I am trying to post sermons I preach. For my own edification I suppose. And also to spark conversation with anyone who would like to comment or dialogue. So, here is the first of what I hope will be a continuing conversation and archive:
This week I went back to
St. Philip parish in Northside and volunteered at the food pantry (CAIN). It
was hard being back for many reasons. One is that I miss the people, especially
the staff who have been so welcoming and appreciative of what I have done.
Second is that I miss the guests at the food pantry. Now maybe it seems hard to
believe that I could miss people who are down on their luck, live from day to
day and have nothing but the clothes on their back to their name—but that would
be misunderstanding what I have learned and the people I have come to know. The
guests are also very kind and considerate, and are willing to give their last
dollar to help another if they can. Their faith and trust that God can and will
get them through their next challenge is inspirational. Oh, there are a few
“operators”, but they are basically good at heart too.
But I think what also
made it hard for me, was the people I met for the first time on Thursday: one
gentleman in particular looked just like an old family friend, long since dead.
He had grey hair and a bright red face and was unshaven. He seemed embarrassed,
as most of the people do on their first time there. After filling out his
information and learning he had lost his job, I asked if there was anything
else I could do for him. He answered that if I could just get him a lead on a
job he would be very grateful. I couldn’t do that, and all the information I
had to give him were for places he had already tried with no success. I saw him
later, loading up his truck with groceries and he just couldn’t stop thanking
me—he was overwhelmed with the generosity and care that had been shown him at
CAIN. "
People don’t just come to the food pantry for food. Many
times people come needing help paying their utility bills, so they won’t be
shut off—but CAIN can’t do that this month because there is just no money. Some
come asking for bus tokens to get them to the doctor or to a job interview—but
there will be no bus tokens until January—again CAIN is out of money for all
but food right now. We only had a few bottles of shampoo, and luckily the
toilet paper shelf was filled—but every guest comes needing that. It was hard
for me to say, “I’m sorry but I can’t help you with that this month—but I’ll
pray for you and blessings to you.” It sounded a lot like our reading today
from the letter of James—and it sounded like just what James said not to
do.
“If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you
says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’ and yet you do not
supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So, faith by itself, if it
has no works, is dead.”
That is what was the hardest for me: over the year I
have been at St. Philip times have gotten harder for many people—some of them
right here in these pews—and it’s gotten even harder in the inner city—as they
say, IT always runs downhill
Now I’m not so sure any
of us would actually be so harsh as to ignore someone in need right in front of
us. I can’t imagine any of us, seeing someone who needed something to eat right
here in our midst wouldn’t run down the hall and pack them up a bag full of
Panera and all the coffee they could drink. We are all good people, caring
people. We don’t want to see people go hungry; we want to help; and so many of
us have helped here at St. Barnabas already: Findlay Street, Habitat for
Humanity, Church School, Coffee Hour and Panera Bread. And the response to
requests for help at St. Philip and the CAIN food pantry has been very
encouraging.
The readings for today
call us to get involved. They speak to us of the goal—the reign, or kingdom, of
God. Our first reading speaks in poetic language of what every wanderer in the
desert longs for: springs of water—what is needed even more desperately than
food when you live in an arid land like Israel. And in our second reading, James
tells us that we must feed people not just in Spirit but bodily—he lays out for
us that the Christian life is about extending Christ’s concern for the world to
each individual person; to what they need most. And if they need food or
clothes then forget about wishing their spirits well—they are empty words and
totally miss the point. And the point is the visible “works of mercy” that each
one of us is called to do in the world: and the operative word here is DO! We
must start with prayer, it is most important and I’m usually up here preaching
about prayer in one way or another, yes, start with our relationship with God, but
it must lead us to action in the church and the world, or our faith is
dead—says James. To put it in a positive light—faith that is real and alive shows itself in what we do for those in need.
A quote I’d like to share from Sr. Thea Bowman, an African American Franciscan Nun, who is being considered for sainthood by RomeI think the difference between me and some people is that I'm content to do my little bit. Sometimes people think they have to do big things in order to make change. But if each one would light a candle we'd have a tremendous light- Sister Thea Bowman African-American Franciscan (1937-1990) Sometimes the problems facing our country and world seem so big, we don’t know where to begin, but as Sr. Thea says, little things make a difference.
Then we get to our Gospel: The first part of which is one of my favorites—the story of the Syrophoenician woman. I would call her “The Uppity Woman”! She is one of the faithful women who inhabit the Gospel of Mark. This story is one of several in Mark that show that Jesus’ acceptance of women, and the women’s faithfulness to him, qualifies them to be participants in the Messianic banquet (the Kingdom); symbolically giving them a place at the table. Jesus as the host of the banquet in the Reign of God includes all, Jew and Gentile; women and men; clean and defiled; all are welcomed by Jesus.Do you know that she is the only person in the Gospel of Mark that “gets the best” of Jesus in an argument? She beats him at his own game, declaring, when he tells her in effect that she is a dog not deserving of his ministry (really mimicking what the people of his day thought of women and Gentiles); she speaks up and comes back with the remark that even the dogs get the scraps under the table. She shows this important Rabbi, who has silenced the Pharisees with his words, that she is no wimp—yes, she may be a dog but she needs what he has got—the healing power of God for her daughter—and she won’t shut up until she gets it.
(Do you notice how many times the Gospels compare prayer to people, mainly women, who won’t shut up until they get what they need? That is how we are to approach God in prayer. Keep at it, keep at it … See, I usually preach about prayer.)Again we see in the Syrophoenician woman, that her faith in Jesus to give what her daughter needs, just won’t quit. It is shown in a persistent “do something” attitude. And her persistence pays off—for her daughter and for us who read about her. The same thing occurs with the deaf man—his friends “do something”; begging Jesus to get him help. Their faith is put forth in action: action on behalf of those in need. As stated in our own Baptismal covenant, we will seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves.Their small actions result in miracles by God.
We can let our small actions result in miracles by God too. First, Pray for St. Philip Church and the people of CAIN. They are in desperate need of big funds and little, so if you have resources, please see me and I’ll put you in touch with them. Second, a small action, a small light that put together can have a big effect. And here it is, Bags for CAIN.(Here I described a service project to collect toiletries for Churches Active in Northside. It resulted in over two vanloads of supplies for the pantry.)
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