Sermon for August 18, 2015
10:00
Healing Service
William Porcher DuBose, priest, 1918
The Rev. Vicki K. Hesse
St. Philip’s In The Hills Parish,
Tucson, AZ
For online access to the readings click here
I speak to you in the name of One God:
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen
Today
is the Feast Day of William Porcher DuBose, who died in 1918.
What
do you know about him?
Biographical
information includes:
·
Known
for his original and creative thinking, particularly his theology of experience
·
Born
into a Huguenot family who settled in SC, 1836.
·
Attended
The Citadel and later U VA.
·
Called
away by the Civil War, twice wounded and became a POW.
·
Returned
and served as Chaplain to Confederate Army.
·
After
war, was ordained in 1866 and after serving as rector in SC churches, became
theology professor and later Dean of Un of So in Sewanee, TN.
·
Through
a series of books, he probed the inner meaning of the Gospels, “treating life
and doctrine in dramatic cialogue, fusing contemporary thought and criticism
with strong inner faith.”
·
Complicated
richness of his perspective not easily captured in a few words
·
Of
importance, he discussed that the reality of salvation
o
made
possible through divine initiative; God’s initiative comes first, … “God is not
our Father because we are His children, but we are His children because He is
our Father.” [1]
o
This
underscores the importance and reality of God’s initiative in the saving
process. “We can love God only as He
first loves us.”
·
Here
is a sample (hand out sheets):
·
“God has placed forever before our eyes, not
the image but the Very Person of the Spiritual Man. We have not to ascend into
Heaven to bring Him down, nor to descend into the abyss to bring Him up, for He
is with us, and near us, and in us. We have only to confess with our mouths
that He is Lord, and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the
dead—and raised us in Him—and we shall live.”[2]
Clearly,
DuBose was a gifted teacher and writer with a strong faith. For us, today, we can see how he wove his
complex life experiences with
the
intellect to interpret those experiences
in
light of Scripture.
That’s
the deep lesson we hear from him and can draw from in our need of healing: That
through complex life experiences, interwoven from what we learn in scriptures,
we might experience real healing of God’s grace.
I
think that is why the lectionary authors chose this reading from Deuteronomy,
which includes that line, “…the word is very near to you: it is in your mouth
and in your heart for you to observe.”
Or,
consider the gospel story
of
the folks on the road to Emmaus.
They
were walking along and found among them
a
person who began interpreted their experiences
in
light of scriptures’ stories
of
Moses and all the prophets.
They
were taken by this man, and
invited
him to stay with them through dinnertime
to
continue to weave the scriptures
into
their experiences.
So,
take a moment now to reflect what needs healing in your life.
Can
you think of a scripture with similar fabric?
Perhaps
a parable or psalm or phrase
that
gives some insight to your experience?
Would
anyone like to share or explore with us?
In
this process of reflection of
experience
and scripture,
scripture
and experience,
our
relationships with each other
and
with God are deepened.
We
see our healing in a new light.
And
now, as we begin to share communion, may all our eyes be opened as we take,
bless and break bread, as we offer that communion feast with each other.
May
our eyes be opened and recognize Jesus Christ in our midst.
May
our hearts continue to burn within us as he continues to stitch our lives to
scripture through Him – the fullness of all in all.
Amen.
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