Sermon for September 25, 2012
Feast Day of Sergius, Abbot of Holy Trinity, Moscow
St. Philips In The Hills Parish, Tucson, AZ
The Rev. Vicki Hesse, September 25,
2012
I speak to you in the name of one
God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Today is
the feast day of Sergius,
a
national hero and patron saint of Russia
from the
mid-14th century.
A little
bit about his background:
He was
born during civil war and
his
family left Moscow
to begin farming in a nearby village.
At the
age of only twenty, he and his brother
moved to
an even more secluded life in a nearby forest.
From
this location,
they
developed what is now the Monastery of the Holy Trinity.
Apparently,
he had a humble nature and
refused
higher advancement, such as becoming
Bishop
of Moscow.
Instead,
he remained, (and this line in particular struck me)
“…simple
and gentle in nature, mystical in temperament and eager to ensure that his
monks should serve the needs of their neighbors…”
In other
words, his life was not about him.
We can
draw inspiration from this one who grew deeply
in his
faith through devotion and through his fellow monks.
The
fertile inner-work that he did
is reflected
in Proverbs and
in the
Gospel and inspires our own inner-spiritual work.
From
Proverbs,
“Listen,
children, to a father’s instruction,
and be
attentive, that you may gain insight…”
and
again
“The
beginning of wisdom is this:
Get
wisdom, and whatever else you get, get insight…”
From the
Gospel, we hear
“Pay
attention to how you listen;
for to
those who have, more will be given…”
Woven
together, these texts raise up the nature of wisdom, gained from attentive
listening and sharing.
In
biblical context,
the
Gospel passage
“No one
after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar or
puts it
under a bed but puts it on a lamp stand…”
can be
seen as a commentary on the parable
that
actually preceded it.
The
parable that preceded it (but not read today)
was the
parable of the sower and the seeds –
the
seeds that fall on the path,
that
grow among thorns,
that
fall on the rocks and
that
grow in good soil.
In
biblical context, then, Jesus could be heard saying
just as
one sows in order to reap a harvest,
so one
lights a lamp in order to give light.
One
doesn’t sow in order to feed birds or
to choke
a bush with thorns –
so also
one does not light a lamp
to put
it under a suffocating jar or
under a bed.
The
purpose of sowing –
God’s
purpose for the Word or the light –
is to
effect change.
If you
receive God’s word –
the
light of God’s word –
like
good soil receives the seed,
you gain
even greater insight and
maturity
and knowledge of God.
This is
what Sergius did.
He
received the Word and passed it on.
His
sharing – his own proclamation
was the
dynamic act that effected change.
Today we
hear how God’s word
burns
like an eternal candle.
When we
allow it, when we are attentive to it,
it gives
light to produce a bountiful harvest.
The very
hearing of God’s word can transform us –
and especially
so if we approach it
with radical
openness and trust.
Then, as
we share our gifts of wisdom, time,
endurance
and life experience,
so will
we grow in the knowledge and love of God.
The good
news is that God’s word –
God’s
light –
shines
all the time,
eternally,
whether
or not we are aware of it.
We are
called
to offer
our simple, gentle, humble attention to it and
to
realize the life and vitality it offers.
With our
simple and gentle nature,
may we
continue to seek and serve Christ
in every
person we meet this day and every day,
just as
Sergius invites us.
Amen.
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