Father Gary’s Sermon

Inspired from John 15:1-11

Proclaimed on February 8, 2004

John Gordon was a respected general for the South in the Civil War. After the war, he was running for the United States Senate, but a man who had served under him in the war, angry over some political incident, was determined to see him defeated. Everyone knew this man would fight Gordon's bid to become a senator. During the convention, he angrily stamped down the aisle with his anti-Gordon vote in hand. As he saw Gordon sitting on the platform, he noticed how his once handsome face was disfigured with the scars of battle -- marks of his willingness to suffer and bleed for a cause he believed in. The old soldier was stricken with remorse. Overcome with emotion, he exclaimed, “It’s no use; I can’t do it. Here’s my vote for John Gordon.” Then, turning to the general, he said, “Forgive me, General. I had forgotten the scars.”

This little story very poignantly reflects some of the message in our Gospel this morning. Jesus was with his disciples one last time commanding them to be fruitful and to abide in his love. When we read these words today we have a different perspective from those original disciples who expected Jesus to be a King within a few days. The lens through which we now hear these words is very much like the man rushing up to General John Gordon to publicly discredit him. Like this man we are stopped in our reading of these words by the sight of the scars that our Lord would soon acquire.

Likewise, during this past weekend at the Diocesan Convention, we were consistently stopped in our work to consider what abiding in Jesus means. We were stopped to consider the scars. Most of us in attendance had come for a fight--a fight for the life of the Church. However, we stopped before the convention started to celebrate the Holy Eucharist; we stopped to consider the scars of our Lord. The preacher for this service was Bishop Stacy Sauls of the Diocese of Lexington. He shared with us a story about his Uncle Joe who is the patriarch of his mother’s family and also a very devout Baptist Christian. His Uncle Joe differs from him in many ways; especially in the manner he understands the Scriptures and lives them out. Indeed, his Uncle Joe had severe questions about his nephew’s Episcopal brand of Christianity, especially at the General Convention last summer.

Not long after this convention there was a family reunion, where the Bishop knew he would have to face his Uncle Joe. Indeed, he did. Uncle Joe was the first one to greet him upon his arrival at the family reunion. He walked up to the Bishop, warmly and heartily grabbed his hands in both of his, which was the equivalent of a hug in that family, and said nothing about the General Convention. To the Bishop this was Uncle Joe’s way of saying, “Tonight we are family and nothing is going to separate us.” The Bishop knows that eventually they will have their conversation, but despite their differences, they will abide with one another because they are family.

That is pretty heady stuff. Indeed, it shaped the tone of the Diocesan Convention. One full day was set aside of this convention to discuss six resolutions regarding the results of this past General Convention. The debate was intense, the arguments were fierce, and the honesty was brutal. But after each resolution was discussed, we would intentionally stop and consider the scars of our Lord as Bishop Michie Klusmeyer of the Diocese of West Virginia led us in meditations. We really struggled to abide with each other, but it was the scars of our Lord that kept us on track, it was the scars that reminded us that we are family. Finally a resolution was reached and passed which echoed the words of our Bishop in his address before our discussions. Here is a section of his discourse:

“’Reaching up Reaching out’ is our Convention theme. It encourages us to focus on our diocesan mission and our ministry together. This past summer’s 74th General Convention of the Episcopal Church met in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its repercussions have been far reaching. Over the course of the last seven months I have endeavored to listen to you and hear what you have to say to me and to each other. As a bishop, who in our polity is the sign of unity, I share with each of you our corporate faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. With the election and consecration of the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson as bishop coadjutor of New Hampshire, the Episcopal Church, and seemingly much of the Anglican Communion, has been thrown into turmoil, struggle, and confusion. There are those who can neither understand nor accept the Convention’s decision; there are those who rejoice in the Convention’s decision. There are those somewhere in between who disagree with the Convention, yet want to move forward with the mission and ministry to which we have been called. I voted to withhold consent to the election of Bishop Robinson because I believe that a bishop is a sign of unity for the diocese, the Episcopal Church, and the Anglican Communion. Numerous voices within the Episcopal Church and within the broader Anglican Communion, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, counseled our Church in Convention not to proceed in consecrating a partnered gay priest as a bishop. The impact would be far reaching upon the entire communion. The House of Bishop's meeting two months previous to Convention voted not to move forward in this area until we were able to more fully develop a theology that would allow us to embrace what otherwise might seem merely a unilateral action. The Convention's action was on an individual person who had been duly elected rather than on the principle of bishop as sign, symbol, and icon of the unity of our received catholic faith, tradition, practice, and order. I believe that was a mistake.

This past fall, the primates met at Lambeth Palace, London, England to discuss the ramifications of the actions from General Convention and established a Commission under the direction of Archbishop Donald Eames of Ireland to see how we might continue to be a communion, a fellowship of "Sister Churches," in the midst of serious disagreement. The Primates additionally expressed a growing and deepening sense in that “that which unites us is far greater than that which divides us.” We await their report to be presented this autumn.”

Then after commenting on what might not be helpful, the Bishop continued: “Our teaching on sacramental Christian marriage has not changed. It is a gift from God, a life long relationship between a man and a woman. Committed same gender relationships are a part of our culture and are important to many living within this diocese. In my deliberate study of Scripture, I do not find that these relationships are affirmed nor are they blessed by the tradition as we have received it in this church. Neither do I find, as have some, the condemnation of homosexuality. The Lambeth Conference of 1998 called upon the church across our communion, to listen to the stories of gay and lesbian persons; to hear them and to recognize their voices. I am grieved when persons feel marginalized or brutalized by the church. We are a diverse church and we minister to and with a variety of people who are loved and held in the heart of God. Indeed, part of our Baptismal Covenant affirms that we are to ‘respect the dignity of every human being.’ I strive, as your bishop, to be faithful to the Gospel and to be a shepherd to all persons within the fold.

To be clear, as I have stated to the clergy and laity in other settings: the norm for ordination in this diocese continues to be a person living a single celibate lifestyle or in a heterosexual Christian marriage. I will not allow nor authorize the blessing of same gender unions within our diocese. [Furthermore,] I am a bishop of and within the Episcopal Church. I am not leaving the Episcopal Church nor is this diocese. I do not believe the Church has left me or us. This is a difficult time and we are in the messy business of journeying together, seeking the grace filled place to which God is calling us. ‘Reaching up Reaching out’ reminds us again that we will not be co-opted from the mission and ministry to which we are called in the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast.”

With the completion of his address, along with the passing of a resolution in support of the Bishop, I suppose you could say that not everyone got everything they wanted at this convention. Our diocese remains orthodox, a part of the Episcopal Church, and still a part of the Anglican Communion. Like it or not, we are still a family, consisting of Uncle Joe’s similar to me, and others like Bishop Stacy Sauls, and whole lot of others somewhere in between. We are family. Like that old soldier entering the room to condemn and defeat General John Gordon, we too are brought to a halt when we behold our Lord and notice how his once handsome face and body now disfigured with the scars of crucifixion -- marks of his willingness to suffer, bleed, and die for a cause he believed in -- that cause being you and me. These same scars make us a family -- a family of people being redeemed, recreated, and transformed into his very likeness -- a family struggling to abide with one another.

I walked away from this convention relieved in one sense, but more humble in another sense, for in hearing the different voices (those who agreed with me, as well as those who disagreed), there was yet one other experience I will never forget. Just as the convention was starting, a huge storm moved over the convention center and from out of the thunder and deluge came lightning that struck the building, putting out the air conditioner and the sound system. As we sat in the evolving inferno, struggling to hear one another, it was as though God was tapping each of us on the shoulder asking that we stop and listen to the Divine. For me this meant looking upon the scars of Jesus, knowing that it is in part my sin that put them there, and all that I could say, no matter how right I felt my cause, was “Forgive me, Jesus. I had forgotten the scars.” Then when there was stillness in my heart I heard my Lord say, “I love you. Welcome to the family. If you abide in me we’ll all work it out together and it will be all right in the end.”