The Eye of the Storm 

A sermon preached by The Reverend Judith L. Stuart at The Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, on Sunday, September 21st, 2003, the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost. 

Grace be to you and peace from the One who was and is and is to come.  Amen. 

This week, communities all along the Eastern seaboard scurried to prepare for Hurricane Isabel to make landfall.  The weather forecasters observed the eye, projected the path, and attempted to prepare residents, for the wrath that was forecast to come.  Six million homes were left without power and Isabel claimed 27 human lives.  Some individuals chose the path of preparation and safety.  They boarded up their windows, moved their boats to safer waters (or out of the water altogether), and evacuated the vulnerable to more secure inland areas.  One could say that our society really pulls together in times of trouble.  But then, there were also those individuals who chose to remain in denial.  They got excited about the heightened surf…and decided to wait for the perfect wave.  They may have even competed with one another to see who caught the greatest wave of all.  The weather station called these individuals the wave watchers.  In the midst of danger and lurking natural disaster, the wave watchers sought personal excitement and greatness, their own victory over nature.  It can be an odd tension, the tension between greatness and loss, life and death.  

Our readings this morning reveal that the Twelve, like the wave watchers, may have been in denial.  For some reason, they were unable to hear Jesus' warning of the dangers that were to come.  Perhaps they were fearful.  They had put all of their hope in Jesus.  They had followed Him.  If He was gone, who would they follow?  Or even worse, what might happen to them?  Did any of them really want to be "the greatest one of all" for fear that they might suffer the same fate that their Jesus was now predicting for Himself?  Some have speculated that they were embarrassed by their inner circle competition, for they did not answer when Jesus asked what they were arguing about.  However, the Gospel narratives do not offer any absolute clarification of the mindset of the disciples.  Perhaps, like the wave watchers, their minds were temporarily protecting them from the eye of  the storm.     

The clarification that is offered comes from Jesus himself.  Drawing a child near to himself, he responds with these words…"Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me, but the One who sent me".  I invite you to ponder for just a moment the image of the child that Jesus draws close.  Do you imagine the child to be innocent, healthy and pretty, perhaps a relative of one of the twelve?  Imagine for a moment that the child is a street child…hungry and vulnerable…without legal status…helpless…a burden to society.  Imagine for a moment that this child is of absolutely no value to the disciples.  THEN, for the disciples to embrace this insignificant human being whom they bear absolutely no responsibility for, becomes a significant challenge.  And THAT is exactly what Jesus tells them they must do! 

And so we learn at least three things from this short passage.  First, we learn that Jesus has tremendous patience with our human nature.  He asks what the Twelve were arguing about, and accepts their silence.  Jesus seems to very quickly understand that their ears are closed to His prediction of the passion.  They are not ready to hear or accept what is to come.  Like the wave watchers, they are seeking an escape from the impending reality. 

Second, we learn that children were a part of Jesus' world---they were included.  Children were precious to Jesus in their vulnerability, their total dependence, and their lack of worldly value.  Jesus envisioned a world where the vulnerable and worthless were nurtured and protected, where those with resources became ambassadors of God's love and welcome.    

And then Jesus raised the bar one more notch.  He taught His disciples that whoever welcomed the vulnerable and the worthless in His name, welcomed the divine presence of Jesus and of the One who sent Him.  Yes, Jesus taught that the weak and worthless and vulnerable individuals of society need to be welcomed and cared for.  And He also taught that His followers would encounter the divine presence in their servanthood, rather than their greatness.  This concept challenged the disciples then and it continues to challenge contemporary Christians today. 

I recently encountered a friend who was quite excited to tell me about a wedding she had attended in August.  We share a friendship with the father of the groom.  Although both families live in the US, the groom's family is of royal ancestry.  The groom is a Prince and his bride spent many months learning the duties she would have to manage as Princess.  One of the many mantles she would learn to assume was the mantle of a servant…for this royal family knew themselves to be servants of the people.  The most poignant moment of the wedding celebration, which lasted for three days, was the arrival of several hundred guests for a brunch the morning after the wedding.  The new bride greeted each and every one of her guests outside the door.  She could not enter until every guest had been seated.  Her new family then washed her feet as she ascended each step, and welcomed their new daughter to serve her guests their meal.  For those who were unfamiliar with this custom, the father of the groom explained that in their culture, one's actions were expected to demonstrate the family's values…that if they were to be recognized as servants, they must serve.  And then he quoted this mornings' Gospel, "Whoever wants to be first, must be last of all and servant of all. Selah.  So be it."     

As we contemplate our own servanthood, the Gospel still invites us to welcome the stranger, the vulnerable--to serve humanity.  And now that we are all back safely from summer travels and family retreat time, we have an opportunity to do that with intentionality, for this morning we have heard that to be the greatest of all is to be a loving, welcoming and serving people.  As we explore our ministry of welcome and hospitality we are seeking to serve God in new ways.  We will be meeting visitors and asking how we can support their spiritual journeys.  We will look at opportunities for inclusion, relationship, and service inside and outside the church.  As we study and go deeper personally and interpersonally, our roots will become stronger and spread further out into our community and world.  As we grow in our own servanthood, our actions will demonstrate our faith, our norms and values, the fiber of this community gathered at The Church of the Redeemer.  If we are to be recognized as servants, we, too must serve.  I encourage you to attend today’s time and talent fair, and to prayerfully discern where God is calling you to serve the church and humanity. 

In closing, I offer these simple words.  

Let us pray.  May Jesus who walks on wounded feet walk with us.  May Jesus who heals with wounded hands heal us and empower us to heal others.  May Jesus who loves with a broken heart, be the love of our lives from this day forward and forevermore.  May we see the face of Jesus in everyone we meet.  And may everyone we meet see the face of Jesus in us.  Selah.  So be it.  Amen

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