Easter 7
Every year at this time one of my parishioners used to remind me that Mother’s Day was nearly impossible for him. He had been abused horribly by his mother and removed from her care into an orphanage. He couldn’t bear all the saccharine sweet odes to motherhood when his own experience had been so traumatic. The only thing that had ever helped was the following prayer, which he heard for the first time when he returned to church. He requested it every year while he was alive and asked me to never forget how complex this day can be for many people. Let us pray.
On this Mother’s Day, we give thanks to God
for the divine gift of motherhood in all its diverse forms.
Let us pray for all the mothers among us today;
for our own mothers, those living and those who have passed away;
for the mothers who loved us and for those who fell short of loving us fully;
for all who hope to be mothers someday
and for those whose hope to have children has been frustrated;
for all mothers who have lost children;
for all women and men who have been our substitute mothers;
and for the earth that bore us and provides us sustenance.
We pray this all in the name of God, our great and loving Mother. Amen.
While Mother’s Day is not a celebration on the Church calendar, both the Feast of the Ascension, which was celebrated this past week and the Feast of Pentecost, which takes place next Sunday are among the biggest festivals in the liturgical calendar. This is the time in between when Jesus physically leaves his followers and the Holy Spirit descends in power in The Acts of the Apostles.
The Book of Acts goes by another name, an unofficial name that comes from those who have read it often and are excited by the content. It is often referred to as the Acts of the Holy Spirit. The reason for this is that while the apostles and followers of Jesus are pretty active, it becomes clear that they are empowered and guided by something or someone much more influential than their puny human selves. Luke makes it clear that the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from God and is sent into the world by Jesus is the One blowing through each situation and setting people on fire.
This is both scary and comforting. On the one hand, it explains how a measly crowd of 120 people gathered in a poor part of Jerusalem are able to transform the world and be part of the conversion of thousands of people to a new life of faith. It wasn’t up to them! They were agents of the Holy Spirit, filled by God, given the words to say and the courage to speak to princes and paupers, Roman officials and religious leaders, foreigners and friends. Every time they took the risk of living out passionately their faith in Jesus, people around them were converted, healed and set free. Many of them were so excited and amazed that they left their jobs and began traveling through the Mediterranean preaching the good news as the Spirit led them from place to place.
Next week we come to the end of this year’s Spiritual Pilgrimage. Together we have shared spiritual autobiographies about how our lives have been changed and shaped in ways that we might never have expected. Next week our pilgrims will be officially welcomed as part of this faith community and may share their own personal mission statement as they take this next step on their journey. Many of us have been surprised to find ourselves in this small, quirky congregation and believe that God’s Spirit has led us to this place and empowered us to love and serve God and our neighbors in unexpected ways.
Acts tells the story of the replacement of Judas as one of the apostles. His betrayal and death leaves them one short of the number of the twelve tribes of Israel and they engage in a process of appointing a qualified candidate to the position. This is certainly one of those moments where a big decision is about to happen that will not only affect the individual chosen but the future of the ministry. There are just two viable candidates who are eyewitnesses from Jesus’s baptism to his resurrection.
And so they pray. They have already been gathered together, awaiting the promised Holy Spirit and they use that time to ask for God’s direction and purpose for them. After insuring that both candidates are qualified and trusting God’s leading, they cast lots and Matthias is chosen.
For many years I had the responsibility of assisting congregations who were searching for a new priest. There were manuals and guides of best practices. Bishops required certain qualities, congregations always had a nearly impossible list of attributes they were looking for, legal restrictions required extensive background and reference checks. And you always hoped that those involved in the process were devoting themselves to prayer and listening for the voice of the Spirit. Often the process would take 18 months to two years to complete and sometimes the results surprised me. I often wondered if we should have cast lots!
Some of you know that’s not at all how St. Luke’s ended up with me as your priest. There was no process, no manual, no meetings, no interviews and no other candidates. But… there was a group of faithful disciples who were devoting themselves to prayer and listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit. I’m pretty sure they prayed me from serving as the Canon to the Ordinary in Northern California to Ballard even when I had no idea what I was getting into!
The Holy Spirit takes us in directions we cannot imagine or control and this week is definitely full of Holy Spirit shenanigans. Friday we are expecting 150 people and plenty of press coverage as we host the official groundbreaking event for our affordable housing building. There is not one single soul in this parish or diocese that would ever have believed this to be possible. A church our size, with so little financial resources and so little knowledge of real estate development should not be able to be on the brink of building 300+ units of housing, a new church and affordable childcare space. Even more remarkable are the unlikely partnerships and relationships that have grown as we have more deeply engaged everyone in our community in this process.
The following day, our diocese will gather just 18 months after our last bishop resigned to elect a new Chief Shepherd to love and lead us. The committee has followed all the procedures, there are four qualified candidates and we trust that this process has been girded by prayer. There will be no casting of lots but rather an election done “decently and in order” by the authorized delegates including Barbara, Bernadette and me representing St. Luke’s. But that doesn’t mean that the Holy Spirit won’t break out and surprise us and lead us in ways we could never expect or imagine. Stay tuned!
Finally, on Pentecost, we as the Body of Christ will be present for those who have committed themselves to following the way of Jesus in this community. It is here, in weekly worship, in service to those on the margins, and especially in the daily lives of the followers of Jesus, that God is glorified and the Holy Spirit transforms the world.
We are called to discern the Spirit’s leading in each one of our lives. How do we do that? Well I think we look for guidance from above and discernment from below. What I mean is that we are asked to pray and to remain open for signs of the Spirit’s lead. And we are given the gift of other faithful people to join with us in figuring out what our gifts are, what really turns us on, what heats us up and gives us new energy. Amen.
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