Watered by the Fountain of Living Water

May the words of my lips and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Two guest preachers in a row, I’m sure that Father Tom is enjoying this little mini vacation as we all prepare for Lent starting in a couple of weeks.

For those of you who don’t know me yet, my name is Rayna and I am our “Ministries Coordinator.” Which, if you’re wondering what that means, I’m still figuring that out myself. The best way I’ve found to describe what I do is that when people in need are seeking help, at some point in their search they start turning to churches, and I’m the person they meet with and talk to when that journey brings them to St. Paul’s. And when we meet, I go through my folder of resources and try to help them navigate the systems and processes that are already built to help, as we build our own. I do this because having been someone who shares many of the experiences of the people I talk to and meet with, the system as it is, is not built for people to navigate easily, and especially not in the midst of crisis. Once we have looked at every possible avenue, I look to the budget that God has blessed us with, and then have to make a decision that when I have to say “No, I’m sorry, we just cannot help at this time, I can put you in for references at Crossover and point you in the direction of others who may be able to help” I’m met with tears. Tears of exasperation and frustration because in their hearts they knew that that would be the answer, because of course it would be, it’s the answer every other person they’ve talked to has given them. Tears that represent the shattering of their last clinging on of hope. Because what good does a “No” and a “here’s some resources” do when the consequences of not receiving help are homelessness or food insecurity. The consequences are rooted in a poverty that is not just one of wealth, but is one that is created and maintained by the world.

However, when I get to say “Yes, we can help you, let me call Tiffani at Family Promise so that we can make sure every resource is covered.” or “Yes, let me just talk to my priest and give him the run down.” I am still met by tears, but they are tears of a very different nature. Tears of joy and laughter as this burden has been eased by the one whose burden is light. There have been times where this has resulted in joy that had to be expressed through the deepest of embraces, embraces where I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit and the totality of what this meant to the persons being helped. It is this joy which I strive for every time, because it is in this totality of meaning and this presence of the Holy Spirit that the Kingdom of God is made present, the Love of God is truly felt, and the tears of the weeping are wiped away and replaced with peace. It is those moments in which those who are hungry are filled and you see the inheritance of the Kingdom come to bear. I rejoice in those moments, for God is great and being provided any opportunity to share just a little portion of the grace that He has shown me in my life to others is all that I am here on this earth to do.

Now, I’m no Dr. Pugh, but what I am, like her, was Baptist. So humour me as we dig into the word of the Lord and hear what He is telling His church. Blessed are you, who are poor. For the Kingdom of God is yours. What does this mean, the poor are blessed and the Kingdom of God is theirs? The hungry will be filled and the weeping will have their tears brushed away and they will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. We are to rejoice and leap for joy when we are hated? What does all of this mean to us? We are Episcopalians. Traditionally this has meant we are well fed and well off, just look around us at some of the names on the stained glass windows, or through our history books of who have held positions on the vestry here. But, I ask this, are we poor in our souls, my friends? Are we poor in our spirit? In our hearts? Do we have riches on this Earth, but are destitute in Heaven? Do we do the hard parts of faith, and not just the easy parts alone? Let’s dig into these differences and what our calling to be Christian is as we await His coming in Glory.

The beginning of Jesus’ ministry began with a dove descending from Heaven and God’s voice saying “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.” And His ministry sought the reconciliation of the poor, and of the hungry, and of the grieving, and of the oppressed. A ministry that the apostles were commissioned to continue, and that we have been baptised into with our own Baptismal vows - that with God’s help we will proclaim by word and by example the Good News of God in Jesus. That we will seek and serve Christ in all persons. That, my friends, with God’s help, we will strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being. And that begins, my friends, with us and our reconciliation with Christ, and our reconciliation with one another. It begins with our adoption and grafting into His family, but then continues with those who we are blessed to serve and to love. Those who huddle for warmth against the door of the church, those who come to coffee hour and leave with a full belly and a plate to go. Those who we do not yet know, and those who do not yet know that God is everything that they have been looking for.

The two-fold role of the Church has always been first to proclaim the Gospel of God, and second to continue His work on earth. Work that did not begin with sermons and preaching, but work that began with His power going out amongst the people and Healing them. And as we look to fulfill these roles, who is it that needs that Healing the most? Is it those who have all of their needs met and have put their trust and their faith in man and money? Or is it those who are cold and hungry and seek Hope? Blessed are the poor because the Kingdom of God is yours. You are blessed, because God has come to Heal you and give you Hope. Now, in this moment, in this time, in this place. God is present to Heal and to restore you to the fullness of your being. All that is required is faith and belief.

Faith and belief that despite how badly we mess up in the world, despite how badly our lives sometimes can be, God is still present in our lives. Belief in God’s arrival on earth in human form, just like you or I. Faith that He would fulfill the Law and be sacrificed for our sins, without a second thought of how bad or how many they may be. Belief that He rose again, having conquered death, and proclaimed the reclamation of all the nations - not just one family and one portion, but the entirety of humanity, every brother, every sister, every sibling both here with us and not yet here. Faith that He then ascended to the right hand of the Father so that we can carry on His ministry of hope and reconciliation and healing.

For us, my friends, for those who have died and been raised again in the life of the Living Water, we find reconciliation with God in the partaking of His body and blood. Coming to His table as we are, broken, poor, hungry, weeping, we find our fulfillment and our satisfaction. Because it is in the breaking of the Bread that like those disciples on the road to Emmaus, Christ reveals Himself to us. And our tears are wiped away, our bellies are filled, and our spirit is healed. There is no requirement to come to God perfected already, only to come as we are. That we will be renewed in Him, in the shared breaking of bread and the corporate confession of our sins, for we have all of us failed, but none so badly as to be without opportunity to be forgiven. We need not come with the inhibition of who we think the Church wants us to be, we come only as we are offering ourselves wholly to God’s Mercy, and in the shelter of His hand are we comforted. Christ sat and ate with the poor, the sick, and the hungry so that we may also do the same.

It is easy, my friends, to be dismayed when all we see around us is distraction, and excess, and hatred, and war. It is easy to be swept up in the high speed nature of man’s world, trying to make sure we get our bills paid on time, our tables have food on them, and trying to split ourselves between all of our social obligations. But hold on to faith, my friends, do not allow yourself to be led down the path of the wicked, to be blown away like chaff in the wind. Alas, it is those who are rich--who have put their trust in their earthly riches--that believe they have no need of God. They have all they want, and believe they have all that they need. They are a completed people in their own eyes, and in the eyes of those they have led down the path of the unrighteous. Yet the time comes when the value of all their wealth will be meaningless. A time comes when they will ask for just a dipped finger of cool and refreshing water. For they are fed from the abundance of their wealth, and yet still starve and lack nourishment of their souls--for man cannot survive on bread alone, but gains life from every word that flows from the mouth of God. The riches they possess are dust, and they will be left hungry and weeping for they have not received the inheritance that comes to us as believers. And it is in this, my friends, that we must remember that we must love them also. That whilst we wipe the tears of those who are poor in this life, and fill them with the hope of God, we must not forget the souls of those who hate us. For they too are poor. They are poor of spirit, and when this life passes to dust, they will have nothing and we will have our treasures that have been stored in Heaven. And in our rejoicing, they will mourn their loss, and in our feasting they will go without. But this is not what we should hope for, we should hope that they will come to know Christ as we have. That in our showing of love, and of our laughter, and of our rejoicing, they will seek Christ by our example.

We have seen this play out over the past month as inmates fought forest fires in Los Angeles for $25 a day only to be met with scorn and locked showers. That they continued to serve a people who did not serve them. We have seen this play out as the Church has stood its ground on the protection and sheltering of our neighbors, only to be met with accusations of committing a sin of empathy. And yet, we have stood firm in our commitment to the dignity of every human being. We see all around us, even in this very room, people who are scared, scared of losing access to gender affirming care, scared of losing the right to their marriages, scared of every knock at the door because it could be ICE with an unsigned warrant. Dr. Pugh last week said, there is no cavalry coming and she challenged us to respond. We must rise to the occasion of our time, as we seek to serve those around us. We must not insulate ourselves and grow weary from fear. It is a time for rejoicing in our opportunity to fling forth the doors of the Church and to stand firmly in our beliefs.

For, my friends, we have planted the trees of our belief beside the river of God’s righteousness, being watered evermore by the Fountain of Living Water, and we will bloom in glorious ways. Being renewed in the taking of the eucharist, and participating in the Healing of the Kingdom of God. Jesus taught us the righteous way of living; Love God, love each other, love even those who hate us and despise us. The epistle of James tells us “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Unstained by wickedness, unstained by hatred, and unstained by the hardening of our hearts when we see a world that is so desperately in need of our love. Let those who do not love us, find the peace that we have found in Him. Let those who are rich, find humility in God’s sacrifice for us. Let those who oppress others, find reconciliation in our outstretched hand. For our friends who are still seeking God’s Healing let them find it in this place, let them see Christ in us, and let them be renewed in spirit and body by the breaking of the bread.

Let us continue to bring forth the Kingdom of God, for it is already here, my friends, it never left. Next month, as Lent begins, there will be opportunities to learn ways to get involved here at St. Paul’s. To get involved with outreach, get involved with diversity, get involved with pastoral care, and all of our other ministries. To become an acolyte, and serve the eucharist. To become a lector and read the words of the Lord. And to join our choirs and lift your voice in praise of God. Take heart, my friends, in the resurrection of the Lord and proclaim the Good News of God in Christ by word and by example.

As St. Teresa of Avila said:

“Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks Compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, Yours are the eyes, you are his body.”

Now let us rejoice in our service to others and go forth in love with hopes of peace and reconciliation in the world. Amen