Homily
God, help us to follow Jesus' example and glorify you on earth by doing the work you give us to do.
Just before he's about to be arrested in the garden, Jesus prays to God, his Father, "I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do."
We regularly ask God for the grace to follow this example. Today, after we finish sharing communion, we will pray together, "assist us with thy grace, that we may continue in that holy fellowship, and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in"
And after that, I'll stand at the back of the church and tell you to do exactly that. I'll say "Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord" And, like a team getting ready to run back on the field, you'll all say "Thanks be to God! Alleluia! Alleluia!"
Then you'll charge out the door to go do all those works that God has prepared for us. At least, that's the idea.
Church is where we come for rest, for encouragement and teaching, and for remembering who we belong to and what we're supposed to be about. It's like half-time - we regroup, catch our breath, take some nourishment, and get some focus and direction from our leaders. Then we go back out. That's a very crucial point. We get back in the game - doing the work God has prepared for us.
What is work is that?
Basically two things: Love God and Love your neighbor.
Priests and deacons help the church with both of those tasks, which are closely related. Though it's a huge simplification, you could say priests specialize in helping us love God, and deacons specialize in helping us love our neighbors.
Deacons often talk to the church about questions like "Who are our neighbors?" I'll warn you, if you get a deacon - and I pray that you do - he or she may start raising this question in directions you find uncomfortable. It's the deacon's job to notice people others don't want to see. Deacon's are charged, at our ordination, to "serve all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely." We're also charged to "show Christ's people that in serving the helpless they are serving Christ himself."
If God sends you a deacon - and I pray that he does - you will likely hear the Gospel focused differently through the deacon's preaching because of the deacon's call to focus on the marginalized.
I'll give you some examples from this morning's scripture readings.
In today's Psalm, we addressed God, not as "Our Father" but "Father of orphans," and "defender of widows." In the next verse, we read that "God gives the solitary a home and brings forth prisoners into freedom."
Just in two verses, already, we have orphans, widows, single people and prisoners. Notice what kinds of work God is doing for them.
God is a father to those without a father. Think about men you know who are mentors, step-fathers, foster parents or adoptive parents. Think about kids you know whose dads aren't around or can't be at home. How are you men at St. Peter's joining God in this work of being a father to the fatherless?
Have you ever thought about the fact that Joseph was essentially Jesus' step-father?
What other work is God doing for people in the Psalm? God is the defender of widows. There are always folks willing to take advantage of someone who seems defenseless - scam artists prey on elderly people and steal their money or property in all kinds of ways. Is there any way you can join God in defending someone who is vulnerable in this way?
What other work can we see God doing in these two verses? "God gives the solitary a home and brings forth prisoners into freedom." Did you know that in Zimbabwe, members of Anglican churches were illegally arrested this week and put in prison - and that other parts of our Anglican communion helped to bail them out? I learned this by reading an email newsletter from the Anglican Communion News Service. Anglicans in Zimbabwe are facing a lot right now at the hands of a vindictive deposed bishop who is friends with the despotic president. And these are folks in the church.
What about other people in prison who aren't members of the church? What do you know about the prison system in general - about issues such as retributive versus restorative justice? Crimes with unequal punishments, like the difference in penalties for possessing crack cocaine versus powder cocaine? Why does a poor kid's drug have a smaller penalty than a rich kid's drug?
Uh oh - this is starting to sound almost political - it's starting to meddle in issues...
Yep, that's what a deacon's likely to do: push the Church back out into the world where there's work to be done, back in the game, not watching from the stands.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, gave an interview that's posted on YouTube in which he said that as Christians, we should look around to see what God is doing and join in.
When God sends you a deacon - as I pray he soon will - that person will help you to see what kinds of work God's doing out in the world outside these walls - the works he's preparing for you to walk in. And I pray you'll head out these doors and join in.
Thanks be to God!