I don't often blog sermons. (it makes it impossible to repeat them!) But this is an exception. On Sunday with Baptisms, Father's Day, Summer Solstice, Pride Week and Aboriginal Sunday all deserving liturgical attention, it was the murder of nine men and women at Emmanuel AME Church in South Carolina that could not be ignored... So, I spoke about racism and my part and complicity in it at the beginning of the service and I preached. I publish because on Monday morning, I found 11 requests for the text of my sermon. I don't know if it's any good... I can see many "preaching" flaws, but it is sincere and it's the best that I had to offer yesterday.
To
put this in context - I began the sermon
by putting on a kettle… in the early part of the sermon, as I spoke the water
heated… and then came to a boil, even as I was coming to a boil. I then stopped and made a cup of tea. I was inspired by some words that Brian
Nicholson shared from Joyce Rupp about cups, warmth and tea, at a meeting earlier in the week.
The
Gospel and the Hebrew Scriptures that were read will be obvious as my words
unfold – but for reference they were Mark 4:35-41; 1Samuel 17:32-49
Here
is close to what was preached
It’s
been a tough week… and a busy day. If
you don’t mind, I’m going to put the kettle on – I feel like tea.
So
Jesus was on the boat. And there was a
storm… a big storm… wind blowing, waves crashing against the side of the boat…
the Apostles were hanging one for dear life… sure that at any moment they would
capsize; like any of us would be, they
were terrified.
Jesus
was napping.
As
if he wasn’t worried at all.
Finally,
they wake him… and they plead with him… Help us!
Although
he will chide them for their lack of faith, he still calms the storm. Whoosh!
It’s over. The wind is gone, the
waves have disappeared; the sea is calm
and still.
And
if you went to Sunday School or Seminary with me, you know that this moment in
scripture shows that Jesus and God are one with all of Creation. God is not separate or divorced from the
elements; from creation… it’s not just we who are in communion or relationship
with God: All of creation is in relationship
with God- because even the storm obeys Jesus. Get it?
Cool. Jesus is like one of the Xmen or an Avenger…
an awesome superhero who has great power and is clearly worthy of my cheers and
adulation. Probably a lot better than
your non- Christian God.
But,
here’s the thing. I had a friend who
got sick and he died…it wasn’t fair and it wasn’t right… why didn’t Jesus stop that? Nine people were praying together in church
– they were nice, good people… and they were shot and killed… why didn’t he
stop that?
I
love the story… but I don’t need a Jesus who can stop the storm – I need one
who can stop bullets… I need a God who can stop racism… put an end to hatred…
stop me when I’m being part of the problem and refusing to be part of the
solution….
I
get so angry… and upset… and hurt… and angry again… and it all begins to storm
inside me… Mother Emanuel Church…
Residential Schools… War in Afghanistan, Nigeria… injustice in Ferguson, in Baltimore, in my own city… teenage
victims of violence, child criminals… It
boils up inside of me…it roils up… it
becomes a storm…
{STOP
and pour boiling water for tea.}
Did
you ever have a friend who would offer you tea when the world makes no sense? I don’t even like tea all that much… but
sometimes… I need a cup.
A
cup of tea… slows me down… warms me up…brings calm… and suddenly the story of Jesus in the boat
begins to make sense. It’s not about a
superhero who controls the weather… it’s the observation that the presence of
God, that deep abiding faith can calm storms…
like a cup of tea… faith warms
you… right - to the core…And it really
does slow things down (you can’t have instant tea).
When
I think of the storms of my life and I have had a couple… it was my faith that
warmed me, slowed me down and carried me through. My faith in God… God’s presence in my
struggle…. God’s presence in the struggles of the world… My trust that Jesus doesn’t do party tricks,
he speaks, reveals and embodies truth.
So when I’m lost or confused, I stop and listen for the words of Jesus…
I pray and I wonder, “What do I do next?
Where is God leading me?”
Those
moments when my hurt was so profound that it made my whole body ache and my
mind and heart were just swirling and making no sense… I remind myself that I
believe in God…that I am beloved… that I am enmeshed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ… and I can almost hear God speaking to me: Be still… I am with you… you are not alone… I
love you. And in the next moment, I know
that I will survive…. the storm inside and around me is calmed.
{STOP
take tea out… and sip from here on…}
You
know the thing about tea? When you put
it in a cup, you don’t have grab the handle…you can grab the cup itself and
feel the warmth … and you can hold the
cup and offer the handle to someone else.
And you can give them calm… give
them perspective… it’s not just your faith that gets you through the storms… it
can also be the faith of another.
I
don’t know about you but as the news broke and the media followed the story of
the murders at Emmanuel Church in Charleston, I was storming… I was angry and I was
devastated, I cried; I got more angry. I
started to feel hopeless: Because this
will never end; things will never improve… racism and violence will always a
find a way to destroy what is beautiful.
My faith just wasn’t carrying me this time, the storm raged and I could
do nothing about it… and then I heard
the families of the victims speak to the man who had murdered their loved ones (you likely heard it, too) and they prayed for him; they spoke words of
forgiveness, they refused to give into the anger that was storming in me. And their faith began to calm my storm. In their faith – not mine - I recognized the presence of God… I heard
the hope… and I began to believe that we can be better… we can come through
this… In their faith, mine was
restored.
This
morning, I come to you with my faith restored… and also aware that at times, I have been that cup of tea for
someone else…it’s been my faith that others have relied on to get through the
struggle and the storm: At the death of
a loved one; in the midst of destruction; in the absence of hope… some people
have asked me directly- How can you believe? How can I believe?? Others have
silently implored with their eyes, their tears, their shaky hands: How can I
have faith when everything has fallen apart?
I’ve never had great words of
theology or philosophy… but I have held some hands… I have sat and cried… I
have hugged…I have prayed… I remember once just sitting and singing old
hymns… and I have shown my faith more
than explained ed. I have been told
later how important my presence was… how it calmed the storm.
And
I bet you have, too. (it’s not
something for which I have a unique
ability)
Each
of us has the ability to share the love and presence of God… each of us can
calm the storms for others… And in fact, in our baptism, we have taken on the
responsibility of allowing that Divine Presence to flow through us to those in
need… we have committed to being cups of tea.
But there is a trick… or a precondition to doing properly.
To
be the one who shares that cup of tea… the one who calms the storm… we have to
be who we are authentically. We have to
be truly ourselves… which means that I will share and BE God’s presence differently
from you… I may use humour… I will hug… I will sigh and probably cry…I will
share my kind of wisdom and compassion… that’s me. Given my privilege in this time and space, I will try to make things better in this world
by letting go of some of my privilege and making space for others to grow and
lead, to find space at the table where decisions are made and all people are
fed… I can do that and I can do it authentically.
You
see that’s what David and Goliath is all about for me… or at least part of what
it is all about.
Goliath
is a Giant. He terrifies all of the
armies of Israel. He cannot be
defeated. David is small… like me in the
face of great evil or darkness. But David’s faith brings him to volunteer to
take on the Goliath... he somehow believes that he can vanquish the giant …win
the battle and calm the storm for the Israelites. Eventually he wins the approval of King Saul (not
like there was anybody else eager to go into battle). Naturally, the King is appreciative, if
dubious, and wants to show David how to
do it; equip him for the battle. And
so, he dresses him in his armour. The King is larger than the boy shepherd, so
his helmet engulfs David’s head… his breast plate hangs low on the youth’s body…
his sword all but tips David over… it’s good armour, but it doesn’t fit and it
ISN’T DAVID! David is a shepherd… he has his own way of doing things; ways that
may not be familiar to the King or the rest of the army, but ways that can be
effective. David refuses to be somebody
that he is not; refuses to wear the armour that is not authentically his… he
puts them aside and claims his own authentic self and is then able to win the
battle… to reveal God’s presence powerfully for Israel.
You
have to be you. I have to be me. If we can all be who God created us to be…
who we are joyously destined to be… then God’s presence; God’s love can abound…
literally flow through us all. But we
have to be who we truly are.
That’s
why we celebrate Pride Week and our identity as an Affirming Church – to
encourage all members of the LGBTQ community and beyond to be authentically who
they are… to affirm that their love and their lives are sacred and God’s love
and presence flows through them…
That’s
why we repent and need to work at making reparations for our role in the
Residential Schools, where children were taught, coerced and forced to be other
than they were created to be. We forced
them to give up their culture, their identity and personhood… and in doing so,
we precluded them from being able to fully share God’s love and presence… even
with the best of intentions, we tried to stop God from shining through these
precious lives.
That’s
one of the great tragedies of racism… we try to force people to be other than
who they are created to be… we refuse to recognize them for who they are… and
we shut down God. We pour that precious
cup of tea into the sink…
But
it needn’t always be so. I heard words of love and hope spoken through
tears this week; I recognized the presence of God in what I thought was utter
darkness. And if that can happen in
Charleston, South Carolina, it can
happen here. If I can hear and feel the
presence of God in the words of another then I can be the presence of God to others…
and so can you.
I
can release my privilege and make room at the table for others… I can love all
of my brothers and sisters; confront my own racism and bigotry – be it large or
small…. I can confront it lovingly with my neighbours and family… and I can… you can… actually change the world,
so that all people can who they were created to be: authentic, loving and
unafraid.
But
along the way…I’m going to need a few more cups of tea… a few more storms will
need to be calmed… but right now, I have no doubt that someone will hand me a
cup of tea.. and Jesus will wake up and
calm the storm
Thanks
be to God.
