Gracious and loving God, guide us to seek your truth – come whence it may, cost what it will, lead where it might. Amen.
“Come and see.” You all know that’s at the top of our parish identity statement: Come and see the difference Christ makes through abundant grace, intentional worship, and beloved community. Come and see is the invitation to draw near to Jesus and see the radiance of his transforming grace, mercy, and love. Come and see is a phrase that John uses in his telling of the Good News of Jesus Christ as a way of bringing us into the story so that, along with those in the narrative, we can see the glory of God in Jesus. And this is what the Epiphany and the season that follows is all about.
When
you have a sudden realization or something just “clicks,” we say that we’ve “had
an epiphany.” Jesus Christ is the ultimate epiphany because he reveals to us
the deep truths of God that reason, science, and the world cannot alone give us.
Jesus shows us that the way of the Cross is the way of life, that the least shall
become the greatest, that it is the meek who are blessed, that we find freedom
through obedience, that death is not final, that sinners are forgiven, that
love never ends.
So,
by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and in the Church’s wisdom, each year we
celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6, and on the Sundays that
follow, we have readings that point us towards a fuller understanding, a fuller
epiphany, of just how glorious and gracious Jesus is. And this is what that
phrase “come and see” is an invitation into – these glorious manifestations of
Christ our Lord.
However,
epiphanies are not always pleasant. Sometimes the things that we come to
realize and that dawn upon us are challenging and subversive. Sometimes we don’t
like what we come and see, and so we pretend that we have not seen them. We explain
that what we saw was really something else. We put blinders on so that we do
not have to see such difficult and disturbing truths. My brothers and sisters,
I do not believe that God makes mistakes. In God’s infinite wisdom and glorious
majesty, certain things may seem like mere coincidences to us when, in truth,
they are epiphanies from God. We would have to bury our heads in the sand to
overlook the fact that the Capitol of the United States was overrun by rioters seeking
to undermine our government and the certification of the recent Presidential election
on January 6 – the Feast of the Epiphany. You know how sometimes we pray for a
sign from God? Well, it doesn’t get much clearer than the confluence of one of
the holiest days in the Church year with one of the most disturbing events in
American history.
Certainly,
I realize this is a contentious event and wounds are still raw. Different people
see what happened at the Capitol through different lenses because they’ve seen
everything since 2016 through different lenses. If you want to know what my
lens is, once this pandemic is over, I’d be happy to sit down over a cup of
coffee or something else and have that discussion. But my interest this morning
is not whether you prefer Fox News or MSNBC, who you voted for, or whether or
not you support or oppose the second impeachment of the President. No, my duty
and calling is to point to Jesus Christ and have him be the one that you discuss
your political positions with.
On
January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany, this nation received an epiphany. The
shadow side of our political rancor was on clear display. The vestiges of
racism and white supremacy were on display as a Confederate battle flag was
flown inside the US Capitol, something that did not happen even during the Civil
War. The logical result of years of partisan fighting came to fruition as any semblance
of truth-telling, respectful disagreement, or civility have been eroded from the
public realm. On the one hand, this ought not to surprise us, as the Bible is
full of stories of empires, Israel included, that turned away from the ways of
God and fell apart. As Christians, we must always remember that while this
nation will have a new President come Wednesday, we remain loyal to one King
who is none other than the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So
one response to this epiphany that we received might be “Yes, it’s tragic, but
we already knew about the existence of human sin and now we have yet another
example of it.”
But
there is more to lament here than simple political acrimony and the crumbling
of democratic norms. No, this epiphany is consequential for the Body of Christ
because for many involved, this is a matter of misplaced faith. For many of those
who stormed the Capitol and are threatening violence in our own community, this
is more than politics; to use their words, this is a “holy war,” a “crusade.”
The Crusades of the Middle Ages are one of the most lamentable chapters in our
history, so to glorify it is quite disturbing.
But there is also
the reality that Christianity is built on the divine proclamation and
revelation that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. So when we
have people going against the way of love, denying the reality of truth, and
violating the sanctity of life with violence then we have not only a political crisis
on our hands, we have a crisis of faith. As we heard in the Christmas season
from earlier in John 1, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we
have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and
truth.” To deny truth is to deny Jesus. And to embrace lies, well, as Jesus
says later in chapter 8, “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because
you cannot accept my word. You are from your father the devil, and you choose
to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not
stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks
according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But
because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.” One of the great theologians
of our time, Stanley Hauerwas, has said that the church, if nothing else,
should be a place where the truth is heard and spoken. When people walk by a Church,
they ought to say: that’s a place where they talk about hard things, but they
do it in love. And the epiphany that we have received is that we’re not very
good at that.
I’ve
been struck by the ways in which, for many, politics has become the most important
narrative that we live by. We are more in tune with what politicians have said
and done than we are acquainted with the words of Scripture. Some have noted
that politics, not baseball, is actually the American pastime. And it makes
sense – this nation was birthed out of political debates. And we see this in the
ways in which both sports and politics are covered in nearly identical ways by
the media, not that the media is to blame more than anyone else is. While an
interest in politics is absolutely fine, it is not a sport. Real lives are impacted
by the results of politics. And the thing about sports is that the competition
lasts for a few hours and then the players, and even the fans, can go back to
being friends and having healthy rivalries. In politics, rivalry would be nice,
but what we have are enemies. As St. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians, “So if
anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away;
see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to
himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” Politics
is supposed to be about the public good, but we have turned it into a blood-sport,
quite literally and it is dividing us in the Church, working against the very unity that Christ gives us.
The
good news though is that there was another Epiphany on January 6, the one that
shows us about the grace of God in Jesus. Even in Scripture, the people of God
fall short of their calling and succumb to blindness. In the reading from 1
Samuel, we heard that “At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim
so that he could not see, was lying down.” Yes, this is a commentary on his
vision, but given the larger narrative, it’s also clearly a metaphor for what
has been going on in his life. He has turned a blind eye towards evil and is
paying the price for it. In the passage from 1 Corinthians, St. Paul talks
about how we misunderstand even our own bodies and use them improperly. And we
see a reaction that is timeless in Nathanael in the text from John. Philip has
encountered Jesus and proclaims him as the Messiah. But Nathanael counters, “Hmph,
can anything good come out of Nazareth?” He’s got his blinders on, doesn’t he?
Can anything good come out some one that supports Trump? Can anything good come
out of the people who want to drag us through another impeachment trial? Can
anything good come out of the County? Can anything good come out of Silicon Valley
or Wall Street? Can anything good come out of the shambles of our democracy? The
epiphany that we saw at the Capitol was, indeed, an epiphany, but it wasn’t the
first time we’ve received such a revelation.
Notice
though how Jesus responds to Nathanael: with pure grace. Jesus says, “Here is
truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Jesus could have said something
else like “Here is truly a cynic who is stunted by doubt,” or “Here is a man
full of prejudices,” or “Here is someone who has bought into false narratives
and misses the obvious,” or “Here is a coward who won’t take the risk of faith
when its standing right in front of him.” No, Jesus sees deeply into Nathanael’s
heart just as he sees into our hearts. And Jesus points to the purity of Nathanael’s
heart, noting that Nathanael isn’t the sort of person to be deceived. Jesus
calls us in grace, never in shame or condemnation.
To
be clear, none of us are Jesus who can see perfectly into other people’s
hearts. But, through conversation, we can get there. If you cannot understand
why someone would want to storm the Capitol, then I’d suggest you listen. Yes,
we have to listen through the ridiculous claims that surround the deepest motivations,
but not only can it be done, it is the way of love that Jesus has given to us. And
if you cannot understand why someone thinks that the President should be removed
from office and those who stormed the Capitol charged with insurrection, then,
likewise, deep listening is in order. And if you think you know what both sides
would say, all the more, listening is needed because half the time we don’t
even know our own motivations, so we ought to be very careful about assuming to
know the heart of another person. We have to be honest - all of us are complicit in this. The pettiness, the air of superiority, the condoning of partisanship while ignoring the Gospel call for unity in truth - these things all have costs and we have seen them in an epiphany. Beloved community, whether it is in our neighborhood,
our church, our workplaces, our city, or nation, or our world happens only by
deep listening and the grace of the Holy Spirit.
And
in order to prepare ourselves for this deep listening, we do have to find a
foundation of mercy and peace from which to listen. And so I am commending and
exhorting us all to commit to a time of intentional prayerfulness. On January
20 this nation is going to need a lot of healing. I would commend to you the
prayer we shared in our weekly email “For Our Country” on page 820 of the
Prayer Book, or saying the Great Litany on page 148 (especially on Fridays), or
the Prayer attritubed to St. Francis on page 833, or the prayerful practice of
fasting. We do these things to make us more aware of how God is seeking to heal
us and to prepare ourselves to be reconciled to others in the name of Christ.
While
the Gospel invitation to “come and see” is always needed, it is particularly
urgent right now. We need to come and see the difference Christ makes because
we need to come and see an alternative to what we’ve been seeing. After Jesus
speaks that word of grace to Nathanael, he responds in joy, wonder, and
obedience saying, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
Indeed, Jesus is our rabbi, our teacher, and we have much to learn from him.
We
begin by learning that even before we lay our eyes on Jesus, he has already
seen us and loves us deeply. And that love calls us to follow his way, to live
by his truth, and to participate in his life. When our lives are attuned towards
Jesus, then we are ready to truly listen to others, to face the hard truths
about ourselves that we would rather not face, and to seek reconciliation and
healing with others.
Now when we come to Jesus
in order to see his love and grace, we might well have to walk away from the false
and incomplete truths that used to give us comfort or a sense of superiority.
And so this holy work requires community, humility, and prayer – which is why
in God’s infinite wisdom, we have been given to each other through the gift of
Baptism into the Body of Christ. As I began this sermon, I will close with the same
prayer that it might express not only our desires, but also our commitment to
God and one another: Gracious and loving God, guide us to seek your truth –
come whence it may, cost what it will, lead where it might. Amen.
