Gracious God, we give thee thanks for this wonderful
parish, for its people, its legacy, and its future; and we pray that we might
be worthy of the name of our patron, Luke, who proclaimed the healing power of Jesus
✠ in the name of the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
There’s a hymn written by an African-American hymn composer that opens with “There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place, and I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord.” Indeed, as Sherlock Holmes might say, “something is afoot,” and it’s the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in this special place we call “St. Luke’s.”
As
we are in the midst of our stewardship campaign for the 2022 budget, we’ll
continue to consider some of the fundamental questions about money. Last week,
the sermon focused on the importance of giving, not so much for the recipients,
but rather for the giver. Money has far too much power in our lives and
society, and the way to keep money as a tool instead of having it become an
idol is to give it away. So today, I want to explore the question of why giving
money to St. Luke’s is a good thing to do. And to guide these reflections will
be the example of our patron, St. Luke.
Now,
the goal is not to come away thinking that Luke was a really good person. Like all
of us, he had his good moments and his bad ones. Rather, what makes Luke, or
any of the saints, worthy of our respect and attention is the way that he calls
our attention to Jesus Christ. And this proclamation of Jesus is why we exist
as a parish. It’s right there in our identity statement, our purpose, our mission,
our reason for being is to be a church where people, ourselves included, can
come and see the difference that Christ makes. Through his witness and writing,
Luke helps us to come and see.
Luke
is remembered as a physician, which is why our first reading this morning from the
book of Sirach extols the healing power of God to come through physicians. In
particular, given the last 18 months, we give God thanks for the vocation and
ministry of those in the medical field: physicians, surgeons, nurses,
pharmacists, epidemiologists, researchers, and hospital support staff. What
they have been through in this pandemic is nothing short of a travesty and
their response has been nothing short of heroic.
And
what we heard in Sirach is absolutely true, “Their gift of healing comes from
the Most High.” God seeks to heal us in body, mind, and spirit, and came to us in
Jesus to raise our mortal bodies to Resurrection life, to give our minds the
peace that passes all understanding, to empower us with the very Spirit of God.
Physicians such as Luke are symbols of God’s intention to heal us.
These
days, we could all use some healing. There was an article this week that talked
about how we, as a society and individuals, are “on edge.” Some people are on
the edge of a housing eviction. Others are on the edge of being crushed by
credit card debt. Many kids are on the edge of falling behind in school. People
who have had to postpone routine medical care are on the edge of pain.
Minorities are on edge for their safety. We know this pandemic isn’t over and
many are on edge to get back to normal and fear another variant that sets us
back another six months. It’s local election season and national election
coverage will soon fill the news, putting us all on edge. In a time when it
seems that most Americans are as divided as ever, we’re on edge because simple conversations
can quickly turn into vitriolic arguments. It’s been one thing after another,
and we are all on edge.
The
Gospel of Jesus Christ is where we find healing, as he moves us from the edge
to the place of rest in green pastures and alongside the still waters. Ignoring
the news will not take away the anxiety. Self-medicating with alcohol or distracting
ourselves in tv or hobbies will not make us forget about these tensions. Keeping
to ourselves will not bring about healing. There is only one way to find
salvation, and that is in Jesus.
In
the reading from Luke, which functions something like Jesus’ inaugural address,
he quotes from the prophet Isaiah and says “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring good news.” The Gospel is news, an event, a
narrative to live by. Only when we replace the narratives of scarcity, of mistrust,
of division, of partisanship, of needing to be right, of individual preferences
with the narrative of the Gospel will we encounter this Good News that Jesus
speaks of – the news that there is another story, a truer story, to live by.
It
is this story, this Good News, that we seek to immerse ourselves in at St. Luke’s.
As I’ve mentioned, our identity is rooted in coming and seeing the difference
that Christ makes. When Jesus comments on this passage from Isaiah, he announces
the inauguration of his Kingdom that is coming on earth as it is in heaven. He
says, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” In other
words, the Kingdom isn’t only about what happens when we die, it’s about the entirety
of our lives. The Kingdom is something we are a part of today, at this very
moment, as much as it is the place of our eternal rest. And this is what we strive
to come and see, and invite others to come and see – this difference that
Christ makes: the difference in knowing that brokenness can be healed, that sins
are forgiven, that death is not final, that we are loved no matter what.
The
way this blessed difference is manifest is through intentional worship, beloved
community, and abundant grace. Jesus says that the Spirit is upon him, and that
is the grounding of all our worship. The Holy Spirit has been gifted to us,
implanted within us. And so worship is the most natural thing in the world – it
is about the Holy Spirit in us being in communion with that very same Spirit
that is in others, and the very same Spirit of the Holy Trinity. St. Augustine
famously said that our hearts are restless until they rest in God. Worship is
intended to let us rest in God in a community of faith. This year’s theme for
stewardship is “We are the Body of Christ.” It’s about us all coming together to
be the people that God intends us to be.
This
is why participation in liturgy is so essential and vital to our faith. It is
in the liturgy that we are reminded of the story of faith and participate in our
salvation. In worship, we are immersed into the difference that Christ makes
when we hear God’s word, when we sing praises to God, when we confess our sins
and are assured of our forgiveness, when we are put at peace with God and one
another, when we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, when we are sent into
the world to love and serve the Lord.
And
while the liturgies of the Church will always be free, they are not without
cost. Maintaining this historic and beautiful campus takes a lot of resources.
Fairly compensating our outstanding staff requires everyone to be contributing.
Perhaps it works for businesses, but the “pay as you go” model just doesn’t work
for the Church. Over the past few months, I’ve been asked by people not connected
to this parish to help bury their loved ones. It’s an honor to do so and I’m
always happy to do it. But the only reason why trained clergy are available for
mid-week burials, hospital visits, or pastoral counseling is that I don’t have
to have another job to help support our family. And it will take everyone who believes
that a place like St. Luke’s is vital in our community giving their support to keep
this a reality.
Beloved
community, as you know, is a cornerstone of our identity. Racial reconciliation
is a part of this, but not the whole of it. This parish strives to be a place
of beloved community with fellowship among its members and with all of creation
through our commitment to environmental stewardship. When Jesus speaks of
release to the captive, sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed, he is
giving us a vision of the beloved community. This is what we are to be a beacon
of in Salisbury – a beloved community that is made possible in Christ. The
things putting us on edge are not going to be solved over at City Hall or the
courthouse. The healing and reconciliation that we seek are only possible when
we are steeped in the love of God, which is the foundation of the beloved
community.
And
what enables this is abundant grace – the bedrock of faith that tells us that
God has chosen us and loved us before we did anything to deserve it. Jesus
announces the year of the Lord’s favor, of God’s graciousness. And grace really
is what has the power to transform us in the difference that Christ makes. Instead
of competing, we can seek unity. Instead of striving, we can find rest. Instead
of doing, we can focus on being. Instead of producing, we can receive.
In
another place in Scripture, Jesus counsels us that where our treasure is, there
our heart will be also. And this is why giving to St. Luke’s is such a good
thing for us to do. In placing our treasure here, our hearts will be invested
here as well. And with our hearts invested in the Gospel, we will find peace to
meet all the things that are on edge in our world. Think about the treasures you
all have already put here – so many loved ones are in the columbarium, generations
of children have been Baptized here, countless volunteer hours have been given
here, couples have brought the treasure of their love here to be blessed by God.
Our lives are our greatest treasure, and this parish has been a holy vessel to
hold these sacred gifts through the centuries. By giving of your financial
treasure as well, by God’s grace, we will continue to be a place for all to
come and see the difference Christ makes.
