At this time of year, when my family
gathers for vacations, and I can often be found wandering through old Maine
cemeteries with my brother Chris—I wonder about Deputy Governor John Alden and
Priscilla Mullins who sought, among other things, a different way to express
their faith when they sailed with 100 others on the Mayflower—including two
dogs—a spaniel and a mastiff; I wonder
if they ever imagined their offspring would be among the leadership of an Episcopal
Church in East Norwalk.
She and I have known for a while, yet
today I will let you in on little secret… Canon Pat and I are actually cousins. Yes, we share the same many-times-great grandparents,
John and Priscilla Alden… who, along her
parents, William Mullins and Alice Atwood, set sail in 1620.
From Leia (and Sydney, Chelsea, and Natalie) the line goes back fifteen generations and 400 years, to William and
Alice.
Though we can explore the genealogy and
historical journeys of our ancestors, we rarely ever have a glimpse ahead of
time, of how things will turn out for our decedents—unless, of course God is telling that story.
Take, for instance, the reading from
the 2nd Book of Samuel:
it explains that the way the Hebrew nation would bless ALL nations is through the family of David… the great king; from his decedents would come a
long-awaited King who will live, reign forever and change the world.
A few weeks ago you may have heard a full
summary of the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church
offered by Canon Pat in her sermon of July 5.
I had to read that sermon,
because upon returning from GC in the wee hours of July 4, and after gathering
with my family for the holiday, I immediately repacked and went off to Camp
Washington, on Sunday, for three days to serve as a chaplain for Mini Camp. (That is the camp for kids, ages 5-8, who
have yet to go off to camp. It’s kind of
like a test drive.) Driving north, I
couldn’t help but wonder, “What in the world
am I going to preach for our final Eucharist?”
I mean, for goodness sake… the camp
theme for these little ones was a three day battle with “aliens” invading the
small, yet made-up-planet campers were visiting on a galactic summer adventure;
…the aliens wanted to steal all the
cookies. The king and queen of the
planet even visited us to ask the kids for help. How would I ever be able to weave that with
scripture?
After leading the first night of
Compline, reading a story for the campers, and when all the galactic Christian
soldiers were snug in their sleeping bags, I was able to go out and look up
into the night sky… that’s when
everything seemed to fall into place.
The next morning at “Wake Up! Shake
Up! Raise Up! (a.k.a. Morning Worship)
we read a creation story. The second
night we closed a feast of S’mores and camp stories with Compline around
campfire, where we read of David and Goliath.
(Cue the smokey mist.) Part of morning worship on the last day was
reading, On the Day You Were Born, by
Debra Fraiser… and later that day, amid all the talk of “the vast expanse of
interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses” existed a
fantastic opportunity for using the “Star Wars” Eucharistic Prayer C. In the end, I needed not worry; all things
came together for good. This adventure
of mine provided the perfect time for simple messages like…
God loves you, no matter what, no matter when… God is never too busy for you… and God is with you always, no matter where you are.
The whole world awaited your birth, just as the world awaited the birth
of Jesus; and you, even as a young person—like the boy who would be king,
David… can change the world.
Change the world… Well, I must say it
seemed that each day, while at Convention, the world was changing and there
were reasons to celebrate.
The Supreme Court decisions, the
election of a new Presiding Bishop, a march through Salt Lake City with our
bishops to raise awareness of gun violence, divestment from fossil fuel, and votes to provide real dollars for the
Episcopal Church to address evangelism, church plants, and racial
reconciliation.
Upon leaving General Convention I
experienced a similar feeling as when I returned from the Episcopal Youth Event
last summer. I will never be the same.
The reading from the letter of Paul to the Church at Ephesus marks a new identity for the church, with social and political implications—a call from God for every tribe and every nation to be one in body for the building-up of God’s kingdom and to be about the work of God’s mission—which brings me right back to the actions of General Convention, and the sermon for our closing Eucharist when Presiding Bishop-Elect Michael Curry reminded us that when the words of the Great Commission say make disciples of all nations, that ALL means ALL.
Canon Pat recently quoted Bishop
Curry’s GC sermon, which quoted Max Lucado, when he said, “God’s not finished
with you yet.” (Is that like a retweet?) WE will never be the same. That morning, he also cited Julia Ward Howe;
and he quoted the Reverend Becca Stevens, saying, “Love has the power to heal.”
You may have noticed this morning’s
Gospel selection jumping over the feeding of the five thousand (the only miracle to be told in all four Gospels)
and Jesus walking on water. Have you
ever wondered what it would be like to be part of the 5,000 being fed, or
perhaps be one of those doing the feeding?
THIS is something I think I can tell you about first hand… well, kinda…
at convention I truly felt as if I had stepped into the miracle story, if only
for a moment.
As Canon Pat described in her earlier
sermon, there were an estimated 5,000 people at worship, and I, having been at
the right place at the right time, was invited to serve the chalice. THAT was very cool. BTW…
the well-orchestrated army of liturgical assistants managed to distribute
communion daily to that many people inside of ten minutes.
So, as for the Gospel reading today…
after Jesus and the disciples had gone away to a deserted place to rest… they
step from their boat on the beach and end up feeding five thousand. The idea of Jesus ordering the people to sit
in groups of 50s and 100s sounds, to me, much like the Church of today; many
smaller groups, yet we are one Church… one body. We, in parishes, are gathered and dependent
on each other to face daily life, charged with addressing the needs of our
neighbors. Episcopal Churches across
Connecticut are connected and mutually responsible for and to each other. The Episcopal Church organized by diocese and
provinces shares a common table for support, worship, and celebration… in great
cathedrals, which took years to construct… roadside, cedar houses of worship
hewn with the love of generations… in
the public park, the marketplace, the nursing home, or the local laundromat…the Church dwells there.
While at EYE and GC, we were reminded
to resist the temptation of letting them be “mountaintop experiences”, leaving
the passion and energy only to be left behind at the site.
I am here to tell you… having been to the mountaintop… we
have work to do.
Just as Jesus moved about cities,
villages, and farms… healing those who were placed before him… Christ Church
has a renewed prospect to bring the healing love of Jesus to the world—to find
new ways to serve the wider community; which,
indeed may have powerful, social and political implications.
This is a unique time for CCEN—having
a postulant here among us, discerning a call to the diaconate—we have the
opportunity to go out beyond the walls of this sacred space; to go where the Church dwells. Going out with Ned will mean we can
explore what the Church out there needs.
We can bring the love of Jesus to the
neighborhood, marketplace, schoolhouse, and even the beach… if that’s where you
are headed; when Jesus is made known there, perhaps some will touch
the hem of his garment… and be healed. Amen.
Donald Field Burr,
II
July 19, 2015;
Pentecost VIII
Christ Episcopal
Church
East Norwalk, CT
