When I stood in this pulpit four years ago last month, for my first sermon as Rector of St. Paul’s, I was confronted with one of the more peculiar passages in scripture. It was the provocative story of how Jesus called a Gentile woman a dog and how that Gentile woman bested Jesus in a debate. In her closing argument, the woman said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
And today, as I stand in this pulpit and preach, for the last time as Rector of St. Paul’s, I am presented with the same encounter, this time from the Gospel according to Mark, “Sir, yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” I'm not quite sure what the message is here except to say...more proof that God has a remarkable sense of humor!
In that sermon four years ago, I reflected on how our dog Charlie ate the crumbs from underneath Mary Katherine’s highchair. This time around it is John who is pushing his leftovers off the highchair onto the floor for Charlie to eat. The names of the players and the circumstances might have changed but the story stays the same.
Seasons change. Parishioners come and go. Priests come and go, but the eternal truth of God’s mercy from age to age remains the same. From generation to generation, the story of our faith is woven together through God’s infinite mercy. No matter the time or place, the light of God shines on – a truth we proclaim in Christ.
In today’s lesson from Mark, this Gentile woman, this outsider is reminding the chosen people of Israel of the faith they have forgotten; a faith given through the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I will bless you and you will be a blessing; a faith given through the prophets, I will make you a light to the nations; a faith that our ancestors in exile proclaimed, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; a faith given in Jesus Christ, a faith that makes us well; a faith that is passed down through the Church by the power of the Holy Spirit.
For us sitting here today, this is a faith that is alive in Selma, a faith that is alive through the story of St. Paul’s. For these past four years, it has been a tremendous honor and blessing to be a part of that story of faith lived out through St. Paul’s, a story of faith that has given me a courage and conviction to proclaim the power of the gospel, a story of faith that will continue to inspire others to know unending love of God.
The preservation and restoration of these buildings stand as an outward and visible sign of how the faith story of St. Paul’s continues to inspire. The fact that someone from St. Paul’s is featured in the Selma Times Journal just about every day is an outward and visible sign of the lively and active faith at St. Paul’s. The fact that St. Paul’s is known as the church in Selma where anyone is welcome is perhaps the greatest symbol of the lively and active faith that is exists in this place.
In our lesson from Mark, this Gentile woman, an extreme outsider, is reminding the chosen people of Israel, and today the Church, that we do not exist for ourselves alone, we do not exist for the sake of self-preservation. As we talked about in Bible Study on Tuesday, the Church is not a place where we go to get sanitized from our sins.
Rather, the Church is a place where imperfect people gather to be sanctified or set apart for works of mercy given in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus our Lord. Church is the place where we are transformed into living members of the body of Christ, where we become living members of God’s story of goodness and mercy that is meant to be extended to all people from every culture, creed, race, and nation.
Our family is proud and humbled to have been a part of a congregation who has claimed their place in God’s story of mercy and welcome to all. I can’t emphasize this enough – Selma needs that story of faith given through the life of St. Paul’s. Selma needs you to continue to be that light shining in the darkness.
Selma needs you to continue to be that church where anyone and everyone is welcome. And with God’s never-ending promise of mercy through Christ Jesus, you will continue be a church who is a tremendous blessing to this community especially to those whom the church and society have declared unworthy.
Some of you might be thinking – how are we going to do this without a Rector to lead us? For starters, Jesus has always been your true leader and will always be your true leader. Regardless of who stands in this pulpit, Jesus is the one you are called to follow. Jesus is the one who makes our mission to extend God’s mercy to all people possible.
Secondly, St. Paul’s will find a new Rector soon enough. And I am confident that you will welcome that Rector as warmly as you welcomed me and my family. I am confident that God is preparing to send you a Rector with the skills and talents needed to help you continue to live into the story of faith that God is still writing through St. Paul’s.
At the Wednesday morning Eucharist, we remembered the life and witness of Bishop Paul Jones. Bishop Jones of Utah was forced to resign his office in 1918 because he publically stated that war is unchristian. In a farewell address, Bishop Jones stated, “Where I serve the Church is of small importance, so long as I can make my life count in the cause of Christ.” Paul Jones went on to serve Christ and his Church in amazing ways even without the title bishop attached to his name.
Likewise, our ministry to Christ and his Church is not diminished if we don’t happen to carry the title bishop, priest, or deacon before our name. Our prayer book, in fact, lists the laity first among all orders in the church. In particular, the charge of the laity is to carry on the mission of the Church which is Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world. You are the main characters in God’s on-going story of goodness and mercy through Christ Jesus.
The work of the clergy is to nourish, support, and encourage you in this work. So, in many ways, the clergy follow the lead of the laity. We are here to serve you and lift you in your work. With that being said, thank you for giving Jamie and me, for giving our family the opportunity to serve you in the amazing work that God is up to at St. Paul’s.
Obviously, there are a lot of unknowns as transition looms. There are a lot of questions to be answered. Who will be in charge of this? Or who will do that? What do we do if this happens? First of all, you have an extremely competent Vestry and staff who will help answer these questions. You have an extremely competent priest associate who will help answer these questions.
And when all else fails, (when Mary Helen doesn’t even know the answer), when the changes and chances of this life are too much, you possess a faith that relies on the goodness and mercy of Christ in God to lead you on in the unchanging story of God’s love for his people.
Beloved sisters and brothers in Christ, I leave you with the words of my favorite hymn, our closing hymn for today, a hymn that brings me comfort and peace regardless of the time or place – “Together met, together bound, we’ll go our different ways, and as God’s people in the world, we’ll live and speak his praise.” Amen.
So very well said Jack, Continue on in the work Christ is leading you to do. Blessings, Lynn
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