Once again we are treated to the parallel vision of Advent: remembering
the prophecies and the fulfillment of prophecies culminating in the
birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, and remembering to keep ourselves vigilant
for his return in power and great glory. In the complexity of the themes
and the words of today, one phrase captured my attention and my heart:
"grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
(2 Peter 3:18)
There are many treasures in today's readings. Believe it. We do not
have the time to explore every one. Let us savor this gem from the Second
Letter of Peter: grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. As you know, Robert and I have been selecting sermon titles
weeks in advance of the preaching. It was mid November when I looked
first at these readings. At the risk of removing the mystery, I'll describe
the short process I use for selecting the title and theme. I share it
because it is simple enough to use in your own study and reflection
of the scriptures read in our Sunday worship.
I read the lessons appointed for the Sunday. I read them slowly, without
commentary or study. I become quiet (or at least expend a lot of energy
trying to become and stay quiet). I invite the Holy Spirit into my mind
and heart and quiet. "Come Holy Spirit, come with your fire and
burn, . . . . Come, Holy Spirit." I go back through the readings.
What do they mean to me? How can you summarize them in a few words or
a short phrase? "Come, Holy Spirit," I continue to invite.
In that quiet back and forth, interrupted often by my own distractions
and day dreams and the distractions of the every day (noise, clutter,
people, and so on), there emerges a few words or a phrase. This is often
accompanied by a deep-down conviction that this is the theme to be explored.
I have come to trust the process, the Holy Spirit, and the outcome.
I don't always understand it, I don't always deliver the words perfectly,
but I have come to trust the guidance of the Spirit and my ability to
know when the theme has emerged.
So that was the process in mid November. Of all the phrases that could
become the focus, "Comfort, O comfort my people, . . . speak tenderly
to Jerusalem," "The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and
all people shall see it together," "The Lord God comes with
might, and his arm rules for him;" is contrasted with "He
will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his
arms," just a few lines later; how about the psalm "Show us
your mercy, O Lord, and grant us your salvation," "Mercy and
truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other,"
(of all the phrases) the one that captured me was from the Second Letter
of Peter.
"Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"
was the phrase that emerged in the light of the presence of the Spirit.
It meant one thing in mid November, it means so much more-and so much
I didn't imagine then-as I stand before you today.
What makes this all the more mysterious and remarkable for me is that
just yesterday I was gathered with the family and friends of Jack Beaird
to commend him to God. Some of you worked with Jack at FIND, or at Bread
of Life, or here in the Office, or in the Kairos ministry, but most
of you never met Jack. He was retired from the banking business, but
was quite active in our Outreach Ministries. He was working with Jordan
Ministries in the eastern part of the Valley to build a network of care
for those who are hungry, ill-clothed, lonely, in need of healing. Jack
died too young. In working through my sorrow at his death, in affirming
again my belief that in death life changes, it doesn't end, I found
new meanings for, new inspiration for living the words of Peter-grow
in grace and knowledge.
In mid November I imagined looking for illustrations to help us all
accept the Apostle's teaching that growing in the grace and knowledge
of the Lord is not an optional activity. I imagined exploring the dimensions
of this teaching using stories from far and near. What I couldn't know
in mid November was that Jack would die just before this weekend. What
I have come to understand, and what I want to share with you, is that
my friend, Jack, lived (imperfectly to be sure, but lived nonetheless)
the Apostle's teaching. A member of our parish family, he provides a
witness that following the teaching of the Apostle is possible for you
and for me.
Grow the apostle says. Jack, a man of faith, kept growing. Up to the
day he was too weak to respond, he kept growing in the grace and knowledge
of his Lord. He had a crucifix with him. He would hold the small crucifix
in his hand, and let his finger trace the figure. I never asked him
if he was praying with words, but I could tell he was praying as he
did this. He trusted the One who called him to ministry (he was a valued
member of our Outreach Team). He trusted the One who loved him beyond
all telling. The crucifix was his icon transporting him into that Love.
On Monday he had become unconscious, Ruth, his wife, had to put the
small crucifix in his hand and hold it there with hers. In mid November
I could not have pictured the moment, but the Spirit could. Grow says
the apostle. The crucifix held by Jack will be a reminder to me about
growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. For even as he became
sicker, even as he was unable to do anything he wanted to do, Jack held
that crucifix and prayed and kept growing. And when he was too weak,
others, in this case his wife, helped him. Growing, in the Apostle's
teaching, is not an option, it is an imperative.
Grow in the grace of the Lord the apostle says. Grace is a peculiar
word. As used by prophets and apostles, as used by Jesus, grace is both
the Giver (the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit) and the gift given.
We can say much about it, but we can never say everything about it.
I believe that grace is the invitation to live in, to participate in,
the very life of God; I believe also that grace is the means to live
in God.
To participate in the life of God and know it, is grace. Jack taught
me to grow in that grace. Ask questions, study, believe, then, step
out in faith; allow God's very life to flow through your words and your
work, this is the grace about which the apostle speaks.
I was privileged to see Jack grow in the grace of the Lord as he ministered
and as he invited others to share in feeding the hungry and caring for
the ill and the needy. He began with a conviction placed in him by the
Lord, by grace. He responded with all the energy he could to make the
Lord known through the work of his hands and the hands of many others.
He responded with all his wit and humor to make the Lord known through
the words he shared: words of comfort and care, words of invitation
to know the Lord he served.
Grow in the knowledge of the Lord, the apostle says. Again, I was privileged
to see this growth in Jack. With each person fed, with each person saying
they would help him feed and care for others, with the fulfillment of
those pledges, Jack grew in the knowledge of the Lord. What he came
to understand, what he taught me, is that the Lord has never stopped
caring for the hungry, the thirsty, the lonely, the prisoner, the one
who is sick. But the activity of feeding and refreshing and visiting
and healing is now up to us. And when we do these things we grow in
the knowledge of the Lord who has never stopped loving and caring.
Jack's death has forced this reflection upon me. In mid November when
the title of today's sermon was selected, Jack's death wasn't in the
picture. The words of the Apostle are the more powerful for me, the
exhortation to keep growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord are
the more powerful because I have witnessed their profound impact on
one life, his, and on many lives-the one's to whom he ministered in
the name of the Lord, and the ones he invited into ministry in the name
of the Lord. I have seen faith in action.
What is even more wonderful for me in this is that as I look into the
congregation, as I look at you, I see many teachers of the truth of
these words. It is a privilege to be a part of this family of faith
called St. Margaret's. It is a privilege to be with you who have taken
your Baptismal Covenant seriously and who have continued to follow the
apostle's teaching and have kept growing in the grace and the knowledge
of the Lord. It is a privilege to serve alongside you who know there
is so much more we are called to do for we continue to grow.
Understand what a precious gift and treasure you are to me, to this
church, to our community. Understand that you have something priceless
here-a relationship, growing and vital, with the Lord.
Believe that you are surrounded by persons who hunger, who thirst,
for this grace, this knowledge. Believe that your words of invitation
to come worship here, your invitation to join you as you serve others,
your invitation to know the Lord of your life, are powerful beyond your
dreams. Jack believed this. Jack lived this. And I know this belief,
this action, is within your grasp and mine.
I pray that you and I will continue to grow in every way in the grace
of our Lord;
I pray that you and I will continue to grow in every way in the knowledge
of our Lord, and in the knowledge of our Lord's love and will.
I pray that you and I will have the boldness, demonstrated by our companion
on the way, Jack Beaird, to invite others to know the Lord, and worship
the Lord, and serve the world in the Lord's name from this place.
I pray that we will experience the same peace that blessed Jack in
his life and in his death.
I pray that we will experience joy in our discipleship-it was promised
long ago by our Lord to those who would follow him. And the one who
promised will make it so.
I know. I saw that blessed joy in my friend Jack Beaird. Amen.
