Photo by Jordan Rowland on Unsplash
God of all Goodness, may we daily perceive the joy and wonder of your abiding presence, and
offer our lives in gratitude for our redemption. Amen.
Let me just take this opportunity to say that it’s great to be back here with all of you again for my second and final year of field education and my final year at the School for Deacons. You are a loving community of faithful, compassionate people who have been a blessed contribution to my diaconal formation for which I will always be thankful.
In this season of stewardship and promotion of tithing in the church, today’s gospel, according to Mark, seems well placed, does it not? Each year around this time Susan and I make our annual decision of what to tithe and to where. Do we give more than last year and what portion of our tithe should go to our home church of St. Peters in Morro Bay? And, what portion should go to Susan’s assigned parish of St. Barnabas in Arroyo Grande? And, what portion should go to my field education parish here at St. Benedict’s in Los Osos?
In all of that, one thing is predictably sure-the total amount we will give will not be less that it was last year. And, while the decision to give more and in what percentages may be negotiable, we know that whatever we decide, our tithe will be the first and top priority bill we pay; but, it will also predictably not be everything we own.
But, I suppose it could. Would God not take care of us if we did that? It seems to me the widow in our gospel story knew so. Her faith in God’s care for her enabled her to give all she had back to God in the knowledge that she need not worry about tomorrow. Do you think she knew Jesus was watching – and most likely smiling?
Having had the summer off from school and from field education here at St. Benedict’s, I seized the opportunity to make efficient use of my time and complete my Unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (a.k.a CPE) as required by the Commission on Ministry for this diocese. This involved an intense three months of academia combined with many hours of clinical pastoral work among patients at both Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria and Arroyo Grande Community hospital. This experience was, as you can imagine, both demanding and rewarding.
I may have learned to be open to God’s grace in that endeavor more so than ever before. My job was to provide spiritual care and support for a diverse range of patients from varying states of discomfort, levels of grief, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, emotional and mental health levels and faith traditions ranging anywhere from Christian to none at all. I felt a certain degree of vulnerability each time I entered a patient’s room not knowing what level of reception I may encounter or what words I would think of to say. But, I knew after each visit the Holy Spirit had been with me to give me strength, words of prayer, and an ability to be wholly present with each person, allowing them to direct me into the path of spiritual care and support they were in need of at that particular time. Like the widow in our gospel story, I came to know God would be there for me without the need to worry about what was waiting for me in my next room. And, while each time I entered a room I felt vulnerable, I entered with faith that God would be with me to give me strength, the words, and the presence to ‘give all that I had’ to that patient.
And, on this Veteran’s Day, let us not forget to remember the brave men and women who gave their all to keep our country safe and free. I think the story of the widow in today’s gospel lesson teaches us that our faith in our God of all Goodness empowers us to be vulnerable to giving our all to God by stepping outside ourselves into the world of the stranger with the opportunity to show the kind of hospitality that can make that person feel no longer like a stranger, but rather, part of a family, like ours. That, my friends, is where the work of being “the church” is, out there among the stranger, the widow and the orphan, who can and should reap the benefits of a compassionate, giving and loving family, such as can be found right here at St. Benedict’s. We can grow the church by growing the size of our own family by welcoming those who feel apart from us and making them feel part of us-part of the warm, loving sanctuary we call our community of faith here at St. Benedict’s.
We, like the widow, can give all the hospitality we share-to the stranger, out there, who wants not to feel alone, not to feel isolated, but rather to share the passing of the Peace just like we do each Sunday. Imagine what it would have been like being a widow back in the time of Jesus? I’m guessing such a person must have felt at risk to being taken advantage of. A widow in first-century Palestine would have had no security, no claim on property, no protection and little resources. But, the widow in our story seemed to know God was with her, which gave her strength and power to give her ‘all’ to God.
And, while it could be argued that we Episcopalians dress up in nice robes and have fancy church buildings, I don’t see us being guilty as were the temple scribes and Pharisees of hoarding our assets at the expense of the poor.
No, my brothers and sisters, by volunteering our time and resources to provide services here in Los Osos, such as the Warming Shelter, Laundry Love, The Abundance Shop, Hunger Walks and hopefully the establishment of a Safe Parking venue, we are demonstrating our faith to answer God’s call to love our neighbor, and in so doing, give our ‘all’ to God.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, our commitment to our Baptismal Covenant to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ by seeking and serving Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves, striving for justice and peace among all people and respecting the dignity of every human being is not inside these walls, but out there in the wilderness of our neighbor who God is calling us to welcome into this church family.
Each year in the renewal of our Baptismal Vows we say “We will with God’s help.” As we approach another season of cold and in climate weather we, armed with our faith, are empowered to answer the call of God again to continue to volunteer to provide warmth and comfort for our neighbors ‘out there.’ And, good people of St. Benedict’s, we know we can with God’s help; I know we will with God’s help…and, yes, I’m pretty sure Jesus won’t just be watching-He’ll be smilin’. Amen.
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