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Sermon
Synopses - June 2007
Sermons
at Trinity are usually ex tempore, that is done without
notes...Please
enjoy our "Sermon Synopses" or short summaries
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Sermon Synopsis Sunday,
June 17, 2007
Luke 7:36-50
Because today’s Old Testament and
Gospel lessons speak of it, I, too, will speak today of
forgiveness. Forgiveness is something about which
we hear little in today’s world – even in
church. Yes, we confess our sins every Sunday in
the general confession, and we receive absolution, but
I wonder if we grasp the magnitude of what we are doing. I
wonder if we realize the power that forgiveness has to
transform lives.
I suspect the reason that forgiveness is
so rarely spoken of is because to speak of forgiveness
goes hand in hand with speaking of sin – and speaking
of sin is rarely a great conversation starter. However,
the Christian tradition does provide another door through
which we can go to attend to the matter of forgiveness:
the door, not of human sinfulness, but of God’s holiness,
God’s “beauty,” if you will. And
it is through this door that I wish to take us this morning.
I wish to begin our journey through this
door with an unconventional source: a source not from scriptures,
nor the Church Fathers, nor indeed anything from the tradition. I
wish to begin our journey with Luca Turin’s review
of Gucci’s perfume “Rush,” in his book Parfum: Le
Guide, (“Perfume: The Guide”). Of “Rush,” Mr.
Turin writes the following:
Gucci hasn’t put a foot wrong for
some time; both Envy perfumes were landmarks, and expectations
were high for their latest. The first sniff gave
me a shock of recognition, like a long-forgotten but familiar
face, and I spent a few minutes dredging my memory for
the original impression… Dioressence! Not
all of it, mind you, just a bit I loved, which in the original
happened two or three hours into the story and felt like
a warm breath whispering crazy things in my ear. The
breath is back, now strong, loud, irresistible, a sultry
wind to keep everyone stark awake and plotting indiscretions…
Perfume has a venerable history in
the Christian tradition. From the Song of Songs,
we hear the beloved singing to his lover that she is “a
garden enclosed,” “an orchard of all luscious
fruits… of nard and saffron, of fragrant reed and
cinnamon, with all aromatic woods, myrrh and aloes – all
the choice perfumes.” The wisemen brought sweet-smelling
gifts to the infant Jesus: frankincense (used in
incense) and myrrh (a fragrant ointment). And my
favorite, from the 5th century deserts of Egypt, a monk
named Evagrius mysteriously (and wonderfully!) begins his
teachings on prayer with a recipe for perfume:
If one wishes to prepare a fragrant perfume,
he must take a mixture of pure incense, of cinnamon, of
onyx-stone and of myrrh in equal parts… If
they are found in full strength and in due proportion,
then the spirit will not be betrayed.
Today’s Gospel lesson continues our
tradition of perfume. Though Luke Gospel, which we
read today, merely says the woman anointed Jesus’ feet
with ointment, Mark’s Gospel is clear that this is
no mere ointment, but nard, a costly aromatic favored by
the ancients. John’s version of the story goes
one step further to point out that the “smell of
the perfume filled the house.” Luke’s
particular contribution to the story is to link this perfume
with forgiveness: “Her sins, which were many,
have been forgiven.”
The woman in today’s Gospel comes
to forgiveness, not through the door that emphasizes human
sinfulness, but through the door that leads to the beauty
of God. By her beautiful actions, the woman betrays
that she sees beauty in Jesus; Jesus was one for whom her
beautiful actions were appropriate. She saw in him,
whether consciously or no, a “shock of recognition,” a
beauty that went past what the eye could see, but that
she could “smell.” She recognized in
Jesus one who was perfect in holiness; one who was complete
in knowledge, who knew her – really knew her – who
she was, what she had done; she recognized in Jesus one
who was whole in loving, who had perfect compassion for
her, complete acceptance of her. And she heard this
perfect and holy man whispering crazy things in her ear,
life-transforming things, like a sultry wind, loud, strong,
irresistible…”Your sins are forgiven. Go
in peace.”
Simon, on the other hand, fails to grasp
the magnitude of what is going on. He does not see
beauty in Jesus. He gave Jesus no water for his feet;
he gave him no kiss; he did not anoint his head with oil. Instead
of seeing the beauty of Jesus, Simon is stuck in seeing
human sinfulness: “If this man were a prophet,
he would have known what kind of woman this is who is touching
him – that she is a sinner.” Stuck in
his focus on sin, Simon missed out on the power of Jesus’ forgiveness.
We at Trinity have a tradition of valuing
beauty. Look around! Our forebears in this
place built a beautiful building and gave us beautiful
stained glass. We have a tradition of beautiful music. We
continue to set aside resources to ensure that the beauty
of our buildings is maintained and that we can count on
hearing beautiful music every Sunday.
In the beauty that surrounds us, we have a powerful resource
for coming to appreciate the beauty of God, a beauty which,
in turn, can help us to experience in full God’s
forgiveness and love.
Do not let the beauty of our surroundings
keep you from seeing the most beautiful thing of all. The
most beautiful thing that we experience here every Sunday
is what we remember and celebrate in our Eucharist: God’s
giving of himself for our sake in Jesus Christ. Here
in the sacrifice we celebrate is perfect love, perfect
compassion, perfect beauty. This is a beauty that
takes some practice to see, and so we come here, week by
week, to be schooled in beauty. In our beauty school,
we hear the scriptures, we gather with each other, we see,
receive and eat the sacrament – in short, we are
taught, bit by bit over time, to hear the sultry wind of
the Spirit whispering crazy things in our ears, crazy things,
that, if we hear them, could keep us stark awake and plotting
indiscretions. “I know you. I have compassion
for you. I love you. Your sins are forgiven. Go
in peace.”
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Synopsis for Sunday,
June 10, 2007
Second Sunday after Pentecost
Text: “Jesus
came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood
still.” – Luke 7:14
As we get to know each other
better over the coming months and years, you will discover
that I am a fan of Augustine; he is one of my few dozen
favorite saints. I know that Augustine gets a lot
of bad press in regards to original sin and human sexuality – and
some (but not all!) is even deserved. But I am a fan of
Augustine. Augustine has a lot to say about a lot
of things, and he does so often with great wit and perspicacity,
and he is a great interpreter of Scripture and of the Tradition.
Of this morning’s text from Luke,
the story of Jesus raising the son of the widow of Nain,
Augustine has much to say. In a sermon on this text,
Augustine notes that there are three Scripture stories
in which Jesus raised people from the dead: the first,
in the Gospel of Mark, is the raising of Jairus’ daughter;
the second is this morning’s Gospel text; the third,
in John’s gospel, is the raising of Lazarus. Augustine
says that these three resurrection stories symbolize the
way sin begins as something thought in the heart and eventually
becomes a deadly habit. Noting how Jairus’ daughter
lies dead in the house, Augustine says that sin begins
in a person’s mind, inside the “house.” Pointing
to the fact that, in this morning’s gospel, the dead
man is being carried outside the town, Augustine says that
sin, when committed, leaves the “house” and
becomes visible to all the neighbors around. Lastly,
when a sin becomes committed again and again, it becomes
a habit, and the person, like Lazarus, is imprisoned in
a tomb, and there “is a stench” of death.
Playing upon Augustine, I would like to
speak less to sin’s progression from the “house” to
a deadly habit, and more to the effects of sin in our lives,
the ways in which the powers of death seek to take us to
our graves. Just as Jairus’ daughter lay dead
in the house, so do the powers of death seek to turn us
away from God, turn us in on ourselves, and keep us from
leaving the “house.” Eventually, like
Lazarus, the powers of death would like to imprison us
in habits and lifestyles that are not life-giving, to take
us to our tombs, to cause us to have a stench. On
the way – and here is where today’s Gospel
lesson is important (and note how today’s story is
the only resurrection story in which there is movement
of the dead, as the bearers carry the bier) – on
the way, death is one slick operator, and would like to
convince us that, so long as there is motion, there is
life; when in reality, what is at the center of the commotion
is death.
So often, the powers of death put up a
great charade of motion, to distract us from the death
that lurks at the center of the crowd. 1) In
the case of an addiction, the powers of death can keep
all the moving parts in place, convincing a person that
all is well, so that an addiction can continue to flourish. These
moving parts – in the jargon, called “co-dependents” – obscure
the existence of a person imprisoned and in need of help. 2) In
our consumer society, the powers of death lead us to believe
that, as long as we can continue to have the power to buy
and to have things to buy, all must be in order. With
all the movement of buying and selling, it is easy for
us to ignore the fact that consumption is not life-giving,
that it will ultimately leave us empty, “dead.” 3) We
have in our world a culture of productivity in which our
self worth is linked to our ability to work and produce. So
long as we are busy and producing – so long as there
is a lot of hustle and bustle – we can convince ourselves
that we are worthwhile members of society, doing what we
were created to do. But, such a belief and such
activity can lead to a dearth of meaning in our life, and
the death of the person God created us to be. 4) The
powers of death would have us believe that we must conform
to a certain image – a certain weight or body shape,
to wear certain clothing, to possess certain things. There
is much movement and color around such ideals, but ultimately
they will not bring life. All these are ways in which
the powers of death try to convince us by their commotion
that they are bearers of life, when actually, they carry
us outside the town to our graves.
Jesus is the one who has the power to raise
people from the dead. Jesus comes to us in our places
of death – places that can feel full of motion, and
therefore life – touching the bier on which we lie,
trying to get us to be still. It is only when we
stand still, when we unmask the powers of death for what
they are, mere smokescreens of motion meant to keep up
the appearance of life, that Jesus is able to say to us, “Young
man, I say to you, rise!” If we truly wish
to find life – not just a frantic hustle and bustle
that feels like life – we must feel his touch urging
us to stop and be still. 1) If we would find
life, we would do well to observe the discipline of Sabbath
(as our Jewish brothers and sisters here in Newton Centre
show us each Saturday). Stopping everything, we learn
that our worth does not depend upon work and busy-ness. 2) If
we would break free from a culture that tells us we are
consumers, we would do well to re-examine our attitudes
toward giving. When we give, we throw a wrench into
the works of the culture of greed that would define us
by our wealth. 3) If we would keep our lives
from self-centered habits and behaviors, we would do well
to take up a discipline of service. Doing something
for others on a regular basis – especially doing
something for the poor and outcast – helps to keep
our lives focused outward on God. 4) If we
want to know God, we would do well to take seriously our
discipline of worship. We Christians are called to
stop all other possible Sunday activities and to make God
our priority for Sunday morning. Starting our week
with God helps to center our week on God.
We live in a world of much movement and
commotion. Amid such activity, it is hard to recognize
that we are, at root, seekers looking for meaning and depth
of life. God has what we are looking for. If
we would but heed his touch and stop, God can bring us
the life we are looking for. And no matter how thoroughly
the powers of death have done their work in us – turning
us in on ourselves, burying us for days (or years!) so
that we are entombed, parading us about in motion but dead – if
we but stop and stand still, we have a God who will say
to us, “I say to you, rise!”
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Synopsis for June
3, 2007 Trinity Sunday
Text: Revelation
4:1 “…there in heaven a door stood
open…”
The words “Doctrine,” “Trinity” and “Orthodoxy” are
words that, in the minds of many, have come to be stale,
stodgy and restrictive. Like an old dog is sometimes
paired with a new puppy in order to “perk it up,” we
will pair these tired words with a new puppy, the word “happy.” “Happy” is
a word rarely used in theological discussion; “joy” makes
frequent appearances; but “happy” is almost
never seen. Our own Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan
Williams, has in one of his works paired these tired
words of “orthodoxy” to “happy.” In
his chapter, “To What End Are We Made,” in
the collection Who is This Man? (not his own collection),
Williams writes how difficult it is to see “why
it is important to confess one God, Father, Son and Holy
Spirit…” and how it is difficult to see
this “not as an academic extra, [nor as] an unnecessary
complication.” “It [confession of the
Trinity] is, or it ought to be,” says Rowan, “an
exhilarating truth: in the most literal sense possible,
the truth that makes us happy.”
Rowan continues: “To
speak of orthodoxy as a truth that makes us happy is
not always the first phrase that might come to mind because
we have, sadly, come to think of orthodoxy as a set of
obligations to sign up to, rather than a landscape to
inhabit with constant amazement and delight at the discovery
opened up…”
“There is no such thing as
coincidence; there is only God’s universe, and
the act of rhyming.” (Evelyn Underhill?) In
wondering why God has called us into being here on the
corner of Centre and Homer streets in Newton, and why
our parish chose the name “Trinity,” and
wondering why God has blessed us with “a landscape
of constant amazement and delight” – our
beautiful building and stained glass – I
am wondering if the reason God called us into being is
to bear witness to the confession of the Trinity as “the
truth that makes us happy.
How could we bear witness to the Trinity
as a truth that makes us happy? Two things:
- This week marks the 70th anniversary
of our “Parable Window” at the back of the
Church. If you’ll notice the six parables
that go across it, you’ll see the progression of
a journey. First is the parable of the sower – it
represents the seed of the Word that has been sown in
us at the beginning of our faith journey. Last
is the parable of the draw net: at the end of our journey,
all the “fish” are gathered into one net,
and the good are sorted from the bad. In the middle are
parables that all have to do with discovery: the
parables of the lost coin, the Good Samaritan, the prodigal
son and the lost sheep. We can bear witness to
the truth of the Trinity by constant searching and discovery
in our own tradition, in our scriptures, sacraments and
teachings. If we are faithful to our own journey
and approach it with an attitude of “amazement,
delight and discovery,” others will take note and
want to journey with us.
- We have a beautiful landscape of “amazement
and delight.” If we are to bear witness to
the truth of the Trinity as the truth that makes us happy,
we must inhabit our landscape. We must
come here Sunday by Sunday to worship. Note the
stained glass window over our altar. It is a scene
of worship in heaven, much as we read today in Revelation. If
we do as they are doing in heaven, something of what
they do in heaven will be brought here to us. We
will here at Trinity possess what all people were created
to do and what, at root, all people desire – the
worship of God.
Over our 118 years, Trinity has gone
through many seasons. It is possible that we are
on the cusp of a season of growth and new life. If
we are faithful to our journey, moving forward not afraid
of what we will discover, and if we are faithful to inhabiting
(and not just having) our beautiful landscape, we will
bear witness to the Trinity as an exhilarating truth. We
will have and be able to share the truth that has he
capacity to make all people happy.
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