Sermon: Where

Photo by Benny Jackson on Unsplash

Sermon Preached on July 29, 2018

Proper 12B RCL

The Rev. Vicki K. Hesse,

Director of the Whitaker Institute, 

Episcopal Diocese of Michigan

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Brighton, MI

Good morning.  My name is Rev. Vicki Hesse.

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 for

members of our faith community as lifelong formation.

Three programs you may know include:

Safe Church courses (now being revised),

“Academy for Vocational Leadership,” a local school for ordained ministry and

“Exploring Your Spiritual Journey,” aka EYSJ,

for anyone (lay or called to ordination) to learn how God is calling them.

These are only three of several programs.

Perhaps there will be time at coffee hour

to learn more about learning and working together

for mutual transformation.

So thank you, Fr. Deon, who is on vacation this week,

for your invitation to be here today. 

Now we gather our minds and hearts and breathe into this space

as we reflect on our gospel message today.

(Prayer)

During my last year of seminary,

my bishop (of WNC) required us seminarians

to complete the GOE’s, the General Ordination Exams[1].

These were six on-line essay questions

scripture, history, theology, ministry, worship, ethics.

offered over three days. And it was timed. 

We felt our lives depended upon answering these correctly.

During the preparation season, we developed a mantra,

“answer the question, the whole question,

and nothing but the question, so help me God.”

What we learned from previous GOE test takers was

that the more you wrote,

the more likely you’d write yourself out of an effective answer. So

“answer the question, the whole question,

and nothing but the question, so help me God.”

I’ve been thinking this week about questions. 

And here’s why.  In today’s gospel text,

Jesus went up the mountain, sat down

and when he saw a large crowd coming toward him,

he asked Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”

Notice, the question: “where” are we to buy bread for these ppl?

Not, “can you give me a budget

for how much it would cost to buy bread”

nor “how much food do you think we need

to feed all these people?”

nor even, “can you see if there is anyone

who has any extra food in their picnic basket

to help feed those ppl who brought nothing?”

Answer the question, the whole question and nothing but the question, Philip. 

Jesus asked “where,” Andrew, not how much. 

See, Philip and Andrew offered an answer

from their context, their conventional perspective. 

They focused on money. They focused on food.

They tried to solve this under their own power.

They didn’t see any part of “the question behind the question.”

How often in our world today,

is a response offered not for the question asked? 

With so much uncivil discourse in our political bantering

that we are tempted to forget the real question,

to notice what is really at stake. 

And in our emotional response,

we sometimes lose perspective of what is the truth.

And so we answer in conventional binary ways –

that person is “right” or “wrong.” 

Or that opinion is “factual” or “fake.”

Opiod crisis? Affecting us or not affecting us?

Poverty among children? In our community or not in our community?

But wait – what is the question, the whole question, nothing but the question?

Our societal dependence on scientific fact

can blind us from God’s overarching command

to care for the earth anyway. 

Sometimes a neighborhood’s “not in my back yard” approach

prevents us responding to a national crisis

of health and poverty that affects our neighbors

and the children all around us anyway. 

Human’s traditional binary categories

cannot comprehend in advance

what Jesus has to offer to our context, our lives, our world.

“Answer the question, the whole question, and nothing but the question, so help me God.”

Remember that little sentence, just after Jesus asks Phil about bread,

“He said this to test him,

for he himself knew what he was going to do” ? THERE is a clue.

Jesus knew that there was enough food,

regardless of Philip and Andrew’s poorly articulated answer

to their GOE question. 

That was the astonishing thing:

Turned out - Jesus was the source of food enough, as the Son of God. 

Jesus knew that to feed people, to ensure they were satisfied,

he had to anticipate their needs. 

He knew that to fill people’s bellies

would require a good ambiance. 

“Make the people settle down[2] and sit on the grass,” he commanded,

alluding to the line from Psalm 23,

which of course Jesus, as any good Jewish rabbi would know.

So then he took the loaves and the fish,

gave thanks and what did he do?

Astonishingly, He himself was the one to feed them.  

For Jesus knew that he himself was the gift of life – the source of life -

through this feeding by the five loaves and two fish. 

From WHERE will the bread for these people come?

From Jesus himself.

Who offered food for their bellies until there were even left overs?

Jesus himself.

What is the answer to the question, the whole question, nothing but the question?

Jesus himself.

That was the good news then and it is still the good news today. 

Jesus anticipates our needs

and provides more than we can ask or imagine. 

But we do resist Jesus. Why is that?

We resist because society poses the wrong question.

We resist because we want to control.

We resist because we value security over love.

We resist because we are afraid.

We resist because we are strange, unique, distinct creatures

who doubt that Jesus knows us *that* well.

What would it be like to truly

“answer the question, the whole question, and nothing but the question”?

We can  ask, what is at stake?

Then we live into what Poet Rainer Marie Rilke says,

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart

and try to love the questions themselves.”

Today, Jesus invites us to know from WHERE…

“we are to buy bread for these people to eat?”

WHERE is the whole question of our lives.

From WHERE will our bread come?

From Jesus himself.

Okay, confession time. I have been watching

– binging, really – the new season of Queer Eye. 

In this 2018 TV reality show, Queer Eye features the “Fab Five”

– five gay men who (on the surface)

“make over” a clueless protagonist

in the areas of grooming, fashion, food, culture, and home decor.

As Sojourner’s magazine recently wrote[3],

“… each episode becomes more than a makeover

as the … fab five breaks through the hero’s [inner] walls

and reach the root of their low self-esteem.”

As the real-life person integrates improved choices,

they ultimately find a deep confidence

to be exactly who they are: distinct, exotic, quirky, and joyful,

bringing their whole lives into question.

What does this show have to do with

answering Jesus’ question, “From WHERE will the bread come?”

This show offers a glimpse of the astonishing power of Love.

God’s Love disguised in these ministering Fab Five.

From WHERE will your bread come?

From Jesus himself  - his grace and astonishing presence.

It is Jesus himself that is

the inspiration behind your “Second Sunday” food drive for Gleaners.

It is Jesus himself that is

the inspiration for your own “Loaves & Fishes” ministry that

continues to provide free, nutritious meals

in a caring environment with special concern

for families and senior citizens.

It is Jesus himself that guides all the people gathered here at St. Paul’s

          To love and serve each other: as you know –

people who are in need

and people who are struggling

to experience God’s love in active, tangible ways.

Today’s good news is about Jesus’ grace for all people, the source of life abundant.

In the last part of the gospel text today we read that

Jesus walked across the water to the disciples’ boat.

They were terrified.

When Jesus says, “It is I, do not be afraid,” they recognize him,

and they reach their destination. 

Notice: When they recognize him, they are already WHERE they were going.

When recognize Jesus, we arrive.

And, when we arrive, Jesus recognizes us.

We are WHERE we are supposed to be.

So for the question, the whole question, and nothing but the question,

The answer is – IN JESUS. In his grace and glory.

Do not be afraid.

Amen.

---

[1] The GOE aims to evaluate the perception and analysis of issues in the several areas; the application of training and resources; the demonstration of knowledge and pastoral sensitivity; and the articulation of views. For more info, see http://www.episcopalgbec.org/index.php cited on July 28, 2018.

[2] David Bentley Hart, “The New Testament: A Translation” (New Haven, Yale University Press, 2017), p. 181

[3] Cited at https://sojo.net/articles/surprising-ministry-queer-eye on July 28, 2018

Sermon: Human Need Knows No Law

Sermon Preached on June 3, 2018

Proper 4B RCL

The Rev. Vicki K. Hesse

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Clinton

Video found here.

Good morning.   

Thank you for the invitation to be with you today. 

My name is Rev. Vicki Hesse and

I serve the Diocese as the Director of the Whitaker Institute.

Who here has taken a class from the Whitaker Institute? 

The Whitaker Institute is the educational arm of the Diocese.

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 forming in three ways:

by educating, equipping and empowering

members of our faith community with lifelong formation.

Three programs you may know include Safe Church courses,

“Exploring Your Spiritual Journey” for anyone (lay or called to ordination) and

“Academy for Vocational Leadership,” a local school for ordained ministry.

These are only three of several programs.

Perhaps there will be time at coffee hour

to learn more about learning and working together

for mutual transformation.

So thank you Rev. Susie, for your invitation to be here today. 

Now, we take a deep breath and remember

we are always in God’s loving presence.

May the words of my mouth

and the mediation of all our hearts be acceptable to you,

O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

Sabbath.  Our first reading offered an exposition

on this 4^th of the ten commandments,

“Observe the sabbath day and keep in holy.”

The gospel text, set on the Sabbath,

challenges us with a message

of love and compassion in the face of human need.

Sabbath.  What is the Sabbath?

The dictionary says,

“A day of religious observance and abstinence from work,

kept by Jews from Friday evening to Saturday evening,

and by most Christians on Sunday.”

In his book, The Sabbath[1],

Rabbi Abraham Heschel defines Sabbath

– that portion of Torah “Law” as,

“…a Divine paradigm of understanding time.” (show book)

In the prologue, Rabbi Heschel’s daughter

describes the “anticipatory delight” of preparing for Sabbath as a child.

She writes:

When my father raised his Kiddush cup on Friday evenings,

closed his eyes and chanted the prayer sanctifying the wine,

I always felt a rush of emotion. 

As he chanted with an old, sacred family melody,

he blessed the wine and the Sabbath with his prayer,

and I also felt he was blessing my life and that of everyone at the table….

I felt transformed, emotionally and physically. 

The sense of peace that came upon us

as we kindled the candle lights

was created, in part, by the hectic tension of Fridays. 

Preparation for a holy day,

my father often said, was as important as the day itself. 

When suddenly it was time, twenty minutes before sunset,

whatever hadn’t been finished in the kitchen we simply left behind

as we lit the candles and blessed the arrival of the Sabbath. 

My father wrote,

“The Sabbath comes like a caress, wiping away fear, sorrow and somber memories.”[2]

Rabbi Heschel teaches about this spiritual practice of sanctifying time.

Perhaps a book study for your next group?

In our Christian tradition, certain practices evolved from Judaism,

such as confession, worship, and adoration

– all of which mark time as holy.

You know, of course, that in the book of Genesis,

at the end of the creation story, “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy.”

Heschel, “…for six days a week

we live under the tyranny of space:

on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time. 

It is day we are called to share what is eternal –

from “the world of creation” to the “creation of the world.”

This sacred time invites you

to hear the soft whisper of God’s voice,

“ye shall not kindle any fire.”

No fire, not in my heart, or for my needs, or with others.

For many years, my Sabbath agenda

has been rest and renewal, soft and gentle.

So there we have context

why the gospel today made me squirm:

a confrontation between holy law-keeping and holy people-saving.

The clue for me was Jesus’ anger.

The Gospel begins with the Pharisees confrontation.

They valued that law-to-keep-Sabbath over human need.

With a little exploration, it turns out that

“unlawful eating of food on the sabbath” was fake news.

Jesus didn’t break a sabbath law.

The law about which the Pharisees had a problem

was one that forbids harvesting a neighbor’s crop

(Deut 23: 24-25 if you are interested).

Jesus explains that what David did

(eating the bread of the presence when they were hungry)

was far worse than just rubbing kernels of grain together for a snack.

And although the Pharisees mixed up the details of their complaint,

Jesus knew their intentions.

Then, real trouble began.

He blew their socks off with this new paradigm:

“the sabbath was made for humankind,

not humankind for the sabbath.”

Jesus’ offered a new idea: human need knows no Law. 

Mercy and compassion overruled compliance with the 4^th commandment. 

Jesus turned the Law upside-down.

Then, Jesus did it again. He provoked them:

“Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath?”

But they were silent.

Jesus then conveyed his humanity

– looking at them with anger.

Time stopped. Jesus kindled a fire in his heart!

He was grieved at their hardness of heart.

The bubble over Jesus’ head was surely written in all caps:

“HUMAN NEED KNOWS NO LAW!”

and afterwards, the man stretched out his hand, it was restored.

And… Jesus’ upside-down gospel tests us.

Sometimes, our society, our institutions, or our government,

also value the law over human need.

See, the validity of any institution

lies outside of itself. 

Just as

“the sabbath was made for humankind, not humankind for the sabbath,”

The Church was made for humankind, not humankind for the church.

So, the church’s true and only authority lies in its service to humankind.

The holiness of the church arises, surprisingly,

from the church’s own power

(from a faith community’s ability)

to adjust to changing times,

through ministries that respond

to the community’s human needs.

When we, in the church, ask, “Does this ministry fit into our tradition?”

– that is when Jesus asks us to turn the question upside down with,

“Does this ministry do good to humankind?”

Sometimes, we wonder how can we keep Sabbath

with all the need in the world? 

How can we serve others

when we are aging and less able? 

Jesus turns the question upside down when human needs are at stake.

Because in human-serving ministries,

the Holy Spirit invigorates participants

and provides the will and courage

to become the beloved community.

To be concrete, a little research on “human need” in Lenawee county

revealed that the “meal gap” is large.

The Meal Gap is the difference between

those who actually receive meal assistance

(~11% of county residents who are on SNAP, or WIC, or free lunch at school)

and

those whose income level qualifies them to receive assistance

but they do not pursue it, for many reasons

          (~75% of county residents[3])

The human need right here is for nearly 65,000 people

who live in this Meal Gap zone.

These people can use assistance to meet their hunger. 

You, the congregation of St. John’s in Clinton,

can make a difference with this potential “freezer meal ministry”

or by partnering with an organization like “Neighbors of Hope.”

Our gospel text today offers a timeless perspective:

God prioritizes human need over human law.

So what if…

What if the sanctity of keeping sabbath law in Jesus’ day

is like the sanctity of our national anthem on Memorial day? [4] 

I wonder if Jesus would take a knee while everyone else remains standing.

What if the sanctity of keeping sabbath law in Jesus’ day

is like the sanctity of our national immigration law,

which punishes people who “break the law” seek refuge at the US border

by separating them from their children?

I wonder if Jesus would welcome them with hospitality and offer an abundant life.

Today’s Gospel message to prioritize human need over human law

might trigger anger to arise in us. 

That anger – grounded in the yearning for God’s justice –

might fuel us to respond to the human need. 

That anger – fueled by our feeling out of control

might invite us to discover how our personal power might be threatened. 

That anger – manifest in our own atrophied hands

might be just the boost we need to respond to human need.

And turn our world upside down.

The good news today is that Jesus stretches out his hands to us. 

He is with us in the holiness of this time,

empowering us to offer our whole lives

to serve human need above human law. 

So today, during communion,

I invite you to come forward,

to stretch out your hand,

to be blessed and empowered in the name of Jesus

to join with him in the business of

serving human need over human law. 

Stretch our your hands. 

Become the beloved community

that makes God’s love real in the world. 

Come, stretch out your hands

so that Jesus can meet you in eternity of Sabbath

and delight in your presence with all of God’s creation.

Come, be restored!

---

[1] Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath: its meaning for modern man, (New York, Farrar Straus and Giroux, 1951)

[2] Heschel, vii-viii

[3] According to the 2017 Mind The Meal Gap by Feeding America, downloaded on May 28, 2018.

[4] Facebook posting by friend and pastoral mentor, Tommy Airey author for Radical Discipleship, following his work in the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival in Lansing, MI on May 31, 2018.