Sermon: Night Shift

Sermon for March 8, 2020

Lent II / A

Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Detroit, MI

The Rev. Vicki Hesse

For readings, click here

Watch video here.

Listen here.

“Take my lips, O Lord, and speak through them;

Take our minds and think through them;

Take our hearts and set them on fire for you. Amen.

Some years ago I worked a night shift.

That takes some adjusting. 

If you have ever worked a night shift,

you know what I’m talking about.

Night shift work has a special culture,

demanding a special attention.

In offices, you can see the people in cubicles

working in the semi-dark spaces

with their desk light on. 

The phones are mostly silent,

just the sound of typing on keyboards

or the floor-scraping sounds of the mop bucket going by. 

You can sometimes hear the music

eeking through someone’s earbuds. 

Around any city, fewer people are awake in the night, except for the   

·        Police and ambulance cruising streets, awaiting 911 response calls.

·        Bleary eyed parents soothing crying babies.

·        Intimate lovers whispering sweet nothings.

·        Red Bull-saturated students cramming for exams.

Night shift work has a special culture, demanding special attention.

demanding of your body heightened senses

for bumping into other night shift people

as intimate strangers –

sharing the strange vulnerability of the night

while you know nothing about them at all.

So in our gospel today, we hear of one night shift worker,

“…a Pharisee named Nicodemus.  He came to Jesus by night.”  

Imagine Nic just got off his part time night shift

at the scroll-making factory. 

Nic was stewing about this Jesus person

he encountered by day,

and all Nic’s friends were talking about Jesus. 

His Facebook feed filled with comments,

his twitter was a flutter

and even his Instagram notifications were all about this Jesus.

Nic felt his breath rushing, his heart racing, his jaw clenching, his eyes burning …

his heightened senses alerted him.

That night, he knew he needed to see Jesus

and see him right then.

Being a part time religious leader,

Nic had a theological reputation to uphold. 

What better time to have a one-to-one conversation

like his community organizing training had taught him?

So Nic practiced courage, as he was taught,

and told Jesus what was on his mind,

without fear of anyone overhearing his questions. 

“ ‘s up, Jesus?”

“You must be a Divine teacher,

cuz no one can do that God-pointing

and God-revealing you do,

apart from the presence of God.”[1]

For Jesus, nighttime was a great time for a chat.

And after throwing the curve ball

about needing to be re-born,

Jesus explained,

“…being born again is like that –

not something you do, the wind does it.

The Spirit does it.

This is what happens, for God’s sake.”[2]

Nic, being an external thinker, wondered aloud, “huh. how can this be?”

And we wonder, too, (maybe not out loud),

but often at night.  “How can this be?”

Isn’t it often at night that we, too, want to see Jesus?  When we need Jesus.

Isn’t it nighttime when our senses are on alert,

our questions deepen, that yearning tugs on our heart?

Isn’t it often at night that we wonder about the corona virus?

We hear that a former colleague just entered hospice. *sigh* We need Jesus.

We lose a loved one. We gain a diagnosis. We need Jesus.

Our best friend betrays us. We disappoint ourselves. We need Jesus.

Isn’t it often at night that-

We are exhausted, as a queer person,

with the relentless coming out demanded by society

– to new friends, fellow students, casual conversations.

Then we get angry at our own frustration.

We feel let down by others. We need Jesus.

Isn’t it often at night that-

We are angered and disgusted, even as a white person,

at systemic white supremacy that surrounds us on every side

and of which we are a part while vowing to dismantle,  

while we are learning to listen more

and not assume we know best.  God, we need Jesus.

Isn’t it often at night that-

Our society needs Jesus,

plagued by what Rev. Dr. William Barber[3] calls

the “five interlocking injustices[4]

that are far too often not

at the center of our nation’s moral narrative.:

repeat: the “five interlocking injustices

that are far too often not

at the center of our nation’s moral narrative.:

systemic racism, systemic poverty,

ecological devastation, the war economy,

and distorted and misguided religious nationalism.”

The Rev. Dr. William Barber co-leads a movement:

“The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.”

Barber comes to Jesus in our country’s dark night of the soul

on behalf of people made poor by these interlocking injustices.

He asks Jesus that the Son of Man be lifted up

so that people made poor

may have something to see and believe in and trust again.

“Jesus!” he calls out on our behalf,

“send the Spirit into God’s people!”

to work with and for the 140 million

poor[5]  and low-wealth people who live in the United States –

people from every race, creed, sexuality and place.

140 million poor and low wealth people. That’s 40% of the USA.

Living in the nighttime of five interlocking injustices. 

We need Jesus

Yes, working the night shift takes some adjusting. 

If you have ever worked a night shift,

you know what I’m talking about.

Night shift work has a special culture. It demands attention.

When Nic wondered aloud, “how can this be?”

Jesus was right there.

Jesus was present. 

Jesus kept on showing God’s love.

And, Jesus explained how Spirit works.  

“Think of babies; they are born

and you see their flesh, their outsides, and you gotta change their diapers. 

But the real person is born

when the spirit moves in them

and they grow up and mature and become real people,

formed by the Spirit, the Spirit you cannot touch!”

Jesus continued his conversation with Nicodemus, that night,

Saying: “See, God loves the world –

the whole cosmic creation and every delicate snowflake and tear drop that falls –

God loves with so much deep compassion that

God feels all that suffering, Nicodemus,

… your angry vibrations, your racing heart, your sweaty palms.

God is there.”

Then, Jesus promised:

“God is so present in this world, that in the day light

you will see people with that moving, powerful Spirit

in their eyes and feet and hands, and with a fire in their hearts.”

“See,” Jesus concluded,

“God’s got such a thing for this world, this loused-up planet

that God sent me down here

so that if you don’t believe with your own eyes

maybe you’ll believe mine, or me,

or you wouldn’t come sneaking around at night.”[6]

God’s got such a thing for this place

Then, Nic knew he made the right decision

to come to Jesus by night.

Nic realized, indeed, this demands attention.

So… when we wonder, “how can this be?”

God in Jesus is present for us.

In our dark night of the soul, when we come to Jesus by night,

even if we don’t believe with our own eyes

maybe we will believe that Jesus sees the possibilities

and can set the world right again.

Even if we don’t believe, Jesus believes in us!

And there, with Jesus’ night vision,

we can glimpse resurrection –

a new way and a new hope and a new life that is coming –

but not yet; that’s for Easter!

God is not condemning the world but saving the world.

Because God’s love is that unexpected, that bold, that abundant.

God is making the world right

through Jesus who comes to us, by night.

Filling us with a Spirit of truth, and compassion and drive

and unexpected, bold love so that we can be Jesus’

hands and feet and rushing breath and racing heart

to set the world right again.

We learn a new way to pass the peace

in the days of corona virus.

We find unexpected Jesus-resilience

to explain again to someone what it means to be queer.

We experience in new anti-racism allies

a productive anger to confront white privilege.

We feel deep Jesus-centered compassion

for a friend who needs healing.

See, we can set the world right again

by practicing bravery in the night.

We know how much we need Jesus for

that is where the Spirit gives birth to our lives.

Take courage, friends. This night shift work is hard. It requires attention. 

And God’s attention is trained on each of you

with laser focus love and forgiveness. 

Meet Jesus in the night and be born again by his radical grace.

Now get out there with him and set the world right again!  Amen.

---

[1] As translated in The Message

[2] Frederick Buechner, Peculiar Treasures: A Biblical Who’s Who, (New York, Harper & Row, 1979), p. 121-123

[3] Cited here https://wayoflove.episcopalchurch.org/episodes/season/2/episode/15 Rev. Dr. William Barber, president of Repairers of the Breach, architect of the Moral Mondays Movement, and Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.

[4] Cited at https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/poor-peoples-campaign-preserves-king-legacy-targets-racism-poverty-and-militarism/

[5] Cited at http://themississippilink.com/2020/01/24/rev-william-barber-addresses-systemic-racism-poverty-and-voting-rights/

[6] Buechner, Ibid.

Sermon: Wilderness Transformation

image: Pixabay, creative commons

Second Sunday of Advent, Year C

The Rev. Vicki K. Hesse,

Director of the Whitaker Institute,

Episcopal Diocese of Michigan

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Westland, MI

Sermon Preached on December 9, 2018

Good morning.  My name is Rev. Vicki Hesse.

I was last here mid-July,

when the weather was, ahem, a little sunnier!

As you may know, I serve the Diocese as the Director of the Whitaker Institute.

The Whitaker Institute is the educational arm of the Diocese.

Ask: Who here has taken a class from the Whitaker Institute? 

Our overall purpose is (slowly)

to form disciples to carry on the ministry of Jesus Christ.

(that’s a big mission, but we have a big God!)

We do this through about a dozen Dio-wide programs.

Three programs you may know include:

Safe Church courses (new curriculum, new policies),

“Academy for Vocational Leadership,”

a local school for ministry and

“Exploring Your Spiritual Journey,” aka EYSJ,

a program for anyone (lay or called to ordination)

to learn how God is calling.

So, thank you, St. John’s for your warm welcome today

Now we gather our minds and hearts

and breathe into this space

as we reflect on our gospel message today.

O Lord, take my lips and speak through them;

take our minds and think through them;

take our hearts and set them on fire with love for you. Amen.

A few years ago, I read this book called

“Eats, Shoots and Leaves” ---anyone?

This 2003 book is a funny read about punctuation. 

The summary reads,

“Anxious about the apostrophe? Confused by the comma? Stumped by the semicolon? …Join Lynne Truss

on a hilarious tour through the rules of punctuation

that is sure to sort the dashes from the hyphens.”[1]

The author bemoans our society’s current “grammatical” state.

(any teachers here?)

She uses examples from literature, history & signage

showing how meaning is very much shaped

by commas and apostrophes. 

We’ve all seen signs like this one on a storefront:

“Come inside for CD’s, VIDEO’s, DVD’s and BOOK’s!”

(with possessive apostrophes before each “s”). (pause)

Or the newspaper byline that read,

“Fan’s Fury at Stadium Inquiry”

– with the apostrophe before the s in Fan’s.

“Fan’s Fury at Stadium Inquiry”

The story sounded

“quite interesting until you look inside the paper

and discover it’s about a large mob of fans, actually,

not just the lone, hopping-mad fan

so promisingly indicated at the byline.” (p.2)

When I read the book, it made me laugh out loud

and sharpened my attention to punctuation.

See, as a proclaimer of Word(s),

I believe that words matter. 

And punctuation matters.

Stay with me, now, this does connect to the Gospel!

After reading today’s Gospel text,

I found myself reading that text from Isaiah,

which explains *why* John the Baptist was there

“as it is written in the book

of the words of the prophet Isaiah”

Gospel author Luke uses the OT

to establish one of the main themes “reversal.” 

Luke’s story prophesied a new world,

a new age, a new way of being,

to be fulfilled in the coming of Jesus,

through the voice one crying out in the wilderness: COLON

The images of reversal are many:

paths straightened, valleys filled, mountains flattened,

rough places smoothed – comma, comma, comma – then

AND All flesh shall see the salvation of God. Period.

But wait a minute, what is that colon doing there?

Isaiah 40 reads, “A voice cries out: (COLON)

‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord…”

Luke reads, “A voice cries out in the wilderness: (COLON)

Prepare the way of the Lord….”

Words matter. Punctuation matters.

Let’s set the context for the reversal story…

Imagine the story in a movie set –

starting in Rome. 

The camera zooms in, slowly, but not where we expect! 

The images pan through the known world

from imperial to regional and religious authorities

in a stark comparison of who God chooses.

The lens of the camera passes by

Emperor Tiberius – to Pontius Pilate –

to Herod – to Philip – to Lysanias

passing Annas and Caiaphas,

the religious authorities in collusion with the government, – comma, comma, comma,

until the focus rests on who and where God chooses:

John. In the wilderness.

Wait, what?

This opening scene –

the true prologue of the whole gospel of reversal - 

foreshadows what is to come.

From the surprising wilderness.

(TT)

See, in those days, trouble was pervasive.

Life was very hard for nearly everyone.

The culture, laws and geo-political rules

existed to serve those in power.

These “principalities” normalized

oppression of the “little guy” for control.

This kind of oppression was familiar to the Jewish people.

So familiar that the gospel writer hearkened back to Isaiah,

when the Jewish people were exiled to Babylon.

Captive, oppressed, away from home,

they yearned for freedom to return to Jerusalem. 

The people longed for their old lives back,  

for freedom from oppression,

for a chance to make something of their lives

without the pressure from “powers and principalities.”

pause

(TW)

The other day, watching TV, I noticed

how our consumer culture had become

oppressive and pervasive with  holiday advertising.

Gifts we “should” be buying,

fashion we need to make us “attractive.”

This consumer break was punctuated by

news stories about addiction and the opioid epidemic.

You hear the news, like I do, of the

ongoing political divisiveness rousing in us

an inability to stomach it or respond.

We hear about how lives are hard for many ppl.

 

Stories of refugees from several countries

arriving at new country borders

only to be further terrorized

for not living in their own terrorizing country of origin.

These people long for their old lives back, 

for freedom from oppression and danger

for a chance to make something of their lives

without the pressure from “powers and principalities.”

“Those days” are like “these days.”

The problem is that we don’t see

the surprising and hidden power of the wilderness.

We don’t recognize that grace often arrives

off the beaten path of power and control and oversight. 

It’s like staring at the light of a bonfire and

when you look away, it blinds you.

The presence of too much power outside

blinds us to the surprising power of God’s hope.

In the hidden power of wilderness

we can find true inspiration and creativity

and can see the possibilities for new life and grace.

For the word of God came to John. Period.

And he cried out. Colon.

In the wilderness, prepare the way…

(GT) See, the word of God transformed the wilderness. 

God’s word, through John,

affected everyone, even up to the emperor.

The word of God reversed everyone’s world order.

John challenged the people to see the wilderness

not as a place of desolation but of hope.

God called ppl, like the Babylonian exiles,

to leave their captors behind

                                 and head home through the wilderness.

God called them, like the people of Egypt,

                                 to join the exodus out of slavery

                                 into God’s promised fresh start.[2]

John’s baptism of repentance

                                 led to release from sins

– it unbound the people from that weight

Through the purification right

– and their hearts were opened

To God’s way, grounded in Love.   

To the forgiveness that set free

those trapped in darkness and death’s shadow.

The light of this ritual

revealed a new path, in the wilderness.

From the wilderness.

Born of the wilderness.

(GW) Today’s good news is that

God’s transformation comes in those places of wilderness. 

And in the wilderness, especially, God calls us to repent.

Author and Theologian Marcus Borg

offers fresh perspective on repentance: 

“The biblical meaning is

to return to God,

return from your exile,

reconnect to God.[3]

In the Greek NT, ‘repent’ means

to “go beyond the mind that you have,”

“go beyond the mind you have been given

by our environment and by our culture

and to allow Christ to shape” you a new mind and a new heart.

Both personally and socially.

A seminary classmate holds a weekly bible study with

people living with

homelessness, poverty, and food insecurity.[4]

One participant, Willie, said that for him,

wilderness is loneliness –

when you can’t connect with others

and you don’t know how.

Ty agrees, adding that

“you can have a place (a home) and still be lost (and lonely).

Or you cannot have a place but have community.”

Eugene added that

yes, when he had the most stuff was when he was the loneliest.

But now that he has this community,

even though he doesn’t have much stuff, he feels at home.

These people have gone beyond their mind’s orientation,

Both personally and socially: the way of salvation.

What is your wilderness?

Maybe your wilderness is loneliness,

and like these people,

repenting (reconnecting to God and others),

you can find a way home.

Maybe your wilderness is the daily stress

of too much to do with seemingly not enough time.

By repenting, reconnecting with God,

we can find ourselves in God’s time

and there is enough time there for important things.

In the wilderness of

our vulnerabilities, our challenges, our foibles,

our grief, our mistakes, our faults, comma, comma, comma

– yes, in the wilderness, God’s grace surprises us.  

So, this day, in preparation for Advent,

I pray that you know your wilderness

is filled through and through with grace,

for God loves you and forgives you

– even, or especially, in your wilderness.

I pray that God prepares you to notice your wilderness

and that God transforms you and your community.

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Exclamation point.

Amen.

---

[1] Cited at https://www.lynnetruss.com/books/eats-shoots-leaves/ and https://www.amazon.com/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Tolerance-Punctuation/dp/1592402038 on December 7, 2018

[2] Judith Jones, cited https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2702 on December 4, 2018

[3] Marcus Borg, The Heart of Christianity, p. 180

[4] Cited at https://faithfromthemarginstotheweb.com/ on December 7, 2018