A Poem/Reflection for II Advent St. Andrew’s Church, Nags Head, N.C. December 8, 2019 Thomas E. Wilson, Supply Clergy
Faith
On a Beach
“You brood of Vipers; Repent!”
There is a part of me that always wanted to start off a sermon with those words of John the Baptizer from today’s lesson. I would list all the sins that I had seen in you sinners, and be like Jonathan Edwards, a Preacher in the Colonial American Great Awakening Revivals of the 1730’s and 40’s, whose most famous sermon was “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” That sermon drove people in the congregations to scream out things like; “What must I do to be saved?” and to swoon into a faint from the images of the burning fires of Hell awaiting them if they do not repent. Edwards did not yell or shout, but matter-of-factly just laid out the scenario. As a former ham actor, I would be tempted to not be so calm and would walk up and down the aisles pointing out people who in my wisdom needed to burn baby burn. However, the only thing I agree with John the Baptizer and Jonathan Edwards, is they and I see people coming to them who were not at peace with themselves, their neighbor or with God. But our peace comes when, in the verse from the Book of Hebrews, we are “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” When we are not in peace, the best option is to follow Jesus, whose ministry was not about condemning hateful sinners but about grace filled new life for all, the Peace of Christ.
The Greek word for sin is “ἁμαρτία,” (hamartia) which come from an archery term for when an arrow falls short of the target. It doesn’t necessarily mean something that is morally reprehensible, or a sign of the depravity of an individual – it is just a statement of fact. The Greek word for “repent” is “μετάνοια” (metanoia) meta- think about, noia- mind, changing your mind. Repentance begins when we become aware that things that we were once so sure of, don’t seem to be working, we just keep missing the target. They are not in peace with themselves, with God or their neighbor.
John is preaching at the Jordan River, the boundary of the Promised Land. He is asking people to go to the other side of the Jordan and retrace the steps of the Hebrew Children who had wandered far too long in the wilderness. In the Book of Joshua the story is told how the people had entered into the Promised Land with the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God’s peace with God’s people, leading the way, as the water parts to form a dry path on which they walk on dry land as it was done on the Red Sea. John invites the people to come to the Other Side of the Jordan, enter again in the wilderness as a metaphor of wandering around lost and then come into the water, immersing themselves fully, washing all the dust of the past away, ready to begin a new life of peace in the Promised Land. Jesus submits to that Baptism, not to get rid of sin, not because of inner conflict, but because he has Peace in his heart with which to begin a new direction in life.
As I thought of the lessons for this 2nd Sunday of Advent where the focus is on Peace. I define Peace not as an absence of war but as a way of living a deeper life without conflicts in my life. I cannot control other people, and some may think of me as a potential opponent in conflict. However, I spend part of each day in prayer to help me be at Peace with God, my neighbor and myself. When I am not at Peace within myself, I need to go deeper into prayer. When I am not in peace with my neighbor, I may need to ask for forgiveness of what I have done to bring this about. When I am not at peace with God, I need to find someone who will remind me of the Peace of Christ, so I can remember to accept the peace which passes all understanding.
I think of the image of being on this beach on the Outer Banks. We can walk on the beach and agree how pretty it is and how the view makes us feel as an observer. Or, if we see the sea is at Peace with itself, and we are in peace with ourselves, we can get wet and go swimming in the water, in whatever way we are able, as a participant.
This church is looking for a new Rector, I remember the times when I was here on the Outer Banks for my interviews with the Vestry and Search Committee at All Saints. The search committee begins the process with God’s peace if they know where the church is in their walk with Christ, if they are in Peace with each other, the candidates and themselves. With that peace, knowing why they are there, it is easier to know when to say no or yes. When I spent time with that search committee, I knew they were at Peace with their mission and themselves and therefore they demonstrated peace in the space between us so I could be at peace.
The first day of meeting with the Search Committee went very well and Pat and I were at Peace, so that we might begin to really hope. We knew that there were other candidates. But we were at Peace, because we knew that we were supposed to be there at the meetings. They might decide on someone else, but that was beyond our control. As John’s Gospel tells us, Jesus says; “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”.
A couple weeks later, I was called back to meet with the Vestry. I met with them that day and they met to make a decision while a member of the search committee took Pat and I out to dinner. Before the meal was half way over, the Senior Warden rushed to the restaurant to tell us that the Vestry had issued a call to me and I was to meet with the treasurer the next morning. Usually Treasurers give a long dirge on how rough times are and they must be careful on how much they can pay a new Rector. Every candidate who comes here has some conflict about staying in the church in which they now serve or to wade into the water with St. Andrew’s. At the end of the meeting, the candidate usually says something like; “Thank you very much. My spouse and I will drive back home, and we will pray about this and get back with you later in the week.”
The next morning before dawn I went for a time of prayer walking on the beach. The sun came up and I saw a school of dolphins playing, swimming and diving for their breakfast. I went back to the place we were staying and woke Pat up to walk with me. The dolphins were also a sign for her, and she said; “You are not to tell these people that we will pray about it. You are going to say ‘Yes’ now, before we talk about the money.” It was the moment we decided that we were going to enter the water of this promised land and leave behind the wilderness where we were. We were at peace and trusted that it would be a new way of life. We were not in control of the future, we found out that the money was going to be tight, but we were at Peace and not afraid.
How about you on this beach? Peace is brought about not by the fear of Hell, or the attractiveness of Heaven, but a decision for new life right here and right now in the Peace of Christ. Peace is a decision we need to make every morning. Today, and each new day, is the day we decide to leave the past of yesterday behind in order to play faithfully with Christ, the Risen Lord. As Paul writes to the Romans: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Faith On A
Beach
Faith is
moving, both toward and away,
one step at a
time, new decisions made
about going
deeper in water, past wade
status, toes
leaving a safe floor to play.
Prayer begins
by decisions to leave past
behind, old
choices, old habits to float
out of our
hands, out of memory's boat,
to sink away
into ocean deep and vast.
Jesus sees
“repentance”, leaving behind
that which no
longer works, to a change
to something
that seems a little strange,
away from
safe ways; comfort declined.
Arms reaching
forward, grabbing water,
swimming now,
free, gliding as an otter.
No comments:
Post a Comment