THE SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION DAY - JUNE 1, 2003

The Very Revd Ward Ewing, Dean and President of the General Theological Seminary, preached this sermon at the Parish's celebration of the 75th anniversary of the first services held in the church building. The Bishop of Western New York, the Right Revd J. Michael Garrison, presided at a service that included Confirmation, the graduation of students from the Education for Ministry program and the Institution of the Parish's 14th Rector, the Revd Canon Daniel Weir.

I want to begin by saying how glad I am to be here. It’s wnderful to be back in Western New York. And it is wonderful to be present for this celebration of Dan Weir’s new ministry here at St. Matthias. This is a happy day for Dan and for this congregation. Thank you for allowing me to be part of it.

And what a celebration — the Bishop present, New Ministry, Confirmation, Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows, Commemoration of the first service in this building, EFM graduation, all in the context of the Eucharist — if you had a wedding and a funeral as part of this event I think that would have covered every possible service. This is clearly more than a celebration of a new rector, this is a celebration of the life and ministry of this congregation. So in the next few minutes I want to reflect on the nature of the church and the role of the ordained leadership. I will do so by asking two questions — questions I believe are central to the life and ministry of the church — questions for you to reflect upon further. So get out your paper and pens, you have one hour to answer — Oh no, wrong context.

The first question — What are the marks of a faithful Jesus Community?

Second — Are the members of the congregation growing into the maturity of the Christian life?

What are the marks of a faithful Jesus community? The New Testament and our catechism tell us that the church is the Body of Christ. So when we ask the question, what are the marks of a faithful Jesus community, we must begin our investigation by asking what were the marks of Jesus’ ministry. To be faithful to Jesus is to understand what Jesus did and to incarnate that ministry in this community for this time.

So, what did Jesus do? He healed the sick. He reached out to the outcast. He taught. He gathered a small group of intimate followers that he trained for leadership. And he confronted the oppressive powers and principalities. Now, let’s look at those statements a bit more closely.

Jesus healed the sick. While many today are uncomfortable with miracles, we cannot look historically at the ministry of Jesus without recognizing that he was known as a spiritual healer. This was the basis of much of his popularity. Crowds came to him seeking healing from disabilities, disease, and emotional illness. They came because Jesus brought healing.

Jesus reached out to the outcast. We all know he healed the lepers who were excluded from the cities for fear of contagion. Illness in Jesus day was seen as punishment from God, so all those Jesus healed were viewed as sinners. Jesus also reached out to others who were outcast — to prostitutes and others labeled as sinners; to Gentiles, he feed the 4,000 in Decapolis, healed the Centurion’s child; to women, whose role in society was less than second class — I hope you are aware that women were part of that intimate group of disciples; that’s why they were in Jerusalem to be the first witnesses of the resurrection.— and to children who were even lower on the social scale than women.

Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God. The kingdom is small, like a mustard seed, but powerful enough, like leaven in a loaf, to affect all of society. The kingdom seeks the lost like a shepherd seeks the lost lamb and welcomes the sinner like a father welcomes home his prodigal son. The kingdom of God honors the dignity of every human being because every person is beloved of God. As such, the kingdom of God often stands in opposition to the kingdoms of this world that abuse the poor while enhancing the position of the powerful.

Jesus gathered a small group of intimate followers. While the number twelve which is symbolic of the tribes of Israel may well represent a later theological understanding of the church, there is no question Jesus gathered a small group of men and women that was amazingly diverse, who traveled with him, who preserved his teaching, and who learned a style of servant leadership characterized by the foot washing at the last supper. As we heard in today’s reading from Acts, Matthias was a member of this inner circle and witnessed the resurrection. He included within his disciples Simon the Zealot, one who was presumably part of the group that sought to overthrow Rome by violent revolution, and Matthew the Publican — a scallywag tax collector who made his fortune by collaborating with the occupying Roman government. Frankly, I cannot image what it must have been like to be among Jesus’ disciples which included women, a Zealot, a Publican, and went about welcoming children, gentiles, and lepers! Not a place for conflict avoidance.

Finally, Jesus confronted the oppressive powers and principalities. It is too easy for us today to read scripture through lenses that filter out the political nature of Jesus’ healing, teaching about the kingdom, and servant leadership training. In first century Judea the religious and political systems colluded to preserve a status quo that kept the wealthy in power while it disenfranchised and oppressed the peasant class. The clearest historical fact about Jesus is that he was nailed to the cross by the political and religious powers of his day because they saw him as a threat to this status quo.

So, what are the marks of a faithful Jesus community? To heal the broken; to include outcasts like gay and lesbian persons or those living with HIV/AIDS, to bridge the divisions of race, class, culture, and even religion; to welcome the sinner with acceptance and forgiveness; to respect the dignity of every human being by opposing those powers that enable a small group of humanity to consume the majority of resources; and to teach about the incredible love God has for every human being and about the corollary that none of us can lord over another, but that we must act as servants one to another. How is St. Mathias doing as a faithful community of Jesus? I cannot answer that question; but to be a faithful community of Jesus, you must ask the question and take a fearless moral inventory.

And this leads me to the second question: Are the members of this congregation growing into the maturity of the Christian life? St. Paul said we are to grow into the maturity of Christ. I suspect that you, like me, must answer the first question with something like, "we are not yet a truly faithful community of Jesus." So, the question is, are we moving in that direction? The Spirit of Christ, promised following the resurrection, given at Pentecost, is present among us — transforming our lives and binding us together into a community that will be continue the servant ministry of Jesus in our world. It does not happen all at once, but if the Spirit is among us, we will be growing.

This is the context for our growing into the maturity of Christ. It is not our individual brilliance, our insights, or our hard work that enables this growth. Rather it is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love, the Spirit of Christ, that leads us and enables our brilliance, our insights, our interaction, our differences, and our hard work as a community to bear fruit as faithful disciples of Jesus. So the question about growing into the maturity of Christ may be refocused to ask, How are we open to God’s Spirit? Do we come to worship expecting to be changed or do we only seek solace for our problems? Do we approach education on Sunday morning or at EFM expecting to be challenged and to find new insights, or are we satisfied with our children’s Sunday school learning about the faith and avoid disturbing new ideas? How can we better position our lives to be open to the working of the Spirit?

This congregation has a strong reputation for education as a result of your efforts in EFM, in youth ministry both here and in the Diocese, and in the children’s Sunday school program. But if we are not yet a truly faithful Jesus community, then we must ask, how can we be more open to the Spirit that we may grow into the maturity of Christ?

Charge to Dan:

Dan, you have been called by God and this congregation to serve here as pastor, prophet, and servant leader. I invite you to examine these two questions in your role as leader, and I charge you with responsibility in each.

Are the members of this congregation growing into the maturity of the Christian life? Your task as leader is to be a rabbi. Growth into the maturity of Christ is a life-long project. You must continue to have an inquiring mind and a discerning heart filled with joy and wonder in all of God's works. You must find time to be open to the Spirit. And then you must persevere in inviting this congregation to inquire, wonder, discern, and grow that together your joy may be full.

What are the marks of a faithful Jesus Community? You have worked as an activist and an organizer. Now take those organizing skills and become a community organizer for this congregation that you may nurture a strong, activist faith community. The question is not whether you will be an activist — we know that will happen. The question is whether this congregation can truly be the Body of Christ — healing the broken, reaching out to the outcast, confronting the destructive powers, and living into the kingdom of God.

Dan, my friend, my brother, be a rabbi and an organizer that this community here at St. Matthias may grow into the maturity of Christ and become more and more a faithful Jesus community.