Fr Mike's Message - 6/11/23

The Gospel: ​Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. And the report of this spread throughout that district.

Prayer: Lord, you have promised that when two or three gather in your name you will be present with them. We depend on that promise today and pray that you will move among us. Lord, we pray that you have inspired Mike's preparation, that you will enliven his presentation, and that you will empower our application. Amen

The Message: Today is the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost and the first Sunday in Ordinary time. This period of Ordinary Time, because we all know there are two periods of Ordinary Time, begins on the Monday after Pentecost and runs through the Saturday before the First Sunday of Advent. 

That is a long time in our church life. It would be easy to think of all that time and say it with a sigh in your voice, a bit like Eeyore in the Winnie the Pooh books and cartoons, "Ordinary time." 

We may even be tempted to look at it as a time to be endured, or a time to get through so that we can get back to the highlight moments of our church life. Bring on Advent and Christmas.

I really appreciate the definition from the Episcopal Dictionary which defines Ordinary Time this way: "Ordinary time can be understood in terms of the living out of Christian faith and the meaning of Christ’s resurrection in ordinary life." 

Did you catch that? That definition gives Ordinary Time a very different feel. Let me read it again: "Ordinary Time can be understood in terms of the living out of Christian faith and the meaning of Christ’s resurrection in ordinary life." To me, this is one of those ultimate descriptions of our lives as Christians. 

This morning I would like us all to stop for a moment and consider how we understand ourselves as Christians. 

Now, I am willing to say that for most us, there are times when, we as Christians, are tempted to say we are ordinary people who are living our ordinary lives. That may be true, but we would be very remiss if we were to just leave it there.
 
After all, Jesus did say he came to give us life and to give it to us abundantly. 
I believe it is important to say we are ordinary people who are living our ordinary lives in relationship with, and under the influence of, an extraordinary God.

How many times have you heard someone, or maybe you have even done it yourself, describe themselves as "just an ordinary Christian?" I wonder sometimes if, when we, or they, say that we are making a comparison with someone else who we believe is, somehow, a better or more effective Christian.

You know those wonderful Saints from the past who lived lives that somehow demanded an extra measure of faith. There are any number of those Saints we could bring to mind. Some of us probably even have our favorite Saints whose names we could insert here.

Or perhaps we, or they, are talking about those people who have a charismatic personality. You know those people whose personality makes them stand out and which makes other people stop and take notice of them. Like the Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. Now there is a Charismatic figure.

Today I would like to challenge us all, myself included, to consider if we are living as fully as we could be the life that is available to us. Or are we taking an Eeyore approach to life?  “Thanks for noticin’ me.”

As I was considering how this ordinary Christian attitude might work out, or not work out, in our lives I was struck by the Collect for this morning.
 
Let me read it for us again:
"O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."

From the center of that Collect this morning come these wonderful words:
"Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them"

I would like to take some time this morning to unpack those two sentences and then to look and see how they may relate to the Scriptures that we have in the Lectionary for this morning. What can we learn about an Ordinary Christian Life from the Collect and the Scriptures today?

So, the Collect says: "Grant that by your inspiration" We begin where we should always begin. We begin with the Lord.
 
As the Collect for Guidance says: 
"Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Then we get to the heart of the matter in the next section of the Collect. With the Lord's inspiration and guidance, we begin to renew our minds: ".... we may think those things that are right"
 
Paul says it so well in Romans 12:2 reading from the NRSV: "Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect." 

Paul also knows our struggle doesn't he? In Romans 7:15-20 he says:
"I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate."

Paul acknowledges and the Collect points out, that we cannot do what we should under our own motivation or self-discipline. It is only when we allow the influence of the Holy Spirit that we can think the way that we desire we would. 

Then we move on to the day-to-day application of this Collect: "... and by your merciful guiding may do them" 

Here is where the "rubber hits the road." Because no matter how much seeking of the Lord we do, no matter how much inviting the Holy Spirit to engage with our thoughts we do, unless we live it out in our daily - ordinary - lives, then we have "kinda missed the point" haven't we?

So, what does this have to do with our Scriptures this morning?
 
Let's begin in Genesis 12. We have touched on this reading before. I will remind you that I believe that Abram is actually fulfilling the call that God placed before his father, Terah, in Genesis 11: 31-32. You can read that for yourselves when you go home today.

So, as we look at the Collect for this morning how does it apply to Abram/Abraham? "Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them"
"Now the Lord said to Abram.."
"So Abram went..."
"So, he built there an altar to the Lord..."

The Lord spoke, Abram, heard, considered, and accepted it and then responded by doing what he was called to do. Now as I say that it seems pretty simple and straightforward. But if we look at the circumstances of Abram's life, and the example of his father who went part of the way and then stopped, Abram is engaging in a major undertaking. Abram is 75 years old when he begins this journey. Then he takes everyone associated with him on the journey. "Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth.." This is a major undertaking.

Briefly moving to the reading from Romans the story of Abraham, as he is now known, continues. We again hear how the Lord spoke, Abraham, heard, considered, and accepted, and then responded by doing what he was called to do. Again the circumstances are not simple or straightforward. But he did what he was called on to do.

"He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb."

Now in our Gospel reading from Matthew this morning, we have a number of examples of the principle outlined in the Collect.
 
Jesus calls Matthew. Matthew stands up and follows. Matthew calls all his friends and neighbors together to celebrate. While Jesus is eating at Matthew's house he is challenged by the Pharisees, he responds and immediately a leader of the synagogue stands up and requests that Jesus come and heal his daughter. While Jesus is on his way to do that the woman with the hemorrhage touches his cloak and is instantaneously healed. She must have heard about Jesus and is inspired to take action. Jesus then heals the little girl.

All of these ordinary people find themselves, find their lives, changed because of the Lord. How open are we, how ready are we, to hear the words of the Collect this morning and to claim them for ourselves?
 
In this period of Ordinary Time are we willing for our Ordinary lives to be examples of "the living out of Christian faith and the meaning of Christ’s resurrection in ordinary life?"

Perhaps we could hear those words from the Collect one more time: "Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them"