Servants of the Servants of God

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Welcome Home Sunday and Patronal Feast Day

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

 

Today we are trying something new. At least, new for us. At least, new for us in the time that I have been here as Rector. We are celebrating our Patronal Feast Day—commemorating our patron, St. Gregory the Great. While many, if not most, Episcopal congregations celebrate their patron saint on a Sunday near the feast day for said saint, we have not traditionally done that. Not because we are ashamed of St. Gregory or feel he is not worthy of celebrating. As we shall see, he most certainly is worthy. But rather, our lack of celebration was not so much an oversight as it was an unfortunate circumstance of calendar. The traditional feast day for Gregory the Great is March 12, the anniversary of his death in 604. Which always falls during Lent. And the Book of Common Prayer explicitly states, “The feast of the Dedication of a Church, and the feast of its patron or title, may be observed on, or be transferred to, a Sunday, except in the seasons of Advent, Lent, and Easter” (BCP, 16). Which kind of leaves us out of luck.

 

But! Fortunately for us, Gregory has an alternative feast day. September 3, which is the anniversary of the beginning of his papacy in 590. Established by Pope Paul VI precisely because Gregory’s feast day falls in Lent. While we really should have celebrated last Sunday, we chose to move our celebration to today to avoid the Labor Day weekend.

 

While a parish’s patronal feast day by and large focuses on the life and example of the saint for which the parish is named, I think, to the extent possible, the celebration should also focus on the parish itself. And, as we shall see, this is particularly appropriate for St. Gregory’s—the patron saint and our particular parish.

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Conflict Mediation

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18A)

Matthew 15.10-28

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

 

I’m beginning to think I should just not go on vacation. The last couple of years, it seems like every time I return from time away, be it sabbatical or vacation, I am immediately confronted with having to preach on challenging readings. Or rather, readings that address challenging issues. But I do need an occasional vacation, so maybe I just need to do a better job of scheduling it around the Gospel readings—stick the supply priest with the difficult passages. Although, I suppose Fr. Gary had his share of challenges while I was gone—particularly last week’s conflict between Jesus and Peter, with the famous “Get behind me, Satan!” comment (Mt 16.23), followed by the command that “any [who] want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mt 16.24).

 

The reality is, the Scriptures should challenge us, precisely because the Scriptures reflect the truth of everyday life. And, I think we would all agree that life can, at times, be challenging. And while some Scripture passages may seem challenging, it is often these very passages that provide us with the guidance we need to navigate the challenges of everyday life—both individually and communally.

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Schooled

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 15A)

Matthew 15.10-28

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

 

Schooled. A term that is, at the same time, a blurring of proper English and slang. In proper English usage, schooled means to teach, train, or discipline someone. As a slang term, it takes on a slightly more biting connotation, meaning to defeat, or outsmart someone. Subtle differences, shades of gray, depending on intent. As we look at the Gospels, we see that Jesus is a master at schooling people, particularly his opponents. How many times does he go up against the scribes and the Pharisees, seeking to trap him on some liturgical or theological point, only to have Jesus turn the tables and school them in their own laws; resulting in them walking away, scratching their heads, and muttering, “what just happened?”

 

That’s what’s happening in the first half of today’s Gospel reading. In both the proper English usage and in the slang. Jesus is preaching to a crowd, attempting to explain his understanding of what it means to truly live a faithful, righteous life, in moral terms as opposed to the religious authorities’ focus on dietary laws as a means to ritual purity. “Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” Effectively saying, “it’s not what you eat that makes you pure and righteous, but what you say and do.” Schooling the crowd in the proper English sense of the term, while subtly schooling the scribes and Pharisees in the slang sense of the term. The unwritten subtext being that the religious authorities are focusing on the wrong thing when it comes to righteous and faithful living. They are focusing on the letter of the law instead of the intent. To the point that they are obsessed with what foods are considered clean vs unclean, as opposed to focusing on moral teachings that are the foundation of truly faithful and righteous living according to God’s laws. Or put in more generalized terms, that purity and religious faithfulness are not about the blind worship of tradition—“we’ve always done it that way”—but about seeking to understand more fully God’s purposes and to strive to live accordingly. This is what true faithfulness and righteousness are about.

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Weathering Storms

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 14A)

Matthew 14.22-33

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

 

I don’t know about you, but today’s Gospel lesson could be an analogy for my life. Not the entirety of life, but definitely certain moments. Those stormy moments when it feels like progress is inhibited as if by howling winds, when it feels like being battered by angry waves. Those moments when, despite our determination, we find ourselves suddenly swallowed up in the chaos swirling around us. Yet, at the same time, the Gospel also provides a model for how to weather such storms.

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Feeding of the Five Thousand Plus

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 13A)

Matthew 14.13-21

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

 

Hopefully, we all know that the Bible contains four Gospels. Each written by a different author. Each written to a different audience. As a result, while each Gospel contains substantially the same story of the life and ministry, the death and resurrection, of Jesus Christ; while each contains many of the same basic stories about Jesus, each nonetheless contains and focuses on slightly different details. All that said, today’s miracle, commonly referred to as the “Feeding of the Five Thousand,” is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels. Which says something about the importance of this single miracle.

 

The version we have today is in Matthew’s Gospel. In his Gospel, Matthew is writing primarily to a Jewish audience, essentially making the case that Jesus is the new Moses sent to liberate God’s people. With that as a lens, what does the feeding of the five thousand, as Matthew reports it, have to say to the crowd that was Jesus’ original audience? What does I have to say to the Jewish audience Matthew was writing to—Jews who were recent converts to Christianity or who were considering converting? And what does it have to say to the Church that eventually came into being, both the early Church and the Church we have inherited?

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Hidden Messages

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 12A)

Matthew 13.31-33, 44-52

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

 

Ok, pop quiz . . . what is the kingdom of heaven like? We’ll make it easy. Multiple choice.

 

As we just heard, our Gospel reading for today contains not one, not two, but five parables, all beginning with “the kingdom of heaven is like.” Each time, followed by a short story—sometimes as short one sentence. Stories drawn from the fabric of everyday life. Stories about farmers, homemakers, merchants, fishermen. Stories that the hearers could relate to, because they either lived the life portrayed in the parable, or likely knew someone who did. Each story, taken at face value, seems to be pretty simple. Yet, each story is intended to paint a particular picture, drawing on the individual and communal experiences of the hearers. Pictures that, when looked at long enough, reveal multiple layers, and begin to reveal hidden messages.

 

This is the beauty of parables. At least to the original hearers. Jesus was teaching basic truths about faithful and righteous living—or as in today’s Gospel, about the kingdom of heaven—using images his hearers could relate to. Images that transcended the words spoken. In this way, Jesus’ teachings became more than just words; more than just images from everyday life. They became grounded in their everyday lives and experiences in a way that allowed them to take root, just as the plants in the parables we have heard the last couple of weeks.

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The Holy Ambiguity of Weeds Among the Wheat

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 11A)

Matthew 13.24-30, 36-43

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

 

For the second week in a row, we have Jesus telling a parable involving the scattering of seed. And for the second week in a row, this parable is a bit of a head-scratcher. So, for the second week in a row, we have the telling of the parable to the crowd followed up with a private session between Jesus and his disciples in which he explains the confusing parable. While both today’s Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds and last’ week’s Parable of the Sower entail the scattering of seed, that’s about where the similarities end. The Parable of the Sower entailed the scattering of seed with wild abandon so as to maximize potential growth. Today’s Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, on the other hand, entails a much more methodical, intentional, and nefarious sowing of seed. A sowing, not with the intent of maximizing potential growth, but with the intent of maximizing potential damage. And the meaning of the seed differs, as well. In the Parable of the Sower, the seed represents the word of God, and we—those who receive God’s word—are represented by the various types of soil. In today’s Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, we are represented not by type of soil but by type of plant—by the wheat and the weeds.

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Sower of Abundance

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 10A)

Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23

The Rev. Michael K. Fincher

 

I am always intrigued by what made it into the Gospels and what did not. As we know, with the exception of the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke, the Gospels focus almost exclusively on Jesus’ three-year public ministry. Obviously, the Gospels cannot provide minute-by-minute, blow-by-blow accounts of Jesus’ life between the time he was baptized by John until his death and resurrection in Jerusalem. The authors are naturally only interested in the major things. Significant miracles, such as the feeding of the 5,000, the healing of the man born blind, and the raising of Lazarus. Significant teachings and parables, such as the parables of Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son.

 

As followers of Jesus, we are left to try to figure out for ourselves just what these recorded events—the healings and miracles, the teachings and parables—mean in our own lives of faith. That is one of the jobs of the Church, one of the jobs of the clergy: to help facilitate that process of digging into the stories presented and figuring out what Jesus meant through his words and his actions. Not always an easy task. Sure, we can sometimes take Jesus’ words at face value. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind . . . and . . . You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt 22.37, 39). Pretty clear-cut. Although, we try to complicate things by splitting hairs over such questions as “who is my neighbor?” But by and large, a lot of Jesus’ teachings require some work on our part to figure them out. Particularly when it comes to the parables. Those seemingly simple stories that illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. And, admittedly, at times, those stories are not so simple. Sometimes, they are a bit cryptic. Leaving us scratching our heads, trying to figure out just what Jesus is really trying to say.

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Religious Freedom and Striving to Be Perfect

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Independence Day)

Deuteronomy 10.17-21; Matthew 5.43-48

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

 

Today we take a break from our liturgical calendar. While it is still the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, I have chosen not to use the propers—the readings and collect of the day—assigned for this particular Sunday. Instead, I have chosen to use the propers for Independence Day. Even though, according to the rules guiding liturgical celebrations, I should not be doing this since Independence Day was yesterday and not today. However, I felt that this liturgical infraction was warranted given the fact that yesterday we celebrated a milestone in our nation’s history: the celebration of the 250^th anniversary of declaring our independence. And also warranted given what seems to be happening to religious freedom after 250 years of independence. So, in honor of our Founding Fathers and Mothers, I am exercising my religious freedom so that we can collectively celebrate who we are, where we have been, and where we are today, as one expression of God’s people in the United States of America. And, to look at where we go from here if the liberties declared 250 years ago are to continue for another 250 years, God willing.

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Jesus & Associates

Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 6A)

Matthew 9.35—10.23

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

 

As most of you know, before I became a priest I had a previous life as a transportation planner and traffic engineer. Part of my time was spent working for a transportation planning consulting firm and the latter part of it was working for a larger environmental consulting firm. Of course, consulting firms have to have a business name to operate. One of the most common naming schemas (at least at the time) was the name of the founder of the firm followed by “associates” or “and associates.” An associate being a coworker or business partner, depending on context. During the course of my career, I first worked for Ausin and Associates. When that firm merged with another one, we became Austin Foust Associates. I then left AFA and went to work for LSA. LSA had originally stood for Larry Seeman Associates, but after Larry retired and we became an employee-owned company, the name was shortened to LSA to honor the founder, but also to provide business and reputational continuity.

 

While younger and working for Austin and Associates and then Austin Foust Associates, I obviously knew I was one of the “associates,” but also always felt that the term implied a lesser position, a lesser status. I always knew that I was a mere employee and that the profits and real benefits accrued to the men who were the actual owners of the firm. But then when I went to LSA, the business model was different by virtue of being an employee-owned firm. We were all, from entry-level employees up to principals (the upper management), regarded as “associates” in the fullest sense of the term. While we each may have been at different levels in the corporate hierarchy and each had different amounts of time in the firm and money vested in employee stock ownership, we were all equal in the sense of being partners in the firm and having a vested interest in how well the firm did. When you know that the overall value of the company, which translates into compensation adjustments, bonuses, and retirement benefits, is dependent in part on your efforts, that makes a huge difference. You truly feel an integral part of the whole operation as opposed to feeling like you are merely a replaceable “cog in the wheel.” The sense of partnership tends to make you willing to go the extra mile.

 

It is through this lens of twenty years in private sector consulting before becoming a priest that I view today’s Gospel reading. Jesus said to his disciples, “’The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few’ . . . Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot.” To my way of thinking, collectively known as . . . Jesus & Associates.

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