Love, the Motive for All Good

Dear People of Christ Church,
In our Gospel on Sunday, the response to Jesus and his disciples is pretty ambivalent. It seems that people want to follow him, but that they all have something to do first—to care for a dying father, to say goodbye to those at home, we could probably all add to the list. We all have a list of things we “need” to do…

Jesus is pretty unimpressed and appears to dismiss them—“”No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Ok! Leave everything, and right away. Except… Last week, the person Jesus healed says he wants to follow Jesus, and Jesus says no. Stay. Stay and talk about what God has done for you.

So which is it? Does staying home with your commitments render you unfit for the kingdom of God, or is it the most faithful thing you can do to honor God through the care and relationships God has given you?

Both, of course, and more.
Trying to spin out a general rule out of Scripture is like untangling a spider web; each individual story can be read on so many different levels. The soft fibers get caught everywhere in your hair and hands, and all you were trying to do was find one set of instructions. But there is no one set of instructions, unless you step way, way, way, back. Staying or leaving might both be the most faithful choice, or God might have something else in mind. I want to share something I found recently by the Italian monk Carlo Carretto. (1910-1988) He had had a very “productive” activist career and had accomplished a lot, but left to be a monk in the desert in favor of contemplation and simplicity. He wondered if he’d made the right choice, if he were wasting his life. Here’s where he came down:

Only one thing in this world is not problematic: charity, love. Love alone is not a problem for him who lives it. To those who ask me if I am wasting my time, I can only say. “Live love, let love invade you. It will never fail to teach you what you must do.”

Charity, which is God in us, will point to the way ahead. It will say to you “Now kneel,” or “Now leave.” Don’t worry about what you ought to do. Worry about loving. Don’t interrogate heaven repeatedly and uselessly saying, “What course of action should I pursue?” Concentrate on loving instead.

And by loving you will find out what is for you. Loving, you will listen to the Voice. Loving, you will find peace. Love is the fulfillment of the law and should be everyone’s rule of life; in the end it’s the solution to every problem, the motive for all good…

And if the will of God urges you to seek out the poor, to give up all you possess, or to leave for distant lands, what does the rest matter? Or if it calls you to found a family, or take on a job in a city, why should you have any doubts?

Why should you have any doubts? Only love.

Blessings,
Sara+

Miss the sermon on 6/19? It’s here!

Vocations of Gladness: Ten Years In

Dear People of Christ Church,

This week, I've been thinking about vocation, defined in such a lovely way by Frederick Buechner as "the meeting place between your deep gladness and the world's deep need." Over the weekend, I attended our diocese's ordination for the diaconate. I serve on the diocesan Commission on Ministry, the group that works with the bishop when candidates apply for ordination, so two of my advisees were getting ordained, along with Rachael Pettengill, who has worked as an intern at Grace Church, where my husband serves, and as the Protestant Chaplain at Tufts.   Even Isaiah wanted to go, since Rachael has taught his Godly Play Class at Grace. 

It was a big service-the church has 9 new deacons, who in January will all be ordained priest. What was especially neat was that the ordinations for our diocese were at Emmanuel Church, Boston, where I served for a year as an assistant before coming to Christ Church.  So a lot of vocations came together for me that morning, as a member of the diocese as well as mother and priest, all leading up to my ten year anniversary of my ordination (today, as a matter of fact).

Processing in to the church, I remembered the feeling of being so new to the work of the church. Ten years ago, I'd just moved to Boston, had only been married for less than two years, and had no children. Though I loved the way living in New York City had made me feel like I was part of something bigger, I didn't miss the low level of stress that came with Manhattan's constant buzz or the way my very traditional seminary made me feel like such a misfit. Now, I came into that space having launched into a wonderful and strong ministry with you at Christ Church. I walked with my son, whom I couldn't have imagined at that time. I've recovered from seminary-pretty much!-and I have been blessed beyond imagining in this work.  

Emmanuel Church is cavernous-you practically need binoculars to see the altar from the back. Entering in, you're engulfed by a sense of sacred space-on Saturday, with two bishops and 20 other priests and 9 ordinands, it was big. Entering in while your 7 year old walks at your side and you remember how it felt the first time you entered a church as a clergyperson, sacred space doesn't just engulf you, it slaps you in the face and punches you in the stomach at the same time, leaving you reeling and out of breath. (For another piece I wrote about priesting and mothering, in the context of church hospitality, see my blog post.)

Most often, of course, the sacred nature of our lives doesn't come quite so forcefully. The usual life of a Christian is more Road to Emmaus ("...So, I guess that was Jesus") than it is Road to Damascus ("Holy @#$,  it's Jesus!"). While we sometimes get knocked off our horses, more often you have to do the work of attentiveness and patience, watching and waiting. Sometimes you have to squint so hard to see God you close your eyes and pretend you're somewhere else. At those times, it's totally fair game to complain-the psalms are a great resource for complaint (at least 40% are legitimately categorized as lament, in which the petitioner prays for God's deliverance in anger, sadness, despair).

What is always true, though, is that vocation is in the context of the world as we know it. Your vocation is not to be found later, it's to be found where you are right now. Your vocation at this time might be preparing for something else-going to school, for example-but that doesn't make it any less than what you are called to do right now. 

How do you understand your vocation? Do you feel like you chose it, or did it choose you? Caring for a sick parent or spouse is a vocation born out of the depths of love, not always gladness. Caring for children is a vocation, but for every time you gaze lovingly on a sleeping child, there might be three nights they refuse to be still long enough to let you get any sleep at all. Just because God wants you to do it and your deepest gladness is part of the story doesn't mean that you will always feel glad  about it. 

Leaning into summer, where is God calling you? Where does your gladness meet God's love and longing for the world?

Blessings,
Sara+  

Perspective and prayers of thanks

Thanks to each of you who came on Sunday to welcome Bishop Shaw, and especially to Cathy Hughes and all those who made our delicious lunch. As you know, our annual meeting is this Sunday, so we will be having ONE worship service at 9 AM. At the annual meeting, I'll invite new members (to be an "official" member, you pledge for the year and come to church-pretty simple) to sign our membership book. It has signatures going back to the nineteenth century.
It gives a certain perspective; we are just taking care of this place for now, and others will come later. Stretching both back in time and forward in time, we are one church, one Body of Christ-however long we've been here or however long we'll stay. Below, I'm pasting my report to the annual meeting. If you didn't pick up a copy in church last Sunday, please go to our website to download a copy so you can read it before the meeting, or let me know you need one and I can email it to you.
...
Report of the Rector, 2010
I think it is the writer Annie Lamott who has said that she only really knows two prayers: "please, please" and "thank you, thank you." I think the work of a report like this falls into the second category--it is a prayer of thanks.

Thanks to more people than I could name--but I will try.
Our wardens, Jonathan and Marcia, have been such a good team this year, and Suzanne Hughes and Shawn Russell have rounded out a wise executive committee that has led us far. Suzanne stepped into her role in 2008 after it had not been occupied by a "full time" treasurer for a number of years, and has done truly heroic work in getting us organized. That, coupled with her work as youth group leader during most of that time has often made me wonder if she sleeps! I also want to give deep thanks to Cathy Hughes for her work on fellowship. In looking for someone to take over, it is nearly impossible to cover all the things Cathy has done in her leadership on this front. Thanks, also, to Sheila Gillen, who is stepping down as wedding coordinator, having shepherded countless couple at Christ Church through that planning process. Having arrived as a relatively "green" priest (and not in the ecological sense") in 2005, she has certainly taught me a lot about the ins and outs of getting down the aisle. This year also marks the end of Alice Mula's leadership of the White Elephant room--a ministry that has equipped many kitchens (not to mention raised many dollars), over the years. Thanks to Alice and helper Marie Palmiotto. Shawn Russell is also moving on to a new ministry as treasurer, after having been clerk for 2 years. Finally, there are probably not enough words in the world to thank Marcia Luce for her support, honesty humor, and kindness since I arrived at Christ Church. She was senior warden when I arrived and then came back for another term after a short break. She has really been alongside me the whole time I've been here and I truly could not have done anything without her.

Happily, this year we also welcomed some new people into leadership who will continue to lead us into the future: the toddler room couldn't have gotten off the ground without Chris Jensen, and our Godly Play program got a great shot of energy when Erin Jensen came on board. Cindy Hutchison did a fantastic job on running the stewardship campaign when I was on leave, and I am thrilled she'll be our junior warden. Also in the "not enough words to thank" category is Jonathan Duce, who did a wonderful job when I was on maternity leave and led the parish through the rector discernment process. I write with deep gratitude to all of Christ Church as a parish for calling me as rector, and especially to him and Marcia.

There is a prayer in the rector installation liturgy which says "May God who has given you the will to do these things give you the grace and power to perform them." That is certainly where I find my own prayer these days--that's in the "please please" category. It is such a joy and occasion of grace to be able to minister with you. Especially when I was away I was so aware of how much my work as your priest is woven through my own life. I truly feel it is my vocation; it is part of the way that I "am" in this world--and I am grateful that my being the rector is also part of how Christ Church "is," too, at this time.

Going through our reports at the end of the year is always a combination of inspiring and daunting: inspiring, since it reminds me of how much we've accomplished, and a little daunting, as I think about how we will do that, and more, in the coming year! The Epistle reading for the 4th Sunday after Epiphany is the famous "love" passage from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. It concludes, "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love." When I arrived here at Christ Church a little over four years ago, that was what struck me most; the love that each of you hold for this place. In the last four years, we have grown by leaps and bounds--in our outreach, in our education, and in welcoming new friends. But that core of the love of Christ that I met when I first arrived is what all of those other accomplishments have been building on. The generations of Hewitts, and Hughes, and Lobos (and Larades and Coates), and our longtime leaders like those I mentioned above, have done more than just keep the doors open--they've also kept their hearts open, and that is the grace of God. Thank you, and thanks to everyone who has joined our parish and will travel with us into the future.

Blessings,
Sara+

Vocation

Thanks to everyone who came out to my installation as rector on Tuesday; it was a great service. I was a little worried that it would feel like “liturgy by the yard”—there are a lot of parts to the service!—but I think it came together well. Special thanks to the altar guild who made the church look so beautiful, and Cathy Hughes’ team of helpers (Sally, Jeanne, Paula, Janet, Marjorie, Warren, and George) who put together a delicious reception. Our organist, Stephen, wrote a wonderful anthem for the day, and St Peter’s choir offered some great pieces, too. We were joined by some of my Waltham clergy colleagues, too, with Rob Mark from the First Presbyterian and Tom Maehl from First Lutheran in Waltham. Mayor McCarthy came, too, and we saw some friends who aren’t always able to come on Sunday mornings.

In his sermon, Bishop Shaw talked about what the role of the clergy is. A rector does a lot of things, like pastoral care and education, and preaching and teaching, but the main thing, the most important thing, is that they are there to help the congregation hear where the Holy Spirit is leading. To hear how each individual’s gift can go toward the wider whole. My job as your priest is to help you (and help you help each other) discern how God is calling you to use your gifts in the service of God in this community. I think I quote this every time stewardship season comes around, but here it is again: Frederick Buechner says that real vocation is where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet. God’s desire for us to be who God created us each to be. No matter how hard you try, you just can’t be anybody else. This reminds me of something I saw in writing my sermon for last Sunday, when Jesus talks about “taking up your cross”—(retold in Benedicta Ward’s The Desert Fathers, via Jan Richardson’s blog, “The Painted Prayerbook)

Abba Macarius tells a story of meeting two monks, quite naked, who have spent forty years on a tiny island in a sheet of water where the animals of the desert come to drink. At first Macarius thinks the men are spirits, so strange is their presence there. Learning that they are monks of flesh and blood, he asks them, “When the winter comes are you not frozen? And when the heat comes do not your bodies burn?” They tell him, “It is God who has made this way of life for us. We do not freeze in winter, and the summer does us no harm.”

God made this way of life for us—God has given us this thing to do. God has not given your ministry to anyone else to complete but you.

Let us all pray for the grace to find, and fulfill, those deep desires of God for us.

Coming soon—October 4, Christ Church Ministry Fair—see all the different ways there are to serve at Christ Church.