Lent II

March 4, 2007

The Rev. David R. Hackett

As I begin my ministry among you as your Interim Rector, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the kind welcome given to Kay and me.  That welcome began with your vestry and wardens extending the call to become a part of this community of faith called St. John’s.  Your Senior Warden, Greg Clarke, has been most gracious and helpful throughout the process that has brought us to this day.  Kay and I look forward  to meeting each of you during the lunch following this service.

It seems to me that a fair question you may want to ask me is, “Why are you here?”  “Why do you do this thing called Interim Ministry?”  I confess there are times when I ask it as well, especially when in the middle of unpacking moving boxes!

I’m here because I think the time of transition is extraordinarily important in the life of a congregation.  After 31 years of regular parish ministry I’ve spent the last 6 years as an Interim Rector in Louisiana, Florida, Ohio, and most recently in Norfolk, Virginia.  I came here because I felt the “chemistry” between the vestry and me was right.  I came here because what I believe are the core values of this congregation are also my values.   Inclusivity, diversity, and social ministries seem to be at the heart of your life together.  I came here because it is a privilege to be a part of a parish which has experienced the fine ministry of Karl Rutton and is ready to move to the next phase of its life of service.

The interim period in the life of a congregation is an exciting and eventful time.  We will journey together through this period of transition as you prepare to call a new rector for this strong and dynamic parish of St. John’s or, as I’ve learned you often call yourselves, “the saints of John”.  We will have opportunities to explore together what it means to be the people of God in this place, at this time, and discover what God is calling you to be and do as you carry out his mission and ministry.  You and I begin that process together today.

Inherent in that process is an appreciation for the gifts that have been bestowed on each of us.  Your vestry has entrusted me with the leadership of this congregation.  God has given me certain gifts for this ministry.  I trust you, the congregation, to earnestly be engaged in the work that is before us as we seek to discern God’s will for this community of faith at this time.  Part of that trust is based on the belief that each one of you has gifts given by Almighty God which you offer in your various ministries.

Last Thursday, my first day in the parish, I attended one of the congregational meetings called “We Are Family”.  These are important opportunities given each of you to share your view of the present and your vision of the future for this parish.  If you haven’t yet attended one of these gatherings, I urge you to do so. 

The facilitator of the meeting used an interesting means of getting the group involved.  She presented a sketch, a drawing, of a garden divided into quadrants: perennials, annuals, weeds, and a yet to be planted area of fertile soil.  This garden represented this congregation of St. John’s and your ministries and activities.  There are some things that make up this garden that are perennial: they define who you are.  They are the elements of this community that must be present year after year:  good liturgy, good music, diversity, inclusivity, social outreach ministries.  There are other things that may or may not be here every year.  The annuals have to be planted each year and they may change.  Certainly within every congregation there are those tings that need to be critically addressed and sometimes uprooted to make for a more fruitful harvest.  But then there is that fertile ground that is just waiting for new seed, new ideas, new opportunities.  One of the questions you’ll be hearing from me is, “What in God’s name is going on here?”  I use that terminology quite deliberately.  Lot’s of things may be going on, but what in God’s name is going on?  As you move into the future, what is essential and what is optional?

Karl Rutton, in his last annual report to the congregation said of you, “You are a reflection of grace”.  What a wonderful statement!  If only every priest could say that of his people.  His description of you reminded me of Detrich Bonhoeffer’s words, “What matters in the Church is not religion, but the form of Christ, and its taking from amidst a band of men and women.”

Christ taking form in you and in me is what is most important.  It is a process, a growth, a journey in faith.  Abraham’s journey, of which we are reading about this Lent, is the great story of our faith.  I suppose the closest thing to a creedal statement in Judaism is the Shema, and that which we heard last week in the reading from Hebrew scripture, “Our father was a wandering Aramean.”  Today we hear of Yahweh coming to Abram not to destroy or terrify, but to bind Abram to himself in love and gracious care.  God enters into covenant with Abram, an unconditional agreement binding them together.

In today’s Gospel lesson, Luke continues his account of Jesus’ journey up to Jerusalem.  He laments the Holy City’s rejection, but it doesn’t end with that rejection.  There’s more to the story.  The movement to Jerusalem will end in Jesus’ death on the cross.  But there’s more to the story.  From Jerusalem God’s salvation will flow to the whole world.  In Jesus, God comes inviting his people into his kingdom: to sit and eat at table with all humankind.

Despite resistance and rejection God’s mercy continues.  Our journey in faith continues as we discover, in new ways, the riches of this merciful God who welcomes all into his kingdom.  That, I believe, is perhaps the greatest miracle of all.  The Collect for today describes God, “Whose glory it is always to have mercy.”  The Prayer of Humble Access which it is your tradition to use during Lent, describes God, “Whose property it is always to have mercy.”  And there is that wonderful phrase in the prayer of consecration in Rite I, “O God, who of thy tender mercies…”

The tender mercies of our God that are new every morning for you and me.  God reaches out, we reject; God reaches out, we resist; God reaches out again and again and again.  Krister Stindal, who used to teach at Harvard Divinity School, often used a phrase that I’ve come to love: “God mending his creation.”

Everyone of us is broken in some way; every one needs God’s tender mercies.  God is mending his creation: taking our brokenness, our incompleteness, and restoring us to be who he created us to be, making the world which he loves whole and holy, binding up our wounds, our divisions; healing us with his shalom.

That is what we are about during our Lenten journey: discovering anew the mercies of our God.  I pray that this time of transition which we will share together will be a time of rejoicing in the journey; a time of seeing the surprises of God, of being in love with God, of knowing the Company of the Spirit, as we walk together in the faith that God indeed is mending his creation and is calling us to share with all humankind the tender mercies of our God.   Amen.