Sermon preached by
The Rev. Fulton Porter, III
at
St. Thomas Church, Chicago, 10/26/08
The Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
130th Anniversary
Matthew 22:34-46
Now What?
Over130 years ago, 8 people came together by the grace of the holy spirit to consider forming a church that would allow Blacks to worship in the Protestant Episcopal tradition, for they were heretofore barred from the white churches because of their race. 130 years ago, these 8 people (7 of whom were women) decided that in order for them to worship in the Anglican tradition, they had to organize their own institution, and they called it St. Thomas Protestant Episcopal Church. When they called the Rev. Fr. James Thompson, from St. Louis, as their first priest in 1878, thus began the amazing ministry of this congregation to the people of this great city and beyond. And now, 130 years later, here we stand. Here we stand poised with one foot perched in the past and our face turned to the promise of the future.
Yet if we are not careful, the paralysis of uncertainty can seize us and stop our forward progress. And not only can we get stuck in the limbo between what was and what could be, but oftentimes we revert to doing and being the same old thing, by placing the foot of the future back in the past and therefore the past, then, becomes our present. And we must realize that living in the past is not a healthy option. Living in the past puts us out of touch with reality, and being out of touch with reality is pathologic. In other words, if you live in the delusion that the past is actually the present, someone might put you in one of those backward jackets and lock you in a padded room. And so as we stand on the brink of tomorrow, I am constrained to ask the question, “What now?”
This past week I attended the 8th triennial Black Clergy Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was a time of learning, strategizing, reconnecting and retreating with my brother and sister clergy from across the country and across the world. During one of our sessions, Bishop Michael Curry of North Carolina addressed us. Bishop Curry said some things that are perhaps pertinent today for us as we seek to answer the question, “What now.” Bishop Curry’s comments centered around the future of the Black church. Bishop spoke of the changing environment in which we live and he pointed to an apparent paradigm shift in the culture which will help us to understand what it means to be church in a changing world.
Gwen Ifill, the moderator of the vice-presidential debate, wrote a book entitled The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama. Gwen Ifill takes the story of Barak Obama and extends it to look at other young Black politicians who have broken through and taken their place in politics not in the same way that their parents did, but they walked through the doors that their parents broke down and now stand in a very different place and continue the struggle in a different way. They don’t march like the old guard of the civil rights era, but they walk into the halls of the political arena armed often with Ivy League educations ready to challenge the notion that the freedoms for which their parents died have been realized.
The synopsis of her book is as follows: In THE BREAKTHROUGH, veteran journalist Gwen Ifill surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama’s stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power. Ifill argues that the Black political structure formed during the Civil Rights movement is giving way to a generation of men and women who are the direct beneficiaries of the struggles of the 1960s. She offers incisive, detailed profiles of such prominent leaders as Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and U.S. Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama, and also covers up-and-coming figures from across the nation. Drawing on interviews with power brokers like Senator Obama, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and many others, as well as her own razor-sharp observations and analysis of such issues as generational conflict and the "black enough" conundrum, Ifill shows why this is a pivotal moment in American history. THE BREAKTHROUGH is a remarkable look at contemporary politics and an essential foundation for understanding the future of American democracy.
And I believe as Bishop Curry did, that this vantage point is also helpful when it comes to understanding the changes in the Black Church, especially the Black Episcopal Church. Consequently Bishop Curry Borrowed from Ifill’s title and spoke to us in an address titled, “The Black Church in the Age of Obama.”
And consequently, as we stand on the verge of an apparent paradigm shift in our culture, needing to be ready to embrace an increasingly multicultural and multiethnic society, and trying to figure out how we, as a church, bear witness to the Gospel in this time and in this place with the changing reality of who we are as a Black Church and who we are called to be after 130 years; I suspect this sermon might be subtitled “St. Thomas in the Age of Obama.”
For I believe that the old, (as hard as it is for some of us to come to grips with), the old things are passing away and behold, God is making all things new! God is about to do a new thing in the life of this congregation! The paradighm is shifting and church as usual just won’t do. And so as we stand in the gap between where we have come from and where we are going, we must begin to ask the question “What now?” in light of the current reality.
For we live in a different age, yet the mission of the Gospel is the same. Jesus reminds us in the twenty-second chapter of Matthew what we need to be about. The text says: When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "`You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
And so our primary ministry does not change. We are called to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. That is the crux of the matter. Yet how do we do that in this changing world and shifting paradigm? After 130 years, what now?
For believe it or not, this age of Obama has not only seen a new political order, but even in and around the church conditions have changed. If we don’t adapt we will find ourselves the casualty of a church that refused to change. The church is not the same as 130 or 50 or even 20 years ago. Sometimes we pine for the good old days, the way things used to be. However, the sooner that we begin to understand that those days are gone and we embrace the new day that God has placed in front of us, then the better off we will be.
What now, when we have to minister in a Church in the age of Obama? I submit to you that there is a word of challenge for us today as we march boldly into the 21st century. We need to have a course of action that is going to make the church stronger and the world better and the culture richer. We need to have a course of action that allows us to minister to in the love of Christ. For even though our worship is ancient and uplifting, when we leave this place we have got to go out into a world where we meet real people with real problems with real pain; we go out into a world with people who need to hear the timeless Gospel that we have laid claim to.
Make no mistake about it; there is a new world and a new church out there. It’s a post modern church It’s a church in the world and of the world; It’s a high tech, multimedia, global church; It’s a church of the i-pod and i-phone, the mp3,the digital camera, and the crack berry (I mean blackberry); It’s a church that is multiracial, multiethnic, multicultural and multigenerational; It’s a church of the holy hip-hop and the holy roller; It’s the church of the prayer book and the power point; It’s no longer the church of big hat and funeral home fan religion; It’s no longer the church with one husband, one wife and 2.5 children; It’s a church of the praise team and the hymn book; It’s a church of the bible study and the support group; It’s a church that ordains men and women; It’s a church where black and white, red and brown can worship together; It’s a church of the shout and the sacred silence; It is a new world and a new church!
We live in a world that daily faces the threat of terrorism. We live in a world where our halls of justice can be unjust; we live in a world where the congress is chaotic and confused. We live in a world where goals and ambition have given way to greed. We live in a world where poverty is prevalent and as our country consumes over 80% of the world’s resources we must come to the realization, as Kortright Davis has commented, that there is not a scarcity of abundance but too much of an abundance of scarcity. We live in a world where there are bullet ridden streets and gang infested schools; unhappy homes; and inadequate healthcare. We live in a world where levees break and expose the issues of poverty and race in this nation.
But I just came by here to remind you that God is still God and we as we stand between the what was and the what will be, asking the pertinent question, “what now?”, the Church needs to be about, even in this changing world, loving our neighbors as ourselves.
If you want to understand a bit of what that looks like we have got to understand that real love is identified by the action that it prompts. God loved us and that love prompted him to send his son to save us. When we love, it is identified by the actions we take. We show the love of God by our actions and re-actions to our neighbors. Not just those next door but even the Samaritan of a different race, a different culture or even a different generation, who shows up at an odd an inconvenient time asking for help on the wayside. Let the strong bear the infirmities of the weak and as Jesus commanded let us feed his sheep. Let us work to meet the spiritual and physical needs of God’s people.
I am reminded of the story of a certain man had a dream that he had gone to heaven. But once there he was given a chance to see the misery of the people in hell. He saw down there, a great banquet table filled with the finest foods and drinks. But every one there was starving to death and the man asked why. He was told that people in hell had to eat their food with four-foot chop sticks and none of them could get their food in their mouths so each one was doomed to spend eternity starving. Returning to heaven the man saw the identical table in heaven and the people there also had four-foot chopsticks to eat with. He asked why the people in hell were starving and those in heaven were well fed and happy and this was his answer: In hell each man tries to feed himself and starves. In heaven we feed each other and live." The new commandment that Jesus gave simply said "Feed each other" as I have fed you! Love each other as I have loved you! Serve each other as I have served you! The love of God is the love that transforms! And so, after 130 years, what now? Well, we must continue in the ministry of Love.
We’ve come a long way, but we’ve got a long way to go. We’ve only just begun even after 130 years. Today the church must continually be aware of the challenge it faces. It cannot be content with any level of growth or success it has achieved in the past. No matter what has been done, there is still work to be done. Though the church is teaching the word in its Sunday Schools and bible study ministries there are still thousands in just the local community alone who have not been taught the word. With advances in technology the church is faced with the challenge of using new techniques to teach the old story to new generations. Though we have come a long way, we have only just begun, even after 130 years.
While we make occasional forays in areas of health care and preventive care, our community is literally being decimated by health ignorance, destructive habits and misinformation. Diabetes, heart disease and others are growing at alarming rates. We may have made some efforts to address these concerns in the past, but we have only just begun! While the church's ministry to youth involves many from across the community in a multiplicity of activities, it too is only a beginning. The forces working against Christian youth are immense. Youth by the thousands are being swept into a gangsta mentality that is distorting their minds, corrupting their values and leading them astray. The resources we apply toward molding their lives for Christian service will require expansion. We have made great strides, but we've only just begun, even after 130 years.
Despite the availability of food stamps, public housing and low income housing assistance, there are millions nationally and hundreds in every local community that go hungry every day and seek desperately for a place to stay. The church has responded in a minimal ways providing housing for some and a meal for others. However, as long as there are thousands who are hungry, and still more who are homeless, living in card board boxes in alley ways and street corners, we have only just begun, even after 130 years!
What now? Well, the church does not have the luxury of resting comfortably on its past in this new and exciting age. It must work vigorously today to reach, and teach the lost masses in the name of our Lord. When Christ comes he will ask whether we fed the hungry, visited the sick, ministered to the imprisoned, showed concerned for the oppressed and sheltered the homeless. He will ask and the church must answer. And sometimes we want to major in the minors and get stuck on the minutia, but as Bishop Barbara Harris said to us, while we are fussing and fighting over nonsense, God is waiting for us to do ministry. The Bishop then said, “And if I were him, I would be getting pissed!” As the church celebrates its longevity, it must always remember that, we have only just begun! We must get serious about the work of ministry and stop the fighting and back biting and get down to work!
What Now? Well, I believe that God has a vision for this church in this new age and this new generation. God has shown one consistent vision to all of the leaders of the Body of Christ. The day will come when evil will be defeated, justice and mercy will prevail and the kingdom of heaven will be a reality. That’s the heavenly vision that motivates believers! It is the vision that our preachers preach about. It is the vision that our teachers teach about! It is the vision that our choirs sing about! No wonder the song writer declared, “Sing the wondrous love of Jesus. Sing his mercy and his grace. In the mansions bright and blessed he'll prepare for us a place. When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus we’ll sing and shout the victory.”
To implement the heavenly vision we must hear the voice of God and respond to his voice with boldness. This may require us to move out of their safety zones and strive for higher heights in the faith. In other words, we’ve got to love our neighbors even when it is uncomfortable in this Obama age. We must be prepared to walk new paths. The vision that God gives may present challenges that represent changes of direction for us. It may mean giving more to the education of our youth. It may mean giving more to support positive activities that will help them develop into stronger Christian men and women.It may mean devising programs that will strengthen the home, promote womanhood and build manhood. It may mean showing more concern for our elderly by developing elder care ministries. It may mean expanding the ministries of our church to respond to new challenges with the changeless Gospel of Christ.
While the church celebrates it longevity we must consider that a congregation that reaches the age of 130 is not 130 years old, but 130 years young. In God's estimate of time, 100 years has little significance, it is only a point of beginning. Psalm 90:4 says "For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. 2 Peter 3:8 says "..that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." In the context of God's estimate of time 130 years is just a beginning. As far as God is concerned "we've only just begun." We may have survived World War 1, but we've only just begun. We may have endured the ravages of the great depression, but we've only just begun. We may have overcome the hardships of World War II and Jim Crow segregation, but we've only just begun. We may have lived through the Korean conflict, Vietnam War and Desert Storm, but we have only just begun, even after 130 years!
At age 100 Abraham found that instead of nearing the end of his life he was at a new beginning. Ask Abraham and Sarah with a child in their twilight years is 100 years old and they will answer: "We've only just begun!" Noah was 500 years old when he began work on the ark. At the age of 600, 100 years after he began the work his family celebrated its completion. After working for 100 years on the ark, he then heard a command to fill the ark with seven pairs of every clean animal and one pair of every unclean animal. When Noah looked up and saw the empty ark in front of him and the rain clouds in the air he realized "we've only just begun!"
And so in this age of Obama, the church today must realize the same yet reach out to the not same. The ark is empty and the rain clouds are gathering over out heads, we have only just begun! The church must continue to declare the word of God to a world that has not heard! Buildings may burn, but the church will be powered by a fire within! Organizations my die, but the church will live! Leaders may fail, but the church will be led by the Lord! The church has only begun to tell the story! The world needs the church! For a world at its worst, we need a church at its best! For a world full of sin, we need a church full of holiness! For a world full of sadness, we need a church full of joy! For a world that's full of war, we need a church that is full of peace! For a world that's full of despair, we need a church that is full of hope! For a world full of darkness, we need a church full of light! For a world that's going down, we need a church that's going up! For a world that's full of defeat, we need a church that's full of victory! For a world that's taking it easy, we need a church dressed in its work clothes! We must work until our day is done! We must work until the setting of the sun! We must tell a world full of bad news, the good news about Jesus! Tell them that Jesus is coming back again! When he comes back the wicked will cease from troubling! The weary will be at rest! Amen!
