SERMON – COMMITMENT SUNDAY

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2002

CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER

Just as I was beginning to pull my thoughts together for today’s sermon, I received a copy of the address Robert Kosasky, a man raised in this parish, gave last Saturday at his installation as headmaster of St. Andrew’s School in Potomac, Maryland.  He spoke to the school family against the background of the sniper attacks in the greater Washington area, keenly aware of the fear and irrationality too familiar to his listeners.  Robert was talking about schools, church schools, and St. Andrew’s in particular as he said the following:  “Both in times of contentment and times of anxiety we all want desperately to hope, to envision and connect to a future that inspires our actions and justifies our care for ourselves and for others.  Schools can and must teach that wisdom and cynicism are not one and the same, that self-absorption and bigotry and cruelty and human problems not human nature. . . Schools are not spiritually neutral, they are living, self-created communities that exist to serve children.  And to serve children, schools must teach hope.” 

Robert’s words connect so powerfully with the phrase Bishop Shaw used in addressing those of us at last Friday evening’s Pot Luck here at church; he spoke of “holy imagination”, the capacity for faith that allows us to endure the realities of a world seemingly gone mad, a world that cries out for a vision of God in the rubble of death and destruction.  

I incorporate these two statements about HOPE on Commitment Sunday because hope is the great gift of the church to itself and to the world.  While the Church offers many programs, liturgies, events of fellowship, and service to others, it is our HOPE that distinguishes us.  It is the gift of HOPE, alongside faith and love that gives us our voice.  Jesus is our center, and HOPE was his message always, even as he endured the cross and grave for us.  “Let not your hearts be troubled” he urged his disciples.  “I go to prepare a place for you.” 

Christian hope means neither cockeyed optimism, denial nor make-believe.  Christian hope is the impetus that keeps us going in the worst of times.  Churches like ours exist as laboratories for hope, wellsprings of hope, the very places where the real possibility of future is celebrated.  Throughout history humankind has lived under threat of disease, death, and annihilation.  Today’s snipers and terrorists and madmen have threatened us in every era; only today the news media accord them immediacy. 

I believe that the theology of HOPE has everything to do with our stewardship.  You and I as baptized children of God in Christ Jesus must never give up our hope and we must work to ensure that the institutions and communities that foster HOPE never vanish.  Indeed such institutions must increase and expand their influence.   The ministry of HOPE that we share is at once free and costly.   

The one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church may never have been more valuable or vulnerable than it is today.  The weaknesses of people who are the Church in 2002 attract great attention and deserve criticism; extremists at both ends of the theological spectrum can kill hope in a few words or well-placed campaigns.  Yet the need of our civilization for the good news of the Gospel has never been greater.  The words that pull us out of ourselves and into communion with the rich variety of God’s people must survive and increase day by day.  And for you and me that urgency begins right here at 379 Hammond Street in Chestnut Hill.  As much as we love our building, it is the ebb and flow of prayer and fellowship, the weekly celebration of the Eucharist, and the pastoral care that stand bravely and proudly for the HOPE our community seeks.  Our common life, shared in so many ways, is the foundation upon which HOPE stands. 

The Redeemer’s common life with its plethora of personnel, programs, equipment, buildings, and mundane things like heat, light and Xeroxing is expensive.  We do not waste money.  Thanks be to God we are spared the burden of taxation on our real property and income.  Yet the costs of a parish like ours, a “program parish”, are extensive.  We serve a large community because we are a large community.  Prices rise.  Compare the cost of a family car in 2002 with that of your old 1982 model; compare tuitions twenty years ago with tuitions today, or prescription medicine, or movie tickets, or the shuttle from Logan to LaGuardia.  Has your gift to this parish’s work kept pace with the costs of life’s daily expenses?  I was astounded to learn that 40% of our parishioners do not increase their pledges from one year to the next.  Because I do not know what anyone pledges or gives to our church, I cannot offer comparisons.  I do know that that people like Sherry and me whose salary will never achieve six figures have regularly pledged over $3,000 annually to the work of the Church of the Redeemer.  I tell you this neither to boast nor apologize, only to articulate what we believe commitment is all about. 

Stewardship as our three wonderful preachers reminded us last week is much more than raising and husbanding the money for an operating budget.  But, let’s be real; it IS about MONEY, CASH, SECURITIES, and SOME SACRIFICE.  As a EUCHARISTIC Church, we gather around Christ’s table to give thanks for the life and death of God in his Son Jesus Christ and in the powerful work of God in the Holy Spirit.  Our common life is all about thanksgiving.  As I prepare to retire from this parish, I am increasingly aware of the beauty of our place and you people, of your faith and your service.  I hope that we have learned together to be nurturers, to be givers, to be the useful arms of Jesus in this building and outside our walls.  You are poised to flourish as strong witnesses of the love of Christ.  Of that I am certain.   

Last week Matt Cooney spoke of the relationships he cherishes within this community, “I am thankful for these relationships and opportunities and would encourage all of you to reflect on the impact the church has in your lives.”  Pam Matthews recalled her re-entry into the church and said, “What changed my stewardship of the Church of the Redeemer was not just growth in the faith.  As I continued to pray and study the Bible and read books about our Christian faith, I slowly came to the key realization that – unlike me -- God seems to believe in the Church. . . God is a lot smarter and more experienced than me, and I felt I needed to follow His lead in this area.”  And it was Steve Mead, long a member of this congregation, who said, “We are all stewards of this community.  Stewardship is work but it is not a burden.  Everyone understands how hard it is to keep the process of raising money and taking care of physical assets from getting in the way of our relationships with each other and God.  The way we do this is to remember why we do it.” 

Stewardship never ends, for it focuses on God, our relationships, our realization that God is the leader.  Stewardship has ultimately to do with how we manage our holy imaginations.  And, my friends, it is our holy imaginations that give us the courage and drive to be the best stewards we can be.  Similarly, HOPE never ends.  Embrace the HOPE, live the Gospel, dare to dream of God, and fill out your cards.  AMEN. 

                                                                                                The Rev. Richard H. Downes

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