Loved, anyway

VI OF EASTER – Year C
May 9, 2010 - Parish of Ss. Peter & Paul
Fr. Phillip Ayers
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We have been celebrating it, really, these past three weeks. I’m speaking of our observance of Earth Day two weeks ago, some hymns last Sunday that focused upon the theme of earthiness, planting and crops, and today, the REAL Rogation Sunday! I imagine that a lot of us here can recall “Rogation Sunday” wherein we might have “beaten the bounds,” by walking around the perimeter of the church, singing something like “O Jesus crowned with all renown,” or “We plough the fields and scatter.” One parish I served did that with horribly tacky wooden slats that were stuck in the churchyard, to which we walked in procession and prayed at each one. I don’t think that there’s any American Episcopal church left that still does that – maybe you know of one though? And, in England, the “parish” had a huge (to us) physical boundary, around which the faithful would walk and sing and pray.
But “Rogation” comes from rogare, a Latin word meaning “to ask.” We get “interrogation” from that root-word. Asking God’s blessing upon the new planting meant a great deal to farmers and those whose lives depended upon work in the soil and God’s times and seasons of rainfall and sunshine. Nowadays, our current Book of Common Prayer leaves this Sunday to the 6th Sunday of the Easter season, with some rich readings from Scripture to ponder, and provides three Collects “for use on the traditional days” – that is, this week – “or at other times.” So, we can “rogate” any time we wish!
The Collects are found on pp. 258-259 in the prayer book and are concerned with fruitful seasons – as of old – commerce and industry, and the stewardship of creation. I love the phrase in the last collect,
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“Make us always thankful for your loving providence; and grant that we, remembering the account that we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of your good gifts [O God].”
Oh, yes: today, in the secular calendar, it’s Mothers’ Day, dreamed up, I hear, by Hallmark cards. May’s a good time for mothers of all kinds, as “May” is short for “Mary,” and we know about her, don’t we?
Here’s a story about asking. About a century or two ago, the Pope decided that all the Jews had to leave the Vatican. Naturally there was a big uproar form the Jewish community. The Pope made a deal. He would have a religious debate with a member of the Jewish community. If the Pope won, the Jews would have to leave. The Jews realized they had no choice. They chose a middle-aged man named Moishe to represent them. Moishe asked for an addition to the debate—to make it more interesting, neither side would be allowed to talk.
The Pope reluctantly agreed. The day of the great debate came. Moishe and the Pope sat opposite one another for a full minute before the Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers. Moishe looked back at him and raised one finger. The Pope waved his fingers in a circle around his head. Moishe pointed at the ground where he sat. The Pope pulled out a wafer and a glass of wine. Moishe pulled out an apple.
The Pope stood up and said, “I give up. This man is too good. The Jews can stay.”
An hour later, the cardinals were all around the Pope, asking him what happened.

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The Pope said, “First, I held up three fingers, representing the Trinity. He held up one finger, to remind me there was still one God common to both our religions. Then I waved my fingers around to show him that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground and showing that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and wafer to show that God absolves us from our sins. He pulled out an apple to remind me of original sin. He had an answer for everything! What could I do?
Meanwhile, the Jewish community had crowded around Moishe.
“What happened?” they asked
“Well,” said Moishe, “first, he said to me that we had three days to get out. I told him that not one of us was leaving. Then he said the whole city would be cleared of Jews. I told him we were staying right here.”
“And then?” asked a woman.
“I don’t know,” said Moishe. “He took out his lunch and I took out mine!”
[Pause]
Today presents itself as one of those Sundays when a “step-sermon” might be good. Not simply to indulge you with “sound bites” but because the Gospel reading lends itself to a “how-to” answer. That is, the Christian community faces a question that has endured for two millennia since: “How can disciples have a personal relationship with Jesus when he has gone?”
John’s – the Fourth Gospel’s – Jesus provides two answers to this dilemma.

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The disciple can continue in a close personal relationship with the Risen Jesus by doing two things: by doing the works of Jesus (14:12-14), and by keeping his commandments (14:15-24).
What does it mean to do the works of Jesus? Walk on water? Multiply loaves? Change water into wine? Heal lepers and raise the dead? Get crucified? Maybe before trying to run the 100-yard dash with the Messiah, we should start out with some baby-steps in “doing the works of Jesus.”
Some teachings by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, compiled in a book by Lucinda Vardy called, A Simple Path, suggest a number of straightforward, yet profound, ways that the seeker can begin to have a close personal relationship with the unseen Christ.
Mother Teresa says to start out your day in silence. Find some silence every day, somewhere, even if it is just for a few minutes. In the silence, be still. Get quiet. Slow down. What follows might seem awkward and wasteful – since time is money – but keep at it. Just as Jesus sought out the silence of the desert to commune with his Abba God, so should we. No, you don’t need a Range Rover to do this. Save time and money: simply go into the “desert” of your “room,” your own quiet space. It is in the quietness of the heart that God speaks, Mother Teresa said, and so we must set aside that time for God alone to encounter us. She adds, “God is the friend of silence.”
Abba “who sees in secret” will reward you (Mt. 6:6), Jesus said; and the reward will be deepened prayer that comes out of the silence. Prayer is to the soul what blood is to the body, Mother Teresa taught. In other words, you cannot begin to do the works of Jesus – or keep his commandments – without prayer.

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Put simply, there is no Kingdom of God without God. Thus, starting in silence – really, a form of prayer itself--and moving into more formal prayer is like getting a spiritual transfusion every day. Through the Holy Spirit in prayer, the power and creativity of the New Creation courses through our veins, and we come alive.
Out of silence and prayer emerges faith. Faith here does not mean believing what you know isn’t so. Nor does it imply gullibility—a belief in things for which there is no evidence. Genuine faith never has – never will – mean that. As Paul Tillich said, “faith” means “being grasped by a power greater than we are, a power that shakes us and turns us and transforms us and heals us. Surrender to this power is faith.” Thus, faith is the gift of God, an awareness that builds and grows through prayer. When one takes on this attitude of surrender—this faith—all things are possible for the believer (Mt. 17:20).
Being grasped by faith imbues the believer with the most excellent gift of all: the gift of love. “We must be loved by God first,” Mother Teresa contended, “and only then can we give to others. … When you know how much God is in love with you, then you can only live your life, radiating that love.” Does this love mean going to the Third World to serve the poor? Perhaps. But Mother Teresa insisted that this Divine radiance first be directed toward those closest to you: at home, at work, in your own neighborhood and city. She knew how much easier it was to love people “far away” than to love them nearby. Lastly, she said, it isn’t so much what we do as it is the quality of love we put into doing it.
Peace through service ends her list. Mother Teresa quotes Gandhi, who said, “Act, but seek not the fruit of your action.” Service and peace come together when we let go of “results.”
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The book ends with the following quotation title ANYWAY, taken from a sign on the wall of Shishu Bhavan, the children’s home in Calcutta. It sums up this detachment in service that leads to peace:
“People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. LOVE THEM ANYWAY. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. DO GOOD ANYWAY. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. SUCCEED ANYWAY. The good you will do will be forgotten tomorrow. DO GOOD ANYWAY. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY. What you spent your years building may be destroyed overnight. BUILD ANYWAY. People really need help but may attack you if you help them. HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU’VE GOT ANYWAY.”
[from a sermon given at Trinity Church, Marshall, MI, May 17, 1998 by PWA]