St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
New London, New Hampshire
Sermon for August 7, 2011, the 8th Sunday after Pentecost by the Rev. Celeste Hemingson
Matthew 14:22-33
Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"
Several years ago, one of my pals asked me to climb New Hampshire’s 4000 foot peaks with her. After we were all done she told me she came up with this idea because she herself didn’t like hiking, but she knew that I did, and figured I would teach her to love it too.
What she hadn’t known was that I’m afraid of heights. The worst day was when we had to climb down the headwall of Tuckerman’s Ravine. For those of you who are neither hikers nor skiers, the headwall is a 1000 foot almost vertical cliff. Large boulders offer a sort of staircase, but there’s no railing between you and certain death. And I sat down on one of those boulders and sobbed. A full-blown panic attack. Other hikers offered to take my hand, but that only scared me more. And suddenly, my happy-go-lucky friend turned into the serious, efficient, flight attendant that she had once been many years ago; trained to deal with panic attacks at much greater heights. She talked me down the mountain. “Put your right foot down, Celeste. No—don’t look out. Look at the wall. Now put your left foot down. Look left—don’t look out—look at the wall!”
I have a special feeling for Peter this morning. Jesus has him walking on water—saying “Come. I’m right here. Come.” But as soon as he notices the wind, he can’t do it anymore. He needed to focus on Jesus, the strong rock.
You folks are having some windy weather right now. Winds of change. Cricket led this congregation to a good place, and now you don’t know what’s going to happen next. I’m here to help you keep your eyes on Jesus, and not to the open chasm of “what if.”
And Jesus will keep an eye on what’s going on around you. He will tell you where to place your feet. But maybe a general trail map will help you at this point. There are five things that happen in congregations during an interim time.
First: you will find yourselves thinking more about the history of St. Andrew’s church: how you got here. Some of what you discover may be painful to look at, but if you keep your eyes on Jesus, you’ll be able to do that.
What you learn about your history will help you with the next change—taking a fresh look at who you are, and what St. Andrew’s is doing here. Your search committee will be responsible for putting this on paper, but the more all of you become involved in this process, the more you will be able to claim your future.
Third, you will become more involved with the Diocese of New Hampshire than you have been because of the support the Bishop’s office provides during the calling process.
The fourth change could be quite windy at times: A shift in leadership. As work gets done and directions changes some will step aside and others will be newly inspired. We need to nurture all of those former and future leaders.
And finally, you will welcome a new Rector to be your partner as you create a future together. It may seem like walking on water at this point, our Lord is holding out his hands to us, saying, “Come.”
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Sermon Preached at St Andrew’s on July 24, 2011
The Rev. Dr. Janet Lombardo
Readings: Genesis 29:15-28, Romans 8:26-39, Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52.
In our reading from Genesis this morning we have the story of Jacob. You remember Jacob, he’s the one who dressed like his brother Esau to trick their father Isaac into giving him his blessing. Now Jacob is being tricked by Laban. We might be inclined to say, “Poor Jacob”, until we remember how sneaky Jacob could be.
Deception seems all too prevalent in our scripture readings and in our lives. Deception and distrust often seem to guide how we act and how we relate to one another. Take our politicians - I don’t know about you, but I feel like all these budget discussions in Washington, DC have become a bit of a shell game. “How do we manipulate the public so that our side comes out on the side of the good, and the other side the bad?” What happened to working together to find the best solution for all? Not a perfect solution necessarily, but one that values justice and fairness for all, not just for the group that pays for the campaign. See how cynical we have become? I can no longer believe that our elected representatives in Washington, DC truly have our best interest at heart. I do think they try, but political pressure seems to get the best of them. We have not come very far from the politics of Laban and Jacob, or that of the Roman system that Jesus preached against. What are we to do?
In our Gospel this morning, Jesus talks about a mustard seed and about yeast. We know how tiny a mustard seed is and that it produces a bush, but did you know that a mustard bush was considered a nuisance and a weed to Jesus’ listeners? The mustard seed is so tiny that it often got mixed in with the good seed and caused problems for farmers. Mustard bushes were not welcome. It is interesting to see how Jesus compares this to the kingdom of heaven.
Next we have yeast – yeast was actually considered a symbol of corruption and impurity in Jesus’ time. It takes very little yeast to “contaminate” a great deal of flour. Again, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to this corrupting process. Jesus also talks about a thief who has insider information and steals a treasure from its owner. He talks about a merchant, not a well-respected group in Jesus’ day, who sells everything in order to obtain a single item. It seems to me that these are not favorable comparisons for the kingdom of heaven.
How do we relate these gospel readings to our own lives and our own experiences? The trick here is that things are not good or bad in and of themselves; it is what we do with them that make them agents of good or bad. Mustard seed makes a wonderful condiment that goes very nicely on hot dogs, yeast makes our bread light and delicious. They are useful items, but can also wreak havoc when used incorrectly.
Jesus was fighting against a system that was terribly unjust and unfair. Jesus was not about condemnation, but about transformation. Jesus wanted us to see that if the kingdom of heaven could transform these things – mustard seed, yeast, thieves and merchants – that there is hope for us. He reassures us that God’s love can transform us too, even when we are weedy, overbearing, unjust and unfair.
We don’t have to live our lives like our representatives in Washington seem to. We don’t have to live our lives with deceit and distrust. If you are a Democrat you can believe that the Republicans have something to teach you, and vice versa. We need each other in so many ways. The solutions to our problems are complicated, but can only be found if we work together. This is what Jesus wants us to see, that when we strive for justice and fairness, we will have God on our side. Jesus wants us to see that something small can have transformative power, like the tiny mustard seed or the little bit of yeast. I think we too often forget the power that we do have and our ability to change things.
I have an assignment for you. For this week, and longer if you are able, treat everyone in a kind and loving way, whether you agree with them or not, whether they are nice to you or not. Treat them this way because you are God’s yeast, and this world needs a lot more kindness and love, and a lot less deceit and distrust.
Now I am not naïve enough to believe that this will change the world this week, or even this year, but I do believe that God’s kingdom needs to start somewhere. Why not here, why not with you? Be the community that God calls you to be, be the people God needs you to be. Recognize the abundance that you have here, the loving supportive community, the many gifted and talented people you have in your midst. I am so thankful for each of you, and grateful for your ministry to me. Continue to be God’s yeast in this place, and know that, as Paul tells us today in Romans, “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, not things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Amen