare to say that outsiders would agree with the secular observers of the early Church that St. John’s is a place where “Christians love one another”?

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another,” Jesus said.

May that divine love, known in the person of Jesus Christ, be our principal marker as Christians who are part of the St. John’s community.

AMEN.

Easter 4, Year C (2019)

Acts 9: 36 – 43; Psalm 23; Revelation 7: 9 – 17; John 10: 22 – 30

This is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene Tucker on Sunday, May 12, 2019.

“WHERE IS OUR FOCUS?”

(Homily texts: Psalm 23 & John 10: 22-30)

Each year, as the Fourth Sunday of Easter rolls around, our attention is directed to our relationship to the Lord in His role as our shepherd. So, this Sunday is informally known as “Good Shepherd Sunday”. The designation of “Good Shepherd Sunday” is a development which came about as the result of the design and adoption of the Book of Common Prayer, 1979.

The imagery of God being the shepherd of His people resonates throughout the Old Testament. The most familiar passage which expresses this relationship is Psalm 23, which begins, “The Lord is my shepherd”. Quite appropriately, Psalm 23 is appointed for use on this day.

But as familiar as the image of the Lord as shepherd is (I am reminded of the old painting which shows Jesus carrying a lamb or sheep on His shoulders), the truth is that many of us, today, have little practical experience with sheep, or with those to tend to and care for them. The extent of our exposure to the business of raising sheep is limited, I would guess, to our passing by a field where sheep are grazing.

But the biblical imagery of the Lord as shepherd and His people as sheep is quite apt in a number of ways.

To begin our reflection on the reality of God as shepherd and us, His people, as sheep, let’s step into the world of shepherds and sheep.

We should begin by looking at the basic relationship of sheep and their shepherd.

The obvious observation to be made is that, without the shepherd or someone to tend to them, sheep could easily find themselves in a lot of trouble. I am told that sheep aren’t all that smart. And, in addition, they are curious animals who don’t seem to have a keen sense of danger. Consequently, they tend to need constant supervision. In a time and in a culture where there weren’t fences to corral the sheep, like in biblical situations, the shepherd’s job is a continuous one, consisting of being able to provide for the sheep’s need for food and water, but also entailing the task of being able to keep them out of trouble, or when they get into precarious situations, to extricate them from them. The shepherd’s job, if we can summarize it, has to do with providing for the sheep, and to protect them, not only from their own lack of intelligence, but also from marauding animals like wolves.

The shepherd’s relationship to the sheep in his care is one of continual focus. The sheep, even though they may not realize it (given their lack of sense) must also focus on the shepherd. Without the shepherd, the sheep would soon cease to exist as a flock. Without sheep, the shepherd has no useful purpose. Perhaps it wouldn’t be too far off the mark to say that the shepherd and the sheep exist for one another’s benefit.

The shepherd as some tools that are essential for caring for the sheep. They are named in verse four of Psalm 23:  The rod and the staff.

When it comes to the shepherd’s tools, many of us are familiar with the shepherd’s crook, that stick that has a pointed end and also a curved end.[1] The pointed end can be used to prod the sheep, while the curved end can be used to rescue a sheep or lamb that’s gotten into trouble.

Less familiar is the rod, mentioned in verse four of the twenty-third Psalm. The rod was a short stick, often made of very hard wood, and sometimes equipped with some sort of an expanded end. Its purpose was to protect the sheep, for it could be used as a club to strike marauding animals.

The relationship of sheep and their shepherd has to do with focus.

Returning to our relationship of shepherd and sheep, we can say that the Lord’s focus upon us is constant and continuous. The Lord guides us and protects us (as Psalm 23 says, “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me”).

But what of our focus on the Lord?

Like sheep, we are forgetful. Like sheep, sometimes we don’t act as though we have much intelligence or awareness of the trouble we are capable of generating. Like sheep, we need the Lord’s prodding, as well as His rescue.

All this comes down to a matter of focus.

In the midst of our busy lives, where is our focus? Do we focus on the day-to-day business of living, setting ourselves to the accomplishing of those very necessary things that we must accomplish in order to move forward, all the while forgetting to focus on the Lord? If so, then danger might be ahead.

The antidote to that danger is a purposeful refocusing on the Lord. We do this with our presence at worship here this morning. Worship[2] is at the heart of what the Church does. Worship is the very most important thing the Church does, for by hearing God’s word read and proclaimed, and by our participation in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, we are reminded of who we are, and whose we are.

We maintain our focus on the Lord by regular reading of Holy Scripture, and by maintaining an active prayer life. We maintain our focus on the Lord by associating with Christians regularly, for, as we’ve said the past two Sundays, it’s awfully hard to “soar like an eagle if we hang around with turkeys”.

Our focus on the Lord enables us to go out into the world, proclaiming by word and action the Good News (Gospel) of God in Christ.

Gracious and loving God, assist us by the power of the Holy Spirit, to maintain our focus on you.

AMEN.

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[1]   Bishops carry such a stick, called a crozier. Sometimes, the crozier resembles the staff of a shepherd in a field quite closely, being made of wood, while at other times, it is adorned with precious metals and even jewels, its connection to a shepherd’s staff consisting of its basic shape.

[2]   Worship isn’t entertainment! Worship, done properly, remembers that God is the audience for what we do together in worship. The focus is on God, not on those who are in attendance.

Easter 3, Year C (2019)

Acts 9: 1–20; Psalm 30; Revelation 5: 11–14; John 21: 1–19

This is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene Tucker on Sunday, May 5, 2019.

 “MAKING EAGLES OUT OF TURKEYS (PART II)”

(Homily text: John 21: 1–19)

Last Sunday, we made use of the following saying: “It’s awfully hard to soar like an eagle if you hang around with turkeys.” And on that occasion, I suggested that, perhaps, this saying may have been one I heard during my service in the Army.

And, last Sunday, I included this disclaimer….When this saying talks about turkeys, it isn’t talking about wild turkeys, who are blessed with keen eyesight and a high degree of intelligence, apparently. What is being described are the domesticated ones, who don’t seem to have much intelligence at all.

Last Sunday, we heard John’s account of Doubting Thomas, who told the other disciples that he wouldn’t believe that Jesus had actually risen from the dead unless he was able to put his fingers into the print of the nails in Jesus’ hands, etc. The Lord then appears, and grants Thomas’ demand. In the process, Thomas no longer acts like a turkey. Instead, he became an eagle in the Lord’s service, going as far as the subcontinent of India, carrying the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus Christ with him.

Now, today, we have before us John’s account of Peter’s transformation from a turkey into an eagle.

The setting is on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Peter tells some of his fellow disciples that he’s going fishing. (Perhaps Peter’s decision is an indication that he is returning to his earlier career. Or perhaps Peter didn’t know what to do after he’d encountered the risen Lord….;maybe Peter was filling a void of time until God’s plan became clearer….we don’t know exactly what Peter’s motivation was.) After working all night, Peter and his companions have nothing to show for their work, not, that is, until a stranger standing on the shore tells them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. After a large haul of fish results, Peter recognizes that the stranger is Jesus.

Once breakfast is over, Peter’s transformation from a turkey into an eagle begins.

Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me more than these?” Peter’s response is, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus then says, “Feed my sheep.”

Two more times, the question will be asked in a similar way, and with a similar answer.

John is indicating something to us, but we’re going to have to make use of our memories and our knowledge of the Fourth Gospel to get what John’s point is.

Something else happens three times around a charcoal fire: That would be Peter’s denial that he knew the Lord while he was standing in the courtyard of the high priest, Caiaphas, during the first phase of Jesus’ trial prior to His crucifixion.

Now, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus asks Peter three times, around a charcoal fire, “do you love me?”

Of course, we know the rest of the story: Never again would Peter waver in his service to the Lord. Peter, instead, became a fearless leader in the early Church, standing up before the ruling council of elders and chief priests to declare that a healing had taken place through the name of Jesus. (See Acts 5: 17–42.) That incident wasn’t the only time that Peter was fearless and committed to doing God’s work and will. And, as today’s text from chapter twenty one of John’s account hints, Peter would follow the Lord even to death, a death – tradition tells us – which involved being crucified upside down.

A pattern emerges in today’s back-and-forth between Jesus and Peter. Here’s the pattern:

1.   Jesus asks a question: “Peter, do you love me?”

2.   Peter answers: “Yes, Lord, I love you.”

3.   Jesus tells Peter to do something: “Feed my sheep.”

This same pattern unfolds throughout Holy Scripture: 1. God takes the initiative. 2. People respond. 3. God tells them of His plans for them.

If we look a little closer, we might do well to examine these three steps in some detail.

God’s initiative:  Can take the form of a question, as it does with Peter. Or, it can come as an outright command, as in the case of Moses, who was told by God to go to Pharaoh to tell Pharaoh to let God’s people go. Or, it can come through the suggestion of another person, as is the case of Philip’s invitation to Nathanael to come and see Jesus. (See John 1: 43–51.)

People respond:  This, too, can take many forms. For example, sometimes those who are commanded or invited by God to do something refuse. An example of this is the rich young man who was told by Jesus to sell everything he had in order to follow the Lord. The young man refuses. (See Luke 18: 18–23.) We have to acknowledge that God grants us free will. We can say “No” to God. In other cases, people might respond, but not right away. A good example of such a case is Jonah, who was commanded by God to go to Ninevah, but who, instead, got on a boat and headed in the opposite direction. But then, in other cases, people say “Yes” to God.

God’s plan:  God needs our cooperation in order to change us from being turkeys (that is, those who live outside of God’s influence and plan for our lives, like Peter, who denied knowing the Lord) into eagles (that is, those who know God, who maintain an active and personal relationship with Him, and who seek to do His will).

God has a role to play. After all, it’s God who has the wisdom and the ability to see the big picture for our lives and for the welfare of the world that He created.

But God wants us to be in service to Him. For whatever reason, God chooses to work with us, even if we act like turkeys now and again. God’s love has the power to transform us into eagles, if only we will accept God’s invitation to service.

AMEN.