Occupy Thanksgiving!

A sermon preached at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Delray Beach, Florida

Last Sunday after Pentecost – Christ the King – Proper 29 -  November 19/20,

Ephesians 1:15 – 23; Psalm 100; Matthew 25:31 – 46

Preacher:  The Rev. Canon William H. Stokes, Rector

Occupy Thanksgiving!

Come, you that are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…Matthew 25:34

           

            Target, Macy’s, Kohl’s Sears, Toys – R – Us, Best Buy, Old Navy and a host of other retailers are now opening their doors on Thanksgiving Day to get an early start on “Black Friday.” Some are opening as early as 9 P.M.  Sears and Old Navy are open all Thanksgiving Day.  Personally, I think it’s shameful.  I’m not alone.  I’m not against retail, but come on! Enough’s enough! 

            In a couple of video reports on-line, Wall Street Journal reporter Gwendolyn Bounds, host of the Journal’s podcast, Lunch Break, stated her opinion that “panic” is the primary reason for this as big “brick and mortar” retailers, who find themselves losing out more and more to on-line shopping, try to gain an advantage by creating frenzy around Thanksgiving.[1] 

            In an interview with retail analyst and Journal reporter Ann Zimmerman, Bounds said, “I’m upset about this; I always thought Thanksgiving was sort of sacrosanct….We at least had that night before the Black Friday rush…”[2]  

            Speaking about his dilemma in a different article in The Journal, Best Buy Chief Executive Brian Dunn, said he felt forced to "make a very difficult decision" and open at midnight because rival retailers were doing so, though the decision was controversial inside the company   "I feel terrible," said Mr. Dunn, who was once a store manager, speaking during a conference in San Francisco. "It will change some Thanksgiving plans for our employees. It certainly changes mine."[3]

            Lunch Break’s Bounds, describing the whole phenomenon of retailers opening on Thanksgiving Day as “a travesty,” closed one of her reports saying, “I wish them the best of luck, but I myself am going to start my own Occupy Thanksgiving Movement and stay home.”[4]   Good for her!

            The undermining of the sabbath quality of Thanksgiving Day, which truly is a day to stop and pause and reflect on the things for which we are thankful, is most disturbing.  Across the nation, retail employees will have no choice in the matter, but will be forced to go into work; for what?  So others can get an early jump on purchasing an item that could just was easily be purchased the following day?  It’s insanity.   Is nothing sacred any more? 

            Today, the feast of Christ the King is a good day to reflect on our priorities.  Who or what holds ultimate sway in our lives?    Is it Christ and the values of his kingdom – values made clear in today’s Gospel reading? Or do other claims make their assertions and take hold of our hearts?  Do these latter values ennoble, or degrade us?   In case you can’t tell, I think they degrade us.

            In 1922, the Fascist Black Shirts of Benito Mussolini marched on Rome.  Italy’s economy had been suffering...The government had been a mess.  Mussolini, it was said, “made the trains run on time.”  Just a year earlier, Adolph Hitler’s famous Beer House Putsch had failed.  After serving time in prison and taking time to write Mein Kamph, he would return to the political scene and, with his Nazi party, rise to power.  Following the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1924, Joseph Stalin quickly began to consolidate his power and would soon control Russia.

            It was within this historical context, a context that was witnessing the rise of Fascism, Nazism and Marxism, with the concurrent rise of brutal ideological dictators - all anti-religious, all anti-clerical - that Pope Pius XI established the feast of Christ the King...It was established with the publication of his encyclical Quas Primas, signed December 11, 1925.[5]

            The Encyclical was intended to help the Church refocus itself on what ought to be primary:  Christ and his kingdom.  It is, perhaps, difficult for us as Americans to grasp this feast of Christ the King; after all, we have little experience with kings and kingship and I suspect little desire to find out what they are about. 

            We are a nation forged on democratic values and the freedom of the individual and this is a vitally important contribution we have made to the world.   Still, even our commitment to democratic life is being compromised. Freedom is being sold out.  Forces, market forces, not only vie for our allegiance; they insinuate themselves into our lives and politics, becoming increasingly more daring, corrupting, until they accomplish their ends. 

            There is not a single holiday in this country that has not been co-opted by the marketplace – Labor Day; Presidents’ Day; Independence Day; Memorial Day; Veterans' Day, Christmas and Easter.  In each and every instance, the core meanings of these days have been lost; offered on the sacrificial altar of the marketplace.  What effect does this have on us?  What impact does it have on our narrative and our values as Americans?  I can tell you; it corrodes and erodes them; and it corrodes and erodes us.

            When Pius XI issued Quas Primas he was greatly concerned about anti-clericalism and the declining prestige of the church and its ministers in the face of the rise of secular totalitarian rulers.  The document establishing the feast is not, for me, a compelling read.  I have little concern about these things.  Nonetheless, I appreciate the feast and the need for it, even in our pluralistic society, where it would seem politically incorrect, on many levels, to assert the kingship of Christ.  After all, doesn’t this seem like religious triumphalism?

            Well it could, indeed, be misunderstood in this way and this is always a danger.  The key question to ask is:  What is the nature of the Christ we proclaim as king?  The nature of Christ and his kingship for me is Love…And I am willing to proclaim that Christ anytime, anywhere!

            The EFM (Education for Ministry) classes this past week at St. Paul’s had to wrestle with some of the questions of the early Christological debates of the Church, that is, questions concerning the nature of Jesus as the Christ?  Is he fully human?  Is he fully divine?  How do these natures interact?

            As the earliest church engaged in these debates it became increasingly complex.  Understanding the discussion depended upon understanding the intricacies and nuances of Greek philosophical terms which can be enormously frustrating, perhaps even irritating and also somewhat boring.  If you want to flavor the outcome of some of this debate you can take a look on page 864 of the Book of Common Prayer, in the section titled “Historical Documents of the Church.”  There you will find something titled “Definition of the Union of the Divine and Human Natures in the Person of Christ,” also known as the “Chalcedonian Definition” because it was formulated at the historic Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D.

            For my part, I find it much easier and more compelling to derive my understanding of the nature of Christ and his kingship from reading the New Testament; reading it, marking it, inwardly digesting it, as the collect from last week said so well.[6]  There is great reward in discovering Christ in this way.

            In today’s reading from the Letter to the Ephesians, Paul, or a close associate of his, writes, “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him,  so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints,  and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power”  (Ephesians 1:15 – 19)

            For the writer of this Epistle, the Gospel News is not only about Christ, it’s about all who follow him; who are his disciples….It’s about the early church in Ephesus…It’s about St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach today.  

            “God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.  And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all”  (Ephesians 1:20 – 23).    

            We, the people of St. Paul’s Church are his body, called to be filled with him and in him; called to be  his eyes his ears his hands and feet, called to be Christ’s presence and Christ’s love in the world…What are the implications of this? 

            We are called to spread Christ’s love; the message of his kingdom; we are called to serve as his subjects and his subjects alone….Today’s Gospel about the separation of the sheep and the goats offers a clear picture of Christ’s reign, as Christ sits on his throne of judgment having gathered the peoples of the nations before him.

            “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you form the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me” (Matthew 25:34 – 36). 

            It fills me with great joy to observe that in and through the ministries of St. Paul’s we do these things; each and everyone of them, all the time…These acts of love and service are characteristic marks of Christ and his kingship; they are characteristic of those who would have Christ as their king and sovereign. 

            Contrast this with those whose sovereign and highest values are not Christ and his love, the accursed – cast off to whom Christ says, “I was hungry and you gave me no food; I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing; sick and in prison and you did not visit me….” (Matthew 25:41 – 43).

            Two ways of being; two sets of values:  those who have hearts and minds ruled by a Spirit of generosity; ruled by Christ and his love;  and those who are ruled by other values:  the values of selfishness and greed, for example, who are callous about the needs and wants of others. 

            We see these conflicting worlds portrayed on the news and lived out in our lives every day….Citizens of both worlds occupy our nation. And the forces competing for our allegiance are relentless.   Each and every day we must ask our selves:  to whom do we belong?    Who is our sovereign?  Who is our true king?  What do we hold most sacred and most dear?  These are the questions of this day, this feast of Christ the King.  

            They are questions that come into sharp relief at this time of year as we prepare for what?  Thanksgiving Day with family and friends a time of genuine thanksgiving to God for all the blessings we enjoy; a time of celebrating this with a feast of food and conversation?  Or will that elude us as yet another holiday, holy day, breaks down and concedes it’s identity and our values to the forces of the market?

            As for me, I intend to join Wendy Bounds and to Occupy Thanksgiving; to do so with a glad and grateful heart knowing to whom I am faithful, placing my faith in Christ Jesus and his love, who I pray will always be sovereign in my life.   I hope and pray you’ll join me.

             

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[1]   See “Shoppers Forced to Rethink Black Friday Strategies”  The Wall Street Journal On-Line – Lunch Break – November 15, 2011 at http://online.wsj.com/video/shoppers-forced-to-rethink-black-friday-strategies/ACE3C509-BD28-4AB2-968F-4F2E351F7E96.html?KEYWORDS=Retailers+open+Thanksgiving+Day

[2]  “More Retailers Attack ‘Black Midnight’”  The Wall Street Journal On-Line – November 7, 2011at http://online.wsj.com/video/more-retailers-attack-at-black-midnight/A44E3D4D-C0E1-4BFF-BAD9-814C1F4B6F55.html?KEYWORDS=Lunch+Break+Thanksgiving

 

[3] Bustillo, Miguel and Zimmerman, Ann “More Retailers Attack at ‘Black Midnight’” – The Wall Street Journal On-Line – November 7, 2011 at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203733504577022102816859764.html?KEYWORDS=Retailers+open+Thanksgiving+Day

[4]   See “Shoppers Forced to Rethink Black Friday Strategies”  The Wall Street Journal On-Line – Lunch Break – November 15, 2011 at http://online.wsj.com/video/shoppers-forced-to-rethink-black-friday-strategies/ACE3C509-BD28-4AB2-968F-4F2E351F7E96.html?KEYWORDS=Retailers+open+Thanksgiving+Day

[5]   For the English Translation of Quas Primas go to http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_11121925_quas-primas_en.html

[6]   See The Book of Common Prayer (1979) Collect for Proper 28, page 236.

Occupy Wall Street? What Occupies Your Heart?

A sermon preached at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Delray Beach.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church – Delray Beach, Florida

18 Pentecost – Proper 24 – Year A – October 15/16, 2011

1 Thessalonians 1:1- 10; Ps. 96:1-10; Matthew 22:15 – 22

Preacher:  The Reverend Canon William H. Stokes, Rector

Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's…"  Matthew 22:21

           

            The Occupy Wall Street movement began on September 17 when about 1,000 demonstrators marched on Wall Street and gathered at Zucotti Park, what had been Liberty Square Park.  Media coverage was spotty and the reviews were mostly negative.  A September 23 article titled “Gunning for Wall Street with Faulty Aim,” by N.Y. Times columnist Ginia Bellafante was a pretty typical take.[1]  She wrote: “a diffuse and leaderless convocation of activists against greed, corporate influence, gross social inequality and other nasty byproducts of wayward capitalism not easily extinguishable by street theater, had hoped to see many thousands join its protest and encampment, which began Sept. 17. According to the group, 2,000 marched on the first day; news outlets estimated that the number was closer to several hundred. By Wednesday morning,” she continued. “100 or so stalwarts were making the daily, peaceful trek through the financial district, where their movements were circumscribed by barricades and a heavy police presence. (By Saturday, scores of arrests were made.) By Thursday, the number still sleeping in Zuccotti Park, the central base of operations, appeared to be dwindling further.” 

            She concluded, "The group’s lack of cohesion and its apparent wish to pantomime progressivism rather than practice it knowledgeably is unsettling in the face of the challenges so many of its generation face – finding work, repaying student loans, figuring out ways to finish college when money has run out."[2]  

            But Bellafante’s critique was, perhaps, a little hasty.  Today, the movement has grown to demonstrations in more than 95 cities around the world involving tens of thousands of people.  There are those who are equating it with the Arab Spring up-rising.  We shall see.  Like that uprising, there is no clear leader.  It is a genuinely populist movement being driven, in this social media age, by ordinary people using Twitter, Facebook and Text messaging. 

            Sounding somewhat like Ginia Bellafante, Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal recently wrote, “Occupy Wall Street is not in itself important—it is obvious at this point that it's less a political movement than a be-in. It's unfocused, unserious in its aims.”[3] 

            But Noonan did not completely dismiss the movement, writing, “…it is an early expression, an early iteration, of something that is coming, and that is a rising up against current circumstances and arrangements. OWS is an expression of American discontent, and others will follow. The protests will grow as the economy gets worse.”[4]

            Insightfully she wrote, “A movement that will go nowhere but could do real damage would be ‘We hate the rich, let's stick it to them.’ Movements built on hatred are corrosive, and in the end corrode themselves. Ask Robespierre...”[5] 

            She continued, “A movement that would be helpful and could actually help bring change would be one that said, ‘Enough. Wall Street is selfish and dishonest, and Washington is selfish and dishonest. Together their selfishness and dishonesty, their operating as if they are not part of a whole, not part of a nation of relationships and responsibilities, tanked a great nation's economy. We will reform.’"[6]

            It will be interesting to see how the Occupy Wall Street movement develops.  My guess is that it is not going to dwindle away.  There is too much pain and distress in this country which is being ignored by those in power.  Consequently, those with little power are finding no other outlet.  What began as an easily dismissed movement in this country has become a confrontation that is forcing a clarification of values, challenging us all, and especially our nation’s leadership, Republican and Democrat, conservative and liberal,  to consider what’s most important...

            Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said.  So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” (Matthew 22:15-17). 

            We are in chapter 22 of Matthew’s Gospel, late in the Gospel…We are in Jerusalem….It is after Palm Sunday, after Jesus’ triumphal entry.  His passion and the cross lie ahead in the shadows…What began as an easily dismissed movement, the Jesus movement, has been growing in popularity and numbers.  It has increasingly captured the attention of the people and resonated with them; resonated with their aches and pains.  It has also captured the attention of the Jerusalem religious leadership.  The leadership finds Jesus and his movement threatening.  His teaching is unorthodox.  It is destabilizing. They don’t like him. They are heavily invested in the status quo.  And in this moment; this moment described in chapter 22, their dislike has forced a confrontation; a confrontation that turns out to be about clarifying values…

            Our reading begins by telling us, “…the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said.  So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians”(Matthew22:15).  There is no secret about it; the Pharisees are out to get Jesus.  They send people to entrap him.  Among them are the Herodians….Who are the Herodians? 

            We don’t much about them; there is not a lot of information written but, from their name, we can infer that they are supporters of the Herod, the Jewish King who is a puppet of the Roman Empire…Why do they send these Herodians to entrap Jesus?  Well the question they ask of him makes it very clear:  "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality….” (Matthew 22:16).  We should not take their compliments at face value.  They are not being sincere….They are smarmy….It’s a set-up.  Er, uh Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?  Bang, the trap is sprung!  It’s brilliant.  It’s a darned if you do, darned if you don’t question.

            If Jesus says yes, it’s lawful to pay the taxes, the tribute to the emperor, meaning lawful under Jewish law, under the Torah, Jesus will lose credibility and popular standing with the people who are visceral in their opposition to Rome and its occupation of their country, who find the poll tax an oppressive burden to support the occupying power and also find it blasphemous and wrong under the law as the land belongs to God and not Caesar.  If Jesus supports paying the tax, he risks losing popular support.

            If, on the other hand, Jesus says it is unlawful to pay the taxes, then he risks being charged with sedition and Rome was very hard on seditionists, as Jesus’ later crucifixion clearly illustrates.  The question posed by the disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians appears to offer him no good choice….He appears to face a dilemma…

            But Jesus is not a simpleton or fool.  He knows what they are up to.  He is also not afraid of confrontation.  This is a battle of wits and they came unprepared.  Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?  Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius (Matthew 22:18 – 19).   The denarius was a silver Roman coin that represented a day’s wage.  Note well, Jesus does not pull the coin out of his own pocket, he asks them to produce it. 

            He said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?"  They answered, "The emperor's."(Matthew 22:20)  The Oxford Bible Commentary observes, “…the coin being in the possession of Jesus’ opponents highlights their insincerity:  they have no qualms about using pagan money -- and even bring a coin with the emperor’s image and blasphemous inscription into the holy precincts of the temple.”[7] 

            Jesus said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). 

            It is a brilliant, the perfect response.  The Oxford Bible Commentary is helpful in making clear what has happened in this exchange.  It states, “Instead of trapping Jesus, the Pharisees and Herodians are trapped by him.  Jesus’ words distance him from those who oppose supporting Rome.  At the same time, the inclusion of giving to God what is God’s relativizes the political obligation.  There is here, no firm principle of loyal submission to the state.  Implied, rather, is a reservation regarding the state and a lack of reservation regarding God.  While obedience to God can…coexist with doing what the state requires, obligation to the former overshadows obligation to the latter.  So there is no simple or straightforward rule, but the imperative to the weigh the demands of two (very unequal) authorities.  When those demands are not at odds, obligations to both can be met….In cases of conflict, however, it is manifest which authority requires allegiance”[8] which brings us back to the Occupy Wall Street movement and its concerns.  

            What are the demands God makes of us in our current political and economic climate?  Are there moral and religious values at stake?  To be sure, there are.  Just as there was no coin, no person, or anything else in Caesar’s reign that did not first belong to God, so in our realm all belongs to God as well, and all is of concern to God, including how each and every person is treated.  The common good is not merely a political value, it is a Christian imperative!  We cannot compartmentalize our religious convictions and beliefs from our political and economic life.  Our baptismal covenant calls upon us to seek and serve Christ in all persons loving our neighbor as our self; and to strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being (Book of Common Prayer, p. 305).

            Jim Wallis of Sojourners Magazine visited the Occupy Wall Street movement earlier this month…He asked one of the non-leaders participating about what had drawn him to the protest.  The person answered him, “"I want to have children someday, and this is becoming a world not good for children."[9]

            In a thoughtful and reflective “Open Letter” sent out on-line this past week, Jim Wallis wrote to those participating in the Occupy Wall Street movement about that response from the person concerning the world “not being good for children.”  Wallis wrote to the demonstrators, “My 13- and 8-year-old boys came to mind when I heard his answer, and I felt thankful. It is precisely those deepest, most authentic feelings and motivations that should preoccupy you, rather than how best to form and communicate superficial political rhetoric.  You are raising very basic questions about an economy that has become increasingly unfair, unstable, unsustainable, and unhappy for a growing number of people. Those same questions are being asked by many others at the bottom, the middle, and even some at the top of the economic pecking order. There are ethics to be named here, and the transition from the pseudo-ethic of endless growth to the moral ethics of sustainability is a conversation occurring even now in our nation’s business schools (if, perhaps, secreted inside the official curriculum).”[10]

            “Keep pressing those values questions,” Wallis urged the demonstrators, “because they will move people more than a set of demands or policy suggestions.” “Those can and must,” he observed, “come later.”[11]

            He continued, “And try not to demonize those you view as opponents, as good people can get trapped in bad systems and we've seen a lot of that. Still, you are right for saying that we all must be held accountable -- both systems and the individuals within them. It is imperative that we hear that message right now.  The new safe spaces you have created to ask fundamental questions, now in hundreds of locations around the country and the world, are helping to carve out fresh societal space to examine ourselves -- who we are, what we value most, and where we want to go from here.”[12] Who we are, what do we value most, and where we want to go from here.

            And they brought him a denarius.  Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?"   They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:19 – 21). 

            Who are you? Jesus was asking those disciples of the Pharisees and Herodians.  Who are you? Jesus asks us through today’s Gospel reading….What do you value most?   Where do you want to go from here? 

            Jesus once said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).   As we continue to struggle with the questions that confront us in our society and around the world; questions about justice and fairness and especially about human dignity, it is important to ask, what belongs to Caesar and Caesar’s kingdom that does not first belong to God and God’s kingdom?  Which are we serving?  Which ought we to serve?  Who, what, occupies our hearts?

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[1]   Bellafante, Ginia “Gunning for Wall Street, with Faulty Aim”  - New York Times On-Line – Published September 23, 2011 at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/nyregion/protesters-are-gunning-for-wall-street-with-faulty-aim.html

[2]   Bellafante

[3]   Noonan, Peggy “This is No Time for Moderation”  The Wall Street Journal On-Line, October 15, 2011 at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204002304576629460239286474.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_BelowLEFTSecond

[4]  Noonan

[5]  Noonan

[6]  Noonan

[7]   The Oxford Bible Commentary edited by John Barton and John Muddiman (Oxford:  Oxford University Press,          2001), 873.

[8]  The Oxford Bible Commentary

[9]  Wallis, Jim “An Open Letter to the Occupiers from a Veteran Troublemaker” October 13, 2011 found on God’s Politics blog at http://blog.sojo.net/2011/10/13/an-open-letter-to-the-occupiers-from-a-veteran-troublemaker/

[10]  Wallis

[11]  Wallis

[12]  Wallis

What language shall we use - A sermon preached on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Delray Beach, Florida

19 Pentecost – Proper 13 – September 10/11, 2011

Solemn Observance of the 10^th Anniversary of September 11, 2001

Romans 14:1 – 12; Ps. 103; Matthew 18:21 – 35

Preacher:  The Reverend Canon William H. Stokes, Rector

What language shall we use?

    Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive..."

            Last month, we took our St. Paul’s J2A Youth group to New York City on and Urban Adventure….This group aged 15 – 18 went for a weekend to have fun, to be together; to learn city skills, work on interpersonal skills and have conversations about faith. 

            On Saturday morning, we went down to Ground Zero….It is a construction site now.  A new steel and glass tower is rising on the very place where the twin towers and other World Trade Center buildings once stood.  It was teaming with people that Saturday morning….We kept silence and said a prayer in front of Ground Zero as people whirled around us.  We then went into St. Paul’s Chapel directly across the street from Ground Zero.  St. Pauls’ Chapel is a part of the Episcopal Church. St. Paul’s became a sanctuary and an oasis for first responders throughout the aftermath of 9/11.  Today, in addition to functioning as a church, St. Paul’s Chapel has become a shrine to 9/11,  

            It is likely most of us remember where we were on 9/11. Even today, ten years later, 9/11 stirs up things in us, painful things; grief, sadness, anger, loss.  We live with an ache.  We also live with fear. 

            Today, this 10^th anniversary, we are forced to wonder: can we get through this day without incident?  What do we do with these feelings?  How do we manage them in a way that is healthy?  Can we manage them at all? What are the lasting effects and what is the lasting legacy of 9/11 in each of our lives?

            I need to say it now:  As marred by tragedy as that day was, not all the events of September 11, 2001 were dark…There were the heroic actions of firefighters and EMTs, of policemen and military personnel at the Pentagon, of ordinary people helping one another. 

            Many people asked on that day, and many people continue to ask, “Where was God?” My response is always, right there; right there in the selfless sacrifice of all those people who did not think of their own safety, but acted for the sake of others at great risk, and in far too many instances, at the highest cost.  Greater love hath no man than this, Scripture says, than to lay down his life for his friends... (John 15:13).  On September 11, 2001, that greater love was shown over and over and over again….That’s where God was….That’s where God always is….That is my conviction.

            God could also be found in another place on that day.  God could be found in the maternity center at Boca Community Hospital.  As the world reeled in anguish from the attacks, Laurie A., wife of Eric, mother of Lee, Torie and Elizabeth, gave birth to a healthy, beautiful baby girl; Caroline…I went to the hospital that day….

            I went because I always try to go to the hospital when a baby is born to one of our members.  But I also went that day because I needed that affirmation of life….God was there that day….God could be found in that hospital in the love of that family….God was there in the grace of that precious baby child Caroline. In the midst of the solemnity of today’s observance, we will sing to her and celebrate her birthday and remember that God was there too that day!

            Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams was in New York City on September 11^th.  He was at Trinity Church Wall Street, very close to Ground Zero.  At the time, he wasn’t the Archbishop of Canterbury, he was the Archbishop of Wales. A thoughtful writer and theologian and a deeply spiritual man, he had been invited to speak at a conference on spirituality hosted by Trinity Church.  Courtney Cowart whose video reflections on 9/11 we are going to present after the service, was at the same conference.[1]  

            When the first Tower fell, everyone in that surrounding lower Manhattan area had to evacuated. From his experiences of that awful day, Williams wrote a book, Writing in the Dust:  After September 11[2].  It’s a short book, but very thoughtful.  

            Two insights in William’s book struck me as particularly important.    In the first chapter of the book a chapter titled “Last Words,” Williams made the unsettling observation that there was a great contrast of language that day between the terrorists who used religious language to justify their heinous acts, and the non-religious language of those on planes and in the Towers who used their final moments to express their love to a person dear to them. It was a contrast between what he labeled the “murderously spiritual and the compassionately secular.”[3]  Williams writes, “Someone who is about to die in terrible anguish makes room in their mind for someone else; for the grief and terror of someone they love.  They do what they can to take some atom of that pain away from the other by some inarticulate message on the mobile….”[4]   

            In the book’s second chapter, “Answering Back,” he has another insight about language. He writes, “The day after, there was a phone call from Wales, from one of the news programmes, and I faced a familiar dilemma. The caller started speaking to me in Welsh, which I understand without difficulty, but don’t always find it easy to use in an unscripted and possibly rather complex discussion.  I had to decide:  if I answered in Welsh, the conversation would go on in Welsh, and I had some misgivings about coping with it.”

            “I am spoken to; I have some choices about how to answer.  It seemed a telling metaphor at that particular moment,” Williams observes.  “Violence is a communication, after all, of hatred, fear, or contempt and I have a choice about the language I am going to use to respond.  If I decide to answer in the same terms, that is how the conversation will continue.”[5]  It’s a provocative observation.  Two wars and a high number of military and civilian casualties have occurred in the wake of 9/11. Terrorism has not abated but, instead, has grown and spread since that tragic day ten years ago.  What language will we continue to use?

            Of course, there were many and various responses to 9/11, and there continue to be….And responses differ and especially if one is directly connected to the events of that day.   The anguish is still raw for those who were there; for those who escaped and survived; for those who lost loved ones in New York, Washington or Pennsylvania….None of us can speak for them.  None of us can, or should tell them how to feel….how to respond, how to grieve.

            Still, if we are honest, we must acknowledge that 9/11 seduced too many of us into modes of lasting hatred, fear, anger, prejudice and vengeance …Because of the despicable actions of zealous Islamists, we paint with a broad stroke and are angry with all Muslims.  Hate crimes against Muslins in this country have soared since 9/11.  There are on-going battles about having Muslims in our communities, over allowing them to build Mosques. 

            In many ways, this is an understandable and very human response to acts as heinous as those which took place on 9/11.   Still, we must ask ourselves, what has happened to us as Americans since 9/11? What language do we speak?  Is it the language of our core documents:  We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.  That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…[6] Or has anger and hatred led us to stray from these?

            What language do we speak as Christians?   I can’t help but be struck by the appropriateness of the two readings for today.  I didn’t pick these readings for today’s service.  They are appointed by the lectionary according to the normal cycle for Year A. Today, Christians across this country, not only Episcopalian; but Lutheran, Presbyterian, Catholic, Methodist and all the others who share this Common Lectionary are hearing these very same lessons….

            They are hearing Paul’s words to the Romans, We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves.  If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's (Romans 14:7 – 8).  That’s Gospel news to me as I think about those who died on 9/11.  They inspire me as I consider those who made the ultimate sacrifice…We do not live to ourselves… Each and every fireman who entered the inferno of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon knew that.  The passengers who fought with the highjackers over Pennsylvania knew that.   

            But we must also hear Paul’s challenge from his Letter to the Romans:  Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God (Romans 14:10).         

            How can we not pass judgment on those who acted with such brutality, with such a callous and heinous disregard for human life?  How can we not despise them?  And yet, their judgment does not belong to us.  Judgment belongs to God alone.   If we insist on judgment, what do we do about the judgment which must be rendered upon us as a nation that has dropped hundreds, thousands, of bombs; launched drone missiles, since hostilities began in Iraq and Afghanistan, killing innocent civilians, many of them women and children, labeling these casualties with the misnomer “collateral damage?”   What about the language of judgment here? 

            And what do we do with today’s Gospel reading concerning forgiveness?  What about Peter’s question, “Do we need to forgive as many as seven times?” (Matthew 18:21)  What about Jesus’ response, which really doesn’t mean “seventy-seven times;” it means we are to forgive our brother or sister countless times! (Matthew 18:22).

            And that parable, about the unforgiving servant!  How could we have that parable on this day of all days? (Matthew 18:22 ff).  Who is that unforgiving servant in the story?  Who are we in that story?   Are we the one’s owed the debt?   Are we the ones who show mercy?   Are we the ones to whom mercy is shown?   Oh, this painful, difficult business of forgiveness! Aren’t there some things we are allowed not to forgive? How can we ask or expect those whose husbands or wives or sons and daughters were brutally murdered on that day to forgive? 

            I can’t answer that question.  Each person must answer that question for him or herself….Each and every one of us must always answer that question for him or herself.

            I can, however, ask another question….What is the cost to us when we don’t forgive?  What do we do to ourselves?  Do we not allow ourselves then to be victimized over and over again by a reliving of the wrong done to us?  Do we not then give tremendous power to those who have wronged us?  What kind of people will this make us?  What kind of people has it made us?   Forgiveness is not only a matter of grace we extend to others, it is an act of grace we extend to ourselves and a means of grace by which God heals us and makes us whole….This is the language and the reality of forgiveness.  Does this language, this Christian language, have anything to say to us on this day?

            On Friday a story appeared in Episcopal Life On-Line about events that day at Ground Zero and at St. Paul’s Chapel.  I want to share some of that article with you.  It’s titled “Responding to the 9/11 attacks, St. Paul's Chapel answered act of evil with language of love.”[7]  It’s a story of contrasts.  Here’s some of what it says: 

           

     In the days after the World Trade Center towers fell, heaven and hell stood side by side in lower Manhattan.  St. Paul's Chapel in New York became the focal point of a remarkable effort to support the workers at nearby Ground Zero after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Hundreds of volunteers from myriad vocations, religions, ages and income levels ministered to firefighters, construction workers and others working in what they called “the pit.”
     "For me, it became apparent very early that the pit was a symbol of suffering and death and darkness, which I began to equate with Good Friday, and St. Paul's was the symbol of new life, rebirth and hope, and therefore a symbol of Easter,” said the Rev. Fred Burnham, retired director of the Trinity Institute at Trinity Episcopal Church, Wall Street, in Manhattan.

     Burnham and Courtney Cowart, who handled grants for spiritual formation and development at Trinity Church, were preparing to videotape meditations with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams (then archbishop of Wales) and others when the terrorist attacks instead sent them running for their lives.
     Directed by security to a rear stairwell after the first tower fell, Burnham recalled, “we were choking and having difficulty breathing there as badly as we had inside the building.” Realizing they were likely to die, the group shared a profound moment that changed his life.  “What we discovered in that moment was how love and compassion transcend all evil,” Burnham said. “It was in that moment that I realized that I was not afraid to die but also recognized that the real meaning of life was in relationships. … It was as if out of the darkness of that near-death moment came total realization both of love but also of liberation from fear.”  That liberation soon led to action.
     On Sept. 12, 2001, Cowart said, Williams preached: “Yesterday, we were spoken to in one language, and we now have a choice of in what language we respond to the conversation that was initiated by the attack.” And he asked, “What is the language of Christians?”  At St. Paul's, the language was love. Burnham and Cowart helped organize the volunteer effort and, later, to spread the word about what happened at [St. Paul’s].
     Burnham recalled firefighter John Misha telling a reporter [at St. Paul’s Chapel]: “Every day, I spend most of my time on my hands and knees, digging for body parts with my bare fingers.”  Then he went on to describe evil, darkness, suffering, death, in all the vivid language of somebody who spent that much time in the pit and who knew hell. Then, like he was rising out of hell, he stood up as straight as he could, threw out his chest, sucked in air, threw his arms into the air, and with a huge grin on his face and tears running down his cheeks, he said to her, “And then I get to come here....”
     “'When I walk in the front door of this place, dripping with blood, they hug me, they kiss me, they bring me in and treat me like I'm a member of the family. I have never known such respect anywhere ... And I sit and cry and weep, and I am born again."

     Master crane operator Joe Bradley recounted sitting on a curb in the middle of the night when young Salvation Army volunteers, sporting pink hair and bandanas, gave him water and cold towels and put dry socks on his feet. He thought about when the Yankees won the World Series.  “I'd always thought that's what New York was all about, those kind of heroes,” he said. “It was the little girl with the pink hair that became my hero that night.”
     "I've learned a lot about good and evil," he said. "I've learned a lot about the power of prayer. I never knew anything about Episcopalians or Presbyterians or gays or people with nuts and bolts through their cheeks or those Broadway people, but now I know them all. ... They are the heroes."
     “Standing on St. Paul's porch and viewing the pit, one could see two choices for the world,” Cowart said: “The future that leads to the destruction of the site, or the future that leads to the kind of community and life that we saw was possible at St. Paul's [Chapel]. ...”[8]

           

            Today we remember a very dark day and a series of murderous, inexcusably hateful acts….It is, in many ways, a Good Friday experience….But our story, our language, refuses to leave it there….Oh we acknowledge the reality….We are not in denial….We know there was death and nightmarish suffering….We know there is grief and nightmarish suffering still….But we are a people who place our hope and confidence in a God who is Love….We are Easter people and we declare that the falling towers are not a final word, as devastating as their fall was to us.  No, we declare, that light which was shown on 9/11 in the heroism and self-sacrifice of so many; in the passengers who fought with the highjackers over Pennsylvania to avoid further catastrophe.  We declare that that light rose from the dust and ashes of New York and Washington and Pennsylvania, refusing to be consumed; that that love and light, Easter love and Easter light rose and reclaimed that awful day and reclaims it still; that it reclaimed us then and reclaims us now as people of the light, as people of the always victorious Easter light.  

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[1]  See Dr. Courtney V. Cowart - Reflections on September 11th, 2001 at  http://vimeo.com/28661000

[2]   Williams, Rowan Writing in the Dust:  After September 11 (Grand Rapids, MI and Cambridge, UK:  William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002

[3]   Williams, Chapter 1 “Last Words” 6ht paragraph Kindle edition location 72 - 73

[4]   Williams, Chapter 1 “Last Words” 6th paragraph Kindle edition location 34 - 37

[5]   Williams, Chapter 2 “Answering Back” 2^nd paragraph beginning at Kindle location 73 - 75

[6]  From The Declaration of Independence.

[7]   Sheridan, Sharon “Responding to the 9/11 attacks, St. Paul's Chapel answered act of evil with language of love” which appeared on Episcopal Life On-Line on Friday, September 9, 2011 – See http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79425_129711_ENG_HTM.htm

[8]   Sheridan

Labor Day – We’re all in this together!

(A sermon preached at St. Paul's Episcopal Church)

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Delray Beach, Florida

12 Pentecost  - Proper 18 -  September 3-4, 2011

Romans 13:8 – 14; Ps. 119: 33 – 40; Matthew 18: 15 – 20

Preacher:  The Reverend Canon William H. Stokes, Rector

          

The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You    shall not steal; You shall not covet"; and any other commandment, are summed   up in this word, "Love your neighbor as yourself."  Roman 13:9

           

            I am thinking of the importance of community this weekend.  I am thinking of community as we celebrate our kick-off to a new Church-School year.  I am thinking of community as we bless backpacks for children and youth, some of whom have already begun school, some of whom will begin this week.  I am thinking of community as families and friends gather here and in different places – the beach, the mountains, amusements parks in Orlando -  to get in that one last hurrah in of summer. 

            This weekend, I also can’t help thinking of community in the context of the Labor Day observance.  How often the real meaning of this observance gets lost, subsumed under the end of summer blow-out and blow-out sales.   I’m willing to bet more people associate Labor Day with automobile sales than with the American worker.  How sad, especially this year. 

            Friday’s bad news on the economy consisted of the jobs report which stated there was no growth and that unemployment in the nation remains flat at 9.1%.[1]  In the State of Florida it is 10.7%.[2]  And actually, because both those numbers – the State and the Federal Numbers – only count jobless claims and do not include those who have given up the job search, the truth of the matter is that real unemployment and underemployment is much higher.  More than 14 million Americans are unemployed right now; the highest number of unemployed Americans since the Great Depression.  As the unemployment benefits of many of the unemployed have expired and are exhausted, this is a real crisis and it’s a crisis, not only for those who are unemployed, but for us all.    

            I was angered this past week at the ridiculous display by both Republicans and Democrats in Washington over the timing of the President’s jobs speech and I’ll bet you were angry too.[3]  If you weren’t, you should have been.  It is clear there was gamesmanship on both sides.  Don’t tell me it was the President’s fault.  Don’t tell me it was the Speaker of the House’s fault.  It was stupid! What a callous and trite exchange in the face of the plight of real people; the plight of fellow of our citizens.   How dare politicians play games during a crisis such as this!   As The New York Times pointedly stated earlier  this week in an editorial chiding both sides, Oh, Grow Up![4]   Sadly, it looks like both parties are going to expend their efforts in trying to score points and make the other party look bad in the face of an up-coming election year, instead of putting their heads together to solve the problem of the Nation’s economy and unemployment.  It’s shameful! A pox on both their houses!

            There is a collect for Labor Day in the Book of Common Prayer.  It’s a wonderful collect.  In that collect we pray, Almighty God, you have so linked our lives with one another that all we do affects for good or ill all other lives.  So guide us in the work we do, that we may not do it for self alone, but for the common good; and as we seek a proper return for our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.  Amen [5]

            We need to pray that prayer earnestly….Several critical things jump out at me from that collect.  First, the collect assumes that as citizens of this country, we are all part of an inescapable network that makes us interdependent with one another.[6]   In fact, the very fabric of a capitalist society depends upon this.  I can’t do everything myself, so I exchange money, goods and services with others who do what I can’t.   My family will tell you that I am not at all handy.  In fact, it’s a big joke in our house. 

            I tried to fix a toilet once and ended doing more damage and having to call in a plumber and spent a couple of hundred dollars to fix what I had fixed.  That is pretty much my experience with any “fix-it” project.  I don’t have the skills; I don’t have the patience.  Thank goodness my sons Johnny and Richard are both skilled with their hands.  Whenever something needs to be done; they push me aside.  If they can’t fix it, the say, “Dad take out your tool kit” and I take my credit card out of my wallet.

            I’m thankful that Bill Hurd is our parish Administrator.  Bill’s skill sets are amazing, and especially when it comes to the physical plant.  Occasionally, when something has gone wrong with the physical plant, Bill will come into my office and start explaining the problem.   After a short-while, my eyes glaze over and I say to him, “Bill, do you remember who you are talking to?”   That’s the way of our country.  We have “gifts that differ”  (Romans 12:6).   We need each other. 

            The second thing that strikes me from the collect for Labor Day is that it assumes a notion of self-sacrifice; that what we do, we do not only for ourselves and a sense of personal fulfillment, but that we do it for the common good.

            This summer I decided to read Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, in large part because it has become something of a manifesto in very powerful quarters of political and corporate America.[7]  Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand’s screed about greed.  It is the original inspiration for Gordon Gekko’s famous line in the movie Wall Street, “Greed is good.”[8]   The central creed of Atlas Shrugged’s major protagonist, John Galt, the single statement around which he organizes his entire life, around which the entire novel is organized, is summed up in the statement, “I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another, nor ask another man to live for mine.”[9]   Wow!  

            Imagine if those who have served and continue to serve in our Nation’s military thought that way.  There would be no such thing as the Medal of Honor!  Imagine if those who serve as EMTs, Firefighters and Police Officers thought that way.  How many more people would have died on 9/11! 

            Ayn Rand’s philosophy is a philosophy of hateful self-interest. There is nothing wrong with healthy individualism…There is nothing wrong with rewarding ability and accomplishment; these makes things happen; it elevates the human being.   But Ayn Rand’s elevates individualism to an absurd an untenable level.  It repeats the American myth of the “self-made man” which is just that, a myth.  There is no such thing. 

            All of us have depended on others in some way shape or form. Yes, some work harder; some are more driven and motivated than others.  And yes, some are lazy, and some are a drag on society.  Some are a drag because they are; others a re a drag through no fault of their own, and require our thought and care; but none of us lives or succeeds in a vacuum.  We depend on others.  Human beings were and are created to be relational; relational with each other; relational with God.   

            In today’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans, Paul writes, “Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”  Paul continues, “The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law (Romans 13:8 – 10)  It’s about relationships.  

            To love another is to be in relationship with him or her… and love, necessarily means sacrifice…sacrifice and compassion for others.  This is the core message of Jesus Christ and of all who would be his followers. Unfortunately today, radical, Ayn Rand style individualism is on the rise and the whole concept of “the common good” is, quite literally, under attack.   There’s even a new business book on the shelves at Barnes and Noble titled, I am John Galt[10] after Rand’s central character.

            The third thing that strikes me about the collect for Labor Day is that it calls us to deep empathy: As we seek a proper return for our own labor” it says, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work…

            There is no doubt that we live in a global world and globalization is a complicated thing.  It brings with it benefits and challenges.  It has helped raise many boats around the world; most notably in India and China.  But globalization has also put the American worker and American manufacturing behind the eight-ball.  It’s a complicated problem without any easy answers; but one thing is sure:  Greater efforts must be made to put this country back to work.  If these efforts aren’t made, all of us will be hurt. 

            Right now, the two largest growing sectors of American jobs are the financial services industry and the health care industry; that is, those who manage our money and those who manage our health.  In the long-term, that’s a formula for disaster for us all. 

            Instead of demonizing and vilifying the American worker, (which has become a too popular thing to do), we all have a vested interest in seeing the best minds in this country in the political, corporate and manufacturing worlds putting their heads together and figuring out how to put America to work again.  That should be part of our prayer this Labor Day weekend and part of our expectation from Washington this week. 

            The jobs situation and the economic situation in this country is not an abstraction.   People are hurting across this nation; more than 14 million people are unemployed.  The families of these people are suffering.  As Christians this is not something we can ignore.  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep, St. Paul writes in another part of his letter to the Romans (Romans 12:15).

            As we observe this Labor Day weekend, as people flock to the beaches and the amusement parks at Orlando; as we bless backpacks in this church, we need to remember those who can’t afford a day at Disney.  We need to remember those who are struggling to get their children school supplies and new outfits for school because they are out of work; and those who have to decide whether to pay the rent or buy groceries.  We are to stand with them and stand up for them, and especially by making our concerns known to those in power, Democrat and Republican alike. 

            We also need to pray earnestly for one another; because we’re all in this together.  In praying, we can also have confidence in Christ’s promise, “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them”  (Matthew 18:20)

Let us pray:

Almighty God, you have so linked our lives with one another that all we do affects for good or ill all other lives.  So guide us in the work we do, that we may not do it for self alone, but for the common good; and as we seek a proper return for our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.  Amen.

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[1]   See Economic News Report -  Employment Situation Summary, September 2, 2011 - Bureau of Labor Statistics at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

[2]   See Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary, August 19, 2011 - Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm

[3]   See Cooper, Helene and Calmes, Jackie “Obama moves jobs speech after skirmish with Boehner”  NY Times, August 31, 2011 - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/us/politics/01obama.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=President%20job%27s%20speech&st=cse

[4]   Editorial, NY Times, September 2, 2011 - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/02/opinion/oh-grow-up.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

[5]   1979 Book of Common Prayer – Collect for Labor Day, page 261.

[6]   See King, Jr.  Martin Luther “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” – April 16, 1963   http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/resources/article/annotated_letter_from_birmingham/

[7]   Rand, Ayn  Atlas Shrugged  - New York:  Dutton - Penguin Group, 2005  (first published 1957).  

[8]   The reference is to a character in the 1987 Oliver Stone movie Wall Street

[9]   Atlas Shrugged –  Part III, Chapter 1 “Atlantis”  – Kindle edition locations 15774 – 79 – paragraph beginning “The door of the structure…”

[10]   Luskin, Donlad and Greta, Andrew  I am John Galt; Today's Heroic Innovators Building the World and the Villainous Parasites Destroying It (Hoboken, NJ:  John Wiley  & Sons, Inc. 2011).