Forming our Souls
A sermon delivered by the Rev’d Peter De Franco on November 18, 2007 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Clifton, N.J.
I think most us feel a little uncomfortable when we hear talk about the end of the world. Such unsettling talk is what we heard in today’s Gospel: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.” (Luke 25 10-11) We usually associate such talk with the street preachers whom, if we all were totally honest, most of us think that the guy fell down the stairs when he was a child and there were always a few screws loose after the fall.
So when we hear such words out of the lips of Jesus, we just think that Jesus was having a bad day and he let his imagination get the better of him. We don’t really like to hear such talk on the lips of Jesus. Such talk puts Jesus in the company of the lunatic fringe and we would not have our Jesus being anything but just like us.
But I have to say that I think that something deeper is at work in this passage for I am just captivated with those final words of Jesus: “By your endurance you will gain your souls.” (Luke 21: 19) Most of us think that our soul is something we have, like our own inner Casper the friendly ghost that will take off after death and soar into heaven.
We don’t think of our souls as something we gain, and, if we look carefully at the text today, we see something that is even more troubling than that strange end of the world talk.
We see that the way we gain our soul comes through yet a more challenging door: conflict.
Listen to what Jesus says: “they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 16You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17You will be hated by all because of my name.” (Luke 21: 15-17)
17You will be hated by all because of my name.
Those are not the usual words we would preach to get new members into church. But if we are honest with ourselves, if we really admit the truth in our hearts, all of us know that conflict is a regular part of our lives. If we are really honest, we will admit that being a Christian increases the level of conflict that we encounter. In a world where greed is considered good, we preach a gospel of sharing with the poor. In a world where compassion is considered weakness, we practice a radical hospitality that gives food to the hungry and shelter to the homeless. In a community where our neighbors are afraid of people whose skin is a darker color, whose first language is not English, who do not have the right documents, in this city of Clifton we sing a song that dares to say: All are Welcome.
“17You will be hated by all because of my name.”
Thank you Jesus for putting us in such a mess. Yes, thank you, Jesus, for putting us in such a mess. For in this mess, we gain our souls.
The conflict that Jesus predicts will meet us is the very battle that Jesus fought against the forces in his world, that conflict against the forces that would not welcome all to the table, the conflict against the forces that would give priority to the acquisition of wealth even if that involves engaging in unjust conflicts, the conflict against the love that creates this world and seeks to build a just and inclusive community. It is in conflict that we discover our identity, that we discover the presence of Jesus. He assures us: “I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. (Luke 21: 15) For the discovery of our identity is not only to discover who we are but whose we are. We belong to Jesus. We are in the hands of a powerful God. The wings of the Holy Spirit encircle us. All we need to do is to maintain our calm in the midst of the storm and we shall sense that presence who will strengthen us. By your endurance you will gain your souls.
Now you must be thinking that this is a very strange sermon to deliver on Thanksgiving Sunday. You might have thought that I should have preached on those beautiful words we heard from the prophet Isaiah who described the vision of a just society, the vision that inspired the Pilgrims who came to our country to find and build a better world.
They thought themselves heirs to the promise of Jesus who dreamed of a just world, a world where freedom would be enjoyed by all.
Like those Pilgrims, we give thanks for the blessings we have received from our God. We give thanks that God has called us into this community to share with one another the task of building an inclusive community among ourselves and sharing that inclusive vision with those among whom we live and work. We show our thanks in more than just words. We show our gratitude this day in the pledge that we make this day, the pledge to share the monetary gifts we have received with others, the pledge to share our time and our talents with others.
Our pledge is part of that subversive, countercultural activity of Jesus that would make this a better world. Our pledge is part of that work to allow some members of this community to dedicate themselves to the world of building that community of faith. Our pledge enables us to share our gifts with our diocesan family that the work of building up the reign of God will continue in our diocesan and our national church. Our pledge of our time, our talents and our treasure places us in the battle that Jesus promises that we will engage in the world.
Giving to our church is one of the disciplines we all practice that we might gain our souls. By living up to a standard that others do not have, we differentiate ourselves from others, we show to ourselves and to others what we value, and in doing so, we gain our soul. No, not some nice little Casper in our hearts, but a person strong because we have been tested, steadfast because of conflict, faithful in the face of fear.
As we offer this day our thanks to God in our prayer and in our pledge, let us be grateful most of all for conflict, for those times that test our Christian values, for those times that place us in the fire. Let us be grateful for these soul forming times.
A sermon delivered by the Rev’d Peter De Franco on November 18, 2007 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Clifton, N.J.
I think most us feel a little uncomfortable when we hear talk about the end of the world. Such unsettling talk is what we heard in today’s Gospel: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.” (Luke 25 10-11) We usually associate such talk with the street preachers whom, if we all were totally honest, most of us think that the guy fell down the stairs when he was a child and there were always a few screws loose after the fall.
So when we hear such words out of the lips of Jesus, we just think that Jesus was having a bad day and he let his imagination get the better of him. We don’t really like to hear such talk on the lips of Jesus. Such talk puts Jesus in the company of the lunatic fringe and we would not have our Jesus being anything but just like us.
But I have to say that I think that something deeper is at work in this passage for I am just captivated with those final words of Jesus: “By your endurance you will gain your souls.” (Luke 21: 19) Most of us think that our soul is something we have, like our own inner Casper the friendly ghost that will take off after death and soar into heaven.
We don’t think of our souls as something we gain, and, if we look carefully at the text today, we see something that is even more troubling than that strange end of the world talk.
We see that the way we gain our soul comes through yet a more challenging door: conflict.
Listen to what Jesus says: “they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 16You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17You will be hated by all because of my name.” (Luke 21: 15-17)
17You will be hated by all because of my name.
Those are not the usual words we would preach to get new members into church. But if we are honest with ourselves, if we really admit the truth in our hearts, all of us know that conflict is a regular part of our lives. If we are really honest, we will admit that being a Christian increases the level of conflict that we encounter. In a world where greed is considered good, we preach a gospel of sharing with the poor. In a world where compassion is considered weakness, we practice a radical hospitality that gives food to the hungry and shelter to the homeless. In a community where our neighbors are afraid of people whose skin is a darker color, whose first language is not English, who do not have the right documents, in this city of Clifton we sing a song that dares to say: All are Welcome.
“17You will be hated by all because of my name.”
Thank you Jesus for putting us in such a mess. Yes, thank you, Jesus, for putting us in such a mess. For in this mess, we gain our souls.
The conflict that Jesus predicts will meet us is the very battle that Jesus fought against the forces in his world, that conflict against the forces that would not welcome all to the table, the conflict against the forces that would give priority to the acquisition of wealth even if that involves engaging in unjust conflicts, the conflict against the love that creates this world and seeks to build a just and inclusive community. It is in conflict that we discover our identity, that we discover the presence of Jesus. He assures us: “I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. (Luke 21: 15) For the discovery of our identity is not only to discover who we are but whose we are. We belong to Jesus. We are in the hands of a powerful God. The wings of the Holy Spirit encircle us. All we need to do is to maintain our calm in the midst of the storm and we shall sense that presence who will strengthen us. By your endurance you will gain your souls.
Now you must be thinking that this is a very strange sermon to deliver on Thanksgiving Sunday. You might have thought that I should have preached on those beautiful words we heard from the prophet Isaiah who described the vision of a just society, the vision that inspired the Pilgrims who came to our country to find and build a better world.
They thought themselves heirs to the promise of Jesus who dreamed of a just world, a world where freedom would be enjoyed by all.
Like those Pilgrims, we give thanks for the blessings we have received from our God. We give thanks that God has called us into this community to share with one another the task of building an inclusive community among ourselves and sharing that inclusive vision with those among whom we live and work. We show our thanks in more than just words. We show our gratitude this day in the pledge that we make this day, the pledge to share the monetary gifts we have received with others, the pledge to share our time and our talents with others.
Our pledge is part of that subversive, countercultural activity of Jesus that would make this a better world. Our pledge is part of that work to allow some members of this community to dedicate themselves to the world of building that community of faith. Our pledge enables us to share our gifts with our diocesan family that the work of building up the reign of God will continue in our diocesan and our national church. Our pledge of our time, our talents and our treasure places us in the battle that Jesus promises that we will engage in the world.
Giving to our church is one of the disciplines we all practice that we might gain our souls. By living up to a standard that others do not have, we differentiate ourselves from others, we show to ourselves and to others what we value, and in doing so, we gain our soul. No, not some nice little Casper in our hearts, but a person strong because we have been tested, steadfast because of conflict, faithful in the face of fear.
As we offer this day our thanks to God in our prayer and in our pledge, let us be grateful most of all for conflict, for those times that test our Christian values, for those times that place us in the fire. Let us be grateful for these soul forming times.
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