+God says to the prophet Isaiah, “I am about to create a new heaven and a new earth…no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it or the cry of distress.”
I know that day will come. I know this is the goal of God’s creation. But, for those of us who feel in the minority, for those of us who love people who are considered outcasts, for those of us who long to live in a world without discrimination, hate, or prejudice, the day God speaks of may seem very far away. Especially this week.
I know some of us are hurting, worried, angry and stunned. Others of us don’t see what the big deal is…it was an election, one person won, others didn’t.
Those of you who know the family Pete and I’ve created can probably guess what our reaction has been. But, hopefully, you also know us as people of great faith, as people who believe, with all our heart, all our mind, and all our soul that God is good and that through God’s son, Jesus Christ, all things are being made new---albeit a wee bit slower than we may like. I, along with many of you, have spent this week trying to digest the great divide in this country--a small divide in numbers, but a vast divide in attitudes.
I’ve spent this week trying to ferret out the Good News, how to bring a message of hope, love, integrity and decency to you.
This hasn’t been easy.
All sides of this campaign have engaged in fear mongering and name calling. The campaign revealed how prominent intolerance, hate and fear are in our world. The aftermath of the election highlights our divide, our dis-ease.
The irony that our Gospel reading is full of eschatological---end of time--- imagery is not lost on me. And so as I began to write this sermon, I asked this question:
What is God doing in our lives—the people of America, the people of New York, the people of the Diocese of WNY, the people of Grace, Lockport---at this time and in this place?
Well apparently God is telling us, through Jesus Christ, that before we get to the world as God intended at creation, we need to dismantle the world that us human beings have built. God is telling us that nation will rise against nation, that people will rise against other people, that there will be dreadful portents. That, indeed things will get really bad. Now hear me clearly, I in no way think the election of Donald Trump (or if Hillary Clinton was elected) is a portent of the end of time. Our nation has a wonderful balance of power that protects us from any mistakes we may make. But what I do think---actually what I know---is that sometimes things have to fall apart, sometimes things have to feel hopeless, sometimes things must be so confusing and perhaps even terrifying that we’re willing to break down our walls—walls that we erected so long ago we may not even remember why we built them in the first place----and try something new. As Jesus tells us this morning we will be given an opportunity to testify—to testify on another way, a way beyond party lines, a way that doesn’t take sides, a way that doesn’t judge, a way that doesn’t use fear as a motivating factor. The way of Jesus Christ, a way of hope, a way of peace and a way of love. A way that follows the guidelines of our baptismal covenant to seek and serve Christ in all people---even those people with whom we have grave disagreements, even those people who judge us and condemn us based on the color of our skin, the country of our origin, the gender of our beloved, the name of our God. The way of Jesus Christ which directs us---commands us, actually--- to strive for justice and peace among all people---not just people who look like us, worship like us and vote like us. A way where we respect the dignity of every single human being. No exceptions. None. A way where we look at our brothers and sisters and strive to see the face of Christ.
This is a lot easier to proclaim than it is to actually do.
Sometimes the hurt and the anger and the fear we feel blocks our view. Sometimes our pain is so great we simply don’t see Christ looking right back at us.
But what we know---what so many of you here at Grace have lived through-- is that if we let our pain and our fear and our anger continually block our view of the face of Christ on those around us, we will wither up and die.
You, the people of Grace Lockport are a shining example of what Jesus is teaching us with today’s Gospel----sometimes we need to be at the very brink of destruction before we can find the courage and the faith to move ahead. As I heard many of you say at the vestry retreat a couple months ago—if we don’t move ahead, we will die.
Grace Church is living resurrection life. You have been through some unbelievably difficult times, you have been hurt, you have been scared and you’ve been angry. But, through your faith in Jesus Christ, through your commitment to the Good News, through your dedication to making disciples, you are marching in the light of God toward a new heaven and new earth. In these days of discord and uncertainty in our wider civic life, I thank you, the people of Grace for showing us all a way forward.
For, as St. Paul tells us in today’s Epistle: Do not be weary in doing what is right.
May God continue to bless all of us and the good work of Grace Church, Lockport!
Amen.
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