Sunday, September 30, 2018

What salt is this?


A Sermon preached on Sunday, September 30, at St. Augustine’s, Wiesbaden

Esther 7: 1 – 6, 9 – 10, 9: 20 – 22, James 5: 13-20, Mark 9: 38-50

I’m going to introduce (or re-introduce) you to two technical terms today:

  1. Exegesis, from the Greek for to draw out, is the good form of Biblical interpretation starting with the text itself. What does it say? What does it mean?
  2. Eisegesis, from the Greek for to draw in, is the bad method in which the preacher starts with his or her own ideas and draws them into the text, in the worst case without them really being supported by the text.

I fear that I might be accused of doing the latter today, as I am starting not with scripture, but with the text of the letter Jim and I have written and that we have ready for you all as we begin the annual stewardship campaign. But I believe, and hope you will confirm, that my thoughts and reflections are still supported by scripture, in particular by the texts for today!
Let me start by defining stewardship. In the Episcopal tradition, Stewardship is about being both grateful and responsible stewards of all the gifts we receive from God. The first and greatest gift that we are called to care for is God’s creation, but that will be more my theme next week when we celebrate Harvest Festival and the Blessing of the Animals. Everything we have comes from God. As good stewards we are also called to care for our talents, to put them to good use – for us and our families and for God’s mission. And as a sign of our gratitude, the church teaches that we should give back some of our treasure, time, and talents to God through the church in what the Bible calls “tithing” (Numbers 18:26). When we ask you to consider pledging, so promising to give a fixed amount or share of your income, this is not primarily about paying the church’s bills or my stipend or salary, not that I object of course. The motivation behind pledging is to share something of our abundance thereby enabling God’s ministry and mission in this place and through this church.
In the stewardship letter you will receive, we have identified five themes that summarize  what we have accomplished together over the last 5 years and that we want to continue to achieve with the help of your time, talent and treasure.
Theme one is Reconciliation. This was a major focus of 2014, our first year together. Without going into all the details, there was a significant need. We needed to heal relationships within the church, with one another, and with the leadership of the Convocation. According to our Catechism (beginning on p. 845 of the BCP – well worth a read, just not right now during my sermon) the ministry of all orders of the church, lay and ordained, is “according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world.”[1] We cannot act as agents or ambassadors of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:11-21) unless we are reconciled with one another. As we heard a moment ago, in the final section of his letter James too focuses on the importance and need for reconciliation, even or especially with those who have sinned. “My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover (forgive) a multitude of sins.” (James 5:20) Everyone gains from reconciliation – both those who are brought back into the fold, and the community that welcomes them back.
Theme 2 is Celebration. Looking back, we were thinking of our 150th anniversary celebration in 2015. But celebration, just like reconciliation, is another part of our calling as Christians. We are meant to come together week for week to celebrate all of God’s gifts, most importantly the Resurrection of God’s Son and to invite others to join in this celebration. Our first reading this morning, a series of extracts from the OT Book of Esther, ends by explaining that the Jewish Feast of Purim, their version of carnival or Fasching, can be traced back to this story: “They should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same month, year by year, as the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday.” (Esther 9:20-22) For us as Christians, the story of Esther is a foretaste of the great story of the Resurrection. It too is about turning death into life, and defeat into victory – no wonder that our Jewish brothers and sisters “make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor.” Note that generosity an giving are an integral part of celebration.
Our third theme was and is Renewal. There are many signs of renewal in this church, we have been physical renewing our building since 2015, but we have also renewed our life together, and added many new ministries. In the episode from Mark’s Gospel, Jesus puts personal renewal at the center of his teaching. That is what is behind the rather frightening images of cutting of hands and feet or tearing out eyes. (Mark 9:43-47) Jesus is very willing to use drastic language to make a point. And his point here is that sometimes a complete change of behavior is necessary if we want to be his follower, we may have to “throw” away aspects of our personality that stand in the way of following him fully as part of our renewal and transformation. In this case Jesus is thinking particularly of the selfishness that the disciples display both before this passage, when they jostle for power, and at the beginning of the passage in their attempt to keep Jesus to themselves.
Integration is our fourth theme. In our letter we rejoice in how we have integrated the many new members who have joined us over the last 5 years, but also how we as a community have become better integrated into the society around us that we are called to serve. In the extract from Mark we heard how the disciples attempted the opposite: Exclusion. They wanted to exclude the person who was acting in Christ’s name: “We tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”  Don’t stop him, Jesus says. “Whoever is not against us is for us.” (Mark 9:38-40) That seems like a very low barrier to membership, and it is. It is our job, once people show some interest, however small, in Jesus to welcome them and then by our word and actions to turn first interest into more, much more.
That is what our fifth theme, Expansion or Growth is all about. As Christ was sent into the world, so he has sent us into the world to make God’s name and love known (John 17:16-26). We seek to grow in number, in faith, and in love for one another.[2] And to help us achieve this part of our vision, we have expanded and extended many of our ministries and services. The Good News of God in Christ is too good to keep to ourselves! Or to use Jesus’ final image from this morning’s Gospel, we have good salt that needs to be shared.
What is this salt that purifies, “for everyone will be salted with fire?” What is this salt that adds flavor to our lives, “if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it?” What is this salt that brings peace and harmony “have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another?” (Mark 9:49-50) I think it refers to God’s good spirit, who is the instrument of our transformation: a spirit of selflessness, generosity, and love. As we begin our stewardship campaign, and as you consider prayerfully how you can support your church in our common mission of reconciliation, celebration, renewal, welcome and integration, as well as growth, I pray that you will be moved by that same spirit.
Amen.


[1] BCP, 855
[2] St. Augustine’s Church Vision #2: „With God’s help, we set an example for love and acceptance with worship, teaching, prayer, and fellowship; we seek to grow in number, in faith, and in love for one another.”