TRINITY XXV

November 9, 2008

St. Augustine Anglican Church

“Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

The Rev. Gerald Parks +

This Sunday and the next are known as the “Wandering Sundays.” And that means that the Propers for them are variable and dependent on the length of the Epiphany and Trinity seasons. In some years when Easter is early, such as this year, the Trinity season extends to two extra Sundays – the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth Sundays after Trinity – making it necessary to use those Propers (Collect, Epistle and Gospel) from the fifth and sixth Sundays after Epiphany. This is explained in the rubrics at the bottom of page 224 of the Prayer Book, but it tends to be confusing; so don’t feel alone if you are a little confused. Luckily, it only lasts for two Sundays, as we prepare for the coming of the Advent Season. It is an interesting footnote, but it has no bearing on our worship today, and very little on this homily.

In today’s Epistle (Col. 3: 12-17), St. Paul presents the Colossians with a wonderful listing of Christian ethical virtues. And he also describes for them the various ways Christians can contribute one to another in corporate (or shared) worship. One of the many advantages of being small as a parish (or at least not large) is the way in which we can truly share in worship. Because we all know and care about each other, and are unified in our faith, the worship that we offer to God is also unified – much more so than it would be in a parish so large as to make personal relationships difficult. We tend to forget that in St. Paul’s time, the Church consisted of small groups of believers who met in each other’s homes for worship and fellowship. Large congregations were unknown as were the buildings to house them: it was a system designed to be both supportive and secretive – qualities necessary to those converting to a new religion in pagan surroundings that were often hostile to them. And it worked well. One would hope that as St. Augustine’s grows in the future, which we must do if we are to survive, we will be able to retain at least a small part of the intimacy in worship we now enjoy.

This fellowship we cherish, as believers in the Gospel and Person of Jesus, is as unique to Christians as He Himself is unique among the founders of the world’s great religions. All religions claim to provide a pathway to God, in some manner, with great and holy prophets usually pointing out the way. But only one religion claims not only to provide a pathway to God, but through its founder, to be the one and only way. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6) He meant that in Him and through His Church on earth, the reality of God resides – no other place - and He gave us rules to live by, teaching us that it is not enough to simply love and obey God, but that we must also love and respect each other. Sometimes, that is not an easy task to love our neighbor: most of us are quick to see the faults of others, and slow to see our own. But even the most mean-spirited among us is at times capable of small acts of love in our relationship to each other. Small acts, if sincere, can lead to larger acts, and in turn can spread and multiply, affecting everyone. It is this that we call fellowship, and it is our duty to pursue it, as well as our right to enjoy it.

Sometime after I left the Episcopal Church for the last time, I briefly returned to a Roman Catholic Church – the reason being my eldest grandchild had been born and needed to be Baptized. My thinking was that I needed to be somewhere, and there didn’t seem to be many possibilities. This was a relatively new congregation I chose, meeting in its parish hall at the time, while its church was being built. In spite of the fact that I really don’t appreciate the modern Roman liturgy much and disagree with many of their practices, it felt good to once again be part of a church. The Baptism came and went, and soon the church was complete and occupied – full to the brim. And it was about this time I began to notice that something seemed to be missing. At first I thought it was the design of the church itself: I’m not a fan of churches in the round, and this one was awful – more like a theater than a church. I admit my taste is such things is deplorable, but, really, several million dollars could and should buy better than that. But that wasn’t it. The problem, I finally decided, was not in the design; it was the feeling I had when I worshipped there. Instead of being friendly and comforting like church should be, it was cold and distant and without a trace of fellowship. No one greeted you, or spoke to you, or even noticed that you were present. And soon I wasn’t.

The problem for us, as I see it, is how do we manage to keep our tradition of hospitality and fellowship alive and growing as we more to new surroundings in a few months? The church I just described had a membership of twelve hundred families during the brief time I was there. And though we have been assured of some growth in a new building, nothing so large as that is anticipated, desirable or even possible. But the question remains, how do we ensure that people will feel wanted and welcome enough to come back once they have visited? The answer to that can be found, at least partially, in today’s Epistle: “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Col. 3: 17) Can you imagine what a different world this would be if everyone followed those words – the fellowship that would pour forth throughout the world if we all took responsibility for our words and deeds in the name of Jesus?

We started today by talking about the “Wandering Sundays,” and as we said, there is very little reason to concern ourselves about them, other than their novelty. But, in a way we can identify with their homelessness, because as continuing Anglicans, we have been homeless also, for a very long time, having not so much as a roof over our heads to call our own. In all the twenty-three years of our existence, St. Augustine’s has never once known the security of a permanent address – a fact that is soon to change as work begins (has indeed already begun) on our building.

If we have learned anything in twenty-three years as a parish, it is this: to love, serve and trust in the Lord. But there is another thing almost as important that we have learned, and that is the power of fellowship to sustain a community of believers. As we prepare to celebrate at the Lord’s table in fellowship, as a community of faithful believers, let us draw on the wisdom of Blessed Paul to the Colossians: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”