Sometimes I forget that it’s been just over three years since I arrived here at St. Alban’s as your Priest. That I’ve now been in full-time, active ministry for a full three years. That I have made it completely through the three-year cycle of lessons, called the lectionary.
What that means is that I have a three-year library of
archived sermons, so I can look back and see what I wrote for this very same set
of lessons and see where we were and what I focused on.
The sermon I wrote on this Gospel three years ago told some
of the St. Alban’s Peace Garden story. We had just reached, and then exceeded
our first 2000 pounds to the food pantries that week. It described our new relationship with
Worthmore Academy. They were getting ready to welcome students here for their
first full year at St. Alban’s. We were
beginning to look at the ways in which we give our time, talent and treasure to
this place. The Finance Committee had
just completed its mid-year assessment.
Baseball was slowly returning to St. Alban’s.
Three years later, and the garden is still growing, and we
exceeded that 2000 pound mark again last week; Worthmore is beginning their fourth
year here this week; the Finance Committee recently completed its mid-year
assessment; the vestry will gather today to talk about the ways we give our
time, talent and treasure to this place; and we recently completed our first
season as the renewed St. Alban’s Baseball league.
While much of what we do seems familiar, comfortable and
moving forward, this faith community has learned and grown and transformed in
ways we could not have imagined three years ago.
Some of our changes are very visible, like the new cement
and parking lot work. Two new air
conditioners keep us comfortable as we worship.
We are thankful for the $43,000 loan from the diocese to be able to do
these projects to work on facility improvements. Next weekend we will gather together to
spruce up our space in preparation for the Bishop’s upcoming September 8th
visit.
We show, with these physical improvements that our heart is
in the care of our physical space.
Other changes are procedural. We are working on creating systems and
templates and organizational programs and administration guides, like updating
our bylaws and developing a communications plan. We birthed the St. Alban’s Leadership Team,
fondly known as S.A.L.T., so that a team of people can build on one another’s
strengths to lead this parish into the future.
We show, with these system changes that our heart is in the
concern for continuity and clarity, so different people can share in the tasks
of running the church.
Some of the biggest changes are in our emotional and
behavioral well-being. Through our deep
work with our consultant Kay Collier McLaughlin, we have discussed the grief
and loss St. Alban’s has experienced over the past 20 years. She has helped us
learn about and change harmful behaviors, so we are better able to communicate
honestly with one another.
Through
talking about the past, we show that our hearts are willing to work together to
see what’s next for this community.
And we
have seen changes in the ways we explore and develop our spiritual lives. With Lenten book studies that help us
recognize our individual humanity; with a willingness to encounter different
translations of Scripture and the many liturgical offerings through the church;
with the opening of space in our worship to publicly share our joys and
concerns so we are able to support each other; with these things, we enter into
renewed relationships with our Holy One and with one another.
We
show that our hearts are with God and we are willing to be changed and
challenged by the Holy Spirit as we learn more about Jesus and his walk on this
earth.
The Gospel tells us that where and how we spend our time,
and place our attention, how we share our hearts, our energy, and our minds is
a great indicator of how we define what is most important to us. “Your heart will
always be where your treasure is.”
We have spent these past three years
putting emphasis on the community of St. Alban’s, which shows me, that for many
of you, St. Alban’s is your treasure.
Your hearts are here.
This is a good thing! It is good because we heard at the beginning
of this Gospel that God’s desire is to give us the kin-dom. We are God’s beloved and we are given a place
in the holy kin-dom. When our little
faith community can conscientiously hone skills that help us live in near
harmony with one another, when we flourish together as Jesus Followers, we are
far closer to living in the holy city of God.
As a faith community, we are preparing
for Jesus to come. Through all the work
we have done and that we continue to do, we are like the servants in the story,
preparing. We might not be doing the
work of dusting the shelves, sweeping the floors, preparing the meal and
setting the table, as is implied in the Gospel today, but in our own ways, we
are actively preparing for the return of Jesus.
This is constant preparation, as we
continually grow and develop, changing and becoming more and more for God.
When our hearts are here and we are
placing priority on the treasure we find here, we are actively sharing with one
another our desire to be a part of the kin-dom of God. It’s important to be in community, to consistently
prepare ourselves through our relationships, through study, through the giving
of our gifts of time, talent and treasure, through our desire to faithfully
strive for equity and dignity among all people through our outreach programs
and partnerships with our renters and others.
Jesus is coming again. And as he said, we won’t know when that will
be. But we must be ready, all the time.
If our hearts are where our treasure is, and we find our treasure
in the kin-dom of God, in our personal and communal relationships with God, and
we are living lives that reflect that commitment to God through prayer,
offerings, worship, and action, then we are doing the preparation expected to
welcome Jesus again. We will be ready.
Let us pray.
Dear Jesus,
this little group of disciples hears you when you say that God wants to give us
the Kin-dom. We hear you when you tell
us to give of ourselves for the benefit of others. We hear you when you tell us to prepare. We hear you when you tell us you are coming
back. We hear you tell us to be
ready. Let this little group of this
branch of the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement live our lives in ways
that please you. Help us to always be
mindful that we are to live in ways that reflect our love for you. For when we behave in ways that define you as
our treasure, our hearts will leap with joy at your coming. Amen.