Sermon for Year A Lent 4

This is the sermon I preached on my first Sunday as Dean and Rector 
of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington, Vermont.

From Darkness to Light

It is a long way from Asheville, North Carolina

to Burlington, Vermont.

961.5 miles.

My iPhone calculated that the drive would take 14 hours and 52 minutes.

It took me 14 days!

I guess I am a slow driver!

It really did take me 14 days 

but I stopped to see friends and family along the way

and I also spent 8 days in silent retreat at Eastern Point Retreat House

in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Eight days of silence and prayer.

I needed that more than I knew.

And now

I am, yes! 

SO ready to talk!

I am SO ready to get to know you and to worship with you

and to do ministry with you! 

I am so grateful

to have been called as your Dean and Rector.

Thank you.

Thank you.

As I read and pondered the reading from 1 Samuel this week.

I could not help but think about the MDC--

the Ministry Discernment Committee.

Samuel is sent by God to find a new king for Israel.

Now finding a new king for Israel,

Especially when you are risking your life to do it,

Is, indeed, a bit more daunting thn finding a new Dean and Rector

but still,  a search is a search.

You don’t know whom you will find out there.

Whom does God have in mind?

Will the Holy Spirit really come through?

And God says to Samuel, 

don’t pick someone because of their outward appearance

or because they are tall.

(Don’t get me wrong--sometimes tall works out quite well—

just ask our Bishop!)

Essentially, God is telling Samuel to look deeper—

Use the vision of your heart.

Don’t jut use the vision of your eyes,

use the vision of your heart.

Samuel finds an unlikely new king--

even unlikely to Samuel--

because the one 

Samuel will anoint is the youngest son of Jesse.

In that time period and that place,

youngest sons never got picked for anything!

David, this youngest of the sons,

had been relegated to sit out in the fields with the sheep.

However we might romanticize it today,

being a shepherd was NOT a position of prestige.

And yes, indeed it is a bit ironic,

that after God told Samuel NOT to pick someone

because of their outward appearance

the scripture proceeds to tell us that David was ruddy 

and had beautiful eyes 

and was handsome.

Aside from this description,

David was in no way perfect.

David was too young, too small, too inexperienced

and had flaws that would almost do him in on occasion.

And yet, God saw in David something that most others—

did not see.

I hope this is true of me too.

Not that I have any aspirations to be a king and

I have no illusions that I am ruddy or handsome, 

young or small.

And I know, like all of us, I have my flaws.

But I believe that God’s heart-vision

Is very present in discernment.

You chose me

And I chose you

And God was behind, before, above, below and beside us all.

And still is.

But just as when David was picked from all his brothers,

my selection may have been a bit unexpected,

a bit of a surprise to some of you.

A woman? 

A Southerner?

Really?

Or as we might say in North Carolina,

Well, bless her heart!

The truth is there are fewer women Deans of Cathedrals

than there are women bishops in the Episcopal Church.

(and there aren’t many of those!)

So you--WE--are breaking some new ground together

here in Vermont at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul.

This is the first time in its history

that the Cathedral has selected a woman

as Dean and Rector.

That is exciting.

It also takes courage.

All new beginnings do,

all transitions do.

We will proceed courageously and joyfully—

Together. 

God often surprises us,

Acting in ways we don’t expect.

God is always moving us from darkness 

into light.

God is ALWAYS moving us from darkness into light.

God works to heal us from our own blindness.

In the story of Samuel and the anointing of David to be king,

people could not see, could not imagine, 

that someone young,

someone short,

someone with no prestige or power, not even in his own family,

someone who was a shepherd, for goodness sakes—

how could this person be a great leader?

But God surprises.

God works to show us a better way,

a clearer vision.

In the story in John’s gospel today,

Jesus heals a blind man.

Yes, there is a healing of a man who is physically blind.

But this story is about a much bigger,

much more predominant type of blindness.

To see more clearly God’s dream for us—

for us as individuals, for us as a community, for us as the world,

we need more light.

Jesus says over and over and over in scripture,

I am the light of the world.

The light of the world.

Jesus is not simply an energy efficient LED light bulb,

Jesus is the aurora borealis of light.

And we need that kind of light to really see 

and be healed of our blindness.

Like the story in 1 Samuel,

there are so many surprises and unexpected twists to this gospel story.

First of all,

the blind man did not come to Jesus and ask to be healed.

The gospel just says,

As Jesus walked along, he saw a man born blind.

No one is ever out of God’s sight.

And then the disciples—

the disciples—wouldn’t we think they would know better--

the disciples make the same terrible assumption

of most of their culture at the time

that if  someone has a disability or is suffering or is different

then they did something to deserve it.

They were sinners and were being punished.

But the disciples can’t make sense of this theology 

because this man was born blind.

What could he have possible done

if he has been this way from birth?

So they make the jump

(people often do)

to blaming the parents.

And Jesus essentially says,

Don’t be ridiculous.

Neither this man nor his parents sinned.

God’s beautiful work, God’s holy work,

is being revealed through the life of this man,

through the life of this man who is blind.

Jesus is very direct, so very, very clear about this.

Wouldn’t you think 

that by now--our world would have dropped

this flawed theology of blame and shame? 

It’s also a surprise that the blind man does not ask Jesus for healing.

There is certainly nothing wrong with asking God for healing—

I am a big proponent of prayer 

and learning to pray God, help ME, can be a challenge for some of us.

Not just a polite little prayer for generic help,

But help ME!

But the blind man doesn’t ask.

The blind man doesn’t even know who Jesus is at first.

Yet Jesus goes over and heals him.

Even if we can’t or don’t or won’t ask,

even if it has never crossed our minds to ask for healing,

God heals.

Sometimes in a literal physical way—

as the blind man in this story is healed—

and at other times the healing comes in very different 

but no less profound ways.

God is always moving us from darkness to light.

Away from the darkness of prejudice and hate and fear

into light.

Another twist of the story is that this man is a beggar.

This makes him doubly unworthy--blind AND a beggar.

Many would not see him as deserving of healing,

But God sees differently 

and God longs for us to see differently.

God sees with the heart.

So we have this wonderful healing miracle.

A little mud, a little spit,

The blind man does just as Jesus tells him,

he goes and bathes

In the waters of Siloam

And the man receives his sight.

We might expect that everyone would jump with joy at this healing.

But no.

You see, some people, are blind to the happiness and joy of others.

Like the Pharisees, sometimes we, too, bog down 

in the rules and regulations

Another wonderful twist to the story is the interrogation 

of the man who was healed of his blindness.

He doesn’t buckle under the pressure, 

He in no ways plays the victim his questioners desire him to be.

Perry Mason would put this once-blind man

on the witness stand in a heartbeat.

The blind man knows he has been healed

and now there is possibility in his life,

and now there is hope.

He says,

I was blind

Now I see.

Don’t we all long to be able to say those words--

I was blind, now I see?

The Pharisees pose a fascinating and very revealing question: 

SURELY WE ARE NOT BLIND ARE WE?

Surely not us?!!

There’s our question for the week.

Pray with that –

look in the mirror and ask, in all sincerity,

Surely, Jesus, surely I am not blind? 

Ask that question and then listen carefully.

This is not about physical blindness.

This is about the blindness that causes us to turn our heads

and choose not to see, not to care

when things are hard or difficult or just plain wrong.

This blindness is about the dark places in our lives and in our world

that we don’t even recognize---yet—

places in desperate need of light.

Darkness cast by fear and prejudice, 

greed and ignorance.

How is God trying to move you, to move me, to move us 

from darkness into light?

Where does our blindness 

need healing?

We are called, with God’s help,

to peel away the pall of darkness that binds us.

To let it go.

We are called to open our hearts and our lives and our world

to the light of justice and mercy.

and love.

That aurora borealis of light and love.

Always love.

Always love.

Sermon for Year A Epiphany 5

This is the last sermon I preached as the Rector of St. John's, Asheville, NC after accepting a call as the Dean and Rector of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington, Vermont

You are the salt of the earth

You know you are not from Vermont
when you don’t own a pair of gloves
and when you make that confession to Vermonters
they look at your with horror.

You know you are not from Vermont
when you wake up and it is snowing snowing
snowing like you have never seen it snow
and the schools are not cancelled
and neither is your 7:30 AM breakfast meeting.

You know you are not from Vermont
when “sweetie” and “darlin’” and “bless his heart”
are part of your every day language--
but not of your average Vermonter.

You know you are not from Vermont
when you go house hunting all day
and then find yourself feeling so homesick
for North Carolina at night
that you want to cry yourself to sleep.

You know you are not from Vermont
but you know that
North Carolinians
and Vermonters alike
are all children of God
and that God calls us to do crazy, wonderful things
and set out on amazing, terrifying adventures
whether we are the ones going
or the ones staying,
the ones welcoming,
or the ones saying good-bye.


God is always challenging us
to sing a new song--
even when you loved the old song.
That dear song you have been singing
for the past 6-1/2 very full, deeply rich years.

I was sitting in the airport  waiting for my flight home,
reading the gospel lesson for today--
...you are the salt of the earth...
when I heard the commentator
on one of the overhead television sets in the terminal
say the word SALT
and I looked up.

Apparently there is a shortage of salt.
So many states have been hit so hard by this winter
that they could use a few million more tons
of salt for their highways.

Salt.

Jesus has something to say about salt, too,
but it is not about salting highways or wintry weather.

What he says is this:
You are the salt of the earth.

Could there be a more perfect line in scripture than that one for today?
For this last worship service that I will share with you as your Rector
here at St. John’s.

You ARE the salt of the earth.
Indeed.
You have given my life and our ministry together flavor and zest.

You are the light of the world.
Isn’t it amazing that Jesus looks at those around him--
and I truly believe his eyes still gaze on us--
and declares them--and us--to be the light of the world?!

Jesus sees all that is light and bright within us.
Jesus urges us to let our lights shine.

No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket.
Because you know, if you did,
you would burn up your basket
and be left with nothing but a pile of ashes.


We are called to lift our lights up
so the light will shine outward.

How do we let our light shine?
You know.
You have been doing it for a long long time.

Isaiah gives some pretty good instruction.
Lift up your voice like a trumpet.
Speak out for those who have no voice
or whose voices are being silenced.
Loose the bonds of injustice.
Share YOUR bread with the hungry.

One of the great gifts of having served as your Rector
is that I know St. John’s.
You ARE St. John’s.
Not the building.
You the people are the city
that is built on this hill.

Every one of us has a part in letting the light shine.
It doesn’t matter if we are in Asheville, NC
or Burlington, Vermont.
Place is not the issue.
We are called to go where God sends us
or stay where God places us
but regardless--
we are called to let our lights shine.

Jesus says you are the salt of the earth
and you are the light of the world
but he also warns the church
how disastrous it can be
to not care,
to keep hidden that God-given light
as if it is your own personal property.

We do have a choice,
free will.
We can let that light shine
or we can refuse to even kindle the fire.

How foolish that would be.
Because the light belongs to God
not us.

God wants that light for the world
not for any one or for just a few
who happen to have power and prestige.
The light of the world is for everyone.

Jesus says YOU
(and the word that is translated YOU
from the Greek text is plural)
Plural--that means y’all.

Y’all are the light of the world!
Y’all are the salt of the earth!

Let y’all’s light shine says Jesus.
Keep y’all’s selves salty, says Jesus.

We are all entering a time of transition.
This can be so terrifying
that we are tempted to hunker down
and hold our little unlighted candles tightly to our chest,
not wanting to risk getting burned or hurt or making a mistake.

But being timid has never been God’s way.
My goodness! Mary was just a young teenage girl
when she was called to bear a child that would change the world.

And Abraham and Sarah?
How old were they when they were called to leave everything they knew
and set out on a journey,
strangers in a strange land.

God’s way is never timid.
God’s way is to throw open our arms
and say, LET IT SHINE!!
Let it shine, y’all!!

Yes, Lord, we are scared of what may lie ahead.
Yes, Lord, we do not know if we have enough salt for the road.
But we trust you, God.

We trust you
because the one thing we can be sure and certain about
is your love and your presence, God,
wherever we go.

So if you want a t-shirt for the months that lie ahead,
iI would suggest you make one with these words on it:

We are the salt of the earth.
We are the light of the world.
We are St. John’s, Asheville
and we are awesome.

You are.
Y’all are absolutely awesome.
God knows it.

And thanks be to God, so do I.
I have been truly blessed to walk this part of the journey with you
these past almost 7 years.

I love y’all more than you can imagine,
but God loves y’all even more.
Much, much more.
Don’t forget that.
Don’t ever forget.
.
Amen.