The Day of Pentecost

Scripture here

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Do Not Settle

“Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Mortal, can these bones live?!

Mortal, can these bones live?!

Can the blood-soaked ground give rise to flowers?

Can the long-dried sinews draw together the scattered?

Mortal, can these bones live?!

The bones of our dead.

The bones of the Church.

The bones of our democracy?

Can the death that we have wrought be transformed into life?

Into new life?

Listen, listen and hear dry bones, the word of the Lord.

The word that is life.

The word that is law.

The word that is love.

Take in the breath that has been offered. Take it in.

The desert wind brings storms.

The clouds gather.

The four winds converging into one point.

One body.

And those we have slain rise again.

Those we have slain are claimed as “my people”.

“My people”

Says God.

These are my people.

And, they will live.

They will live to drink the water of life.

They will live to birth a new hope.

They will live.

Filled, imbued, with the Spirit of God that gives life,

The Spirit of God that gives life through the truth.

The truth that is the love of God.

The love that cannot be shaken.

The love that sets us free from the grave so that we might live.

So that we might live—live, not for ourselves, but for the world.

And, this is the Spirit of Pentecost, the holy and life-giving Spirit that sets us free so that we might live according to the love of God.

13th century Saint Mechtild of Magdeburg, known for her ardent advocacy for the presence of God’s love, wrote

“Love flows from God into man,
Like a bird
Who rivers the air
Without moving her wings.
Thus we move in God’s world,
One in body and soul,
Though outwardly separate in form.
As the Source strikes the note,
Humanity sings--
The Holy Spirit is our harpist,
And all strings
Which are touched in Love
Must sound.”

We live and move and have our being within the context of the great and holy mystery of God’s love made manifest.

Made manifest not through law or judgement, but through the life-giving Spirit made tangible in fire and wind.

Fire that transforms.

Wind that brings change.

The burning bush that is not consumed.

The pillar of fire leading the Israelites by night.

A baptism by fire.

And the breath that brings life.

Calling us, leading us, transforming us, creating us!

We are made for a purpose.

We are called for a purpose.

We are redeemed for a purpose.

To live the love of God that lives in us.

The self-sacrificial love that sees the presence of God in all people.

That sees the presence of God in each and every human breathing on this planet.

That sees in the broken the Christ.

That sees in the hungry the Christ.

That sees in the persecuted the Christ.

That sees in the persecutor the Christ.

Each and every human breathing.

Part of the abiding presence of God.

And, so we are guided by the Spirit when we give our testimony.

Our testimony on behalf of God.

Our testimony on behalf of God’s people.

Our testimony on behalf of anyone, anywhere, who has been denigrated as anything less than a beloved child of God.

Mortal, can these bones live?

Yes! Yes, they can live!

And, thus our hope.

The hope that prevents despair.

The hope that shows us a way.

The hope that keeps us moving.

The hope that shines a light.

The hope that moves us from death and into life.

For, hope keeps us from settling.

Hope keeps us from giving up.

We must have hope.

We must cling to it,

Search for it,

Live it

Act it

Be it.

Because hope doesn’t settle.

Hope doesn’t bow down before the powers of this world.

Hope doesn’t give up.

Because, if we settle for death we will fail to advocate for life.

People of God, my beloved people of God. DO NOT SETTLE.

Take this Spirit of new life, so freely given, and be as the wind and the fire.

Taking what is and transforming it into what might be.

I’m sure many of you have heard the refrain that has become so common these past years,

“This is not normal”

Gun violence is not normal.

Misogyny is not normal.

Racism is not normal.

Lies are not normal.

We have to remember this.

We have to remember this.

Because if we forget, that God’s intention is unity grounded in love, we begin to abdicate our responsibility, as Christians, to work towards that new creation of water and the spirit to which we are called.

A new creation,

of water and Spirit,

fire and wind.

true love and repentance.

A new creation that casts aside our doubt and fear with the power of a Spirit that speaks so that everyone can hear!

In this coming season, the one we call “after the Pentecost”, I want each of us to spend some time in prayerful consideration of how we will bring life to the bones of this earth. To begin, I invite you to turn to page 832, of the Prayer Book. Prayer number 61, the prayer of of self-dedication,

Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated unto you; and then use us, we pray you, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Use us, to your glory.

Use us, to the welfare of your people.

And, in this may we be wholly yours.

Let the people say,

                                            Amen.

Easter 6B, I have called you friends...

Lectionary readings can be found here

Friends

St. Clement’s is a place which values all people as full and equal members of our community with unique gifts to offer and spiritual lives to be nourished and tended. This is something that I do not take for granted and, as we prepare to welcome Bryan Bliss, our new Children, Youth and Family Formation Director, to St. Clement’s, I’ve been thinking about how grateful I am for St. Clement’s prioritization of multi-generational community.

And, so with gratitude I want to share with all of you one of the reasons I felt called to St. Clement’s…

It all started with a dinosaur.

Actually, two dinosaurs.

A triceratops and a styracosaurus.

Clutched in the hands of my then three-year-old, they accompanied him to church most Sundays.  Perched on the top of the pew, held tight at the altar rail, raised aloft at the dismissal.

They went everywhere…including to parish suppers.

And, one Wednesday night, early in my time here. We went to one of those suppers and as we entered, we were stopped by a parishioner.

A parishioner who was drawn to us, but not because of me—but, because of the small boy who looked up with eager eyes.

“Hey, a triceratops and styracaosaurs! Did you know that the largest triceratops fossil in the world is at our science museum?”

And, the conversation began…

I wasn’t part of it, I was just witness to it. To this moment in which two individuals with a shared interest in fossils bonded over 8-inch-tall plastic figures of dinosaurs.

I’m pretty sure that this particular parishioner was not thinking about the 12^th century saint, Aelred of Rievaulx’s when he addressed my son. However, seminary paid off, and those are the writings which come to mind as I reflect on this moment.

St. Aelred, a Cistercian abbott from the 12th century, was inspired by the Gospel of John and wrote extensively about the centrality of friendship to our lives of faith.

Aelred sees in the words, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”, an action that can be lived out by setting aside our own interests for those of another. Aelred writes, “if a relationship is not between equals, then the stronger or wiser of the friend will seek to diminish himself/herself before the other. “(Aelred, Spiritual Friendship, I.65-66,70 p.47)

Bending a knee, not to bow to a ruler, but to bend to a child. Pulling up a chair, to sit with someone who cannot stand. Lifting up, bowing down, settling, soothing, caring, grieving, laughing.

The young, the old, the somewhere in between. Together.

The gummy smiles of infants met by the toothsome grins of teens.

Friendships between 40 year olds and 90 year olds.

Middle Schoolers taking a turn as guest “experts” at adult forums.

Here we all are—in this body called the church.

Seen. Known. Loved.

A young adult raised within this community speaks to some of the “why” behind this gathering of generations.

“When I did Godly Play training, I was told that when I see a child at church, I should look at them, and say “I am so glad you are here!”

I am so glad to see you. To be with you. To share this space, to break this bread, to sing these songs…

With you.

I am so glad to be with you.

Within these walls, where people who would never have met in any other way are brought together. Brought together to share our stories, to listen to each other, to eat and drink, to pray and laugh, to rejoice and to grieve.

Together.

And, this is where we meet the Gospel together today. Together…

This Gospel addresses an “after the resurrection community” trying to figure what it means to be the body of Christ in the world. Some of the major themes of the Gospel of John, themes we hear in this passage, include "abiding" in God's love, the commandment of love, and laying down one's life for friends.

Seen, known, loved. By each other. By God. By the body of which we are an inseparable part.

And, the Gospel of John becomes a love letter. A hand reaching out, a knowing look, the kiss of peace, a covenant of love.

A covenant of love...

With us. Amongst us. Between us.

Aelred felt that “He who abides in friendship abides in God, and God in him”.  And, so we abide.

In faith and love. Mutuality and respect. Dignity and equity.

And, our church becomes a place in which we seek to create a space in which all can be seen, be known and be loved.

A worthy mission is it not?

Last week, the governing board of St. Clement’s—what the Episcopal Church calls the vestry met for a retreat.

The goal of the retreat was to spend time exploring what it means to create an ethos of welcome here at St. Clement’s.

We studied scripture, we shared our stories—we made organizational charts!

And, in the midst of our stories and our study and our charts…something happened.

It wasn’t in the plans.

It wasn’t on the agenda.

It emerged in conversation and came together as a gift.

A mission and vision statement that sets our hearts, sets our course as a community, as a place which strives to see, to know, and to love each and every one who comes through our doors.

The Spirit spoke and we listened—and so I have a gift to share…

This is God’s table,

All are welcome,

All are needed.

Our presence, our stories, our true selves,

are welcome here.

We see each other with a grateful and open heart.

Together, we are the body of Christ.

Once more,

This is God’s table,

All are welcome,

All are needed.

Our presence, our stories, our true selves,

are welcome here.

We see each other with a grateful and open heart.

Together, we are the body of Christ.

This is who we are and this is who we aspire to be.

Together, called as friends. We aren’t perfect, we aren’t without fault, but we are called anyway.  

As we try to live into the love that we have been so freely given.

Amen.

Prayer cards…instructions.

In your pew, you will find slips of paper with the mission and vision statement printed on one side. Please write your name down on a slip. When you come forward for communion please place the slip in the basket provided. Following this service, as you depart, please take a name from the basket. I am going to ask you to hold that person in prayer this coming week. If you are not able to write your own name, or are with someone who cannot yet write a name, please write their name down on a card for them and help that person get a card when they leave.