Sermon preached by The Rev. Richard Lampert
Date of the 2010 Annual Parish Meeting
GOD ALWAYS CALLS YOU AND ME AND THE CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER TO LIVE IN HIM, SO THAT HE CAN LIVE IN US!
Every week in the Eucharistic Prayer’s [ BCP,pgs.336, 363] we say these words “…that we may be filled with thy grace and heavenly benediction, and made one body with him, that he may dwell in us and we in him.” To put it another way: God calls us all to live our lives in the Life of His Son. Christ wants us to discover our own unique spirits within His Spirit. The Holy Spirit drives/drags our lives into Christ’s life.
Similarly, today’s lesson’s talk about calling, uniting and going forth! Jeremiah is formed, known, consecrated and led forth by God even as a youth! The Psalmist seeks and finds strength in The Lord ever since he’s been in his mother’s womb! Paul learns that everything, all our different gifts and spirits (even God’s) must be rooted in love. And when Jesus proclaims that “The Spirit of The Lord is upon me” He declares that God’s love has no limits nor boundaries. As Fr. Fred reminded us last week, and today’s Gospel does so again, you and I and this Church of The Redeemer are all called to live in this Spirit and in this Love, both within God’s church and also outside in the world all around us. So, like the Prophets, the Psalmist, St. Paul and Our Lord, we are called to live into The Spirit of Christ, to discover our own spirits, to live into and write our own stories and then to weave them into the fabric of The Living Christ.
On this Annual Parish Meeting Day, I want to say four things: (1) Anyone who believes God no longer moves in such ways; that these things only happened in ancient times; that God doesn’t still call, empower or direct His people is simply wrong! This person has never entered into nor really been inside this church. (2) This person has never experienced, been lifted up, caught up, carried along by the power of the liturgy. (3)This person has never been washed in the majestic beautiful sounds of the music, in the spirit or voices of this place. (4)This person has never really listened to, never heard, God’s Word as it is taught and proclaimed here week after week to children, youth, adults, men and women in such a multitude of different groups and ways, or as it is preached every Sunday in this church. They are the unfortunate ones. You and I are the lucky ones!
But, let us always be clear about one thing! No one ever achieves, never attains Christian perfection! Rather, we simply learn that the only way our lives will ever become meaningful or make any real difference in other people’s lives, or in the world around us, is when we strive to live in Christ so that He lives in us! This is true in every part of our lives; but maybe especially in the hardest times. Live in (hang on to) Christ and He’ll live in you!
Last week as I thought about people I’ve known who epitomize living in Christ and Christ in them the Cowley magazine of The Society St. John The Evangelist arrived in our mailbox. The Winter issue highlights the life of Fr. Paul Wessinger. If Fr. Paul was not a saint, he was sure pretty darn close. His life was one of great patience with life, himself and even with God. As with many faithful Christians, he lived a life of real humility, but he never saw himself as particularly humble. Above all, Paul believed that a life lived in Christ must be a life lived in love. One of the best stories about Paul Wessinger is when a group of earnest young men visited the monastery and considering the religious life, asked Fr. Paul what was the most essential quality or character one needed to thrive in the religious community- some great spiritual virtue, a particular discipline, perhaps some unique gift? Fr. Paul thought a few moments, then with a twinkle in his eyes he replied, “A sense of humor!”
So today, my brothers and sisters give thanks that God still fills us with His Grace
and power! Thank Christ that He still dwells in us and we in Him. Thank The Holy Spirit who pushes Our Life into Christ’s Life. I thank God that The Church of the Redeemer continues to be a place where God’s Word, Life and Will are heard, lived and shared. I thank God
I’m here. I thank God for each one of you, especially for your spirits! I Thank God! AMEN