a sermon on Matthew 23:33-43, 2 Corinthians 5: 17-20
by Doug Keenan
November 24, 2019
Everybody complains sometime but consider that there may be extenuating circumstances.
The irate customer calling the newspaper offices, Loudly demanded to know where her Sunday edition was.
Ma'am, said the employee, today is Saturday. The Sunday paper is not delivered til Sunday.There was quite a pause on the other end of the phone, Followed by a ray of recognition.
Ma'am, said the employee, today is Saturday. The Sunday paper is not delivered til Sunday.There was quite a pause on the other end of the phone, Followed by a ray of recognition.
"So that's why no one was in church today."
Something special about today but I forget what… could it be that today is the last Sunday before Advent which begins a new liturgical year, or Thanksgiving is this week, Christmas is not far away and the Christmas Village is beginning to appear, New Years follows soon and all of this means it is the end of Christian year, beginning of the new church year: Advent – it is an Amalgamation of seasons fused together in one remarkable moment of coherence in time.
it is like the big meal at Thanksgiving when the turkey and dressing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce all run together in one delicious bite and since this is also a celebration of my retirement, there may be some gravy spilled on my shirt. What a day!
it is like the big meal at Thanksgiving when the turkey and dressing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce all run together in one delicious bite and since this is also a celebration of my retirement, there may be some gravy spilled on my shirt. What a day!
In the Christian calendar this day is marked as the feast day of Christ the King, probably one of the most direct contradictions of the way of Jesus as we could find to celebrate. Remember in the Gospels the couple of times that people wanted to make Jesus a king and he refused? In fact, he escaped to the mountains to avoid their coronation. When he was in trial before Pilate. Pilate says, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus refused to accept the title: "You have said it, not I." Jesus rejected the whole idea of being a king, his kingdom was about serving and caring for others not to embrace some title. His life lesson was not to become king.
The focus of the gospel passage for me is not Jesus as king, as the sign proclaims, but the forgiveness that he offers to those around him. Notice: v. 34 “Father forgive them”, and in v. 43 “you will be with me in Paradise”. Jesus spent his life and even his death in inviting others to peace with God. That more than anything else should be the mark of a follower. As the passage from 2 Corinthians 5 in the old Good News for Modern Man paraphrase puts it: he changed us from enemies into his friends.” This second passage reminds us that that is now our lesson to learn as well.
But today’s amalgamation (it’s my new word) with the call to be peacemakers on the eve of advent facing my retirement causes moments of reflection: who I am, where I came from, and what I will soon be: a boy standing in front of a congregation thanking you for loving me for not just the last 24+ years but for the last 43 years. (obligatory movie reference and sounds better than just saying unemployed)
I was fortunate enough to be born into a household where parents taught me grace. Right and wrong mattered but they taught me it is the love and forgiveness that grace offers that truly shape our lives.
(when my dad died a friend paid him the highest compliment that he was the model of what he thought a Christian should be) That is my heritage that offered a firm foundation upon which my life was built. Later Covenant Players taught me how wide God’s love is and that I have a part to play in sharing that love. To fully embrace this grace and to live into it means there will be storms ahead. The difficult beginning of my ministry in Beaumont, discovering my gifts and my calling in Iowa and the self-awareness lessons of CPE, all of these taught me to weather the storms of life, I learned that plans my change, and we are not entirely in charge of our destiny, but each of us has a role to play in the lessons we learn.
Other lessons I learned:
Grace is the opposite of Karma, and that God offers grace a lot more than Karma
God is not a fixer and there is not good answer to the question ”why?”
Faith is personal but not private, faith needs to be expressed/worked out in community.
Life is not all about you, it requires humility and gratitude.
God does not count our trespasses, God counts on our friendship.
I know I heard the verse before I came to this church but it was Browning Ware that crystalized its meaning for me: 2 Corinthians 5:17 – “namely that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself and not counting their trespasses against them and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” One of Jesus last words from the cross was to continue the ministry of reconciliation; that was his whole reason for coming.
It’s one of many lessons I learned in this place. Before I share a few other lessons let me tell you the story of the little boy and the barber shop:
A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer, “This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you.” The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, “Which do you want, son?” The boy takes the quarters and leaves. “What did I tell you?” said the barber. “That kid never learns! He makes the same choice every time!”
Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store. “Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?” The boy licked his cone and replied, “Because the day I take the dollar, the game is over!”
Who was teaching who a lesson…
First memory of coming into this building in the 1970’s: walked in the sanctuary near a retired US senator who was followed by a person off the streets; the juxtaposition has never been lost on me; this has always been a diverse place welcoming all people.
I was asked to help serve communion when I was in college, I did not have a suit on, if I remember right I was wearing an old sweater, I may have been a last minute addition but I was treated as if I belonged amongst those deacons. This place has always sought out those on the fringes to help them find a place of service.
When Deb and I got married here, we were just a couple of college kids but the church rolled out the red carpet: the handbells played, the organ trumpeted our exit, and made a very simple ceremony into a memorable event. The people of this place know how to know how to wrap their arms around those in need, and they know how to have a good time.
A few years later when Deb and I were in Iowa, we were raising our own financial support; it wasn’t easy but so many times this church and individuals in this congregation graced with a financial gift…little did they realize they were investing in their own future. This is a generous and visionary place.
When we came back from Iowa without a place to minister we did not go to Ft Worth where I grew up or the Waco where my parents resided but to Austin where the opportunities to minster were coupled with a supportive community. You nurtured my children, you loved my wife, and allowed us to just be.
This place has always felt like home.
Almost 25 years ago while working part time as a chaplain Browning Ware gave me a chance to use those skills in the church. I asked if I could visit the hospitals, “yes, we could use your help,” he said, “and we will even pay you something.” A short time later on a Wednesday night I don’t think it was even a business meeting, Browning called on me: “everybody know Doug (yeah, yeah), well he is going to help us by visiting the hospitals and some of our homebound adults and we are going to pay him a little something” (a few nods of approval, some questioning looks, and about half who weren’t even paying attention) and I was hired part time.
While working at the church I also found employment with hospice and later Roger Paynter offered to expand my role into a full-time position. (ironically Hospice made the same offer and it was the first time in my life I had a choice between two full-time ministry positions. Which should I choose? and I remembered the frustrations of my first ministry position in Beaumont, losing my role in Iowa, trying to piece meal enough work to support a family by driving a school bus and throwing a newspaper route and I felt blessed at these job offerings, and then I remembered this diverse, welcoming, supportive, compassionate, generous and visionary place.
How could I not choose the place that nurtured, supported, and was always home.
I knew I had big shoes to fill as I was following in the footsteps of Don Searles and Tom Martin, and others, who modeled compassion and ministry. This place was built upon the skills and leadership of those who have come before…now I have been fortunate to add my name to so many others who have found a calling in this place.
First Austin is not a perfect place, but for over 150 years we have sought to be faithful to the calling of Jesus who came from God with a ministry of reconciliation for all to hear, and we are have been given this same calling: God is not mad at you for what ever you may have done, God did not create you to be less than the beautiful person you are, and God has a place for you not only with the thief in Paradise but right here on this earth. And God has a word of encouragement for each of us.
I want to tell you the most important life lesson, the secret of ministry: just show up, be available, be present to those around you, listen the divine spark within you, offer a word (not a sermon or lecture) but a word of hope and encouragement. Everyone we meet is part of God’s creation, how can we not treat them that way. I stand at the back after service each week, it’s out of my comfort zone but I have done so for 20 years because it is my way of connecting to some that I might otherwise miss. Oh, but I have other cares that need attending; but I say to you that there are no other cares more important than to call someone by name and offer a handshake or a hug or a word of encouragement,
Here is my favorite sermon illustration:
An adventurous young man decides to sail around the world. He buys a boat, goes to the docks and begins making preparations for the voyage. Soon a crowd begins to gather inquiring about his journey. He’s going to do what?!” they mutter to themselves. As the time for his departure nears, some of the crowd start heckling the young man. “this boat will never make it, you’re no sailor, you should never even try this voyage, it’s hopeless”
He continues his preparations despite the heckling and just as he is about to leave shore an older woman steps up and shouts, “Go for it! You can do this, I believe in you!”
The young man soon departs. The crowd turns to the old woman asking “Why did you do that? you know he is facing an impossible task”
I realize it will difficult for him but when he gets into trouble in the middle of the ocean – I hope remembers my words and not yours.
Remember the words of encouragement not the hecklers of despair.
Gratitude can never be fully expressed in a lifetime much less in a single word of thanks.
People of First Austin you have been those words of encouragement to me.
Now go and continue those encouraging words to a community in despair…continue to offer the ministry of reconciliation.
*artwork: Forgiveness, Oil on Canvas, by Katie Garner, utahcountymurals.com
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