Sermon: September 25, 2011

WALK THE WALK
Sermon Notes of The Reverend Canon Robert A. Picken
Cathedral of the Incarnation, Garden City
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 21
September 25, 2011


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I enjoy wandering through old cemeteries. Some of the monuments are incredibly ornate and detailed and some of remarkably simple. Many grave-makers seem to be more like resumès for the deceased, while others give us an insight into the life of that person. I have always wondered what an archeologist hundreds of years from now might say about our society when he or she uncovers these tombs. Would it seem that we were people who were concerned about how we lived our lives or simply what we accomplished in them?

The common Ignatian spiritual discipline is to write your own epitaph. The design is to approach your life today by looking back from your death. Can you write your epitaph? What would you write on you grave-stone? What would someone else say about? Do you actions today match what you say about yourself in death? In other words, if you want it to say ‘devoted father,’ would the life you live today match that? Or, more accurately, if you want it to name you as a Christian, would the people who go to your funeral be surprised to learn this fact?

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul tells us that we must be of the same mind as Jesus, and the only way to accomplish that is through love, humility, and reconciliation – not through conceit or selfishness.
It is very difficult to be a community in our world today. The world we live in today causes us to struggle for balance between the individualism that is encouraged by society and our desperate need to belong. We struggle to reconcile ourselves and be at peace in a world that is connected by technology but knows little about anyone outside our circles.

Let us not trivialize Paul’s message – love, humility, and reconciliation are not just buzz words. They are deeply connecting words that speak through our hearts and souls. They are foundational words used throughout the gospels as Jesus models love, humility, and reconciliation for us.

These characteristics are evident in the parable we heard in today’s gospel. The father, who is the owner of a vineyard, has two sons, and he asks them both to come to work with him. The first son refuses to honor his father’s request but he changes his mind, repents, and then goes to work in the vineyard. The son has a change of heart that he acknowledges through his repentance – a sign of humility, love, and his willingness to discern and reflect reconciliation. The second son says he will go to work but he does not. His actions are an example of selfishness and lack of integrity.

Jesus does not just tell a story about a father and his two sons, but further describes community-building to the elders and chief priests in the temple through their own attitudes about John the Baptist and those who turned to faith through him. Jesus tells them that they had a chance to hear what John had to say about justice and righteousness, but they chose to remain fixed on their laws and those things that secured their power. He confronted their selfishness and lack of integrity directly while simultaneously demonstrating that this did not build up the community of faith.

Jesus uses the faith of the tax collectors and prostitutes who heard John’s message and changed their ways to show community-building at its best. They model the personal responsibility we each have to change, seek justice, listen, and hear the truth in differences. The prophetic words of Ezekiel say clearly that those who have considered and turned toward a change for justice and willingness to hear truth in difference will live. They will find a new heart and a new spirit.



Listening and hearing our readings in the context of celebrating our corporate lives is another step. The next step requires that we share our hearts with each other and then with everyone we encounter in our lives. This doesn’t mean that we “evangelize” to everyone everywhere. But as St. Francis is attributed as saying, “Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.”

An apologist and philosopher recently debated the existence of God at a major university. At the end of the debate, the apologist had clearly had the better arguments and one could say “won” the debate. During the open question period that followed, a student stood up and began listing atrocities done in the Name of God: crusades, persecutions, wars, discrimination… and then those things done by so-called religious: theft, sexual assault, and so on. Many in the crowd cheered. It did not prove that God did not exist, it proved the brokenness of human nature. But, the point was made that it’s easier to ‘talk the talk’ then ‘walk the walk.’

What we say and do here in our worship needs to be evident in the way we live and relate. Living a life of a faith means that there is no break between our words and actions. Living a faith-filled life means that we can discern God’s voice in those expected and unexpected places and that we not only listen but are willing to change as we grow in our personal faith and community.

We want to be people who, when asked who we are, can reply with confidence because we know our hearts and souls and live accordingly. We want to be a people who have mercy on those in need, dismantle injustice and practice humility as we listen to the Spirit’s call on our lives. In short, we want to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.